Plane crash kills all 6 on board

FREMONT - A small plane crashed yesterday afternoon in a residential area, killing all six people aboard, including a former lawmaker who had offered rides to visitors after a charity breakfast. Former state representative Gene Damschroder Sr., 86, was piloting the single-engine Cessna when it crashed in Sandusky County, police said. His five passengers also died. No one on the ground was injured, and no buildings were damaged. (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL - Shuttle Discovery astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr. breezed through their third and final spacewalk yesterday, replacing an empty nitrogen gas tank at the international space station. They also collected some dusty debris to learn more about a malfunctioning solar wing joint. (AP)

GALVESTON - Four college students and a safety officer floated for more than a day in choppy seas, sharing four life vests after their sailboat capsized during a regatta on the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said yesterday. The body of a sixth competitor was found aboard the recovered boat. The five rescued were found about 2 a.m. yesterday. (AP)

HUNTSVILLE - A medical helicopter on its way to a Houston hospital crashed in a national forest early yesterday, killing all four people aboard. Rescue crews struggled to find the wreckage in the dense Sam Houston National Forest, about 70 miles north of Houston. The crash of the PHI Air Medical helicopter killed the patient, a flight nurse, a paramedic, and the pilot. (AP)

At its annual meeting this week, the Southern Baptist Convention will consider a 10-year initiative to reverse a sharp decline in membership and baptisms. The number of people baptized fell to the lowest level in 20 years and membership decreased by almost 40,000 last year. The plan includes reaching out to younger people through programs geared to their interests. (Washington Post)

Several states have passed laws during the past five years restricting cellphone use by teen drivers. But in a study being released today, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that teen drivers used their cellphones at about the same rate both before and after North Carolina's 2006 law took effect. (AP)