In brief: Mumbai gunman confesses in court
MUMBAI, India – The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks made a surprise confession at his trial Monday, saying he was recruited by a militant group inside Pakistan after he left a low-paying job and went looking for training to become a professional robber.
The confession by Ajmal Kasab bolstered India’s charges that terrorist groups in neighboring Pakistan were behind the well-planned attack in which 166 people died, and that it is not doing enough to clamp down on them.
Kasab, a Pakistani who had consistently denied a role in the November rampage, reversed himself without warning, shocking even his lawyer.
Object seen striking Jupiter
PASADENA, Calif. – Astronomers say Jupiter has apparently been struck by an object, possibly a comet.
Images taken by NASA early Monday show a scar in the atmosphere near the south pole of the gas giant.
The images, taken by the space agency’s infrared telescope in Hawaii, come on the 15th anniversary of another comet strike. In 1994, Jupiter was bombarded by pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena captured the new images after receiving a tip from an amateur astronomer.
Spacewalk occurs on anniversary
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The astronauts aboard the shuttle-station complex celebrated the 40th anniversary of man’s first moon landing with their own spacewalk Monday, heading outside to stockpile some big spare parts.
In the second outing of their mission, David Wolf and Thomas Marshburn anchored a 6-foot dish antenna on the International Space Station for future use, then did the same with a hefty pump and an engine for a rail car.
Meanwhile, the $15.6 million space station toilet that broke down Sunday was up and running again, after the crew added some new parts.
The commode – one of three on the linked station and shuttle Endeavour – was out of action for about 24 hours.
Three more spacewalks are planned during Endeavour’s station visit, which ends July 28.
Train operator blacked out
SAN FRANCISCO – The four most seriously injured victims in a weekend light-rail crash were improving Monday, as a union official said the operator of the train had blacked out just before the collision with a parked train.
Two of the victims were in good condition, one was fair and the fourth had been transferred to another hospital for non-medical reasons, said Rachael Kagan, spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital.
A total of 47 people were injured in the crash, including the driver. A total of 15 were seen in the General Hospital emergency room Saturday. Eleven were treated and released.
The hospitalized driver told officials from San Francisco’s transit workers union that a “medical condition” was to blame for his loss of consciousness, said Irwin Lum, the union’s president.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency identified the driver Monday as Henry Gray.