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There were unique and interesting articles about: Authorities hunted Friday for the reason a submersible carrying people to the wreck of the Titanic imploded deep in the North Atlantic
And it all only lasted a few days.
For someone interested in daily updates on ongoing subjects, there is always shootings in the U.S. and other countries.
The same or similar comments could be said about any issue.
Questions emerge about Titanic-bound sub’s regulation, as investigators hunt for reason it imploded
By PATRICK WHITTLE
2 minutes ago
Authorities hunted Friday for the reason a submersible carrying people to the wreck of the Titanic imploded deep in the North Atlantic, .. https://apnews.com/article/missing-titanic-submersible-updates-6255308420cb542fab287224c3e9b1c1 .. as questions emerged about how such expeditions are regulated and tributes poured in for the five aboard who were killed.
The announcement that no one survived Thursday brought a tragic end to a five-day saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search for the vessel known as the Titan.
The investigation into what happened was already underway and would continue in the area around Titanic where debris from the submersible was found, said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District.
“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Mauger said, adding that it was a “complex case” that happened in a remote part of the ocean and involved people from several different countries.
The first hint of a timeline came Thursday evening when a senior U.S. Navy official said that after the Titan was reported missing Sunday, the Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data and found an “anomaly” that was consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the vessel was operating when communications were lost. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system.
Those killed were Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the submersible; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The Titan launched at 6 a.m. Sunday, and was reported overdue Sunday afternoon about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the site of the disappearance.
Any sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the submersible’s 96-hour supply of air was expected to run out and the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” Mauger said.
The Coast Guard said Thursday that the sounds detected during the search — that had given rescuers some hope that maybe the people were alive — were likely generated by something other than the Titan.
The Navy official who spoke of the “anomaly” heard Sunday said the Navy passed on the information to the Coast Guard, which continued its search because the data was not considered definitive.
Tributes to those killed and praise for the searchers who tried to save them poured in from across the globe.
Harding’s family said in a statement: ”He was one of a kind and we adored him... What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.”
In a statement beginning with a Quranic verse, the Dawood family thanked rescuers: “Their untiring efforts were a source of strength for us during this time, We are also indebted to our friends, family, colleagues and well-wishers from all over the world who stood by us during our need.”
A longtime friend and colleague of Nargeolet told French media that when contact was lost Sunday, he quickly feared the worst.
“Unfortunately, I thought straight away of an implosion,” diver and retired underwater filmographer Christian Pétron said Friday to broadcaster France-Info. At the depths in which the submersible was operating, the pressure is intense and unforgiving, he noted.
“Obviously, the slightest problem with the hull and its implosion is immediate,” Pétron said.
Director James Cameron, who has made multiple dives to the wreckage of the Titanic, told the BBC that he knew an “extreme catastrophic event” had happened as soon as he heard the submersible had lost navigation and communications at the same time.
“For me, there was no doubt,” Cameron said. “There was no search. When they finally got an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) down there that could make the depth, they found it within hours. Probably within minutes.”
He said briefings about 96 hours of oxygen supply and banging noises were a “prolonged and nightmarish charade” that gave the crew members’ families false hope.
At least 46 people successfully traveled on OceanGate’s submersible to the Titanic wreck site in 2021 and 2022, according to letters the company filed with a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, that oversees matters involving the Titanic shipwreck.
But questions about the submersible’s safety were raised by both by a former company employee and former passengers. And experts noted the world of deep-sea exploration is not well regulated.
David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, argued in 2018 that the method the company devised for ensuring the soundness of the hull — relying on acoustic monitoring that could detect cracks and pops as the hull strained under pressure — was inadequate and could “subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible.”
OceanGate disagreed. Lochridge “is not an engineer and was not hired or asked to perform engineering services on the Titan,” it said, and it noted he was fired after refusing to accept assurances from the company’s lead engineer that the acoustic monitoring and testing protocol was, in fact, better suited to detect flaws than a method Lochridge proposed.
In deep-sea exploration, laws and conventions can be sidestepped. The Titan wasn’t registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety, according to Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy. Nor was it classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.
Rush, CEO of the company leading the expedition who died on Titan, has said he didn’t want to be bogged down by such standards.
One of the company’s first customers, meanwhile, likened a dive he made to the site two years ago to a suicide mission.
“Imagine a metal tube a few meters long with a sheet of metal for a floor. You can’t stand. You can’t kneel. Everyone is sitting close to or on top of each other,” said Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany. “You can’t be claustrophobic.”
___
Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Lolita C. Baldor in Washington; Frank Jordans in Berlin; Danica Kirka in London; Gene Johnson in Seattle; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; and John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.
https://apnews.com/article/missing-titanic-submersible-updates-93a59c3c1d48aee2feef46caca418fd1
Exclusive: Life-saving equipment for Titanic sub search caught in red tape, Explorers Club says
In an interview with National Geographic, the club president explains why special underwater robots are needed to recover Titan without damaging its fragile hull—but requests to bring the equipment to the search area are caught in a bureaucratic snafu.
By Kristin Romey
Published June 21, 2023
Efforts by the Explorers Club .. https://www.explorers.org/search-for-titanic-expedition-intensifies/ .. to send potentially life-saving technology to locate and retrieve the missing Titan submersible have been delayed by the U.S. Coast Guard since Monday, according to exclusive information provided to National Geographic.
National Geographic can also reveal that at least one remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was destroyed during the search for the submersible.
Explorers Club president Richard Garriott de Cayeux says that offers from club leadership to deliver working-class ROVs from deep-water firm Magellan to the search since Monday have been tied up in a bureaucratic snafu.
Two crew members onboard the missing submersible, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, are Explorers Club members.
(6 urgent questions on the missing Titanic submersible.)
[..]
“Magellan has received mixed signals, first hearing from US Gov to get ready, waiting for plans, then getting told to stand down,” Garriott wrote in an email sent to Vice Admiral William Galanis, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John W. Mauger, who is leading the recovery mission, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and Representative Eric Swalwell on Wednesday afternoon.
Garriott notes that time is running out to rescue the five-member crew—if they are still alive. “Whatever the right thing is to do, we should still do it, even if it's now at the cusp of fatality,” he tells National Geographic.
The Magellan Argus-class ROVs, which have been used previously to survey Titanic, are capable of deploying to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) and are outfitted with external arms that can retrieve and raise Titan. They are currently located in the United Kingdom and could be delivered to the site within 16 hours.
Instead, the U.S. Navy Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System is currently steaming to the remote Titanic site. This technology was used to retrieve an F-35 from 12,400 feet of water—very similar to the depths of the Titanic site—in March.
But unlike a warplane, the hull of Titan is made of carbon-fiber composite. Garriott is concerned that the Navy system’s recovery “scoop” may damage Titan and kill any surviving crew members during the recovery process.
“The concern is that the big scooper will crush the hull, because it would be almost impossible to get down under it in the mud without applying pressure to the hull itself,” says Garriott. “Instead, a 6,000-meter working-class [ROV] has the ability to attach directly to the [haul cable] point on the top of the sub. It’s a traditional method and people like Magellan have done it over and over again. It's the way it's designed to happen.”
“We believe there might be a living crew, but that they probably only have 24-plus hours of life support—although the crew would probably die slowly over the next days, a person at a time,” says Garriott.
There are several ROVs currently searching for Titan, but they can only record data and would be unable to assist in raising the submersible if and when it is found.
In addition, at least one ROV, possibly two, was damaged or destroyed during the search-and-rescue mission—a testament to the difficult conditions currently facing rescuers.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/titan-submersible-rescue-delay-explorers-club?rid=AEFBA20D5C5A2325E3B605C8DE89028D&cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=BreakingNews_Titanic_20230621
Capitol rioter who shocked police officer with stun gun is sentenced to over 12 years in prison
APNEWS
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
today
".Review of Jan. 6 cases finds judges give harsh lectures, lighter sentences..."
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez, a California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer's neck during one of the most violent clashes of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.
Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of the courtroom where U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison.
Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of the courtroom where U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 12 years and seven months behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Only two other Jan. 6 defendants have received longer prison terms so far after hundreds of sentencings for Capitol riot cases.
The judge said Rodriguez, 40, was “a one-man army of hate, attacking police and destroying property” at the Capitol.
“You showed up in (Washington) D.C. spoiling for a fight,” Jackson said. “You can’t blame what you did once you got there on anyone but yourself.”
Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone ’s body camera captured him screaming out in pain after Rodriguez shocked him with a stun gun while he was surrounded by a mob.
Another rioter had dragged Fanone into the crowd outside a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, where a line of police officers was guarding an entrance to the building. Other rioters began beating Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after Rodriguez pressed the stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him.
Fanone addressed the judge before she imposed the sentence. The former officer described how the Jan. 6 attack prematurely ended his law-enforcement career and turned him into a target for Donald Trump supporters who cling to the lie that Democrats stole the 2020 election from the Republican incumbent.
Fanone left the courtroom in the middle of Rodriguez’s statement to the judge. He didn’t miss an apology from Rodriguez, who has been jailed for more than two years and will get credit for that time already served.
“I’m hopeful that Michael Fanone will be okay some day,” Rodriguez said. “It sounds like he’s in a great deal of pain.”
Fanone said he left the courtroom because he didn’t care to hear his assailant’s “rambling, incoherent” statement.
“Nothing he could have said to me today would have made any difference whatsoever,” he said.
Prosecutors recommended a 14-year prison sentence for Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty in February to charges including assaulting Fanone. They also sought a fine of nearly $100,000 to offset the cost of Fanone’s medical bills and medical leave.
Fanone’s injuries ultimately ended his career in law enforcement. He has written a book about his Jan. 6 experience and testified in front of a House committee that investigated the insurrection, which disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
“Rodriguez’s criminal conduct on January 6 was the epitome of disrespect for the law; he battled with law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol for hours, nearly costing one officer his life, in order to stop the official proceeding happening inside,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including conspiracy and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He entered the guilty plea about two weeks before his trial was scheduled to start in Washington, D.C.
