USA

Boeing Co. filed a formal protest Tuesday with the Government Accountability Office, alleging that the process used to grant a $35 billion Air Force contract was flawed. The GAO will have 100 days to issue a ruling in the controversial decision to let the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. build 179 refueling tankers.

Space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 2:28 a.m. Tuesday (left) on a historic 16-day mission, the longest ever to the International Space Station. For the first time since construction began nearly 10 years ago, Canada and Japan will add pieces to the five-nation project.

A failure to consider climate change in transportation planning could lead to flooded roads and subways, weakened bridges, and deformed railroad tracks, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Research Council.

With the placement of two sensor-equipped buoys in the South Pacific, the US has completed its tsunami warning network, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. The network is designed to warn of destructive waves that could threaten Hawaii and the West Coast, as well as Asian nations.

Pressured by a group of paralyzed veterans, the University of Michigan agreed Monday to improve the wheelchair accessibility of the school's 105,000-seat football stadium, which is undergoing major renovations. More wheelchair-accessible seats will be added and incorporated throughout the stadium, not just in the end zones.

Stephen Schwarzman, a trustee of the New York Public Library, announced Tuesday that he is donating $100 million toward the system's $1 billion expansion project. It is among the largest gifts ever to one of the city's cultural institutions. The Central Library on Fifth Avenue will be renamed for the Wall Street financier.