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  • Neither political party gets good marks on honesty

    Neither political party gets good marks on honesty



    Neither party has a distinct advantage when it comes to Americans looking for honesty in U.S. politics.

    A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey asked Americans to rate the honesty of politicians from the two major parties on a sliding scale — whether they are “always honest, sometimes honest, about equally honest and dishonest, sometimes dishonest, or always dishonest?”

    The largest shares say politicians of both parties are sometimes or always dishonest. Among adults, 48% say that describes politicians from the Republican Party, and a slightly smaller 44% say that describes Democratic politicians.

    Close to one-third of adults say politicians from each party are “about equally honest and dishonest,” while around 20% say politicians from each party are sometimes or always honest.

    The new data underscores the lack of trust in institutions that has bolstered political outsiders and fueled electoral backlash against incumbent parties and political leaders, not just in the U.S., but across the globe.

    And the cynicism extends to both political parties — as President Donald Trump, known for often spreading falsehoods, has returned to the White House, and as former President Joe Biden, who launched his successful 2020 campaign against Trump by calling for “truth over lies,” has faced serious and growing criticism that he and his closest allies were not honest about his fitness for office. Biden has said claims he was experiencing cognitive decline while in office are “wrong.”

    Americans are also critical of their own political parties, with majorities of Republicans and Democrats saying their own parties have at least some dishonest tendencies. A higher share of Republicans (22%) than Democrats (14%) say politicians from their own parties are sometimes or always dishonest.

    On the Republican side, 20% of those who align with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement say GOP politicians are sometimes or always dishonest, and 25% of Republicans who align more with the party say the same.

    Democrats who say they are aligned more with progressive causes than the party itself are more likely to say their own party has dishonest politicians, with 18% saying they are sometimes or always dishonest, compared to 11% who say they align more with the Democratic Party.

    The distrust of politicians, even those aligned with their views, underscores how Americans are down on both parties.

    When asked which party fights for people like them, the largest share of Americans (37%) say neither party does, while 24% say the Democratic Party fights for them, 22% say the GOP does so, and 18% say both parties fight for them.

    Both parties’ images are also underwater, with majorities viewing them unfavorably. Among adults, 57% view the Democratic Party unfavorably, while 43% view it favorably. And 56% view the GOP unfavorably while 44% view it favorably.

    The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 19,410 adults online from May 30-June 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.



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  • Suspect who terrorized Minnesota’s political leaders after deadly shooting found crawling in rural field

    Suspect who terrorized Minnesota’s political leaders after deadly shooting found crawling in rural field



    The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the injury shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found Sunday night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Vance Boelter’s capture at a news conference after saying Saturday that the suspect’s alleged crimes included a “politically motivated assassination.” Despite being armed, authorities said, Boelter was taken into custody without incident and no injuries were reported.

    Law enforcement numbering nearly 200 — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County, about an hour outside Minneapolis, starting Sunday morning. But the suspect may have taken advantage of fiercely rural terrain to remain hidden most of the day, authorities said.

    The governor expressed relief that the suspect was apprehended after collaborations from federal, state and local law enforcement that concluded when Minnesota State Patrol officers put their handcuffs on him.

    Sleepless nights during manhunt

    “After a two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended” the alleged shooter, Walz said.

    “This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences,” he added.

    Authorities allege Boelter tried to kill state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin at roughly 2 a.m. Saturday before fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old Democrat, and her husband, Mark, in nearby Brooklyn Park.

    In a statement released by the Hoffman family following Boelter’s arrest, Yvette Hoffman thanked law enforcement for the suspect’s capture.

    “John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” the statement read. “We continue our healing journey and are humbled by the outpouring of love and support our family has received from across the state and our nation.”

    Authorities said Boelter left behind a notebook with a hit list of other politicians as well as those who have been vocal in support of abortion rights. The names included those of Hoffman and Hortman near the very top, said Democratic Party executive Ron Harris, a fellow Minnesotan.

    Late Sunday night, Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said the list also included politicians based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa.

    Boelter emerged as the suspect as police covered locations familiar to him and spoke to people associated with the married 57-year-old.

    The hunt was jolted into renewed action about 6:30 on Sunday morning when his car and cowboy hat were found not far from his residence in Green Isle in the eastern portion of Sibley County, authorities said.

    A Buick Regal associated with the suspect as well as his cowboy hat, found at the side of a road in a wooded area about three miles from the residence, drew a massive manhunt, authorities said.

