NATION/WORLD
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Researchers
fret as info
lags on pot
effects on
older adults
East Oregonian
Page 7A
Associated Press Q&A
Trump and Air Force One
By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press
DENVER — Surveys show a small
but growing number of older adults are
using marijuana — a trend that worries
researchers who say not enough information
exists about how pot affects older users.
Abundant research has been done on how
the drug impacts developing brains, but little
is known about the potential consequences
on older users — even as recreation pot has
been legalized in a number of states.
Researchers at New York University say
pot could pose health challenges to older
users ranging from memory loss to risk of
falling.
The researchers reviewed data from the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
and found a big increase in adults over 50
reporting they had used pot in the past year.
About 2.8 percent of those surveyed said
they had used pot a decade ago. Six years
later in 2013, the rate was about 4.8 percent
— a 71 percent jump.
“Historically older people haven’t had
high rates of substance use, but this is
changing,” said Dr. Benjamin Han, a geria-
trician at NYU who led the study published
this week in the journal Addiction. “As baby
boomers age, we’re going to see more and
more of this.”
Older adults are still much less likely
than younger people to use pot. In the 2013
survey, about 19 percent of people 18 to 25
reported using marijuana in the previous
month.
Doctors have little to go on when treating
older people who use pot, Han said.
“When it comes to, for instance, alcohol,
there have been a lot of studies about effects
on older populations, guidelines on how
much older people should be consuming,”
Han said. “But when it comes to marijuana,
we have nothing.”
The study drew no conclusions about
whether older pot users are using the drug as
medicine or for fun.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
said last year that marijuana can be helpful
for treating certain ailments, but he added
that medical marijuana research is prelimi-
nary and he called for more research.
Federal drug law considers marijuana a
drug with no medical use.
Marijuana legalization debates center on
the drug’s consequences for kids, perhaps
leaving adults to think there’s no downside
to using it.
“Before the liberalization of marijuana
policy, lots of young people used marijuana
and then as they got jobs and kids and
mortgages, they stopped,” said Jonathan
Caulkins, a professor of public policy at
Carnegie-Mellon University who was not
involved in the NYU study.
“It seems that as the social stigmatization
has decreased, more users are continuing
into adulthood.”
Refrigerator potential
source of deadly fire
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) —The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives says it is looking at the
possibility that a refrigerator or other
appliance was the source of a warehouse
fire that killed 36 people.
Jill Snyder, the special agent in charge
of the ATF’s San Francisco office, said
it’s too early to say for sure a refrigerator
caused the blaze, but she said it was a
potential source of ignition. Snyder said
investigators are looking at anything
electrical on the first floor of the ware-
house near where the fire started.
The fire broke out during a dance
party Friday night. Crews have searched
90 percent of the building for bodies.
Sheriff’s officials said they don’t think
additional bodies will be found.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
In this Nov. 6, 2016 file photo, military personnel salute as Air Force One, with President Barack Obama aboard, departs at
Andrews Air Force Base, Md. President-elect Donald Trump wants the government’s contract for a new Air Force One canceled.
President-elect threatens to cancel $4B order for new Boeing planes
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Pres-
ident-elect
Donald
Trump
suggested Tuesday that he would
cancel Boeing’s contract to build
a new fleet of presidential aircraft
to replace the aging models that
shuttle the president around the
world. He cited “out of control”
costs of more than $4 billion in
a tweet that ended with “Cancel
order!”
The New York businessman,
who flies on his own Boeing
plane, later told reporters the cost
to the government was “ridicu-
lous,” though he appeared to be
citing more than just the bare
acquisition costs. Trump said he
wanted the aircraft manufacturer
to make money, “but not that
much.”
Here’s a look at Trump’s
claims about Air Force One, one
of the most recognized symbols
of the American presidency.
