Texas gunman kills 2 deputies, injures 1

Payne Springs, Texas

A gunman fatally shot two deputies and wounded another before he was shot Thursday, authorities said.

The Henderson County sheriff's deputies were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance near Payne Springs in East Texas, sheriff's Lt. Pat McWilliams said. Paul Steven Habelt, 63, and Tony Price Ogburn, 61, were killed, and Kevin Harris, 40, was injured.

The gunman, Randall W. Mays, 47, was shot in the elbow and the side and was taken to a hospital, where he was in fair condition, McWilliams said. The injured deputy had surgery for a broken leg.

Camden, N.J.

Plot suspect loses bid for house arrest

A man charged with helping five others plot a terrorist attack on Fort Dix will not be freed on bail, a judge ruled Thursday.

Agron Abdullahu, 24, had asked U.S. Magistrate Joel Schneider to be released from custody into house arrest. But prosecutors successfully argued he was likely to flee and was a serious risk to the community's safety.

Abdullahu, a legal U.S. resident, is charged with helping illegal immigrants obtain weapons, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Harleyville, S.C.

2 new arrests; search continues

Authorities arrested two more men as they searched for a constable whose empty cruiser was found in flames, police said Thursday.

The constable, Robert Lee Bailey, disappeared Monday night while patrolling the small community of Lincolnville, about 20 miles northwest of Charleston. His hat and gun were found in a yard, and his torched cruiser was discovered behind a church off nearby Interstate 26.

Wednesday evening, a group of children found Bailey's badge and handcuffs case wrapped in a wad of burned rags in Harleyville, about 20 miles up the interstate, authorities said.

The two men in custody were arrested on unrelated charges, but they are associates of Walter Fayall III, who is considered a "person of interest" in Bailey's disappearance, said Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon. Fayall, 24, was arrested in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday on federal weapons charges. No charges had been filed Thursday related to Bailey's disappearance.

Los Angeles

Pipe in luggage raises airport alarm

A terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was partially evacuated Thursday when an item found in luggage triggered a security alert. The object turned out to be a sprinkler pipe.

The item, in a checked bag, prompted the closure of a departure area, ticket counter and stores in the upper level of Terminal One about 11:30 a.m., airport authorities said. Dozens of people were sent outside to the sidewalk while a bomb squad was called and a 300-foot perimeter was set up around the screening machine.

Eventually, the owner of the luggage was located and turned out to be a managing partner in a sprinkler company, airport spokesman Marshall Lowe said.

Seattle Times news services