Category Archives: US News

Donald Trump’s would-be assassin was a ‘monster’, Melania Trump says

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Former first lady thanks law enforcement for protecting her husband, as Trump’s children issue statements

Melania Trump has condemned the man who authorities say tried to assassinate her husband, Donald, on Saturday as “a monster”.

The former first lady’s comments came in a statement on Sunday which, like others from the former president’s family members, expressed support for law enforcement in their response to Saturday’s shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The shooting killed one spectator and wounded two before Secret Service agents shot the attacker dead.

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Trump rally shooting live: FBI names ‘subject involved’ in assassination attempt

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Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, named by the agency as person involved in the shooting at campaign event in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro rejected political violence in a statement posted on X following the apparent shooting of Donald Trump at a rally in his state today:

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung tells me in a statement that the former president is being assessed at a local medial facility:

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What we know about the shooting at a Donald Trump rally

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Suspected shooter and one rally attendee dead, says Butler county district attorney – here’s what else we know about the situation

A shooting occurred at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday, followed by the former president being rushed off the stage with blood around his ear. Here’s what we know about the situation so far.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when loud noises were heard in the crowd around 6.13pm.

Trump appeared to have been struck by something in the area of his right ear as he was speaking, and videos show him quickly clutching his ear and then ducking down to the ground, as security agents and others leap to his aid.

One spectator was killed and at least two were injured.

Trump stood up with blood on the side of his face and appeared to be saying “fight, fight” while pumping his fist.

Trump was then quickly escorted from the stage and into his vehicle.

The rally location is now an active crime scene. The FBI has taken over the investigation.

Trump’s team and the Secret Service confirmed that he was “fine” and being checked at a local medical facility.

Trump later posted a statement on Truth Social, saying he was hit by a “bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear”.

The Butler county district attorney confirmed that the suspected shooter and one rally attendee were dead. One person at the rally was in serious condition. The Secret Service later said two people were critically injured.

The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.

The FBI later named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, PA as the “subject involved” in the shooting.

The Secret Service shared more details on the shooter’s position and confirmed that the shooter was killed by the Secret Service. ABC News reported that law enforcement officials the suspect was perched on a rooftop and used an AR-style rifle.

The president, Joe Biden, said “everybody must condemn political violence” in a speech shortly after the shooting. The White House later said the president and Trump had spoken. Biden is traveling back to the White House. Trump is in New Jersey.

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Questions mount over shooter’s ability to access roof despite security presence

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Lawmakers express shock at apparent security lapses, while Mike Johnson says House will conduct ‘full investigation’

Demands for answers were mounting on Sunday as to how an armed man was able to get into position on a roof overlooking a rally and fire shots at Donald Trump – the 2024 presumptive Republican nominee – despite federal and local law enforcement presence and witnesses reportedly alerting police.

National lawmakers expressed shock at the apparent security lapses. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, said the chamber would conduct a “full investigation”.

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Donald Trump rally shooting: world leaders condemn political violence

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Presidents and prime ministers denounce shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania and wish him a quick recovery

Leaders from around the world have condemned the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, denounced political violence and wished Trump a quick recovery.

Trump posted on social media that he had been shot in the upper part of his right ear and that there was “much bleeding”. His campaign said he was “doing well” and confirmed he had been discharged from the hospital and had returned to his home in New Jersey. A video of him getting off a plane unaided was posted by an aide.

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Biden hits back at calls for withdrawal as Democrats are locked in battle of wills

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Speculation grows that senior figures including Barack Obama could step in and ask president to throw in the towel

What can we say to make you go, Joe? It is the question that more and more Democrats – elected members and ordinary voters – are asking as the rumbling crisis over Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy, sparked by a pitiful display in the debate in Atlanta, degenerates into a war of attrition.

Last Thursday, the president’s fate appeared perched on the edge of an abyss, as Congress members deserted him, senators poured out their heartfelt fears at a tearful meeting with White House staff, and even his own close aides and advisers briefed reporters that he should stand aside.

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Trump rally shooting being investigated as attempt on his life as spectator killed

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One spectator and suspected shooter both confirmed dead after incident at Pennsylvania campaign event

Law enforcement agents were investigating what they suspected was an attempt to assassinate Donald Trump after a man with a rifle fired shots at him during a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler county, Pennsylvania.

The Secret Service spokesperson, Anthony Gugliemi, said on X that the former Republican president was “safe” following several shots, which prompted agents protecting Trump to leap on him amid the ensuing panic. Gugliemi said Secret Service agents then fatally shot the suspected attacker – who had fired toward Trump “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue”, Gugliemi said.

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Trump rally shooting comes amid rise in support for political violence

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Research shows more Americans support violence to stop a second Trump presidency than back violence in his favor

A shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday comes at a time of heightened support for political violence in the US, including against Trump.

It is still unclear who fired the gunshots at Trump’s rally or what political beliefs they hold. Trump is safe, according to the Secret Service, but at least one rally attendee and the suspected shooter were killed, according to reports.

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Australian PM says ‘no place for violence in democratic process’ after Trump assassination attempt

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Anthony Albanese says he is relieved to hear Donald Trump is safe after shooting at campaign rally in Pennsylvania

Anthony Albanese says he is “relieved” that former US president Donald Trump is safe after a shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, calling the incident an “inexcusable attack”.

