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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2018)
NATION/WORLD Tuesday, May 8, 2018 East Oregonian Iran-Contra figure Oliver North named president of the NRA Associated Press ATLANTA — Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, the Marine at the center of the Iran-Contra affair three decades ago, was named president Monday of the National Rifle Association, giv- ing it star power as it faces a pow- erful backlash over the massa- cres in Florida and Las Vegas. N o r t h ’s a p p o i n t m e n t North was ripped by gun-control advocates who called his appoint- ment symptomatic of a tone-deaf NRA given his role in the arms-trafficking scandal that engulfed the White House in the Rea- gan administration. Con- servatives and gun-rights supporters hailed him as a patriot who will vigorously battle efforts to restrict access to firearms. North, 74, will be the biggest celebrity to lead the 5-million-member gun lobby since Holly- wood leading man Charl- ton Heston, who famously declared in 2000 that his guns would have to be taken “from my cold, dead hands.” “Oliver North is a leg- endary warrior for Amer- ican freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said. Momentum for gun control has been building since the mass shoot- ing in Las Vegas last fall that killed 58 peo- ple and the Feb. 14 rampage at a Parkland, Flor- ida, high school that left 17 dead. “The election of Oliver North is the clearest sign yet that the NRA is floun- dering in the face of plum- meting popularity, scru- tiny into its Russia ties, and state lawmakers who are defying the gun lobby left and right,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, founded by former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg. “The NRA doesn’t need a new leader, it needs an entirely new direction.” North was picked by the NRA’s board of direc- tors, which elects a pres- ident every two years, and is expected to assume office within the next sev- eral weeks. He succeeds Pete Brownell, who did not seek a second term. New York attorney general resigns amid abuse allegations NEW YORK (AP) — ken to The New Yorker on New York Attorney Gen- the record, saying Schnei- eral Eric Schneiderman, derman repeatedly hit them who had taken on during the course high-profile roles of their relation- ships with him in as an advocate for recent years, and women’s issues never with their and an antagonist consent. Neither to the policies of woman filed any President Donald police complaints, Trump, announced but both said they late Monday sought out medi- that he would be resigning from Schneiderman cal attention and confided to others office hours after four women he was roman- about the abuse. tically involved with or had A third woman who also romantic interactions with was involved with him told accused him of physical vio- her story to the other two lence in accounts published women, but said she was by The New Yorker. too frightened to come for- Schneiderman, who had ward. A fourth woman said been running for re-election, Schneiderman slapped her said he contested the wom- when she rebuffed him en’s accounts, but “while during an intimate encoun- these allegations are unre- ter, but also asked to remain lated to my professional unidentified. conduct or the operations of The New Yorker said it the office, they will effec- vetted the third woman’s tively prevent me from lead- allegations, and saw a photo ing the office’s work at this of what the fourth woman critical time.” He said he said was her injury. would resign at the close of Schneiderman has been business on Tuesday. a vocal supporter of the Two women had spo- #MeToo movement. Page 7A Trump to announce decision on Iran deal U.S. Geological Survey via AP This May 6 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the lava lake at the summit of Kilauea near Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano has destroyed homes and forced the evacuations of more than a thousand people. Kilauea volcano destroys dozens of homes in Hawaii Associated Press PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii’s Kilauea vol- cano has destroyed 26 homes since it began spewing lava hundreds of feet into the air last week, and residents who evacuated don’t know how long they might be displaced. The decimated homes were in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground cre- ated by the volcano. Another four unspecified structures were covered by lava, offi- cials said in revised figures issued Sunday. Some of the more than 1,700 people who evacuated were allowed to briefly return to gather medicine, pets, and other necessities. They will be able to do so each day as long as authorities believe it is safe. Amber Makuakane Kane, 37, a teacher and sin- gle mother of two, said her three-bedroom house in Lei- lani Estates was across from a fissure that opened Friday. At the time, “there was some steam rising from all parts of the yard, but everything looked fine,” Makuakane said. On Saturday, she received alerts from her security sys- tem that motion sensors throughout the house had been triggered. She later con- firmed that lava had covered her property. Makuakane grew up in the area and lived in her house for nine years. Her parents live in the same subdivision. “The volcano and the lava — it’s always been a part of my life,” she said. “It’s dev- astating ... but I’ve come to terms with it.” Lava has spread around 387,500 square feet sur- rounding the most active fissure, though the rate of movement is slow. There was no indication when the lave might stop or how far it might spread. “There’s more magma in the system to be erupted. As long as that supply is there, the eruption will continue,” U.S. Geological Survey vol- canologist Wendy Stovall said. Cherie McArthur won- dered what would become of her macadamia nut farm in Lanipuna Gardens, another evacuated neighborhood near Leilani Estates. One of the year’s first harvests had been planned for this weekend. “If we lose our farm, we don’t know where we’re going to go. You lose your income and you lose your home at the same time,” said McArthur, who’s had the farm for about 20 years. “All you can do is pray and hope and try to get all the informa- tion you can.” About 250 people and 90 pets spent Saturday night at shelters, the American Red Cross said. The number of lava-vent- ing fissures in the neighbor- hood has grown to as many as 10, Stovall said, though some have quieted at various points. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to reveal his decision on whether to keep the U.S. in the Iran deal on Tuesday, a move that could determine the fate of the 2015 agree- ment that froze Iran’s nuclear program. The announcement is set to cap more than a year of deliberation and negotiation that has at times pitted Trump against some of his clos- est aides and key Amer- ican allies. Trump is facing a self-imposed May 12 deadline over whether to uphold the 2015 nuclear agreement, which he long has criti- cized. The president has signaled he will pull out of the pact by the dead- line unless it is revised, but he faces intense pres- sure from European allies not to do so. “I will be announc- ing my decision on the Iran Deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00pm,” Trump tweeted Monday. The president has been the subject of an intense lobbying effort by American allies to maintain the agreement, with British Foreign Minister Boris John- son making a last-ditch appeal to the administra- tion in a visit to Wash- ington this week. European leaders say that they are open to negotiating a side agree- ment with Iran, but the existing framework must remain untouched for that to happen. 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