MAN KILLS HIMSELF BY WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON» The Secret Service says a man shot himself to death Saturday as he stood near the fence along the north side of the White House.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in Florida at the time. The White House says Trump has been briefed on the shooting.
Authorities are seeking to notify the man’s relatives and haven’t released his name.
Speaking for the Secret Service, Mason F. Brayman says the man approached the fence shortly before noon and fired several rounds from a handgun. Brayman says none of the shots appear to have been directed toward the White House.
Avalanche closes second ski resort.
MAMMOTH LAKES,
An avalanche has prompted the closure of a second major California ski resort in as many days.
The Mono County Sheriff’s department says three people were partially buried but unhurt by an avalanche Saturday at Southern California’s Mammoth Mountain ski resort.
Resort officials said the avalanche occurred at about 10:15 a.m. while resort workers were in an area closed to the public attempting so-called avalanche mitigation, which includes purposely creating smaller slides.
The avalanche poured down the mountain and into an open run crowded with skiers and boarders.
A northern California avalanche on Friday injured two people and closed Squaw Valley ski resort.
Report: Military dogs not treated right. WASHINGTON» A report finds that the Army failed to do right by some of the more than 200 bomb-sniffing dogs that served with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, detecting roadside bombs and saving lives.
The Defense Department’s inspector general has determined that, after the program ended in 2014, some soldiers struggled or were unable to adopt the dogs they had handled.
This included two dogs among 13 that were given to a private company to be used as service dogs for veterans but then abandoned at a Virginia kennel.
The report says Congress amended the law in 2015 to give handlers top priority in adopting their dogs.
Roy Moore pleads for donations. ALA.» Former
MONTGOMERY, U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore has issued a plea for money to pay legal bills, saying his “resources have been depleted.”
In a Thursday post on his campaign’s Facebook page, Moore asked for contributions to his legal defense fund. Moore has sent regular fundraising emails for the fund since losing the 2017 election to Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat. However, the link to the donation site indicated that Moore had raised just $32,000 of a $250,000 goal.
“My resources have been depleted and I have struggled to make ends meet, but I have not lost my faith in our God, who is our true source of strength and will never leave or forsake us,” Moore wrote.
Snake eats deer heavier than itself. FLA.» Researchers
NAPLES, in Florida say they have found an 11-foot-long invasive Burmese python that had consumed a deer that weighed more than the snake.
The Naples Daily News reports that wildlife biologists tracking the slithery creatures in southwest Florida found one of them had eaten a white-tailed deer fawn. Biologist Ian Bartoszek says the fawn weighed 35 pounds and the snake weighed 31.5 pounds.
Florida lawmakers debate guns. The
TALLAHASSEE,
Florida Senate spent hours debating a bill to increase school safety and restrict gun purchases in a rare Saturday session that often turned into a debate on gun control and arming teachers in the aftermath of last month’s Parkland school shootings.
The Senate spent nearly eight hours debating dozens of amendments to the 100-page bill before finally approving the legislation for a final vote on Monday.