NATION IN BRIEF

Space Shuttle Atlantis Rolled to Launch Pad

NASA security patrols the launch area as the space shuttle Atlantis is rolled out at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Atlantis is scheduled for a flight at the end of August in a mission to resume construction on the international space station. The pre-dawn trip to the launch pad was delayed twice this week because of stormy weather in Florida. Atlantis hasn't flown since October 2002, and there has been no construction on the international space station since December 2002. (By Matt Stroshane -- Getty Images)

Medic Charged in Killing Faces a Court-Martial

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FORT BENNING, Ga. -- An Army medic charged with killing a fellow soldier during a night of heavy drinking in Iraq has been arraigned and will face a court-martial on a variety of charges, including premeditated murder, officials said Wednesday.

Spec. Chris Rolan, 22, of Albuquerque was arraigned Friday night, eight months after he allegedly shot Pvt. Dylan Paytas, 20, of Freedom, Pa., during a dispute that capped a night of drinking. Rolan and Paytas were members of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Benning.

In addition to the premeditated-murder charge, Rolan is accused of attempting to murder another soldier, committing aggravated assault on another soldier, violating a general order to refrain from drinking in Iraq, wrongful communication of a threat and willful discharge of a firearm, Army spokeswoman Tracy Bailey said.

Conviction on the murder charge could result in a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

ACLU Files Suit for Teen In School Segregation

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NEW ORLEANS -- A 13-year-old scuba diver, firefighter cadet and kung fu student has taken the Livingston Parish School Board to court over its plans to segregate her middle school by sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in Baton Rouge federal court for Michelle Selden, who is to start eighth grade in one week at Southside Junior High School, and her parents, Darren and Rhonda Selden. The suit contends that the program is based on discriminatory stereotypes.

It's the ACLU's first lawsuit over the issue. Previous cases were resolved without going to court, said Emily J. Martin, deputy director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project.

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· SEATTLE -- Naveed Afzal Haq, the man accused in the shooting rampage that left one woman dead last week at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, was charged with nine felony counts, including violation of the state's hate-crime law.

· COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court threw out the death sentence of Donna Roberts, the first woman condemned since the state resumed executions in 1999. The court unanimously ruled that the trial judge had allowed a prosecutor to be involved in preparing his opinion in sentencing Roberts, 62, in violation of Ohio law. The court let Roberts's murder conviction stand but ordered the trial court to resentence her in the death of her ex-husband.

· NEW YORK -- The New York Times said it had received a second envelope with a suspicious white powder and a stamp with a Sept. 11 image, just weeks after a similar incident raised fears of an anthrax attack. The substance was discovered by a mailroom worker Tuesday, and city authorities have determined it was "nonhazardous," said Times spokeswoman Abbe Ruttenberg Serphos.

· CARLINVILLE, Ill. -- An explosion destroyed a house, killing a woman and her grandson and injuring three other people, officials said. More than a dozen homes were damaged. The cause of the explosion was not known.

-- From News Services