Nation, world briefs 08/24/15

Louisiana trooper shot in traffic stop

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- A Louisiana state trooper was shot in the head and critically injured Sunday afternoon during a struggle with a man whose pickup truck had run into a ditch after being reported as driving erratically, Louisiana State Police said. Other drivers stopped to help Senior Trooper Steven Vincent, a 13-year state police veteran and member of a law enforcement family, said Col. Michael Edmonson, head of state police. "Thank God for several civilians who pulled over," he said. "They jumped out, they subdued him, grabbed the trooper's handcuffs and put them on the suspect. And they rendered first aid" to Vincent, 43. Edmonson said the arrested man, Kevin Daigle, 54, of Lake Charles, had previous arrests. Sgt. James Anderson, southwest Louisiana spokesman for state police, said Vincent was in critical but stable condition Sunday evening.

Airshow crash toll likely to rise to 11

LONDON -- British police say the death toll from an airshow crash is "highly likely" to increase to 11 people after a fighter jet slammed into a busy main road. The Hawker Hunter single-seater fighter jet, which was participating in the Shoreham Airshow near Brighton in southern England, hit several vehicles on a nearby road as it crashed Saturday afternoon. Witnesses say the jet appeared to have plummeted when it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver. The initial death toll was seven. Assistant chief constable Steve Barry of Sussex Police said officials were removing bodies from the scene Sunday, and more fatalities may be discovered. The pilot remained in critical condition in the hospital, and a crane will remove the jet wreckage today.

Dozens injured in Beirut protests

BEIRUT -- Lebanese riot police battled in the streets of downtown Beirut for a second night Sunday after demonstrators rallied over government corruption and an ongoing trash crisis. The violence wounded at least 44 people and 30 police officers, authorities said. The violence came hours after Prime Minister Tammam Salam hinted he might step down after protests Saturday that injured more than 100 people. The demonstrations, the largest in years to shake Lebanon, seek to upend what protesters see as a corrupt and dysfunctional political system that has no functional Cabinet or parliament, nor a president for more than a year. Protest organizers said they pulled their supporters out of the area after men they described as political thugs began fighting with police, trying to tear down a barbed-wire fence separating crowds from the Lebanese government building.

Man drowns after rescuing children

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A man drowned after jumping into a drainage ditch to rescue his son and another child. The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victim as 50-year-old Anthony C. Cox. The patrol says the children were playing in the Joplin ditch Saturday afternoon when they became caught in rising water. Cox rescued the children before he was swept under and drowned. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

-- From wire reports