On Jan. 6, Rodriguez attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before joining the mob of rioters who attacked police in the Lower West Terrance tunnel.
“Rodriguez made his way to the front of the line of rioters battling the officers, yelling into his bullhorn at the beleaguered line,” prosecutors wrote.
Rodriguez deployed a fire extinguisher at police officers in the tunnel and shoved a wooden pole at the police line before another rioter, Kyle Young, handed him what appeared to be a stun gun, according to prosecutors.
Fanone was at the front of the police line when another rioter, Albuquerque Cosper Head, wrapped his arm around the officer’s neck and dragged him out onto the terrace steps, then restrained Fanone while other rioters attacked him. Rodriguez shocked Fanone’s neck with the stun gun, below the left ear of his police helmet.
Fanone managed to retreat and collapsed behind the police line before he was taken to a hospital.
“Once inside, when officers were able to revive him after 2 minutes and 21 seconds, the first thing Officer Fanone asked was ‘did we take back that door?’” prosecutors wrote.
Rodriguez entered the building and smashed a window with a wooden pole before leaving Capitol grounds.
Head was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to an assault charge.
Young also was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in the officer’s assault. Young grabbed Fanone by the wrist while others yelled, “Kill him!” and “Get his gun!”
During an interview with FBI agents after his March 2021 arrest, Rodriguez said had believed that he was doing the “right thing” on Jan. 6 and that he had been prepared to die to “save the country.” He cried as he spoke to the agents, saying he was “stupid” and ashamed of his actions.
In the days leading up to Jan. 6, Rodriguez spewed violent rhetoric in a Telegram group chat called “PATRIOTS 45 MAGA Gang.”
“There will be blood. Welcome to the revolution,” Rodriguez wrote a day before the riot.
Rodriguez’s attorneys said he idolized Trump, seeing the the former president “as the father he wished he had.”
“Mr. Rodriguez trusted Trump blindly and admired Trump so much that he referred to him as ‘dad’ in his social media chats leading up to Jan. 6th,” defense attorneys wrote, seeking a prison sentence of five years and five months for their client.
The same judge who sentenced Rodriguez also convicted a co-defendant, Edward Badalian, of three riot-related charges and acquitted him of a fourth after a trial without a jury. Jackson is scheduled to sentence Badalian on July 21.
"There have been 1,042 people charged with offenses related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol."
https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/ .. with GRAPHICS
Over 700 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials.
And approximately 550 of them have been sentenced, with over half receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 18 years.
https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-sentence-daniel-rodriguez-michael-fanone-stun-gun-e9695c314110df4064fc0cd242b58a68
Mass shootings and violence leave dead and injured across the US this weekend
By MATTHEW BROWN and CLAIRE SAVAGE
2 hours ago
CHICAGO (AP) — Mass shootings and violence killed and wounded people across the United States this weekend, including at least 60 shot in the Chicago area alone.
Four people were found shot to death in a small Idaho town, a Pennsylvania state trooper was killed in an ambush, and bullets struck 11 teenagers, killing one, at a party in Missouri.
The shootings happened in cities and rural areas alike, following a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. Officers responded to mass shootings in Washington state, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Southern California and Baltimore.
“There’s no question there’s been a spike in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases seem to be just disputes, often among adolescents, and those disputes are played out with firearms, not with fists.”
Related coverage
– 1 trooper killed, 1 critically wounded in central Pennsylvania
https://apnews.com/article/trooper-shot-pennsylvania-ec8fe17dc2d3f0cbba1bc0e743cef3df
– Parking lot party shooting leaves 1 dead and at least 22 people hurt in suburban Chicago
https://apnews.com/article/willowbrook-illinois-party-shooting-a730bb6b0dbfbfd31b89f9784d469edc
Researchers disagree over the cause. Theories include the possibility that violence is driven by the prevalence of guns in America, or by less aggressive police tactics or a decline in prosecutions for misdemeanor weapon offenses, Nagin said.
Only the Idaho killings fit the definition of a mass killing in which four or more people die, not including the shooter. However, the number of injured in most of the weekend cases matches the widely accepted definition for mass shootings.
Here’s a look at some of the shootings this weekend:
CHICAGO
Five people were shot, two fatally on the city’s South Side on Sunday evening when someone opened fire from a car that pulled up to a gathering, according to police.
Another four men were shot, one fatally, during an altercation in a garage in the West Side neighborhood of Austin around 3 a.m. Sunday, police said. Five others including a teenage girl were shot early Saturday near Lincoln Park Zoo, and two dozen more were shot in other incidents since Friday evening, city data shows.
Meanwhile in the suburbs, at least 23 people were shot, one fatally, early Sunday in a parking lot where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, authorities said.
The White House issued a statement calling the violence a tragedy and saying the president was thinking of those killed and injured. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he was monitoring the investigation.
KELLOGG, IDAHO
Police in Idaho arrested a suspect in a shooting that killed four people on Sunday at an apartment complex behind a church.
Responding officers found four people, all dead from gunshot wounds, at a residence in Kellogg that’s behind the Mountain View Congregational Church, according to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and news reports. Idaho State Police said a 31-year-old man was detained, KXLY-TV reported.
ST. LOUIS
An early Sunday shooting in a downtown St. Louis office building killed a 17-year-old and wounded 11 other teenagers, the city’s police commissioner said.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Commissioner Robert Tracy identified the victim who was killed as 17-year-old Makao Moore. A spokesman said a minor who had a handgun was in police custody as a person of interest.
Teenagers were having a party in an office space when the shooting broke out around 1 a.m. Sunday.
The victims ranged from 15 to 19 years old. A 17-year-old girl was trampled as she fled, seriously injuring her spine, Tracy said.
WASHINGTON STATE
Two people were killed and two others were injured when a shooter began firing “randomly” into a crowd at a Washington state campground where many people were staying to attend a nearby music festival on Saturday night, police said.
The suspect was shot in a confrontation with law enforcement officers and taken into custody, several hundred yards from the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival.
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
One state trooper was killed and a second critically wounded just hours apart in central Pennsylvania on Saturday after a gunman attacked a state police barracks.
The suspect drove his truck into the parking lot of the Lewistown barracks about 11 a.m. Saturday and opened fire with a large-caliber rifle on marked patrol cars before fleeing, authorities said Sunday.
Lt. James Wagner, 45, was critically wounded when he was shot after encountering the suspect several miles away in Mifflintown. Later, Trooper Jacques Rougeau Jr., 29, was ambushed and killed by a gunshot through the windshield of his patrol car as he drove down a road in nearby Walker Township, authorities said.
The suspect was shot and killed after a fierce gunbattle, said Lt. Col. George Bivens.
“What I witnessed ... was one of the most intense, unbelievable gunfights I have ever witnessed,” Bivens said, lauding troopers for launching an aggressive search despite facing a weapon that “would defeat any of the body armor that they had available to them.”
A motive was not immediately known.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A shooting at a pool party at a Southern California home left eight people wounded, authorities said Saturday.
Authorities were dispatched shortly after midnight in Carson, California, south of Los Angeles, KABC-TV reported.
The victims range in age from 16 to 24, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
BALTIMORE
Six people were injured in a Friday night shooting in Baltimore. All were expected to survive.
Officers heard gunshots in the north of the city just before 9 p.m. and found three men with numerous gunshot wounds. Medics took them to area hospitals for treatment.
Police later learned of three additional victims who walked into area hospitals with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 26.
SAN FRANCISCO
Six people were injured after a “car-to-car” shooting in the streets of San Francisco on Sunday evening, police said.
Two victims sustained gunshot wounds, one with life-threatening injuries, in the moving shootout beginning shortly before 7 p.m., San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said at a news conference Sunday.
Suspects in two cars, a black SUV and a white sedan, “drove very recklessly and chased each other while engaged in gunfire” near the northern waterfront, Scott said. The area includes Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s busiest tourist areas.
Three victims were injured by glass shards caused by “errant gunfire,” Scott said, with none of the injuries considered to be life-threatening.
Two girls, ages 10 and 16, were struck by one of the two vehicles while walking their bicycles across the street. The younger girl was injured and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while the older girl was not injured.
PHILADELPHIA
A 4-year-old boy was among five victims of a shooting in south Philadelphia Saturday night.
Police responded to the block shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday and found a 58-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the legs, a 54-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her wrist and leg, and the boy, who was brought to Presbyterian Hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
A 30-year-old man also arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the wrist and a 40-year-old man was brought in with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The last victim was listed in critical condition; all others were said to be in stable condition.
—
Brown contributed from Billings, Mont. Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
https://apnews.com/article/mass-shootings-us-weekend-3c8cc1562a78abb0ce5f302afa600ea2
Mass shootings and violence leave dead and injured across the US this weekend
By MATTHEW BROWN and CLAIRE SAVAGE
2 hours ago
CHICAGO (AP) — Mass shootings and violence killed and wounded people across the United States this weekend, including at least 60 shot in the Chicago area alone.
Four people were found shot to death in a small Idaho town, a Pennsylvania state trooper was killed in an ambush, and bullets struck 11 teenagers, killing one, at a party in Missouri.
The shootings happened in cities and rural areas alike, following a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. Officers responded to mass shootings in Washington state, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Southern California and Baltimore.
“There’s no question there’s been a spike in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases seem to be just disputes, often among adolescents, and those disputes are played out with firearms, not with fists.”
Related coverage
– 1 trooper killed, 1 critically wounded in central Pennsylvania
https://apnews.com/article/trooper-shot-pennsylvania-ec8fe17dc2d3f0cbba1bc0e743cef3df
– Parking lot party shooting leaves 1 dead and at least 22 people hurt in suburban Chicago
https://apnews.com/article/willowbrook-illinois-party-shooting-a730bb6b0dbfbfd31b89f9784d469edc
Researchers disagree over the cause. Theories include the possibility that violence is driven by the prevalence of guns in America, or by less aggressive police tactics or a decline in prosecutions for misdemeanor weapon offenses, Nagin said.
