Briefly . . . NATION/WORLD

SALT LAKE CITY -

A Utah toddler rescued from a car 14 hours after it crashed into a frigid river was released from a hospital yesterday, days after the accident that killed her mother.

Eighteen-month-old Lily Groesbeck was released from Primary Children's Hospital about 4 p.m., a spokeswoman said. Other than a few bruises, the girl is in great condition - playing, talking and reciting nursery rhymes, said father Deven Trafny.

"She should be gone. She shouldn't be here," Trafny, 34, told reporters. "I'm blessed. I'm counting all my blessings right now."

Rescuers found the baby strapped into her car seat, hanging upside down as icy water flowed through the car.

A fisherman spotted the car Saturday, the day after it hit a cement barrier on a bridge and careened into the river in Spanish Fork, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. Police said that even though the road over the bridge gets plenty of traffic, no one saw the wreck because the cement barrier obstructed the view. Police were investigating what caused the crash that killed the girl's mother, Lynn Groesbeck, 25.

SPRAGUE, Wash. -

A 15-year-old boy was arrested yesterday in connection with the attempted kidnapping of a 22-month-old toddler that was caught on surveillance video in this small farming town in eastern Washington.

The teenage boy, who lives in Sprague, was identified through the use of surveillance video, interviews and evidence collection, Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said.

The boy's identity was being withheld because he is a juvenile, Magers said. "Over the past 72 hours deputies and detectives have worked relentlessly on this case."

Detectives started focusing on the arrested suspect in the past 24 hours, Magers said.

"Additional evidence, interviews, DNA collection, and surveillance was conducted," Magers said. "A search warrant was executed at the suspect's residence."

One of the kidnap victim's young siblings also positively identified the suspect, Magers said. The 15-year-old was booked into a juvenile detention facility on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, Magers said. The Lincoln County Prosecutor's Office will make the formal charging decisions.

The case drew wide attention when dramatic surveillance video footage showed a male running down a sidewalk with the toddler in his arms last Sunday.

TUCSON, Ariz. -

Bill Badger was a hero even before he helped save people's lives during the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting in a grocery store parking lot that killed six people and injured 13, including former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

The Army veteran died yesterday morning of pneumonia, according to his wife, Sallie Badger. He was 78.

Badger was shot in the head at a constituent event for Giffords, who was the target of gunman Jared Loughner. But Badger managed to tackle Loughner, helping others hold him down and disarm him before police arrived. Loughner is serving seven consecutive life terms in prison.

Giffords, who lives in Tucson, said she was sad to learn of Badger's passing. "Bill was not only a great man and a proud Army veteran, he was a hero," she said in a statement.

-Daily News wire services