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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 24
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019
Inside College football training camps open, page B1
JOHN LOCHER | JOHN MINCHILLO | AP PHOTOS
Left, a man cries beside a cross at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. Right, mourners bring flowers to a makeshift memorial Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, for the slain and injured in the Oregon District after a mass shooting that occurred early Sunday morning in Dayton.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Over 40 rescued from rip currents at Wrightsville Beach A North Carolina ocean rescue official says more than 40 people had to be saved from dangerous rip currents at Wrightsville Beach on Sunday. The National Weather Service reported the risk for rip currents across the North Carolina coast Sunday was moderate, meaning swimmers should swim near a lifeguard and pay attention to warnings and beach officials.
Trump freezes Venezuela government assets in escalation The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets on Monday placing the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro alongside a short list of U.S. adversaries from Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran. The ban blocks American companies and individuals from doing business with Maduro’s government and its top supporters. The order falls short of an outright trade embargo — notably, it spares Venezuela’s still sizable private sector.
Murphy gun shop takes down billboard after death threats A North Carolina gun shop that drew nationwide attention with a billboard focused on four Democratic congresswomen has replaced it with a sign praising the First Amendment. A billboard sponsored by Cherokee Guns had shown the congresswomen with the apocalyptic phrase “The 4 Horsemen Cometh” altered to read “The 4 Horsemen are Idiots.” The billboard was replaced on Monday with one reading: “First Amendment. Enough Said.” A representative of the shop said they took down the original message because of death threats posted online.
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NORTH
El Paso, Dayton mourn
JOURNaL
Conversation in Ohio turns to mental health as Texas prepares for Trump visit
STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
NC enters election season after chaotic summer Uncertainty around elections of the nation’s three special elections for U.S. House. board, voting machines, In the 2018 North Carolina 9th voter ID and maps Congressional District race, apBy David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — With two special congressional elections only a month away, on Sept. 10, a recently-resigned Board of Elections chair and conflicting lawsuits over voter ID and electoral maps, North Carolina is entering a presidential election year with significant political uncertainty. Bob Cordle, Gov. Cooper’s latest appointment to chair the Board of Elections, ended a chaotic few months as chairman on July 30 by resigning after blowback over a dirty joke. The joke, which he told in front of hundreds of election workers at a training conference, was described as offensive and sexist. When Cordle stepped down, the board was making headlines for delaying the approval of new voting machines. About one-third of counties are waiting for guidance from the board on which vendors can be used for their 2020 voting machines, a decision that’s been months in the making. Some members are demanding a human-readable print receipt from any new machines, and others say that is unnecessary. In addition to the bureaucratic uncertainty at the state’s election regulator, the state is hosting two
parent-winner, Republican Pastor Mark Harris, did not have his victory certified by the state Board of Elections because of suspected voter fraud in Bladen County. This was later shown to be the case, and the alleged-conspirators, including local political operative McCrae Dowless, are now having their time in court. On Monday Aug. 5, Dowless and his six associates, all charged with being part of a ballot harvesting scheme, appeared before a judge on these charges. Their future court appearances have not yet been set, but charges include perjury, obstruction of justice and illegal possession of an absentee ballot. The 2018 race came down to only 905 votes in the unofficial results and is once again a tossup, now between state Sen. Dan Bishop (R-Mecklenburg) and Marine-veteran Dan McCready, Harris’ opponent in the original race. Harris declined to run again, citing his health. In February, 2019, just as it was becoming clear that a new election would be necessary in NC-9, eastern North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones (RNC-03) passed away, making another special election necessary. Despite now having to defend these two congressional seats, North Carolina Republicans have See ELECTIONS, page A2
The Associated Press EL PASO, Texas and DAYTON, Ohio — El Paso opened a grief center on Tuesday to help people cope with last weekend’s shooting at a Texas Walmart in which 22 people were killed and many others were wounded. In Dayton, Ohion, public conversation about a shooting that took 10 lives shifted Tuesday toward how to address people with mental health issues who might pose a threat of violence. A woman who briefly dated the gunman recounted their bonding over struggles with mental illness, and the Ohio governor called for more mental health support along with gun safety measures. The topics of gun violence, immigration, public safety and mental health folded together as separate attacks over the weekend resulted in mass casualties. In El Paso, President Donald Trump was due to visit the border city, much to the chagrin of some Democrats and other residents who say his fiery rhetoric has fostered the kind of anti-immigrant hatred that may have motivated Saturday’s attack. El Paso’s police chief, Greg Allen, said investigators believe the suspected gunman, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, posted an anti-immigrant screed that appeared online shortly before the attack. Crusius is being held on capital murder charges, though federal prosecutors are also considering charging Crusius with hate crimes. On Monday, Crusius was assigned a veteran public defender from San Antonio, Mark Stevens. Stevens didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment left Tuesday. Trump on Wednesday was also expected to visit Dayton, where another gunman killed nine people and wounded many others in an attack only hours after the El Paso mass shooting. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway recounted visits Trump has made to grieving communities after mass shootings in Parkland, Fla., and Las Vegas. “He goes, trying to help heal communities, meeting with those who are injured, those loved ones who have survived, the innocents who have lost their lives so senselessly and tragically,” Conway said. El Paso’s Republican mayor, Dee
Margo, announced Trump’s visit at a news conference Monday evening, preemptively defending the decision to welcome the president while acknowledging there would be blowback: “I’m already getting the emails and the phone calls.” Margo has previously criticized Trump for suggesting that El Paso, which had fewer homicides in all of 2017 than the death toll in Saturday’s attack, was a dangerous and unsafe place. “This is not a political visit as he had before, and he is president of the United States,” Margo said, referring to a campaign rally Trump held in February. “So in that capacity, I will fulfill my obligations as mayor of El Paso to be with the president and discuss whatever our needs are in this community and hope that if we are expressing specifics, that we can get him to come through for us.” In Dayton, police haven’t publicly offered a motive for why 24-yearold Connor Betts, wearing a mask and body armor, opened fire with See SHOOTINGS, page A2