How much will the project
cost? The Government Account-
ability Office, the government’s
auditing arm, in March of this
year estimated total program
costs at more than $3.2 billion,
much of it for research and devel-
opment, through the 2020 federal
budget year. Separately, Defense
Department and Air Force
officials put the cost for two
new aircraft at around Trump’s
figure of $4 billion. That estimate
includes the cost of research and
development, construction and
future maintenance, according to
the officials who were not autho-
rized to comment publicly about
the sensitive military project and
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Why does the government
want new planes? Doesn’t
the current Air Force One
work just fine? That’s true, but
the two modified Boeing 747s
the president uses for the bulk
of his travels are getting older
and breaking down more often,
officials say. They were built in
the 1980s and began flying in the
early 1990s. One flew President
Barack Obama to MacDill Air
Force in Tampa, Florida, on
Tuesday.
The distinctive blue-and-
white plane with the U.S. flag
on its tail and the presidential
Money for Trump Tower security
part of stopgap spending bill
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Lawmakers are tacking on
money for security around
Trump Tower in New York
and funds for health care
for retired coal miners to a
stopgap spending
bill that would
avoid a government
shutdown at week’s
end.
The temporary
budget bill is
scheduled to be
unveiled Tuesday.
It would keep
federal agencies
functioning into
Trump
next spring, giving
the new Congress
and incoming president
Donald Trump time to approve
more than $1 trillion to fund
federal agencies through the
current government budget
year, which ends Sept. 30.
Current spending expires
at midnight Friday. Since the
measure is the only must-do bill
before Congress adjourns, it’s
likely to carry several add-ons,
including flood relief, money
for overseas military operations
and help for Flint, Michigan, to
fix its lead-tainted water system.
Democrats like House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
of California swung against
a proposal to help speed a
congressional waiver required
next year to confirm retired
Gen. James Mattis as secretary
of defense, who would
otherwise be ineligible to serve
seal on its belly is basically a
flying office for the president,
complete with sophisticated
communications, military and
other capabilities. Safety of the
president is paramount, and the
government started the process
to replace the aging aircraft with
younger versions that incorporate
updated capabilities and techno-
logical advances.
Air Force One is unlike most
aircraft. It can be refueled in the
air and, with an unlimited range,
because of a law that requires
a seven-year wait for former
members of the military to
serve as secretary of defense.
“Brushing aside the law
that enshrines civilian control
of the military —
without discussion,
in a massive
must-pass funding
bill — would set a
terrible precedent,”
Pelosi said.
One major
dispute centered on
protecting health
care benefits for
about 16,000
retired coal miners
facing the loss of
coverage on Dec. 31.
The measure had divided
coal-state Republicans.
Several supported longer-term
legislation tackling the loss of
health care, but GOP leaders
— including Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky — were wary of
bailing out unionized workers.
McConnell said Tuesday
that the temporary health care
help for miners would be part
of the spending bill, though
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
protested that McConnell’s
fix would only last for a few
months vowed to push for a
permanent solution.
Manchin vowed to block
any Senate effort to move
quickly on unrelated legisla-
tion until the miners’ fight was
settled.
can take the president wherever
he needs to go. Its electrical
systems are hardened to protect
against an electromagnetic pulse,
and the plane has advanced,
secure communications equip-
ment that will allow it to function
as mobile command center in the
event of an attack on the United
States, according to the White
House.
The president and most of
those who fly with him enjoy
4,000 square feet of floor space
on three levels, including a
suite for the president with an
office and a conference room. A
medical suite can function as an
operating room in an emergency,
and a doctor is always on board.
The plane has quarters for those
who regularly accompany the
president on trips, including
White House staff, Secret Service
agents, traveling journalists and
other guests.
What is Boeing’s role? The
Air Force has spent about $170
million on three contracts to
begin to identify the types of
military and specialized systems
that would have to be added to a
commercial plane to adapt it for
use by the president. Boeing has
that contract, and also would build
the replacement Air Force One.
Under the deal, the Air Force
would buy the 747-8 aircraft, a
newer version of those currently
in use as Air Force One. The new
aircraft wouldn’t be ready until
around 2023 or 2024, the end of
Trump’s second term, should he
seek and win re-election.