    A tense ten hours in the hunt

    But the trail seemed to get cold through nightfall as there was no sign of the suspect for more than ten hours despite evidence he had spoken to people while on the run, Evans, the criminal apprehension superintendent, said at a news conference earlier in the day.

    Boelter remained somewhat of a mystery even as authorities spoke to his wife and relatives following a Sunday traffic stop, during which they cooperated fully with investigators, Evans said.

    There was no evidence, he said, the suspect ever previously threatened the lawmakers he shot or anyone else on that list.

    Warrants for his arrest included a state warrant alleging he committed second-degree murder and a federal warrant alleging he was on the run to avoid prosecution. It wasn’t clear if the suspect has obtained legal counsel.

    Officials say Boelter impersonated law enforcement to get close to the lawmakers’ at their suburban Twin Cities homes before opening fire.

    Police in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, conducting a welfare check at the Hortmans’ residence encountered a man in front they believe is Boelter and dressed as a police officer, with a police-style SUV, emergency lights on, in the driveway, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said on Saturday.

    It was apparent the home had taken fire before the officers’ arrival, he said, and when the suspect realized police had arrived, he opened fire and exchanged rounds with them before fleeing through the home and escaping out back, he said.

    No other injuries were reported, but inside that home was the slain couple, authorities said.

    A statement of probable cause filed in support of charges reflected in the state warrant stated the suspect was seen on security video earlier at Hoffman’s home, shortly after 2 a.m., presenting himself at their door as a police officer, wearing a mask over his face, and using a Ford SUV that had the appearance of a marked patrol vehicle.

    The couple’s daughter was not struck and called 911. Walz cited the daughter, Hope, as he spoke Sunday night, calling her actions “heroic.”

    Authorities said they found three semiautomatic rifles and two 9mm handguns in the abandoned SUV. Also inside, they said, was the notebook with the alleged hit list.

    At the news conference, Evans said a local police officer reported seeing a man running into the woods, and authorities, including SWAT teams and a state public safety helicopter overhead, rushed the area. They called for the suspect to surrender and captured him as a crawled on a field, he said.

    Detectives were interviewing the suspect overnight, Evans said.

    In video circulating online the suspect describes himself as a married father of five from Green Isle who works for two funeral homes. He said he previously worked for three decades in the food industry and once traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to partner with farmers and fishermen there to help them stimulate their food supply system.

    A “deep impact” on Minnesota

    Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Yvette Hoffman was well enough to text updates, including that her husband has had to undergo multiple operations since the shooting in which she said he was struck by nine rounds and eight others hit her.

    She said the state senator is “closer every hour to being out of the woods,” according to Klobuchar. Later, Walz said Hoffman emerged from the last of many immediate operations he needed and was recovering.

    Walz said the shootings will nonetheless have a deep impact on Minnesota politics, with the loss of Hortman presenting a double-edged sward of political violence and the loss of a leader who he described as ardently effective and compromising.

    “Melissa Hortman was the core of who our values were,” the governor said. “It’s not about hatred. It’s not about mean tweets. It’s not about demeaning someone. It’s leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency. That was taken from us.”



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  • Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as Republicans manage splits over spending plans

    Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as Republicans manage splits over spending plans



    President Donald Trump’s second-term approval rating remains stuck in negative territory, along with general attitudes toward his administration’s policies, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.

    But immigration and border security remains an exception, as the president tries to drive national attention back toward his strongest issue — though Americans are closely divided even on that area of relative strength.

    Americans’ ratings of two of the other defining projects of Trump’s second term, tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency, are more negative. And as Congress works on another major Trump initiative, a massive tax and spending plan, the poll illustrates how Republicans must manage internal differences over competing priorities on taxes and government debt.

    A majority (55%) of all adults over 18 years old said they disapprove of the way Trump’s handling his job as president, while 45% approve, unchanged from April’s NBC News Stay Tuned Poll.

    While the overall number was stable, under the surface there are small signs of waning enthusiasm for the president, with the share of adults who strongly approve decreasing slightly since April. The share who strongly disapprove also fell slightly, though intense negative feelings remain stronger than intense positive feelings in this poll.

    Republicans were 5 percentage points less likely to say that they strongly support the president compared to April, with much of this movement coming from Republicans who say they identify as being part of the MAGA movement moving into the “somewhat approve” category.

    The poll was conducted May 30-June 10, surveying 19,410 adults online nationwide with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

    When asked to identify emotions about the president and his actions, fewer MAGA supporters picked “thrilled” compared to April, too. Thirty-seven percent said they’re thrilled about the actions the Trump administration has taken so far during its term, down from 46% in April.

