WORLD DIGEST || Man falls from plane

Man fell from plane

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.

Authorities in southeastern Tennessee are searching for a man who was thrown from an experimental aircraft while he was learning to fly from an instructor.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that police in Collegedale and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on Friday were searching the ground for the man, who has not been identified.

Collegedale Municipal Airport employee Lowell Sterchi said the man was being trained by an instructor in his Zodiac 601 aircraft at about 2,500 feet when the canopy came off.

The man’s seat belt was not fastened and he was thrown out from the plane over the East Brainerd and Apison areas of the county.

Sterchi said the instructor, who Sterchi would not identify, landed the plane and was not physically hurt. Sterchi said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified.

North Korea says it is in a state of war with South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea

North Korea says it has entered “a state of war” with South Korea in the latest of a string of threats that have raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

A statement today by Pyongyang said all matters between the sides will be dealt with in a manner befitting war.

Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to be on a high alert in response to annual U.S-South Korean drills. He warned his forces were ready “to settle accounts with the U.S.” after two American B-2 bombers flew a training mission in South Korea.

South Korea says the latest threat is a follow-up to Kim’s order.

Analysts say a full-scale conflict is suicidal for Pyongyang, and the threats are aimed at drawing Washington into talks.

Hobby Lobby will get full hearing

OKLAHOMA CITY

A federal appeals court has granted Hobby Lobby’s request for the entire court to hear its challenge of a federal requirement that it provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency contraceptives.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced its decision Friday. Appeals are usually decided by a three-judge panel, but a total of nine judges will hear the appeal from the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain.

Hobby Lobby is challenging a requirement in the new federal health care law that says the company must provide and pay for emergency contraceptives. The company says the requirement violates the beliefs of its Christian owners.

The Denver-based court also said it would hear Hobby Lobby’s appeal on an expedited basis, with oral arguments expected this spring.

Associated Press