[naviga:h3]Next year’s refugee cap announced[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will allow no more than 45,000 refugees into the United States next year, officials said Tuesday, in what would be the lowest level in more than a decade.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce the cap on refugee admissions following a lengthy debate within his administration about whether to go higher or lower. The figure represents the maximum number of refugees the U.S. would be willing to accept. The actual number of refugees who move to the United States could actually be lower.

The administration had been considering a ceiling somewhere between 40,000, which the Homeland Security Department recommended, and 50,000, the State Department’s preferred level, according to officials. The new figure appears to be a compromise that Cabinet officials felt would be palatable to the president.

Still, Trump’s stated hostility to accepting refugees and opposition among others in his administration mean the U.S. may not intend to fill all 45,000 slots in the 2018 fiscal year that starts Sunday. The U.S. hasn’t taken in so few refugees in a single year since 2006, when 41,223 were allowed entry.

[naviga:h3]Patient Utah nurse protected dies[/naviga:h3]

SALT LAKE CITY — A hospital patient who a Utah nurse said she was protecting when she refused to allow police to draw his blood has died.

William Gray, a commercial truck driver and reserve police officer, died late Monday night of the injuries he suffered when a fiery July 26 crash left him with burns over nearly half his body, University of Utah Health spokeswoman Suzanne Winchester said.

Gray was unconscious at the Salt Lake City hospital when police detective Jeff Payne asked to draw his blood hours after the crash. Nurse Alex Wubbels refused because hospital policy required a warrant or patient consent. Payne handcuffed her and dragged her outside.

Gray was hauling a load of sand in northern Utah when a pickup truck speeding away from police crossed the center line and hit his truck head-on, causing an explosion.

Though Gray was not suspected of wrongdoing, the pickup driver, Marcos Torres, 26, died in the crash and Utah police routinely collect such evidence from everyone involved in fatal crashes.

[naviga:h3]Border wall models under construction[/naviga:h3]

SAN DIEGO — Federal contractors on Tuesday began building prototypes of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico. Construction of eight models, blocked from view by a tarp, is expected to last 30 days.

Customs and Border Protection may pick several, or none. Roy Villarreal, acting chief of the Border Patrol’s San Diego sector, said another contractor will evaluate each model.