Captain Goes Free

Good news! U.S cargo ship captain Richard Phillips has been freed and is now on board the U.S.S. Boxer after a shootout that killed three of the four pirates holding him on a lifeboat off the coast of Somalia. His joyous crew, docked in Kenya, greeted the news with three blasts of the Maersk Alabama's horn and erupted in cheers. A Navy spokesman said Phillips was "resting comfortably" after being taken aboard the U.S.S. Bainbridge and then flown to the U.S.S. Boxer. The fourth pirate who had taken the captain hostage five days ago is in U.S. military custody; he was negotiating for Phillips' release at the time of the firefight and was not on board the lifeboat.