Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 11, 2017

Political Racket /Dirty Tricks:

A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers unveiled a bill yesterday that would ban "bump stocks" --a device used by the suspected gunman in this month's Las Vegas massacre. Bump Stocks allow semi-automatic weapons fire shots more rapidly, mimicking fully automatic weapons, which are virtually impossible to get.
The bill is co-authored by FL Republican CARLOS CURBELO and MA Democrat SETH MOULTON. In a statement, Curbelo said, "This common-sense legislation will ban devices that blatantly circumvent already existing law without restricting Second Amendment rights."
Moulton added, "We can always be doing more, but this bill is a crucial starting point... Keeping this conversation going, passing this legislation and listening to the American people will allow us to help make America safer so that we do not need to live in fear of weapons of war being used against our families and friends." (Pacelli)

Las Vegas "Bump Stock" class-action suit filed:

Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit from three Nevada residents who attended the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, was filed yesterday against the makers of those "bump stocks," which the shooter --STEPHEN PADDOCK-- used to give his weapons a virtual machine-gun rate of fire.
The suit accuses Slide Fire Solutions and other manufacturers of the bump stocks of negligence, which led to the infliction of emotional distress on thousands of people who witnessed or were injured in the Las Vegas shootings. The lawsuit was reportedly filed with the support from the nonprofit Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Slide Fire Solutions, a Texas company, has not responded to the suit yet.

Grace notes from Vinny Marino:

LIONEL RICHIE is producing a biopic on the late CURTIS MAYFIELD. Deadline.com says Lionel got the rights for the story from the Curtis Mayfield Estate, so it's all legit. Curtis started out as a member of THE IMPRESSIONS when he was just 14 years old. He also wrote and produced dozens of hits for other artists, mostly out of Chicago. Curtis went solo in 1970 and scored hits with "Superfly," "Freddie's Dead" and "Pusherman," all from the soundtrack to the movie, "Superfly." In 1990, Curtis was performing at an outdoor show in Brooklyn New York, when a lighting rig fell on him. He was paralyzed from the neck down but continued to record and perform. Curtis died in 1999 at age 57. (Marino)

Health and Medical Briefs:

A song by rapper and songwriter LOGIC about a desperate caller contemplating suicide is resonating with millions of listeners --and saving lives. That's because the song's title, "1-800-273-8255,"is also the real phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Logic told CBS Sunday Morningthat he has never had intrusive thoughts about harming himself. But he has struggled with anxiety and experienced feelings of hopelessness. "I just wanted them [other people] to know that they really weren't alone," Logic said. Since the single's release back in April, calls are up 33 percent at crisis hotline centers around the country.
Editor's note: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also for people concerned about someone they care about hurting themselves, in addition to providing a trained counselor who can talk to you if you are in crisis. Another resource is the nationally-available Crisis Text line. You can text 741-741 to speak to someone via text message. (Bartha)