Around the Nation

Junk Called No Threat To the Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA says the international space station is safe from an orbiting piece of satellite junk and does not need to move out of the way. Mission Control assured commander Mike Fincke on Monday evening that the debris would remain at a safe distance from the station.

Earlier in the day, experts warned that the piece of junk might come within half a mile of the outpost. Discovery is closing in on the station for a linkup on Tuesday.

4 Dead in Missouri Apartment

RAYTOWN, Mo. -- Four people, including two young brothers, were found dead in an apartment, police said. The boys' father found the bodies, Raytown Police Capt. Ted Bowman said. A woman thought to be their aunt and a man were also found dead, he said. A baby boy not related to the brothers was found unharmed.

Killer Planned Big Explosion

MIAMI -- Police say a man who fatally shot his estranged wife and three other people at a party before killing himself also tried to blow up his neighborhood by placing gas cans and propane tanks around his apartment before setting it afire. Guillermo Lopez, 48, drove to his apartment Sunday after the shootings, then set it and his truck on fire, they said. On Monday, the victims were identified as Lopez's wife, Lazara Mendez, 50; her daughter, Nayla Canfux, 19; Canfux's boyfriend, Francisco Casas, 27; and Casas's grandmother Maria Lefran Christ, 77.

Guilty Plea in Powder Mailings

AMARILLO, Tex. -- Federal prosecutors in Texas say Richard L. Goyette, 47, of Albuquerque has pleaded guilty to mailing threatening letters containing suspicious powder. He allegedly mailed letters from Amarillo to 52 offices and banks in 11 states and the District of Columbia in October. No one was injured, and the powder was found to be calcium carbonate. Goyette faces up to 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Lynne Cheney Out of Hospital

PHILADELPHIA -- Lynne Cheney, the wife of former vice president Richard B. Cheney, was released from a Philadelphia hospital after she was taken there because she fainted. She will return to Washington on Tuesday, Hahnemann University Hospital spokeswoman Coleen Cannon said. An aide to the former vice president said his wife was in Philadelphia on a private visit with family.

Moment-of-Silence Law Upheld

NEW ORLEANS -- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans has upheld as constitutional a Texas law that calls for schoolchildren to have a moment of silence during which they can pray, reflect or meditate.

-- From News Services