Nation IN BRIEF : LOUISIANA : Japanese Teen-Ager Murder Trial Starts

A Japanese exchange student fatally shot by a Baton Rouge, La., homeowner who had ordered him to “freeze” spoke only spotty English, a witness testified at the opening of a trial. Rodney Peairs, 31, is on trial for shooting 16-year-old Yoshi Hattori after the boy knocked on Peairs’ door while looking for a Halloween party last October. Peairs has said he thought the boy was an intruder. In opening statements, defense attorney Lewis Unglesby said Hattori was only two steps away and ignored an order to freeze when he was fatally shot. But prosecutors said Hattori had already left Peairs’ property when the homeowner came out of his house with a gun.