9 dead in shooting rampage at Texas mall: authorities

WASHINGTON  — A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday shot dead eight people before he was himself killed, authorities said.

"(We) found seven deceased individuals on scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital... Of those we transported, two have since died," said fire chief Jonathan Boyd of Allen, Texas.

The shooting sparked panic at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in Allen, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Dallas, filled with weekend shoppers.

A police officer was in the mall on an unrelated call when gunfire broke out around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), said chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.

"He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect," Harvey said. "He also then called for ambulances."

The identity of the shooter was not released. His body, sprawled on a sidewalk, was one of the seven deaths at the mall when more police arrived.

Among the wounded at area hospitals, "three are in critical surgery, and four are stable," Boyd, the fire chief, said.

Some of the victims were as young as five years old, a hospital official told NBC News.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an "unspeakable tragedy."

President Joe Biden "has been briefed on the shooting," a White House official told reporters.

Local officials hailed the actions of the police officer who charged and killed the shooter.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to first responders that ran toward the gunfire and acted swiftly to neutralize the threat," said Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes the city of Allen.

Video footage aired by CNN showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the parking lot of the mall, and beginning his rampage.

Authorities believed initially that a second shooter might be on the loose. As police combed through stores in the mall, frantic shoppers and store employees rushed into parking lots.

Harvey later said police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, "acted alone."

Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, said it received eight patients from the shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, NBC News reported.

A father who arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, phoned to tell him about the shooting, also told CNN that police had informed him there may have been a second shooter.

"We saw the police outside the door, and they told us we had to go, and that they are still looking for the person," Jaynal Pervez said, according to CNN.

"There's no more safe places. I don't know what to do."

Pervez later told broadcaster CBS that scenes in the mall parking lot were chaotic.

"I saw the shoes around there, people's cell phones on the street," he said.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.

There have been more than 195 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people wounded or killed -- so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Agence France-Presse

Guns N' Roses sues online gun shop for appropriating name

HOUSTON - This ain't no sweet child of mine. 

US rock band Guns N' Roses has sued a company that runs an online gun store named Texas Guns and Roses, charging in federal court that the business appropriated its name unjustly.

In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, attorneys for the band said a corporation that runs the online shop was conning consumers into believing the business had something to do with the rock band.

Guns N' Roses "quite reasonably does not want to be associated with Defendant, a firearms and weapons retailer," the lawsuit, filed Thursday, says.

Additionally, the band claimed, the gun dealer "espouses political views related to the regulation and control of firearms and weapons on the Website that may be polarizing to many US consumers."

Guns N' Roses, formed in 1984, is one of the most successful bands of all time and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Its members are Axl Rose, Saul "Slash" Hudson and Michael "Duff" McKagan.

The lawsuit identified Jersey Village Florist LLC as the owner and operator of Texas Guns and Roses, which it said sells firearms and ammunition, scopes, body armor and metal safes, among other items.

The online business is registered at a Houston address and obtained its Texas registry listing in 2016 without Guns N' Roses' "approval, license, or consent," according to the suit.

Lawyers for the rock group are seeking a jury trial and a court order barring the use of the website name as well as unspecified punitive damages.

The online shop did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Agence France-Presse

'Do something now:' Mourners demand action after US school shooting

UVALDE, United States — A distraught Texas grandmother of a girl killed in the massacre in Uvalde pleaded Thursday for urgent action by US authorities to prevent future school shootings, as the country plunges again into the roiling debate over guns.

Ten-year-old Amerie Garza -- a fourth-grader who loved her classes, drawing, and playing with clay -- was one of 19 children murdered by a teen gunman at Robb Elementary School in an act of evil that has forever changed this small Texas town.

"My granddaughter was in there. She was an innocent little girl, loving school and looking forward to summer," Dora Mendoza told reporters after paying respects at a makeshift memorial outside the school.

But the 63-year-old, who lived with Amerie and saw her at an end-of-year ceremony Tuesday just hours before she was killed, quickly made clear she wanted US officials such as President Joe Biden and Texas Governor Greg Abbott not to shy away from working together on reforms.

Biden, who is due to visit on Sunday, and Abbott are polar opposites regarding restrictions on gun sales. Like many in the Democrat versus Republican divide, the two also differ on the path to take to curb the nation's surging gun violence. 

"They shouldn't just wait for... tragedy to start," she said. 

"They need to do something about it. They need to not forget us, the babies... Don't forget them, please," Mendoza, speaking in a mix of English and Spanish, pleaded through her tears.

"Do something about it, I beg you. I beg you!" she wailed. "All the cries and all these little innocent babies... we don't know what they went through."

Amerie's "abuela" was among several Uvalde residents who came to pray or leave flowers at the school memorial, where 21 small white wooden crosses have been erected bearing names of the 19 children and 2 teachers who were killed.

