Former astronaut kicked out of Navy

Former astronaut kicked out of Navy

ORLANDO, Fla.

A former astronaut banished from NASA after she attacked a romantic rival is being kicked out of the Navy, officials said Thursday.

Capt. Lisa Nowak will retire with an “other than honorable” discharge, and her pay grade will be knocked down one rank, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Juan Garcia said in a statement.

Nowak was accused of confronting Colleen Shipman in the parking lot of the Orlando International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. She had diapers in the car, but Nowak disputes she wore the diapers. Shipman, an Air Force captain, had begun dating Nowak’s love interest, former space-shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein. Nowak was sentenced in 2009 to a year of probation.

Study: Strokes rise among new moms

Strokes have spiked in the U.S. among pregnant women and new mothers, probably because more of them are obese and suffering from high blood pressure and heart disease, researchers report.

Hospitalizations for pregnancy-related strokes and “mini strokes” jumped from about 4,100 in 1994-95 to around 6,300 in 2006-07, a 54 percent increase, researchers said, extrapolating from figures in a large federal database.

The number of strokes is small, considering that around 4 million babies are born each year in the U.S. But pregnancy raises a woman’s risk of a stroke because of all the hormone and blood changes that occur. If she starts out unhealthy, with a problem such as diabetes or high blood pressure, she doubles her risk of suffering a stroke during or right after pregnancy, said Dr. Elena Kuklina, a stroke-prevention expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

US accuses Iran of deal with al-Qaida

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration accused Iran on Thursday of entering into a “secret deal” with an al-Qaida offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. intelligence community has in the past disagreed about the extent of direct links between the Iranian government and al-Qaida. Thursday’s allegations went further than what most analysts had previously said was a murky relationship with limited cooperation.

Bachmann objects to family questions

WASHINGTON

Rep. Michele Bachmann steadfastly refused Thursday to answer questions about her family’s business and finances, saying that she — not her husband — was the one seeking the White House. The Minnesota Republican faced queries about Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic that attempts to convert gay patients as well as her own beliefs on sexuality during a luncheon at the National Press Club.

Arctic scientist under investigation

JUNEAU, Alaska

Just five years ago, Charles Monnett was one of the scientists whose observation that several polar bears had drowned in the Arctic Ocean helped galvanize the global-warming movement.

Now, the wildlife biologist is on administrative leave and facing accusations of scientific misconduct.

The federal agency where he works told him he was on leave pending the results of an investigation into “integrity issues.” A watchdog group believes it has to do with the 2006 journal article about the bear, but a source familiar with the investigation said late Thursday that placing Monnett on leave had nothing to with scientific integrity or the article.

Associated Press