NATIONAL BRIEFS

NORTH CAROLINA: Edwards sex tape submitted

A former aide to John Edwards turned over the now-infamous sex tape to a judge Wednesday, then faced tough questions from attorneys for the ex-presidential candidate's mistress who were frustrated with his changing story about where the tapes had been kept. On top of that, Andrew Young said Elizabeth Edwards has threatened to sue him for "alienation of affection" for contributing to the downfall of their marriage. Young's attorneys turned over several items to be placed under seal, including an original videotape marked "special" that purportedly shows John Edwards in a sexual encounter with mistress Rielle Hunter. Young struggled to answer why he said last week that the only copies of the tape he had access to were in an Atlanta lockbox.

OHIO: Vet kills shelter director, is slain

An Air Force veteran who was told to move out of a Cleveland homeless shelter because he had been uncooperative about attending counseling fatally attacked the center's director Wednesday, authorities said, then was shot to death by police when he charged at them with a knife and ax. Officers said they found Raymond Ice standing over the body of shelter director Rita Ciofani, 59, holding the weapons. He ignored orders to drop them and was Tasered and shot, police said.

FLORIDA: Endeavour's problems in space

NASA is taking a close look at two new problems on space shuttle Endeavour. A round ceramic spacer near one of the cockpit windows is sticking out. And a thermal tile repair made before the flight has failed, and the original crack is back, right over the cockpit. Mission management team leader LeRoy Cain said Wednesday that neither problem appears serious. The good news was that Endeavour's heat shield looks to be in overall good shape. The shuttle arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday.

Environmental rescue suspended

Military divers are being pulled off a project to clean up an artificial reef off the coast of Florida that turned into an environmental disaster. A Pentagon official said the crews are being stretched too thin by two wars and helping repair port facilities in Haiti. The divers have spent three summers pulling up thousands of tires a mile off the beach at Fort Lauderdale. Hundreds of thousands were sunk there in 1972 in hope they would turn into a coral reef. Nothing grew and the scattered tires damaged real coral reefs.