Mark Wahlberg apologizes for 9/11 comments

LOS ANGELES: Actor Mark Wahlberg apologized for saying events may have turned out differently had he been on one of the planes that crashed on 9/11, after incurring the wrath of critics and one victim’s widow.

“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry,’” the actor said in an interview with Men’s Journal magazine that was released one day earlier.

“The Fighter” star, 44, was scheduled to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011 and made the comments in that context, but after media outlets reported that a widow of one 9/11 victim called his comments “disrespectful,” the actor issued a formal apology.

“To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible. I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention,” Wahlberg said in a statement.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who started his career in music as rapper Marky Mark, transitioned into film and is currently promoting “Contraband,” a high-octane action movie in which he plays a former smuggler forced to protect his brother-in-law. AGENCIES

Egypt Agrees to Buy up to 24 F-16s

WASHINTON: Operation of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production line in Fort Worth could be extended “perhaps another year” as a result of an agreement, announced Tuesday, under which Egypt would buy up to 24 of the jet fighters, company spokesman Joe Stout said.

“Right now, production in Fort Worth extends through the first quarter of 2012,” he said. “It extends it perhaps another year. … It’s very good news.”

Lockheed has about 2,100 employees in Fort Worth building the venerable F-16 — the world’s most widely flown jet fighter — at a rate of about two planes per month.

The U.S. government signed an agreement with Egypt on Dec. 24 to sell the planes to the African nation, and the Pentagon had notified Congress of the possible sale in October, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

Stout said Lockheed is expected to enter into a contract with the U.S. government, probably in the first quarter of next year, to produce the planes for Egypt. With contract negotiations ahead, the specific value of the contract isn’t yet known, Stout said.

Production of the planes for Egypt is expected to take about three years from the signing of the contract, Stout said. That could extend the Fort Worth plant’s F-16 production line through the first quarter of 2013, he said.

This is the second piece of good news for Fort Worth’s F-16 operations in a week.

On Dec. 22, Lockheed was awarded an $841.9 million contract to complete production of 24 F-16 fighters for Morocco, as well as for electronic warfare gear and support equipment.

Lockheed Martin said Tuesday that it is “pleased that the U.S. and Egyptian governments have reached agreement” on a program to deliver F-16s to the Egyptian air force. “Egypt has acquired more than 200 F-16s in the past, in six previous orders, and is a valued customer,” the Bethesda, Md.-based company said.

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Egypt Agrees to Buy up to 24 F-16s was first posted on December 30, 2009 at 6:22 pm.

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