House ethics panel warns against sharing fake images NEWS BRIEFING Staff and news services Responders rescue people from roof of burning high-rise in LA Greece seeks bids for floating border barrier to stop migrants Women, 5 children among 8 victims of Alabama dock fire Ga. State Patrol fires 32 new troopers for cheating Israel delays move to annex large parts of the West Bank

The House Ethics Committee is warning lawmakers not to share doctored images or videos that could "erode public trust, effect public discourse, or sway an election," guidance that comes during a proliferation of online misinformation.

In a memo sent to House members Tuesday, the committee said lawmakers or staffers could be found in violation of House ethics rules and subject to disciplinary proceedings for posting content intended to mislead the public.

"Members have a duty, and a First Amendment right, to contribute to the public discourse," the authors of the memo wrote. "However, manipulation of images and videos that are intended to mislead the public can harm that discourse and reflect discreditably on the House."

It's the first time the committee has admonished lawmakers on the use of fake images and audio on social media, though the new guidelines may be difficult to enforce because of a loophole allowing fake images when used for satire or parody.

The warning comes three weeks after Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., tweeted a doctored photo of President Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In a caption, he wrote: "The world is a better place without these guys in power."

The original, unaltered photo from 2011 featured Obama and then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Obama and Rouhani have never met.

Gosar later said he never intended the tweet - which was retweeted more than 6,000 times and liked more than 22,000 times - to be taken seriously.

Responders rescue people from roof of burning high-rise in LA

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters made a dramatic ladder rescue of a man about to jump from a burning Los Angeles high-rise apartment building Wednesday and helicopters plucked 15 people from the roof as other terrified residents fled through smoke-choked stairwells to safety.

Six people were hospitalized, two in critical condition, including the would-be jumper, in the fire that occurred in a building where a similar blaze broke out seven years ago, authorities said.

Residents described a frightening flight to safety, as they tried to move down crowded stairwells that forced some to turn back and go to the roof.

Firefighters had been at an office building fire two blocks away when the blaze broke out on Wilshire Boulevard on the edge of the tony Brentwood section of the city, allowing a rapid response.

Greece seeks bids for floating border barrier to stop migrants

ATHENS, Greece - The government in Greece wants to use a floating barrier to help stop migrants from reaching the Greek islands from the nearby coast of Turkey.

The Defense Ministry has invited private contractors to bid on supplying a 1.7-mile floating fence within three months, according to information available on a government procurement website Wednesday.

A resurgence in the number of migrants and refugees arriving by sea to Lesbos and other eastern Greek islands has caused severe overcrowding at refugee camps.

The netted barrier would rise 20 inches above water and be designed to hold flashing lights, the submission said. The Defense Ministry estimates the project will cost $550,000.

Women, 5 children among 8 victims of Alabama dock fire

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. - Six members of one family were among the eight victims of an early morning fire that engulfed a marina dock in minutes, forcing residents to flee in boats or jump into cold water to save themselves, authorities said Wednesday.

Grace Annette Watson Miles, 40, died in the blaze early Monday, officials said, along with five young people who relatives identified as her children: Dezli Nicole Miles, 7; Kesston Damien Miles, 9; Traydon Dominic Miles, 10; Bryli Long, 16; and Christopher Zane Long, 19.

Witnesses and relatives said the woman's husband, Joe Miles, was rescued from the water with burns.

Miles and others helped the woman and her children get off the flaming dock on to a boat that later caught fire, said survivor Tommy Jones.

Ga. State Patrol fires 32 new troopers for cheating

ATLANTA - An entire graduating class of the Georgia State Patrol's Trooper School has been fired or resigned amid a cheating scandal, the state's public safety chief said Wednesday.

Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Col. Mark W. McDonough confirmed that 32 troopers were fired after being accused of cheating on an online exam for the speed detection operator component of the school's curriculum. One trooper resigned after the cheating allegations came to light. All 33 are August graduates of the 106th Trooper School.

McDonough said the investigation began in October after officials learned about the allegations from the girlfriend of one of the cadets, who said she took the online test for him. When confronted about, the trooper told superiors, "The whole class cheated."

Israel delays move to annex large parts of the West Bank

JERUSALEM - Israel has postponed a move to annex large parts of the West Bank, a government minister said Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to quickly act on the Trump administration's Mideast plan despite fierce Palestinian opposition.

Netanyahu had said the Cabinet would vote Sunday on extending Israeli sovereignty to dozens of Jewish settlements as well as the Jordan Valley, a move that risks provoking a harsh backlash from the Palestinians and the international community.

But he appears to have put annexation on hold to explore the legal ramifications and to coordinate it with the United States.

Israel has not had a permanent government in a year, after two inconclusive elections, and it's unclear if a caretaker regime can make such a move.

In California: U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego area.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it featured an extensive rail/cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance, and a complex drainage system.

The tunnel was found about 70 feet underground and extends a total of 4,309 feet and is about 5.5 feet tall and 2 feet wide.The next longest tunnel was discovered in San Diego in 2014. It was 2,966 feet long.

Caption: Protesters use a slingshot to launch a stone at police Wednesday in Baghdad. Also Wednesday, Iraqi President Barham Saleh gave rival political blocs a Saturday deadline to select a prime minister nearly two months after the premier resigned under pressure.

Hadi Mizban/AP