Arts panel

OKs ballroom

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal panel made up of President Donald Trump’s appointees has approved his plan to build a massive ballroom on the site of the former White House East Wing. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is one of two federal agencies that must approve Trump’s plans.

The National Capital Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over construction and major renovation to government buildings in the region, is also reviewing the project. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. A decision in the case is pending.

Conditions

delay recovery

SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California say it will be at least another day before crews can attempt to recover the bodies of eight people killed in an avalanche and search for one other who remains missing but is presumed dead.

Crews say there’s still heavy snow and a high risk of more avalanches Thursday in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. The victims include a group connected to an area skiing academy. Six others were found alive by rescuers Tuesday hours after the avalanche hit.

A mayor near San Francisco says the group included moms from the Bay Area. Authorities say the survivors include one of four professional guides on the trip.

Bystanders

subdued shooter

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Moments after Robert Dorgan starting shooting family members at a hockey game, three people in the stands rushed toward the shooter. Among them was Michael Black, who recalled hearing the shots and lunging for Dorgan’s gun.

Black managed to catch his hand in the gun and jam it. Two others helped him subdue Dorgan, but not before the 56-year-old could reach for a second gun and die from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan were killed Monday and three others were injured: Rhonda Dorgan’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan; and a family friend, Thomas Geruso.