List of All Articles with Tag 'eric'

Despite rampant speculation suggesting otherwise, Kyrie Irving is apparently content to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks.Kyrie Irving has been tied to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers since before the trade deadline last season. The disgruntled star was traded from Brooklyn to Dallas in ...

The parents of Colorado motorist Christian Glass – who was fatally shot by police after calling 911 for help – have called for the resignation of the sheriff in the same county whose commissioners on Tuesday released a statement underscoring their lack of faith in him. The Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners “completely supports the Glass Family’s efforts to ensure that events such as the killing of Christian will never be repeated,” the board said in the statement, just days before the one-year anniversary of the young man’s death. It continued: “The Board does not believe that the Sheriff has adequately accepted responsibility for his central role in this tragedy or the need to swiftly correct all of the gaps in training and protocols that existed at the time of Christian’s death.” Christian was shot dead after calling 911 on 10 June 2022 after his car became stuck in a dark, rural and rocky area near Silver Plume, an old mining post. Former Clear Creek deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould – who were terminated by the sheriff’s office following the shooting – have been charged in Christian’s death and are awaiting trial. They have pleaded not guilty. The commissioners’ statement came two weeks after the announcement that the Glass family would receive a $19m payout, the largest for police misconduct in the state of Colorado. Christian’s parents, Sally and Simon – from the UK and New Zealand, respectively – have vocally called for more charges to be filed. Seven officers responded from five agencies and spoke with Christian for more than an hour before he was tased and fatally shot as he sat in the driver’s seat. On Tuesday, the Glass family released a statement serving to “applaud” the board of commissioners’ “commitment to ensuring that the senseless and preventable use of force that resulted in the tragic murder of their son, Christian, never happens again. “Sheriff Albers’ refusal to accept any personal responsibility for this unjustifiable loss of life demonstrates a lack of leadership and a disregard for the trust placed in him by the community,” the statement read. “Sally and Simon Glass join the Board in condemning Sheriff Albers’ conduct and call for his resignation. “By resigning, Sheriff Albers can begin to acknowledge and take responsibility for the failures that occurred under his watch. Only then can we begin to rebuild the shattered trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to protect.” The Independent has reached out to the sheriff’s office but did not immediately hear back on Tuesday. Sheriff Albers released an apology to the family last month along with the announcement of the historic settlement. “The events that transpired the night of June 10-11, 2022, that ended in Christian’s death, continue to be disturbing,” he wrote. “The initial press release did not give an accurate description of what occurred. Rather, as stated in the conclusion of the investigative report ... the deputy who killed Christian Glass used lethal force that ‘was not consistent with that of a reasonable officer.’” Four Colorado state governments will each pay parts of the newly announced settlement with the Glass family to reach the record amount. In addition to the funds, the family will also receive assurances that the state and its police agencies are enacting measures to ensure a similar incident doesn’t occur again. As part of its statement on Tuesday, the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners wrote: “The County’s Emergency Medical Services and Human Services Divisions were directed to research and implement a mental health crisis co-responder program. The pilot for this program will launch this summer with grant funds and staffing secured by the Board. “We are also pursuing a partnership with a regional communications center that already has extensive experience with co-responder programs, training, and protocols in place to effectively differentiate between mental health crises and public safety concerns.” It concluded: “We understand that no amount of money can bring Christian back or ease his family’s pain. Christian’s killing never should have happened, and the Board is unanimously committed to doing its part to ensure that a reprehensible act like this is prevented from ever happening again.” Read More Christian Glass called 911 when his car got stuck – then police shot him dead. Now, his parents need justice Family of Christian Glass, who was shot dead by police after calling 911, receives record $19m settlement Parents of Christian Glass, fatally shot by police, appeal for end to gun violence: ‘People are scared’ Family of Colorado man shot by police moments after making heart shape with his hands say they want justice George Floyd death anniversary: Reckoning with police violence in limbo

