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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Fire breaks out at Las Vegas hotel-casino’s 14th-floor pool

From Wire Reports

LAS VEGAS – A fire at a hotel’s swimming pool sent large plumes of black smoke high above the Las Vegas Strip but left most guests unscathed Saturday.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to gain control of the blaze that broke out on the 14th floor of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel, Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said.

One person was taken to a hospital with smoke inhalation, fire officials said. A second person was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. But nobody suffered any burns from the flames that ignited outside on the pool deck, Clark County fire spokeswoman Sandra Baker said.

No flames ever made it into the hotel. However, smoke got into some floors above the 14th floor because the windows of some rooms were open.

It could be quite some time before the cause of the fire is determined, Cassell said. Investigators are interviewing guests and going through cellphone videos.

Memorial service held for woman who died in Texas jail

LISLE, Ill. – Family and friends of an Illinois woman found dead in a Texas jail remembered her Saturday as a “courageous voice” for social justice and promised to keep fighting for clarity on the circumstances surrounding her death.

Hundreds of people attended Sandra Bland’s funeral near the Chicago suburb where she grew up. They celebrated her life with words and songs of praise, and her mother danced in the church aisle with her arms raised. She and other mourners, though, said they were still struggling to understand how a traffic stop for failing to use a turn signal escalated into a physical confrontation and landed her in the cell where authorities say she killed herself three days later.

The Harris County, Texas, medical examiner’s office determined through an autopsy that Bland hanged herself with a plastic bag. The 28-year-old woman’s family has questioned the finding, saying she was excited about starting a new job and wouldn’t have taken her own life.

“I’m going to find out what happened to my baby,” her mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said. “My baby has spoken. She’s still speaking and no, she didn’t kill herself.”

Chrysler issues recall for 1.6 million Ram trucks

NEW YORK – Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix two separate issues affecting its Ram pickup trucks.

The first recall is to repair a steering wheel wiring harness that could rub against a spring in the air bag module. The resulting abrasion from the friction could cause an electrical short, prompting the front air bags to unexpectedly deploy. The recall affects just over 1 million 2012 to 2014 Ram trucks that were manufactured between January 2011 and October 2014.

The automaker is also recalling more than half a million trucks to fix faulty impact sensors. The faulty sensors could cause seat belt pre-tensioners to activate and air bags to deploy unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

The sensor issue affects 667,406 in the U.S. and 176,130 vehicles overseas.