Among the mourners was Yaritza Rangel, 23, who brought her 4 children to lay flowers.

'WHAT IF HAPPENS AGAIN?' 

"We're all hurt. We never thought this would happen here," where most town residents know each other, she said.

But Rangel, while avoiding politics, did point to 3 reforms she wants enacted: an expansion of background checks for gun purchases, tightening of security in schools, and raising the minimum age for buying firearms.

"It doesn't make sense," she said. "You have to go and wait until you're 21 to go and buy alcohol. Why are they letting 18-year-olds be able to buy rifles?"

Rangel, whose young nephew was in a Robb Elementary classroom that the shooter tried but failed to enter, is now worried about her own children and says she has been traumatized by the attack.

Her son will be going to elementary school soon, and the prospect of violence keeps her awake at night.

"What if it happens again?"

Dozens of relatives, students and friends have been placing flowers, stuffed animals, candles and jewelry at a second memorial in Uvalde's town square, which has become a gathering place for residents to unite in their anguish.

Like the first memorial, it features white crosses with the names of the victims. Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, visited the site on Thursday.

The 40-year-old Duchess of Sussex -- wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a blue baseball cap -- reached down with her head bowed and placed flowers between 2 of the crosses.

Some mourners added messages on the crosses, including a young girl who wrote one for victim Jackie Cazares.

"Love you cousin 'till we meet again," it said.

Agence France-Presse 

Man suspected of planning mass shooting at Walmart store arrested in Texas

A man suspected of planning a mass shooting was arrested in Texas after authorities intercepted a message that indicated he was "preparing to proceed," the Kerr County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) said in a statement on Sunday.

Coleman Thomas Blevins, 28, made a specific threat to target a local Walmart store, KCSO said in the statement posted on Facebook.

The Sheriff's Office posted an image of evidence apparently collected from Blevins' apartment that showed a rifle with multiple magazines, a flag with Nazi party symbols and the national flag of Saudi Arabia. Books and hand-written documents were also seized by investigators.

The statement did not specify what kind of message had alerted authorities, but after intercepting it KCSO confirmed, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), that Blevins had the capability to follow through with the threat.

Blevins was arrested on a warrant for a "Terroristic Threat to Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury," the statement said.

Blevins is currently on active felony probation and is prohibited from possessing firearms. He is booked into the Kerr County Jail where he remains.

The FBI or other federal authorities may seek federal charges in this case, KCSO said.

-reuters-

Wintry 'polar plunge' wallops much of US

An "unprecedented" winter storm system will sweep the United States this week, the National Weather Service warned Monday, with Arctic air driving a "polar plunge" that is expected to break record-low temperatures.

The coast-to-coast cold front has already pushed its way across Canada and into parts of northern Mexico, and much of the continental United States has been shivering under chilly temperatures for days, with about half of all Americans now under some sort of winter weather warning.

Temperatures have dropped across the country, with only parts of the southeast and southwest dodging it.

The cold snap has led to heavy snowfalls and ice storms that have caused a spike in electricity demand and power outages. 

Ice on the roads was blamed for several deadly accidents including a 100-car pile-up in Texas last week that left at least six people dead. 

"Over 150 million Americans are currently under winter storm warnings, ice storm warnings, winter storm watches, or winter weather advisories as impactful winter weather continues from coast to coast," the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

"This impressive onslaught of wicked wintry weather across much of the Lower 48 (states) is due to the combination of strong Arctic high pressure supplying sub-freezing temperatures and an active storm track escorting waves of precipitation."

At least seven states -- Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas -- have declared weather-related emergencies, CNN reported. 

The NWS described conditions as an "unprecedented and expansive area of hazardous winter weather" that will set record lows.

"Hundreds of daily low maximum and minimum temperatures have been/will be broken during this prolonged 'polar plunge', with some February and even all-time low temperature records in jeopardy," the NWS said.

In a large area known as the Southern Plains that spans parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, temperatures are expected to fall as much as 45 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) below typical readings for the time of year. 

Florida will remain the warmest spot in the continental United States, with highs above normal and temperatures generally around 80 Fahrenheit (27 Celsius).

Agence France-Presse

The pain of losing

Healthcare personnel surround a patient who died inside a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) unit at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. on Saturday. The United States records 16,062,476 coronavirus cases with 297,818 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. 

-reuters-

US man used COVID-19 relief money to buy a Lamborghini, prosecutors say

A Texas man this week became the second person in less than 2 weeks to be accused by federal prosecutors of using COVID-19 relief money to buy a Lamborghini.

The man, Lee Price III, 29, of Houston, received more than $1.6 million under the federal Paycheck Protection Program after he submitted 5 applications in May and June with fraudulent information to numerous banks claiming to employ dozens of people, prosecutors in Houston said Tuesday.

In response to 2 of those applications, a pair of banks that officials did not identify deposited money into bank accounts controlled by Price, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas.

