PARKLAND, Fla. — Family members of people killed in a South Florida school shooting gave emotional testimony Tuesday during a legislative hearing to discuss passing a bill that would allow for armed teachers and raise the age limit to buy rifles.
Max Schachter, father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter who died Feb. 14 at his high school, said the bill the House committee eventually approved doesn’t go far enough — but could have saved his son.
“If we would have had these measures in place, I would not have had to bury my son next to his mother a week and a half ago. I’m standing your for your help. I’m pleading for your help. I’m willing to compromise. Are you?” he asked.
A House committee approved the bill that would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and creates a three-day waiting period for all gun purchase. The bill would also create a program that allows teachers who receive law enforcement training and are deputized by the local sheriff’s office to carry concealed weapons in the classroom if also approved by the school district.
Marion Hammer, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida, told the House Appropriations Committee that she supports hardening schools and keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, but couldn’t support the bill because of the new restrictions on gun ownership.
WASHINGTON — The political strategist and online guru who was named President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Tuesday has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history that includes longstanding ties to a convicted fraudster, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Brad Parscale, who played a key role in Trump’s 2016 election victory, signed a $10 million deal in August to sell his digital marketing company to CloudCommerce Inc. As part of the deal, Parscale currently serves as a member of California-based company’s management team.
The company touts itself as “a global provider of cloud-driven e-commerce and mobile commerce solutions.” But records reviewed by the AP raise questions about its current financial picture and its rocky past. Cloud Commerce’s operations have not turned a profit in nearly a decade, the records indicate. The company’s most recent quarterly earnings showed it has spent more than $19 million in investor money since its creation nearly two decades ago and has only $107,000 in cash on hand.
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson was not amused.
A lawyer for Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump, was trying to justify the multimillion-dollar value of his client’s home as part of a bail package. Rather than producing tax assessment or property records, the lawyer submitted to the judge a printout from Zillow, the online real estate website.
“Zillow is actually considered to be pretty accurate, Your Honor,” said Kevin Downing, Manafort’s attorney. Jackson swatted that aside, insisting she needed “something, some piece of paper beyond just what I got.”
On many days, the high-profile, high-stakes prosecution of Manafort — a case already outside the central election-meddling mandate of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — is mired in side issues that have left the judge exasperated.
Whatever Manafort’s strategy, his team’s efforts appear largely reflective of the former international consultant’s frustration with what he sees as an out-of-control prosecution.
WASHINGTON — Russia is seeking to counter U.S. diplomatic influence by stoking conflict in Syria even as it portrays itself as an arbiter in the civil war, the top American general in the Middle East said Tuesday in notably pointed criticism of Moscow.
“I’m being very serious when I say they play the role of both arsonist and fireman — fueling tensions and then trying to resolve them in their favor,” Army Gen. Joseph Votel told the House Armed Services Committee. He said Moscow is pushing alternatives to Western-led political negotiations in both Syria and Afghanistan in order to limit U.S. influence.
Russia “has to admit” that it is incapable of, or not interested in, playing a constructive role in ending the multi-dimensional war in Syria, he said. “I think their role is incredibly destabilizing at this point,” he said.
For its part, the Russian military has consistently accused the U.S. of sparing the Islamic State group and other militants in Syria in the hope of using them to topple President Bashar Assad.
LAS VEGAS — A woman told police she had a child with casino mogul Steve Wynn after he raped her, while another reported she was forced to resign from a Las Vegas job after she refused to have sex with him.
The AP on Tuesday obtained copies of police reports recently filed by the two women about allegations dating to the 1970s. Police in Las Vegas revealed earlier this month that they had taken the statements after a news report in January revealed sexual misconduct allegations against the billionaire.
Wynn has vehemently denied the misconduct accusations and attributed them to a campaign led by his ex-wife, whose attorney has denied that she instigated the report by the Wall Street Journal.
One police report shows a woman told officers that Wynn raped her at least three times around 1973 and 1974 at her Chicago apartment. She reported she got pregnant and gave birth to a girl in a gas station restroom.
In one instance, the woman claimed that Wynn pinned her against the refrigerator and raped her. She said he then made a phone call, kissed her on the cheek and left. The report does not explain how Wynn is alleged to have entered the apartment or if they knew each other. The woman claimed she did not give him a key.
From Associated Press