FLORIDA
Shuttle's target date pushed back to March
CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA is aiming to launch the space shuttle Discovery next month after repeated delays caused by critical valves.
Shuttle managers said Wednesday they hope to launch on March 12, a full month after the original launch date of Feb. 12.
If the shuttle isn't flying by March 13 or 14, it will have to wait until April to make way for a Russian Soyuz rocket that's supposed to blast off with a fresh crew for the international space station.
NEW YORK
Arrest made in killing of Ecuador immigrant
NEW YORK — Police said Wednesday they arrested one of the attackers who yelled slurs as they beat an Ecuadorean immigrant to death on a city street, and investigators were looking for a second suspect.
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Hakeem Scott, 25, was arrested Wednesday in the Dec. 7 attack on Jose Sucuzhanay, which ignited outrage from New York to Ecuador. Police said he was beaten with a bat and kicked by men shouting anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs as he walked arm- in-arm with his brother.
Scott, of the Bronx, was expected to be charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime today, police said.
Police were looking for a second suspect identified as Keith Phoenix, 28, also of the Bronx.
Surgeon loses claim over donated kidney
MINEOLA — A court has rejected a New York surgeon's claim that he should get $1.5 million in his divorce settlement because he donated a kidney to his wife.
Dr. Richard Batista has said he's entitled to the kidney compensation because Dawnell Batista was denying him visits with their three children.
In a ruling Tuesday, matrimonial referee Jeffrey Grob said the kidney was a gift. It was donated in 2001, during happier times in the marriage.
Grob says a wide range of items are considered marital property — but donated organs would not be among them.
GEORGIA
Hepatitis potential fuels call for shots
ATLANTA — A 51-year-old adoptive grandmother's hospitalization from hepatitis has helped spur new vaccination recommendations for people in close contact with children adopted from other countries.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meeting in Atlanta, voted Wednesday to recommend hepatitis A vaccinations for all close contacts of children coming from countries where hepatitis A is relatively common. That includes Guatemala, China, Russia and Ethiopia — four countries that are currently the major sources of international adoptions. The committee makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by a virus, which can spread through handling a diaper or other contact with contaminated feces. Federal guidelines call for vaccinations against it for all U.S. children and for adults who travel to countries where the illness is common.
KANSAS
Visitor in lion cage gets rough reception
OAKLEY — Authorities are investigating the mauling of a man by a lion at an animal refuge in western Kansas, but no charges are expected to be filed.
The lion's owner, Jeffrey Harsh, told authorities that the man was staying at a motel next to his refuge near Oakley and apparently made his way into an outer perimeter lion cage on Saturday.
When Harsh showed up to feed the animals that evening, he found the man with his arm over the top of a gate on the inner cage. Thomas County Sheriff Rod Taylor said a Barbary lion had grabbed the man's right arm.
Harsh reportedly beat the lion with a steel pipe so it would release the man, then drove the man to a hospital. The victim, Bradley Buchanan of Oakley, has since been transferred to a Denver hospital for more surgery and is expected to recover.
NEW MEXICO
Crime scene yields 11th body; two ID'd
ALBUQUERQUE — Police said Wednesday that they have unearthed an 11th body from Albuquerque's largest crime scene ever: a mesa west of the city where remains were discovered after the area was razed for a housing development.
Police also said they had made only their second victim identification so far: Michelle Valdez.
Valdez, who was identified through dental records, and the other identified victim, Victoria Chavez, are included in a list of 16 women who went missing in Albuquerque between 2001 and 2006. All struggled with drug addiction, had a history of prostitution and led transient lives.
Police have been searching an area 30 yards by 10 yards since Feb. 2, when a hiker found a human bone on the mesa.
