A veteran rescue swimmer has been charged with desertion after he went missing for three months and triggered a massive search, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Matthews faces three other charges including being absent without leave, wrongful use and possession of a controlled substance, and causing the Coast Guard to conduct a search when there was no need, said Chief Warrant Officer Gene Maestas, a Coast Guard spokesman. An Article 32 hearing — the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing — will be held to determine if there’s enough evidence for Matthews to be tried in a court-martial.

The financially beleaguered Postal Service backpedaled on its plan to end Saturday mail delivery, conceding Wednesday that its gamble to compel congressional approval had failed.

With limited options for saving money, the governing board said the agency should reopen negotiations with unions to lower labor costs and consider raising mail prices.

Some Texas applicants for welfare would be subjected to drug testing and would be permanently cut off if they fail three times under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Senate.

The bill covers Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program applicants. The program, which provides poor people with money for food, clothing, housing and other basic needs, distributes about $90 million to 100,000 Texans annually.

A lockdown this morning at Waco’s Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center has been lifted, allowing business to return to normal.

Shortly after 10 a.m. this morning, Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco went on lockdown in response to a threatening phone call. The hospital, which is located at 100 Hillcrest Medical Blvd., has been given the all-clear.