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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2016)
Page 12A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Saturday, May 21, 2016 Congress warms to medical marijuana for veterans AP Photo/Amr Nabil The Imam of al Thawrah Mosque, Samir Abdel Bary, gives condolences to ilm di- rector Osman Abu Laban, center, who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday’s EgyptAir plane crash, following prayers for the dead in Cairo, Egypt, Friday. Searchers ind body parts, seats, luggage from Egyptian jet CAIRO (AP) — Search crews found loating human remains, luggage and seats from the doomed EgyptAir jetliner Friday but face a potentially more complex task in locating bigger pieces of wreckage and the black boxes vital to determining why the plane plunged into the Medi- terranean. An aviation industry publi- cation, meanwhile, reported that sensors detected smoke in a lavatory, suggesting a ire onboard before the aircraft went down. Looking for clues to Secret Service shoots armed man near White House WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Secret Service oficer shot a man with a gun who approached a checkpoint outside the White House on Friday afternoon and refused to drop his weapon, the Secret Service said. The White House was briely placed on a security alert after the shooting, which happened within view of sightseers as sidewalks were crowded with families, school groups and government workers. The armed man approached the checkpoint on E Street shortly after 3 p.m., and the oficer repeatedly ordered the man to drop his gun, but the man ignored those commands, according to a statement from David Iacovetti, a Secret Service deputy assistant director. The oficer ired one shot at the man, who was taken to a hospital for treatment, and the gun was recovered at the scene, Iacovetti said. The man was in critical condition when he was transported, a D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman said. President Barack Obama was away playing golf at the time, but Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House complex and was secured during the lockdown, his ofice said. The lockdown was lifted about an hour after the shooting. The gunman never made it inside the White House complex, and no one else was injured, the Secret Service said. At NRA, Trump slams Clinton for ‘heartless’ gun restrictions LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Donald Trump on Friday slammed Hillary Clinton as “heartless” for backing restrictions on gun ownership that he said would leave Americans in high-crime areas unable to protect themselves. He also challenged Clinton to follow his lead and release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Trump’s remarks came at the National Rile Association convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The gun rights organization endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee ahead of his remarks, despite Trump’s previous support for measures like an assault weapons ban that the NRA vigorously opposes. The businessman has taken a far less restrictive stance on guns during the Republican presidential whether terrorists brought down EgyptAir Flight 804 and its 66 people aboard, investigators pored over the passenger list and questioned ground crew members at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where the plane took off. The Airbus A320 had been cruising normally in clear skies on a nighttime light to Cairo early Thursday when it suddenly lurched left, then right, spun all the way around and plummeted 38,000 feet into the sea, never issuing a distress signal. BRIEFLY primary. His call for ending “gun-free zones” across the country was enthusiastically welcomed by the NRA crowd. Trump centered his remarks on Clinton, claiming she would seek to “abolish” the Second Amendment through the Supreme Court and release violent criminals if elected president. He also called her “Heartless Hillary” — a new nickname from the branding expert for the likely Democratic nominee — for backing restrictions aimed at reducing gun deaths, saying her proposals would instead leave law-abiding citizens exposed to criminals. “She’s putting the most vulnerable Americans in jeopardy,” Trump said. He added that women in particular would be at risk, a nod to what he’s said will be a security-fo- cused appeal to women in the general election. Trump heads into the fall campaign with stunningly high disapproval ratings with women. The supremely conident Trump appeared to acknowledge that weakness, saying that while his poll numbers with men are strong, “I like women more than men.” “Come on women, come on,” he said. Oklahoma governor vetoes bill criminalizing abortion OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday vetoed legislation to make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion, a measure that would have effectively outlawed the procedure in the state. In vetoing the measure just a day after the Legislature passed it, Fallin, a Republican who opposes abortion, said it was vague and would not withstand a legal challenge. “The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered ‘necessary to preserve the life of the mother,’” Fallin said. “While I consistently have and continue to support a re-examination of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, this legislation cannot accomplish that re-examina- tion.” The bill’s sponsor, Repub- lican Sen. Nathan Dahm, said the measure was aimed at ultimately overturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Dahm said he was consid- ering whether to try to override the governor’s veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in each chamber, a threshold it did not meet in the In Egypt, home to 30 of the victims, grieving families and friends wondered if their loved ones would ever be recovered. Many gathered in mosques for Salat al-Ghaib, or “prayers for the absent,” held for the dead whose bodies have not been found. “This is what is ripping our hearts apart, when we think about it. When someone you love so much dies, at least you have a body to bury. But we have no body until now,” said Sherif al-Metanawi, a childhood friend of the pilot, Mohammed Shoukair. House when it irst passed. The bill passed on a 33-12 vote in the Senate with no debate on Thursday; it passed 59-9 in the 101-member House on April 21. “Of course I’ll consider it,” Dahm said. “I’m weighing my options.” The bill would have made it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison for anyone who performs an abortion, including doctors. State law already makes it a felony for anyone who’s not a doctor to perform an abortion, and Dahm’s bill would have removed the exemption for physicians. DENVER (AP) — Congress is showing an increased willingness to let VA doctors talk to veterans about medical marijuana in states where it’s legal, although inal approval is far from certain. The House approved a measure this week that would let Veterans Affairs Department doctors help their patients sign up for state medical marijuana programs, something the VA now prohibits. “I’m certainly open to it,” Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican and former Marine from pot-friendly Colorado, said Friday. A Senate committee approved a similar measure last month but the full Senate hasn’t voted. Medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia, but pot remains illegal under federal law. Arguments for medical marijuana are getting a warmer reception from lawmakers amid nationwide concerns about overuse and abuse of prescription painkillers and psychotropic drugs. Coffman, chairman of a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said he wasn’t enthusiastic when his Jamie Lusch/The Medford Mail Tribune This May 11 photo shows marijuana plants at a home near the Green Springs, Ore. state irst approved medical marijuana. But if the drug helps veterans deal with post-traumatic stress, it could reduce the use of stronger prescription drugs and save taxpayers money, he said. The measures in Congress wouldn’t permit the VA to provide patients with marijuana, Coffman said. It would only free doctors to talk about it with their patients. Rep. Earl Blumenaur, D-Ore., who sponsored the House measure, said medical marijuana could be safer and more effective than other drugs for veterans suffering from chronic pain or the stress disorder. Providing access to pot as an alternative “is critical at a time when our veterans are dying with a suicide rate 50 percent higher than civilians and opiate overdoses at nearly double the national average,” Blumenaur said in a written statement. Research on whether marijuana helps with PTSD has been contradictory and limited, and the VA has warned that increasing numbers of veterans who suffer from it have become dependent on pot. The VA didn’t immedi- ately respond Friday to a request for comment on the proposals in Congress. Congress has killed similar measures in the past, but backers say the proposals are attracting more votes this time. Blumenaur’s measure passed Wednesday 233-189, including 57 Republicans in favor. Coffman’s subcommittee held a hearing in Denver Friday on problems in the way the VA prescribes and keeps track of drugs. He cited the case of a pharmacy technician at the Denver VA Medical Center who oficials said was found in an operating room trying to inject herself with a pain- killer stolen from a hospital refrigerator. "Scramble for Scholarships" Friday, June 10th 1pm Shotgun Start Big River Golf Course - Umatilla Golfers of all skill levels are being invited to participate in the 23 rd annual "Scramble for Scholarships" golf tournament. Four person teams can sign up together or individuals pairings can be made by the tournament committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees, a box lunch at noon, and BBQ at the end, plus makes a charitable donation to the foundation to use in awarding scholarships for local health care students. Join us for a fun afternoon of golf for a good cause by calling 541-667-3405. Entry deadline is June 8th. Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 wins a Ford Fusion sponsored by Tom Denchel Ford