PHOENIX — The Arizona House voted Thursday to make the state the third in the nation to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit, sending the governor a bill that would allow Arizonans to forego background checks and classes that are now required. The legislation, approved by the House 36-19 without discussion, would make it legal for most U.S. citizens 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona without the permit now required. Currently, carrying a hidden firearm without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. If the legislation is enacted, Arizona would join Alaska and Vermont in not requiring permits to carry concealed weapons.
N. Carolina: Resignation call
The head of the North Carolina Republican Party asked Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to step down Thursday, saying the resignation is the only way to end scrutiny of the national party over lavish spending. A day earlier, national party leaders had a conference call with Steele but didn’t bring up the prospect of his resignation — seen as a positive sign for the embattled national chairman. North Carolina’s Tom Fetzer is the first state party chairman to call for Steele’s resignation, a spokesman said.
D.C.: No smoking on subs
The Navy is banning smoking inside its submarines and will stock nicotine patches and gum on all boats to help sailors quit. The new policy goes into effect no later than December 31 this year and was announced Thursday by the commander of the Navy’s Submarine Forces. He said the decision follows a yearlong study last year on nine submarines that showed unacceptable levels of second-hand smoke are present when the subs are submerged. The policy allows individual sub commanders to decide whether crews are permitted to smoke on deck while their sub is above water.
Pennsylvania: Charter woes
An investigation of Philadelphia charter schools has found that questionable financial practices are putting public funds at risk of fraud, waste and abuse. The report by the city controller’s office reveals dozens of dubious leasing and staffing arrangements at 13 charter schools. It cites evidence of conflicts of interest, nepotism and poor record-keeping. The report comes on the heels of the revelation that a charter school cafeteria had been doubling as a nightclub on weekends.
Nevada: Bomb officer dies
Morris Jeppson, a weapons test officer aboard the Enola Gay who helped arm the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, has died in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 87. The wife of the Air Force second lieutenant who flew only one combat mission said Thursday that her husband died March 30 at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center. Morris Jeppson said in a 2003 interview: “It’s not a proud thing. It was a devastating thing. It’s unfortunate, but it probably saved hundreds of thousands of American lives and many more Japanese lives.”
California: Asteroid flies by
NASA scientists have updated information on the path of a newly discovered 71-foot-wide space rock that was set to make a safe flyby past Earth on Thursday. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena said the latest trajectory indicates that the closest approach for asteroid 2010 GA6 will be just slightly beyond the moon’s orbit, about 270,000 miles from Earth. The time of its closest pass was at 7:06 p.m. PDT. NASA routinely tracks asteroids and comets that make close approaches to Earth.
Canada: Seal hunt begins
Canada’s annual seal hunt got under way Thursday despite a dwindling market for pelts and other byproducts after a European Union import ban and slumping demand. The manager of communications at the Fisheries and Oceans Canada department, said about 30-40 boats are expected to head to Newfoundland and Labrador’s northern tip to participate in this season’s seal hunt, the world’s largest.
Denmark: Beer worker strike
Scores of Carlsberg workers walked off their jobs in protest Thursday after the Danish brewer tightened laid-back rules on workplace drinking and removed beer coolers from work sites, a company spokesman said. The warehouse and production workers in Denmark are rebelling against the company’s new alcohol policy, which allows them to drink beer only during lunch hours in the canteen. Previously, they could help themselves to beer throughout the day, from coolers placed around the work sites.
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