In brief: NYPD officer dies from gunshot wound

NEW YORK – A 25-year-old police officer shot in the head while attempting to stop a man suspected of carrying a handgun died Monday from his injuries, the third New York City officer slain on duty in five months.

Brian Moore, who was in a coma after undergoing brain surgery following the Saturday evening shooting, was pronounced dead at a Queens hospital with his family, including his police officer father, uncle and cousin, at his bedside.

“He proved himself to be an exceptional young officer,” Police Commissioner William Bratton said, noting Moore had made more than 150 arrests in less than five years on the job and earned meritorious service medals.

Clinton agrees to one-session testimony

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton is willing to testify once on Capitol Hill later this month about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and her email practices during her tenure as secretary of state, her attorney told lawmakers in a letter Monday.

Lawyer David Kendall said the Democratic presidential candidate would appear for only one session the week of May 18 or later, not twice as requested by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the special panel investigating the September 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, at the U.S. outpost in Libya.

Gowdy had requested one hearing to focus on Clinton’s use of private emails, and a separate session on Benghazi.

Kendall said that Clinton would answer all lawmakers’ questions during one session and it would not be necessary for her to appear twice.

“Respectfully, there is no basis, logic or precedent for such an unusual request,” Kendall wrote. “The secretary is fully prepared to stay for the duration of the committee’s questions on the day she appears.”

Spokesman Jamal Ware said Gowdy will consider her response and issue a statement later “regarding the path forward” for Clinton’s testimony.

State Department finds no Clinton Foundation conflict

WASHINGTON – The State Department said Monday it has no evidence that any actions taken by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was secretary of state were influenced by donations to the Clinton Foundation or former President Bill Clinton’s speaking fees.

Spokesman Jeff Rathke said the department received requests to review potential conflicts primarily for proposed speech hosts or consulting deals for Bill Clinton and found no conflicts.

Rathke said, however, that the department welcomes new commitments from the Clinton Foundation to disclose its donors and to support additional efforts that ensure all of those donations are public.

The State Department’s comment comes as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign grapples with criticism that foreign entities traded donations to the family charity for favors at the State Department. Hundreds of paid speeches given by Bill Clinton, which can command as much as $500,000 or more per appearance, have also come under attack from Republican opponents.

Bill Clinton said 90 percent of donors give $100 or less. But over half of the donors giving $5 million or more are foreign, including foreign governments. Under pressure, the foundation recently announced it will only take money from six Western countries.

Missouri Senate overrides welfare limit veto

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri senators on Monday voted to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill removing several thousand families from a welfare program in a move Nixon said would make Missouri’s limits among the lowest in the nation.

The Republican-led Senate voted 25-9 to pass a measure that cuts the lifetime limit for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program that provides cash assistance to low-income residents from five years to three years and nine months. The bill also imposes stricter work requirements.

The measure now moves to the House, where Republicans hold a two-thirds majority that’s needed to complete the veto override. Nixon has warned that the measure would be harmful to children.

Sponsoring Sen. David Sater said the changes would encourage low-income parents to find work.

“Right now, this program is actually causing more of a dependency on government,” said Sater, a Republican from Cassville. “I want to stop that; I want to see families on their own, self-sufficient.”

Huge waves bring out California surfers

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Big surf kept rolling ashore Monday along south-facing sections of the Southern California coast after bodysurfers challenged the towering waves over the weekend and lifeguards were kept busy pulling people from the water.

The highest surf was expected Monday, with some sets reaching more than 12 feet along beaches in Orange and San Diego counties and 10 feet at Malibu and Zuma in Los Angeles County, the National Weather Service said.

Lifeguards at the Wedge in Newport Beach, a famous surf spot, reported 15-foot waves Monday afternoon.

A high-surf advisory remained in effect through today.