Wearing an Air Force uniform and regaling college officials with her tales of combat in Southwest Asia, a bogus “airman” managed to convince Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., to give her a small fortune in grants. Lisa Jane Phillips received $42,178 in free tuition. College officials must not have checked for a military ID or other documentation before shelling out the dough. The 34-year-old admitted Monday in court that she had impersonated an officer for nearly three years while attending classes at the private women’s school. Finally, a campus police chief questioned her combat exploits and, his suspicions aroused, queried the FBI. A federal court is contemplating her sentence.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.