California

Rover rollout onto Mars delayed

NASA scientists said Sunday they had decided to keep the Spirit rover on its lander for an extra day, putting off its rollout onto the Martian landscape until at least late Wednesday.

NASA adjusted the robot’s schedule based on analysis of photos and data it sent back, they said, and added that another daylong delay was possible. That’s not unusual given the complex nature of the mission, they said.

“We adjust (and plan) every day to manage risks and resources,” Arthur Amador, a mission manager, said at a news conference.

Cables holding the middle set of the rover’s wheels had been cut, leaving it attached to the lander by a single cord that is to be severed late today. Spirit’s robotic arm was unstowed and swung up in front of the rover in its driving position.

Boston

Archbishop urges gay marriage ban

Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley urged Catholic lawyers on Sunday to oppose gay marriage, saying the institution of marriage and the family were under assault and attorneys need to help protect them.

“The social cost of the breakdown of family life has already been enormous,” O’Malley said at the annual Red Mass, which is dedicated to judges, lawyers and others in the legal system.

He didn’t give specifics on what the lawyers could do to protect marriage and the family.

But later, in an interview, he said: “We hope that they will use their profession and their understanding of the law to defend marriage. They’re in a better position than any of us to understand what needs to be done to correct a very complicated situation that the court has put us in.”

Panama

U.S. seeks extradition of Colombian drug lord

Panamanian police have captured a top Colombian drug kingpin believed responsible for “huge volumes” of narcotics entering the United States, and U.S. officials said Sunday they would seek his extradition.

Panamanian officials early Saturday reported the capture of Arcangel de Jesus Henao Montoya in a remote part of southern Panama.

U.S. officials said Sunday they would seek the extradition of Henao Montoya, believed to be a top leader of the Norte de Valle drug cartel, which operates out of the city of Cali in southwestern Colombia.

“The United States has requested his extradition, and is actively working with Panamanian and Colombian authorities on the issue,” said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Detroit

Group will seek affirmative action ban

A group headed by a state legislator is working to put an initiative on next fall’s ballot that would keep Michigan’s college and universities from selecting students based in part on race.

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative officially kicks off its petition drive today. The idea for the petition drive came about after the Supreme Court in June upheld a general affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Michigan law school.

Besides race, the initiative would prevent gender, ethnicity or national origin from playing a role in admissions policies as well as in local and state government.

Organizers need to get 317,757 valid signatures by July 6 to put the proposed state constitutional amendment before voters in November.