Officials said the federal government will pay for gas mask-like safety gear for thousands of people who live near an incinerator where the Army will burn deadly nerve agents. As many as

35,000 people in eastern parts of the state could receive the protective hoods and training. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said no money would be released until the state provided

a plan for purchasing and maintaining the hoods, and for training people to use them. The agency said many details had to be worked out. The deal laid the groundwork for what could be the

first mass distribution of such safety gear to civilians on U.S. soil. MORE TO READ