FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday made his first public appearance since Sunday’s second&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9">apparent assassination attempt</a>&nbsp;against him, speaking to an crowd chanting “God bless Trump!” and “Fight, Fight, Fight” as U.S. Secret Service agents surrounded the stage to protect him.

“It’s been a great experience,” the Republican presidential nominee said in an evening town hall in Flint, Michigan, about holding events with thousands of supporters. But he also went on to call running for president “a dangerous business” akin to car racing or bull riding.

“Only consequential presidents get shot at,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;struck a measured tone, even steering clear of mentioning Trump by name in an interview with Black journalists that starkly contrasted with the former president’s own highly contentious appearance before the same group.

The two candidates briefly put their differences aside in a phone call Trump described as “very, very nice” even as crowds booed when he mentioned Harris by her first name. Harris said earlier in the day that she told Trump “there’s no place for political violence in our country.”

Both sides are ramping up campaigning with no changes to Trump’s calendar despite the apparent assassination attempt at one of his Florida golf courses, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-2024-election-assassination-attempt-836523f3bbecf4a183dc46fbefd8230a">renewed accusations by Republicans</a>&nbsp;that Democrats’ criticism against Trump is inspiring violent attacks. Democrats have accused Trump in the past for his long history of inflammatory campaign rhetoric and advocacy for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-wisconsin-election-economy-a6923d6c5758dabb6d959417ea9d7d12">jailing or prosecuting his political enemies</a>. But Harris was treading more carefully in the aftermath of the latest incident.

Her session with the National Association of Black Journalists was one of the few extensive sit-down interviews Harris has done since replacing President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket in July. She repeatedly criticized Trump on issues including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and opposition to abortion access, but was careful to refer to him as the former president and in other ways that avoided naming him directly.

Trump re-upped his past retaliation threats against election workers, donors and others as he tries to stoke fears about the integrity of the upcoming 2024 election.

He posted Tuesday on his social media site, “Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before.”

The Michigan town hall was billed as focusing on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-auto-industry-tariffs-false-chinese-factories-0f024d98e25a361db35761b2fb740e3b">the auto industry</a>, a pillar of the battleground state. Trump alleged Democrats would undercut American car manufacturing by pushing for the adoption of electric vehicles and repeated false claims that Chinese automakers are building large factories across the border in Mexico to flood the U.S. with vehicles.

Trump has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.

Harris has her own stops in Washington as well as Michigan and Wisconsin in the coming days, with the two candidates overlapping in concentrating on the industrial Midwest, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — all swing areas that could decide an election expected to be exceedingly close.

Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-nabj-black-voters-trump-philadelphia-election-vance-walz-f40ec2b5833155562463efa05df6a03f">answered questions from three association journalists</a>&nbsp;at a small, relatively quiet venue at the Philadelphia studios of public radio station WHYY. That was very different from Trump’s addressing the NABJ conference in Chicago in July, when he was antagonistic to the moderators and sparked an uproar by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-black-journalists-convention-nabj-1e96aa530e88013ed6f577feaf89ccb6">questioning the vice president’s racial identity</a>.

Her manner was a departure from her campaign rallies, where Harris often receives some of her loudest applause by declaring that her professional background as a prosecutor means, “I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Pressed about reports of eroding support among Black male voters, Harris said she wasn’t “assuming I’m gonna have it because I’m Black.” She ducked a question about whether she’d support efforts by some congressional Democrats for reparations from the government to compensate descendants of slaves for years of unpaid labor by their ancestors. Biden has backed the idea of at least studying reparations.

So far, Biden and Harris have tried to avoid politics in their responses to Sunday’s incident, instead condemning political violence of all kinds. The president also urged Congress to increase funding to the Secret Service.

Trump has claimed, without evidence, that months of criticism against him by Harris and Biden, who call him a threat to American democracy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-2024-election-assassination-attempt-836523f3bbecf4a183dc46fbefd8230a">inspired the latest attack</a>.

“I really believe that the rhetoric from the Democrats” is “making the bullets fly. And it’s very dangerous. Dangerous for them. It’s dangerous for both sides,” Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Authorities say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-suspect-ukraine-f76ed09f256f6bd21727a10901d92af7">Ryan Wesley Routh</a>&nbsp;camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach, where Trump was playing Sunday, for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle but fled without firing shots when a Secret Service agent spotted and shot at him. He was subsequently arrested as he drove on the highway.

Routh’s past online posts suggest he has not been consistent about his politics in terms of supporting Democrats or Republicans. The attack came barely two months after Trump was wounded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-trump-assassination-attempt-city-8c62803f8a57f569a2a5639172a6c783">during a rally in Pennsylvania</a>.

Trump also met Tuesday with sheriff’s office deputies who activated the highway traffic stop that took Routh into custody.

Trump’s running mate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vance-kemp-faith-freedom-c808cd8c56b63cba44fe0e0349d432e3">Ohio Sen. JD Vance</a>, said at a Georgia Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition event on Monday that “it’s popular on a lot of corners of the left to say that we have a both sides problem.” But “no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her briefing with reporters Tuesday that there should be zero tolerance for violence-inciting rhetoric. She bristled at the suggestion that Biden and Harris have stoked division by calling Trump a threat to democracy, saying there were concrete examples of the former president being that — such as when he helped incite an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In response to Vance’s comments, Jean-Pierre said, “When you have that type of language out there it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous because people look up to that particular national leader, and they listen to you.” She said such comments open the door for “people to take you very seriously.”

Dan Curry, 44, of Saginaw, Michigan, attended the town hall Tuesday and said he is worried about the prospect of more violence against Trump.

“They say the Republicans are the gun-crazed lunatics trying to shoot people, but you don’t see us going after them,” said Curry, while adding these attacks may mobilize more support for Trump.

“It energizes his base,” he said. “How could it not?”

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday made his first public appearance since Sunday’s second&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9">apparent assassination attempt</a>&nbsp;against him, speaking to an crowd chanting “God bless Trump!” and “Fight, Fight, Fight” as U.S. Secret Service agents surrounded the stage to protect him.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">VP <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamalaHarris</a> says she spoke with former President Trump today: &quot;I checked to see if he was OK. I told him what I have said publicly, there is no place for political violence in our country.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sS1hffXE5O">pic.twitter.com/sS1hffXE5O</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1836127462868082714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“It’s been a great experience,” the Republican presidential nominee said in an evening town hall in Flint, Michigan, about holding events with thousands of supporters. But he also went on to call running for president “a dangerous business” akin to car racing or bull riding.“Only consequential presidents get shot at,” he said.Earlier in the day, Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;struck a measured tone, even steering clear of mentioning Trump by name in an interview with Black journalists that starkly contrasted with the former president’s own highly contentious appearance before the same group.The two candidates briefly put their differences aside in a phone call Trump described as “very, very nice” even as crowds booed when he mentioned Harris by her first name. Harris said earlier in the day that she told Trump “there’s no place for political violence in our country.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Former President Donald Trump on assassination attempt this past Sunday: &quot;Secret Service did a hell of a job. They really did.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/7earysPTMb">pic.twitter.com/7earysPTMb</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1836201443922936266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Both sides are ramping up campaigning with no changes to Trump’s calendar despite the apparent assassination attempt at one of his Florida golf courses, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-2024-election-assassination-attempt-836523f3bbecf4a183dc46fbefd8230a">renewed accusations by Republicans</a>&nbsp;that Democrats’ criticism against Trump is inspiring violent attacks. Democrats have accused Trump in the past for his long history of inflammatory campaign rhetoric and advocacy for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-wisconsin-election-economy-a6923d6c5758dabb6d959417ea9d7d12">jailing or prosecuting his political enemies</a>. But Harris was treading more carefully in the aftermath of the latest incident.Her session with the National Association of Black Journalists was one of the few extensive sit-down interviews Harris has done since replacing President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket in July. She repeatedly criticized Trump on issues including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and opposition to abortion access, but was careful to refer to him as the former president and in other ways that avoided naming him directly.Trump re-upped his past retaliation threats against election workers, donors and others as he tries to stoke fears about the integrity of the upcoming 2024 election.He posted Tuesday on his social media site, “Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before.”The Michigan town hall was billed as focusing on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-auto-industry-tariffs-false-chinese-factories-0f024d98e25a361db35761b2fb740e3b">the auto industry</a>, a pillar of the battleground state. Trump alleged Democrats would undercut American car manufacturing by pushing for the adoption of electric vehicles and repeated false claims that Chinese automakers are building large factories across the border in Mexico to flood the U.S. with vehicles.Trump has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.Harris has her own stops in Washington as well as Michigan and Wisconsin in the coming days, with the two candidates overlapping in concentrating on the industrial Midwest, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — all swing areas that could decide an election expected to be exceedingly close.Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-nabj-black-voters-trump-philadelphia-election-vance-walz-f40ec2b5833155562463efa05df6a03f">answered questions from three association journalists</a>&nbsp;at a small, relatively quiet venue at the Philadelphia studios of public radio station WHYY. That was very different from Trump’s addressing the NABJ conference in Chicago in July, when he was antagonistic to the moderators and sparked an uproar by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-black-journalists-convention-nabj-1e96aa530e88013ed6f577feaf89ccb6">questioning the vice president’s racial identity</a>.Her manner was a departure from her campaign rallies, where Harris often receives some of her loudest applause by declaring that her professional background as a prosecutor means, “I know Donald Trump’s type.”Pressed about reports of eroding support among Black male voters, Harris said she wasn’t “assuming I’m gonna have it because I’m Black.” She ducked a question about whether she’d support efforts by some congressional Democrats for reparations from the government to compensate descendants of slaves for years of unpaid labor by their ancestors. Biden has backed the idea of at least studying reparations.So far, Biden and Harris have tried to avoid politics in their responses to Sunday’s incident, instead condemning political violence of all kinds. The president also urged Congress to increase funding to the Secret Service.Trump has claimed, without evidence, that months of criticism against him by Harris and Biden, who call him a threat to American democracy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-2024-election-assassination-attempt-836523f3bbecf4a183dc46fbefd8230a">inspired the latest attack</a>.“I really believe that the rhetoric from the Democrats” is “making the bullets fly. And it’s very dangerous. Dangerous for them. It’s dangerous for both sides,” Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post.Authorities say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-suspect-ukraine-f76ed09f256f6bd21727a10901d92af7">Ryan Wesley Routh</a>&nbsp;camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach, where Trump was playing Sunday, for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle but fled without firing shots when a Secret Service agent spotted and shot at him. He was subsequently arrested as he drove on the highway.Routh’s past online posts suggest he has not been consistent about his politics in terms of supporting Democrats or Republicans. The attack came barely two months after Trump was wounded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-trump-assassination-attempt-city-8c62803f8a57f569a2a5639172a6c783">during a rally in Pennsylvania</a>.Trump also met Tuesday with sheriff’s office deputies who activated the highway traffic stop that took Routh into custody.Trump’s running mate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vance-kemp-faith-freedom-c808cd8c56b63cba44fe0e0349d432e3">Ohio Sen. JD Vance</a>, said at a Georgia Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition event on Monday that “it’s popular on a lot of corners of the left to say that we have a both sides problem.” But “no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump.”White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her briefing with reporters Tuesday that there should be zero tolerance for violence-inciting rhetoric. She bristled at the suggestion that Biden and Harris have stoked division by calling Trump a threat to democracy, saying there were concrete examples of the former president being that — such as when he helped incite an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.In response to Vance’s comments, Jean-Pierre said, “When you have that type of language out there it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous because people look up to that particular national leader, and they listen to you.” She said such comments open the door for “people to take you very seriously.”Dan Curry, 44, of Saginaw, Michigan, attended the town hall Tuesday and said he is worried about the prospect of more violence against Trump.“They say the Republicans are the gun-crazed lunatics trying to shoot people, but you don’t see us going after them,” said Curry, while adding these attacks may mobilize more support for Trump.“It energizes his base,” he said. “How could it not?”<h2>___</h2>

🎥Harris describes phone call to Trump following 2nd assassination attempt

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John David “JD” Souther, a prolific songwriter and musician who helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s with his collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, has died at the age of 78.

Souther, who collaborated on some of the Eagles' biggest hits, such as “Best of My Love," “James Dean,” "New Kid in Town," and “Heartache Tonight,” died Tuesday at his home in New Mexico, according to an announcement on his website.

He also collaborated with James Taylor, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt and many more, and also found success as a solo artist. He was about to start a tour with Karla Bonoff on Sept. 24 in Phoenix, now canceled.

When he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, Souther was described as “a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters.”

Souther was born in Detroit and grew up in Amarillo, Texas. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where he met Glenn Frey, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles. The two began a longtime partnership, starting with a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle.

“Our first year together will always seem like yesterday to me,” Souther said in a statement after Frey died in 2016. “His amazing capacity for the big joke and that brilliant groove that lived inside him are with me, even now, in this loss and sorrow. ... The music and the love are indestructible.”

Souther described his start with Frey at The Troubadadour, the popular West Hollywood music club, as “the best study in songwriting I can imagine.”

“So many great songwriters came through — Laura Nyro, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Newman, Elton John, James Taylor, Tim Hardin, Carole King, Rick Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings, Tim Buckley, Gordon Lightfoot, Taj Mahal and more,” he said in a statement on his website. "It seems impossible now to imagine that much music in a year and a half or so, but that was my life and the Troubadour was our university.

"It’s also where I met Linda Ronstadt and where Don Henley and Glenn Frey met to form this little country rock band called Eagles that would go on to make musical history,” Souther wrote.

On his own, Souther recorded his self-titled debut in 1972 before forming The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay. A second solo effort in 1976, Black Rose, included a duet with Ronstadt, his one-time girlfriend, “If You Have Crying Eyes.” Other duets he had recorded with her include “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind,” the latter featured in the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy.”

His biggest hit as a solo artist was “You’re Only Lonely,” from the 1979 album of the same name.

Other songs he wrote include “Run Like a Thief,” for Bonnie Raitt, and “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues" for Ronstadt. He collaborated with James Taylor on “Her Town Too."

Among the artists he worked with as a singer were Don Henley, Christopher Cross, Dan Fogelberg and Roy Orbison.

