LONDON

Olympic torch reaches city with helicopter commando

With the flame comes the games.

After years of preparation and months of buildup, London’s Olympic moment finally arrived Friday night.

Royal Marine Martyn Williams carried the Olympic torch as he rappelled down from a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter into the Tower of London on the shore of the River Thames. The commando’s grand entrance plunged the symbol of the games into the city’s historic heart, bringing Olympic pageantry to the British capital that last held the event in 1948.

WASHINGTON

Former President Bush says he’ll skip GOP convention

Former President George W. Bush is skipping the Republican National Convention next month in Tampa, Fla., where presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney will officially become the party’s standard-bearer.

“President Bush was grateful for the invitation,” his spokesman, Freddy Ford, said Friday in an email. He added that the 43rd president “is confident that Mitt Romney will be a great president. But he’s still enjoying his time off the political stage and respectfully declined the invitation to go to Tampa.”

Bush’s presence at the convention could undercut Romney’s argument that he knows better than President Obama when it comes to improving the economy. A CBS News/New York Times poll this month found more voters say Bush deserves the bulk of the blame for the nation’s economic downturn than think Obama bears a lot of the responsibility. Almost two-thirds of voters think Romney’s economic policies would mirror Bush’s at least somewhat.

Bush was deeply unpopular when he left office in 2009 amid the financial crisis.

SAN ANTONIO

Air Force sergeant convicted of raping female recruit

An Air Force instructor was convicted in military court Friday of raping one female recruit and sexually assaulting several others, giving prosecutors a victory in the first trial over alleged widespread sexual misconduct by military trainers at a Texas base.

A seven-person jury of military personnel at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio found Staff Sgt. Luis Walker guilty on all seven counts he faced, including rape, aggravated sexual contact and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. He faces up to life in prison and a dishonorable discharge at his sentencing hearing, which starts today.

Walker is among 12 Lackland instructors investigated for sexual misconduct toward at least 31 female trainees. Six instructors have been charged on counts ranging from rape to adultery. Walker faced the most serious charges and was the first to stand trial.

Lackland is where every American airman receives basic training. It has about 475 instructors for the 35,000 airmen who graduate every year.

— From news service reports