Only the Idaho killings fit the definition of a mass killing in which four or more people die, not including the shooter. However, the number of injured in most of the weekend cases matches the widely accepted definition for mass shootings.
Here’s a look at some of the shootings this weekend:
CHICAGO
Five people were shot, two fatally on the city’s South Side on Sunday evening when someone opened fire from a car that pulled up to a gathering, according to police.
Another four men were shot, one fatally, during an altercation in a garage in the West Side neighborhood of Austin around 3 a.m. Sunday, police said. Five others including a teenage girl were shot early Saturday near Lincoln Park Zoo, and two dozen more were shot in other incidents since Friday evening, city data shows.
Meanwhile in the suburbs, at least 23 people were shot, one fatally, early Sunday in a parking lot where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, authorities said.
The White House issued a statement calling the violence a tragedy and saying the president was thinking of those killed and injured. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he was monitoring the investigation.
KELLOGG, IDAHO
Police in Idaho arrested a suspect in a shooting that killed four people on Sunday at an apartment complex behind a church.
Responding officers found four people, all dead from gunshot wounds, at a residence in Kellogg that’s behind the Mountain View Congregational Church, according to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and news reports. Idaho State Police said a 31-year-old man was detained, KXLY-TV reported.
ST. LOUIS
An early Sunday shooting in a downtown St. Louis office building killed a 17-year-old and wounded 11 other teenagers, the city’s police commissioner said.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Commissioner Robert Tracy identified the victim who was killed as 17-year-old Makao Moore. A spokesman said a minor who had a handgun was in police custody as a person of interest.
Teenagers were having a party in an office space when the shooting broke out around 1 a.m. Sunday.
The victims ranged from 15 to 19 years old. A 17-year-old girl was trampled as she fled, seriously injuring her spine, Tracy said.
WASHINGTON STATE
Two people were killed and two others were injured when a shooter began firing “randomly” into a crowd at a Washington state campground where many people were staying to attend a nearby music festival on Saturday night, police said.
The suspect was shot in a confrontation with law enforcement officers and taken into custody, several hundred yards from the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival.
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
One state trooper was killed and a second critically wounded just hours apart in central Pennsylvania on Saturday after a gunman attacked a state police barracks.
The suspect drove his truck into the parking lot of the Lewistown barracks about 11 a.m. Saturday and opened fire with a large-caliber rifle on marked patrol cars before fleeing, authorities said Sunday.
Lt. James Wagner, 45, was critically wounded when he was shot after encountering the suspect several miles away in Mifflintown. Later, Trooper Jacques Rougeau Jr., 29, was ambushed and killed by a gunshot through the windshield of his patrol car as he drove down a road in nearby Walker Township, authorities said.
The suspect was shot and killed after a fierce gunbattle, said Lt. Col. George Bivens.
“What I witnessed ... was one of the most intense, unbelievable gunfights I have ever witnessed,” Bivens said, lauding troopers for launching an aggressive search despite facing a weapon that “would defeat any of the body armor that they had available to them.”
A motive was not immediately known.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A shooting at a pool party at a Southern California home left eight people wounded, authorities said Saturday.
Authorities were dispatched shortly after midnight in Carson, California, south of Los Angeles, KABC-TV reported.
The victims range in age from 16 to 24, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
BALTIMORE
Six people were injured in a Friday night shooting in Baltimore. All were expected to survive.
Officers heard gunshots in the north of the city just before 9 p.m. and found three men with numerous gunshot wounds. Medics took them to area hospitals for treatment.
Police later learned of three additional victims who walked into area hospitals with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 26.
SAN FRANCISCO
Six people were injured after a “car-to-car” shooting in the streets of San Francisco on Sunday evening, police said.
Two victims sustained gunshot wounds, one with life-threatening injuries, in the moving shootout beginning shortly before 7 p.m., San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said at a news conference Sunday.
Suspects in two cars, a black SUV and a white sedan, “drove very recklessly and chased each other while engaged in gunfire” near the northern waterfront, Scott said. The area includes Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s busiest tourist areas.
Three victims were injured by glass shards caused by “errant gunfire,” Scott said, with none of the injuries considered to be life-threatening.
Two girls, ages 10 and 16, were struck by one of the two vehicles while walking their bicycles across the street. The younger girl was injured and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while the older girl was not injured.
PHILADELPHIA
A 4-year-old boy was among five victims of a shooting in south Philadelphia Saturday night.
Police responded to the block shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday and found a 58-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the legs, a 54-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her wrist and leg, and the boy, who was brought to Presbyterian Hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
A 30-year-old man also arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the wrist and a 40-year-old man was brought in with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The last victim was listed in critical condition; all others were said to be in stable condition.
—
Brown contributed from Billings, Mont. Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
https://apnews.com/article/mass-shootings-us-weekend-3c8cc1562a78abb0ce5f302afa600ea2
HISTORY OF PANDEMICS
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Main_DeadliestPandemics-Infographic-11082021.jpg
YOUR LINK
U.S. Open a source of uncertainty on and off the course
By EDDIE PELLS
today
Brooks Koepka walks on the fourth hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open Championship golf tournament
at The Los Angeles Country Club on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Uncertainty off the course. Uncertainty on it.
The U.S. Open was set to tee off into uncharted territory Thursday, with the golf world perplexed by the recent shakeup-makeup between Saudi golf interests and the PGA Tour and 156 of the sport’s best players taking on a course hardly anyone has seen.
Pretty much every question heading into the 123rd playing of America’s national championship dealt with one or the other of those issues. Los Angeles Country Club is a beautiful mystery, the first course in LA to host the Open in 75 years.
It’s known for its runway-wide fairways — they average 43 yards across — but many of those expanses are heavily canted, built to reject tee shots into the healthy, spongy Bermuda rough or into the native, scrub-dotted and unpredictable sandscapes called barrancas that wind through this urban oasis.
There is a reachable par 4 — the sixth hole — that will, at times, play shorter than the downhill par-3 seventh. There’s the par-3 15th hole that can play anywhere from 80 to 135 yards, with tee boxes positioned at multiple angles.
Legend has it that the great Ben Hogan, when playing LACC for the first time, asked for an aiming point off the fifth tee box. His caddie pointed to four palm trees in the distance and said to hit toward them. Hogan’s response: “Which one?”
A wide-open course that demands precision and that hardly anyone — outside of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and their 2017 Walker Cup teammates — has played under tournament conditions: Who knows what to expect?
“The most frequent question I’ve received in the last couple of years leading up to this championship, ‘What is the winning score going to be?’ USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said. “I can genuinely say, more than any other Open, ‘I don’t know.’”
There is some risk in not knowing.
More than others that run the majors, the bosses at USGA have the most history of not wanting the tournament to be about them, but often missing that mark.
That’s usually because of the way the golf course is set up. The last handful of years, including stops at The Country Club outside Boston and Torrey Pines down the highway in San Diego, have been relatively drama free. The last time the USGA took its biggest show into uncharted territory was in 2017, to Erin Hills, the wide-open expanse formed by ancient glaciers in Wisconsin.
The wind that serves as that layout’s best defense never materialized. Brooks Koepka pulverized it, winning the first of his five major titles with a score of 16-under par.
The USGA didn’t overreact the way it did, say, back in the 1970s when Johnny Miller’s 5 under at Oakmont led to Hale Irwin’s win the next year at “The Massacre at Winged Foot” at 7 over. But 16 under tied the lowest U.S. Open score in relation to par in history. It was hardly the show the USGA expected.
Koepka is certainly part of this week’s story, too. He is four weeks removed from his third PGA Championship and comes to Los Angeles seeking his third title in this one, as well.
He is also a member of LIV Golf. His win at Oak Hill largely punctured the idea that all those who left the PGA Tour for the money provided by the Saudi-backed tour did so because they didn’t have the game to compete at the highest level.
While Koepka’s win wasn’t likely the driver of the end of the hostilities, the timing sure felt keen.
“The more chaotic things get, the easier it gets for me,” Koepka said as he, like all the other big-name players, was slammed with questions about the uncertain future of golf. “Everything starts to slow down and I am able to focus on whatever I need to focus on while everybody else is dealing with distractions, worried about other things.”
In many ways, this year feels a lot like last year. When the U.S. Open returned to The Country Club for the first time in 34 years, it came a mere week after LIV’s first tournament and with rumors swirling about who might defect next.
Then, they started playing.
More than the Saudis or LIV headliner Phil Mickelson (who is in Los Angeles this week, playing it very low key) or anybody’s paycheck, Matt Fitzpatrick’s 9-iron from a fairway bunker on the 72nd hole is what most golf fans will remember about that U.S. Open.
Chances are, this Sunday will produce another history maker. After that, the players will have all the answers they sought about a golf course most of them hadn’t seen. Then they’ll head down the road, still in the dark about what comes next.
“Even though I guess it is confusing,” Fitzpatrick said, “it’s pretty clear that nobody knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”
https://apnews.com/article/us-open-golf-los-angeles-2ac2725b155aeed09792fbef5183a1d0
GOP presidential candidates struggle with response to Trump’s unprecedented legal troubles
By STEVE PEOPLES and JILL COLVIN
9 minutes ago
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Just last week, former Vice President Mike Pence said he hoped federal prosecutors would not bring charges against former President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, a day after Trump was arraigned on dozens of felony counts related to classified documents, Pence described the allegations as “a very serious matter.”
“I cannot defend what is alleged,” Pence, who is now challenging Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, said on CNBC. Later in the day, the former vice president faced pointed questions from a conservative radio host after refusing to say whether he would pardon Trump if given the chance.
Pence’s evolving message highlights the high-stakes dilemma for Trump’s Republican rivals, who are struggling to find a clear and consistent strategy to take on the frontrunner as Trump’s unprecedented legal troubles threaten to dominate all other issues in the 2024 presidential contest.