He appeared as an actor on television in “thirtysomething,” “Nashville” and “Purgatory” and in the films “Postcards from the Edge,” “My Girl 2,” and “Deadline.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726663812459.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — John David “JD” Souther, a prolific songwriter and musician who helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s with his collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, has died at the age of 78.Souther, who collaborated on some of the Eagles' biggest hits, such as “Best of My Love," “James Dean,” "New Kid in Town," and “Heartache Tonight,” died Tuesday at his home in New Mexico, according to an announcement on his website.He also collaborated with James Taylor, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt and many more, and also found success as a solo artist. He was about to start a tour with Karla Bonoff on Sept. 24 in Phoenix, now canceled.When he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, Souther was described as “a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters.”Souther was born in Detroit and grew up in Amarillo, Texas. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where he met Glenn Frey, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles. The two began a longtime partnership, starting with a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle.“Our first year together will always seem like yesterday to me,” Souther said in a statement after Frey died in 2016. “His amazing capacity for the big joke and that brilliant groove that lived inside him are with me, even now, in this loss and sorrow. ... The music and the love are indestructible.”Souther described his start with Frey at The Troubadadour, the popular West Hollywood music club, as “the best study in songwriting I can imagine.”“So many great songwriters came through — Laura Nyro, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Newman, Elton John, James Taylor, Tim Hardin, Carole King, Rick Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings, Tim Buckley, Gordon Lightfoot, Taj Mahal and more,” he said in a statement on his website. "It seems impossible now to imagine that much music in a year and a half or so, but that was my life and the Troubadour was our university."It’s also where I met Linda Ronstadt and where Don Henley and Glenn Frey met to form this little country rock band called Eagles that would go on to make musical history,” Souther wrote.On his own, Souther recorded his self-titled debut in 1972 before forming The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay. A second solo effort in 1976, Black Rose, included a duet with Ronstadt, his one-time girlfriend, “If You Have Crying Eyes.” Other duets he had recorded with her include “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind,” the latter featured in the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy.”His biggest hit as a solo artist was “You’re Only Lonely,” from the 1979 album of the same name.Other songs he wrote include “Run Like a Thief,” for Bonnie Raitt, and “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues" for Ronstadt. He collaborated with James Taylor on “Her Town Too."Among the artists he worked with as a singer were Don Henley, Christopher Cross, Dan Fogelberg and Roy Orbison.He appeared as an actor on television in “thirtysomething,” “Nashville” and “Purgatory” and in the films “Postcards from the Edge,” “My Girl 2,” and “Deadline.”

J.D. Souther, songwriter behind country-rock hits by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, dies

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a violent attack on a&nbsp;25-year-old babysitter at a park in Lawrence on Tuesday.

Just after 12:30p.m. the woman was attacked at Centennial Park, 2124 W 9th Street in Lawrence, while she was holding a 4-year-old child. 

Witnesses told police that a woman, who is believed to be living in the park, angrily approached a small group of people supervising children on the playground. 

The victim, worried for the safety of the child, picked her up and attempted to get away from the 33-year-old suspect, but the suspect allegedly struck the victim in the back with a dumbbell multiple times. 

The victim was able to run away from the suspect, get into her vehicle with the child, and leave the area while calling police. 

The suspect was located in the park and arrested on a requested charge of aggravated battery and child endangerment. 

The victim declined medical treatment at the scene and will be physically ok, but was clearly shaken. Officers were unable to determine a motive for the attack but said the suspect's behavior with them was very erratic.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726654684422.png" alt="Centennial Park, 2124 W 9th Street in Lawrence-Google image" />
 <figcaption>Centennial Park, 2124 W 9th Street in Lawrence-Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a violent attack on a&nbsp;25-year-old babysitter at a park in Lawrence on Tuesday.Just after 12:30p.m. the woman was attacked at Centennial Park, 2124 W 9th Street in Lawrence, while she was holding a 4-year-old child. Witnesses told police that a woman, who is believed to be living in the park, angrily approached a small group of people supervising children on the playground. The victim, worried for the safety of the child, picked her up and attempted to get away from the 33-year-old suspect, but the suspect allegedly struck the victim in the back with a dumbbell multiple times. The victim was able to run away from the suspect, get into her vehicle with the child, and leave the area while calling police. The suspect was located in the park and arrested on a requested charge of aggravated battery and child endangerment. The victim declined medical treatment at the scene and will be physically ok, but was clearly shaken. Officers were unable to determine a motive for the attack but said the suspect's behavior with them was very erratic.

Babysitter attacked with dumbbell while caring for child at Kan. park

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue.

The Senate vote was Democrats’ latest attempt to force Republicans into a defensive stance on women’s health issues and highlight policy differences between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially as Trump has called himself a “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-fertility-trump-republicans-election-harris-2f831b0a37dad02d9d5b9affb1f0a8de">leader on IVF</a>.”

The 51-44 vote was short of the 60 votes needed to move forward on the bill, with only two Republicans&nbsp;Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting in favor. Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the measure.&nbsp;

 Democrats say Republicans who insist they support IVF are being hypocritical because they won't support legislation guaranteeing a right to it.

“They say they support IVF — here you go, vote on this,” said Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the bill's lead sponsor and a military veteran who has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ivf-access-abortion-alabama-bill-ruling-7f68248f36900d4583d9b181f3b4e380">used the fertility treatment</a>&nbsp;to have her two children.

The Democratic push started earlier this year after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-treatments-embryos-law-7f706015308a5dfbc06abce511834d49">Alabama Supreme Court ruled</a>&nbsp;that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the GOP-led legislature rushed to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-clinic-lawsuit-immunity-things-know-0d16d3be139f42c96bc3ab35c4467f55">enact a law</a>&nbsp;to provide legal protections for the clinics.

Democrats quickly capitalized, holding a vote in June on Duckworth's bill and warning that the U.S. Supreme Court could go after the procedure next after it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned the right to an abortion in 2022</a>.

The bill would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies and a right for doctors and insurance companies to provide it, an effort to pre-empt state efforts to limit the services. It would also require more health insurers to cover it and expand coverage for military service members and veterans.

In a statement after the vote, Vice President Harris said Republicans in Congress “have once again made clear that they will not protect access to the fertility treatments many couples need to fulfill their dream of having a child.”

Republicans argued that the federal government shouldn’t tell states what to do and that the bill was an unserious effort. Only Republican&nbsp; Collins and Murkowski voted with Democrats to move forward on the bill both times.

Meanwhile, Republicans have scrambled to counter Democrats on the issue, with many making clear that they support IVF treatments. Trump last month announced plans, without additional details, to require health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for the fertility treatment.

In his debate with Harris earlier this month, Trump said he was a “leader” on the issue and talked about the “very negative” decision by the Alabama court that was later reversed by the legislature.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that Democrats are trying to create a political issue “where there isn't one.”

“Let me remind everybody that Republicans support IVF, full stop,” Thune said just before the vote.

The issue has threatened to become a vulnerability for Republicans as some state laws passed by their party grant&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-constitutions-93c27f3132ecc78e913120fe4d6c0977">legal personhood</a>&nbsp;not only to fetuses but to any embryos that are destroyed in the IVF process. Ahead of its convention this summer, the Republican Party adopted a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/republicans-abortion-party-platform-trump-rnc-5561e857c5501df9864ab8ca666d8bc5">policy platform</a>&nbsp;that supports states establishing fetal personhood through the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants equal protection under the law to all American citizens. The platform also encourages supporting IVF but does not explain how the party plans to do so.

Republicans have tried to push alternatives on the issue, including legislation that would discourage states from enacting explicit bans on the treatment, but those bills have been blocked by Democrats who say they are not enough.

Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, said in a floor speech then that his daughter was currently receiving IVF treatment and proposed to expand the flexibility of health savings accounts. Republican Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas have tried to pass a bill that would threaten to withhold Medicaid funding for states where IVF is banned.

Cruz, who is running for reelection in Texas, said Democrats were holding the vote to “stoke baseless fears about IVF and push their broader political agenda.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726604617334.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (center in the red tie) casting his no vote on Tuesday- image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (center in the red tie) casting his no vote on Tuesday- image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue.The Senate vote was Democrats’ latest attempt to force Republicans into a defensive stance on women’s health issues and highlight policy differences between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially as Trump has called himself a “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-fertility-trump-republicans-election-harris-2f831b0a37dad02d9d5b9affb1f0a8de">leader on IVF</a>.”The 51-44 vote was short of the 60 votes needed to move forward on the bill, with only two Republicans&nbsp;Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting in favor. Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the measure.&nbsp; Democrats say Republicans who insist they support IVF are being hypocritical because they won't support legislation guaranteeing a right to it.“They say they support IVF — here you go, vote on this,” said Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the bill's lead sponsor and a military veteran who has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ivf-access-abortion-alabama-bill-ruling-7f68248f36900d4583d9b181f3b4e380">used the fertility treatment</a>&nbsp;to have her two children.The Democratic push started earlier this year after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-treatments-embryos-law-7f706015308a5dfbc06abce511834d49">Alabama Supreme Court ruled</a>&nbsp;that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the GOP-led legislature rushed to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-ivf-clinic-lawsuit-immunity-things-know-0d16d3be139f42c96bc3ab35c4467f55">enact a law</a>&nbsp;to provide legal protections for the clinics.Democrats quickly capitalized, holding a vote in June on Duckworth's bill and warning that the U.S. Supreme Court could go after the procedure next after it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned the right to an abortion in 2022</a>.The bill would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies and a right for doctors and insurance companies to provide it, an effort to pre-empt state efforts to limit the services. It would also require more health insurers to cover it and expand coverage for military service members and veterans.In a statement after the vote, Vice President Harris said Republicans in Congress “have once again made clear that they will not protect access to the fertility treatments many couples need to fulfill their dream of having a child.”Republicans argued that the federal government shouldn’t tell states what to do and that the bill was an unserious effort. Only Republican&nbsp; Collins and Murkowski voted with Democrats to move forward on the bill both times.Meanwhile, Republicans have scrambled to counter Democrats on the issue, with many making clear that they support IVF treatments. Trump last month announced plans, without additional details, to require health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for the fertility treatment.In his debate with Harris earlier this month, Trump said he was a “leader” on the issue and talked about the “very negative” decision by the Alabama court that was later reversed by the legislature.South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that Democrats are trying to create a political issue “where there isn't one.”“Let me remind everybody that Republicans support IVF, full stop,” Thune said just before the vote.The issue has threatened to become a vulnerability for Republicans as some state laws passed by their party grant&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-constitutions-93c27f3132ecc78e913120fe4d6c0977">legal personhood</a>&nbsp;not only to fetuses but to any embryos that are destroyed in the IVF process. Ahead of its convention this summer, the Republican Party adopted a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/republicans-abortion-party-platform-trump-rnc-5561e857c5501df9864ab8ca666d8bc5">policy platform</a>&nbsp;that supports states establishing fetal personhood through the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants equal protection under the law to all American citizens. The platform also encourages supporting IVF but does not explain how the party plans to do so.Republicans have tried to push alternatives on the issue, including legislation that would discourage states from enacting explicit bans on the treatment, but those bills have been blocked by Democrats who say they are not enough.Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, said in a floor speech then that his daughter was currently receiving IVF treatment and proposed to expand the flexibility of health savings accounts. Republican Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas have tried to pass a bill that would threaten to withhold Medicaid funding for states where IVF is banned.Cruz, who is running for reelection in Texas, said Democrats were holding the vote to “stoke baseless fears about IVF and push their broader political agenda.

Moran, Marshall vote to block bill on women's rights to IVF

NEOSHO COUNTY —Law enforcement and school districts across Kansas are investigating school threats and several individuals have been taken into custody.

On Tuesday, the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office took a report of a social media post that mentions St. Paul school along with a couple of other schools outside of Neosho County as being on an alleged list, according to a media release.&nbsp; Law Enforcement in those jurisdictions have been notified and Neosho County investigators are currently following&nbsp; leads as the post is being treated as a criminal threat.

On Tuesday,&nbsp;The Dodge City Police Department reported they were aware of two circulating Snapchat messages that contain threats to Comanche Middle School and Dodge City Middle School, according to a media release. "We are actively working to identify the individuals responsible, and officers are increasing patrols around the schools to ensure student safety."

The Liberal Police Department reported they were also aware of a recent threat regarding a potential school shooting. After following several leads, the police department determined that the threat is non-credible.

Law enforcement are investigating a surge of reports of a vague school shooting threat circulating online about the USD 230 Spring Hill school district, according to a statement from the Johnson County Sheriff's office.&nbsp;&nbsp;To be proactive, the sheriff's office has increased their presence at schools in Spring Hill and adjacent districts in Johnson and Miami counties.

Junction City Police and Geary USD 475 investigated school&nbsp;threats made on TikTok against Junction City Middle School.

On Friday, September 13th, officers in Junction City were alerted to additional social media activity, which included a list of names of students and staff from USD 475 posted on Snapchat. On Tuesday, the Junction City Police Department identified a juvenile believed to be responsible for the post. Police arrested the juvenile, charged them with Aggravated Criminal Threat, a Level 5-person felony, and later released them to their parents.

In Hays, police&nbsp;received a report of a written threat of a bomb inside Hays Middle School, 201 W 29th Street, Hays,  according to a statement from Police Chief Don Scheibler.

The Hays Police Department worked with members of the USD 489 staff to fully investigate the reported threat. The school and the grounds were searched by members of the Hays Police Department and the Kansas Highway Patrol Emergency Service Unit (canines), Scheibler said.

During the investigation, the Hays Police Department also identified and located the person who made all the threats against Hays Middle School, Scheibler said.

A 37-year-old Salina man was arrested September 13, after he allegedly made alarming statements about plans to "shoot up a school" while standing in line at a local Casey's convenience store.

Police recommend that parents talk with their children about the consequences of making threats. We would also ask that parents educate children not to re-share social media posts but rather contact law enforcement immediately.

