Across the World: United States

Shuttle return delayed

Thunderstorms prevented space shuttle Atlantis and its crew from landing on Friday, leaving them to circle the Earth hoping the weather would improve by the following day.

The news came as no surprise to the seven astronauts, who are wrapping up a successful mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. For days, the weather outlook had been grim. By dawn, all the forecasts proved to be true and there was no hope of improvement.