The Australian prime minister said there was “no place for violence in the democratic process” as other politicians decried the assassination attempt four months out from the US presidential election.

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Bernie Sanders backs Biden and urges Democrats to ‘stop the bickering’

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Senator hails ‘most effective president in modern history’ and says Biden is strongest bet to beat ‘demagogue’ Trump

Bernie Sanders has offered his backing to Joe Biden, dismissing calls for the man he described as the “most effective president in the modern history of our country” to stand down in the upcoming US presidential election.

Sanders, the totemic progressive US senator, used an opinion piece in the New York Times to endorse Biden, who has come under increasing fire from fellow Democrats over his ability to beat Donald Trump following a disastrous televised debate between the two.

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After Hurricane Beryl’s destruction, climate scientists fear for what’s next

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Experts say devastating hurricane so early in season is ‘big wake-up call’ – and predict even more powerful storms

The poignancy was unmistakable: prognosticators at Colorado State University amended their already miserable seasonal tropical cyclone forecast on Monday precisely as Hurricane Beryl was filling Houston’s streets with floodwater and knocking out power to more than 2m homes and businesses.

“A likely harbinger of a hyperactive season” was how CSU researchers characterized Beryl, which set numerous records on the way to its Texas landfall, including the earliest category 5 hurricane, strongest ever June storm, and most powerful to strike the southern Windward Islands.

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Republicans ramp up attacks on Kamala Harris amid swirl over Biden future

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Strength of criticism suggests Trump and allies see vice-president as powerful electoral asset for Democrats

With the state of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign in turmoil, Donald Trump and his Republican allies are stepping up attacks on a familiar and, some say, possibly more threatening, political foe: his vice-president, Kamala Harris.

In the weeks since Biden’s stumbling debate performance, Republicans have intensified what many call racist and misogynistic criticism. They have questioned Harris’s competency, mocked her demeanor, and accused her of concealing concerns about the president’s health. Trump unveiled a new, derisive nickname for the vice-president, “Laffin’ Kamala”, which he tested at a campaign rally in Florida this week.

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Bitter tensions as reporters feel misled by White House over Biden health

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Press briefings become flashpoint as journalists criticise culture of denial and non-disclosure around the president

It was the moment when long-simmering media resentment at a seemingly opaque White House broke through the surface with startling intensity.

With Joe Biden’s candidacy teetering in the wake of last month’s alarming debate showing, journalists who had covered his presidency full-time for years suddenly asserted that it lacked that most basic political element: credibility.

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Meta lifts restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

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‘Guardrails’ that previously existed removed as Meta says voters should be able to hear from presidential nominees

Meta has removed previous restrictions on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Donald Trump as the 2024 election nears, the company announced on Friday.

Trump was allowed to return to the social networks in 2023 with “guardrails” in place, after being banned over his online behavior during the 6 January insurrection. Those guardrails have now been removed.

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‘I’m not going anywhere’: Biden holds Michigan rally as calls to quit persist

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Hakeem Jeffries reveals ‘candid’ talks with president about 2024 future as another top Democrat urges Biden to pull out

Joe Biden delivered a defiant speech on Friday evening in the battleground state of Michigan, firmly dismissing the doubt swirling around his survival as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden held a rally at a high school gymnasium in Detroit as part of his visit to the critical swing state that chose Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. He walked on stage to audience chants of “don’t you quit” and addressed the speculation head on: “I am running, and we’re gonna win,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

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Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting trial dismissed after lawyers say evidence was withheld

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New Mexico judge agrees charges should be dropped after lawyers said state ‘buried’ evidence about live ammunition

Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial came to a dramatic end on Friday, after a New Mexico judge dismissed the case against the actor and found that the state had improperly withheld evidence related to how live rounds of ammunition ended up on the film set where the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot.

Just days after courtroom proceedings had begun, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled in favor of the defense and agreed that the charges against Baldwin should be dropped, finding that the state had concealed evidence that would have been favorable to the actor. The dismissal, made with prejudice, puts an end to the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin.

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Alec Baldwin trial: judge mulls dismissal after claim that state withheld evidence

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Actor’s defense team at Rust film set shooting trial accuses state of concealing ammunition turned over to police

The judge in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial is considering a motion from the defense to dismiss the case after the actor’s lawyers argued that the state improperly withheld evidence.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the Rust armorer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, was initially expected take the stand at Baldwin’s trial on Friday. But the proceedings took a dramatic turn as Baldwin’s defense team accused the state of concealing evidence that would have been favorable to the actor and asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to throw out the case.

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Republican senator Susan Collins says she will not vote for Trump

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Moderate conservative from Maine says she wanted Nikki Haley to win and will write her name on November ballot

US senator Susan Collins didn’t vote for her fellow Republican Donald Trump for president in 2016 or 2020 – and the third time will not be the charm.

The longtime moderate conservative from Maine told reporters on Friday that she intended to write in former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley’s name on the ballot in November. The move recalls 2016, when Collins said she wrote in then-US House speaker Paul Ryan for president over Trump, who won the White House before losing to Democratic rival Joe Biden in 2020.

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