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 Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around $90 million for measures to…