Astronauts, cosmonauts prepare to return home

Astronauts, cosmonautsprepare to return home
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the linked international space station and shuttle Endeavour enjoyed some time off before saying goodbye.
Endeavour was set to undock this afternoon, bringing home one American and two Russians who spent six months on the space station. Their replacements will remain in orbit until March.
After three spacewalks in five days, the astronauts welcomed Sunday's free time. For John Herrington, the first American Indian in space, it provided an opportunity to reflect on what it was like to hurtle around Earth at 17,500 mph -- outside his spaceship.
He couldn't help but think: "That's a long way down."
Herrington said he was somewhat intimidated by the fact that at any moment, he might find himself in uncontrollable motion and break away from the international space station, which would be "a bad thing."
"So I was always constantly on guard that I was maintaining the best control I could and that I had my proper tether protocol," he said. "But it was very awe-inspiring. It's a beautiful sight to look down and see the Earth from this altitude."
Boy Scout leader facesmolestation charges
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A Boy Scout leader faces charges that he fondled at least three members of his troop and showed them gay pornographic photos, police said.
Robert King, 50, was held in Brevard County Jail on $75,000 bail Sunday after police charged him with lewd and lascivious molestation and exposure of sexual organs.
King, who is married, confessed that he exposed himself and showed the troop members pornography, Titusville police spokesman John Lau said.
Lau said King invited at least five boys to his home Friday under the guise of preparing to build a Christmas float. The boys ranged in age from 10 to 12.
Police became involved after at least one Scout's parents learned of the episode Friday evening. King was arrested Saturday and appeared in court Sunday. The Central Florida Boy Scouts Council is investigating the case, district executive Kevin Litt said.
Last month, the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would require criminal background checks of new adult volunteers beginning next year.
Ivory Coast army enterskey city, official says
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Ivory Coast's army entered a key city and began flushing out insurgents in an assault to push the rebels from the western cocoa-producing region, a senior military official said today.
Residents in Man woke to the sounds of shooting after a heavy attack Sunday signaled the start of the loyalist push.
"We entered Man last night. We are now carrying out cleaning up operations, flushing out rebels from all the places they may be hiding in," the military official said on condition of anonymity.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim. A rebel spokesman said late Sunday the city was still in rebel hands, and the insurgents could not immediately be reached today.
The previously unknown insurgents -- said by residents to include Liberians and Ivorians -- captured Man and nearby Danane on Thursday, opening a new front in a two-month rebellion that is degenerating into a many-fronted war in this former French colony.
Man residents huddled in their homes Sunday night, listening to gunbattles coming from the outskirts of town. Many sat in the dark, as the electricity had been cut.
World AIDS Day
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Southern African countries marked World AIDS Day with hopes that the region, which has the highest rate of HIV-positive people on the planet, can slow the spread of the disease.
There are 42 million HIV-positive people worldwide, with sub-Saharan Africa home to 75 percent of them, according to UNAIDS, the U.N.'s AIDS agency. World AIDS Day was Sunday.
South Africa has more HIV-positive people than any other country in the world. Figures released by the government more than two years ago showed that 4.7 million people -- one in nine -- were infected, and the figure today is believed to be substantially higher.
The number of people with AIDS in Asia threatens to reach epidemic levels, and activists there also tried to raise awareness of the disease and how to prevent it. Events were also held in Cuba, Brazil, Peru and several other countries.
South Africa's government had come under fire for not doing enough to combat the AIDS epidemic, and it has recently shown signs of taking the issue more seriously.
Associated Press