NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 VA care: A House committee approved a wide-ranging plan Tuesday to give veterans more freedom to see doctors outside the Veterans Affairs health system and fix a budget crisis in its troubled Choice private-sector program, a major step toward fulfilling President Trump’s promise to expand private care options. The $51 billion plan includes $5.2 billion to avert a catastrophic shutdown of Choice. The program is slated to run out of money as early as May 31, causing disruptions in medical care to tens of thousands of patients. _2 CIA nominee: President Trump says the Central Intelligence Agency needs Gina Haspel, his pick to head the agency, to “lead them into America’s bright and glorious future!” On Twitter Tuesday, Trump reiterated his defense of Haspel as tough on terror. Her nomination has been met with resistance in Congress over her involvement in detaining and brutally interrogating terror suspects after 9/11. Her Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. She would be the first woman to lead the CIA, if confirmed by the full Senate. “This is a woman who has been a leader wherever she has gone. The CIA wants her to lead them into America’s bright and glorious future!” Trump tweeted. _3 Southern California quake: A light earthquake was felt widely in Southern California before dawn Tuesday but there were no reports of damage. The magnitude 4.5 tremor occurred at 4:49 a.m. beneath the rugged San Bernardino Mountains in the inland region about 100 miles east of Los Angeles and about the same distance north of San Diego. The quake occurred 8 miles beneath wilderness north of Cabazon, a lightly populated desert community best known to travelers along Interstate 10 as the location of giant dinosaur statues, a casino resort, outlet stores and giant spinning windmills that turn the gusty winds of San Gorgonio Pass into electricity. _4 Vietnam MIA: The remains of a Green Beret from Texas who went missing in action during the Vietnam War have been recovered. A service will be held Friday to honor 32-year-old Army Maj. Donald Carr of San Antonio. Records show that Carr was on a reconnaissance flight when the plane crashed during bad weather on July 6, 1971. A ground team failed to immediately locate the crash site, and Carr was declared missing in action. In 2014, a Vietnamese citizen contacted U.S. officials about possible American remains found in Kon Tum Province. The wreckage yielded personal items from Carr, and his remains were identified through DNA.
_5 Alligator crash: A mother and her young children were killed after crashing into an alligator on a South Carolina stretch of interstate, according to the coroner’s office. Amber Stanley, 24, her 4-year-old son Jack, and her 2-year-old daughter Autumn all died in the wreck, according to Sean Fogle, of the Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office. All died of thermal injuries due to the vehicle fire, Fogle reported.