Threats

Washington needs to provide more security for the country if it wants Warsaw to host a U.S. missile defense base, the Polish defense minister said in published remarks. Bogdan Klich, who will meet in the United States with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, said a base would expose Poland to new threats, chiefly from terrorists. He said it would be "very difficult" to persuade Poles to support the program without more security measures. Washington has proposed the base as part of an international system it says will protect the U.S. and Europe from threats from what it calls rogue states, such as Iran.

Residents of an upscale retirement community near here knew Douglas Hoffman was upset that trees were blocking his backyard view of the Strip. But at a hearing Monday, where Hoffman was sentenced to up to five years in prison for killing more than 500 trees, a prosecutor said the retired construction worker had threatened to unleash "chemical, biological, nuclear mass destruction" because of it.

Mailings of a suspicious white powder to 10 Church of Scientology addresses prompted the evacuation of dozens of people and the closure of a major thoroughfare Wednesday as hazmat teams were called to examine the packages. The letters were sent via the Postal Service to Scientology properties in Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica, Glendale and Tustin.

The rap artist known as The Game pleaded no contest Monday to a felony firearm charge for allegedly pointing a gun at another player during a pickup basketball game last year in South Los Angeles. Deputy Dist. Atty. Tien Pham said the artist, born Jayceon Terrell Taylor, 28, was sentenced to 60 days in county jail, three years probation and 150 hours of community service. Taylor -- who is scheduled to surrender to authorities in the next week -- pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in a school zone.

The leader of Hezbollah told thousands of mourners Thursday that his Shiite Muslim militant organization would strike Israel to avenge the assassination of one of its most elusive top commanders. Israel has denied orchestrating the car bomb attack that killed Imad Mughniyah on Tuesday in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

President Hugo Chavez said Venezuela was not preparing to cut off oil shipments to the United States. The socialist leader rattled oil markets a week earlier when he threatened to halt shipments to the United States in retaliation for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s success in convincing courts in the U.S. and Europe to freeze Venezuelan assets. "We don't have plans to stop sending oil to the United States," Chavez said during a visit to heavy-oil projects in the petroleum-rich Orinoco River basin that were nationalized last year.

St. Peter's College locked down its campus for several hours after the discovery of a note that referred to killing students and the shootings at Virginia Tech. The lockdown ended after a room-by-room police search of the roughly 3,000-student campus turned up nothing dangerous, school spokeswoman Lorraine McConnell said. Campus security became aware of the handwritten note, taped in the stairwell of an administration and classroom building, McConnell said. Within two minutes, the college sent students e-mail and cellphone text message alerts, using a system set up after April's massacre at Virginia Tech, where a gunman killed 32 people before killing himself.

More than half the student body was absent Friday at Savanna High School, where a cryptic note in the campus newspaper raised fears of a potential violent act. Of the school's 2,200 students, more than 1,400 did not show up for classes, district officials said. The note was among 150 messages printed in the "Love Gram" section of the school paper last week. It read: "To Metal Destroyer Militia. Remember guys -- We all go down 2/22!! Let's quit stalling!! Much Love! 666! All the way baby!"

More than half the students were absent Friday at an Anaheim high school where a cryptic note in the campus newspaper raised fears of a potential violent act. Of the 2,200 students at Savanna High, more than 1,400 failed to show up for classes, district officials said. Absences at the school are usually only a fraction of that, said Pat Karlak, a spokeswoman with the Anaheim Union High School District. "The scare did have an impact," she said. "No doubt about it." Supt.

Charles Madrid has been struggling with anger management issues for years. The 50-year-old radio technician from Pacoima has been known to lose his temper over everything from dirty dishes in the kitchen sink to the war in Iraq. His mother says he's harmless. But after a recent outburst in which he allegedly threatened to kill President Bush, the U.S. Secret Service isn't so sure. Madrid was arrested last week and is being held in a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles.