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Veterans are key as surge of states OK medical pot for PTSD

NEW YORK (AP) — When New York decided to let post-traumatic stress disorder patients use medical marijuana, it joined a fast-rising tide of states.

Twenty-eight states plus the District of Columbia now cover PTSD as part of their medical marijuana programs. The tally has more than doubled in the last two years.

It’s happened amid increasingly visible advocacy from veterans’ groups, including the 2.2-million-member American Legion. It’s pressing the federal government to let Department of Veterans Affairs doctors recommend medical marijuana where it’s legal.

But others, including the 82,000-member Vietnam Veterans of America, have qualms about advocating for medical marijuana as a treatment for PTSD. Pot is illegal under federal law and doesn’t boast extensive, conclusive medical research.

Report shows Takata recall still moving slowly

DETROIT (AP) — A new report issued Friday says auto companies have replaced only 57 percent of potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators, even though recalls have been underway for more than 15 years.

The report by an independent monitor appointed to keep tabs on the recalls also says that auto companies are only about halfway toward a Dec. 31 goal of 100 percent replacement of older and more dangerous inflators.

Takata air bags can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least 19 people have been killed worldwide and more than 180 injured.

Nineteen automakers in the U.S. will have to recall up to 69 million inflators in 42 million vehicles.

The monitor’s report says that of the 43.1 million inflators recalled so far, 24.6 million have been replaced.

Homeland official resigns after report of racial remarks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the Homeland Security Department’s office of faith-based partnerships has resigned following a CNN report on racially inflammatory remarks he made before joining the federal government.

Rev. Jamie Johnson was appointed in April to lead DHS’ Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, which works with churches and community organizations on disaster response.

CNN reported that before his appointment, Johnson was a fixture in Iowa Republican politics and often appeared on conservative talk radio.

In one clip posted by CNN, Johnson said, “America’s black community … has turned America’s major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity.”

In a statement Thursday announcing Johnson’s resignation, DHS acting press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton says such remarks “clearly do not reflect the values of DHS and the administration.”

 

National Toy Hall of Fame to induct Class of 2017

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A new group of toys is set to be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York, where they will have a permanent place alongside previous honorees including the dollhouse, jump rope and Radio Flyer wagon.

The hall located inside The Strong museum in Rochester will announce the Class of 2017 on Thursday.

The annual inductees are chosen on the advice of historians and educators following a process that begins with nominations from the public.

To make the hall of fame, toys must have inspired creative play across generations.

This year’s finalists are: the board games Risk and Clue, the Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, the paper airplane, PEZ candy dispenser, play food, sand, Transformers, the card game Uno and Wiffle ball.

FEMA: Disaster relief now costing $200 million each day

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the U.S. is spending more than $200 million each day on the response to three major hurricanes and huge wildfires.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long told a Senate oversight committee Tuesday the challenge presented by hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria is unprecedented in the history of his agency. He also noted costs from the recent wild fires in California, which Long called the worst devastation he has ever seen.

Long thanked the legislators for the $52 billion in emergency relief allocated so far, but said recovering from the recent spate of disasters will be tremendously expensive.

Long said he also needs additional legal authority from Congress to build the power grid in Puerto Rico back better than it was before.

Inmates pleads guilty to threatening to kill president

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A federal prison inmate in Florida who previously received five years for threatening to kill then-President Barack Obama and others has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill President Donald Trump.

Court records show 42-year-old Richard Jeremy Ware pleaded guilty Wednesday to making threats against the president. He faces up to five more years in federal prison.

Guards at a federal prison in central Florida say they intercepted the threatening letter Ware had tried to send out this past March. Ware was nearing the end of his sentence and confirmed the letter was his.

In November 2011, court records show Ware mailed a letter threatening to kill Obama, then-first lady Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and George Bush. Ware also threatened to sexually assault the Obamas’ two daughters.

Gunman opens fire on Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting in Las Vegas (all times local):

9:10 a.m.

Authorities say a woman who was a companion of the Las Vegas shooter is considered a person of interest and is out of the country.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo didn’t release further details Monday about the woman but said authorities would try to speak with her when she got back to the United States.

Authorities have yet to identify a motive for the shooting that killed 58 people at an outdoor country music concert but say they believe 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock acted alone.

He killed himself after carrying out the deadliest mas shooting in U.S. history.

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9 a.m.

Authorities in Nevada praised the response to a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert by police and health care workers.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said at a news conference Monday that he visited some of the victims in the hospital and that, “We’re angry, we’re grieving, we’re confused, people are hurting.”