Embattled congressman George Santos has been told by a judge that the identities of the trio who paid his $500,000 bail must be publically revealed. Mr Santos, a Republican from New York, pleaded not guilty last month to federal charges of defrauding his campaign supporters, lying to obtain unemployment money and making false statements on congressional disclosure forms. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields ruled on Tuesday that Mr Santos has until 12pm on Friday to appeal her decision at which point the names would be unsealed. Lawyers for Mr Santos had argued on Monday that the names should not be made public, stating that they“truly fear for their health, safety and well being.” The lawmaker’s attorney, Joseph Murray previously said that Mr Santos would rather go to jail ahead of his criminal trial than let the names become public. “My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” Mr Murray had said. Read More Judge rules to release names of Rep. Santos bond cosigners, will say secret for now as appeal mulled Lawyer says George Santos would go to jail to keep identities of cosigners secret AP News Digest 4 am

Former Vice President Mike Pence, the onetime loyal sideman to twice-impeached ex-president Donald Trump, will kick off his own attempt to win election to the nation’s top job this week when he formally announces his campaign at a Des Moines, Iowa event on Wednesday. Mr Pence’s announcement will come just days after he made his candidacy official by filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. The ex-Indiana governor’s presidential ambitions are nothing new, with Mr Pence having teased a presidential run for months during a string of public appearances. But the advent of an actual campaign changes the Republican landscape by putting him in direct competition with Mr Trump, his former running-mate. Mr Pence, 63, served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2001 and 2013 and as Indiana’s governor between 2013 and 2017 but first rose to international attention as Mr Trump’s running-mate in 2016. The pair always made for an unlikely double act, with Mr Pence’s quiet, respectful demeanour and devout evangelical Christian faith utterly at odds with the trash-talking New Yorker’s taste for celebrity, glitzy decor and vulgar showmanship. But Mr Pence remained at his boss’ side throughout his tumultuous one-term presidency, a source of constant support until even his loyalty was tested beyond breaking point by the events of 6 January 2021. After losing the electoral vote to Democrat Joe Biden the previous November by 306 to 232 and the popular vote by 81.3 million ballots to 74.2 million, Mr Trump immediately and baselessly began to insist the contest had been “rigged” in a vast nationwide conspiracy orchestrated by his opponents. Two months of farcical legal proceedings led by a ragtag group of misfit attorneys — most notably among them ex-New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani — ended with a whimper, as Mr Trump’s allies entirely failed to offer a court any argument that satisfied the legal requirements to bring lawsuits challenging the election, much less any proof of the fraud they’d alleged. Increasingly desperate, the president was caught on tape exerting pressure on Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” additional votes in that crucial swing state, before turning his attention to his own deputy, Mr Pence, whom he called upon to weaponise his ceremonial position overseeing a joint session of Congress on 6 January to ratify the election results. Demanding that Mr Pence rule the election results null and void, Mr Trump piled on the public pressure in a series of tweets and in person on the campaign trail, presumably knowing his vice president was reluctant to follow orders. “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” Mr Trump said in Georgia. “I hope our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him very much.” Mr Pence refused to comply, instead writing a letter to Congress in which he explained: “I do not believe that the founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted during the joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has ever asserted such authority.” On the day the US Capitol was stormed by enraged Trump supporters attempting to stop the ratification, some participants even erected a gallows and chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” on the National Mall. “To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: you did not win,” Mr Pence responded in the aftermath, sounding far more presidential than Mr Trump. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house. And as we reconvene in this chamber the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy.” The two men held clear-the-air talks five days after the failed insurrection but their relationship has clearly never recovered. Speaking at a Republican dinner in New Hampshire in June 2021, Mr Pence told his audience: “You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye on that day.” Mr Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, on 7 June 1959, one of six children born to Edward and Nancy Pence and is a graduate of Hanover College and the Indiana University School of Law. He married his wife Karen in 1985 and the couple have three children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey. His net wealth has been estimated at $4m, modest compared to some prominent politicians, but has been enhanced post-presidency after he signed a two-book deal with publishing giant Simon & Schuster, thought to be worth around $3-4m, according to industry insiders. Mr Pence will now find himself in competition not only with Mr Trump but also the likes of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and ex-radio pundit Larry Elder. Ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie is expected to enter the GOP primary race this week as well. Read More Mike Pence files paperwork to jump into crowded 2024 GOP primary race DeSantis, Pence and other GOP 2024 hopefuls, but not Trump, set to appear at Iowa rally Trump reacts to report Pence won’t face charges for classified documents: ‘I’m at least as innocent as he is’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