Some Republican leaders this week have demonstrated a newfound willingness to criticize Trump over the seriousness of the allegations, which include mishandling government secrets that as commander in chief he was entrusted to protect.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former naval officer and Trump’s top rival for the nomination, said that “if I would have taken classified (documents) to my apartment, I would have been court-martialed in a New York minute.”
But that was just a brief mention in a weekend speech at a North Carolina GOP gathering, during which he focused his censure on the Justice Department and the Biden administration. He has avoided addressing it since.
It’s been much the same for other challengers. Even the most aggressive have layered their criticism of Trump with attacks against the Justice Department — for bringing charges against him — that make it difficult at times to determine exactly where they stand on the former president.
And that’s precisely the point, given Trump’s continued popularity among GOP voters and his rivals’ desire to dent his lead without alienating his base.
Indeed, most of Trump’s competitors are making a risky bet — for now — that the weight of his extraordinary baggage will eventually sink his reelection bid. They believe it will take time
Trump’s Republican opponents privately concede that his political strength is likely to grow stronger in the short term, as GOP voters, key officials and conservative media leaders rally around him.
For example, Pastor Robert Jeffress, of the First Baptist megachurch in Dallas, initially declined to endorse Trump’s 2024 bid but declared Tuesday night that the GOP’s presidential primary was all but over.
“I thought there would be almost a civil war in the Republican Party for the nomination, but that quickly turned into an unconditional surrender,” said Jeffress, who mingled at Trump’s post-indictment gathering at Bedminster, New Jersey. “People absolutely love this president, and I believe his base is going to turn out.”
The Republican establishment has tried and failed to reject Trump and his divisive politics for much of the past decade. But this time the GOP faces the very real possibility that a man who has been indicted twice and charged with dozens of felonies could become the party’s standard-bearer in 2024.
Fighting that outcome, which once seemed all but inevitable, a powerful conservative voice is being raised in the fight for the first time.
The Koch network’s political arm, Americans for Prosperity, has begun running online ads across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — the first three states on the GOP’s presidential primary calendar — focusing on questions about Trump’s electability in next fall’s general election against Biden. The new ads make no mention of his legal troubles
“Trump did a lot of good things as president,” one of the ads says. “But this time, he can’t win.”
Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel said her organization has talked to thousands of voters in key states to determine the most effective arguments to undermine Trump’s political strength.
“Based on the data we’re collecting, more than two-thirds of people who say they’re supporting Trump are also receptive to arguments that he is a weak candidate, his focus on 2020 is a liability, and his lack of appeal with independent voters is a problem,” Seidel said. “That tells us that many Republicans are ready to move on — they just need to see another candidate step up and show they can lead and win.”
So far, Trump’s rivals are still trying to find their footing as the former president commands a big lead in early Republican primary polls.
And as they test evolving messages on the campaign trail and in media appearances, none of top-tier competitors are running paid advertisements pointing to Trump’s legal troubles.
Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, told Fox News on Monday that Trump was incredibly “reckless with our national security” if the allegations in the indictment are true. On Tuesday, she repeated the pointed criticism, but also said she’d be inclined to pardon Trump if he’s convicted.
“I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case,” Haley said on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show.
Pence refused to say he would pardon Trump when pressed on the same conservative radio show on Wednesday, saying it was premature to have such a conversation and that he would “follow the facts.”
That sounded like he would be fine with Trump in prison and felt “pretty disrespectful,” he was told.
“Look, we either believe in our judicial process in this country or we don’t,” Pence said. “We either stand by the rule of law or we don’t.”
Others have made defending Trump a central message in their early campaigns.
Speaking outside the Miami courthouse on Tuesday, White House hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said his campaign had sent a letter to other 2024 candidates challenging them to join his pledge to pardon Trump on their first day in office “or else publicly explain why you will not.”
Trump, meanwhile, is trying to take advantage of the media storm. After his appearance in federal court in Miami, he made a stop at the city’s famed Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, with news cameras in tow. He then headed home to his Bedminster summer residence, where aides had assembled hundreds of supporters, club members and reporters for a post-arraignment speech.
Trump was welcomed like a general returning home from battle. Insisting he was innocent of all charges, he vowed that, as president, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden and his family.
As for the indictment and charges? “This is called election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election,” Trump said.
As they reckon with the logistical complications of balancing court appearances with campaign rallies, as well as the possibility Trump could face years behind bars, his political advisers stress what they see as the political benefits. They believe the wall-to-wall coverage of his legal woes makes it difficult for his competitors to break through as the focus rests on him.
“From a campaign standpoint, I mean, what did the other candidates do today? Do we know?” asked Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung. “There’s no oxygen for the other candidates.”
The campaign also announced Wednesday that it had raised more than $7 million since Trump broke news of his second indictment, including $2.1 million raised at a Bedminster fundraiser Tuesday night. Trump’s campaign had reported raising more than $4 million in the 24 hours after news of his New York indictment broke in March, suggesting the indictments remain a strong money-raiser, but a potentially diminishing one.
Those other candidates are eager to highlight cracks in Trump’s support, although for now, they appear to be modest.
On Capitol Hill, a small but growing Republican minority of lawmakers have recently described the new federal charges against Trump as serious.
“I would not feel comfortable with a convicted felon in the White House,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told CNN. He pointed to Trump’s attacks against Hillary Clinton, who was accused of mishandling classified documents in her emails in 2016. “His words have set the standard.”
Veteran Republican strategist Ari Fleischer warned that it would take time to understand the political impact of Trump’s growing legal challenges.
“A short-term rally around Trump now is not the true measure,” Fleischer said. “The only test is a long-term test.”
___
Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-republican-primary-president-oxygen-71283a8b4627f88024e1007e50e5297f
Flag Etiquette and the U.S. Flag Code
The U.S. Flag Code formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used.
The following is a list of do’s and don’ts associated with Old Glory, the U.S. Flag.
When displaying the flag, DO the following:
* Display the U.S. flag from sunrise to sunset on buildings and stationary flagstaffs in the open. When a patriotic effect is desired the flag may be displayed 24-hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
* When placed on a single staff or lanyard, place the U.S. Flag above all other flags.
* When flags are displayed in a row, the U.S. flag goes to the observer’s left. Flags of other nations are flown at same height. State and local flags are traditionally flown lower.
* When used during a marching ceremony or parade with other flags, the U.S. Flag will be to the observer’s left.
* On special days, the flag may be flown at half-staff. On Memorial Day it is flown at half-staff until noon and then raised.
* When flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. By "half-staff" is meant lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff.
* When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union (blue field of stars) to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.
* When placed on a podium the flag should be placed on the speaker’s right or the staging area. Other flags should be placed to the left.
* When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall (or other flat surface), the union (blue field of stars) should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left.
* When displayed in a window it should be displayed in the same way -- with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street.
* When the flag is displayed on a car, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
* When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground.
When saluting the flag DO the following:
All persons present in uniform (military, police, fire, etc.) should render the military salute. Members of the armed forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute.
All other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, or if applicable, remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
When stowing or disposing of the flag, DO the following:
Fold in the traditional triangle for stowage, never wadded up.
The flag should be folded in its customary manner.
It is important that the fire be fairly large and of sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag.
Place the flag on the fire.
The individual(s) can come to attention, salute the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and have a brief period of silent reflection.
After the flag is completely consumed, the fire should then be safely extinguished and the ashes buried.
Please make sure you are conforming to local/state fire codes or ordinances.
Quick list of Flag Etiquette Don’ts:
Don’t dip the U.S. Flag for any person, flag, or vessel.
Don’t let the flag touch the ground.
Don’t fly flag upside down unless there is an emergency.
Don’t carry the flag flat, or carry things in it.
Don’t use the flag as clothing.
Don’t store the flag where it can get dirty.
Don’t use it as a cover.
Don’t fasten it or tie it back. Always allow it to fall free.
Don’t draw on, or otherwise mark the flag.
Don’t use the flag for decoration. Use bunting with the blue on top, then white, then red.
https://www.military.com/flag-day/flag-ettiquette-dos-and-donts.html
Flag Etiquette and the U.S. Flag Code
The U.S. Flag Code formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used.
The following is a list of do’s and don’ts associated with Old Glory, the U.S. Flag.
When displaying the flag, DO the following:
* Display the U.S. flag from sunrise to sunset on buildings and stationary flagstaffs in the open. When a patriotic effect is desired the flag may be displayed 24-hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
* When placed on a single staff or lanyard, place the U.S. Flag above all other flags.
* When flags are displayed in a row, the U.S. flag goes to the observer’s left. Flags of other nations are flown at same height. State and local flags are traditionally flown lower.
* When used during a marching ceremony or parade with other flags, the U.S. Flag will be to the observer’s left.
* On special days, the flag may be flown at half-staff. On Memorial Day it is flown at half-staff until noon and then raised.
* When flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. By "half-staff" is meant lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff.
* When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union (blue field of stars) to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.
* When placed on a podium the flag should be placed on the speaker’s right or the staging area. Other flags should be placed to the left.
* When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall (or other flat surface), the union (blue field of stars) should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left.
* When displayed in a window it should be displayed in the same way -- with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street.
* When the flag is displayed on a car, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
* When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground.
When saluting the flag DO the following:
All persons present in uniform (military, police, fire, etc.) should render the military salute. Members of the armed forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute.
All other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, or if applicable, remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
When stowing or disposing of the flag, DO the following:
Fold in the traditional triangle for stowage, never wadded up.
The flag should be folded in its customary manner.
It is important that the fire be fairly large and of sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag.
Place the flag on the fire.
The individual(s) can come to attention, salute the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and have a brief period of silent reflection.
After the flag is completely consumed, the fire should then be safely extinguished and the ashes buried.
Please make sure you are conforming to local/state fire codes or ordinances.
Quick list of Flag Etiquette Don’ts:
Don’t dip the U.S. Flag for any person, flag, or vessel.
Don’t let the flag touch the ground.