With that money, Price went on a lavish spending spree, according to the complaint. On June 26 — the day Price received $937,500 in response to 1 request — he purchased a $14,000 Rolex watch, the complaint stated. The next day, it said, he bought a 2019 Lamborghini Urus for $233,337.60.

And over the next 3 days, he spent more than $700 at a liquor store, around $2,000 at a strip club and more than $2,500 at 2 Houston nightclubs, according to the complaint.

In response to another application, Price received $752,452, the prosecutors said. That money went toward the purchase of a 2020 Ford F-350 pickup truck and the lease for a luxury apartment in midtown Houston, the prosecutors said.

Price was arrested Tuesday and charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to financial institutions and engaging in prohibited monetary transactions, the prosecutors said.

A person who answered a telephone number listed for Price immediately hung up Tuesday night. A federal public defender was assigned to represent Price, according to court records. An email message sent to the public defender’s office Tuesday night was not immediately returned.

Last week, prosecutors in Florida arrested and charged David Hines of Miami with three felonies, accusing him of having used COVID-19 relief money to buy a blue Lamborghini Huracán, the authorities said.

Hines’ lawyer, Chad Piotrowski, said in a statement that his client was “a legitimate business owner who, like millions of Americans, suffered financially during the pandemic” and “is anxious to tell his side of the story when the time comes.”

-Azi Paybarah, The New York Times-

Texas coronavirus cases include more than 80 infants

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A health official on the Texas Gulf Coast said 85 infants have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Corpus Christi Nueces County Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez said Friday that the 85 infants are each younger than 1, but offered no other details, including how the children are suspected to have become infected.

“These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us to stop the spread of this disease” by staying home except for necessary trips, socially distancing and wearing masks in public, Rodriguez said during a public health update in Corpus Christi.

Rodriguez did not return messages for comment Saturday from The Associated Press.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is also stressing that the widespread use of face coverings could avoid another lockdown, which he hasn’t ruled out.

Texas health officials reported more than 10,000 new cases for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday and said 130 more people have died due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, bringing the number of reported cases to 317,730 and the number of deaths to 3,865.

The true number of cases is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

Associated Press

Man, 30, dies after attending a 'COVID Party,' Texas hospital says

A 30-year-old man who believed the coronavirus was a hoax and attended a “COVID party” died after being infected with the virus, according to a Texas hospital.

The man had attended a gathering with an infected person to test whether the coronavirus was real, said Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, where the man died.

She did not say when the party took place, how many people attended or how long after the event was the man hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The man was not publicly identified.

The premise of such parties is to test whether the virus really exists or to intentionally expose people to the coronavirus in an attempt to gain immunity.

Appleby said the man had told his nurse that he attended a COVID party. Just before he died, she said the patient told his nurse: “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”

Appleby said she was sharing the story to warn others, especially in Texas, where coronavirus cases are surging.

There were 8,332 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the state Saturday, according to a New York Times database. More than 258,000 cases and more than 3,200 deaths have been recorded in Texas so far.

COVID parties are “dangerous, irresponsible and potentially deadly,” said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“Attending such a party may be a path to an early demise, if not chronic and unrelenting fatigue, chest pain, difficulty breathing and daily fevers, if you do survive,” Glatter said.

Before there was a chickenpox vaccine, people hosted chickenpox parties to infect their children with the disease, as it was thought to be more dangerous to contract as an adult.

The vaccine is the safest way to protect against chickenpox now that it is available, although some, including former Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky, still allowed their children to participate in such gatherings to contract the illness.

The coronavirus does not behave like the chickenpox, Glatter said, and parties for either virus should not be held.

In Alabama, reports that students were gathering to bet on who could get infected with the virus first — with the sickened winner taking home a pot of money — led to warnings from the University of Alabama to students about the parties’ risks, although the events could not be confirmed by state health officials.

The United States recently hit a record number of new cases per day, with more than 68,000 confirmed cases Friday.

Being infected by the coronavirus has yet to be proved to provide immunity, so reinfection is possible.

In an Op-Ed article for The Times, Dr. Greta Bauer, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, warned against coronavirus parties, noting that even young people can be hospitalized and face long-term damage from the virus.

“It is important that we don’t take unnecessary risks with unknown consequences,” Bauer wrote. “If we can avoid infection, we need to do exactly that.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that people infected with the coronavirus should not attend gatherings, and that any event where people are mingling without face coverings or social distancing are inherently high risk.

A California man died from COVID-19 after going to a party — not held for the purpose of infecting its attendees — where people did not wear masks and an infected person had attended.

-The New York Times Company-

Florida, Texas post daily COVID-19 records as 'positivity' rates climb higher

WASHINGTON - Florida and Texas, two states that have emerged as the latest hot spots of the US coronavirus outbreak, both reported new single-day record increases in confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday - with nearly 20,000 additional infections combined.