Sandoval called the shooting that killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others Sunday night a cowardly, despicable act.

He and other local officials praised first responders, saying they saved scores of lives.

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8:50 a.m.

The FBI says the shooter who killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others at a Las Vegas concert had no connection to an international terrorist group.

The announcement from Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse at a news conference Monday comes after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack without providing evidence.

The extremist group claimed that the shooter was “a soldier” who had converted to Islam months ago. It has made exaggerated or false claims in the past.

Authorities have yet to identify a motive for the shooting but say they believe 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock acted alone. He killed himself after the shooting.

___

8:44 a.m.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo says the death toll from the Las Vegas shooting has risen to 58, with 515 people injured. A gunman opened fire on a Las Vegas country music festival Sunday night.

The gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock killed himself after the shooting. Police have yet to determine a motive.

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11:02 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he will travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

He spoke Monday morning, hours after the shooting at a country music festival late Sunday killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 400. It is the worst mass shooting in American history.

Trump said the nation must stay unified. He said that although “feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that binds us today and always will.”

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10: 54 a.m.

President Donald Trump is calling the mass shooting attack in Las Vegas “an act of pure evil.”

Trump says the nation is joined together today in sadness, shock and grief.

Trump is addressing the attack on a country music festival Sunday night that left at least 50 people dead and more than 400 injured.

Trump tweeted his “warmest condolences and sympathies” earlier Monday morning.

The gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock killed himself after the shooting. Police have yet to determine a motive.

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7:11 a.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump will speak at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time about the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Trump’s remarks were added to his schedule Monday morning. He tweeted his “warmest condolences and sympathies” earlier in the morning.

The president was briefed on the shooting at a country music concert, which left at least 50 people dead and more than 400 injured Sunday night.

The gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock killed himself after the shooting. Police have not yet determined a motive.

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6:55 a.m.

Las Vegas authorities are calling for blood donations and setting up a hotline to report missing people in the wake of a mass shooting that injured more than 400 people and killed 50 at a country music concert Sunday night.

Las Vegas police said Monday that it will take time to identify all of the injured and dead in what was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The number to report missing people is (866) 535-5654. Police have also opened a “family reunification center” for people to find loved ones at 400 S. Martin L. King Blvd., in Building B.

Las Vegas police say anyone who wants to help can give blood at one of two locations in Las Vegas and nearby Henderson. A blood drive is also being planned.

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6:30 a.m.

The brother of the man who killed at least 50 people at an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip says he’s “completely dumbfounded” by the shooting, which is the deadliest in modern U.S. history.

In a brief interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Eric Paddock says he can’t understand what happened. He also said he’s made a statement to police.

Country music star Jason Aldean was performing Sunday night at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival when the gunman opened fire from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock killed himself after the shooting. Police have not yet determined a motive.

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6:30 a.m.

Pope Francis is calling the Las Vegas shooting a “senseless tragedy” and is assuring victims of his prayers.

The Vatican secretary of state sent a telegram of condolences Monday to the bishop of Las Vegas, saying the pope was “deeply saddened” to learn of the shooting.

The telegram said Francis praised the efforts of police and emergency crews.

In the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, a gunman opened fire on an outdoor concert, killing at least 50 people and injuring more than 400 others.

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6:07 a.m.

Las Vegas police say more than 400 people were hospitalized in a mass shooting at a country music concert.

Police said Monday morning that the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock was found dead in a hotel room with as many as 10 firearms.

Authorities say that 406 people were taken to hospitals and 50 of those are dead, including an off-duty Las Vegas police officer. His name was not immediately released.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says Paddock first checked into the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel on Sept. 28 and was found dead inside a hotel room.

Two on-duty officers were also hurt. One of those has been upgraded from critical to stable condition.

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5:55 a.m.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department says there is no “specific credible threat” involving other public venues in the U.S. after the Las Vegas shooting that killed at least 50 people.

The gunman, identified by police as Stephen Paddock died at the scene. Police said he fired from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip casino onto an outdoor country music festival Sunday night. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

In Washington, A Homeland Security spokesman, David Lapan, tweeted Monday the department has “no information to indicate a specific credible threat involving other public venues in the country.”

Police have not yet determined a motive in the shootings.

5:45 a.m.

Heavily armed police are searching the Nevada retirement-community home of a man authorities say killed more than 50 people when he opened fire at a country-music concert in Las Vegas.

