![Billie J. Farrell, first woman to command the 224-year-old warship USS Constitution, takes over this week](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2022/01/17/ebf21136-569a-49a3-a4ff-2ebdcab256fc/thumbnail/1200x630/9dc71b0fb2616633599fa38cb2242766/ap22016648638055.jpg)
Billie J. Farrell, first woman to command the 224-year-old warship USS Constitution, takes over this week
CBSN
History is being made aboard the U.S.S. Constitution this week.
Commander Billie J. Farrell is scheduled to become the first woman to lead the crew of the 224-year-old warship known as Old Ironsides during a change-of-command ceremony on Friday. She takes over from Commander John Benda, who has led the ship's crew since February 2020.
"I know the crew is in great hands with Commander Farrell," Benda said in a statement. "This historic barrier is long overdue to be broken. I cannot think of a better candidate to serve as USS Constitution's first female commanding officer."
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A fleet of Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana's port on Monday after a five-day visit to Cuba following planned military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. The exercise has been seen by some as a show of strength by Moscow against the backdrop of tensions as U.S. and other Western nations support Kyiv in Russia's war on Ukraine.
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Firefighters across California are working to extinguish blazes that broke out over the weekend and continued to grow on Monday, as the state contends with a mix of hot, dry weather and powerful, gusty winds. The Post Fire, burning near Gorman, northwest of Los Angeles, spread to more than 14,600 acres, while the Point Fire, in Sonoma, covered 1,190 acres.