NATION/WORLD BRIEFS
Trump signs ‘right to try’ drug measure for terminal patients
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday to give terminally ill patients the ability to access experimental drugs that have not won approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
The “right to try” measure will let patients who have exhausted other options access drugs in early stages of FDA review.
Trump has frequently noted his support for the idea, most recently during his State of the Union address in January.
Texas governor unveils school safety plan following shooting
DALLAS – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday recommended dozens of strategies to make schools safer in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Houston-area high school, including increasing the presence of law officers.
The Republican and gun-rights supporter released a 43-page report that also included suggesting more mental health screening for students.
“We all share a common bond: And that is we want action to prevent another shooting like what happened at Santa Fe High School,” Abbott said.
Trump taps VA chief of staff to run agency on acting basis
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump named the chief of staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs to lead the agency on an acting basis Wednesday while the president’s nominee awaits Senate confirmation.
The White House said Trump had designated Peter O’Rourke to serve as acting VA secretary, effective Tuesday. Trump picked acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie for permanent secretary earlier this month.
Wilkie cannot run the agency on an acting basis while he awaits Senate confirmation. The VA is the government’s second-largest agency with 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.
Trump again says he wishes he hadn’t appointed Sessions
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said again Wednesday that he wishes he had not appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
In a series of tweets, Trump quoted Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., as expressing sympathy for the president’s frustration at Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign.
Citing Gowdy’s comment that “there are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!” Trump added: “And I wish I did!”
Trump’s tweets came after The New York Times reported special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Trump’s efforts to get Sessions to change his mind about the recusal.
More evacuations advised as Hawaii lava approaches
HONOLULU – Fast-moving lava is flowing to another part of a rural Big Island district where Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is erupting, officials said Wednesday in advising those residents to evacuate.
Lava continues to advance toward subdivisions such as Vacationland were being advised to evacuate, the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency said.
Lava crossed a highway that connects the commercial center with smaller towns and farms in the area, authorities said Tuesday. Hawaii County officials said lava destroyed the local electric utility’s equipment on the highway, which knocked out power to Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots neighborhoods toward the coast.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said vigorous eruption continues from the series of vents.
Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers say cease-fire reached with Israel
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Gaza’s Hamas rulers said Wednesday they had agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to end the largest flare-up of violence between the two sides since a 2014 war.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said militant groups in Gaza will commit to the cease-fire as long as Israel does.
Israeli Cabinet Minister Arieh Deri told Israel’s Army Radio that he expected calm to be restored.