NEOSHO COUNTY —Law enforcement and school districts across Kansas are investigating school threats and several individuals have been taken into custody.On Tuesday, the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office took a report of a social media post that mentions St. Paul school along with a couple of other schools outside of Neosho County as being on an alleged list, according to a media release.&nbsp; Law Enforcement in those jurisdictions have been notified and Neosho County investigators are currently following&nbsp; leads as the post is being treated as a criminal threat.On Tuesday,&nbsp;The Dodge City Police Department reported they were aware of two circulating Snapchat messages that contain threats to Comanche Middle School and Dodge City Middle School, according to a media release. "We are actively working to identify the individuals responsible, and officers are increasing patrols around the schools to ensure student safety."The Liberal Police Department reported they were also aware of a recent threat regarding a potential school shooting. After following several leads, the police department determined that the threat is non-credible.Law enforcement are investigating a surge of reports of a vague school shooting threat circulating online about the USD 230 Spring Hill school district, according to a statement from the Johnson County Sheriff's office.&nbsp;&nbsp;To be proactive, the sheriff's office has increased their presence at schools in Spring Hill and adjacent districts in Johnson and Miami counties.Junction City Police and Geary USD 475 investigated school&nbsp;threats made on TikTok against Junction City Middle School.On Friday, September 13th, officers in Junction City were alerted to additional social media activity, which included a list of names of students and staff from USD 475 posted on Snapchat. On Tuesday, the Junction City Police Department identified a juvenile believed to be responsible for the post. Police arrested the juvenile, charged them with Aggravated Criminal Threat, a Level 5-person felony, and later released them to their parents.In Hays, police&nbsp;received a report of a written threat of a bomb inside Hays Middle School, 201 W 29th Street, Hays, according to a statement from Police Chief Don Scheibler.The Hays Police Department worked with members of the USD 489 staff to fully investigate the reported threat. The school and the grounds were searched by members of the Hays Police Department and the Kansas Highway Patrol Emergency Service Unit (canines), Scheibler said.The school was determined to be safe.During the investigation, the Hays Police Department also identified and located the person who made all the threats against Hays Middle School, Scheibler said.A 37-year-old Salina man was arrested September 13, after he allegedly made alarming statements about plans to "shoot up a school" while standing in line at a local Casey's convenience store.Police recommend that parents talk with their children about the consequences of making threats. We would also ask that parents educate children not to re-share social media posts but rather contact law enforcement immediately.

Police, school districts across Kansas investigating threats

KANSAS CITY— A Kansas City Fire Department firefighter-paramedic&nbsp; died Tuesday during a training exercise, according to the city.

Just before noon,&nbsp;KCFD crews conducted a training exercise when a member of the fire department experienced a medical emergency.

He was taken to North Kansas City Hospital and was pronounced dead at 1 p.m.&nbsp; &nbsp;He was a ten year veteran with KCFD with the Rescue Division at Station 35, according to the city.

The firefighter's name has not been released.

KANSAS CITY— A Kansas City Fire Department firefighter-paramedic&nbsp; died Tuesday during a training exercise, according to the city.Just before noon,&nbsp;KCFD crews conducted a training exercise when a member of the fire department experienced a medical emergency.He was taken to North Kansas City Hospital and was pronounced dead at 1 p.m.&nbsp; &nbsp;He was a ten year veteran with KCFD with the Rescue Division at Station 35, according to the city.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mayor Lucas issued the following statement on the passing of a Kansas City Fire Department firefighter-paramedic: <a href="https://t.co/mNZfcjtg9O">pic.twitter.com/mNZfcjtg9O</a>&mdash; Mayor Quinton Lucas (@MayorLucasKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorLucasKC/status/1836136269187027239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The firefighter's name has not been released.

Kansas City firefighter-paramedic dies after training exercise

JOHNSONC OUNTY —A man from Arkansas has admitted his role in a violent knife attack.

Last week, 35-year-old&nbsp;Amanjit Singh pleased no contest to attempted First Degree Murder, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

In June of 2023, police responded to Stonebridge Liquors at W. 67th Street and Nieman Road in the city of Shawnee.&nbsp;&nbsp;The victim told investigators a man walked into the liquor store as she worked and attacked her with a knife.

Court documents say Singh is accused of stabbing the victim multiple times. He is scheduled for sentenceing on October 3.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726179537432.png" alt="Singh-photo Johnson Co." />
 <figcaption>Singh-photo Johnson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSONC OUNTY —A man from Arkansas has admitted his role in a violent knife attack.Last week, 35-year-old&nbsp;Amanjit Singh pleased no contest to attempted First Degree Murder, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.In June of 2023, police responded to Stonebridge Liquors at W. 67th Street and Nieman Road in the city of Shawnee.&nbsp;&nbsp;The victim told investigators a man walked into the liquor store as she worked and attacked her with a knife.Court documents say Singh is accused of stabbing the victim multiple times. He is scheduled for sentenceing on October 3.

Man admits to violent knife attack on Kan. liquor store employee

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just before 5p.m. Tuesday in Kansas City.

A Harley Davidson “Fat Boy” Motorcycle was northbound on Interstate 435, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

At Blue Parkway, the driver failed to negotiate the curvature in the roadway. The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the left and&nbsp; down the grassy median that separates the northbound lanes of Interstate 435 from the southbound lanes. 

The motorcycle struck the inside portion of the southbound Interstate 435 guardrail and the driver was ejected.

 The operator of the motorcycle who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to DiMartino. Debris from the motorcycle struck a Toyota Camry and a Subaru BRZ that were both traveling southbound on Interstate 435. 

The driver of the Toyota and the driver of the Subaru were not injured in the collision. Multiple lanes of southbound I-435 were closed to traffic for approximately three hours. This is fatality #68 compared to fatality #65 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just before 5p.m. Tuesday in Kansas City.A Harley Davidson “Fat Boy” Motorcycle was northbound on Interstate 435, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.At Blue Parkway, the driver failed to negotiate the curvature in the roadway. The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the left and&nbsp; down the grassy median that separates the northbound lanes of Interstate 435 from the southbound lanes. The motorcycle struck the inside portion of the southbound Interstate 435 guardrail and the driver was ejected. The operator of the motorcycle who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to DiMartino. Debris from the motorcycle struck a Toyota Camry and a Subaru BRZ that were both traveling southbound on Interstate 435. The driver of the Toyota and the driver of the Subaru were not injured in the collision. Multiple lanes of southbound I-435 were closed to traffic for approximately three hours. This is fatality #68 compared to fatality #65 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

Motorcyclist dies after violent Kansas City crash

&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating&nbsp; a Kansas man on multiple allegations after an incident on a Kansas highway.

Just before 4 p.m. Sept. 12, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a traffic complaint of a gray passenger vehicle unable to maintain the driving lane, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

Deputies discovered a Kaleb Liam Johnson, 25, of Topeka, allegedly drove reckless swerving in front of another vehicle causing it to almost leave the roadway, engaging in reckless driving, swerving across multiple lanes of traffic. The vehicle was occupied with two children inside.

Johnson was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated child endangerment, reckless driving and driving with an expired registration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726257133879.png" alt="Johnson-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Johnson-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating&nbsp; a Kansas man on multiple allegations after an incident on a Kansas highway.Just before 4 p.m. Sept. 12, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a traffic complaint of a gray passenger vehicle unable to maintain the driving lane, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.Deputies discovered a Kaleb Liam Johnson, 25, of Topeka, allegedly drove reckless swerving in front of another vehicle causing it to almost leave the roadway, engaging in reckless driving, swerving across multiple lanes of traffic. The vehicle was occupied with two children inside.Johnson was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated child endangerment, reckless driving and driving with an expired registration.