For a second straight day, Texas also registered an all-time high in the number of people hospitalized with the highly contagious respiratory illness - 7,890 patients after 238 new admissions over the past 24 hours.

By comparison, New York state - the US epicenter of the outbreak months ago, reported just 844 hospitalizations on Saturday, far below the nearly 19,000 hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients at the peak of its coronavirus crisis.

During the first four days of July alone, a total of 14 states have posted a daily record increases in the number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has killed nearly 130,000 Americans.

And in a further sign the virus is spreading, at least 18 states, including the three most highly populated - California, Texas and Florida - have posted ominous rates of infection as a percentage of diagnostic tests over the past two weeks.

The recent surge, most pronounced in Southern and Western states that were among the latest to impose mandatory business restrictions at the outset of the pandemic and the first to relax them, has alarmed public health officials ahead of weekend July Fourth holiday celebrations.

The majority of Independence Day fireworks displays across the country have been canceled, as state and local authorities urged Americans to avoid large crowds, practice safe social distancing and wear face coverings while out in public.

Florida's confirmed coronavirus cases rose by a record 11,458 on Saturday, the state's health department said, marking the second time in three days that its caseload jumped by more than 10,000 in 24 hours.

The latest case numbers in Florida, which has yet to report statewide hospitalizations, surpassed the highest daily tally reported by any European county during the height of the coronavirus outbreak there.

In Texas, meanwhile, the number of new cases rose by a record 8,258 on Saturday. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Idaho and Alabama all registered new daily highs on Friday.

Despite the rising number of infections, the average daily US death toll has gradually declined in recent weeks, reflecting the growing proportion of positive tests among younger, healthier people less prone to severe illness when infected.

OMINOUS SIGN OF VIRUS TRANSMISSIONS

Still, a growing number of states are reporting a troubling upward trend in the percentage of diagnostic tests that come back positive - a key indicator of community spread that experts refer to as the positivity rate.

The World Health Organization considers positivity rates above 5 percent to be concerning, and widely watched data from Johns Hopkins University shows at least 18 states with average rates over the past two weeks exceeding that level and climbing.

Eleven states averaged double-digit rates over the past seven days – Arizona (26 percent), Florida (18 percent), Nevada (16 percent), South Carolina (15 percent), Alabama (15 percent), Texas (14.5 percent), Mississippi (14 percent), Georgia (13 percent), Idaho 11 percent), Kansas (10 percent) and Utah (10 percent). That was up from four states with double-digit rates two weeks ago.

Even in California, which led the nation with statewide workplace closures and stay-at-home orders issued on March 19, the positivity rate has crept up to an average of 7 percent over the past week.

Against that backdrop, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez imposed an indefinite nightly curfew starting Friday and halted the reopenings of casinos and other entertainment venues. Earlier this week, Miami-Dade and neighboring Broward County, the state's two most populous counties, required residents to wear face coverings in public.

Arkansas on Friday joined a push toward mandating mask-wearing in public. Governor Asa Hutchinson authorized the state's cities and towns to enact a "model ordinance" requiring face coverings.

The move came a day after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered face masks worn in most public places, reversing his stance following an alarming rise in infections.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to minimize the jump in confirmed cases as a function of greater testing and again this week predicted that the virus would "disappear."

"If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News," Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

-reuters-

George Floyd, a 'gentle giant,' remembered in hometown Houston march

HOUSTON - George Floyd's hometown of Houston held a memorial march for him on Tuesday, where attendees recounted a "gentle giant" whose legacy had helped the city largely avoid the violent protests seen elsewhere in the United States.

The mayor's office said 60,000 people gathered downtown to honor Floyd, who died after a white police officer pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25.. Floyd's death has ignited protests across the country.

Floyd lived most of his 46 years in Houston's historically black Third Ward neighborhood, located about a mile south of the park where the march began. He moved to Minneapolis in recent years for work.

The memorial march was organized by well-known Houston rappers Trae Tha Truth, who was a longtime friend of Floyd's - and Bun B, who worked directly with Floyd's family for the event. Houston's mayor and police chief attended.

"We're gonna represent him right," Trae Tha Truth, whose given name is Frazier Thompson III, told the crowd of several hundred people gathered for the march. "We are gonna tear the system from the inside out."

He added: "George Floyd is looking down at us now and he's smiling."

After a prayer, the marchers exited the park and began to walk toward City Hall.

Democratic US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents portions of Houston where Floyd was raised, told the crowd that she would introduce police reform legislation in Congress on Thursday in honor of Floyd.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is black, said he understood marchers' pain and told them they were making an impact.

"People that are in elected office and positions of power - we are listening," Turner said. "It's important for us to not just listen, but to do. I want you to know your marching, your protesting has not gone in vain. George did not die in vain."

Houston has so far largely escaped the violent protests, with some attributing that directly to the legacy of Floyd himself.

"The people who knew George the best help set the tone for Houston. They knew what he was about. He truly was a gentle giant, a sweet guy," said David Hill, a Houston community activist and pastor at Restoration Community Church, who knows the Floyd family.

-reuters-

Churchgoers kill gunman who shot 2 during Texas service

HOUSTON - Worshipers in the US state of Texas shot dead a gunman who opened fire during a Sunday service, ending an attack that killed one parishioner and wounded another, police said.

The latest US shooting at a house of worship took place in the suburban Fort Worth community of White Settlement on Sunday morning when the gunman entered West Freeway Church of Christ, officials said.

"A couple of members of the church returned fire, striking the suspect who died at the scene," White Settlement Police Chief J.P. Bevering told reporters.

He praised the "heroic actions of those parishioners" for ending the threat, although he said one of the suspect's victims died at a local hospital and a second has life-threatening injuries.

The FBI said it was working to find a motive for the attack.

"Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful for the church members who acted quickly to take down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and families of those killed in the evil act of violence that occurred at the West Freeway Church of Christ," he added.

Guns kill about 36,000 people a year in the United States -- one of the most heavily armed countries in the world -- through suicides, homicides, police-involved shootings and accidents.

The country has lived through a sharp rise in mass shootings in recent years, alarming the public and triggering new debate on how to control this epidemic of violence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will only bring a gun bill to the floor if it has presidential backing, but President Donald Trump has given no clear preference.

In November 2017 a gunman shot dead 26 worshipers during a service at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, outside San Antonio.

Almost a year later, in October 2018, an anti-Semitic shooter killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

America's baby mayor, a face of the anti-abortion movement

WHITEHALL, United States – "The mayor's breakfast is ready," Chad McMillan sings out from the living room of his Texas ranch.

On the menu this morning: a warm bottle of milk and a jar of puree.

Charlie McMillan is no ordinary city official -- he's only seven months old and a new face of the anti-abortion movement in America.

The chubby baby became honorary mayor of his Texas community in October with a sweet slogan: "Make America Kind Again." 

A twist on US President Donald Trump's catchphrase of making the country great again, Charlie's "agenda" includes patriotism, adoption and "life" -- referring to the issue of abortion that tends to polarize Americans.

The infant mayor's emergence comes amid mounting anxiety among abortion rights advocates who fear the 46-year-old Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized abortion is under threat.

"One of his campaign platforms focuses on the brave and courageous choice that... his birth mother made for life," said Charlie's adoptive mother Nancy Jane McMillan. 

"She was in the midst of a crisis pregnancy and chose not to terminate the pregnancy but to carry him, and we were the incredibly blessed recipients of that brave and courageous choice."

Charlie's parents bought the honorary mayor title at an auction in October as part of a fundraiser for firefighters in their community of Whitehall, about an hour northwest of Houston.

The appointment, which does not involve any actual duties, was "just something fun that we were doing," McMillan said.

But then the 43-year-old real estate agent realized the influence that "Mayor Charlie" had on the people of Whitehall.

"Just a little bit of kindness goes such a long way, and in this time of political and cultural divisiveness in the United States, it's neat to see how a baby, a seven-month-old, with a campaign promise to make America kind again, can, we believe, impact change."

Charlie's parents are on the development board of the Houston Pregnancy Help Center, a Christian organization that steers women with unplanned pregnancies away from abortion.

NOT A DEMOCRAT, NOT A REPUBLICAN

The inauguration of the country's littlest mayor took place on December 15, with a big party featuring hot dogs, country music and a ceremony for the tuxedo-clad baby.

Local business owner Frank Pokluda said he gave Charlie the oath of office, "and naturally he nodded each time so he was well aware of what he was doing." 

"Look at the joy this child has brought to this community... there's people out there who'd love to have these kids so I think it's a great thing," he added.

Advocates for women's reproductive rights argue that access to abortion is vital for gender equality and the reduction of poverty and many other societal ills.

Outlawing terminations simply drives patients underground, they argue, where operations are unregulated and potentially deadly.

Chad McMillan, 51, hopes his son can provide a much-needed respite from the political battles that have divided the country.

"We hope that Charlie, who isn't a Republican, who isn't a Democrat, who isn't an independent, who loves people, can allow everybody to take a breath," said the Baptist pastor and missionary, who voted for Trump in 2016.

That could prove difficult with the Supreme Court to rule in the first half of 2020 on a Louisiana law that critics say would force the closure of most of the state's abortion clinics.

Several states this year tightened abortion access, making the procedure illegal when fetal heartbeat is detected, although courts struck down several such laws.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to appoint only opponents of abortion to the Supreme Court. He has named two of the court's nine justices, leaving the bench with a 5-4 conservative majority.

