Shooter’s beliefs:Â Investigators report that Mauricio Garcia, the man who killed eight people at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, was wearing a red patch with the letters RWDS, standing for Right Wing Death Squad. It’s a patch that was worn by many of the people involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Garcia also had Nazi insignias tattooed on his body.
Opera star Grace Bumbry dies:Â Opera singer Grace Bumbry has died in Vienna at age 86. As a youngster, she was denied admission to the St. Louis Institute of Music because she was Black but later went on to become a winner on the CBS-TV program “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.” She subsequently became the Metropolitan Opera’s first Black lead and one of the world’s top mezzo-sopranos. Bumbry had suffered a stroke while on a flight from Vienna to New York late last year.
Town hall moderator:Â CNN has selected Kaitlin Collins, former White House correspondent and now co-host of its morning program, to moderate tomorrow night’s scheduled town hall meeting featuring Donald Trump. Collins’ career included a stint at a conservative website founded by fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson called The Daily Caller. The town hall on CNN is billed as the first major television event of the 2024 campaign.
Khan arrested:Â Imran Khan, who formerly was prime minister of Pakistan, was arrested this morning in Islamabad on corruption charges. Khan was seen being forced into a vehicle by armed agents. Groups of Khan’s supporters subsequently staged protests in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan, and police used tear gas to break up the demonstration in Karachi.
Debt ceiling meeting:Â President Biden is scheduled to meet at the White House late this afternoon with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans say they’ll only raise it if substantial budget cuts are made at the same time. Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Tribe, a renowned constitutional expert, said last night that the Constitution states that the public debt shall not be questioned and that the Constitution overrides any debt ceilings imposed by Congress.
Pulitzers:Â Columbia University has announced that The Associated Press, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal have won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism. Individual writers at publications including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, New York Magazine and the Miami Herald were among those also winning Pulitzers.
Cover photo of Grace Bumbry courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon
