The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is devastating for all of us here. It’s hard to describe how much passion and energy and thought and care has gone into this.”

Dennis Kelly, director at the National Zoo in Washington, after a giant panda cub born a week ago died Article, this page

Won’t quit race, GOP’s Akin says

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Written off by many in his own party a mere month ago, Republican Rep. Todd Akin has been slowly rebuilding his Senate campaign after apologizing for inflammatory remarks about pregnancy and rape.

Tuesday is the deadline for Akin to get a court order to drop his challenge of Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

But Akin says he won’t do so.

Instead, Akin plans to ramp up his campaign. He’s holding a fundraiser today with former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

Then as the drop-out clock ticks down, he’s kicking off a statewide bus tour for his Senate bid.

Akin has apologized repeatedly since a TV interview aired Aug. 19 in which he suggested that women’s bodies have a natural defense against pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.” He has repeatedly rejected calls of top national Republicans - including presidential candidate Mitt Romney - to quit the race so the state GOP committee can appoint a replacement candidate.

Washington nabs 6 youth escapees

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - Six teenage boys escaped from a juvenile detention center in Washington state after knocking out a female staff member, but all were captured a few hours later in nearby woods, authorities said.

The King County sheriff’s office said it received word of the escape at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday from Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie, about 25 miles east of Seattle.

“They basically attacked the staff member, knocked her out, took her keys and fled,” spokesman Sgt. Cindi West said. The teens left the woman unconscious and locked in a room at the facility, she said.

The six males, three 14-year-olds and three 15-yearolds, were serving time for offenses including assault, possession of firearms and burglary, West said.

All were caught by 2 a.m.

Sunday after a helicopter crew using thermal imaging equipment spotted them in woods near the center, West said.

Paper: Space firm bought Texas land

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - SpaceX bought land in South Texas where the space tourism company is considering building a rocket launch facility, ramping up speculation that the company has chosen Texas over Florida and Puerto Rico for the project’s home, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Brownsville Herald found that SpaceX purchased at least three lots in Cameron County under the name Dogleg Park LLC. The company did not respond to the newspaper’s requests to comment on the land purchases.

Brownsville officials emphasized that the purchases do not mean that SpaceX has made a decision. “But it is a good sign,” said Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, the county’s top elected official.

In June, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said the site near Brownsville was the leading candidate to become home to the company’s latest spaceport.

The location would be about three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border and about five miles south of South Padre Island.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 09/24/2012

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