US Roundup: California 'devil winds'; Mail bomber charged; Freedom medals

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Severe 'devil winds' expected to whip up deadly California blazes

Severe hot and dry "devil winds" kicked up on Sunday in fire-ravaged Southern California and more winds were expected in the north, fanning the flames of wildfires that have killed at least 25 people, officials said. "This is getting worse," said meteorologist Marc Chenard, with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park Maryland.

New drug options, risk factors added to U.S. heart guidelines

Updated U.S. guidelines on heart health advise more personalized assessment of risk as well as two newer types of cholesterol-lowering drugs for people at particularly high risk of heart attack or stroke. The recommendations from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, last issued in 2013, acknowledge recent research showing the benefit of very low levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, which contributes to fatty plaque buildup and narrowing of arteries.

Accused U.S. mail bomber Sayoc could face life in prison with new charges

New York federal prosecutors on Friday brought new charges against Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of mailing bombs to prominent Democrats and other critics of U.S. President Donald Trump. In an indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors charged Sayoc with 30 criminal counts, including multiple counts of using a weapon of mass destruction and interstate transport of explosives.

U.S. marks the 100th anniversary of the end to WWI with poppies, Bells of Peace

Americans mark the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War One on Sunday with celebrations ranging from high-tech light shows to sombre gatherings in honour of the country's military veterans. More than 100,000 Americans died in World War One, after the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, driving the nation into a global conflict. Although the United States entered the war in the later stage, many Americans had disagreed with the decision to join allies Britain, France and Russia, some viewing it as an endless fight between old European rivals.

Florida to hold machine recount of U.S. Senate race votes

Florida will hold a machine recount of votes in its neck-and-neck race for the U.S. Senate, with results due by 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Thursday, its secretary of state said on Saturday. Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott has seen his lead narrow over incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson to about 12,500 votes, or 0.15 per cent, by Saturday afternoon.

California shooting follows the election of gun control advocate as governor

This week's fatal shooting of 12 people in a California bar by a Marine combat veteran came the day after the election of a new Democratic governor who has pushed for tighter gun control in the state, which already has some of the strictest firearms laws in the country. Ian David Long, 28, used a .45 calibre Glock handgun equipped with a high-capacity magazine to mow down patrons late on Wednesday in the bar and dance hall filled with college students, authorities said.

California town in shock and mourning now threatened by wildfire

It is a moment many Californians have come to dread: Seeing smoke from one of the state's increasingly devastating wildfires approaching and knowing they may soon be forced to leave their homes, perhaps forever. For residents of the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks, that moment came at the end of a gut-wrenching week in which a combat veteran entered a local bar and killed a dozen people in the kind of mass shooting that has become increasingly commonplace in the United States.

The Great War's end: a grandmother remembers

Jubilant New Yorkers took to the streets when the Great War ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, my late grandmother's ninth birthday. The gritty Brooklyn waterfront neighbourhood where she lived celebrated mightily, but a grim legacy of the war went on to take an even deadlier toll.

Trump to award freedom medals to Elvis, Babe Ruth

U.S. President Donald Trump will award the 2018 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Elvis Presley, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. and five other individuals, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The medal is the highest civilian honour in the United States and is given annually to people who have made outstanding contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours.

FBI hopes to learn what drove ex-Marine to kill 12 in California bar

The FBI is hoping to build a clear profile of a former U.S. Marine combat veteran who killed 12 people in a crowded Los Angeles area bar to discover a motive for the latest shooting massacre in the United States. The gunman, 28-year-old Ian David Long, entered the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, a suburb 40 miles (64 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and opened fire at a little before midnight before he apparently took his own life, law enforcement officials said.