Don’t fly flag upside down unless there is an emergency.
Don’t carry the flag flat, or carry things in it.
Don’t use the flag as clothing.
Don’t store the flag where it can get dirty.
Don’t use it as a cover.
Don’t fasten it or tie it back. Always allow it to fall free.
Don’t draw on, or otherwise mark the flag.
Don’t use the flag for decoration. Use bunting with the blue on top, then white, then red.
https://www.military.com/flag-day/flag-ettiquette-dos-and-donts.html
Why do we celebrate Flag Day? Here are the do's and don'ts for the June 14 holiday
Janet Loehrke
USA TODAY
Flag Day is June 14, which celebrates the symbolism and history of the American flag.
The U.S. has celebrated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes in a variety of ways when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing the June 14 as Flag Day in May 1916. These celebrations include flying the flag in front of residences, participating in parades, and holding other patriotic events. Several states and numerous cities had begun commemorating the day before to 1916.
In 1877 the first Flag Day was celebrated, 100 years after the Continental Congress adopted the flag. In 1949, President Harry Truman officially made Flag Day a day of national observance.
While its look has changed more than a few times over the years, the American flag has remained a symbol of freedom and justice. A look back at some of its milestones and reasons for its evolution.
American flags throughout history
Graphics and more details
https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/06/10/flag-day-2023-celebration-explained/70273035007/
Why do we celebrate Flag Day? Here are the do's and don'ts for the June 14 holiday
Janet Loehrke
USA TODAY
Flag Day is June 14, which celebrates the symbolism and history of the American flag.
The U.S. has celebrated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes in a variety of ways when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing the June 14 as Flag Day in May 1916. These celebrations include flying the flag in front of residences, participating in parades, and holding other patriotic events. Several states and numerous cities had begun commemorating the day before to 1916.
In 1877 the first Flag Day was celebrated, 100 years after the Continental Congress adopted the flag. In 1949, President Harry Truman officially made Flag Day a day of national observance.
While its look has changed more than a few times over the years, the American flag has remained a symbol of freedom and justice. A look back at some of its milestones and reasons for its evolution.
American flags throughout history
Graphics and more details
https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/06/10/flag-day-2023-celebration-explained/70273035007/
Tiebreake 274
Scheffler Koepka Spieth Hatton Rose
President Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.
By Jeffrey Goldberg
September 3, 2020
Saved Stories
When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.
Belleau Wood is a consequential battle in American history, and the ground on which it was fought is venerated by the Marine Corps. America and its allies stopped the German advance toward Paris there in the spring of 1918. But Trump, on that same trip, asked aides, “Who were the good guys in this war?” He also said that he didn’t understand why the United States would intervene on the side of the Allies.
Trump’s understanding of concepts such as patriotism, service, and sacrifice has interested me since he expressed contempt for the war record of the late Senator John McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. “He’s not a war hero,” Trump said in 2015 while running for the Republican nomination for president. “I like people who weren’t captured.”
[...]
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/
Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges that he illegally kept classified documents at Florida estate
By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
36 minutes ago
Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.
The history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect, kickstarts a legal process that could unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.
Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade en route to the courthouse and insisting as he has through years of legal woes that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.
The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented public reckoning this year for Trump, ..https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0 .. who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race. .. https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b
He’s sought to project confidence in the face of unmistakable legal peril, attacking the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case as “a Trump hater,” pledging to remain in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. He stopped on his way out of Miami at Versailles, an iconic Cuban restaurant in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood where supporters serenaded Trump, who turns 77 years old on Wednesday, with “Happy Birthday.”
Even so, the gravity of the moment was clear.
Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling top-secret information. The indictment unsealed last week charged Trump with 37 felony counts -- many under the Espionage Act -- that accuse him of illegally storing classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department as investigators demanded them back. The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.
Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a victim of political persecution. But Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”
Smith attended Tuesday’s arraignment, sitting in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.
The court appearance unfolded against the backdrop of potential protests, with some high-profile backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support. Trump himself encouraged supporters to join a planned protest Tuesday at the courthouse. Though city officials said they prepared for possible unrest around the courthouse, there were little signs of significant disruption.
While Trump was not required to surrender a passport – prosecutor David Harbach said he was not considered a flight risk, a likely recognition of his status as a presidential candidate – he was directed to not have any personal contact with any witnesses in the case. That includes Walt Nauta, his valet and close aide, who was indicted last week on charges that he moved boxes of documents at Trump’s direction and misled the FBI about it. He did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.
The magistrate judge who presided over the arraignment directed Trump not to discuss the case with any witnesses, including Nauta, but said they can discuss work.
Even for a man whose post-presidential life has been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.
A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but the Justice Department filed it in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred. Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.
It’s unclear what defenses Trump is likely to invoke as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.
The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.
The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” prosecutors say
Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.
___
Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Terry Spencer, Kate Brumback, Curt Anderson and Joshua Goodman in Miami, contributed to this report.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809
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More on Donald Trump-related investigations:
https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
Bill Barr rips Trump over defense on secret documents
“Battle plans for an attack on another country or Defense Department documents about our capabilities are in no universe Donald J. Trump’s personal documents,” he said.
Then Attorney General Bill Barr appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee
on May 1, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
By DAVID COHEN
06/11/2023 10:52 AM EDT
Former Attorney General Bill Barr attacked former President Donald Trump’s rationale when it came to his possession of top-secret material, saying there is no way Trump has a right to retain some of the material alleged to be in his possession.
“Battle plans for an attack on another country or Defense Department documents about our capabilities are in no universe Donald J. Trump’s personal documents. They are the government’s documents,” Barr said on “Fox News Sunday” in discussing last week’s 37-count indictment.
The former president has said repeatedly that he had a right to declassify and retain any documents from his four years in the White House.
Barr, who served in the Trump administration, said there was a distinction to be made between the president’s personal documents, such as notes taken at a meeting, and “very sensitive” documents “prepared by government agencies for the purpose of government action.” He also said almost anyone else in the country would have returned the documents if asked.
“This particular episode of trying to retrieve those documents, the government acted responsibly,” he said. “And it was Donald J. Trump who acted irresponsibly.”
The former attorney general also distinguished between Trump’s handling of documents and the processes that other former presidents used in handling the turnover of sensitive documents at the end of their terms, saying they had used secure and orderly procedures.
In differentiating this investigation from others that examined Trump’s conduct, Barr said he had defended Trump in the past — including in response to Alvin Bragg’s recent indictment in New York — but this case is different.
“This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous,” Barr said.
“Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. Yes, his adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims. I have been at his side defending against them when he is a victim.
But this is much different. He is not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets the country has.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/11/bill-barr-trump-attack-classified-documents-00101418
Poor air quality from Canadian wildfires affects people as far as away as North Carolina
By JENNIFER PELTZ, ROB GILLIES and MICHAEL R. SISAK
14 minutes ago
With the Washington Monument in the background and a thick layer of smoke, Marine Corps honor color guard rehearse, Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Washington. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The sun rises over the lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, June 8, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Haze blankets the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023, as seen from Arlington, Va. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest and covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A person cycles past the skyline in Philadelphia shrouded in haze, Thursday, June 8, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
NEW YORK (AP) — On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange.
With weather systems expected to barely budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.
That means at least another day of a dystopian-style detour that’s chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.
The weather system that’s driving the great Canadian-American smokeout — a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia — “will probably be hanging around at least for the next few days,” U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey said.
“Conditions are likely to remain unhealthy, at least until the wind direction changes or the fires get put out,” Ramsey said. “Since the fires are raging — they’re really large — they’re probably going to continue for weeks. But it’s really just going be all about the wind shift.”
Across the eastern U.S., officials warned residents to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities again Thursday, extending “Code Red” air quality alerts in some places for a third straight day as forecasts showed winds continuing to push smoke-filled air south.
The smoke has moved over Greenland and Iceland since June 1, and was expected to reach Norway on Thursday, the Norwegian Climate and Environmental Research Institute said, but wasn’t expected to be a health concern.
In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered schools to cancel outdoor recess, sports and field trips Thursday. In suburban Philadelphia, officials set up an emergency shelter so people living outside can take refuge from the haze.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state was making a million N95 masks — the kind prevalent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — available at state facilities, including 400,000 in New York City. She also urged residents to stay put.
“You don’t need to go out and take a walk. You don’t need to push the baby in the stroller,” Hochul said Wednesday night. “This is not a safe time to do that.”
The message may be getting through. So far, officials said Wednesday, New York City has yet to see an uptick in 911 emergency calls related to respiratory issues and cardiac arrests.
More than 400 blazes burning across Canada have left 20,000 people displaced. The U.S. has sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to Canada. Other countries are also helping.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to President Joe Biden by phone Wednesday. Trudeau’s office said he thanked Biden for his support and that both leaders “acknowledged the need to work together to address the devastating impacts of climate change.”
Canadian officials say this is shaping up to be the country’s worst wildfire season ever. It started early on drier-than-usual ground and accelerated quickly. Smoke from the blazes has been flowing into the U.S. since last month but intensified with recent fires in Quebec, where about 100 were considered out of control Wednesday.
“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, where the sky took on the colorful nickname of the local university: Orange.
The smoke was so thick in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, that office towers just across the Ottawa River were barely visible. In Toronto, Yili Ma said her hiking group canceled a planned hike this week, and she was forgoing the restaurant patios that are a beloved summer tradition in a nation known for hard winters.
“I put my mask away for over a year, and now I’m putting on my mask since yesterday,” Ma lamented.
Eastern Quebec got some rain Wednesday, but Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault said no significant rain is expected for days in the remote areas of central Quebec where the wildfires are more intense.
In the U.S., federal officials delayed some flights bound Thursday morning for New York’s LaGuardia Airport; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia because smoke was limiting visibility. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of air traffic into Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina, as well.
