In brief: Police commander was decapitated

Austin, Texas – A Mexican police commander investigating the reported shooting of an American tourist on a border lake was decapitated and his head was found in a suitcase outside a Mexican Army base, a Texas sheriff said Tuesday.

The victim was identified as Rolando Flores, the commander of state investigators in Ciudad Miguel Aleman who was part of a group investigating the reported shooting of David Hartley.

Cartels have used beheadings to terrorize the public and send messages to Mexican law enforcement. U.S. officials have said threats from drug gangs who control the area around Falcon Lake have hampered the search for Hartley.

City to improve gas line system

San Bruno, Calif. – Pacific Gas & Electric officials on Tuesday announced a series of measures aimed at upgrading and improving the safety of the company’s gas transmission system in the wake of a gas line explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people.

In addition to replacing vulnerable pipeline in high-density areas, the plan calls for installation of automated and remote-controlled gas shut-off valves. It took utility workers 1 hour and 46 minutes to shut a manual valve after the Sept. 9 explosion in San Bruno, when a massive transmission line failed, fueling a fireball that destroyed 37 homes.

Worker swept through sewer

Raymore, Mo. – A worker who descended into a city sewage system on Tuesday became unhooked from his safety line and was pushed through a 27-inch-wide pipe for over a mile before his calls for help were heard and he was rescued.

Daniel Collins, of Collins, Mo., was listed in critical condition Tuesday night.

South Metropolitan Fire District Chief Randy Adams said Collins was being treated for hypothermia and had been administered antibiotics because he may have swallowed sewage.