Utah man to jail after fight over pew space

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — A 52-year-old man accused of punching another man and hitting him with his car in a dispute over pew space in Utah has been ordered to spend 30 days in jail.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1rD1OLL ) Wayne Dodge was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor assault charge. He was also ordered to complete an anger management class and pay a fine.

Weber County deputies say the fight happened last June at a Mormon meetinghouse during a crowded service that included a baby blessing and a missionary farewell.

Authorities say Dodge sat in a section that another family had saved in hopes of getting a good view of the baby blessing.

Dodge is accused of punching the man after the service, and striking him with his vehicle in the parking lot.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

Society & CultureCrime & Justice

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Illini grad talks to students from space station

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — University of Illinois graduate Mike Hopkins earned cheers from an audience at his alma mater when he spoke via NASA video hookup from the International Space Station.

"University of Illinois, Fighting Illini, I hear you loud and clear, and I'm ready to answer some questions," Hopkins said, standing in front of an Illini flag in the space station on Tuesday.

Hopkins had 10 minutes to answer questions from Illini aerospace engineering students at the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications. He is a 1991 engineering graduate and was co-captain of the Illini football team.

The News-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/17wF8oW ) that Hopkins has spent six months aboard the space station.

Students had to send in their questions ahead of time so Hopkins would be prepared to answer. They asked him about what he does at the space station, living in space and the future of space travel.

"The station is even more amazing than I ever thought it was going to be," Hopkins said.

Hopkins said his favorite thing to do in space is float.

"It doesn't get old, even just in the middle of the work day as you go floating around from one module to another. It's just fun," Hopkins said.

Then he did a flip.

Sophomore Nick Fulton said he would like to be an astronaut and found Hopkins' talk insightful.

"It was interesting to see his viewpoint and to talk to him while he was in space," Fulton said.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com

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