    In contrast, a majority (51%) of Democrats say they are “furious” at the Trump administration’s actions, showing a disparity in the intensity of feeling between the two parties. Indeed, Republicans shifted 7 percentage points away from being thrilled toward more neutral feelings about the president since April.

    This type of intensity gap has played a major role in past nonpresidential election cycles, and it may prove notable in off-cycle elections in New Jersey and Virginia this November, which generally see relatively lower turnout. Congressional Republicans and Trump will want to drive up enthusiasm among their base as they prepare to defend seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

    A majority of independents said they feel dissatisfied, angry or furious with the actions of the administration. That’s reflected in independents’ approval rating of the president, with 65% saying they disapprove of his performance.

    Immigration remains Trump’s strongest issue

    A majority of Americans said they approve of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration, though the public is closely split on even his strongest issue, with 51% approving of his handling of immigration and border security and 49% disapproving.

    While the survey was being conducted, Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area due to mounting protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the county. He has spoken repeatedly about the issue in recent days.

    While the public overall is divided on Trump’s immigration policy, his base is motivated by the issue and his handling of it. While 9% of Americans overall said immigration is the issue that matters most to them right now, 20% of MAGA supporters said immigration is the most important issue, second only to the economy.

    Trump’s overall numbers on immigration were similar to the April poll, but Republicans, MAGA Republicans and independents were all slightly more likely to say now that they strongly approve of the way Trump is handling border security and immigration.

    In recent months, the administration’s immigration policies have overlapped with its higher education policies, especially those aimed at foreign students across the United States. The poll found a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of issues related to college and universities, with 56% disapproving of Trump’s actions toward universities, including a 42% plurality who said they strongly disapprove.

    Trump’s base, however, strongly approves of his handling of universities. MAGA supporters overwhelmingly approve, including 72% who said they strongly approve. Most Republicans also approve, including 57% who strongly approve of Trump’s handling of the issue.

    On the question of how institutions like Harvard University affect the U.S., a plurality of Americans said they help the country (44%) and about a quarter (24%) said they hurt the country. Another 31% said colleges and universities like Harvard are not making a difference. Harvard has been at the forefront of legal battles with the Trump administration over grant money and the ability to enroll foreign students.

    A majority of MAGA supporters (65%) and Republicans (53%) said universities like Harvard are mostly hurting the country, whereas three-quarters of Democrats said they help the country. Among independents, 46% said colleges and universities aren’t making a difference and 42% said they’re helping the country.

    Americans gave Trump negative ratings on how he’s handling several other issues, including tariffs (40% approve, 60% disapprove), cost of living and inflation (39%-61%) and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (44%-56%).

    Republicans split on priorities in Trump’s big bill

    A slight majority of Americans (51%) said maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid is the most important matter as Congress considers Trump-backed budget legislation this year. But it’s closely split, within the margin of error, against a combined 49% who say a pair of Republican-aligned priorities are most important to them.

    The poll also illustrates how Republicans are trying to balance priorities and the demands of different parts of their narrow congressional majorities as they design the package.

    Mirroring the divisions among the Republican lawmakers negotiating the bill, 40% of Republicans said they care most about ensuring the national debt is reduced, while an almost identical share (39%) said they care most about continuing and expanding income tax cuts and credits enacted in 2017 by Trump. Another 2 in 10 Republicans said maintaining current spending is their most important budget priority.

    The findings come after a brief but explosive online feud between Trump and his former billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, who tarred the Republican legislation as a “disgusting abomination” over its spending levels. Several Republican senators have also expressed concerns about spending levels in the bill, even while backing the idea of extending the 2017 tax breaks and enacting some new ones.

    Senate Republicans, who have a 53-seat majority, are aiming to pass their version of the legislation by July.

    Democrats surveyed in the poll overwhelmingly said their priority is maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid (79%), as do a slight majority of independents (53%).

    DOGE ratings decline slightly

    Meanwhile, Americans’ assessment of Musk’s efforts with DOGE to reduce spending and the size of the federal government declined slightly since April.

    In the most recent survey, 44% rated it as a success or partial success, down from 47%, while 56% rated it a failure or partial failure, up from 52%.

    The change included an erosion among Trump’s most fervent supporters on DOGE, with 49% of MAGA supporters now saying the effort is a success, down from 66% in April. The survey was in the field during Trump and Musk’s recent feud, though the results on this question did not change appreciably over time.

    Economic concerns

    Economic ratings remain lukewarm: 45% of Americans said their personal financial situation is the same as one year ago and 34% said it’s worse. Another 21% said they’re financially better off than they were a year ago. The findings were almost identical in April.