Major League Baseball’s Yankees and Phillies had their games postponed. On Broadway, “Hamilton” and “Camelot” canceled Wednesday performances and “Prima Facie” star Jodie Comer left a matinee after 10 minutes because of difficulty breathing. The show restarted with an understudy, show publicists said.
It was not to be at Central Park’s outdoor stage, either. Shakespeare in the Park canceled its Thursday and Friday performances of “Hamlet,” saying ’tis not nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of wretched air.
“I put my mask away for over a year, and now I’m putting on my mask since yesterday,” Ma lamented.
Eastern Quebec got some rain Wednesday, but Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault said no significant rain is expected for days in the remote areas of central Quebec where the wildfires are more intense.
In the U.S., federal officials delayed some flights bound Thursday morning for New York’s LaGuardia Airport; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia because smoke was limiting visibility. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of air traffic into Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina, as well.
Major League Baseball’s Yankees and Phillies had their games postponed. On Broadway, “Hamilton” and “Camelot” canceled Wednesday performances and “Prima Facie” star Jodie Comer left a matinee after 10 minutes because of difficulty breathing. The show restarted with an understudy, show publicists said.
It was not to be at Central Park’s outdoor stage, either. Shakespeare in the Park canceled its Thursday and Friday performances of “Hamlet,” saying ’tis not nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of wretched air
https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-canada-quebec-smoke-new-york-washington-86eb7685c5330c548fd93891fffcfd65
Poor air quality from Canadian wildfires affects people as far as away as North Carolina
https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-canada-quebec-smoke-new-york-washington-86eb7685c5330c548fd93891fffcfd65
By JENNIFER PELTZ, ROB GILLIES and MICHAEL R. SISAK
39 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange.
With weather systems expected to barely budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.
Minnesota is OK ...so far
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air-water-land-climate/current-air-quality-conditions
AP PHOTOS: From NYC's skyline to Washington DC's monuments, wildfire haze envelopes familiar sites
By The Associated Press
49 minutes ago
https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-haze-canada-new-york-washington-0d24be8f977dc3e43fbbf17e363edfed
AP PHOTOS: From NYC's skyline to Washington DC's monuments, wildfire haze envelopes familiar sites
By The Associated Press
49 minutes ago
https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-haze-canada-new-york-washington-0d24be8f977dc3e43fbbf17e363edfed
‘I can taste the air’: Hazardous smoke from wildfires hangs over millions in Canada, US
By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES
26 minutes ago
Pedestrians pass the One World Trade Center, center, amidst a smokey haze from wildfires in Canada, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports, postponing Major League Baseball games and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.
While Canadian officials asked other countries for additional help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people, air quality with what the U.S. rates as hazardous levels of pollution extended into central New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and, later, the New York metropolitan area. Massive tongues of unhealthy air extended as far as North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions of people.
“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he later said by phone, even made him a bit dizzy.
The air quality index, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency metric for air pollution, exceeded a staggering 400 at times in Syracuse, New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. A level of 50 or under is considered good; anything over 300 is considered “hazardous,” when even healthy people are advised to curtail outdoor physical activity.
In Baltimore, Debbie Funk sported a blue surgical mask as she and husband, Jack Hughes, took their daily walk around Fort McHenry, a national monument overlooking the Patapsco River. The air hung thick over the water, obscuring the horizon.
“I walked outside this morning, and it was like a waft of smoke,” said Funk. She said the couple planned to stay inside later Wednesday, as officials were urging.
Canadian officials say this is shaping up to be the nation’s worst wildfire season ever. It started early on drier-than-usual ground and accelerated very quickly, exhausting firefighting resources across the country, fire and environmental officials said.
Smoke from the blazes in various parts of the country has been lapping into the U.S. since last month but intensified with recent fires in Quebec, where about 100 were considered out of control Wednesday — which, unsettlingly, was national Clean Air Day in Canada.
The smoke was so thick in downtown Ottawa, Canada’s capital, that office towers just across the Ottawa River were barely visible. In Toronto, Yili Ma said her hiking plans were canceled and she was forgoing restaurant patios, a beloved Canadian summer tradition.
“I put my mask away for over a year, and now I’m putting on my mask since yesterday,” the 31-year-old lamented.
Quebec Premier François Legault said the province currently has the capacity to fight about 40 fires — and the usual reinforcements from other provinces have been strained by conflagrations in Nova Scotia and elsewhere.
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre spokesperson Jennifer Kamau said more than 950 firefighters and other personnel have arrived from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and more are due soon.
In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden has sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to Canada. His administration has contacted some U.S. governors and local officials about providing assistance, she said
The largest town in Northern Quebec — Chibougamau, population about 7,500 — was evacuated Tuesday, and Legault said the roughly 4,000 residents of the northern Cree town of Mistissini would likely have to leave Wednesday. But later in the day, Mistissini Chief Michael Petawabano said his community remains safe and asked residents to wait for instructions from Cree officials.
Eastern Quebec got some rain Wednesday, but Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault said no significant rain is expected for days in the remote areas of central Quebec where the wildfires are more intense
U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Taylor said the current weather pattern in the central and eastern U.S. is essentially funneling in the smoke. Some rain should help clear the air somewhat in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend or early next week, though more thorough relief will come from containing or extinguishing the fires, he said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said 1 million N95 masks would be available at state facilities. New York City Mayor Eric Adams told residents of the United States’ most populous city to limit outdoor activities and parks officials closed beaches as smoke smudged out the skyline.
The Federal Aviation Administration paused some flights bound for LaGuardia Airport and slowed planes to Newark Liberty and Philadelphia because the smoke was limiting visibility. It also contributed to delayed arrivals at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, where a heavy haze shrouded the Washington Monument and forced the cancellation of outdoor tours.
Major League Baseball put off games in New York and Philadelphia, and even an indoor WNBA game in Brooklyn was called off. On Broadway, “Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing and left the matinee after 10 minutes; the show restarted with an understudy, show publicists said.
Schools in multiple states canceled sports and other outdoor activities, shifting recess inside. Live horse racing was canceled Wednesday and Thursday at Delaware Park in Wilmington. Organizers of Global Running Day, a virtual 5K, advised participants to adjust their plans according to air quality.
New Jersey closed state offices early, and some political demonstrations in spots from Manhattan to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were moved indoors or postponed. Striking Hollywood writers were pulled off picket lines in the New York metropolitan area.
The smoke exacerbated health problems for people such as Vicki Burnett, 67, who has asthma and has had serious bouts with bronchitis.
After taking her dogs out Wednesday morning in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Burnett said, “I came in and started coughing and hopped back into bed.”
Still, she stressed that she’s concerned for Canadians, not just herself.
“It’s unfortunate, and I’m having some problems for it, but there should be help for them,” she said.
___
Gillies reported from Toronto. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Michael Hill in Albany, New York; David Koenig in Dallas; Aamer Madhani in Washington; Brooke Schultz in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Lea Skene in Baltimore; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Ron Todt in Philadelphia; Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan; and Mark Kennedy, Jake Offenhartz, Karen Matthews and Julie Walker in New York.
___
This story has corrected the attribution of material about forecast for rain in Quebec to Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault, not Quebec Premier François Legault
https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-canada-quebec-3291016eaa4905177c90feae02a139c5
‘I can taste the air’: Hazardous smoke from wildfires hangs over millions in Canada, US
By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES
26 minutes ago
Pedestrians pass the One World Trade Center, center, amidst a smokey haze from wildfires in Canada, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports, postponing Major League Baseball games and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.
While Canadian officials asked other countries for additional help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people, air quality with what the U.S. rates as hazardous levels of pollution extended into central New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and, later, the New York metropolitan area. Massive tongues of unhealthy air extended as far as North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions of people.
“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he later said by phone, even made him a bit dizzy.
The air quality index, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency metric for air pollution, exceeded a staggering 400 at times in Syracuse, New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. A level of 50 or under is considered good; anything over 300 is considered “hazardous,” when even healthy people are advised to curtail outdoor physical activity.
In Baltimore, Debbie Funk sported a blue surgical mask as she and husband, Jack Hughes, took their daily walk around Fort McHenry, a national monument overlooking the Patapsco River. The air hung thick over the water, obscuring the horizon.
“I walked outside this morning, and it was like a waft of smoke,” said Funk. She said the couple planned to stay inside later Wednesday, as officials were urging.
Canadian officials say this is shaping up to be the nation’s worst wildfire season ever. It started early on drier-than-usual ground and accelerated very quickly, exhausting firefighting resources across the country, fire and environmental officials said.
Smoke from the blazes in various parts of the country has been lapping into the U.S. since last month but intensified with recent fires in Quebec, where about 100 were considered out of control Wednesday — which, unsettlingly, was national Clean Air Day in Canada.
The smoke was so thick in downtown Ottawa, Canada’s capital, that office towers just across the Ottawa River were barely visible. In Toronto, Yili Ma said her hiking plans were canceled and she was forgoing restaurant patios, a beloved Canadian summer tradition.
“I put my mask away for over a year, and now I’m putting on my mask since yesterday,” the 31-year-old lamented.
Quebec Premier François Legault said the province currently has the capacity to fight about 40 fires — and the usual reinforcements from other provinces have been strained by conflagrations in Nova Scotia and elsewhere.
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre spokesperson Jennifer Kamau said more than 950 firefighters and other personnel have arrived from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and more are due soon.
In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden has sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to Canada. His administration has contacted some U.S. governors and local officials about providing assistance, she said
The largest town in Northern Quebec — Chibougamau, population about 7,500 — was evacuated Tuesday, and Legault said the roughly 4,000 residents of the northern Cree town of Mistissini would likely have to leave Wednesday. But later in the day, Mistissini Chief Michael Petawabano said his community remains safe and asked residents to wait for instructions from Cree officials.
