Midday Roundup: Chris Christie rescues children, rankles PETA

Spidey spin. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—hero to children and PETA’s new evil nemesis. Christie incurred the wrath of the animal rights group over the weekend after he posted a video of himself squashing a spider on his desk during a visit to his office by a group of schoolchildren, who cheered their support for his bravery. “He probably did it without thinking,” said Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. ”Some people put the spider outside, but spiders are often scary to people, and that can prevent them from pondering their worth.” But Christie’s in good company, at least from PETA’s perspective. In 2011, the group accused President Barack Obama of “executive insect execution” after he swatted a fly during a televised interview.

Out on bail. Prosecutors have agreed to release one of the suspects accused of lying to investigators about alleged Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Robel Phillipos will be able to leave jail with an electronic monitoring device, as long as he agrees to stay in his home. Phillipos, 19, must also post $100,000 in bail money to gain his limited freedom. Federal agents arrested Phillipos and two of Tsarnaev’s other friends after learning the men, all students at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, removed a backpack and laptop from Tsarnaev’s room. The friends took the items after they realized Tsarnaev was a suspect in the attack at the Boston Marathon. Three people died and hundreds were injured in the bombing. According to reports, the men said they suspected Tsarnaev was guilty but helped him anyway.

Soccer ref dies. A soccer referee punched in the face by a 17-year-old player died Saturday. Ricardo Portillo, 46, suffered serious internal head injuries after the teen hit him during a recreational league game in Taylorsville, Utah. He remained in critical condition for seven days. The teen, whose name has not been released, remains in juvenile detention. He faces charges of aggravated assault, but those likely will be upgraded after Portillo’s death. The ref made the player mad after giving him a yellow card, which signifies a warning before being thrown out during a game.

Nerves of steel. Strolling on the moon for the first time was no big deal for astronaut Neil Armstrong. The electrocardiogram (EKG) NASA took at the precise moment Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the lunar surface showed no evidence of an elevated heartbeat. A New Hampshire auction house will auction the EKG, which was signed by Armstrong after his 1969 adven