Police: At least 1 person being held hostage by gunman in Discovery TV building in Md.

Police in a Washington, D.C., suburb say a gunman has taken at least one person hostage at the headquarters of Discovery Communications.

Montgomery County fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says three bomb technicians responded to the scene in Silver Spring, Md., and several more are on their way.

Photo: Regular Sunday lunch patrons were just arriving at Midtown Sundries in Denver and hearing of the shooting that took place just hours before.

DENVER, NC - A man was shot and later died at Midtown Sundries in Denver early Sunday morning around 2:00 a.m. according to witnesses.

From what little details are known at this time, two male patrons of the bar and restaurant got into a scuffle when one man began shooting and ultimately mortally wounded the other man.

Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival Deputies found the victim lying in the parking lot.

Richard Miles, a 22-year-old Denver resident, was the victim of an apparent gunshot wound.

LINCOLNTON - Authorities including the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating a meth lab on Startown Road.

Citizens have reported seeing helicopters as well as a number of law enforcement vehicles in the area 2905 Startown Road and Emergency Management's mobile command center was called to the location as well.

More news as it becomes available.

LINCOLN COUNTY - The Lincoln County Sheriff"s Office, working with the SBI, has made an arrest in the Denver fire/homicide. John Paul Gaddy of 1145 Oakbrook Lane, the neighbor of the victim, was taken into custody and charged with 1st Degree Murder.

He is currently in the Lincoln County Jail.

Gaddy is described as a 23-year-old white male.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - Rescuers are searching Lake Norman at this hour reportedly for two boys, one 17 and an 11 year-old.

The search began after 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon after the two boys disappeared in Lake Norman and did not resurface according to firefighters with the East Lincoln Fire Department on the scene.

The boys were last seen near Kings Point Marina.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLNTON/CROUSE - A mysterious fire that took the life of a man yesterday west of Lincolnton is now being investigated as a homicide according to sources in law enforcement.

North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is working to determine whether the fire was intentionally set.

Though they have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim, authorities believe the body to be that of 67-year-old Dan Mullinax, who owned the junkyard

More as this story develops.

(Photo: Police tape and vehicles surround the scene of a fire and possible homicide at a junkyard on highway 150, west of Lincolnton. Photo by Melany Dawn Crouse.)

STAFF REPORTS

HICKORY, NC - Friendship Baptist Church, located at 340 1st Street SW in Hickory, is reportedly the scene of a structure (roof) collapse just after Noon on Sunday.

Emergency personnel have responded and area hospitals are receiving patients but it is unclear at this time how many people may have been involved in the collapse.

Story updated here.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLN COUNTY - Heavy thunderstorms, hail and lightning are entering eastern Lincoln County at this time.

There have been two reports of tornadic like activity in the eastern part of the county and one report of a 15-year-old being struck by lightning.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLNTON - First a report of gunshots and then reports of two men being rushed to area hospitals have Lincolnton emergency crews working hard on Wednesday night.

Lincolnton Police and Fire were dispatched around 10:30 p.m. to 148 Lantern Ridge Drive to gunshots and a report of five men leaving the scene in an SUV.

More information as it is made available.

LINCOLN COUNTY - A tornado watch has been issued for Lincoln and surrounding counties until 11 p.m. tonight.

STAFF REPORTS

DENVER, NC - A U.S. Postal worker was the victim of an attempted car jacking today around 1:30 p.m. in Denver, NC.

The incident occurred in the 1000 block of Gamecock Lane.

According to the victim, a man dressed completely in black and wearing a ski mask attempted to carjack her vehicle and told the lady that he had a gun.

The suspect fled the scene on foot.

LINCOLN COUNTY - Lincoln County Schools will be closing at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Snow has started to lay on the ground in the city of Lincolnton as seen here in a photo sent to the Lincoln Tribune by Angela Hoyle of Helms Security in Lincolnton.

STAFF REPORTS

BALTIMORE, MD - Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig died on Saturday morning from complications associated with an infection according to published reports.

Haig was 85 and served Republican presidents in various capacities over the years including Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan.

