Moderates push bills on immigration

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers with moderate views on immigration defied party leaders and took steps toward forcing election-year House votes on the issue, and a leader of the group said they had enough support to succeed.

The legislators want the House to vote on four bills including a bipartisan compromise, a conservative proposal and a liberal plan. Many of them face competitive re-election races in districts with large numbers of Hispanic, suburban or other voters with pro-immigration views.

With the bipartisan compromise considered likeliest to prevail, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has opposed permitting the votes and has said he doesn’t want votes on immigration legislation that President Donald Trump won’t sign.

But under the little-used procedure, if 218 House members — a majority of the chamber’s full membership — sign a so-called discharge petition, Mr. Ryan could not prevent a vote. The group filed the petition Wednesday and began collecting signatures.

Volcano fears heighten

PAHOA, Hawaii — Geologists warned that Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could erupt explosively and send boulders, rocks and ash into the air around its summit in the coming weeks.

The risk will rise as lava drains from the summit crater down the flank of the volcano, and explosions could occur if the lava drops below the groundwater level, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It has destroyed 36 structures since it began releasing lava into fissures that opened in a Big Island neighborhood about 25 miles from the summit crater. There are now 14 of the fissures spread through Leilani Estates.

E. coli outbreak worsens

The nationwide food poisoning outbreak from E. coli-tainted romaine lettuce has spread to 29 states and sickened 149 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

That is an increase of 28 people and four states — Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas — since the CDC update May 2.

This strain of E. coli produces a toxin that causes vomiting and diarrhea and potentially other severe symptoms, including in some cases kidney failure. Of 129 people, 64, or 50 percent, have been hospitalized, including 17 people who developed severe kidney failure. One death from California has been reported.

California leads the nation with 30 cases, followed by Pennsylvania with 20, and Idaho with 11.

Solar mandate in Calif.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Long a leader and trendsetter in its clean-energy goals, California took a giant step Wednesday, becoming the first state to require all new homes to have solar power.

The requirement, to take effect in two years, brings solar power into the mainstream in a way it has never been until now. It will add thousands of dollars to the cost of a home when a shortage of affordable housing is one of California’s most pressing issues.

That made the relative ease of its approval — in a unanimous vote by the fivemember California Energy Commission before a standing-room crowd, with little debate — all the more remarkable. State officials and clean-energy advocates say the extra cost to homebuyers will be more than made up for in lower energy bills.

That prospect has won over even the construction industry, which has embraced solar capability as a selling point.