Abortion opponents are counting on the new justices to help overturn Roe v Wade, or at least allow states to restrict access to the procedure.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Torrential rains kill 1, flood homes in Houston

HOUSTON - Authorities reported the first death linked to Tropical Storm Imelda, which dumped torrential rains over the Houston-area, while rescuers in boats pulled hundreds of people from flooded cars, the city's airport temporarily halted flights and tens of thousands of people lost power on Thursday.

By late afternoon, the rains had mostly abated but officials warned millions of people in the area to stay put and not move, as it would take several hours for floodwaters to drain off.

"If you're at school, stay at school. If you're at home, stay at home. If you're at work, stay at work," said Lina Hidalgo, the Harris County judge, at a press conference as she declared a state of emergency for the Houston area. "Right now, it's about life safety."

One man southeast of Houston was electrocuted while trying to move his horse to safety, according to a statement on the Facebook page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. No other details were provided.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport halted all flights for about two hours due to the storm, and Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for over a dozen counties.

Hundreds of motorists were stranded in their vehicles as some of Houston's main roadways flooded, submerging cars. Firefighters, police and ordinary citizens were out in boats and all-terrain vehicles to pick up people trapped in their homes by the rising waters.

The storm knocked out power to around 100,000 people in Houston and southeast Texas, according to reports from energy companies, while work at oil refineries in the area was slowed or halted.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city was better prepared to rescue stranded residents and deal with flooding than when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, leading to dozens of deaths in Houston and billions of dollars in damage.

The small town of Winnie, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Houston, was badly hit. Officials there evacuated Riceland Hospital and tried to rescue people marooned in their vehicles after roads turned into lakes.

Parts of Interstate 10, a major east-west highway, were closed near Winnie.

Imelda made landfall as a tropical storm near Freeport, Texas on Tuesday. - with reports from JV Villar, ABS-CBN News

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Texas shooting toll rises to seven

WASHINGTON - The death toll in a chaotic mass shooting in Texas has risen to seven, the local police chief confirmed Sunday, adding that it might have been far worse had the shooter not been stopped before entering a crowded movie theater.

On Sunday, police identified the shooter as a local man named Seth Aaron Ator, age 36. 

Police had said Saturday that five people died in the frantic shootout spread out over several miles on roads between the cities of Midland and Odessa in the west of the state. 

They said Sunday that two more people had died. The dead ranged in age from 15 to 57, and the 22 injured included three police officers and a 17-month-old girl who was shot in the mouth but was recovering. 

At the end of the shooting spree, the assailant -- whose identity police said they were not ready to release -- died in a shootout with police outside an Odessa movie theater.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke told reporters Sunday that he could not be absolutely certain of the suspect's intent, but then added, "He showed up at a movie theater, which would tend to show his motives."

Gerke said that on a Saturday afternoon in Odessa, the theater would have been one of the most crowded venues.

At the time, the chief refused to publicly name the shooter so as not to give him notoriety. He said there was "some criminal record attached to his driver's license," but no active warrants. 

On Sunday afternoon Odessa police, on their Facebook page, named the shooter as Ator and said he was from Odessa.

Gerke said the shooter used an "AR-type" weapon -- an assault-style arm such as has been used in several other mass shootings.

Reports said Ator is a white man in his mid-30s. Police gave no details, only his name and age.

Firing at random 

FBI special agent Christopher Combs said at the briefing that authorities did not believe there was any connection to domestic or international terrorism.

The incident began when troopers tried to pull over a gold-colored passenger vehicle on the Interstate 20 highway. Gerke said the driver had failed to signal a left turn.

Before the vehicle stopped, "the male driver (and only occupant in the vehicle) pointed a rifle toward the rear window of his car and fired several shots toward the DPS patrol unit," the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

One trooper was wounded, and the suspect fled, leading police on a wild chase during which he hijacked a US postal truck and opened fire at random.

Coming less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in the Texas city of El Paso -- less than 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Odessa -- the latest bloodshed has ignited fresh calls for steps to stem the US scourge of mass shootings.

'Tired of the dying'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke repeatedly at the briefing about what he said were urgent legislative efforts to reduce gun violence. 

"I have been to too many of these events," he said, listing four mass shootings in the state. "I'm tired of the dying... too many Texans are mourning."

US President Donald Trump, in a tweet Sunday, congratulated law enforcement and first responders for their response to "the terrible shooting tragedy yesterday."

But later, speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, he said that while discussions on curbing gun violence were underway with lawmakers, "This really hasn't changed anything."

While he himself spoke after the El Paso shooting of requiring "strong background checks" to prevent unstable people from purchasing guns, Trump said Sunday that recent history showed that "as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it."

But former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, bluntly disagreed, telling CNN that "if we're not able to act decisively, then we will continue to have this bloodshed."

Combs, the FBI agent, noted that this was not the first mass shooting his team had responded to.