Kan. man jailed after wild drive with two children in the vehicle

PALM BEACH, FL (AP) —The FBI said former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was the target of “what appears to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9">an attempted assassination</a>&nbsp;” at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-what-to-know-564c56e167c3cdc6c50f6a2e91db9a6c">his golf club in West Palm Beach</a>, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">another attempt on his life</a>.

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire on Sunday after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while he was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was charged Monday with federal gun crimes</a>. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump met with the Martin County Sheriff’s Deputies.&nbsp;who activated the traffic stop on I-95 and took would-be assassin Ryan Routh into custody.

Trump says the apparent attempt on his life was a “much better result” than when he was shot in July because no others were wounded or killed.

“That was some crazy day, and yesterday you had another one with a different result, actually much better result,” Trump said.

The host noted that some of Trump’s sons were in the room for the interview.

Trump recounts the apparent assassination attempt

He and his friends playing golf “heard shots, being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five.”

Trump said they got into carts “and we moved along pretty good.”

“I would have loved to have sank that last putt,” Trump said, of not being able to finish the round of golf.

Trump said an agent had seen a gun barrel “and started shooting in the bushes ... and ran toward the target.”

Trump also noted that a civilian woman in the area drove her vehicle to the back of Routh’s vehicle and took pictures of the license plate, which she then gave to authorities, who were able to track the suspect down.

Trump addresses apparent assassination attempt on X

Trump on Monday night participated in his first speaking appearance since the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday.

The former president is taking part in an X Space about the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric.

From his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump commended the Secret Service for doing an “excellent job.”

Farokh, the event’s host, began by applauding Trump for not canceling his appearance.

Trump also talked about his conversation with Biden, with whom he spoke earlier Monday about the apparent assassination attempt.

“He was very nice, that he called up to make sure that I was OK,” Trump said of his conversation with the president, adding that Biden also sought his input on whether “we need more people on my detail.”

Biden told reporters that the Secret Service “needs more help,” adding, “Thank God the president’s OK.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said this second apparent assassination attempt on Trump ought to be “a moment of soul-searching for all Americans.”

McConnell said the country’s political process “has been infected by reprehensible violence.”

“In America, our democracy flows from the ballot box. Not from the barrel of a gun. Period,” McConnell said in a Senate speech.

He said the president should receive “every appropriate measure of security.”

JD Vance says political rhetoric too heated — but mostly blames Democrats

Vance called for a reduction in heated political rhetoric a day after the former president was apparently targeted for assassination for the second time in as many months.

Vance said he would “do my part” to tone down the rhetoric. He also said Democrats cannot call Trump a “threat to democracy” and “a fascist” and expect that violence would not follow, because “some crazy person” decides “to take matters into their own hands.”

Trump has in recent weeks regularly called Democratic nominee Kamala Harris a “communist” and a “fascist” — ideologies at the opposite ends of the left-right political spectrum. He’s also said Harris and Democrats are threats to democracy.

Vance allowed that conservatives do not “always get things exactly right” in their rhetoric. But he argued that two apparent assassination attempts against Trump prove that Democrats are worse. “No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months,” Vance said.

JD Vance tells evangelical activists that Trump is the ‘pro-life’ president

JD Vance told evangelical activists in a presidential battleground state that the former president and GOP nominee is the clear choice for anti-abortion voters this November.

Vance’s pitch at the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition gala in Georgia comes after some evangelicals, including Trump’s previous vice president, Mike Pence, expressed disappointment in the GOP removing from its 2024 platform a call for a national ban on abortion.

Trump has argued that the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning a woman’s federal right to terminate a pregnancy is enough because it steered abortion regulation back to state governments.

Vance did not explicitly acknowledge the platform language but praised Trump for nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down abortion rights at the federal level. Vance promised a second Trump administration would pursue policies that help would-be mothers and new mothers, such as investments in job training, education and child care.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, once a Trump critic, offers clear support

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp put his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-governor-kemp-graham-04ebe25ef4780f5a192db6ad10237ced">newfound detente</a>&nbsp;with Donald Trump on display Monday with a clear endorsement of the former president’s comeback bid and an aggressive takedown of Vice President Harris.

Kemp told the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition’s Georgia Victory Dinner crowd that Trump must be returned to the Oval Office to spare the nation a Harris administration.

As Trump often does, Kemp offered a sweeping, dark view of what the Democratic nominee would do in office. He said Harris is deceiving voters by taking more moderate positions on a range of issues than she did as a California senator and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

“Kamala Harris of 2020 wouldn’t even recognize the Kamala Harris of today,” Kemp said, suggesting a President Harris would ban fracking and end private health insurance. Harris has not proposed those ideas in her current campaign.

Kemp and Trump had previously been at odds since the 2020 presidential election when the Georgia governor refused to help Trump overturn his defeat at the hands of now-President Biden.

Evangelical political leader blames ‘toxic political environment’ for violence against Trump

Ralph Reed, a longtime evangelical political powerhouse, is blaming Vice President Harris, other Democrats and the media for a “toxic political environment” that he says has paved the way for the apparent attempt on former President Trump’s life.

The co-founder of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, Reed used his group’s gala in Georgia on Monday night to say that criticism of Trump as a “would-be dictator” and threat to democracy is part of a pattern of “lies and smears and slurs” that have effectively given permission to “anyone with a screw loose” to think “they were doing a public service by trying to end his life.”

Reed said separately in an interview with The Associated Press that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters still does not justify calling Trump a threat to democracy. Reed argued that the nation “still had a peaceful transfer of power” because Congress was able that day to certify Biden’s Electoral College victory and the now-president was inaugurated two weeks later.

Political violence has become ‘desensitized’

Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said the evidence thus far suggests that the alleged gunman seems to have shown interest in a mix of ideologies.

That’s a common quality in many who end up committing political violence and may have spent time “cherry-picking” for a way to justify those acts, Lewis said.

Lewis said Americans on both sides of the political spectrum have become “desensitized” to political violence and need to reckon with the fact that it’s now become a mainstream issue.

“The acceptance of political violence, calling for political violence, regardless of your affiliation, has no place in this country,” he said. “Full stop.”

Hawaii nonprofit details history with Routh

HomeAid Hawai’i, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless people find housing, said Ryan Routh offered his company’s services to help with roofing and flooring for the construction of tiny homes from 2018 to 2020.

“He was not compensated, and no complaints were recorded during his time with us under HomeAid Hawai’I’s previous leadership," Kimo Carvalho, the organization’s executive director, said Monday in a press release.

The organization has not used Routh’s services since 2020, Carvalho said.

Authorities are still working to confirm whether Routh acted alone

Authorities have no information so far to suggest that the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt was acting with anyone else, an FBI official said.

Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, cautioned that the investigation is still underway and that authorities are working to confirm whether Routh acted alone.

Secret Service acting director says agency’s protective measures are ‘working’

U.S. Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said that protective measures are working after the latest apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

Rowe said he spoke with the former president and that Trump is “aware that he has the highest levels of protection” from the agency. He also said agents did their jobs to the letter when they noticed a man poking a rifle through the bushes at Trump’s golf course on Sunday.

Rowe said the golf trip wasn’t on Trump’s schedule, so they put together a security plan.

“And that security plan worked out," he said.

Routh ‘did not have a line of sight to the former president,’ Secret Service’s acting director says

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service says Routh “did not have a line of sight to the former president” and did not fire at Secret Service agents before he fled the scene.

