Russian military calls US missile defense plans a threatMOSCOW (AP) — U.S. missile defense plans are a threat to Russian national security and have slowed down progress on a new arms control treaty with Washington, Russia’s top military officer said Tuesday.Gen. Nikolai Makarov said that a revised U.S. plan to place missiles in Europe undermines Russia’s national defense, rejecting Obama administration promises that the plan is not directed at his country.- – –Convicted killer of Kansas abortion doctor says he has no regretsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The convicted killer of a Kansas abortion provider has little sympathy for the family of his victim, comparing them to the relatives of a hit man in a recording posted online.In his first public comments since his trial for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Scott Roeder also criticized those who sought to keep the issue of abortion out of the proceedings altogether, saying it was like asserting that the trial for abolitionist John Brown was not about slavery.- – – Roanoke man claims Virginia deputies beat him for burpingROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A Roanoke man claims sheriff’s deputies beat him in the city jail because of his burping. Thomas Scott Vandegrift made the allegations in a federal lawsuit filed last week against several deputies, the city, the sheriff’s office and the sheriff. According to the lawsuit, the deputies were annoyed by Vandegrift’s burping, which was caused by acid reflux.Vandegrift was being held at the jail on a drunken driving charge. He pleaded no contest in 2008 and received a six-month suspended sentence, a $750 fine and a year of driving restrictions.- – –Double hand transplant patient leaves Pennsylvania hospitalPITTSBURGH (AP) — The nation’s first double hand transplant recipient left a Pittsburgh hospital after medicine cleared up a rash that signaled he might be rejecting his new hands.University of Pittsburgh Medical Center spokeswoman Amy Dugas says 58-year-old Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., was discharged Monday from UPMC Montefiore hospital.Kepner received the hands at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in May and went home in October. – – –Judge refuses to halt lawsuit against man accused in noose case(AP) — A state judge refused Monday to put the brakes on a lawsuit against a Baton Rouge man accused of putting a hangman’s noose in a black colleague’s work area in 2008.Reginald Drummer sued Reggie Parent in October on the anniversary of Parent’s arrest under Louisiana’s new anti-noose law.Parent’s attorney, Mark Carver, asked District Judge Mike Caldwell to put the civil suit on hold because Parent still has not been formally charged by prosecutors or a grand jury. Carver argued that anything Parent says in the civil proceeding could prejudice him in the pending criminal matter.”He’s caught between … a rock and a hard place,” Carver said.Drummer’s attorney, Lindsey Scott, countered that the criminal charge against Parent is not set for trial and said Drummer should not be forced to wait “indefinitely” on the criminal proceedings.- – –Lawmakers have trouble deciphering Department of Education contracts(AP) — Lawmakers trying to comb through millions of dollars in services contracts in the state Department of Education are having trouble getting a handle on the numbers.Data presented Tuesday showed the education department had entered into more than 6,000 contracts over the last six fiscal years, totaling $894 million. This year’s contracts were listed at $342 million.- – –New Orleans area senator wants ‘Who Dat Nation’ license plate(AP) — A New Orleans area legislator wants to applaud the Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints with a Louisiana license plate.Sen. A.G. Crowe, a Republican from Slidell, says he’s proposing the creation of a specialty license plate to honor the Saints and their “Who Dat Nation” followers. The bill will be considered in the legislative session that begins March 29.- – – -Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]