    A bare majority of Americans (51%) think Trump’s tariffs will make their personal finances worse in the next year. This number is slightly down from April, and most groups shifted toward saying that the tariff policies will result in their finances being “about the same.”

    That finding comes as inflation was largely steady in May, with the impact of many on-again, off-again tariffs and ongoing negotiations with trade partners still unclear.

    The NBC News Decision Desk Poll is powered by SurveyMonkey. It was conducted online May 30-June 10 among a national sample of 19,410 adults ages 18 and over. Reported percentages exclude item nonresponse and round to the nearest percentage point. The estimated margin of error for this survey among all adults is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.



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  • Minnesota Gov. Walz announces shooting suspect is arrested

    Minnesota Gov. Walz announces shooting suspect is arrested


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    Vance Boelter, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as the wounding of another lawmaker and his wife, has been captured, Gov. Waltz said in a news conference.



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  • New poll shows Trump approval underwater due to low marks on the economy

    New poll shows Trump approval underwater due to low marks on the economy


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  • Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker’s killing is captured

    Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker’s killing is captured



    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had a blunt message for the suspect being sought in the shootings of local politicians yesterday: “We’re not intimidated.”

    Ellison said he is on the list found in a notebook belonging to Boelter that appeared to include the names of politicians the suspect was targeting.

    “He murdered my dear friend Melissa Hortman, who was on that list, and shot down my other dear friend, John Hoffman, who was on that list along with their spouses,” Ellison said.

    Ellison insisted the state is not backing down.

    “This guy cannot intimidate us. He can have whatever kind of little list he wants,” he said. “We’re going to be safe. We’re going to be pragmatic. But we’re not going to stop standing up for justice.”

    Ellison spoke about the “climate of political violence, where violence is looked at as an option to achieve a political goal,” that has been taking hold across the nation recently, with a number of lone-wolf attacks that appear to have had political motivations.

    “We all must denounce it,” Ellison said, calling the shootings an “act of an evil individual who committed an evil, heinous, cowardly act.”



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  • J.J. Spaun comes out victorious in a rainy U.S. Open

    J.J. Spaun comes out victorious in a rainy U.S. Open



    OAKMONT, Pa. — J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.

    First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished this storybook week by holing the longest putt all week for birdie and a 2-over 72.

    That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.

    And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second U.S. Open.

    The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun. One shot behind at the start of the day, he opened with five bogeys in six holes. And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.

    Spaun recovered as so many others fell apart.



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  • Red Sox trade three-time All-Star Rafael Devers to Giants in blockbuster deal

    Red Sox trade three-time All-Star Rafael Devers to Giants in blockbuster deal



    BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in a deal that could shake up pennant races on both coasts.

    Devers’ agent, Nelson Montes de Oca, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press. ESPN reported that the Giants are sending Boston a package of players that includes pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison for the 28-year-old designated hitter, who had bristled at his demotion from third base this year.

    The Giants were one game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Sunday night’s matchup between the NL West rivals. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames said on the ESPN broadcast that the team found out about the trade 15-20 minutes before the game.

    “Everybody’s so excited,” he said in an on-field interview while playing the field in the second inning. “Me, personally, I’m like thrilled to have him on the team. He’s one of the best hitters in the game, and to have him on the team, I think is going to help us do a lot of damage in the division. Obviously we need a bat like him in this lineup.”

    A three-time All-Star who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract with the Red Sox in 2023, Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games, including a solo shot in Boston’s 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep.

    But his relationship with the team began to deteriorate when the team signed Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox approached Devers about playing the field and he declined, saying the front office “should do their jobs” and look for another player.

    A day after Devers’ comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.

    The situation became more difficult when Bregman sustained what the team called a significant right quadriceps injury on May 23.

    “Everybody around the league, I think, was paying attention to that. When any team is having some kind of drama like that, with a player like Devers — he basically was the face of the franchise,” Adames said before he was interrupted by Tommy Edman’s home run that gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

    “We’re thrilled to have him. Everybody’s excited. So we’re going to make him feel at home,” Adames said. “I feel like it sends a message that we’re going to compete. That we’re going to do whatever it takes to come over here and win the division.”

    The Red Sox have won five out of six against the rival Yankees over the last two weekends to improve to 37-36, but they are still fourth in the AL East, 6 1/2 games behind division-leading New York.

    Devers was 20 when he made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. He helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and led the team in RBIs for five consecutive seasons from 2020-24. He has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

    Devers is not the first Red Sox All-Star to be traded away: The team sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2020 season in a salary dump — just a year after he won the AL MVP award and led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and its fourth World Series title since 2004.

