World/nation briefs

NASA: Missing clip is no threat to reentry A metal clip broke off Discovery's rudder and four hours passed before the seven astronauts got the good news: It poses no danger for today's reentry. Ever since the Columbia tragedy five years ago, any shuttle part seen floating away in orbit gets NASA's attention -- fast.

13-year-old tied to tree as punishment dies A 13-year-old died after he was tied to a tree overnight, for two consecutive nights, for disobeying his parents, said the sheriff in Edgecombe County, N.C. The boy's father, Brice Brian McMillan, 41, and stepmother, Sandra Elizabeth McMillan, 36, were charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse.

Sketch released in case of 2 girls shot Authorities released a sketch of a "person of interest" investigators want to interview about the slayings of two girls along an eastern Oklahoma country road. The man was seen standing near a white pickup around the time and place the girls were shot Sunday, authorities said. He was described as an American Indian, about 6 feet tall, with black hair and a ponytail. Meanwhile, funeral services were held.

'Friday the 13th' blackout stalls city A power failure brought much of the nation's capital to a standstill for more than two hours as the White House went to a backup generator and commuters escaped the snarled Metro by trudging up stalled escalators. Officials muttered about the "Friday the 13th" blackout. Pepco, the utility provider, said power was interrupted at 7:25 and was restored before 11 a.m.

Judge recuses himself in obscenity trial A federal appeals court judge declared a mistrial and recused himself from an obscenity trial in Los Angeles, three days after acknowledging that he had posted sexually explicit material on his website. Alex Kozinski, 57, chief judge for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, is one of the nation's highest-ranking judges.

Huckabee to join Fox news Channel Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential hopeful who served as governor of Arkansas for more than 10 years, has been hired by Fox News Channel as a political commentator. Since leaving the race in March, Huckabee has formed a political action committee that he says will help raise money for John McCain and other Republicans.

FDA: Florida, Mexico suspects in outbreak Parts of Florida and Mexico were supplying "the vast majority" of tomatoes sold when the salmonella outbreak began in April and thus remain leading suspects, the Food and Drug Administration said. But the FDA hasn't narrowed its hunt to just those two places. It counts 228 illnesses in 23 states linked to tainted tomatoes. Consumers can read updates at www.fda.gov.

Israel to build 1,300 homes in E. Jerusalem Israel said it plans to build 1,300 more homes in East Jerusalem, further angering Palestinians who warned that construction threatens efforts to work out a peace deal by the end of the year. It brought to more than 3,000 the number of homes Israel has approved for construction on land that Palestinians want for a state since the renewal of the U.S.-supported peace talks last year.

Protesters demand judges' reinstatement Tens of thousands of people -- from judges to teachers to textile workers -- traveled from every corner of the country to march on the capital of Islamabad to demand the reinstatement of 60 judges ousted last year by President Pervez Musharraf.

Rice offers regrets for border deaths Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered her personal regrets to Pakistan for the deaths of soldiers whom the United States called partners in the battle against terrorism. Pakistan agreed to join a U.S. investigation of Tuesday's bombing.

Taipei, Beijing agree on plan to expand visits China and Taiwan agreed to allow 36 round-trip charter flights every weekend as the first step in a plan to dramatically expand visits to the self-ruled island by Chinese tourists. The deal, signed in Beijing after the first official China-Taiwan talks in a decade, includes the right to open airline and travel offices on each other's territory.

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