NATIONAL BRIEFS

MISSISSIPPI: Fugitive shoots himself

A manhunt for a fugitive accused of a double-slaying and a kidnapping ended Thursday evening when the suspect apparently shot himself and died. The girls he fled with were safe, police said. Adam Mayes, 35, was found near New Albany, Miss. When authorities went to arrest him, he shot himself in the head, said Guntown Police Chief Michael Hall. Alexandra Bain, 12, and Kyliyah Bain, 8, were taken to a hospital for observation. Mayes had been charged with first-degree murder in the April 27 deaths of Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her daughter, Adrienne, 14. Mayes' wife, Teresa, also is charged with first-degree murder. She told investigators he killed the mother and daughter at their Whiteville, Tenn., home so he could abduct the two young sisters, according to court documents. Teresa Mayes told investigators that she drove him, the younger girls and the bodies to Mississippi, according to affidavits filed in court. Mayes' mother-in-law, Josie Tate, told The Associated Press that Mayes thought the missing sisters might actually be his daughters.

ARIZONA: U.S. sues tough sheriff

Get-tough Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a federal court showdown over charges that deputies on his trademark immigration patrols racially profiled Latinos in violation of civil rights law. "I am not going to surrender my office to the federal government," a visibly angry Arpaio said at an afternoon news conference. "I will fight this to the bitter end."

FLORIDA: Band director steps down

Julian White, longtime director of Florida A&M University's famed marching band announced his retirement Thursday, while the chancellor of the state university system, Frank Brogan, urged the university to keep the band suspended while investigations of a drum major's death continue. Eleven band members face felony hazing charges stemming from Robert Champion's death in November.