The sheriff of Bexar County, Texas is recommending criminal charges against those involved with flights that sent 49 mostly Venezuelan migrants from El Paso to Martha’s Vineyard last year, what was widely derided as a political stunt orchestrated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A statement from the sheriff’s office says it has completed an investigation launched last September and recommended several counts of unlawful restraint, both misdemeanors and felonies, to the office of the Bexar County district attorney. “At this time, the case is being reviewed by the DA’s office. Once an update is available, it will be provided to the public,” the statement said. The sheriff’s office has not named suspects. The flights faced international scrutiny following allegations that migrants and their families, who were in the country with legal permission, were deceptively lured into planes out of state after they were processed in the US after crossing the southern border with Mexico, with their asylum cases pending in Texas. “What infuriates me the most about this case is that here we have 48 people who are already on hard times, they are here legally in the country at that point,” sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement announcing the investigation last year. “They have every right to be where they are, and I believe they were preyed upon – somebody came from out of state, preyed upon these people, lured them with promises of a better life, which is what they were absolutely looking for, with the knowledge that they were going to cling to whatever hope they could be offered ... to just be exploited and hoodwinked into making this trip,” he said. A federal lawsuit filed by attorneys for a group of migrants last year alleges that the DeSantis administration supervised a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” to collect migrants and fly them, unannounced, hundreds of miles out of state. The lawsuit alleges the governor and members of his administration targeted immigrants who were recently released from shelters with false promises of job opportunities, education and financial assistance before they landed on the island with only volunteer support from local groups and emergency assistance from state agencies. The lawsuit includes two unnamed defendants who “targeted” many of the people who boarded the flights, as well as three other unnamed defendants who participated in the alleged scheme, who “manipulated them, stripped them of their dignity, deprived them of their liberty, bodily autonomy, due process and equal protection under the law,” according to the complaint. Those allegations mirror claims from migrants who spoke with reporters about the ordeal, including multiple allegations that a woman identified only as “Perla” was central to an alleged effort to coerce migrants to board the planes, providing cash and McDonald’s gift cards to help recruit others. Mr DeSantis has taken credit for the flight, and his administration has supported legislative efforts to secure $12m in funding for similar operations. The administration has spent more than $1.5m on such flights, according to state records. The sheriff’s announcement follows more migrant flights from Texas to California, which California Attorney General Rob Bonta has likened to “state-sanctioned kidnapping.” Officials and civil rights attorneys are investigating whether the DeSantis administration was also behind those flights; Mr Bonta has stated that the migrants had what appeared to be Florida government documents. “We are also evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants,” he said in a statement this week. “While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting.” The Independent has requested comment from the DeSantis administration. Read More DeSantis news – latest: Casey DeSantis nicknamed ‘Walmart Melania’ over anti-woke leather jacket California officials probe ‘state-sanctioned kidnapping’ of migrants flown in on private jet False promises, a legal investigation and a mystery woman: Unanswered questions about Ron DeSantis's migrant flights

Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady and the wife of aspiring Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, has been branded a “Walmart Melania” after she wore a leather jacket emblazoned with a map of the Sunshine State, an alligator and the legend “Where woke goes to die” during a campaign stop in Iowa to promote her husband. Ms DeSantis wore the offending jacket in Des Moines at a “Roast and Ride” event hosted by state senator Joni Ernst. The gesture recalled former US first lady Melania Trump wearing a jacket that said “I really don’t care. Do you?” while child immigrants were being cruelly separated from their families at the Texas border during her husband Donald Trump’s presidency. “Walmart Melania made herself fair game when she put on this jacket,” one Twitter user wrote, while another prominent account tweeted: “Behind every Republican man, there’s a Republican woman selling out her sisterhood.” Meanwhile, a Vice documentary about the candidate’s earlier career as a US Navy lawyer serving at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba has been mysteriously dropped from Showtime’s schedules, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with no explanation given. Read More DeSantis defines ‘woke’ after Trump claimed ‘half the people can’t’ DeSantis condemns Trump for congratulating ‘murderous dictator’ Kim Jong-un Transgender adults in Florida `blindsided' that new law also limits their access to health care DeSantis, Pence and other GOP 2024 hopefuls, but not Trump, set to appear at Iowa rally

