Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 14, 2007

Popular baby hippo dies in attack by dad

Niles, a baby hippo that was one of the most popular attractions at the Zoo of Northwest Florida has been killed by her father, the Pensacola News Journal reports. The 18-month old hippopotamus suffered a crushed rib and a punctured lung after a suspected attack by her father, Kiboko, late last week. Her necropsy, the animal equivalent of an autopsy, showed a 3-inch-deep puncture wound on the left side of her chest and another wound on her rear. A zookeeper found Niles during a morning feeding last weekend.

Corrections

- Circuit Judge Marion L. Fleming recently presided over a hearing about whether a Pinellas foster child's case should be handled by authorities in Wisconsin, where the girl has been since her mother's arrest there on a murder charge. A headline Thursday incorrectly stated the nature of the hearing and where the girl was living.

- Tangela Murph, a daughter of St. Petersburg shooting fatality Amuel Murph, owns Reader's Choice Books and Gift Expressions in St. Petersburg. A story on Friday incorrectly described her ownership status.

FIFTH TOUR UNFAIR, RESERVIST ARGUES

Army Reserve Sgt. Erik Botta thinks he's done his duty. He has been sent to Iraq three times and to Afghanistan once. Now he's asking a court to stop the military from deploying him a fifth time, the Associated Press reports. He's not against the war, he said; he just doesn't want to go. Botta, 26, a Port St. Lucie resident, contends the Army's deployment "constitutes unlawful custody" and that it would hinder his academic pursuits. He works full time and attends college. The Army contends that its reserve units typically deploy for about 12 consecutive months, and that Botta has served only 10 months in nonconsecutive tours. Unless a judge intervenes, he will be deployed Sunday to Fort Jackson, near Columbia, S.C.

Epilogue, obituaries

Michael Gannon loved skydiving. He was known to jump five times in a weekend. Now, after death, he'll have one last jump. The thrill-seeker's son and friends will scatter his ashes as they dive 12,000 feet. 6-7B

[Last modified July 13, 2007, 23:55:20]