Trump describes assassination attempt in personal detail as he accepts Republican nomination

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in a speech where he described how he felt during an assassination attempt that could have ended his life.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the packed convention hall as thousands of people listened in silence. “There was blood pouring everywhere, yet, in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side.”

The 78-year-old former president, known best for his bombast and aggressive rhetoric, offered a softer and deeply personal message that drew directly from his brush with death. He asked for a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, the retired fire chief who was slain at the rally.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We just heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart,” Trump said, wearing a large white bandage on his right ear, as he has all week, to cover a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting. “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”

Trump’s address marks the climax and conclusion of a massive four-day Republican pep rally that drew thousands of conservative activists and elected officials to swing-state Wisconsin as voters weigh an election that currently features two deeply unpopular candidates. Sensing political opportunity in the wake of his near-death experience, the often bombastic Republican leader embraced a new tone he hopes will help generate even more momentum in an election that appears to be shifting in his favor.

___

Rebranding the brand man, softer Trump vs. fighter Trump, regular mentions of Harris: RNC Takeaways

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republicans are wrapping a nominating convention that has celebrated former President Donald Trump not just as a party leader but a living martyr who survived a would-be assassin's bullet and is ready to work for everyday Americans after a sweeping victory in November.

The unified portrayals sought to erase the image of a man whose presidency often swirled in chaos and infighting and ended with a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats have repeatedly wielded images of that day to try to thwart his return and spotlighted his recurring use of inflammatory and hardline rhetoric.

There's plenty of campaigning left between now, early voting windows and Election Day. So the effectiveness of the messaging effort remains to be seen. But it's been a striking four days for a Republican Party that over three presidential elections has been reshaped by Trump's personality and his politics.

Here are some takeaway from the closing stanza of the GOP gathering in Wisconsin.

Trump, the name and the man, has been ubiquitous for decades. Americans and the world recognized those gold letters, T-R-U-M-P, and watched him say, “You're fired!” on his hit show “The Apprentice” long before Trump first ran for president. He took over the GOP and won the presidency in 2016 as the unapologetically bombastic political outsider. He was engaging in the same kind of rhetoric and showmanship last Saturday when he was nearly assassinated in Pennsylvania.

___

Biden is isolated at home as Obama, Pelosi and other Democrats push for him to reconsider 2024 race

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Joe Biden to rethink his election bid, with former President Barack Obama expressing concerns to allies and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately telling Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he doesn’t step away from the 2024 race.

Biden’s orbit, already small before his debate fumbling, has grown even smaller in recent days. Isolated as he battles a COVID infection at home in Delaware, the president is relying on a few longtime aides as he weighs whether to bow to the mounting pressure to drop out.

Late Thursday, Montana Sen. Jon Tester became the second Democrat in the chamber — and now among nearly two dozen in Congress — calling on him to bow out, saying, “Biden should not seek reelection to another term.”

The Biden For President campaign is calling an all-staff meeting for Friday. It's heading into a critical weekend for the party as Republican Donald Trump wraps up a heady Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and Democrats, racing time, consider the extraordinary possibility of Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention next month in Chicago.

As anxiety and information swirled, Biden’s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, told The Associated Press, “President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements.”

___

Rally shooter had photos of Trump, Biden and other US officials on his phone, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump had photos on his phone of the former Republican president, President Joe Biden and other officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Investigators searching Thomas Matthew Crooks' devices have also found that the shooter looked up the dates for the Democratic National Convention as well as Trump’s appearances, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition on anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing probe.

The FBI has been searching for clues into what drove Crooks to open fire at Saturday’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to assassinate the GOP presidential nominee. The FBI has said they are investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism but have yet to find a clear ideological motive. The FBI gained access to Crooks’ cellphone, scoured his computer, home and car, and interviewed more than 100 people so far.

Crooks killed one rallygoer and seriously wounded two others. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt, appearing just days later at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with a bandage over the wound.

The shooter had also searched for information about major depressive disorder, according to three people familiar the investigation. But investigators have not yet determined whether he was actually diagnosed with the disorder, one of the people said. Studies have shown that the vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent, and experts say most people who are violent do not have mental illnesses.

___

Thousands gather at banquet hall to celebrate life of former fire chief killed at Trump rally

FREEPORT, Pa. (AP) — Thousands of mourners filed into a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to remember the former fire chief who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, who sent a note of condolence hailing him as a hero.

The crowd paying their respects to Corey Comperatore and his family appeared to be a mix of friends, neighbors and strangers who wanted to show their appreciation for the man who officials said spent his final moments shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the campaign rally.

Fire trucks and police vehicles filled the parking lot outside the building. Sharpshooters were positioned on top of the event hall and on nearby buildings as dozens of people waited in line to enter. Among the mourners were firefighters in dress uniforms.

Comperatore, 50, worked as a project and tooling engineer, was an Army reservist and spent many years as a volunteer firefighter after serving as chief, according to his obituary.

Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt and has been participating this week in the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

___

Comedian Bob Newhart, deadpan master of sitcoms and telephone monologues, dies at 94

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, has died at 94.

Jerry Digney, Newhart's publicist, says the actor died Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses.

Newhart, best remembered now as the star of two hit television shows of the 1970s and 1980s that bore his name, launched his career as a standup comic in the late 1950s. He gained nationwide fame when his routine was captured on vinyl in 1960 as "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," which went on to win a Grammy Award as album of the year.

While other comedians of the time, including Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Alan King, and Mike Nichols and Elaine May, frequently got laughs with their aggressive attacks on modern mores, Newhart was an anomaly. His outlook was modern, but he rarely raised his voice above a hesitant, almost stammering delivery. His only prop was a telephone, used to pretend to hold a conversation with someone on the other end of the line.

In one memorable skit, he portrayed a Madison Avenue image-maker urging Abraham Lincoln to quit tinkering with the Gettysburg Address and stick with his speechwriters’ draft.

___

Israel's Netanyahu makes surprise Gaza visit as far-right politician tours flashpoint Jerusalem site

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to troops in southern Gaza on Thursday, saying it was essential that Israel keep control of a strip of territory along the territory's border with Egypt, just days before he was set to give a speech to the U.S. Congress.

In his comments at Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, Netanyahu sounded a tone of triumph in the campaign against Hamas — and underscored the differences that still remain in monthslong attempts to reach a cease-fire.

A U.S.-backed outline for a deal calls for an eventual full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for a full release of hostages by Hamas, something a continued Israeli grip on the Rafah border crossing and nearby border strip would appear to contradict.

Netanyahu’s visit to Rafah was announced hours after Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. Ben Gvir's move also could disrupt the talks over a cease-fire in the 9-month-old Israel-Hamas war.

Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist settler leader, said he went up to the flashpoint site to pray for the return of Israeli hostages “but without a reckless deal, without surrendering.” Israeli negotiators landed in Cairo on Wednesday to keep working on the talks.

___

Illinois deputy charged with murder shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home and then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.

The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping fired Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond. County Circuit Judge Ryan M. Cadagin agreed, denying Grayson pretrial release at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.

In a courtroom guarded by a dozen sheriff's deputies with three more patrolling the hall, Cadagin described the actions the former deputy is accused of as “such a departure from the expectations of a civil society.”

Sonya Massey, 36, was killed at her home in Illinois' capital city, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler early on July 6.

Prosecutors alleged that after Grayson allowed Massey to move a pot of water heating on the stove and she set it on a counter, Grayson then “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled his 9 mm pistol. Massey then put her hands in the air, declared “I'm sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit, prosecutors said.

___

Largest housing provider for migrant children engaged in pervasive sexual abuse, US says

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Employees of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. repeatedly sexually abused and harassed children in their care for at least eight years, the Justice Department said Thursday, alleging a shocking litany of offenses that took place as the company amassed billions of dollars in government contracts.

Southwest Key Programs Inc. employees, including supervisors, raped, touched or solicited sex and nude images of children beginning in 2015 and possibly earlier, the Justice Department said in a lawsuit filed this week. At least two employees have been indicted on criminal charges related to the allegations since 2020.

It was not immediately clear how many children are currently in Southwest Key's vast network of shelters across three states, which have room for more than 6,300 children. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment beyond the lawsuit announcement when asked whether the department recommended that children be removed from the shelters or that the the nonprofit's contracts be terminated.

“In some cases, Southwest Key employees threatened children to maintain their silence,” the lawsuit states. “In harassing these children, these Southwest Key employees exploited the children’s vulnerabilities, language barriers, and distance from family and loved ones.”

In a statement, Southwest Key said it was reviewing the complaint and disputed the portrayal of its care for children.

___

For Catholic pilgrims, all roads lead to Indy for an old-style devotion in modern stadium setting

Like the star of an arena tour, a spotlight illuminated the glittering, golden vessel carried by a Catholic bishop. Inside, it held a round communion host, which Catholics believe is the full presence of Jesus in the appearance of bread.

The bishop placed it on an altar at the center of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Wednesday evening. It was the culmination of more than two years of preparations and two months of four cross-country pilgrimages destined for the Midwestern city and the first National Eucharistic Congress in more than 80 years. Thousands of Catholics converged for the start of a five-day gathering focused on devotion to the Eucharist and the core Catholic doctrine that it is not merely a symbol but is the reality of Jesus among them.

The congress reflects bishops' attempt to revive traditional devotions that have waned in recent generations, even as some have questioned how this movement was forged. There has been debate involving politics as well as disputed research over whether most Catholics actually believe the doctrine.

The stadium remained quiet for a half hour of devotional adoration, followed by prayers, multiple speakers and an extended session led by a worship band in front of a stage set and lighting that simulated the look of gothic stained-glass windows. The music ranged from the solemn hymn “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” to contemporary, electronic-infused music that more resembled that of an evangelical megachurch than of a Mass songbook.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who brought in the Eucharist, read a gospel passage in which Jesus calls himself the bread of life.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024