National news briefs

Panel OKs bill on ski helmets for minors

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A legislative committee in California has advanced a bill that would require minors to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding and impose safety rules on ski resorts in the state.

If eventually signed into law, the helmet rule would be the most restrictive in the nation, mandating them for everyone under the age of 18.

The bill sponsored by Democratic state Assemblyman Dave Jones of Sacramento also would require ski resorts to file annual safety plans and issue monthly reports about injuries and deaths.

4 emergency workers will be punished

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An emergency worker is facing termination and three others suspensions in connection with the death of a Pittsburgh man who waited 30 hours for an ambulance during a snowstorm last month.

Public safety director Michael Huss says radio transmissions indicate emergency personnel showed a lack of compassion in dealing with calls before 50-year-old Curtis Mitchell died on Feb. 7.

In a recording played at a news conference Tuesday, emergency workers speaking to each other complained that they weren't running a "cab service."

College plays national anthem for first time

GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — Fans packed the stands and an American flag fluttered in a spring breeze as strains of the national anthem floated over the baseball field at Goshen College in what is a typical pregame ritual for most Americans.

But both the flagpole and the anthem were new Tuesday to the Mennonite-affiliated college, which had never before played "The Star-Spangled Banner" in deference to its pacifist traditions.

The northern Indiana college's decision to play an instrumental version, followed by a peace prayer, roiled many students and alumni when it was announced in January. But on Tuesday, the reaction was, if not 100 percent positive, at least polite.

Report says tribes can help environment

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A new report says American Indian tribes can help combat climate change by creating jobs and revenue through renewable energy development. The National Wildlife Federation released the report Tuesday.

Tribal lands make up almost 5 percent of the United States and hold around 10 percent of the country's renewable energy resources.