Once the Odessa investigation concludes, he said, "We'll get ready (for) the next active shooter, which is an unfortunate statement to make -- but it seems like that's what we do.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

At least 5 dead, 21 wounded in Texas shooting: police

WASHINGTON  - At least five people have been killed in a mass shooting that left 21 victims in the US state of Texas on Saturday, police said.

"We have at least 21 victims, 21 shooting victims and at least five deceased at this point in time," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke told reporters.

Three police officers were injured in the incident which began with a traffic stop, he said.

The suspect was shot dead in an exchange of fire with officers.

The shooting comes less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in the Texas city of El Paso, close to 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Odessa.

Police in Odessa had earlier reported that "a subject (possibly 2) is currently driving around Odessa shooting at random people."

They added that "the suspect just hijacked a US mail carrier truck" and urged people to stay off the road and use extreme caution.

Some of the shots were fired on the Interstate 20 highway linking Odessa and Midland, where cars were left with bullet holes.

President Donald Trump tweeted that he had been briefed by Attorney General Bill Barr.

"FBI and Law Enforcement is fully engaged," Trump said.

The latest incident came after the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, where many victims were Hispanic.

In that case, officers arrested Patrick Crusius, 21, a white Texan, who told police that he was targeting "Mexicans," according to an arrest warrant published by US media.

The tragedy in El Paso was committed on the basis of "racist" anti-Mexican rhetoric in a country that "has always been a land of opportunity for every newcomer," Jesus Seade, Mexico's foreign ministry undersecretary for North America, said during a memorial after that shooting. 

Critics of Trump have accused him of stoking such hatred.

The shooting in El Paso came hours before a gunman in Dayton, Ohio killed nine people, reigniting calls for gun control in the United States where firearms were linked to nearly 40,000 deaths in 2017.

"We need to end this epidemic," former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke reacted on Twitter.

O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential hopeful, also expressed sympathy with "everyone in West Texas who has to endure this again."

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8Chan creator admits online form hard to moderate in wake of US mass shootings

EL PASO, Texas - The community of this border city continues to mourn for the lives of 22 people killed in the Aug. 3 shooting at the Walmart store. They are also trying to make sense of why a 21-year-old man from a Dallas suburb would go on a shooting spree.

But one thing certain for now is that the gunman used the internet messaging forum 8chan prior to his crime where he expressed hatred for Hispanic people and laid out a plan for a deadly attack on the Hispanic community.

The site's creator Fredrick Brennan, who migrated to the Philippines in 2014, admitted that he created a "Frankenstein monster" after realizing that the online forum has led to massacres in the US.

Brennan started 8chan in 2013 as a means of free speech. He handed over management to a man named Jim Watkins in 2016.

Brennan said it's been challenging to moderate postings on the forum. He's been calling for the site to be shut down. It's now inaccessible.

“I never really imagined that this would happen -- that shooters would post their manifestos on 8chan. And I put some of the blame on the way they're administering it. They have this saying that was on 8chan before it was closed, you know, 'embrace infamy,' and they had that right on the homepage of 8chan," Brennan said.

Brennan said one of the reasons he resigned was because of the difficulty in moderating the site.

"It's like letting the mental patients run the asylum," he said.

US lawmakers have asked that the current owner of 8chan, Watkins, testify before the House Homeland Security Committee.

According to authorities, Watkins is not located in the Philippines but he posted a message on 8chan's Twitter account claiming to be on his way to America to accept the lawmakers' invitation.

Read more on Balitang America

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Lawyers: El Paso shooting suspect's mother called police over son's gun

The mother of a young man suspected of gunning down 22 people at a Walmart in the US state of Texas called police weeks before, concerned about a military-style weapon he owned, the family's lawyers told CNN.

The report comes with bipartisan sentiment for action on gun safety appearing to grow after the killings in El Paso and another mass shooting hours later in Dayton, Ohio that left nine people dead.

CNN reported that the mother of the El Paso suspect, Patrick Crusius, had called police in the Dallas suburb of Allen weeks before the attack because she was concerned about his owning an "AK"-type firearm, the network quoted family lawyers as saying.

AK usually refers to a Kalashnikov, a type of semi-automatic rifle.

The lawyers, Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres, of Dallas, told CNN that Crusius's mother was worried given her son's age, maturity level and lack of experience with such a weapon.

They added that, during the call, a police officer told her that -- based on what she described -- her 21-year-old son was legally able to purchase the weapon.

But the mother's call was "informational" and not motivated out of a concern that her son posed a threat, the lawyers said, adding the mother did not give police her name or her son's name.

"This was not a volatile, explosive, erratic behaving kid," CNN quoted Chris Ayres as saying. "It's not like alarm bells were going off."

Chris Ayres could not immediately be reached when AFP contacted his law office.

Asked about the CNN report, Sergeant Jon Felty, of the Allen Police Department, told AFP: "I have nothing in our database to support this claim."

