Headline

Six Killed In US Independence Day Parade Shooting

Published

3 years ago

July 4, 2022

A shooter opened fire during a parade to mark US Independence Day in the state of Illinois, killing at least six people, officials said.

“At this time, two dozen people have been transported to Highland Park hospital. Six are confirmed deceased,” Commander Chris O’Neil of the city’s police told journalists.

The suspected shooter, who is still at large, has been described as a white male aged 18-20 with longer black hair, O’Neil said.

“All individuals are still urged to shelter in place at this time,” he added.

Nancy Rotering — the mayor of Highland Park, which is located near Chicago — gave the same toll and condemned the holiday violence.

“On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we’re instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us,” she said.

Both officials said the shooting began at around 10:14 am (1514 GMT).

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the state police and the local sheriff’s office, are assisting with the response.

Highland Park announced that all July 4 festivities had been canceled as a result of the violence, as did nearby Evanston.

“While there is no known threat to Evanston residents, the shooter is still at large; therefore, cancelations are taking place in an abundance of caution,” the city said.

– ‘Enough is enough’ –
US Representative Brad Schneider, who was at the parade, said on Twitter that “a shooter struck in Highland Park during the Independence Day parade.”

“Hearing of loss of life and others injured. My condolences to the family and loved ones; my prayers for the injured and for my community,” he wrote, adding: “Enough is enough!”

The shooting is part of a wave of gun violence plaguing the United States, where approximately 40,000 deaths a year are caused by firearms, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

The debate over gun control — a deeply divisive issue in the country — was reignited by two massacres in May that saw 10 Black supermarket shoppers gunned down in upstate New York and 21 people, mostly young children, slain at an elementary school in Texas.

Congress passed the first significant bill on gun safety in decades in the wake of those killings. President Joe Biden signed it into law in late June, saying that while it falls short of what is really needed, it will still save lives.

But a day earlier, proponents of tougher firearms laws suffered a setback when the US Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public, a landmark decision with far-reaching implications for states and cities across the country trying to rein in gun violence.

AFP

Headline

Iran, Israel Need ‘To Fight It Out’ To Reach Deal – Trump

Published

1 hour ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Iran and Israel — who are locked in an exchange of military strikes — to “make a deal,” but suggested they might need to “fight it out” first.

“I think it’s time for a deal,” Trump told reporters, as Israel and Iran exchanged a fresh barrage of missile strikes and threatened more devastation in a conflict that appeared to be intensifying.

“But sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re going to see what happens,” Trump said, speaking at the White House before heading to Canada to take part in a G7 summit.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, the latest conflict marks the first time arch-enemies Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East.

It began Friday, when Israel launched attacks that have killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and struck military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.

Trump refused to answer a question about whether he had asked Israel to pause airstrikes on Iran.

Earlier, a senior US official told AFP that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he believed the two sides “should make a deal, and will make a deal.”

There are “many calls and meetings now taking place” on the issue and peace could be achieved “soon” between the longtime adversaries, he said.

Headline

Trump Orders Deportation Drive Targeting Democratic Cities

Published

2 hours ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday directed federal authorities to ramp up deportation efforts in Democratic-led cities, doubling down on a politicized anti-immigration drive after major protests in Los Angeles.

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center,” he claimed, citing debunked right-wing conspiracy theories that undocumented immigrants are voting in US elections in significant numbers.

Trump has made deporting undocumented immigrants a key priority for his second term, after successfully campaigning against an alleged “invasion” by criminals.

Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in Los Angeles sparked unruly protests, prompting Trump last week to deploy 4,000 National Guards and 700 Marines, against the wishes of local and state authorities.

California has sued to regain control of the National Guardsmen from Trump, arguing he overstepped his authority. That suit is working its way through federal court.

In a long screed on Truth Social Sunday, the Republican president charged that “every day, the Brave Men and Women of ICE are subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from Radical Democrat Politicians.”

But, he insisted, “nothing will stop us from executing our mission… ICE Officers are herewith ordered … to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”

Trump insisted that “Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!”

“There is something wrong with them,” he said, listing a litany of grievances, including charges that Democrats “believe in Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports.”

That, he said, was why he wanted ICE and other law enforcement agencies “to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities.”

Doubling down on his characteristic bluster, Trump seemed to compare migration to the United States with weapons of mass destruction.

He said he had directed his entire administration “to put every resource possible behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once Idyllic Towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia.”

With his typical divisive rhetoric, Trump said he wanted “our Brave Officers to know that REAL Americans are cheering you on every day.”

“To ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, the Patriots at Pentagon and the State Department, you have my unwavering support. Now go, GET THE JOB DONE!” he wrote.

Headline

Netanyahu Says Israel’s Strikes On Iran Have ‘Clear Support’ Of Trump

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel’s air strikes on Iran had the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.

“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu said in a video statement addressed to Trump on the US leader’s birthday.

“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”