Routh’s family members and former colleagues are being interviewed by FBI, agent says

Authorities are pursuing and executing search warrants for cell phones, a vehicle and electronics of the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, an FBI official said.

Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, said authorities are interviewing witnesses on the scene as well as family members and former colleagues of Ryan Routh.

Routh had numerous felony charges between 1997 and 2010, FBI agent says

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri says Routh has numerous felony charges for stolen goods between 1997 and 2010.

Routh was the subject of a closed investigation in 2019 when someone reported he was in possession of a firearm despite a prior felony conviction, but Veltri says the tipster would not confirm making the report.

FBI requested search warrants for video recording device, cell phones and more at Routh’s previous addresses

The top FBI official in the Miami field office says authorities requested search warrants seeking access to a video recording device, cell phones, a vehicle and electronics at Routh’s previous addresses.

Investigators also collected DNA that was sent to the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri. Agents in the FBI’s Charlotte and Honolulu field offices are conducting interviews.

The FBI’s analysis of cell phone data showed Routh was around the golf course in West Palm Beach for about 12 hours before the Secret Service encountered him.

‘There’s no quick fix,’ retired agent says of adding more personnel to the Secret Service

Retired supervisory Secret Service agent Bobby McDonald, now a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven, said Monday that he hopes the agency will analyze the Sunday’s events and take ownership of what went right and what went wrong — and use it to improve as it moves into the home stretch of election season.

He noted that it’s a “very busy time” for the Secret Service with the election going on, more candidates now needing protection and with preparations underway for the United Nations General Assembly. The Secret Service currently has 40 people it’s responsible for protecting fulltime. In addition to Trump and Biden, that list also includes Harris, vice presidential candidates, other former presidents and their families and others.

McDonald cautioned that it can take nine to 18 months to bring on a Secret Service staffer. The service may want to transfer more personnel from the investigative work the agency does to its protective side, McDonald said.

“There is no quick fix,” he said, noting that temporarily bringing in people from outside the agency to help can come with its own challenges because they don’t regularly do protective work.

Former Secret Service agent says there’s an obvious need for more protection for Trump

Anthony Cangelosi, a former Secret Service agent, said the events Sunday show that there’s an obvious need for more personnel assigned to protect former President Trump.

“They could have been utilized to secure the perimeter,” he said.

He said it’s understandable that former presidents like Trump do not have the same level of protection as a sitting president. But, he said, Trump also isn’t like former presidents Obama or Clinton for example. He’s both a former president and a current nominee hoping to return to the White House.

“He’s not your typical former president,” he said.

Cangelosi, who’s currently a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, questioned whether a request had been made by anyone in the Secret Service for more personnel and if so what happened to that request? And if no requests have been made for more personnel, why not?

Without the resources to secure the entire perimeter, Cangelosi said the Secret Service did the next best thing, which was to have agents going ahead of the president to scout the next locations. He commended the work they did to spot the muzzle of the gun and open fire, saying they were vigilant. But he said there’s always a chance that they could have missed the muzzle. Extra coverage could include roving uniformed personnel outside the perimeter, for example, he said. The goal is to create a presence that serves as a deterrence.

