OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) – An opium-growing recluse wanted in connection with two murders exchanged gunfire with police in northern California but slipped back away into dense woods where he has hidden out for five weeks, authorities said on Friday.

No one was hurt in Thursday's shootout with Aaron Bassler, 35, near the town of Northspur, located about 150 miles north of San Francisco in the rugged coastal mountains of Mendocino County, said sheriff's department Captain Kurt Smallcomb.

But Bassler, described by his father as mentally ill and living like a virtual hermit, managed to avoid capture again in what was his closest brush with arrest since he went on the run last month.

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LONDON – Authorities say a four-wheel drive vehicle has been abandoned near the summit of one of Britain’s highest mountains — for the second time this month.

Mountain rescuers found the Vauxhall Frontera atop Mount Snowdon in north Wales on Thursday. They say it is the same vehicle that was left there Sept. 3.

Snowdonia National Park Authority chief executive Aneurin Phillips called the act “irresponsible” and “totally unacceptable.”

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LONDON – Harry Potter fans will have to wait a bit longer to buy the magic tales in electronic form.

The creators of the online Potter portal said Friday that the launch of an e-book store has been pushed back to next year.

The seven Harry Potter books had been due to go on sale in October, exclusively through the “Pottermore” website.

The site is a combination of virtual encyclopedia, role-playing game and online community for fans of author J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard.

It launched in July and is so far accessible to 1 million registered users chosen through an online competition.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Protesters who have camped out near Wall Street for two weeks were preparing on Friday to march to police headquarters over what they viewed as excessive force and unfair treatment of minorities and Muslims.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, whose members have vowed to stay through the winter, have been protesting an array of issues including the 2008 bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment.

About 500 people were gathered ahead of the start of the late afternoon march to One Police Plaza, the center of police operations, in downtown Manhattan.

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