Two members of Donald Trump’s legal team, Evan Corcoran and Lindsey Halligan, were spotted entering the Washington DC headquarters of the Department of Justice late on Monday morning as the agency continues its investigations into their employer and his handling of classified documents post-presidency. Meanwhile, federal investigators taking part in the probe are reportedly training their attention on an employee at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, who, in the process of draining a swimming pool on the property last year, flooded a room where computer servers containing video surveillance logs were stored. Investigators are said to have asked at least one witness about the episode but it is as yet unclear whether the flooding of the server room is being treated as suspicious or an accident. Responding in an all-caps meltdown on Truth Social, Mr Trump raged: “HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED?” Also on Monday, his estranged former deputy Mike Pence filed the necessary paperworks with the Federal Election Commission to commence a presidential bid of his own, which is likely to be formally announced on Wednesday. Read More Trump makes misleading claim that New York hush money case could be dropped DeSantis defines ‘woke’ after Trump claimed ‘half the people can’t’ DeSantis condemns Trump for congratulating ‘murderous dictator’ Kim Jong-un Marjorie Taylor Greene U-turns on release of Jan 6 tapes - saying she’s worried about Capitol security

A Black mother of four was shot dead through a closed door in Florida after a dispute with a white neighbour who had earlier allegedly bombarded her children with “racial slurs”. Ajike “AJ” Owens, a resident of Ocala, had an ongoing dispute with her neighbour over her children walking over her ground, according to local officials. Police did not name the neighbour, but CNN cited an incident report that identified her as a 58-year-old white woman. According to family and witness accounts, Owens had knocked on the door of the woman living next to her on Friday to get an iPad back that her children had left behind, when she was shot from the other side. She was with her nine-year-old son when the incident happened, according to the family. Owens was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead, police said. Authorities received a call for trespassing, and when they arrived, they saw a woman with a gunshot wound, said Marion County sheriff Billy Woods in a news conference on Monday. No arrest has been made so far in the case, according to Ben Crump, one of the attorneys representing the family, who called the killing “appalling”. “It is asinine when they try to justify this unjustifiable killing of this mother of four who was killed in front of her children,” Mr Crump told MSNBC on Monday. “It is heartbreaking on every level.” Mr Woods said his office was working to determine what role the state’s “stand your ground” laws might play in the shooting. The Florida law allows people to use lethal force if they believe their or someone else’s life is in danger. “Any time that we think or perceive or believe that that might come into play, we cannot make an arrest. The law specifically says that,” he said in the Monday briefing. “And what we have to rule out is whether this deadly force was justified or not before we can even make the arrest.” He said there was an ongoing “neighbourhood feud” between the two families and police had received about a half dozen calls since January 2021. In a news conference held by Owens’s family attorneys on Monday, the victim’s mother said the neighbour accused of shooting her daughter had called the family, including the children, racial slurs. The neighbour’s door “never opened” when Owens tried to confront her, and she was shot through the door, said Pamela Dias, the victim’s mother. “My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her nine-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon, she posed no imminent threat to anyone,” Ms Dias said. “What I’m asking is for justice,” she said. “Justice for my daughter.” A GoFundMe page set up by the family for Owens’s funeral expenses and education of children has raised a little more than $42,000 out of the $25,000 target so far. According to the family, Owens’s children were playing in a field next to an Ocala apartment complex when the 58-year-old white woman allegedly began yelling at them and calling them racial slurs. The children left, but “accidentally left an iPad behind, which the woman took”, said the GoFundMe page. When one of the children went to her residence to retrieve it, the woman allegedly threw it, hitting the boy and cracking the screen. After Owens’s children informed her of what happened, she walked across the street with her kids to speak to the woman. She knocked on the door, and at that point, she was shot through the door. Read More What we know about the three gunmen on the run and the two men arrested over Florida mass shooting Racist abuse of Vinícius Júnior highlights entrenched problem in soccer How Republicans and right-wing media turned Jordan Neely’s killer into a hero ‘License to kill’: How ‘Stand Your Ground’ gun laws are fuelling random shootings and racism across the US Distrust in America: Small mistakes, deep fear — and gunfire Plane passenger escorted from Florida flight after erupting over crying baby

