Golden Gate Bridge net to stop suicides

SAN FRANCISCO - A stainless steel net may soon hang underneath the Golden Gate Bridge to stop people from attempting suicide by jumping off. The board that governs the world-famous bridge voted yesterday after considering several other methods to prevent suicides. Officials estimate the net will cost between $40 million and $50 million. It will require an environmental review and further study before installation. Officials say about 20 people jump from the bridge every year. But 38 people jumped last year, and 19 have jumped so far this year. (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Scientists for the first time were able to predict the arrival of an asteroid before it entered Earth's atmosphere. The asteroid, estimated at 6 to 15 feet in diameter, entered the atmosphere over Sudan on Tuesday morning, providing a brilliant light show in East Africa as it burned up. Scientists said it posed no threat to people on the ground, though some tiny pieces of the object may have reached the Earth's surface. The important thing, scientists said, was not the discovery of the object, but the prediction of its trajectory. (Los Angeles Times)

LOS ANGELES - NASA has decided to press ahead with plans to launch a big new rover to Mars next year. Yesterday's decision comes after concerns were raised about the budget and technical progress for the Mars Science Laboratory. The head of the Mars exploration program at NASA headquarters says the space agency will look at the mission's progress again in January. The Mars Science Lab is a souped-up rover designed to roam the Martian plains and study rocks to determine whether the environment could support microbial life. (AP)

TOMS RIVER - An 88-year-old man fatally shot his ailing, 87-year-old wife in her hospital bed yesterday and was in critical condition after turning the gun on himself, an official said. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy would not say whether the shootings at Community Medical Center appeared to be a mercy killing. The man was wounded in the head. (AP)