NATIONAL BRIEFS

MISSISSIPPI: Gay mayoral candidate slain

A man was charged with murder Thursday in the death of a mayoral candidate, whose body was found near a levee in the Mississippi Delta. The Coahoma County Sheriff's Department said Lawrence Reed, 22, of Shelby was charged in the death of Marco McMillian, 34, running for mayor of Clarksdale. Campaign spokesman Jarod Keith said McMillian may have been the first openly gay man to be a viable candidate for public office in Mississippi. McMillian's sport utility vehicle slammed head-on into Reed's car Tuesday. Reed was driving, but McMillian was not in his car, authorities said. His body was found the next day.

ARKANSAS: Toughest anti-abortion law

Arkansas became the eighth state Thursday to enact a near-ban on abortions starting in the 20th week of pregnancy, and next week it could outlaw most procedures from the 12th week onward, giving it the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The Republican-led Senate voted along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of a bill barring most abortions starting in the 20th week of pregnancy.

WEST VIRGINIA: CEO named in mine trial

The chief executive at the time of the deadly mine explosion was implicated by a former longtime subordinate Thursday of ordering a widespread corporate practice of warning coal miners about surprise federal inspections. The allegation by a former president of a Massey Energy subsidiary came as he pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges. Former White Buck Coal Co. president David Hughart, asked if such warnings were company policy and, if so, who ordered it, said, "the chief executive officer." Don Blankenship was chief executive at the time.

NEVADA: Vegas suspect found in L.A.

A self-described pimp was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles, ending a weeklong manhunt after a shooting and spectacular crash killed three people on the Vegas Strip. Ammar Harris, 26, surrendered to a fugitive apprehension team that found him in Studio City.