Washington Post: Official Called Florida Shooting Coverage A 'Reprieve' For White House
The gun massacre at a Florida high school last Wednesday, which left 17 dead, seemed to shift the media glare away from the Trump scandals and gave embattled aides an opportunity to refocus on handling a crisis not of their own making.
While the White House mourned the loss of life in Parkland, Florida, some aides privately acknowledged that the tragedy offered a breather from the political storm.
One White House official said the shooting forced the White House to focus on critical and serious issues like consoling the victims and trying to heal the nation rather than getting bogged down in what they view as more trivial West Wing drama.
Here are some specific quotes from the Washington Post article, “For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal conversations. “A lot of people here felt like it was a reprieve from seven or eight days of just getting pummeled.”
“But as we all know, sadly, when the coverage dies down a little bit, we’ll be back through the chaos,” the official said.
“From an awful, cynical, purely political point of view, the tragic events in Florida probably helped the White House this week by distracting from the awful wave of scandal and bad news they have faced,” said Michael Steel, a Republican strategist.
Kids Bash President Trump Over Guns
Student survivors of the deadly Florida school shooting who hope to become the face of a revived gun control movement are on a potential collision course with President Donald Trump.
Several of the students have criticized the president, whose election was strongly supported by the National Rifle Association and who ran on a platform opposing gun control.
Trump’s only mentions of the massacre came in tweets Saturday contending that the FBI was too focused on the Russia investigation to respond to warnings about the alleged shooter and mocking Democrats for failing to pass gun control.
Here are some of the reactions from students: "You're the president. You're supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us," said David Hogg, a 17-year-old student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Emma Gonzalez, another student survivor, gave an impassioned speech at a weekend rally with a stinging citation of the NRA's $30 million in expenditures on Trump's behalf in the presidential election. On Sunday she cited Trump, Rubio and Scott by name in a warning to politicians backed by the NRA. "Now is the time to get on the right side of this, because this is not something that we are going to let sweep under the carpet," she said on "Meet the Press."
Chris Grady, a 19-year-old senior at the Florida school, was one of several students at Sunday's rally near the campus. "The kids in Newtown were too young to understand what happened and were too young to have their own voice," Grady said. "We want to be the voice for those kids and thousands of others."
Aly Sheehy tweeted: 17 of my classmates are gone. That’s 17 futures, 17 children, and 17 friends stolen. But you’re right, it always has to be about you. How silly of me to forget.
James Ciaramello, a freshman in the school's JROTC program, was heartbroken by the massacre but skeptical firearms regulations could have prevented it. "He's just messed up," Ciaramello said of Cruz, another JROTC member. "I mean, tighter gun control, it's not gonna help. There's always a way around it."
Laura Ingraham v. LeBron James
LeBron James has never shied away from making political statements. He campaigned with Hillary Clinton, and last year he called President Donald Trump a "bum" for feuding with NBA star Stephen Curry. Last week, James’ profane comments about President Donald Trump drew criticism from Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
On the web series “Rolling With the Champion” last Thursday, NBA superstar LeBron James offered an unfiltered opinion of President Trump.
“The number one job in America, the point-of person, is someone who doesn't understand the people, and really don't give a f*** about the people,” James said. “While we cannot change what comes out of that man's mouth, we can continue to alert the people that watch us, that listen to us that this is not the way.”
Laura Ingraham called James' comments “barely intelligible” and “ungrammatical.”
“Must they run their mouths like that?” she said. “This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA. Keep the political commentary to yourself. Or as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”
James' reaction? “I will definitely not do that,” he said on Saturday. “I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so many kids who feel like they don't have a way out.”
Critics called Ingraham's comments racially-charged. Current and former NBA stars spoke out, like Golden State's Stephen Curry. "That's the tone, that people try to put athletes, and black athletes, in a box," he said.
LeBron James again addressed the issue at Sunday’s All-Star practice, “I will not just shut up and dribble,” James said after All-Star practice. “So, thank you, whatever her name is. … I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids. It lets me know that everything I’ve been saying is correct for her to have that type of reaction. But we will definitely not shut up and dribble. I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society, I mean too much to the youth, I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don’t have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in.”
In a tweet, Ingraham invited James to come “play on her court” and be a guest on her show.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver praised his players for speaking out on issues. “I’m incredibly proud of our players for using the platform they have as players in the NBA and on social media to speak out on issues that are important to them. And I was proud of LeBron and Kevin’s response to the comments that were made about them. I think even when I hear it even related to the one-and-done issue when people say that the one-and-done players shouldn’t be in college because they don’t care about an education I think is incredibly unfair to them.”
L.A. County's homeless problem is worsening despite billions from tax measures
Los Angeles County's homeless population is increasing faster than the supply of new housing, even with the addition of thousands of beds in the last two years and millions of dollars beginning to flow in from two ballot measures targeting the crisis, according to a new report by the region's homelessness agency.
The report, known as the Housing Gaps Analysis, showed that officials two years ago far underestimated how much new housing would be needed when they asked city and county voters to approve the tax measures.
As a result, a $73-million annual shortfall in funding for the county's comprehensive homelessness program could more than triple, a Times analysis of the report found. Providing permanent housing for the county's chronically homeless population would require more than 20,000 new units, about 5,000 more than projected two years ago, the report said.
In a departure from its previous report, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority provided no analysis of costs associated with the needed housing in the revision released last week.
Based on estimates in the 2016 report, The Times calculated the additional costs could be about $200 million, pushing the annual shortfall to more than $270 million.
LA homelessness surged 75% in 6 years. The homelessness went from 32,000 to 55,000. If you include Glendale, Pasadena, and Long Beach (who conduct their own homelessness count), the total is 58,000.
The estimated shortage of emergency shelter and short-term rental subsidies also increased by double-digit percentages. 3 out of 4 homeless people in LA- live in cars, campers, tents, and lean-tos. It is by far the biggest single group of unsheltered people in any U.S. city.
On any given day there are at least 20 homeless sleeping on the lawn of City Hall.
An NBC Bay Area Investigation Reveals A Dangerous Concoction of Drug Needles, Garbage, And Feces Lining the Streets of Downtown San Francisco
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit surveyed 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco in search of trash, needles, and feces.
The more than 20-mile stretch includes popular tourist spots like Union Square and major hotel chains.
The investigation revealed trash littered across every block. The survey also found 41 blocks dotted with needles and 96 blocks sullied with piles of feces.
The Investigate Unit spent three days assessing conditions on the streets of downtown San Francisco and discovered trash on each of the 153 blocks surveyed.
While some streets were littered with items as small as a candy wrapper, the vast majority of trash found included large heaps of garbage, food, and discarded junk. The investigation also found 100 drug needles and more than 300 piles of feces throughout downtown.
Mail Time!
- When I first saw the LeBron story I commented that I thought it was unfortunate because LeBron and President Trump have a lot in common. Both preach work hard, dream big and believe you can achieve whatever your goal is. I think it would be fabulous if these 2 leaders could work together to help our youth. People can work together even if they have differing opinions. Now I'm thinking they really do have a lot in common big egos, they won't back down. I think they would actually like each other!!! I would love to see them work together!
- I am a long-time viewer of the Factor and now am enjoying my premium membership. Never miss a show and love the content of your web site. My question --- although I am extremely sympathetic and saddened by the Florida School shooting and I do think AR-15s should be banned from general population purchase,
- Bill, in the aftermath of the Florida shooting, do you think the younger generation in this country is willing to give up some of its freedom in exchange for more safety, whereas the older generation is not? From what I see in the news, I certainly think that's the case.
Word of the Day: Noddy |
