NATIONAL BRIEFS

WEST VIRGINIA: Former mine official charged

Federal prosecutors investigating the coal mine explosion that killed 29 men are working their way up the corporate ladder with criminal charges. Wednesday, the former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine became the highest-ranking company official charged in the 2010 disaster, and is apparently cooperating with prosecutors, who said the investigation is far from over. May, 43, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the government, accused among other things of disabling a methane gas monitor, falsifying records and using code words to tip off miners underground about surprise inspections. He could get up to five years in prison if found guilty.

TEXAS: Life for abduction, torture

A man who kidnapped his former neighbor and tortured her while holding her captive nearly two weeks was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison. Allan Maxwell, 59, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. After abducting Lois Pearson, 63, last March, he drove her 100 miles away to his Corsicana home, 50 miles south of Dallas. She was rescued when authorities went to question him about her disappearance after her house near Weatherford, 70 miles west of Dallas, burned down. With the trial over, Pearson said she wanted her identity revealed to share her story of survival.

CONNECTICUT: 2 hospital supervisors shot

Police say a hospital employee shot and wounded two supervisors Wednesday over a disciplinary issue. New Britain Police Chief John Gagliardi said Victor Valcarcel Sr., 65, was arrested at his home a mile from the hospital. The two victims were in serious but stable condition at a hospital in Hartford. The shootings took place late in the afternoon at the Hospital for Special Care, a private nonprofit facility specializing in rehabilitation and long-term acute care. A spokeswoman said Valcarcel is a maintenance worker at the hospital.