Nation briefs

NORTH CAROLINA

General's sex-assault trial to resume

The case of an Army general accused of sexually assaulting a female captain under his command is set to return to a Fort Bragg courtroom less than a week after proceedings were postponed to allow time for a possible plea agreement. Officials at the North Carolina Army base said the trial of Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair suddenly postponed last week will resume tomorrow. The trial was postponed to give plea negotiations a second chance after emails surfaced showing the base commander, Lt. Gen. James Anderson, may have weighed the broader implications on the Army if he accepted a deal. The military code of justice requires the decision to be based solely on the evidence in the case.

FLORIDA

Charges dropped in hazing death

An attorney for one of the remaining defendants charged in the hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major said yesterday that prosecutors will not pursue charges against his client. Zachary White, the attorney for ex-band member Henry Nesbitt, said the state attorney is dismissing manslaughter and felony hazing charges against Nesbitt, 27, in Robert Champion's November 2011 death following a hazing ritual aboard a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel. Champion -- originally from Decatur, Ga. -- collapsed and died after prosecutors said he walked down the aisle of a bus as other band members beat him with fists and instruments.

OHIO

Goodyear blimp getting upgrades

The next generation of the well-known Goodyear blimp is getting ready to take flight as the company moves toward replacing its old fleet of airships with a new trio. The helium-filled airship, assembled at an Akron-area hangar and unveiled there Friday, is bigger, quicker and more maneuverable than earlier models, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said. The 246-foot airship fits 12 passengers and has a semirigid internal skeleton, a feature that wasn't present in earlier models and raises questions about whether it is truly a blimp, though the company still refers to it as such.