On Thursday, the GOP suggested an unorthodox idea for a last-minute Mother's Day gift on Twitter: buying Trump campaign merchandise.
A man armed with a high-powered assault rifle fired multiple rounds at the Cuban embassy in Washington early Thursday, authorities said, damaging the building and leading Havana to lodge a protest.
Police arrested the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Alexander Alazo of Aubrey, Texas. No one was injured.
"This morning at approximately 2:15 am, US Secret Service officers responded to the Embassy of Cuba following reports of shots fired," the Secret Service said in a statement.
"One individual was arrested for being in possession of an unregistered firearm as well as unregistered ammunition, assault with the intent to kill, and possession of a high capacity feed device.
"No injuries were reported at the scene."
While the suspect was arrested by Washington police, the investigation also includes the Secret Service, which is involved in assuring the security of foreign diplomats and embassies.
"The subject was immediately taken into custody without incident and the weapon was recovered," Hugh Carew, a spokesman for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said in a statement.
There was no motive given for the attack.
Local media said the suspect fired about 30 rounds at the embassy, located at the edge of the Adams Morgan neighborhood, a normally bustling area full of bars and restaurants but which has been stilled by the coronavirus shutdown.
The embassy posted pictures of bullet holes in the exterior walls and columns, a window and a light fixture.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez summoned the US charge d'affaires in Havana, Mara Tekach, to make a "strong protest" against what he called "terrorist aggression" against the embassy in Washington.
"It is not possible to disassociate this event from the upsurge in the US government's policy of aggression and hostility toward Cuba, or from the tightening of the blockade" on the Caribbean island, Rodriguez said in a statement to national television.
The administration of President Donald Trump has chilled relations with Havana, reversing course after an opening initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama.
Tekach, in a statement after she was summoned, condemned the attack in Washington.
"It is a great relief that nobody was injured," she said.
"The United States takes its responsibilities under the Vienna Convention very seriously and will ensure a full and complete investigation," she continued.
A State Department spokesperson said that the agency was committed to working with law enforcement to protect foreign missions in the United States.
In October 2017, the Trump administration expelled 15 Cuban diplomats after a rash of incidents in which US embassy staff in Cuba reported as yet unexplained head pains, dizziness and hearing loss.
It has also reinstated tough controls on trade and travel to the island, after Obama's opening.
With additional reporting from Raw Story.
On Thursday, a federal court in Nevada dealt a severe blow to a conservative group trying to limit access to the ballot in the state.
After the Republican Secretary of State moved to adopt an all-mail voting system as a safeguard against COVID-19 exposure, True The Vote sued to void the proposal, arguing that the legislature did not give the authority for such a measure, and that it would be rife with fraud.
Chief District Court Judge Miranda Du obliterated their logic in a forceful ruling, determining there was no evidence to support any of their fraud claims — and that furthermore they lack standing to challenge the measure in the first place.
On Thursday, NBC News reported that around the same time President Donald Trump was offering a relatively rosy forecast on the coronavirus death toll, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered enough body bags for a death count twice that high.
"The federal government placed orders for well over 100,000 new body bags to hold victims of COVID-19 in April, according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News, as well as public records," reported Jonathan Allen, Phil McCausland, and Cyrus Farivar. "The biggest set was earmarked for purchase the day after President Donald Trump projected that the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus might not exceed 50,000 or 60,000 people."
"That batch is a still-pending $5.1 million purchase order placed by the Homeland Security Department April 21 with the Montebello, Calif.-based company E.M. Oil Transport, Inc., which advertises construction vehicles, building materials and electronics on its website," continued the report. "The 'human remains pouches' have not been shipped to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or paid for yet, according to the company’s marketing manager, Mike Pryor."
"The cache of internal documents obtained by NBC News includes an April 25 'pre-decisional draft' of the coronavirus task force’s 'incident outlook' for the response, a summary of task force leaders’ meeting the same day and various communications among officials at several agencies," said the report. "The documents show that task force members remain worried about several major risks ahead, including insufficient availability of coronavirus tests, the absence of a vaccine or proven treatments for coronavirus, and the possibility of a 'catastrophic resurgence' of COVID-19."
