NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Nightclub shooting lawsuit: A personal injury attorney representing some of the families and survivors of the Orlando nightclub massacre filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the gunman’s employer and wife, claiming they were able to stop Omar Mateen before the attack but didn’t. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in South Florida on behalf of more than four dozen of the survivors and family members of those killed at Pulse nightclub in June. Fortynine people were killed during the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history at the gay nightclub. The lawsuit claims wrongful death, negligence and other counts.
2 Concealed guns: Arkansas’ governor signed a sweeping gun rights measure into law on Wednesday that will allow concealed handguns at state colleges, some bars, government buildings and even the state Capitol. The measure approved by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson allows people to carry concealed handguns at the locations if they undergo up to eight hours of active-shooter training. Hutchinson chaired a National Rifle Association task force that called for trained, armed staff at schools after the 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The new state law, backed by the NRA, will take effect Sept. 1.
3 Marriage law: A federal judge has blocked a Louisiana law that prevents people without birth certificates from marrying. The judge’s preliminary injunction means Viet Anh “Victor” Vo is likely to win his constitutional challenge of the state law if it goes to trial. Vo is a U.S. citizen who has lived in Louisiana since he was 3 months old, but he can’t get a birth certificate because he was a Vietnamese refugee born in an Indonesian camp. The judge says Louisiana’s law violates his equal protection rights and denies him the fundamental right to marry.
4 AWOL arrest: Authorities say they’ve arrested a Florida man who went AWOL from the Air Force 45 years ago. The Ocala Star-Banner reports that Linley Benson Lemburg, 65, was arrested Tuesday. He had been living under an alias, William Michael Robertson, and was located by the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office after military officials sought its help. Lemburg first went absent without leave in 1972. Military officials did not say where he had served in the Air Force.
5 Breast implants: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has received reports of nine deaths and more than 350 cases of a rare blood cancer linked to breast implants. The FDA said this week that it now agrees with the World Health Organization, which concluded years ago that this type of lymphoma can develop following breasts implants. The disease seems to occur more often with textured implants in the scar tissue near the implant and is associated with pain and swelling sometimes years after the surgery has healed. The FDA said it can’t determine how many cases there are, but noted Australia has also reported three deaths.