Lightning strikes Ted Kennedy’s jet

A small jet carrying U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy from western Massachusetts to his home on the coast was struck by lightning Saturday and had to be diverted to New Haven, Conn., his spokeswoman said.

The eight-seat Cessna Citation 550 plane lost all electrical power, including communications, and the pilot had to fly the plane manually, according to spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner. No one was hurt.

The Democrat had just delivered the commencement address at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams and was on his way to his Cape Cod home when the plane was struck around 4 p.m., she said.

The jet landed safely at New Haven at 4:11 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Murray. A report was filed with the agency, which will look into the incident, she said.

Houston

Rabies-stricken teen dies in coma

A teenager stricken with rabies he likely contracted when a bat flew into his bedroom and bit him died Friday.

The Humble High School sophomore had been in an induced coma for several days at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, the Houston Chronicle reported.

He began showing rabies symptoms last week. Doctors suspect the teen was infected several weeks earlier when a bat flew through his open bedroom window and bit him as he slept.

Doctors had been using an experimental treatment of sedatives and antiviral drugs on the teenager. The treatment had been credited with saving the life of a Wisconsin girl, making her the first unvaccinated human on record to survive rabies. Rabies is usually fatal in humans once symptoms occur.

Sunrise, Fla.

Captured alligator may be killer

Wildlife officers captured an alligator Saturday they believe was responsible for fatally attacking a woman while she was out jogging.

The 9-foot, 6-inch alligator was trapped just under the bridge where Yovy Suarez Jimenez, 28, was last seen, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. Two human arms were found inside the alligator’s belly.

Authorities still aren’t sure how the alligator attacked Suarez. Witnesses had reported seeing a woman matching Suarez’s description dangling her feet over the water’s edge on Tuesday, but no one saw an attack. A medical examiner said the alligator attacked while she was on land and then dragged her body into a canal.