Democratic presidential candidate and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr said during a Twitter Spaces event on Monday that he would not take away people’s guns as a solution to reducing mass shootings and instead pointed the finger at pharmaceutical drugs. “My position on the gun control is I’m not going to take away anybody’s guns,” Mr Kennedy, 69, said in response to a listener-submitted question about gun control while speaking about his political platform with Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks. “I’m a constitutional absolutist. We can argue about whether the Second Amendment was intended to protect guns. That argument has now been settled by the Supreme Court.” Instead, Mr Kennedy made unfounded claims that psychiatric drugs are linked to mass shootings, “There’s something happening in our country right now that is not happening anywhere, that has never happened in human history,” he said. “Guns, the proliferation, clearly, abets violence, but anybody who tells you that they can remove enough guns, AR-15s, by tinkering at the margins and get to the situation they have in western Europe is puling your leg,” he added. “It’s not going to happen.” According to researchers, there’s no evidence for a link between pharmaceutical drugs and mass shootings. Over 10 per cent of the US population takes anti-depressants, and experts say if such medicines were linked to violence, one would expect to see more shootings, and more shootings committed by groups who are prescribed the treatments at a higher rate. "If there was a connection or link, one would expect it to be pronounced, or at least much greater than we are seeing," Dr James Knoll, director of forensic psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University, told Politifact. "Why do we not see increased violence in women? People over 60?" In fact, according to a USA Today review of mass shootings, a minority of school shooters were prescribed medications. "I am unaware of any consistent, credible accounts that provide strong evidence regarding the prevalence of SSRI usage in cases involving school shootings or a causal relationship between SSRIs and school shootings," Daniel Mears, a professor of criminology at Florida State University, told the paper. Read More RFK Jr compares Elon Musk to American revolutionaries during conspiracy-driven Twitter event

Federal investigators have reportedly trained their attention on an employee at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, who, in the process of draining a swimming pool on the property last year, flooded a room where computer servers containing video surveillance logs were stored. According to reporting by CNN, investigators have asked at least one witness in the investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents about the flooding of the server room. It is as of yet unclear whether the room was flooded intentionally or on accident. Prosecutors have reportedly been told that the IT equipment in the room was not damaged during the flooding incident. The investigation into the conduct and intentions of Mar-a-Lago employees comes as investigators attempt to dechiper whether multiple people were involved a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice in the Justice Department’s probe into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency in early 2021. Mr Trump suggested earlier today on the social media platform Truth Social that he will likely be charged in the case. “HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED,” the former president wrote. The post, in which Mr Trump also claimed he was being treated unfairly because former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not indicted for having emails with information later deemed to be classified stored on a private email service, came shortly after Mr Trump’s attorneys met with Department of Justice officials in Washington. Mr Trump is already facing a bevy of legal problems: he’s been indicted in New York for his role in an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the buildup to the 2016 election and is also being investigated for interfering in the 2020 election in Georgia. That investigation may also be expanding. Mr Trump is alsoa candidate for president again and has taken a sizeable lead in early polling of the Republican primary contest. His opponents, including recent entrant Gov Ron DeSantis, have yet to repeatedly attack Mr Trump over his legal problems — seemingly hesitant to align themselves with the prosecutors investigating the former president. The potential destruction of the server room may be of particular importance in the classified document investigation given that the FBI first subpoenaed the Trump Organization for Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage last summer prior to the much-publicised search of the property last August. Two Trump Organisation employees, Mr Trump’s body man Walt Nauta and a maintenance worker who helped Mr Nauta move classified documents prior to the FBI’s visit, have already attracted the attention of investigators for their conduct. According to CNN, the maintenance worker who helped move the documents is also the person who is believed to have drained the pool and flooded the server room. The Justice Department has said in court that it believes “government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room” prior to the agents’ search. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Trump suggests he is about to be charged in Mar-a-Lago classified documents case Trump news - live: Ex-president’s furious Truth Social rant suggests charges are imminent in classified documents case

