SpaceX supply ship arrives with goods

SpaceX supply ship arrives with goods

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.

A shipment of much-needed groceries and belated Christmas presents finally arrived Monday morning at the International Space Station.

The SpaceX company’s supply ship, Dragon, pulled up at the orbiting lab two days after its liftoff from Florida. Station commander Butch Wilmore used a robot arm to grab the capsule and its 5,000 pounds of cargo, as the craft soared more than 260 miles above the Mediterranean.

The space station’s six astronauts were getting low on supplies. That’s because the previous supply ship — owned by another company — was destroyed in an October launch explosion.

Paul Ryan won’t run for president in ’16

WASHINGTON

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan announced Monday that he will not run for president in 2016, instead focusing on his work as chairman of a powerful tax-writing committee in Congress.

Ryan, of Wisconsin, was the Republican candidate for vice president in 2012. There had been much speculation about his ambitions for 2016.

Ryan’s announcement comes as his former running mate, Mitt Romney, is reaching out to former staff and supporters in key states, signaling interest in a third run for president.

US: Cuba completes 53 prisoners’ release

HAVANA

Cuba has completed the release of 53 political prisoners that was part of last month’s historic deal with the United States, the Obama administration said Monday. The move clears a major hurdle for the normalization of ties between the two countries after more than five decades of estrangement.

The prisoners had been on a list of opposition figures whose release was sought as part of the U.S. agreement last month with the Cuban government. They had been cited by various human rights organizations as being imprisoned by the Cuban government for exercising internationally protected freedoms or for their promotion of political and social reforms in Cuba.

69 die after drinking contaminated beer

MAPUTO, Mozambique

When a crocodile is killed, the bile of the animal must be immediately removed and buried in front of witnesses to prove that it has not fallen into the wrong hands, to be used as poison, according to some African traditions.

The deadly greenish-brown liquid, produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, is now believed to have been put into traditional beer that killed 69 people who drank it at a funeral Saturday in Mozambique’s northeast Tete province, health authorities said.

District health official Alex Albertini said poisoning by crocodile bile was common in the area, in an interview with Radio Mozambique.

Police have no leads yet and are investigating the incident.

Trucker charged with dumping urine

DUNMORE, Pa.

A New York trucker is facing a disorderly conduct charge after state police say he dumped urine onto Interstate 81 in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The Times-Tribune reported that 51-year-old Vinny Fotiadis was pulled over Sunday in Dunmore and made the purported pour in view of a trooper while on the shoulder.

State police say Fotiadis sat in the cab of his truck and poured a large amount of the liquid from a container.

Information on the Newburgh, New York, man’s lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

Associated Press