| | | | | Flags on the grounds of the Washington Monument are lowered to half-staff Monday. President Trump ordered the flags on all federal buildings lowered following the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images | | | Comforter-in-Chief: Trump lands in Puerto Rico, will travel to Las Vegas Wednesday
Kate's Las Vegas Update: What she's hearing from Nevada
Jason Aldean: "Something Has Changed in This Country": The country star's first tweet since the shooting | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump and Melania Trump have a packed schedule today while visiting Puerto Rico. They'll get a briefing upon landing and then meet with victims of Hurricane Maria. In the afternoon they'll have face time with the governor of the US Virgin Islands, as well as the governor of Puerto Rico, and meet with US troops before heading back to Washington tonight.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Guns and gun control. While the president's trip turns attention back towards Puerto Rico, the press is laser-focused on the ongoing battle over gun-control legislation in the wake of Sunday's horrific massacre in Las Vegas.
Comforter-in-Chief:
The series of national tragedies that have befallen the country in the past few weeks have turned President Trump into America's de facto comforter, with mixed results. Monday brought his speech emphasizing unification and resilience, followed by a poignant moment of silence for Las Vegas shooting victims on the South Lawn. But it came on the heels of an off week for Trump. His focus has been sidetracked by his NFL fixation, his Twitter tantrum with the Mayor of San Juan amid the optics of his weekend at his private golf club and the failure of the GOP's latest try at health care legislation. Today and tomorrow, when he heads to Vegas, are pivotal for POTUS. | | Credit: Hector Retamel/Getty Images
The President and first lady landed in Puerto Rico within the past hour. Fashion note: It appears Melania is wearing classic Timberland boots.
The Great Gun Debate (Dodge):
As he left the White House this morning to board Marine One en route to Puerto Rico, the president stopped to answer some questions shouted by assembled press -- an impromptu gesture that, by the way, President Obama rarely ever did. Most involved gun control, but Trump wasn't ready to talk about it. "Look, we have a tragedy... and what happened in Las Vegas is in many ways a miracle. The police department has done such an incredible job and we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by." One reporter asked specifically about legislation involving silencers, to which Trump answered, "We'll talk about that later." | | Meanwhile, Russia:
Ads purchased for Facebook ahead of the election apparently reached about 10 million people in the US. Ten. Million. People. Accounts with links to the Russian government purchased 3,000 ads 😳. | | The Obamas' 25th Anniversary:
Happy anniversary to Michelle and Barack Obama. Oh, and they might be buying an Upper East Side apartment? If so, that would bring their reported number of owned homes to three: DC, Chicago, and now potentially NYC. If you're into real estate rumors, here's a story that has links to pics of the place.
Michelle posted this love note on her social this morning: | | Credit: @michelleobama/Twitter
Las Vegas, My Update:
Yesterday was a horrible, horrible day. My friends are all ok, and most have been overwhelmed by the support of the community after yesterday's shooting. I'm very proud of a doctor I know, a neurosurgeon, who worked through the night and day at Sunrise hospital on the 200+ casualties that came through the doors, two dozen of which were neurosurgical. And also my friend Mark Gray, who I used to jockey with on the red carpet in Vegas when he was at People magazine and I covered entertainment. Mark wrote this firsthand account of the shooting here, in Rolling Stone. Also, I'm most relieved for my former co-worker, Ashley, a kind and remarkable young woman who was shot in the shoulder and by last night was home resting with her mom by her side. Las Vegas is a place that has such a glitzy and cliched exterior, but it's important to understand that people there work, have families, go to school, and care very passionately about their community. Thanks to everyone who reached out to me yesterday -- I hope you all continue to support the city.
Now back to regular programming ...
Dress Like the First Daughter:
You know how I knew Ivanka Trump was wearing a Zara sweater yesterday? Because I have it. In, like, every color except the yellow one she wore. It's $29.90 here, and I have it in gray, black, cream and red. Hi, I'm Kate. The skirt is also Zara, $69.90 here. The earrings, big multi-colored flowers, are not; they're by Lele Sodoughi, a New York-based designer. You can find them here for $198, and they also come in other colors. | | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; zara.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
Former Equifax CEO Richard Smith is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about his former company's data breach, while the Senate Banking Committee is hearing today about Wells Fargo's unauthorized accounts.
What America is Talking About:
Tom Petty, who died Monday at 66.
Poll of the Day:
Here's how Americans feel about firearm sales laws from 1992 to 2016, per Gallup. The percentage of people who believe they should be more strict has fallen since the '90s while the percentage who believe they should be kept as they are has risen. | | Credit: Gallup
Dems Aren't Hopeful About Gun Control:
Sen. Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who became a leading voice on gun control after the shooting in Newtown, said Monday in a statement, "the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It's time for Congress to get off its ass and do something." But Dems don't seem optimistic that anything will change after Las Vegas. "You know, I thought Sandy Hook would" change things, Sen. Dianne Feinstein told CNN. "I thought Columbine would. I thought 101 California (a 1993 shooting in San Francisco) would. None of that did."
Jimmy Kimmel's Next Campaign?:
Jimmy Kimmel, one week removed from the death of the Graham-Cassidy health care bill he used his late-night show to campaign against, seems ready to turn his efforts to gun control after the shooting in his hometown of Las Vegas. During last night's monologue, he started choking up as soon as he opened with "hello, everyone." Kimmel showed images of 56 US Senators who voted against a bill that would have closed some firearm sale loopholes after the Orlando shooting and said he regretted having to talk about serious issues. He said:
"I want this to be a comedy show. I hate talking about stuff like this. I just want to laugh about things every night, but it seems to becoming increasingly difficult lately. It feels like someone is opened a window into hell." | | Credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube
Like Kimmel's health care politicking, his take on gun-control reform is emotional, personal, and framed as non-partisan and common-sense. Unlike health care, however, there isn't a specific bill he can rally viewers to call in about. Still, Kimmel said something can and should be done.
"When someone with a beard attacks us we tap phones, we invoke travel bans," Kimmel said. "But when an American buys a gun and kills other Americans, then there's nothing we can do about that ... 'Our forefathers wanted us to have AK-47s' is the argument, I assume."
Jason Aldean Says "Something Has Changed In This Country":
The country singer tweeted this morning for the first time since surviving the Vegas shooting: "Something has changed in this country and in this world lately that is scary to see. This world is becoming the kind of place I am afraid to raise my children in."
Another Country Musician Says He's Changed His Mind on Gun Control:
Caleb Keeter, a self-described 2nd Amendment supporter and member of the Josh Abbott Band, which performed in Las Vegas hours before the shooting, tweeted, "We need gun control RIGHT. NOW. My biggest regret is that I stubbornly didn't realize it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it." Here's his full statement, as he tweeted it: | | Credit: @Calebkeeter/Twitter
Huntsman Meets Putin:
The new US ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman met Russian President Putin to deliver his credentials today. Huntsman's wife Mary Kaye posted these photos of their meeting on Instagram. I can't imagine what this job will be like. | | Credit: @marykayehuntsman/Instagram
The Man at the Center of Facebook's Russian Ad Investigation:
If you've been following this story closely, you may recognize Alex Stamos, Facebook's chief security officer, whose name appears frequently as author of Facebook statements about the Russia campaign. Recode is out with a profile of the 38-year-old former chief information security officer at Yahoo, who reportedly clashed with others at the company over his support of greater user privacy, end-to-end encryption and opposition to working with the government through email surveillance. | | | | | | |
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