NATION IN BRIEF

Black Teen Guilty of Battery In Racially Charged La. Case

JENA, La. -- A black teenager who once faced attempted-murder and conspiracy charges in the beating of a white schoolmate amid growing racial tension at their high school was convicted Thursday on lesser, but still serious, felony charges.

After the attempted-murder charges were reduced by a prosecutor earlier this week, an all-white six-member jury found Mychal Bell, 17, guilty of the new charges: aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery. Those charges could lead to a sentence of more than 20 years for Bell, who would have faced decades more in prison on the attempted-murder counts.

"The appellate court now gets a chance to set this right," defense attorney Blane Williams said.

Sentencing was set for July 31.

Bell was among six African Americans arrested in the Dec. 4 beating of Justin Barker, 17. The initial attempted-murder charges filed against Bell and four others drew widespread attention and protests that the charges were out of proportion to the crime. Prosecutors have not said why they reduced Bell's charges or whether they will also reduce the same charges against four other teens. Charges against the sixth teen have not been made public because of his age.

* * *

· CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA moved up the next scheduled space shuttle mission by two days to Aug. 7 to give Endeavour more chances to lift off during what looks to be a busy month. Endeavour's flight will be the second shuttle mission of the year. Atlantis landed last week at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and is scheduled to return to Kennedy Space Center on Friday or Saturday.

· TOPEKA, Kan. -- A doctor who performs abortions was charged with violating Kansas law on late-term procedures, a surprise move from a Democratic attorney general who recently unseated a prominent antiabortion Republican. Attorney General Paul Morrison filed 19 misdemeanor counts alleging that George Tiller, one of the few U.S. physicians performing late-term abortions, got second opinions from a doctor who was not financially and legally independent from him, as the law requires. Morrison's predecessor, Phill Kline, had unsuccessfully prosecuted the same doctor for different reasons.

· MARBLE FALLS, Tex. -- More rain fell in central and north Texas, where residents are already weary from constant downpours that have claimed 11 lives in 11 days. Widespread evacuations were ordered in Parker County along the Brazos River. Three inches of rain fell overnight in central Texas and flash flood warnings were in effect.

· Jupiter is changing its stripes, perhaps because its seasons are changing, scientists reported. The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope is capturing some of the most dramatic atmospheric changes ever documented, the team at NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore reported. White areas of the planet's cloud bands are turning brown and brownish areas are lightening up, the researchers said.

· SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- A break in the weather helped firefighters gain ground on a stubborn wildfire near Lake Tahoe, but officials cautioned that the reprieve may be short-lived because of blustery conditions in the forecast.

-- From News Services