Eastern Quebec got some rain Wednesday, but Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault said no significant rain is expected for days in the remote areas of central Quebec where the wildfires are more intense
U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Taylor said the current weather pattern in the central and eastern U.S. is essentially funneling in the smoke. Some rain should help clear the air somewhat in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend or early next week, though more thorough relief will come from containing or extinguishing the fires, he said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said 1 million N95 masks would be available at state facilities. New York City Mayor Eric Adams told residents of the United States’ most populous city to limit outdoor activities and parks officials closed beaches as smoke smudged out the skyline.
The Federal Aviation Administration paused some flights bound for LaGuardia Airport and slowed planes to Newark Liberty and Philadelphia because the smoke was limiting visibility. It also contributed to delayed arrivals at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, where a heavy haze shrouded the Washington Monument and forced the cancellation of outdoor tours.
Major League Baseball put off games in New York and Philadelphia, and even an indoor WNBA game in Brooklyn was called off. On Broadway, “Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing and left the matinee after 10 minutes; the show restarted with an understudy, show publicists said.
Schools in multiple states canceled sports and other outdoor activities, shifting recess inside. Live horse racing was canceled Wednesday and Thursday at Delaware Park in Wilmington. Organizers of Global Running Day, a virtual 5K, advised participants to adjust their plans according to air quality.
New Jersey closed state offices early, and some political demonstrations in spots from Manhattan to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were moved indoors or postponed. Striking Hollywood writers were pulled off picket lines in the New York metropolitan area.
The smoke exacerbated health problems for people such as Vicki Burnett, 67, who has asthma and has had serious bouts with bronchitis.
After taking her dogs out Wednesday morning in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Burnett said, “I came in and started coughing and hopped back into bed.”
Still, she stressed that she’s concerned for Canadians, not just herself.
“It’s unfortunate, and I’m having some problems for it, but there should be help for them,” she said.
___
Gillies reported from Toronto. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Michael Hill in Albany, New York; David Koenig in Dallas; Aamer Madhani in Washington; Brooke Schultz in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Lea Skene in Baltimore; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Ron Todt in Philadelphia; Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan; and Mark Kennedy, Jake Offenhartz, Karen Matthews and Julie Walker in New York.
___
This story has corrected the attribution of material about forecast for rain in Quebec to Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault, not Quebec Premier François Legault
https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-canada-quebec-3291016eaa4905177c90feae02a139c5
Christie goes after Trump in presidential campaign launch, calling him a ‘self-serving mirror hog’
By JILL COLVIN and HOLLY RAMERtoda
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wasted no time going after Donald Trump while launching his presidential campaign on Tuesday, calling the former president and current Republican primary front-runner a “lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog” and arguing that he’s the only one who can stop him.
A onetime federal prosecutor, Christie was among the crowded field of 2016 Republican presidential candidates steamrolled by Trump. Now that Trump is running for the White House a third time, this year’s crop of rivals have no choice but to criticize him relentlessly, or risk political history repeating itself, Christie says.
Kicking off his campaign with a town hall at Saint Anselm College, Christie suggested that other top Republicans have been afraid to challenge Trump or even mention his name much while campaigning — but made it clear he had no such qualms.
“A lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog is not a leader,” Christie said, adding, “The person I am talking about, who is obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault, who always finds someone else and something else to blame for whatever goes wrong — but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right — is Donald Trump.”
Christie enters a growing primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Former Vice President Mike Pence will be formally launching his own campaign in Iowa on Wednesday.
Mere weeks after dropping out of the 2016 race, Christie became the first sitting governor and former rival to endorse Trump. He went on to become a close off-and-on adviser before finally breaking with Trump over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election.
During his time as governor, Christie established a reputation as a fighter with a knack for creating viral moments of confrontation. But he faces an uphill battle to the nomination in a party that remains closely aligned with the former president, despite Trump’s reelection loss in 2020 and Republicans’ poorer-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterm elections.
Anti-Trump Republicans are particularly eager to see Christie spar with Trump on a debate stage. But that happen only if Trump agrees to participate in primary debates and Christie meets the stringent fundraising criteria set by the Republican National Committee for participation
JP Marzullo, a former state representative and former vice chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, previously backed Trump but is now supporting Christie.
“I think he’ll actually unite some of the voters, and he’ll get to independents,” Marzullo said of the former governor, adding, “I think it’s time for a change.”
Christie began criticizing Trump by name mere moments into his half-hour speech Tuesday, saying the former president had “made us smaller by dividing us even further and pitting us one against the other.”
He also said President Joe Biden “is doing the same thing, just on the other side.” Christie noted that he’d known Biden for decades and that he was a nice guy, but said that the president is “out of his depth” because “he’s not the guy he used to be,” referencing the 80-year-old Biden’s advanced age.
But Christie’s chief target was Trump.
“There’s a big argument in our country right now about whether character matters, and we have leaders who have shown us over and over again that not only are they devoid of character, they don’t care.” Christie said. “We can’t dismiss the question of character anymore, everybody. If we do, we get what we deserve, and we will have to own it.”
Christie advisers are planning a nontraditional, nationally focused campaign based on earned media attention, instead of focusing on specific states. Their candidate said staying aggressive against Trump was key and scoffed Tuesday at what he said were Trump’s failed promises, including a pledge to wall off the entire southern U.S. border and have Mexico pay for it.
“The reason I’m going after Trump is twofold,” Christie said. “One, he deserves it. And two, it’s the way to win.”
Christie will test the appetite among Republican voters for someone who has expressed support for many of Trump’s policies but has criticized the former president’s conduct. The former governor has urged the party to move on or risk future losses.
Other Republicans with similar views, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, have opted against their own campaigns, expressing concerns that having more candidates in the race will only benefit Trump.
Christie was at one point seen as one of the Republican Party’s brightest political stars as the popular Republican governor of a Democratic state. But despite persistent urging from top donors and party officials, he declined to run for president in 2012. By the time he announced in 2016, his reputation had been tarnished by the “Bridgegate” scandal in which aides were accused of wreaking traffic havoc in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in an apparent effort to punish the city’s mayor for failing to endorse his reelection bid.
The former governor has known Trump for nearly 20 years but their relationship has been complicated. Christie was on the shortlist to serve as Trump’s vice president, oversaw Trump’s early White House transition efforts, said he was offered — and turned down — multiple Cabinet positions, and helped Trump prepare for each of his general election debates in 2016 and 2020.
But Christie also clashed with Trump at times and has described the former president’s refusal to accept his 2020 election loss to Biden as a breaking point.
Christie opting to start his 2024 bid at a New Hampshire town hall recalled his first run at the White House, when he focused on the state, holding dozens of New Hampshire town hall events only to finish sixth in its primary. He dropped out of that race shortly afterward.
After his speech Tuesday, Christie took extended questions from the audience — a common occurrence in early voting states that DeSantis was hesitant to do when launching his campaign. Christie also talked openly about his underwhelming 2016 performance, despite concentrating so heavily on New Hampshire.
“I lost,” Christie laughed. “You people did that to me in 2016.”
https://apnews.com/article/christie-2024-president-b9949e97e604719c341d652cc62f9d50
World War II veterans return to Utah Beach to mark D-Day anniversary
By Sylvie Corbet and Jeffrey Schaeffer, The Associated Press
Jun 5, 03:13 PM
https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/O8_aLxjznnffep7s1GY_14CgwE4=/1024x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/ECCDFJWMO5E3RPQ76JENHMXZCM.jpg
U.S war veterans salute during a ceremony outside the Pegasus Bridge memorial in Benouville, Normandy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (Thomas Padilla/AP)
ON UTAH BEACH, France — World War II veterans shared vivid memories of D-Day and the fighting as dozens returned to Normandy beaches and key battle sites to mark the 79th anniversary of the decisive assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control.
https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/DhnU09eQUPX2_J87Zxp-jVrfR2s=/600x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/EGMJFUM55JHQ3MXH5IBSTSEW6M.jpg
Children greet war veterans arriving for ceremony at the Pegasus Bridge memorial in Benouville, Normandy, Monday June 5, 2023. (Thomas Padilla/AP)
He said there were “lots of casualties. We had almost run over bodies to get in the beach. Never forget we were only 18, 19 years old. ... I’m glad I made it.”
The first job of his battalion, he said, was “to guard an ammunition dump and the first night it got struck. You didn’t know where you were to go. Bullets were going all over the place. But we ducked it.”
On Monday, veterans have been greeted to the sound of bagpipes at the Pegasus Memorial, where they attended a ceremony commemorating a key operation in the first minutes of the D-Day operations, when troops had to take control of a strategic bridge.
World War II veterans Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American, and Bill Gladden, a 99-year-old British national, met at the memorial where they had a close discussion.
“I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,” Larson told Gladden, their hands clasped.
Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, explained with enthusiasm: “I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok. You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”
Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded.
“I’m 100 without an ache or a pain. You can’t fake that,” he said.
U.S. veteran Andrew Negra returned for the first time to Utah Beach this year. The last time he stood there was when he landed on July 18, 1944.
He was “amazed” by the warm welcome from local French people: “Every place we went, people are cheering, clapping, and they’ve been doing this for I don’t know how many years.”
At age 99, Negra is the only member of his battalion who is still alive. Braving the wind to walk on the beach for a few minutes, he said, “So many we lost. And here I am.”
Negra participated in combat operations until his division reached eastern Germany in April 1945.
On Sunday, more than 40 American veterans of World War II formed a parade, using wheelchairs, along the streets of the small town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6, 1944.
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Cheerful crowds applauded, calling out “Merci” and “Thank you.” Children waved, and many families asked for a photo with the men.
Donnie Edwards, president of the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps World War II veterans visit former battlefields, said, “For us, every year is a big one.”
Given the ages of the soldiers who fought nearly eight decades ago, Edwards observed, “Nothing is guaranteed. So we want to make sure that we do everything we can to get them an incredible and enjoyable experience.”
The veterans then headed to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont for a brief ceremony at a monument honoring the U.S. Navy that overlooks Utah Beach.
“The fallen will never be forgotten. The veteran will ever be honored,” an inscription in the stone reads.
Some of the almost-centenarians asked volunteers to accompany them on the wide stretch of sand.
