PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — Military investigators began the arduous task Thursday of answering why a C-130 Hercules cargo plane being flown into retirement by an experienced crew plunged onto a Georgia highway. Families and friends of the nine airmen, meanwhile, grieved and took note of the fact that Puerto Rico’s planes are the oldest in the National Guard inventory.

There were no survivors when the huge plane dropped from the sky moments after taking off from Savannah, Ga., narrowly missing motorists and buildings as fiery wreckage exploded over a wide area. Only the tail section was intact, sitting improbably in the middle of Georgia Highway 21.

The aging plane had rescued and resupplied American citizens after last year’s hurricanes as part of the U.S. territory’s fleet, which often struggles to remain mission-ready amid long waits for spare parts, said Adjutant Gen. Isabelo Rivera, commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard.

The plane crashed after taking off from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport en route to Arizona, where it would have been retired from service. Boone said it had received “routine maintenance” while in Savannah. He did not know if the crew made a distress call to air traffic controllers after takeoff.

All nine airmen on board were confirmed dead, Boone said.

The pilot was identified as Maj. Jose Rafael Roman, from Manati on the island’s north coast.

Meanwhile, the military identified the plane’s navigator as Maj. Carlos Perez Serra and its co-pilot as 1st Lt. David Albandoz.

Striking Arizona teachers win 20 percent raise, end walkout

PHOENIX — The Arizona governor signed a plan Thursday to give striking teachers a 20 percent pay raise, ending their five-day walkout after a dramatic all-night legislative session and sending more than a million public school students back to the classroom.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature awarded teachers a 9 percent raise in the fall and 5 percent in each of the next two years. Teachers did not get everything they wanted, but they won substantial gains from reluctant lawmakers.

“The educators have solved the education crisis! They’ve changed the course of Arizona” Noah Karvelis of Arizona Educators United shouted to several thousand cheering teachers. “The change happens with us!”

Hours after Ducey acted, strike organizers called for an end to the walkout.

Russia says 2 pilots dead in fighter jet crash off Syrian coast

BEIRUT — A Russian fighter jet crashed Thursday off the coast of Syria, killing both pilots, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which said the plane did not come under fire and that the crash may have been caused by a bird getting sucked into one of the engines.

State news agency Tass cited the ministry as saying the Su-30 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Russian air base at Hemeimeem in Syria. Russia has been waging an air campaign in support of President Bashar Assad’s forces since 2015.

In March, a Russian military cargo plane crashed as it was descending to land at Hemeimeem, killing all 39 people onboard. Russia leases the base.

The military blamed the crash on a technical error and insisted the plane was not shot down.

Twitter finds security bug, advises changing passwords

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is advising all users to change their passwords.

The company said Thursday that it recently discovered a bug that stored passwords in an internal log in an unprotected form.

Twitter says there’s no indication of a breach or of any misused passwords. But as a precaution, Twitter recommends users consider changing the passwords they use to log on to Twitter. They should also change that password if they used it for any other services.

The company says it masks, or encrypts, passwords by replacing them with a random set of numbers and letters. But the bug caused passwords to be written to an internal log before that masking occurred. The company says it discovered the bug on its own and has fixed it.

Calif. rep. denies allegations of molesting teenager

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., confirmed Thursday that he is the unidentified elected official in a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles alleging sexual molestation of a teenage girl, but he vehemently denied the allegations.

“My client is sickened and distraught by these horrific allegations, which are 100 percent, categorically untrue,” Patricia Glaser, an attorney for Cardenas, said in a statement.

Cardenas’ attorney said the woman who filed the suit is the daughter of a “disgruntled former employee” who “may be the victim of manipulation.”

Cardenas, one of the highest-ranking Latino members of Congress, leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Bold PAC, which works to elect Latinos nationwide.

Repeated attempts to contact Cardenas and his staff have failed.

Gates pumps $158M into push against U.S. poverty

SEATTLE — Bill Gates launched a new fight against systemic poverty in the U.S., with his private foundation on Thursday announcing millions of dollars toward initiatives ranging from data projects to funding for community activists.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it will spend $158 million combating American poverty over the next four years.

It comes as the foundation moves deeper into U.S. issues after largely focusing on global health and development.

Critics have long challenged Gates to do more to help the poor at home in the U.S.

Specific programs and grants to combat poverty have not been identified but the foundation’s work will be informed by the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, an ideas-oriented task force.

A second person who participated in the beating of an African-American man during last year’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., was convicted of malicious wounding Thursday. A jury recommended Alex Michael Ramos, 34, of Jackson, Ga., be sentenced to six years in prison for the attack on DeAndre Harris, 20.

The Missouri Legislature has called itself into a special session to consider impeaching Gov. Eric Greitens following allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of charity resources. The special session will start May 18. It marks the first time in Missouri history that a Legislature has called itself into a special session.