DALLAS - A MAN suspected in a series of rush hour shootings near Dallas is a former Utah state trooper wanted on burglary and robbery warrants who apparently shot himself after a standoff with police, authorities said on Tuesday.

Brian Smith, 37, killed at least one of the victims of Monday's shootings, Dallas police Lt Craig Miller said. Investigators tied Smith to a killing in Dallas because by matching the bullets found at the standoff, he said.

WASHINGTON - WHATEVER the Obamas name their presidential dog, odds are they might make somebody in the British Isles quite happy.

The Dublin-based bookmaker Paddy Power, whose company is known for placing odds on enterprising and often weird subject matter, said on Tuesday more than 1,000 bettors have laid money on names for the so-far-nonexistent 'mutt' the US president-elect promised his daughters as a White House-warming gift.

EL MONTE (California) - A CAMOUFLAGED gunman has been killed during a standoff with police that began when he snatched a boy off the sidewalk and held him hostage in a suburban Los Angeles restaurant.

Sheriff's officials say the man was declared dead on Tuesday night at the El Monte restaurant following gunshots. The 6-year-old boy was hit in the leg and transported to a hospital in critical but stable condition.