Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Cold Weather Could Delay Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL -- An cold front moving across the northern Plains caused two fatal accidents in Minnesota and left a layer of ice and nearly a foot of snow in parts of Nebraska. NASA warned that the weather could thwart plans to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday on a flight to the international space station.

The National Weather Service posted winter weather advisories for parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and northern Iowa. The agency said up to four inches of snow was possible across southern Minnesota into Wisconsin.

As the weather system moves east, it is was expected to bring rain and thick clouds to Cape Canaveral by week's end.

Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said there was a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at the 7:55 p.m. Friday liftoff time and only a 40 percent chance on Saturday. "The timing of the front will be critical," she said.

During the 15-day mission, the astronauts will deliver a new bathroom, a kitchenette, two bedrooms and an exercise machine, as well as a water-recycling system -- and a new resident for the space station. A new astronaut will replace one of the space station's three residents.

The plan is to expand the living quarters of the space station so the crew can be doubled to six by June.

"We haven't had a launch for a while, so we're really excited to be back in the saddle again," said test director Jeff Spaulding.

Fla. Revises Deal With Sugar Firm

MIAMI -- Florida has revised its deal to obtain vast tracts of farm land to restore the Everglades, agreeing to pay the nation's biggest producer of sugar cane $400 million less than it initially projected. In return, the state will no longer acquire U.S. Sugar's high-tech mill, railroad lines or citrus processing plant. The deal still includes nearly the same number of acres as in the agreement announced in June. Environmentalists praised the new deal, saying it is simpler and less expensive. The state is purchasing the land around Lake Okeechobee as part of an ambitious plan to save the Everglades after decades of farming and development nearby.

Gov. Charlie Crist (R) had been scheduled to announce the deal in Miami, but his plane had mechanical trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing in Sarasota. Officials said the governor would make his remarks at the home Wednesday morning.

Big Deficit Forecast in California

SACRAMENTO -- California's budget deficit will grow to $28 billion through June 2010 unless lawmakers take bold action, possibly including a hike in the state income tax, the legislature's nonpartisan analyst said. The Legislative Analyst's Office urged lawmakers to act immediately on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals to close the deficit for this fiscal year, projected at $11.2 billion -- about 11 percent of the state's general fund. They include a 1 1/2 -cent sales tax increase and $4.4 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. But the analyst's office estimates that tax revenue will be even lower than the Republican governor's administration expected.

Hawaii Finally Gets Its Quarter

HONOLULU -- Still reveling in the election of the first Hawaii-born U.S. president, the islands marked the issuance of its state quarter -- the last in the 50-state quarter program. The quarter shows King Kamehameha the Great, the Hawaiian warrior who united the Hawaiian islands under his rule in the early 1800s, standing with his left arm outstretched. The U.S. Mint plans to make 520 million Hawaii coins before it ends the program. The current program, which started in 1999, will be followed with coins for the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

-- From News Services