Man with explosives found at Texas airport

MIDLAND, Texas -- A man was detained yesterday after trying to go through a security checkpoint at a Texas airport with explosives in military-grade wrapping, federal and local officials said.

The man was stopped at a security checkpoint at the Midland International Airport about 9 a.m. and taken into custody by the FBI, they said.

Midland police Sgt. Brian Rackow told the Midland Reporter-Telegram and Odessa American newspapers that the man identified himself to officials as an active member of the military. He and his family had been visiting relatives and were on their way to his base in North Carolina, Rackow said.

An American Airlines spokesman said the man had a reservation on the airliner's Flight 3283 at 9:45 a.m. to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

A Transportation Security Administration officer spotted a suspicious item in a carry-on bag during X-ray screening, TSA said. The checkpoint was shut for about an hour.-- AP