Shuttle heat tiles pass scrutiny
Life in space returned Thursday to as close to normal as it has been since the Columbia disaster three years ago.
After the space shuttle Discovery docked with the international space station, the orbiting outpost was fully staffed with three crew members for the first time since 2003. European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter arrived on the shuttle for a six-month stay.
And the news for Discovery was also reminiscent of more carefree days: NASA found no major problems with the shuttle’s heat shield.
Pictures taken by the space station crew, as Discovery approached for the linkup, uncovered no serious concerns with the thermal tiles, said deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon. He called that “somewhat of a surprise, but a very pleasant surprise.” As of Thursday evening, experts on the ground had analyzed many of the 352 digital images.
Tallahassee, Fla.
Court tosses tobacco damages
The Florida Supreme Court lifted a huge burden from U.S. tobacco companies Thursday when it threw out a record $145 billion punitive damage award against them even though it agreed the companies had misled smokers about the dangers of lighting up.
The court also ruled that individual smokers could sue the companies – and gave plaintiffs a potent legal weapon by upholding the trial jury’s finding that the companies had negligently misled the public about the dangers and addictive nature of cigarettes.
The court, which deemed the July 2000 award excessive, also approved an appellate court ruling that it had been a mistake to certify the lawsuit as a class-action representing an estimated 300,000 to 700,000 Floridians made ill by smoking.
Tobacco stocks jumped on the news that the court had rejected an award that the industry said was potentially ruinous.
Trenton, N.J.
Deal should end shutdown
New Jersey’s governor and lawmakers reached a deal Thursday on a new state budget, six days into a state government shutdown that shuttered casinos and threw more than 80,000 people out of work.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine said the shutdown could end by late today or early Saturday if budget bills pass the Senate and Assembly. The legislation will be considered today by committees in both houses, allowing final budget votes as soon as late today.
The deal will increase the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent and use half the $1.1 billion that it will raise to help lower property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation. It allows the possibility that, in future years, the entire increase will go to property tax relief.
Republicans, the minority party in New Jersey, blasted the agreement.