Mesquite Police Chief Troy Tanner says police surrounded and entered the single-family home where 64-year-old Stephen Paddock lived with 62-year-old Marilou Danley early Monday morning.

He says Danley was not at the house and police saw “no movement” inside before serving a search warrant at the one-story, three-bedroom home in the Sun City Mesquite retirement community, about 80 miles north of Las Vegas.

Tanner says detectives from Las Vegas and North Las Vegas were at the scene in the resort community of Mesquite, located near the Arizona state line.

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5:20 a.m.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department says two of its off-duty members were shot during the attack at a Las Vegas concert.

Authorities say both were taken to the hospital, where one remains in critical condition and the other was in stable condition.

Officials did not immediately release their names.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Strip.

Authorities have identified the suspected gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock. Paddock died after police confronted him Sunday on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel tower on the Las Vegas Strip.

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5:15 a.m.

Las Vegas police say they’ve determined that a woman they were seeking is no longer considered a “person of interest” in the deadly mass shooting at a country music festival.

Police say they don’t believe 62-year-old Marilou Danley was involved in the Sunday night shooting that killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200.

Police initially said they were seeking the woman who may have been the roommate of the shooter.

The gunman has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.

Paddock died after police confronted him Sunday on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel tower on the Las Vegas Strip.

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4:40 a.m.

Authorities say the on-duty police officer who was wounded at the deadly Las Vegas concert attack is out of surgery and in stable condition.

The unnamed officer was one of two on-duty Las Vegas police officers wounded Sunday night. The other sustained minor injuries.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says at least 50 people — including two off-duty officers — were killed and more than 200 people were wounded at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Strip.

Authorities have identified the suspected gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.

___

4:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is extending condolences to the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas and their families.

In a tweet Monday, Trump offered “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “briefed on the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.”

Sanders said that “we are monitoring the situation closely.”

A gunman’s attack on the Sunday night country music concert killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200.

___

3:30 a.m.

A Nevada sheriff says the death toll has climbed to 50 in the attack on a Las Vegas concert Sunday, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says more than 200 people were wounded at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Strip.

Authorities have identified the suspected gunman as Nevada resident Stephen Paddock.

Lombardo says officers confronted Paddock on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the concert. Paddock is dead.

Authorities say they have located 62-year-old Marilou Danley, who was wanted as a person of interest in this incident.

The dead gunman is also believed to have checked in as a hotel guest.

___

2 a.m.

A Nevada sheriff says one on-duty officer is in critical condition and another was wounded in the Las Vegas concert shooting that left more than 20 people dead.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says two off-duty officers have died.

Several officers from California were attending the outdoor Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on Sunday when a gunman opened fire. A Bakersfield Police officer was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Authorities have not released any of their identities.

More than 100 people were injured.

Lombardo says the suspect is dead.

The sheriff says they believe this was a “lone wolf” attack but said they are looking for a roommate of the dead suspect as a person of interest.

___

1:55 a.m.

Country music star Jason Aldean took to social media to say he and his crew are safe after a gunman killed more than 20 people at an outdoor concert Sunday.

Aldean was in the middle of his performance when the bullets rained down on the crowd. He posted on Instagram hours later, calling the shooting “beyond horrific.”

Las Vegas authorities say more than 100 people are wounded in the attack.

Clark County’s sheriff says officers confronted the suspect on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Authorities say the man is dead. They did not release the suspect’s name but said he is a local resident.

___

1:40 a.m.

Las Vegas authorities say more than 20 people are dead and 100 people are wounded after a man opened fire on an outdoor concert late Sunday.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says officers confronted the suspect on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Authorities say the man is dead. They did not release the suspect’s name but said he is a local resident.

Several officers from the Bakersfield Police Department were attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on Sunday when a gunman opened fire. One was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Authorities did not release his name.

Lombardo said they believe this was a “lone wolf” attack but said they are looking for a roommate of the dead suspect as a person of interest

___

1:13 a.m.

A Southern California police department says one of its off-duty officers was shot during the attack on a Las Vegas concert.

Several officers from the Bakersfield Police Department were attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on Sunday when a gunman opened fire. One was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Authorities did not release his name.

Two people are dead and dozens wounded after someone opened fire on an outdoor country music festival across the street from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down’ but did not give any other details.

___

1 a.m.

Some flights have resumed at the Las Vegas airport after all planes were temporarily grounded due to the deadly shooting on the Strip.

McCarran International Airport says limited flight activity has resumed early Monday.

Two people are dead and dozens wounded after someone opened fire late Sunday on an outdoor country music festival.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down’ but did not give any other details.

