In brief: N.J. governor out of hospital

Somerville, N.J. – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was released from a hospital Thursday evening following emergency treatment for asthma after having difficulty breathing.

The 48-year-old governor, who uses an inhaler for asthma and is overweight, was taken to Somerset Medical Center around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The blunt-talking governor, who some Republicans have been trying to persuade to run for president, was headed to a bill signing event when he felt unwell.

Christie told reporters as he left the hospital that he woke up in the morning not feeling great and his rescue inhaler didn’t work as well as it normally does. He says he thought about his kids and decided it would be best to go to the hospital.

Christie said doctors performed an EKG, blood work and chest X-ray and all came back normal.

Astronaut won’t get honorable discharge

Orlando, Fla. – Lisa Nowak, a former NASA astronaut whose 2007 arrest made national news, will retire from the U.S. Navy with an “other than honorable” discharge, officials said Thursday.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Juan Garcia said that Nowak “demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being” of romantic rival Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman.

Authorities said Nowak drove nonstop from Texas to Orlando, confronting Shipman, then the girlfriend of Nowak’s former lover, at Orlando International Airport on Feb. 5, 2007.

There, investigators said she blasted Shipman with pepper spray. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and felony burglary, and was sentenced to probation and community service.

Garcia’s statement said he approved Nowak’s retirement and the other-than-honorable designation after reviewing civilian court proceedings, witness testimony and her more than 20 years of service.

Nowak was dismissed from the astronaut corps in 2007, returning to active duty at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her retirement will go into effect on Sept. 1.