NATION NEWS BRIEFS

TEXAS / Officials: Gunman killed at base

Officials say a person opened fire at a small grocery store on Fort Bliss, injuring two people before being killed by responding officers. Col. Joseph A. Simonelli Jr. declined to discuss the victims' conditions or other details of Monday's shooting at the West Texas Army post. Simonelli says the area was roped off for an FBI investigation, but the sprawling facility next to El Paso never was under lockdown. Simonelli says the shooting was reported about 3 p.m. and authorities responded in about three minutes. He says the post's emergency notification system worked well. A post spokesman says the victims were taken to nearby William Beaumont Army Medical Center.

MISSOURI / Trial begins in group-home fire

Prosecutors say the former owner of a Missouri group home where 11 people died in a fire was running the business from prison and after his release despite a federal ban on his involvement. Robert DuPont and his wife LaVerne went on trial Monday on charges of health care fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. They are accused of owning and operating group homes despite Robert DuPont's felony conviction for Medicaid fraud. Their holdings included the Anderson Guest House, where faulty wiring caused the deadly 2006 fire.

CALIFORNIA / Toyota settlement could be sealed

A California judge says he's inclined to keep confidential a settlement between Toyota and the relatives of four people killed when a driver was unable to stop a runaway Lexus. Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr said Monday he would probably sign such an order. An attorney for the dealership that loaned the Lexus objected, because Toyota's settlement, announced Saturday, doesn't cover claims against the dealership. The 2009 crash killed off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, their daughter and Saylor's brother-in-law. Toyota subsequently recalled millions of cars to replace floor mats it said could cause the accelerator to jam.

FLORIDA / Discovery's final trip to launchpad

Space shuttle Discovery is headed to the launchpad for the last time. NASA moved Discovery out of its hangar last night. The 3 1/2-mile trip to the pad was bittersweet for the space agency, which has only two shuttle missions remaining. Discovery is set to lift off Nov. 1 for the International Space Station. Endeavour will follow in February to wrap up 30 years of shuttle flight. Several hundred contract employees will lose their jobs Oct. 1 in a wave of layoffs. NASA's future is uncertain because of disagreement in Washington over the next rocket ships.