University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital after the incident.

___

12:50 a.m.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down’ after a deadly shooting Sunday at an outdoor concert and authorities don’t believe there are any more shooters.

Two people are dead and dozens more wounded after a gunman opened fire during Jason Aldean’sperformance at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival.

Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

McCarran International Airport officials say all flights in and out have been temporarily halted.

___

12:30 a.m.

All planes have been grounded at the Las Vegas airport after the deadly shooting at an outdoor concert on the Strip.

McCarran International Airport says all flights in and out have been temporarily halted in response to the shooting.

Two people are dead and dozens wounded after someone opened fire late Sunday on a music festival.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down’ but did not give any other details.

University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital after the incident.

___

12:15 a.m.

A concert-goer says he heard what sounded like fireworks while he was watching Jason Aldean’sperformance at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Sunday night.

Thirty-six-year-old Kodiak Yazzie said the music stopped temporarily and started up again before another round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage.

As the 40,000 fans in the crowd began to flee, Yazzie took cover and said he saw flashes of light coming from the Mandalay Bay hotel tower high above.

The bursts of pops would start and stop for more than five minutes. He says he saw dozens of ambulances as he ran for safety. He later got a Lyft driver to take him home to suburban Henderson.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down.’

A hospital spokeswoman says two people are dead and dozens wounded.

___

12:05 a.m.

Las Vegas police say one suspect is ‘down’ after shooting at country music festival that has left two people dead and dozens wounded.

University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital.

Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

Some flights destined for the McCarran International Airport were diverted due to incident.

___

11:55 p.m.

A Las Vegas hospital says at least two people are dead and dozens wounded after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said 26 people were admitted to the hospital. She says, of those, at least two have died, 12 are in critical condition and the rest are being evaluated.

Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

___

11:45 p.m.

Concert-goers reported seeing muzzle flashes from the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival and the sound of what they described as automatic gun fire.

Witnesses say they saw multiple victims Sunday night as they fled the gunfire raining down on the concert venue.

Some later huddled in the basement of the nearby Tropicana hotel-casino.

___

11 p.m.

Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Dozens of patrol vehicles descended on the Strip after authorities received reports of an active shooter near the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Some officers took cover behind their vehicles while others carrying assault rifles ran into the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said the Las Vegas hospital is taking in “several” people with gunshot wounds. She didn’t have any other immediate information.

Authorities shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and Interstate 15.

Some flights destined for the McCarran International Airport were diverted due to incident.

Witnesses say country singer Jason Aldean was playing near the end of the concert when gunfire rang out.

No further information was immediately known.

Authorities investigate death of man at Burning Man festival

Authorities are investigating the death of a man who died of his injuries a few hours after he rushed past layers of security officers into a massive fire at the Burning Man festival’s signature ceremony.

Late Saturday night, Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, broke through a two-layer security perimeter during the Man Burn event in which a giant, wooden effigy is set ablaze.

Nevada’s Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen estimated that there was a crowd of about 50,000 people who were present when the festival’s crew of firefighters pulled Mitchell out of the blaze.

He was airlifted to the UC Davis hospital burn center in California, where he died Sunday morning. The sheriff said doctors confirmed Mitchell wasn’t under the influence of alcohol, but a toxicology report is pending.

Danger not over yet: Harvey evacuees face mold, gas leaks

HOUSTON (AP) — The danger isn’t over yet for Harvey evacuees who are returning to flood-ravaged homes where they face the threat of mold, spoiled food, gas leaks and downed power lines.

While some residents of the still-flooded western part of Houston may not be able to return home for days, others are starting a massive cleanup and dragging sodden debris to the curbside. Keeping them safe is a concern of health officials who hope to reach them through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

U.S. Health and Human Services Department spokeswoman Joni Geels says some evacuees have been able to keep their phones charged at charging stations in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. She says cellular “service has been really good,” which has helped with communicating safety advice.

Governors of 2 pot states push back on Trump administration

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Governors in at least two states that have legalized recreational marijuana are pushing back against the Trump administration and defending their efforts to regulate the industry.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week, asking the Department of Justice to maintain the Obama administration’s more hands-off enforcement approach to states that have legalized the drug. Marijuana is still banned at the federal level.

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee also sent a letter to Sessions this week, saying the attorney general made claims about the situation in Washington that is “outdated, incorrect, or based on incomplete information.”

Since taking office, Sessions has promised to reconsider pot policy, providing a level of uncertainty for states that have legalized the drug.

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