Delaware

Prison inmate shot after taking hostage

An inmate who took a woman hostage at a state prison was shot and killed by a sharpshooter Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The sharpshooter, a member of a Corrections Department emergency-response team, fatally shot the inmate after seeing that “the hostage was in imminent danger,” department spokeswoman Beth Welch said.

The hostage has been taken to a nearby hospital, Welch said. It was not known whether the hostage was injured.

The inmate, Scott A. Miller, 45, was believed armed with a knife. He took the woman hostage in midmorning at the Delaware Correctional Center.

Dallas

Tougher cholesterol standards advocated

People who have had a heart attack should lower their “bad cholesterol” to rock-bottom levels, according to new guidelines issued Monday.

“The concept here is that lower is better with respect to cholesterol,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who is among those who have studied the issue. “It’ll be hard to get there, but we do have aggressive drugs.”

Heart patients in need of drastic measures can use statin drugs — including Lipitor — in higher doses.

The new guideline is lowering so-called bad cholesterol, LDL, to 70. The previous guideline was 100.