Nation briefs

KANSASAppeal in airman's HIV case

The highest court for the U.S. armed forces has agreed to hear the appeal of a Kansas airman convicted of assault for exposing multiple sex partners to HIV at swinger parties in Wichita, his attorney said. David Gutierrez was a sergeant serving at McConnell Air Force base when he was sentenced in 2011 to eight years in prison and stripped of his rank in an aggravated assault case. The defense on appeal has won a rare opportunity to present before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces an argument that attorney Kevin McDermott says could set a precedent across the military. "It will set the table for the entire military services as to what kind of evidence is necessary to find that someone can cause grievous bodily injury after testing positive for HIV," he said.

LOUISIANAPastor killed during sermon

A pastor was fatally shot as he preached to a crowd of 65, including his wife, during a revival service and a suspect was arrested. The shooting about 8:20 p.m. Friday was at Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center in Lake Charles. Deputies had no information on a motive. The gunman walked into the church while Ronald J. Harris was preaching and shot him, then hit him again when Harris fell to the floor. Woodrow Karey, 53, of Lake Charles called the sheriff's office to surrender and was charged with second-degree murder and held on $1 million bond.

COLORADOAstronaut, 88, has a stroke

Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit Earth, is recovering from a stroke last week. Patty Carpenter said her husband had been moved to a rehabilitation center. Scott Carpenter, 88, is remembered for his radio call "Godspeed, John Glenn," when Friendship 7 lifted off and Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962. Carpenter was Glenn's backup pilot for that flight. Three months later, Carpenter became the second American in orbit.