Nation briefs 12/22/15

New trial date set for William Porter

BALTIMORE -- A judge has scheduled a new trial date after the mistrial of one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray. William Porter's first trial ended in a hung jury last week. His new trial is scheduled to begin June 13. The other five officers will be tried before that, beginning next month. Porter faces manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Gray died April 19, a week after he suffered a broken neck in the back of a police transport wagon. Prosecutors said Porter is partially responsible because he didn't buckle Gray into a seat belt or immediately call for an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed medical attention.

Threats close New Hampshire schools

NASHUA, N.H. -- Police are investigating "detailed" threats to hurt students and teachers that led to the closure of schools in the state's second-largest district Monday. The threats to the Nashua school district were made by email to an administrator Sunday and were specific enough for officials to shut all the public schools. "I regret any difficulties this creates for working parents, but safety must remain our first priority," school superintendent Mark Conrad said in a statement on the district's website. Conrad said the threats were specific to Monday, and he expects schools will reopen today and Wednesday before closing for the Christmas break. He called the threats "detailed" in their description. Some private schools in the southern New Hampshire city also closed Monday, though police said only the two public high schools were mentioned in the threat.

Astronauts make fixes in space walk

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Two American astronauts helped move a stalled rail car back into place outside the International Space Station on Monday, quickly finishing the primary job of an unplanned spacewalk before moving on to other housekeeping tasks. NASA's one-year spaceman, Scott Kelly, and astronaut Timothy Kopra took just a little more than a half-hour to release brake handles on the rail car and help guide it 4 inches back into place. The rail car needed to be moved so a cargo ship filled with nearly 3 tons of food and supplies could dock at the orbiting space lab Wednesday. The rail car is part of the station's mobile transport system, which normally is used to transport people and equipment, including the station's big robot arm.

Teacher told to nix Hello Kitty tree

BANGOR, Maine -- A high-school teacher is complaining she was forced to remove a small, pink Christmas tree festooned with the character Hello Kitty from her classroom. Catherine Gordon is a math teacher at Bangor High School. She wrote on her Facebook page "everything offends everyone all the time," and it "just sucks the joy out of everything." News of the tree's removal took off on social media Monday. Even Republican congressman Bruce Poliquin weighed in, saying the school went too far in ordering the tree's removal. The school superintendent stated culture, traditions and holidays must have an educational component and must be tied to curriculum.

-- From wire reports