    But the Devers deal is perhaps most reminiscent of the 2004 midseason shakeup when Boston traded disgruntled shortstop — and fan favorite — Nomar Garciaparra to Minnesota.

    The Red Sox went on to win the World Series that year, ending their 86-year championship drought.

    This is the latest big move by Buster Posey, a seven-time All-Star who took over as San Francisco’s president of baseball operations in September. He signed Justin Verlander to a $15 million, one-year contract in January and Adames to a $182 million, seven-year deal in December.

    “It makes them better right now, for sure,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said in a TV interview from the dugout at Dodger Stadium. “Buster Posey’s really doing it. Good for Buster over there. He’s going for it. I’d consider Raffy one of the top 10 hitters in the game, at worst. He’s definitely a game-changer. It will be interesting to see what position he plays over there.”



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  • ‘Innocent bystander’ shot dead by ‘peacekeepers’ during ‘No Kings’ protest in Salt Lake City

    ‘Innocent bystander’ shot dead by ‘peacekeepers’ during ‘No Kings’ protest in Salt Lake City



    An “innocent bystander” at the “No Kings” demonstration in downtown Salt Lake City was shot and killed Saturday, police said.

    Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, of Utah, died in a hospital, Salt Lake City police said in an update.

    Detectives believe Ah Loo was at the demonstration as a bystander and “was not the intended target of the gunfire.”

    Police have arrested Arturo Gamboa, 24. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a murder charge. It was not immediately clear whether Gamboa was still in jail Sunday and whether he has an attorney.

    Also detained Saturday were two men who were part of the event “peacekeeping team.” One of the “peacekeepers” fired the shot that fatally injured Ah Loo, police said.

    It was not immediately clear whether those two men will face charges.

    The men told police they saw Gamboa move away from the crowd and begin manipulating an AR-15-style rife, prompting them to draw their guns and order him to drop the weapon, police said.

    Instead, Gamboa ran into the crowd, holding his gun in “a firing position,” police said. In response, one of the “peacekeepers” fired three shots, one of which struck Gamboa and another which hit Ah Loo, according to police.

    Police said they are still investigating, specifically looking into the actions of the “peacekeepers,” who are not law enforcement officials. Officials still do not know why Gamboa pulled out the rifle or why he ran from the “peacekeepers.”

    Gamboa did not fire the shot that fatally struck Ah Loo, but he still faces the murder charge because detectives “developed probable cause that Gamboa acted under circumstances that showed a depraved indifference to human life, knowingly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death and ultimately caused the death of an innocent community member,” police said.

    The state medical examiner’s office will determine Ah Loo’s official cause and manner of death.

    A police motor squad detective reported hearing gunshots at 7:56 p.m. Saturday, police said. Officers found Ah Loo injured as they were working to clear the scene and identify the origin of the gunfire, police said.

    Officials tried to save the man at the scene before he was sent to the hospital in an ambulance.

    Minutes later, police said, they found Gamboa, who was crouching amid a group of people and had a gunshot wound himself. He had an AR-15-style weapon nearby, police said.

    Officers also found a gas mask, black clothing and a backpack nearby, the police department said.

    They then identified the “peacekeepers” wearing high-visibility neon green vests and carrying handguns.

    The march was one of many “No Kings” events throughout the country Saturday, a counter to President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington.

    It also came on the heels of days of protests in Los Angeles and other cities across the country following immigration raids.



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  • 2 killed and 32 injured when a bridge collapses at a tourist destination in western India

    2 killed and 32 injured when a bridge collapses at a tourist destination in western India


    NEW DELHI — At least two people died and 32 others were injured after an iron bridge over a river collapsed on Sunday at a popular tourist destination in India’s western Maharashtra state, the state’s top elected official said.

    At least six people were hospitalized in critical condition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on the social media platform X. Local media reported that scores of tourists were on the bridge when it collapsed, plunging many into the swollen river.

    Fadnavis said six people were rescued and that an intense search operation was ongoing as some people were swept away.

    The incident occurred in Kundamala area in Pune district, which has witnessed heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, Press Trust of India reported.

    It was not raining when the bridge collapsed in an area frequented by picnickers, the news agency reported.

    Bridge collapse.
    People gather near the site of a bridge collapse at the Indrayani River near Kundamala village in Pune on Sunday.AFP – Getty Images

    Police said teams of the National Disaster Response Force and other search and recovery units have undertaken rescue operations, Press Trust said.

    India’s infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on its highways and bridges.

    In 2022, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.



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