NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Kushner clearance: A group of House Democrats is asking the FBI to suspend White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s security clearance. In a letter to FBI Director James Comey, the lawmakers cited Kushner’s failure to disclose some of his contacts with Russian government officials when he filled out an application for a security clearance. A lawyer for Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, said the omissions were an “administrative error.” The Democrats noted that knowingly falsifying or concealing information on a clearance application is a felony. They’re asking the FBI to review whether Kushner complied with the law, and they’re also asking him to make public all meetings he had with foreign officials.
2 Tax deadline: The IRS is giving procrastinators a reprieve until Tuesday. The usual April 15 deadline to file tax returns falls on Saturday this year. That would normally push the deadline to Monday. But Monday is a holiday in the District of Columbia, so by law, the filing deadline is extended until Tuesday. Monday is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. It marks the day in 1862 in which 3,100 slaves living in Washington were freed. All the states that usually have an April 15 deadline have delayed their filing date as well. A handful of states have later deadlines.
3 Campus blast: Four University of Idaho students were listed in good condition Friday after an explosion in a school parking lot the night before where people had gathered to test an experimental rocket. The four were injured when the device exploded after they ignited the fuel around 10 p.m. Thursday. The four injured students were transported to a hospital in Moscow. They were not identified. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the incident, but it is not a criminal investigation, police said.
4 Vegas fire: Flames ripped across the roof of shops and restaurants at the Bellagio hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. No injuries were reported in the late Thursday blaze, which didn’t reach inside the Via Bellagio mall, Assistant Fire Chief Larry Haydu said. Damage was limited to the roof. Gusty winds fanned the flames, forcing employees to evacuate tony stores such as Tiffany & Co. and Chanel. Operations were not interrupted in the casino or the 36-story hotel. Investigators are trying to determine what sparked the fire, which burned what appeared to be foam building material, Haydu said. 5 Transit slaying: Police plan to increase the numbers of officers patrolling metro Atlanta’s transit system after a man was fatally shot. The shooting on a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit train Thursday appears to be a “targeted, isolated incident,” police said. Zachariah Hunnicutt was killed and three other people were wounded. A suspect was detained. Transit officials say ridership has been surging as motorists look for alternate ways to get around after a fire beneath an Interstate 85 overpass led to its collapse on March 30.