He said the Secret Service doesn’t have the extra personnel but they can be pulled from other agencies.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726602433344.png" alt="Photo from Trump campaign video by Margo Martin" />
 <figcaption>Photo from Trump campaign video by Margo Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>PALM BEACH, FL (AP) —The FBI said former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was the target of “what appears to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9">an attempted assassination</a>&nbsp;” at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-what-to-know-564c56e167c3cdc6c50f6a2e91db9a6c">his golf club in West Palm Beach</a>, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">another attempt on his life</a>.U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire on Sunday after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while he was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was charged Monday with federal gun crimes</a>. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.Here is the Latest:On Tuesday, Donald Trump met with the Martin County Sheriff’s Deputies.&nbsp;who activated the traffic stop on I-95 and took would-be assassin Ryan Routh into custody.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> meets with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Deputies who activated the traffic stop on I-95 and took Ryan Routh into custody <a href="https://t.co/XEZRR9anBQ">pic.twitter.com/XEZRR9anBQ</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@margommartin) <a href="https://twitter.com/margommartin/status/1836090888763719951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2>A ‘much better result’</h2>Trump says the apparent attempt on his life was a “much better result” than when he was shot in July because no others were wounded or killed.“That was some crazy day, and yesterday you had another one with a different result, actually much better result,” Trump said.The host noted that some of Trump’s sons were in the room for the interview.<h2>Trump recounts the apparent assassination attempt</h2>He and his friends playing golf “heard shots, being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five.”Trump said they got into carts “and we moved along pretty good.”“I would have loved to have sank that last putt,” Trump said, of not being able to finish the round of golf.Trump said an agent had seen a gun barrel “and started shooting in the bushes ... and ran toward the target.”Trump also noted that a civilian woman in the area drove her vehicle to the back of Routh’s vehicle and took pictures of the license plate, which she then gave to authorities, who were able to track the suspect down.<h2>Trump addresses apparent assassination attempt on X</h2>Trump on Monday night participated in his first speaking appearance since the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday.The former president is taking part in an X Space about the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric.From his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump commended the Secret Service for doing an “excellent job.”Farokh, the event’s host, began by applauding Trump for not canceling his appearance.<h2>Trump recounts conversation with Biden</h2>Trump also talked about his conversation with Biden, with whom he spoke earlier Monday about the apparent assassination attempt.“He was very nice, that he called up to make sure that I was OK,” Trump said of his conversation with the president, adding that Biden also sought his input on whether “we need more people on my detail.”Biden told reporters that the Secret Service “needs more help,” adding, “Thank God the president’s OK.”<h2>McConnell calls for soul-searching</h2>Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said this second apparent assassination attempt on Trump ought to be “a moment of soul-searching for all Americans.”McConnell said the country’s political process “has been infected by reprehensible violence.”“In America, our democracy flows from the ballot box. Not from the barrel of a gun. Period,” McConnell said in a Senate speech.He said the president should receive “every appropriate measure of security.”<h2>JD Vance says political rhetoric too heated — but mostly blames Democrats</h2>Vance called for a reduction in heated political rhetoric a day after the former president was apparently targeted for assassination for the second time in as many months.Vance said he would “do my part” to tone down the rhetoric. He also said Democrats cannot call Trump a “threat to democracy” and “a fascist” and expect that violence would not follow, because “some crazy person” decides “to take matters into their own hands.”Trump has in recent weeks regularly called Democratic nominee Kamala Harris a “communist” and a “fascist” — ideologies at the opposite ends of the left-right political spectrum. He’s also said Harris and Democrats are threats to democracy.Vance allowed that conservatives do not “always get things exactly right” in their rhetoric. But he argued that two apparent assassination attempts against Trump prove that Democrats are worse. “No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months,” Vance said.<h2>JD Vance tells evangelical activists that Trump is the ‘pro-life’ president</h2>JD Vance told evangelical activists in a presidential battleground state that the former president and GOP nominee is the clear choice for anti-abortion voters this November.Vance’s pitch at the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition gala in Georgia comes after some evangelicals, including Trump’s previous vice president, Mike Pence, expressed disappointment in the GOP removing from its 2024 platform a call for a national ban on abortion.Trump has argued that the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning a woman’s federal right to terminate a pregnancy is enough because it steered abortion regulation back to state governments.Vance did not explicitly acknowledge the platform language but praised Trump for nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down abortion rights at the federal level. Vance promised a second Trump administration would pursue policies that help would-be mothers and new mothers, such as investments in job training, education and child care.<h2>Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, once a Trump critic, offers clear support</h2>Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp put his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-governor-kemp-graham-04ebe25ef4780f5a192db6ad10237ced">newfound detente</a>&nbsp;with Donald Trump on display Monday with a clear endorsement of the former president’s comeback bid and an aggressive takedown of Vice President Harris.Kemp told the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition’s Georgia Victory Dinner crowd that Trump must be returned to the Oval Office to spare the nation a Harris administration.As Trump often does, Kemp offered a sweeping, dark view of what the Democratic nominee would do in office. He said Harris is deceiving voters by taking more moderate positions on a range of issues than she did as a California senator and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination.“Kamala Harris of 2020 wouldn’t even recognize the Kamala Harris of today,” Kemp said, suggesting a President Harris would ban fracking and end private health insurance. Harris has not proposed those ideas in her current campaign.Kemp and Trump had previously been at odds since the 2020 presidential election when the Georgia governor refused to help Trump overturn his defeat at the hands of now-President Biden.<h2>Evangelical political leader blames ‘toxic political environment’ for violence against Trump</h2>Ralph Reed, a longtime evangelical political powerhouse, is blaming Vice President Harris, other Democrats and the media for a “toxic political environment” that he says has paved the way for the apparent attempt on former President Trump’s life.The co-founder of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, Reed used his group’s gala in Georgia on Monday night to say that criticism of Trump as a “would-be dictator” and threat to democracy is part of a pattern of “lies and smears and slurs” that have effectively given permission to “anyone with a screw loose” to think “they were doing a public service by trying to end his life.”Reed said separately in an interview with The Associated Press that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters still does not justify calling Trump a threat to democracy. Reed argued that the nation “still had a peaceful transfer of power” because Congress was able that day to certify Biden’s Electoral College victory and the now-president was inaugurated two weeks later.<h2>Political violence has become ‘desensitized’</h2>Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, said the evidence thus far suggests that the alleged gunman seems to have shown interest in a mix of ideologies.That’s a common quality in many who end up committing political violence and may have spent time “cherry-picking” for a way to justify those acts, Lewis said.Lewis said Americans on both sides of the political spectrum have become “desensitized” to political violence and need to reckon with the fact that it’s now become a mainstream issue.“The acceptance of political violence, calling for political violence, regardless of your affiliation, has no place in this country,” he said. “Full stop.”<h2>Hawaii nonprofit details history with Routh</h2>HomeAid Hawai’i, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless people find housing, said Ryan Routh offered his company’s services to help with roofing and flooring for the construction of tiny homes from 2018 to 2020.“He was not compensated, and no complaints were recorded during his time with us under HomeAid Hawai’I’s previous leadership," Kimo Carvalho, the organization’s executive director, said Monday in a press release.The organization has not used Routh’s services since 2020, Carvalho said.<h2>Authorities are still working to confirm whether Routh acted alone</h2>Authorities have no information so far to suggest that the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt was acting with anyone else, an FBI official said.Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, cautioned that the investigation is still underway and that authorities are working to confirm whether Routh acted alone.<h2>Secret Service acting director says agency’s protective measures are ‘working’</h2>U.S. Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said that protective measures are working after the latest apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.Rowe said he spoke with the former president and that Trump is “aware that he has the highest levels of protection” from the agency. He also said agents did their jobs to the letter when they noticed a man poking a rifle through the bushes at Trump’s golf course on Sunday.Rowe said the golf trip wasn’t on Trump’s schedule, so they put together a security plan.“And that security plan worked out," he said.<h2>Routh ‘did not have a line of sight to the former president,’ Secret Service’s acting director says</h2>Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service says Routh “did not have a line of sight to the former president” and did not fire at Secret Service agents before he fled the scene.<h2>Routh’s family members and former colleagues are being interviewed by FBI, agent says</h2>Authorities are pursuing and executing search warrants for cell phones, a vehicle and electronics of the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, an FBI official said.Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, said authorities are interviewing witnesses on the scene as well as family members and former colleagues of Ryan Routh.<h2>Routh had numerous felony charges between 1997 and 2010, FBI agent says</h2>Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri says Routh has numerous felony charges for stolen goods between 1997 and 2010.Routh was the subject of a closed investigation in 2019 when someone reported he was in possession of a firearm despite a prior felony conviction, but Veltri says the tipster would not confirm making the report.<h2>FBI requested search warrants for video recording device, cell phones and more at Routh’s previous addresses</h2>The top FBI official in the Miami field office says authorities requested search warrants seeking access to a video recording device, cell phones, a vehicle and electronics at Routh’s previous addresses.Investigators also collected DNA that was sent to the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri. Agents in the FBI’s Charlotte and Honolulu field offices are conducting interviews.The FBI’s analysis of cell phone data showed Routh was around the golf course in West Palm Beach for about 12 hours before the Secret Service encountered him.<h2>‘There’s no quick fix,’ retired agent says of adding more personnel to the Secret Service</h2>Retired supervisory Secret Service agent Bobby McDonald, now a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven, said Monday that he hopes the agency will analyze the Sunday’s events and take ownership of what went right and what went wrong — and use it to improve as it moves into the home stretch of election season.He noted that it’s a “very busy time” for the Secret Service with the election going on, more candidates now needing protection and with preparations underway for the United Nations General Assembly. The Secret Service currently has 40 people it’s responsible for protecting fulltime. In addition to Trump and Biden, that list also includes Harris, vice presidential candidates, other former presidents and their families and others.McDonald cautioned that it can take nine to 18 months to bring on a Secret Service staffer. The service may want to transfer more personnel from the investigative work the agency does to its protective side, McDonald said.“There is no quick fix,” he said, noting that temporarily bringing in people from outside the agency to help can come with its own challenges because they don’t regularly do protective work.<h2>Former Secret Service agent says there’s an obvious need for more protection for Trump</h2>Anthony Cangelosi, a former Secret Service agent, said the events Sunday show that there’s an obvious need for more personnel assigned to protect former President Trump.“They could have been utilized to secure the perimeter,” he said.He said it’s understandable that former presidents like Trump do not have the same level of protection as a sitting president. But, he said, Trump also isn’t like former presidents Obama or Clinton for example. He’s both a former president and a current nominee hoping to return to the White House.“He’s not your typical former president,” he said.Cangelosi, who’s currently a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, questioned whether a request had been made by anyone in the Secret Service for more personnel and if so what happened to that request? And if no requests have been made for more personnel, why not?Without the resources to secure the entire perimeter, Cangelosi said the Secret Service did the next best thing, which was to have agents going ahead of the president to scout the next locations. He commended the work they did to spot the muzzle of the gun and open fire, saying they were vigilant. But he said there’s always a chance that they could have missed the muzzle. Extra coverage could include roving uniformed personnel outside the perimeter, for example, he said. The goal is to create a presence that serves as a deterrence.He said the Secret Service doesn’t have the extra personnel but they can be pulled from other agencies.

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