WASHINGTON -- The plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned Washington's 32-year-old handgun ban was the first to arrive Thursday as the city began registering firearms.

Thursday marked the first day that District of Columbia residents could begin registering or applying for handguns since the Supreme Court struck down one of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Heller complained, however, that city officials were still making it difficult to register his firearm and exercise his constitutional right to bear arms.

"I've been rejected again," said Heller, who sued the city after his application for a handgun license was rejected in 2003.

The Supreme Court ruled June 26 that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to have guns for self-defense. Since then, city officials have moved quickly to abide by the decision. Under emergency legislation passed this week by the D.C. Council, residents may keep handguns only for self defense -- at home unloaded and disassembled, or equipped with trigger locks.

WASHINGTON -- It's OK to eat all kinds of tomatoes again, the U.S. government declared Thursday -- lifting its salmonella warning on the summer favorites amid signs that the record outbreak, while not over, may finally be slowing.

Hot peppers still get a caution: The people most at risk of salmonella -- including the elderly and people with weak immune systems -- should avoid fresh jalapenos and serranos, and any dishes that may contain them such as fresh salsa, federal health officials advised.

Investigators still don't know what caused the salmonella outbreak, which now has sickened 1,220 people in 42 states -- the earliest falling ill on April 10 and the latest so far on July 4.

But Thursday's move, coming as the tomato industry estimates its losses at more than $100 million, doesn't mean that tomatoes harvested in the spring are cleared. It just means that the tomatoes in fields and stores today are safe to eat, said Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief.

"This is not saying that anybody was absolved," Acheson said. But, "as of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may now enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available without concern of becoming infected with salmonella Saintpaul," the outbreak strain.

LOGAN, W.Va. -- Another defendant has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the suspected torture of a young woman held captive in West Virginia last summer.

Bobby Brewster, 25, pleaded guilty in Logan County Circuit Court on Tuesday to second-degree sexual assault, malicious assault and conspiracy to commit kidnapping or holding hostage. He was sentenced to at least 13 and as many as 40 years in prison, said Logan County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Ilderton.

In exchange for the plea, charges of kidnapping and assault during the commission of a felony were dismissed, Ilderton said.

Brewster was arrested in September along with five others. A seventh person was charged later.

Authorities say Charleston resident Megan Williams was held for days in a trailer where she was forced to eat animal feces, sexually assaulted and stabbed. She was rescued Sept. 8 after an anonymous caller alerted authorities.

REDDING, Calif. -- President Bush offered federal help and encouragement Thursday to some of the 25,000 firefighters working under a blazing sun to contain wildfires that make up the single largest fire event ever recorded in California.

Since a huge lightning storm on June 21, about 2,010 separate fires have ignited across California, ravaging nearly 900,000 acres. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in 12 counties affected by the wildfires and has called in the California National Guard to help.

"The weather is stable -- steady hot and dry inland," said Jason Kirchner, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. "Our folks are grinding away on these fires, making progress, but it's coming slow and it's a lot of work."

In Redding, in the northwest corner of the state, Bush was being briefed on the fires and meeting with a few dozen first responders and state and local officials.

Afterward, the president and Schwarzenegger were taking an aerial tour to survey fire damage in the 2.1 million-acre Shasta-Trinity National Forest, the largest in California.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Landon Wilburn, 11, has a future as a cop -- a traffic cop.

The youngster, who used to shout at speeders to slow down as they drove through the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville, now has taken matters into his own hands.

Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with an orange Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the actual speed of passing traffic.

Landon also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.

"When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it," said resident George Ayers, 61. "People were locking up their brakes when they saw him."

Many in the subdivision are frustrated that motorists tear through the neighborhood at 55 mph despite signs posting a 25 mph limit.

Officials said the city will install speed bumps in the neighborhood if 70 percent of residents agree and are willing to put up half the money.