Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

January 16, 2017

	US, Japan finalize agreement narrowing SOFA for contractors The United States and Japan signed an agreement Monday that could end Status of Forces Agreement coverage for some military contractors without specialized skills.   Gene Cernan, last astronaut on the moon, dies at 82 Former astronaut Gene Cernan, the last person to walk on the moon who returned to Earth with a message of "peace and hope for all mankind," died on Monday in Texas following ongoing heath issues, his family said. He was 82.   King Day highlights transition from Obama to Trump As Americans celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leaders and activists are trying to reconcile the transition from the nation's first black president to a president-elect still struggling to connect with most non-white voters.   Air Force: PTSD, other factors led airman to kill his commander U.S. Air Force investigators have determined that post-traumatic stress disorder and the unraveling of a distinguished military career led an airman to fatally shoot his commander last year at a San Antonio base before killing himself, according to Air Force documents.   Defiant EU nations ready themselves for Trump presidency European Union nations bracing for the looming Donald Trump presidency showed defiance Monday in the face of the president-elect's stinging comments on everything from NATO and German cars to the crumbling of the EU itself.   Military going ahead with plan for low-level training flights by fighter jets over Maine, NH Critics among the 78,000 people who live in the sparsely populated training area — about 20 people per square mile — want the plan spiked. They say the screeching jets startle people and wildlife, ultimately hurting tourism and real estate values.   Trump vows 'insurance for everybody' in Obamacare replacement plan President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Barack Obama's signature health-care law with the goal of "insurance for everybody," while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid.   For Obama’s black appointees, a calling that went beyond service to country Their paths were varied, but they all ended up in the Obama administration, among more than 400 African-Americans selected as presidential appointees over the past eight years: campaign volunteers, loyalists from Chicago, private-sector standouts, prominent scholars, public-school teachers and military veterans.