Nation in brief: Worker kills co-workers, self

A 25-year-old press operator shot and killed five co-workers and himself at a plastics plant in rural western Kentucky just hours after arguing with his supervisor about not wearing safety goggles and using his cell phone while on the assembly line, police said Wednesday.

Authorities said Wesley N. Higdon, of Henderson, was so riled by the argument with his supervisor that he called his girlfriend and told her that he wanted to kill his boss. The girlfriend didn’t warn anyone, police said, and just two hours later, Higdon argued with another co-worker, then shot and killed his supervisor as they walked outside. Then, he returned and shot at co-workers in a break room and on the plant floor.

Authorities said Higdon was known to keep a .45-caliber pistol in his car, which is not illegal in Kentucky.

Los Angeles

Major morning raid against gang

In a sweeping crackdown on a notorious street gang, more than 500 federal, state and local investigators, including 10 SWAT teams, swarmed northeast Los Angeles before dawn Wednesday to arrest dozens of alleged members of the Avenues gang.

The focus, authorities said, was on the gang’s Drew Street clique, which has kept tenacious control over a Glassell Park neighborhood despite efforts by federal and local law-enforcement agencies over the years.

“This is a major case and a major takedown this morning,” said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

By 8 a.m., authorities had arrested 46 people, 28 of whom are named in the indictment.

“It reads like a crime novel,” said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz of the indictment. “Witness intimidation, drive-by shootings, hate crimes, you name it.”

Washington

House plan would nix tax increase

The House on Wednesday approved a plan to protect more than 20 million families from an expensive levy called the alternative minimum tax while raising taxes on hedge fund managers and oil companies. But the measure has little hope of Senate passage, Senate leaders said.

On a largely party-line vote of 233 to 189, the House voted to prevent the AMT from expanding to ensnare millions of middle-class taxpayers next April, which would add thousands of dollars to their tax bills.