World/Nation

Pentagon struggles with retaliation in sexual assault cases

WASHINGTON - It's not against the law or military regulations to choose not to sit with someone in the dining hall or to unfriend them on Facebook, but in the traumatic aftermath of a sexual assault, a victim could interpret those moves as retaliation.

In these days when a tweet or Instagram photo can be wielded as weapons, the Pentagon is struggling to define retaliation and rein in bullying or other behavior that victims perceive as vengeful. At the same time, military leaders are expanding efforts to better train their lower- and midlevel commanders to detect and deal with retaliation, while also insuring that other, more innocent actions are not misinterpreted by assault victims.

On Friday, the Pentagon released a deeper analysis of the sexual assault survey data made public last December. That report acknowledges the difficulties in gathering data about retaliation, including problems with how some of the survey questions may have been misinterpreted and that incidents of retaliation may have been over counted.

It's a thorny problem for the military, in the aftermath of a RAND study that concluded that about 60 percent of sexual assault victims believe they have faced retaliation from commanders or peers. Members of Congress are demanding swift steps to protect whistle-blowers, including sexual assault victims who have been wronged as a result of their reports or complaints.

Pentagon leaders said the survey questions need to reflect what legally constitutes retaliation, which includes taking action to discourage someone from going forward with an assault complaint. But they also acknowledged that often victims believe they are being retaliated against if peers no longer invite them to parties or if they are disciplined for illegal drug or alcohol use in connection with the assault.

SpaceX mile-high escape test will feature 'Buster' the dummy

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX is just days away from shooting up a crew capsule to test a launch escape system designed to save astronauts' lives.

Buster, the dummy, is already strapped in for Wednesday's nearly mile-high ride from Cape Canaveral, Florida. He'll be alone as the mock-up capsule is fired from a ground test stand and soars out over the Atlantic, then parachutes down.

SpaceX is working to get astronauts launched from Cape Canaveral again, as is Boeing. NASA hired the two companies to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station to reduce its reliance on Russian rockets.

"It's our first big test on the crew Dragon," SpaceX's Hans Koenigsmann, vice president for mission assurance, told reporters Friday.

The California-based SpaceX is aiming for a manned flight as early as 2017. It's already hauling groceries and other supplies to the space station via Dragon capsules; souped-up crew Dragons will be big enough to carry four or five - and possibly as many as seven - astronauts.

NASA is insisting on a reliable launch abort system for crews - something its space shuttles lacked - in case of an emergency. That's one of the hard lessons learned from the now retired, 30-year shuttle program, said Jon Cowart, a manager in NASA's commercial crew program.

The 1986 Challenger accident occurred during liftoff, the 2003 Columbia disaster during re-entry. There was no way to escape, and each time, seven astronauts died.

Former allies of Gov. Christie charged in bridge scandal

NEWARK, N.J. - Federal prosecutors brought charges Friday against three former allies of Gov. Chris Christie - but not Christie himself - in the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal, apparently easing the legal threat that has hung over his 2016 White House ambitions for more than a year.

One of those charged, David Wildstein, a former high-ranking official at the transportation agency that operates the bridge, pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors, saying he and the other defendants engineered huge traffic jams to get even with a local politician.

Christie was not implicated in court or in the indictments.

"Based on the evidence currently available to us, we're not going to charge anyone else in this scheme," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said at a news conference.

The Republican governor claimed vindication.

Officials say Nepal still urgently needs shelter, food

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Nearly a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 6,200 people and collapsed buildings, temples and homes, Nepal still urgently needs basic aid like shelter and food, while remote villages remain cut off from help.

Aid workers still face "immense logistical challenges," U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Friday, noting that the scale of the devastation in Nepal would be an obstacle for any government.

The U.N. has estimated the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck April 25 affected 8.1 million people - more than a fourth of Nepal's population of 27.8 million.

In Kathmandu, rescue workers in orange jumpsuits continued to search through collapsed buildings, but fewer tents were standing in a central part of the capital that had been packed with people in the first few days. Some residents who had been fearful of aftershocks have left the city or moved elsewhere.

The government announced it was giving the equivalent of $1,000 to families of each person killed and another $400 for funeral costs, state-run Nepal Radio said Friday.

Saudi-Yemen border clash kills 3 Saudi soldiers, Yemeni rebels

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Yemen's Shiite rebels attacked Saudi border posts, sparking fierce fighting overnight that killed three Saudi troops and dozens of rebels, the kingdom said. Saudi-led airstrikes continued to bomb rebel positions inside Yemen on Friday, including a strike in the capital, Sanaa, that killed at least 20 civilians.

The attack late Thursday by the rebels, known as Houthis, was the most dramatic border incident since Saudi Arabia launched an intense campaign of airstrikes against the rebels just over a month ago. It also brought to 11 the number of Saudi soldiers killed so far in border skirmishes during the air campaign.

The U.N. said at least 550 civilians have been killed so in the war, whether from airstrikes or ground fighting.

- The Associated Press