Nation briefs

Connecticut

Pilot lands on busway

Authorities say the pilot of a single-engine plane escaped injury after making an emergency landing on a new busway. WFSB-TV reported that the pilot was trying to land at Hartford-Brainard Airport when the aircraft apparently lost engine power. The pilot was the only person on the plane. The plane landed about 3:15 p.m. yesterday on the CTFastrak busway on New Park Avenue in West Hartford. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.

NEW JERSEY

New frog species found

Scientists have discovered a new frog species in southern New Jersey that makes some un-froglike sounds. The Atlantic Coast leopard frog groans and makes coughing noises rather than croaking sounds. The unfamiliar call attracted the notice of wildlife experts several years ago in Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Morris County. They photographed the frog and concluded it wasn't the northern leopard frog or southern leopard frog. The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill reports a Rutgers University-led team recently identified the species in an online scientific journal. Experts say it shows that the state's marshes and swamps are valuable to wildlife, even in urban or suburban areas. The frog has been found along the Delaware River and bay, the Atlantic Ocean coastline, in the Meadowlands and Staten Island.

CALIFORNIA

Rise in bike hit and runs

Hit-and-run collisions between cars and bicyclists have increased 42 percent between 2002 and 2012 in Los Angeles County despite an overall drop in hit-and-run accidents, according to a published report yesterday. More than 5,600 cyclists were injured and at least 36 died in crashes as hit-and-run cases involving pedestrians, bikes and other cars have dropped by nearly one-third, the Los Angeles Times reported. The paper arrived at its numbers by analyzing years of California Highway Patrol crash data.