Atlantis is moved to launch pad

Atlantis is supposed to blast off Oct. 8 on NASA's final visit to Hubble, but it is expected to be delayed a couple of days because of work lost to Tropical Storms Fay and Hanna. A technical problem with the hookup between the shuttle and its external fuel tank also stalled operations.

Fay dumped an extraordinary amount of rain on the area two weeks ago and shut down Kennedy Space Center for three days. Hanna threatened to do the same but for now was expected to remain far offshore.

235 sect custody cases dropped

Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect's ranch can safely live with their parents or guardians.

Since the April 3 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, 235 children's custody cases have been dropped, meaning that fewer than half of the 440 children seized remain bound by a court order to stay in Texas, attend parenting classes or be available for unannounced visits by Child Protective Services.

Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins said more cases are likely to be dropped.

The children of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were taken into state custody because child welfare authorities said girls were being forced into underage marriages and boys were being raised to be perpetrators.

Jesse Jackson is hospitalized

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized and undergoing tests after complaining of severe stomach pains.

Doctors told him he has viral gastroenteritis but were conducting more tests. The 66-year-old civil rights leader said he was feeling much better Thursday morning but wasn't sure when he would be released.

Couple shoot armed intruders

When two gunmen smashed through the glass front door of her suburban Fort Worth home, Kellie Hoehn didn't think twice.

The 34-year-old mother of two grabbed a shotgun that had been pointed at her face, starting a struggle that ended with her husband, Keith, fatally shooting one intruder and wounding the other.

"I wasn't going to let them get to my babies," she said.

Dakota Scott Benoit, 20, of Richland Hills was pronounced dead at a hospital. John Garland Pierson, 25, of Haltom City was in critical condition and in police custody at the hospital.

Investigators say the couple were defending their family and probably won't be charged.

From Times Wire Reports