You can read more here.
New York officials launched an investigation Thursday after police found dozens of decomposing bodies in trucks outside a funeral parlor overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Officers made the grisly discovery on Wednesday after residents complained that an awful smell was coming from two vehicles parked outside the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Brooklyn.
"We are investigating," Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, told reporters, adding that his department had not received complaints about the business in the past.
Mayor Bill de Blasio described the treatment of the dead as "absolutely unacceptable."
"(Funeral homes) have an obligation to the people they serve to treat them with dignity," he said.
Owner Andrew Cleckley told The New York Times that, like other funeral directors across the city, he had been overwhelmed by a deluge of bodies during the COVID-19 outbreak.
He said he had used the trucks for overflow space after his parlor had been filled with more than 100 bodies.
"I ran out of space. Bodies are coming out of our ears," the paper quoted him as saying.
US media quoted sources as saying as many as 60 bodies were found inside the vehicles, which were a rental van and what looked like a tractor-trailer.
The virus has killed almost 18,000 people in New York City in less than two months, in America's worst outbreak of the virus.
Morgues, cemeteries and crematoriums across New York City have reported struggling to keep up with the high numbers of dead.
Refrigerated trucks to store bodies have become a common sight outside the most strained hospitals.
On Thursday, TIME Magazine reported on how the coronavirus pandemic has done something that for years has seemed impossible: disillusioning President Donald Trump's supporters.
"Over the past four years, Trump has developed a Teflon mystique: no matter what he says or does, nothing seems to stick to him," wrote Charlotte Alter and Tessa Berenson. "Predicting that the latest outrage will finally sever his bond with supporters has been a mug’s game. And even as the coronavirus crisis escalated in March and April, there have been few signs that this is changing: 93% of self-described Republicans said during the first half of April that they approved of Trump’s performance, according to Gallup—up two points from a month prior."
"Yet there is also little question that the pandemic has transformed the election," continued the report. "Two months ago, Trump was an incumbent president riding a strong economy and a massive cash advantage; today, he looks like an underdog in November. The RealClearPolitics polling average has former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, leading Trump 48.3% to 42% nationally. Trump’s prospects aren’t any brighter right now when broken down by states that were key to his 2016 victory. According to Real Clear Politics polling averages, Biden leads Trump by 6.7 points in Pennsylvania, 5.5 in Michigan, and 2.7 points in Wisconsin. Biden is also leading Trump narrowly in Florida and Arizona."
Among the Trump voters whose vote he has lost are Heidi and Dennis Hodges of Erie, Pennsylvania. “I liked his tough stance. I liked that he wasn’t a politician,” Dennis told TIME. But after seeing the pandemic ravage the nation, and his wife's father spend weeks on a ventilator in a medically induced coma, while Trump spent weeks downplaying its severity, Dennis had enough. “Before the pandemic, Trump would have gotten my vote again,” he said. But not now.
Jessica Lavine Freeman of Georgia agreed, saying “If we had sat down and had this conversation in August of last year, I probably would have voted for Trump again,” but that Trump's incompetence managing coronavirus was the "final straw" and she would instead vote for former Vice President Joe Biden.
“It’s a pandemic where over 50,000 people have died, and he shows no empathy, no remorse, no compassion—it’s all about ratings and opening up the economy as quickly as possible,” said Brandon Hughes, a hospital official in Kentucky who backed Trump in 2016 and now regrets it. “I don’t think he’s capable of compassion and empathy. If he can’t show it during this, in what instance would he?”
The majority of Trump's voters are still with him, according to polls. But Trump can't afford to lose that many of them — he won thanks to 80,000 people in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
You can read more here.
President Donald Trump's scheme to try to delay military funding to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to publicly announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden led to a national scandal, and to his own impeachment.
On Thursday, writing for The Washington Post, Catherine Rampell warned that as the coronavirus pandemic has unfolded, Trump has taken that same playbook and applied it to the American people themselves.
"Do us a favor though: Before we provide lifesaving equipment, praise the president," wrote Rampell. "Do us a favor though: Before we rescue the U.S. Postal Service, raise postage prices on the president’s perceived political enemies. Do us a favor though: Before we assist states in fiscal crisis, reopen your economies when we say so. Oh, and hand over your immigrants."
This is remarkably similar, she wrote, to Trump's threat against Zelensky.
"To many voters, this exchange, involving a faraway country, may have seemed no different from the usual horse-trading that U.S. officials conduct with counterparts abroad. Trump calls himself a brilliant dealmaker, after all; maybe this episode was just another boring political negotiation," wrote Rampell. "It wasn’t, of course. It was about extracting a favor designed to help the president’s personal interest, rather than his country’s."
"In December, during the impeachment hearings, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan offered an analogy explaining why Trump’s extortion attempt should be troubling," wrote Rampell. "'Imagine living in a part of Louisiana or Texas that’s prone to devastating hurricanes and flooding,' Karlan testified. 'What would you think if, when your governor asked the federal government for the disaster assistance that Congress has provided, the president responded, 'I would like you to do us a favor. I’ll meet with you and send the disaster relief once you brand my opponent a criminal'?'"
"That hypothetical might once have seemed ludicrous. Now, like the Onion’s March joke about Trump someday recommending bleach ingestion, it looks prophetic," wrote Rampell. "In late March, for instance, he suggested that provision of medical supplies to states would be conditional on praise from governors. 'It’s a two-way street,' he said on Fox News. 'They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, ‘Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.''"
"Once upon a time, Americans might have dismissed Ukraine’s troubles as irrelevant to their lives," concluded Rampell. "Well, we’re all Zelensky now."
You can read more here.
With thousands of Americans dying each day from the coronavirus pandemic, many critics of President Donald Trump have argued that he has failed to show significant empathy and concern for the tragic consequences of the outbreak. Instead, he has routinely touted his own performance, downplayed the significance of the virus, spread misinformation, and lashed out at his perceived enemies.
But on Thursday, when pressed by NBC News' Kristen Welker, the president tried to express his empathy for the victims of the disease. Yet as the words worked their way from his brain to his mouth, any inkling of genuine concern that might have been there from the start was wiped out. What emerged was merely Trumpian boasting in the thin guise of an expression of feeling.
"I don't think anybody could feel any worse than I do about all of the death and destruction that is so needless," he said. "Nobody."
He continued: "But I also have to make sure that we handle the situation well. Nobody's thinking about it more. Nobody, uh, nobody has spent more time late in the evening thinking about what's happened to this country in a short period of time. But at the same time, we've got to get our country open again. And we're doing that."
It's remarkable that, even when given the opportunity to reflect on the lives lost, the president felt the need to make caring about the dead and dying into a competition in which he was the winner. His voice showed no signs genuine emotion, and his claim that he spends much time thinking about the crisis is hard to swallow, given that his Twitter posts — the best window into his mind that exists — reveal he's preoccupied with other matters. And even in his answer, he quickly pivoted back to focus on the economy.
Watch the clip below:
On Thursday, writing for The New York Times, physician and infectious disease expert Keren Landman broke down how Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) bungled his push to reopen his state — and what other governors can learn from the affair.
"Last week was a bad one for Georgia, and an especially bad one for our governor, Brian Kemp," wrote Landman. "On April 20, he announced that he would allow Georgia’s tattoo parlors, hair and nail salons and other 'high touch' businesses to reopen as early as April 24, ahead of even President Trump’s ambitious plans. In the days since, the state has reverberated with political turmoil. Even the president rebuked Mr. Kemp for moving too fast. For better or worse, the governor has made our state the nation’s canary in this particularly terrifying coal mine."
"From my vantage point as a doctor, an epidemiologist, a journalist and a native Georgian, it’s clear that if there’s anything to be gained from this moment’s anguish, it is the opportunity to help others avoid our mistakes," wrote Landman. "Here are some of the lessons my state has learned."
