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School announces bid to test medical marijuana
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A small Ohio college says it will apply to become a testing laboratory for medical marijuana in a role that other Ohio schools have been reluctant to pursue. Hocking College in the southeast Ohio city of Nelsonville is the first school to announce a bid to test cannabis for potency and safety before it's sold at dispensaries.
State law mandates only colleges and universities can apply for testing permits for the program's first year. Ohio schools have hesitated over concerns about losing federal funding because marijuana remains illegal under federal law. The Hocking College president says the decision to apply was not based on the "merits or lack of merits" concerning marijuana. Schools have until Sept. 22 to apply. The medical marijuana program is expected to launch in September 2018.
Trump makes nice with Dems, leaving his party confused
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump was in the mood to celebrate after cutting a big deal with opposition Democrats.
Joshing with Northeastern officials in the Cabinet Room, Trump hailed New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo as "my governor" and traded banter with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, another fellow New Yorker.
"If you just dropped in from outer space, you wouldn't know what the last eight months have been like," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., recalling the friendly exchanges between Trump and Schumer during the meeting with New York and New Jersey lawmakers. That would be the same Schumer whom the president had previously slammed as a "clown" and "Cryin' Chuck."
And now?
Tank failures
in Harvey reveal
vulnerabilities
in storm
More than two dozen storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline and other contaminants ruptured or otherwise failed when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, spilling at least 145,000 gallons (548,868 liters) of fuel and spewing toxic pollutants into the air, according to an Associated Press analysis of pollution reports submitted to state and federal regulators.
The tank failures follow years of warnings that the Houston area's petrochemical industry was ill-prepared for a major storm, with about one-third of the 4,500 storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel located in areas susceptible to flooding, according to researchers.
More of the massive storage tanks could be put to the test in coming days as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida. The tanks are prone to float and break during floods, and Harvey's unprecedented rainfalls revealed a new vulnerability when the roofs of some storage tanks sank under the weight of so much water.
Federal and state rules require companies to be prepared for spills, but mandate no specific measures to secure storage tanks at refineries, chemical plants and oil production sites.
Although Florida has no oil refineries, it has more than 20 petroleum product storage terminals in coastal communities and about 30 chemical companies with a presence in the state, including a significant number of facilities in the Tampa Bay area, according to the American Chemistry Council and U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Son of ex-Fox News host Eric Bolling dies in Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- The son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling has died, just hours after Fox announced that Bolling was leaving the network.
Bolling said in a tweet on Saturday that he and his wife, Adrienne, were devastated by the loss of their son, Eric Chase Bolling. A sophomore at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Eric Chase Bolling died Friday night.
Eric Bolling said the cause of his son's death is under investigation but that authorities told him there was "no sign of self harm at this point" and that an autopsy was planned next week.
Boulder police were investigating a death near the university, but Sgt. Nick Smetzer said the department would not release the circumstances of the death or identify the person who died.
The coroner's office typically releases the names of people whose deaths are investigated after a few days.
Man arrested in Columbus school shooting in court
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An 18-year-old man arrested after firing a handgun into an Ohio school has made his first court appearance.
A Franklin County Municipal Court judge on Saturday set a $950,000 bond for Adan Abdullahi, of Columbus. Abdullahi was charged with improperly discharging a firearm into a school after his arrest Friday at Columbus Scioto 6-12, a public school for special needs and emotionally disturbed students.
Police say he fired three shots inside the school before a staff member intervened and kept Abdullahi calm until police arrived.
Abdullahi's court-appointed public defender couldn't be reached for comment Saturday.
The Columbus Dispatch has reported the school doesn't use metal detectors and instead pats down students and sometimes makes them remove their shoes.