The mother of the six-year-old child who allegedly shot his first grade teacher in Newport News, Virginia earlier this year said in an interview with ABC that she is “willing to take responsibility” for her son’s actions. “That is my son, so I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him — because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Deja Taylor said. Ms Taylor is facing up to six years in prison on a felony count of child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm as to endanger a child. She is also facing a federal charge of filing false information on the paperwork she submitted when purchasing the firearm that was used in the shooting of the teacher. Ms Taylor is accused of actively using marijuana when she purchased her gun from a Grafton, Virginia shop, and while marijuana is legal in Virginia, it is one of the controlled substances prospective gun buyers must admit to using on documents before purchasing their weapon. The shooting took place at Richneck Elementary School on January 6, with the teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, suffering gunshot wounds to her abdomen and hand. Ms Zwerner survived the shooting and has since filed a $40m lawsuit against the school district and school officials, alleging that they ignored repeated warnings about the danger the student posed. Newport News Public Schools has filed to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that Ms Zwerner’s injuries should be covered under the district’s workers’ compensation policy. Ms Taylor’s legal approach may be less complicated. Her lawyer, Jimmy Ellenson, told WTKR that she plans to plead guilty to the latest charges filed against her and suggested that she’s already reached a deal with prosecutors. “We’ve come to an agreement and a resolution, which I think will be satisfactory to all parties,” Mr Ellenson said. In her interview with ABC, Ms Taylor said that her son has ADHD and that the week he shot her teacher was the first week he had not been accompanied to class by a parent that year. Ms Taylor said her son liked the teacher, but was frustrated with her during the week of the shooting. “He was talking a lot about how felt like he was being ignored,” Ms Taylor said of that week. “So he would come home and [say], ‘Mom, I don’t think that she was listening to me. I didn’t like that.’ And then he actually ended up getting suspended the next day.” Ms Taylor said that she kept the gun locked, and she and her attorney weren’t willing to elaborate in the ABC interview on how her child got hold of the weapon. The child’s grandfather, who now has custody of him, said he rarely talks about the shooting — preferring to talk about the days leading up to it instead. Ms Taylor said she was beginning to form a relationship with Ms Zwerner given the time she spent in the classroom working with her and said she’s a “great person.” “I would truly like to apologise that out of the incident she did get hurt,” Ms Taylor said. Read More Mother of young boy who shot teacher arrested in Virginia

The White House said on Monday it wasn’t behind a Defense Department decision to cancel drag events at US military bases. Late last week, DoD announced that drag events, which have been performed at US military installations for decades, wouldn’t continue because they aren’t a “suitable use” of military resources. The Pentagon said in a statement that “certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in nonfederal capacity.” Biden administration press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday at a press conference that the White House supports LGBTQ+ members of the military. “The Biden-Harris administration will celebrate LGBTQI plus service members’ contributions with pride across federal agencies, including at the Department of Defense,” she said. The Pentagon decision has already led to the cancellation of at least one planned drag show, a family-friendly event at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada featuring performer Coco Montrese, a former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The base has hosted drag events in 2021 and 2022, planned by the facility’s Pride committee. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday on CNN canceling the events was the “absolute right thing to do” and said drag events “were never part of DOD policy to begin with and they’re certainly not funded by federal funds.” Capitol Hill Republicans questioned Mr Milley and other military leaders in March at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in March, and have since raised inquiries about potential funds going to such events. US military members have performed in drag at bases since at least World War I, including during the famed USO shows of WWII, according to the New York Times “Ensuring our ranks reflect the diversity of the American people is essential to morale and cohesion,” the Modern Military Association of America, a nonprofit representing LGBTQ+ servicemembers, told the paper. “It affects recruiting and retention of service members who do not feel welcome due to their sexual and gender identities.” Across the country, Republican-led legislatures have passed laws targeting drag shows, and drag events have been the subject of armed threats, part of a wider wave of GOP attacks on LGBTQ+ people. Read More David Furnish hits out at Ron DeSantis for ‘diabolically anti-Christian’ policies against LGBTQ+ people The Independent Pride List 2023: The LGBT+ people making change happen Tennessee drag ban is struck down by federal judge: ‘Unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad’