Nine arrested in war protest

Nine war protesters were arrested Monday when they gathered in a House office building to read off the names of American and Iraqi war dead.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said the nine were charged with unlawful assembly. Several dozen protesters congregated around a courtyard pool at the Rayburn House office building, throwing yellow roses onto the ice as they recited the names of Iraq war victims.

The demonstration was a follow-up to Saturday’s anti-war demonstration that drew tens of thousands to the Washington Mall.

Also Monday, about 100 people staged a short demonstration in the Hart Senate office building, waving children’s shoes to represent Iraqi children killed in the war and unfurling anti-war banners from the balconies around the building’s atrium.

The protesters dispersed to senators’ offices to lobby for resolutions to stop funding for the war.

BALTIMORE

Hubble telescope likely unfixable

The primary camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down and is likely to be only marginally restored, NASA said Monday, a collapse one astronomer called “a great loss.”

While other scientific work can still be done by the aging observatory, the unit that failed, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is the one most scientists depended upon. NASA scientists say they expect to be able to restore just one-third of its observation ability, probably by mid-February.

“We’re not optimistic at all” about returning it to full function, said Dave Leckrone, a senior scientist on the Hubble at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.

NASA plans to have space shuttle astronauts repair and upgrade the 16-year-old telescope on a mission next year. Leckrone says new instruments that will be installed will exceed the capabilities of the current system.

WESTERVILLE, Ohio

Cops use stun gun on naked student

A high school lunch period was disrupted Monday by a greased, naked student who ran around screaming and flailing his arms until police twice used a stun gun on him, authorities said.

Taylor Killian, 18, had rubbed his body with grapeseed oil to keep from being caught. He got up after the first time he was shocked to continue running toward a group of students huddled in a corner at Westerville North High School, Lt. Jeff Gaylor said.

“That prank went a little farther than he intended, I guess,” Gaylor said.

Officer Doug Staysniak was monitoring the lunch period when Killian, with long hair and a full beard, ran in the room toward students, who screamed and ran away.

Killian is in jail and charged with inducing panic, public indecency, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.