TORONTO — The suspect in the deadly van attack in Toronto posted a chilling Facebook message just minutes before plowing into a crowded city sidewalk, authorities said Tuesday, raising the possibility that he may have nursed grudges against women — a possible echo of a 1989 massacre of 14 women that remains one of Canada’s most traumatic acts of violence.
The 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, was charged Tuesday with first degree murder in the deaths of 10 pedestrians he mowed down in the rented van he sent careening along the busy walkway. Fourteen others were injured.
Toronto Police Services Det. Sgt. Graham Gibson told a news conference those killed and injured were “predominantly” women, though he said investigators have not yet determined whether they were targeted for that reason and declined to discuss a possible motive.
“All the lanes are open with this investigation,” said Police Chief Mark Saunders.
Authorities have not yet released a list of victims. Those known to have been killed include a 30-year-old woman from Toronto, Anne Marie D’Amico, who was active in volunteer work, as well as a female student at Seneca College, which Minassian also attended. A Jordanian citizen and two South Koreans were also among those killed.
WASHINGTON — A watchdog report ordered in 2012 by Dr. Ronny Jackson — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs — found that he and a rival physician exhibited “unprofessional behaviors” as they engaged in a power struggle over the White House medical unit.
The report, reviewed Tuesday by The Associated Press, suggested the White House consider replacing Jackson or Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman — or both. Kuhlman was the physician to President Barack Obama at the time, and had previously held the role occupied by Jackson: director of the White House Medical Unit.
The six-page report by the Navy’s Medical Inspector General found a lack of trust in the leadership and low morale among staff members, who described the working environment as “being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.”
“There is a severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership that has deteriorated to the point that staff walk on ‘eggshells,’” the report found.
Trump suggested Tuesday that Jackson might want to withdraw. Jackson has been hurt by the emergence of allegations about inappropriate workplace behavior, including over-prescribing prescription drugs and drinking on the job.
WASHINGTON — Once an absentee first lady, Melania Trump embraced her moment in the spotlight Tuesday for the French president’s state visit, ditching her trademark dark sunglasses and shining in a look-at-me white skirt suit and matching hat.
All eyes will again be on the former model Tuesday evening when she steps out in a designer gown to greet Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, as they arrive for the first state dinner of Trump’s administration. The gown reveal is typically a highlight of any White House state dinner.
But for once, the gown may end up in a supporting role. To that hat.
Mrs. Trump wore the stylish belted suit with her broad-brimmed chapeau for her public appearances throughout the day, including on a brief outing to the National Gallery of Art with Mrs. Macron to view an exhibit of works by French painter Paul Cezanne.
The hat stayed atop her head as she returned to the White House and took her front-row seat in the East Room for the president’s joint news conference with Macron. It bobbed up and down across the bottom of television screens as she entered the room and again as she rose to leave, spawning many a Twitter meme.
From Associated Press