Matthew Yacovino, 98, became emotional as he remembered what happened there to his older brother, who almost died after his jeep blew up during the landings.
“The driver got killed and my brother fell on the beach unconscious,” Yacovino said with tears in the eyes.
His brother eventually recovered. Yacovino himself served as a U.S. combat air crewman during the war.
Like others who come to Normandy for historical reenactments of what transpired there, Valérie and Lionel Draucourt, visitors from the Paris region, dressed in khaki uniforms. They wanted to pay their respects to the veterans.
“Frankly, I don’t think we can quite fathom what they lived through. We can’t understand it, it’s so big, it’s crazy,” Lionel Draucourt said.
Veterans were due to take part in official ceremonies of the 79th anniversary on Tuesday, including at the Normandy American Cemetery.
On D-Day, Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. On that single day, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded.
On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded.
U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, stressed that the significance of the commemorations “for memorializing the efforts that they did and what they did.”
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2023/06/05/world-war-ii-veterans-return-to-utah-beach-to-mark-d-day-anniversary/
U.S. veterans arrive for the commemoration organized by the Best Defense Foundation at Utah Beach near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, France, Sunday, June 4, 2023, ahead of the D-Day Anniversary. (Thomas Padilla/AP)
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France's last surviving D-Day commando joins beach landing anniversary
Reuters
June 6, 20236:19 AM CDT Updated 6 hours ago
[1/5] French WWII veteran Leon Gautier poses for a photo on the day of a ceremony in tribute to the 177 French members of the Commando Kieffer Fusiliers Marins commando unit, who took part in the Normandy landings, in Colleville-Montgomery, France, June 6, 2023. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
COLLEVILLE-MONTGOMERY, France, June 6 (Reuters) - Leon Gautier, the last surviving member of the French commandos who stormed the Normandy beaches defended by Hitler's troops in 1944, on Tuesday joined President Emmanuel Macron at a seafront ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Gautier, 100, presented a student marine commando with his green beret at a passing out parade at Colleville-Montgomery, near where a 17-year-old Gautier had landed on Sword Beach in a hail of enemy fire.
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Gautier was one of 177 French green berets under the command of Captain Philippe Kieffer who took part in the Normandy landings. More than 150,000 allied troops invaded France to drive out Nazi Germany forces.
At Tuesday's ceremony, the young marine knelt down on one knee to allow Gautier, sat in a wheelchair to Macron's side, to straighten his beret.
In 2019, Gautier recounted on the occasion of the 75th D-Day anniversary how French troops had been the first to wade chest-deep onto Sword Beach.
"Your honour," Gautier recalled British Colonel Robert Dawson telling the French green berets. "We went in only a few seconds ahead. It was a symbolic gesture."
"By the end of the day I didn’t have many bullets left."
Reporting by Noemie Olive; Writing by Richard Lough, editing by Ed Osmond
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/frances-last-surviving-d-day-commando-joins-beach-landing-anniversary-2023-06-06/
Jan. 6 sentences are piling up. Here’s a look at some of the longest handed down.
More than 1,033 of the rioters have been arrested, with approximately 485 federal defendants receiving sentences.
After more than two years since the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the sentences are piling up. Last week saw the longest prison sentence yet at 18 years. | Samuel Corum/Getty Images
By KIERRA FRAZIER
05/30/2023 12:32 PM EDT
After more than two years since the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the sentences are piling up — and last week saw the longest prison sentence yet.
More than 1,033 of the rioters have been arrested, with approximately 485 federal defendants receiving sentences. .. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/28-months-jan-6-attack-capitol
About 277 defendants have been sentenced to time behind bars, and roughly 113 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention.
Here are the notable figures and some of the longest sentences handed down to Jan. 6 rioters:
Stewart Rhodes: 18 years
Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, last week was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy — the longest sentence imposed on a Jan. 6 defendant to date.
Prosecutors say Rhodes planned a weekslong effort to derail the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, leading to the organization of dozens of allies to descend on Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes was convicted in November.
Rhodes, a Yale Law graduate and military veteran, is the first of 14 Jan. 6 defendants, including nine Oath Keepers, to face sentencing after being convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Kelly Meggs, Florida chapter leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced alongside Rhodes to 12 years behind bars.
Peter Schwartz: 14 years
Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania was sentenced to just over 14 years in prison. Schwartz was found guilty in December on 10 charges, including four felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon.
A jury convicted Schwartz on assault and civil disorder charges for throwing a chair at officers and spraying them with pepper spray. Schwartz also has a prior criminal history of 38 felony convictions dating back to 1991.
Thomas Webster: 10 years
Retired NYPC officer Thomas Webster leaves the federal courthouse in Washington on Sept. 1, 2022. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo
Thomas Webster, a retired New York City police officer who assaulted a D.C. officer on the front lines of the Capitol riot, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Webster was the first defendant to present a self-defense argument, though a jury rejected that claim because he tackled a D.C. officer and grabbed his gas mask. Webster has said he wishes he had never gone to Washington.
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta described Webster’s assault on the officer as one of the most haunting and shocking images from that day.
Jessica Watkins: 8.5 years
Jessica Watkins, an army veteran and member of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison this month.
At the trial, Watkins was shown leading a small militia in Ohio to then mobilize in Washington on Jan 6. Watkins marched to the Capitol and encouraged rioters to push past police at the Capitol.
Watkins’ attorney said that the trauma and rejection from friends and family due to her being transgender was what pushed her to be dragged into conspiracy theories around the 2020 election and to eventually take part in the riot.
Patrick McCaughey: 7.5 years
Patrick McCaughey was sentenced to seven and half years in prison after images captured McCaughey pinning a D.C. police officer in a Capitol doorway as he howled in pain.
McCaughey pinned down Officer Daniel Hodges for more than two minutes while another rioter stole Hodges’ baton and struck him with it. McCaughey has described his actions as “monumentally stupid.”
A judge found McCaughey guilty in September after a bench trial on three charges of assaulting or impeding police officers, obstructing Congress’ proceedings and participating in a civil disorder, among other charges.
Kyle Young: More than 7 years
Kyle Young, who pleaded guilty to assaulting D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone, was sentenced in September to a little over seven years in prison.
A judge sentenced Young after describing his “enthusiastic” participation in the mob violence against Fanone.
Young pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer. He is one of the several rioters who assaulted Fanone, who was tased.
Albuquerque Cosper Head: 7.5 years
Albuquerque Cosper Head, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in October, is a Jan. 6 rioter considered to have committed one of the day’s most brutal assaults against a police officer.
Head pleaded guilty to yanking Fanone away from police lines and shouting, “I got one!” before other rioters dragged the officer away, tased him and robbed him of his badge and radio.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson described Head’s attack on Fanone as one of the most chilling moments of violence on a dark day for the country.
Guy Reffitt: More than 7 years
Guy Reffitt, the first Jan. 6 defendant to go before a jury, was sentenced to seven and a quarter years in prison in August.
Reffitt was convicted on five felony charges, including interfering with police during civil disorder, obstructing the tallying of the electoral votes and threatening his children if they reported him to authorities.
Reffitt drove to Washington with an acquaintance the day before the riot and brought two AR-15 rifles and a pistol with him. Reffitt had the pistol on him as he engaged in a tense standoff with police during the riot, though he never entered the Capitol.
Thomas Robertson: More than 7 years
Thomas Robertson, an off-duty Virginia police officer, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison in August after being convicted of attacking the Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.
Robertson had wielded a large stick and put on a gas mask during the riot while confronting police officers.
After Jan. 6, Robertson was found stockpiling guns and advocated for violence. Robertson told a friend that he was prepared to fight and die in a civil war as he hung onto the claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
Julian Khater: More than 6 years
Julian Khater was sentenced to over six years in prison after he pepper-sprayed three police officers in the face, including Brian Sicknick, who died of multiple strokes the next day.
A U.S. District Court judge found that Khater made a calculated decision to find his way to the front of the mob and use pepper spray that injured at least three officers.
Robert Palmer: More than 5 years
Robert Palmer was sentenced to more than five years for assaulting police and participating in some of the most violent episodes of Jan. 6.
Palmer threw wooden boards and a fire extinguisher at police officers who were guarding the Lower West Tunnel of the Capitol. Palmer pleaded guilty in October 2021 and was sentenced in December of that year.
Richard “Bigo” Barnett: 4.5 years
Richard 'Bigo' Barnett (right) arrives at federal district court with his attorney Joseph McBride (left) for jury selection in his trial Jan. 9 in Washington. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Richard Barnett, the man who was photographed on Jan. 6 with his feet on a desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
The image of Barnett became a symbol of the brazenness of the Jan. 6 attack. In January of this year, Barnett was convicted on eight charges, including obstructing Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings as well as disorderly conduct in the Capitol while carrying a dangerous weapon.
Barnett has insisted that he had expressed remorse for his actions and for putting his feet on the desk.
Jacob Chansley: Almost 3.5 years
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump, including Jacob Chansley (right), are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. | Manuel Balce Cenet/AP Photo
Jacob Chansley, who gained notoriety for images of him shirtless and wearing a horned headdress, was sentenced to almost three and a half years in November 2021 but was released from a halfway house in May 2023, ending his time in federal custody.
Chansley, a follower of the QAnon conspiracy movement, did not engage in physical violence on Jan. 6 but was a leader among those who went into the Senate chamber and disrupted the electoral vote.
Chansley pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct Congress’ effort to certify the results of the 2020 election and sought a pardon from then-President Donald Trump.
Riley Williams: 3 years
Riley Williams was sentenced to three years in prison in March after she surged with the mob into Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6.
Williams, a devotee of white nationalist Nick Fuentes, is seen on tape entering Pelosi’s conference room while other rioters took Pelosi’s laptop, and she encouraged them to steal it, but Williams’ lawyers contended that it was unclear whether the rioters heard her comment.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/30/january-6-arrest-sentencing-00099158