About 20 minutes before the rampage with a semi-automatic weapon, Crusius, who is white, posted a four-page white supremacist "manifesto" on the online forum 8chan that railed against Hispanics.

Several of those killed were Mexicans.

After the shootings, US President Donald Trump faced protests that his rhetoric on race has fuelled extremism.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Trump rejected racism and white supremacist ideology, and said he supported "red flag" laws allowing authorities to confiscate weapons from people believed to present grave risks. 

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El Paso residents tell Trump to stay away after shooting

Residents in majority-Hispanic El Paso told US President Donald Trump Tuesday to stay away amid fury over his anti-immigration rhetoric as he struggles to unite the country in the wake of mass shootings that killed 31 people.

Trump is scheduled to travel Wednesday to the Texan border city where 22 died in a weekend gun massacre, before heading around 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) northeast and to Dayton, Ohio where a second gunman shot nine dead hours later. 

The president called on Americans in a nationwide address Monday to condemn bigotry but community leaders say his words rang hollow set against a longstanding refusal to call out white supremacy and a history of provocative tweets widely condemned as racist.

"This president, who helped create the hatred that made Saturday's tragedy possible, should not come to El Paso," tweeted Beto O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential hopeful and former congressman who grew up in the city.

"We do not need more division. We need to heal. He has no place here."

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley meanwhile said she would meet Trump and tell him "how unhelpful he's being. His comments weren't helpful on guns."

Before striking at a Walmart superstore in El Paso, the 21-year-old suspected gunman, who is white and from the Dallas area, reportedly posted an online manifesto railing against a "Hispanic invasion of Texas."

Critics pointed out that the language echoed much of Trump's rhetoric on Twitter and at rallies, where he has frequently framed Hispanic migrants as part of an "invasion."

Trump has also characterized Mexicans and Central Americans as criminals, gang members and rapists and described the communities of African American lawmakers on several occasions as "infested" with crime and filth.

- 'Not welcome' -

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, whose district includes the area targeted by the El Paso gunman, urged Trump "to consider the fact that his words and his actions have played a role in this."

"From my perspective, he is not welcome here," Escobar told MSNBC. "He should not come here while we are in mourning."

El Paso mayor Dee Margo, announcing the visit, stressed that he was welcoming the president because it was his duty to do so.

Presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway accused Democrats of politicizing a moment of acute pain while Trump was trying to "bring the country together, heal a nation."

She was backed by the chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party, Adolpho Telles, who defended Trump's visit but told CNN he needs to be more careful about his language.

In his nationwide address, Trump spoke out against racism but blamed mental illness, video games and the internet for fueling gun violence, sidestepping the fact that other countries with these issues do not have mass shootings. 

He had nothing substantial to say about gun control measures, drawing expressions of disappointment from those hoping for a healing moment.

"He mentioned gun issues one time," said Whaley, the Dayton mayor. "I think, watching the president over the past few years on the issue of guns... I don't know if he knows what he believes, frankly," she said.

- 'He has no right' -

Residents in El Paso, unimpressed by Trump's tightly scripted appeal for unity, told AFP they were fearful of a rise in white nationalism and said the president was part of the problem.

"I do blame our president. Since the moment he got into office the rhetoric, the hate that he's got towards people that are just different color skin, he has no right," said Silvia Rios.

The president began Tuesday apparently irritated by veiled criticism from former president Barack Obama, who warned US leaders against divisive rhetoric.

"We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments," said Obama, who has only rarely spoken out on public affairs since leaving office in 2017.

In response Trump retweeted a quote from an anchor on Fox News who said it was inappropriate for a former president to criticize a successor over a shooting.

"President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of control," read the quote from Brian Kilmeade.

Legislation to overhaul gun control under Obama failed in 2013 when the Republican-controlled Senate rejected a ban of assault-style weapons and expanding background checks.

He told the BBC two years later gun control was "the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Obama: Reject language from leaders that 'normalizes racist sentiments'

WASHINGTON -- Former President Barack Obama responded to the weekend mass shootings in Ohio and Texas on Monday with a plea to Americans to reject the language of hatred, fear and intolerance from any of their leaders.

"We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments," Obama said in a statement posted on Twitter that did not refer to President Donald Trump by name.

The shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, killed 31 people.

A 21-year-old white man has been charged with capital murder in Saturday's shooting spree in Texas. Police in El Paso cited a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto posted online shortly before the shooting, which they attributed to the suspect.

Democrats said Trump was indirectly to blame for the attack in Texas, with some drawing connections between his rhetoric to a resurgence in nationalism and xenophobic sentiment.

Trump on Monday proposed tighter monitoring of the internet, mental health reform and wider use of the death penalty in response to mass shootings.

Trump did not address accusations that his own anti-immigrant and racially charged comments have contributed to a rise in race tensions, nor did he call for broad gun control measures.

source: news.abs-cbn.com