LINCOLNTON, NC – In a bomb shell that has all of Lincoln County talking today at lunch, prosecutors dismissed charges against Lincoln County Sheriff Tim Daugherty this morning.

Daugherty was to go on trial today for two felony counts of obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to another officer.

Attorneys for the prosecution had asked for a continuance on Monday morning claiming that they had new evidence that just surfaced over the past few days.

The judge denied the motion at which point prosecutors in the case said they would have to dismiss the charges.

The State Bureau of Investigation reported Daugherty gave conflicting statements and evidence about learning his former chief deputy helped a local doctor avoid a DWI charge in 2007.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - Lincoln County Schools will be closing due to inclement weather at 10:30 a.m. today.

FLORIDA - An unidentified woman has been taken from Tiger Woods' mansion in Florida early this morning to a local hospital by ambulance and is reported to be on "advanced life support" according to a local television station.

No other information on the woman has been released.

The woman who was on a stretcher as emergency workers took her into the hospital appeared to be blonde.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLNTON - With 8 of 8 precincts reporting, it appears that first time Republican candidate and businessman John Gilleland has done something that no other Republican has ever done.

Gilleland has defeated incumbent Democrat Mayor David Black with 58% of the vote compared to Black's 41%.

Republicans also took a seat on the City Council with Republican Tim Shain also soundly defeating Democrat Fred Houser.

(Photo by M. Dawn Crouse.)

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - A grand jury in Lincolnton has indicted Sheriff Tim Daugherty today on two counts of Felony Obstruction of Justice.

Daugherty was also charged on one misdemeanor count of a false report to police.

He was released on an $8,000 unsecured bond.

He was arrested by SBI officers.

Yonhap news agency says that North Korea has fired two short-range missiles off its east coast.

Yonhap quoted an unidentified South Korean government official as saying that the North test-fired the missiles on Monday afternoon.

Authorities say a main terminal of LaGuardia Airport in New York City has been evacuated and a police bomb squad has arrested a man and is searching his bag.

John Kelly, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, say the airport's main terminal building was evacuated shortly after 5:30 a.m. Saturday. He didn't know how many passengers were there at the time.

By Jason Saine

LINCOLNTON - Lincoln County Sheriff's Office chief deputy Barry Taylor has been indicted by the District Attorney's office according to Tribune news partner WSOC-TV.

The indictment came Monday afternoon by a Lincoln County Grand Jury. The charge is obstruction of justice with regards to a DWI arrest in 2007.

Taylor allegedly assisted a Lincolnton doctor in avoiding DWI charges after the doctor was arrested in Denver by Sgt. Steve Dombrowski in 2007.

District Attorney Rick Shaffer will hold a press conference at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning and will give more details.

File photo of Chief Deputy Barry Taylor.

CHARLOTTE - Beatties Ford Road is closed due to an auto accident.

The road is shut down between the Long Creek fire station and McClure Avenue after a deadly crash.

If you have plans to travel down this road this morning, you may want to take alternate route.

The serial killer who terrorized a South Carolina community by shooting five people to death before police killed him Monday was a career criminal paroled just two months ago, authorities said.

Patrick Burris, 41, was shot to death by officers investigating a burglary complaint at a home in Gastonia, N.C., 30 miles from where the killing spree started June 27. Bullets in his gun matched those that killed residents in and around Gaffney over six days last week, said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd.

Investigators did not have an address for Burris. While evidence left no doubt he was the killer, they still had no idea why he did it.

Gaston County Police Officers Shoot Killer; Man Incarcerated in Lincoln County for Driving While License was revoked

GASTON COUNTY - The man that South Carolina law enforcement officials have identified as the “serial killer” that recently went on a killing spree in Gaffney is dead after a gun fight with Gaston County Police.

The man has been identified as Patrick Tracy Burris and is responsible for the deaths of five people in Gaffney, S.C.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has released information that the man had lived on Chambers Lane in Vale, which is in Western Lincoln County.

Los Angeles - Fox News is reporting that pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles from a heart attack.

More news as it becomes available.