The nation in brief

Man, 34, charged in death of girl, 13

LUMBERTON, N.C. -- Police have arrested and charged a man with killing a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped last month from a North Carolina mobile home park.

The FBI said Saturday that Michael McLellan has been charged in the kidnapping and slaying of Hania Noelia Aguilar. The announcement came the same day that a memorial service for Aguilar was scheduled at a local high school.

The 34-year-old McLellan faces first-degree murder, rape and eight other felony charges. He'd been released from prison in June and was still on parole from a 2017 felony breaking-and-entering conviction, according to the News & Observer of Raleigh.

Astronauts receive Christmas dinner

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A SpaceX delivery full of Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, after a slight delay caused by a communication drop-out.

The Dragon capsule pulled up at the orbiting lab three days after launching from Cape Canaveral. Commander Alexander Gerst used the space station's robotic arm to grab the cargo carrier, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Pacific.

It took two tries to get the Dragon close enough for capture.

NASA called off the Dragon's first approach because of trouble with the communication network that serves the space station.

The second attempt was a success after NASA switched to another satellite.

The Dragon holds everything the station's astronauts need for Christmas dinner, as well as mice and worms for science experiments and more than 5,000 pounds of station equipment.

Tuskegee Airman dies at 100 in NYC

NEW YORK -- A New York City man who served as an aircraft technician during World War II with the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen died Saturday at age 100.

Police say a home health aide found Wilfred DeFour unconscious and unresponsive inside his Harlem apartment at about 9 a.m.

DeFour was pronounced dead by Emergency Medical Service workers. Police say he appears to have died from natural causes but the medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy.

DeFour was honored last month at a ceremony to rename a Manhattan post office after the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces, which were racially segregated until after the war.

According to Return of the Red Tails, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the memory of the Tuskegee Airmen, DeFour painted the red tails on the planes that gave the squadron its nickname.

A Section on 12/09/2018

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