First of all, she wrote, "It’s not just about having favorable data, or even enough testing. It’s about having the right infrastructure to assess it and ensure sustained decreases in cases." She noted that Kemp cherry-picked favorable data to use to justify opening — without an adequate system in place to make any such judgement.
"Fortunately, some other states with imminent plans to reopen, like neighboring Tennessee, have carved out exceptions or given leeway to local governments," wrote Landman. "But governors, especially Republicans who have historically clashed with Democratic mayors, may be lured into using the reopening as leverage. Don’t. The people who suffer most from the results of uncoordinated public health efforts are often the people who have the least. Save the peevishness for a lower-stakes crisis."
"Georgia went first. Some of our confusion and fears were inevitable — but the governor exacerbated those with his poor planning, and he may have set us up for a relapse. Inevitably, other governors will make other mistakes, even if they learn from Georgia’s mistakes," concluded Landman. "But as we — citizens, business owners and local politicians — are learning, that doesn’t mean we will fail. As other states reopen — and they will — saving ourselves and one another will be up to us."
You can read more here.
At Thursday's coronavirus press briefing, President Donald Trump remarked that only Republican-run states are managing their fiscal situations well, and appeared to suggest he was open to the proposal from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that blue states should be allowed to file for bankruptcy.
His comments drew immediate outrage, with many on social media pointing out his basic premise wasn't even right.
President Donald Trump announced at a press conference Thursday that blue states, those run by Democrats, are having a harder time dealing with the coronavirus crisis than Republicans are.
"They want to help the states. They want to help bailouts. Bailouts are very tough. They happen to be Democratic states. It's California, it's New York, it's Illinois. You start with those three. And the Republican states are in strong shape. I don't know. Is that luck or is that talent? Or is it just a different mentality? But the Republican-run states are in strong shape."
In fact, Oklahoma, which has survived the crisis, is still facing a $500 million budget shortfall. While Kentucky was recently taken over by a Democrat, it's most certainly a red state that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said should simply file for bankruptcy. South Dakota had a serious outbreak for a small Republican state, when workers at a pork processing plant spread the virus to the town. Georgia has been getting worse and worse as has Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Lousiana, all of whom voted for Trump in the 2016 election.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that when he spoke to Trump they "had a very productive conversation."
"And this has been a body blow not just to New Jersey, and I think it's been to blue and red states alike," Murphy continued. "And I think there's a myth that this is somehow connected to legacy issues. And we had a constructive discussion about the fact that that's not what it is. This is about firefighters and police and teachers and EMS folks keeping them employed, keeping them in the service of our residents. So, I think this is a huge priority nationally. I know it is in New Jersey. I think states need that financial support to keep doing what we're doing."
Watch below:
Armed Michigan right wingers extremists angry they are being required to stay-at-home and wear masks when in public to avoid spreading coronavirus on Thursday took over the Statehouse in a near-riot tantamount to an armed occupation. Some are calling it terrorism. According to reports the State Police and Sergeants at Arms are all that stood between them and access to the House floor. The target of their protest is Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
As the videos below shows, their wall-to-wall "protest" has created a dangerous laboratory for the deadly coronavirus, as they stand shoulder to shoulder chanting and yelling, almost urging the coronavirus to infect them.
Here are a few videos.
Many took to social media to lambast the right wing nuts.
Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter in the devastating at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, weighed in:
Former HRC press secretary:
Mom's Demand founder:
Michigan Congresswoman:
More:
At Thursday's press conference on coronavirus, President Donald Trump was asked whether he would wear a mask on an upcoming presidential trip to Arizona.
The president's response was that he would "have no problem" wearing a mask, but "I'll have to see the climate" and he wasn't sure about whether he would wear it during a planned speech at the event.
"I'll be giving a speech," he said. "Should I speak in a mask? Is that politically correct?"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation that anyone in a public place should wear a mask, because many people who exhibit no symptoms can transmit the virus without their knowledge.
Copyright © 2026 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 |
Masthead
|
Privacy Policy
|
Manage Preferences
|
Debug Logs
For corrections contact
corrections@rawstory.com
, for support contact
support@rawstory.com
.