In a statement, Boeing said it
looks forward to working with
the Air Force “to deliver the
best planes for the president at
the best value for the American
taxpayer.”
Could Trump ask another
company to build the new
aircraft? It’s unclear. Trump did
not elaborate, either on Twitter or
during a brief appearance before
reporters Tuesday. Presidents
have flown on Boeing aircraft for
more than seven decades and the
Chicago-based company is the
only American maker of these
types of planes. Its closest rival
would be French aircraft manu-
facturer Airbus.
Didn’t Obama cancel the
contract for a new presidential
helicopter? White House press
secretary Josh Earnest said
Obama didn’t scrap the project
entirely, but ordered the military
to restart it to bring the cost
projections under control. The
Marine One project was further
along in the process than the Air
Force One upgrade, and with
costs much greater than origi-
nally expected.
Can Trump cancel the
project? Yes, but not before he is
sworn in to office on Jan. 20.
Critics worry after Trump security chief fuels conspiracies
By STEVE PEOPLES
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — On
issues of national security and
intelligence, no one is likely
to have more influence in
Donald Trump’s White House
than retired Gen. Michael T.
Flynn.
Yet
Flynn,
Trump’s
incoming national security
adviser, has gained promi-
nence in Republican politics
by fueling conspiracy theories
and Islamophobic rhetoric
that critics warn could create
serious distractions — or
alienate allies and embolden
enemies — if it continues.
“His job is to ensure that
the White House is focused at
all times on all of the threats
that the United States faces
abroad,” said Julianne Smith,
a former deputy national secu-
rity adviser to Vice President
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump’s nomi-
nee for National Security adviser takes a selfie with
Sukhwinder Sangha of Vancouver, Canada, left, at
Trump Tower, Monday in New York.
Joe Biden. She said she was
“deeply troubled” by a Flynn
tendency to promote fake
news stories on his Twitter
feed.
“You don’t want to have
a distracted national security
adviser,” said Smith, who now
directs the strategy and state-
craft program at the Center for
a New American Security.
She was among several
national security experts who
raised concerns Tuesday about
Flynn’s willingness to share
bad intelligence on a social
media feed as he prepares to
move to the West Wing.
Flynn served until 2014
as the head of U.S. military
intelligence. Although he left
that job over disputes with the
Obama administration over
policy and his management
of the Defense Intelligence
Agency, he is widely regarded
as a top intelligence officer,
a job that requires an under-
standing of the power of
disinformation.
The issue of sharing fake
news was highlighted when
Flynn’s son, Michael G. Flynn,
tweeted about the false idea
that prompted a shooting at
a Washington, D.C., pizza
parlor. He had been promoting
a conspiracy theory that Hillary
Clinton’s allies had been
operating a secret pedophilia
ring in the restaurant and noted
it would remain a story until
“proven to be false.”
Vice President-elect Mike
Pence acknowledged Tuesday
that the younger Flynn
was helping his father with
scheduling and administrative
items during the presidential
transition but told CNN “that’s
no longer the case.”
Asked repeatedly whether
a security clearance was
requested, Pence refused to
answer directly. “Whatever
the appropriate paperwork
was to assist him in that
regard, Jake, I’m sure was
taking place,” he said.
Trump’s team did not
clarify whether Michael Flynn
Jr.’s departure from Trump’s
transition team was related to
the tweets.
Less than a week before
the election, the elder Flynn
tweeted a link to a story that
falsely claimed Clinton emails
contained proof of money
laundering and sex crimes
with children, among other
illegal activities. The incoming
national security adviser called
the baseless story a “must read”
and instructed his followers:
“U decide.”
Flynn also promoted
conspiracy theorists, some
of them white supremacists,
throughout the campaign
even as he emerged as
Trump’s highest profile
national security adviser.
He
encouraged
his
followers to read a book
by Mike Cernovich, whose
website has suggested Clin-
ton’s campaign chairman
was part of a “sex cult
with connections to human
trafficking.” Flynn also
tagged white nationalist
Jared Wyand, whose website
is popular with “alt-right”
followers.