In brief: Man charged with posting threat to kill Obama

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man has been charged with posting on an FBI website that he planned to kill President Barack Obama.

Andrew O’Keefe, of Mansfield, has been charged with a felony count of posting an online threat against the president.

Authorities say more than 100 weapons were found at his home and in his vehicle, including swords, double-edged knives, hatchets and spears.

Rabbit population, fever risk both high

DENVER – Fed by unusually lush vegetation, rabbits have been breeding like rabbits around Colorado, increasing the risk for what is normally a rare bacterial disease in the state. Fifteen people have contracted tularemia, or rabbit fever, so far this year.

The increase has led state and local health officials to urge doctors to keep the disease in mind in diagnosing patients and to warn homeowners to take precautions while mowing the lawn and gardening.

The disease is found across the country, with an average of about 135 cases normally reported each year, much of them in the south-central United States.

State veterinarian Jennifer House said relatively wet conditions over the past two years also seem to be fueling two other diseases carried by rodents – hantavirus and plague.

Marine bitten by shark off N.C. coast

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Medical personnel at Camp Lejeune say a Marine was bitten by a shark off the North Carolina coast over the weekend, the eighth such attack in the past three weeks.

Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital spokesman Raymond Applewhite told WITN-TV in Washington the 32-year-old Marine was bitten offshore at Surf City on Saturday. Base spokesman Nat Fahy said Monday the Marine suffered lacerations to his right hand and forearm.

Fahy said the patient was taken to the Camp Lejeune hospital by a friend late Saturday night. He was released early Sunday.