Nation briefs 3/15/06

Shuttle launch pushed back from May to July

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA on Tuesday pushed back the launch of space shuttle Discovery from May until at least July because of a faulty fuel tank sensor. NASA said it needs the time to open up the spacecraft's hydrogen fuel tank and replace the sensor, which gave an electrical current reading that was slightly off. The space agency plans to replace the three other sensors in the tank, too, to be safe.

Dam in Hawaii bursts; seven people missing

HONOLULU -- A dam on the Hawaiian island of Kauai apparently failed Tuesday, sending torrents of water gushing from a reservoir to the Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard said. Seven people were reported missing. Coast Guard spokesman Michael De Nyse said the dam burst was reported around midmorning. It has rained heavily across Kauai in the past few days. A Coast Guard helicopter was on the scene looking for the missing people. There was no warning about the dam's strength or the amount of water in the reservoir behind it, Morita said. Kauai is the westernmost of Hawaii's main islands.

Wallace will no longer be a regular on '60 Minutes'

NEW YORK -- Mike Wallace, the hard-driving reporter often seen as the symbol of CBS' "60 Minutes," said Tuesday he will stop being a regular correspondent for the show. Wallace, 87, was careful not to say he's fully retiring and CBS News president Sean McManus referred to him as a "correspondent emeritus." But it is clear an era is coming to a close at television's leading newsmagazine, which Wallace joined at its start in September, 1968. "I've often replied, when asked, 'I'll retire when my toes turn up,'" Wallace said. "Well, they're just beginning to curl a trifle, which means that, as I approach my 88th birthday, it's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren't quite what they used to be."

S. Korean prime minister resigns over golf scandal

SEOUL, South Korea -- President Roh Moo-hyun accepted the resignation of his prime minister Tuesday after the premier set off a scandal by playing golf during a national railway strike. Lee Hae-chan came under pressure to leave after his golf outing on a March 1 national holiday that coincided with the start of the walkout. His departure was delayed while Roh was on a trip to Africa, but he offered to step down Tuesday when the president returned. Roh accepted Lee's resignation after ruling party leaders urged him to defuse the scandal ahead of local elections in May.

European court throws out suit filed by Saddam

STRASBOURG, France -- Europe's human rights court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by Saddam Hussein against 21 European countries whose troops joined the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq, saying the case fell outside its jurisdiction. Saddam said his arrest, detention and subsequent handover to Iraqi authorities and the ongoing trial in Baghdad breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The former Iraqi president said coalition forces had violated his right to life, liberty and security, and several other articles of Europe's human rights convention.

-- From wire reports