The Morning: An assassination attempt

Plus, Israel, Colombia's cocaine industry and Dr. Ruth.

View in browser|nytimes.com July 14, 2024 By the staff of The Morning Good morning. We're covering the latest on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Doug Mills/The New York Times Political violence Authorities have identified the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump yesterday but are still racing to understand what the shooter's motives were and how he was able to get so close to Trump. The F.B.I. named the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., roughly 40 miles from Butler, the small city in western Pennsylvania where the attack occurred. Crooks was a registered Republican, though records show that he had donated money to a liberal voter turnout group in 2021. Here is the latest on Crooks. The attack killed one spectator at the scene and left two others critically injured, officials said. Trump had blood on his face as he was escorted from the stage but was safe this morning. The assassination attempt added a shocking and violent turn to a presidential campaign that had already been more tumultuous than any in decades. In today's newsletter, we'll help you understand what we know this morning. What happened Our colleague Simon Levien was at the rally during the shooting. "Trump had just started to talk about immigration in his stump speech when several shots rang out from the bleachers to his right," he wrote. "Everyone immediately ducked — myself included." There were two bursts of fire — first three shots, and then five. Trump put his hand to his ear and then ducked, before Secret Service agents rushed the stage to shield him. As they began to move him offstage, Trump told them to wait and defiantly pumped his fist, with blood on his face, while the crowd chanted, "U.S.A." (Watch the video here.) "It's difficult to imagine a moment that more fully epitomizes Mr. Trump's visceral connection with his supporters, and his mastery of the modern media age," The Times's Shawn McCreesh wrote. A photo showing what appears to be a projectile passing by Trump during the rally.  Doug Mills/The New York Times Trump said on social media that he had been "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear." Law enforcement agencies have not given specifics about what they believe happened. The veteran Times photographer Doug Mills was also at the scene. "I could see blood on" Trump's face, he said. "I kept taking pictures. As tough as he looked in that one picture with his fist looking very defiant, the next frame I took, he looked completely drained. Very, very shocked." (This photograph by Doug appears to capture the path of the bullet, and Doug describes his experience here.) The suspect fired shots from an elevated position outside the rally, the Secret Service said. Officials also said that they had recovered an AR-15-type rifle near his body. Videos posted to social media and verified by The Times showed the suspected gunman lying motionless on the roof of a building around 400 feet north of the stage. In an interview with the BBC, a man said he saw somebody with a rifle on a rooftop before the shooting and tried to signal to the Secret Service. Reactions Some attendees of the rally, which had been gleeful, began to cry, pray or scream. "The first thing I thought to myself was, America's under attack," Corey Check, a local activist, said. "I grabbed the hands of a couple of people I didn't even know. We said the Lord's Prayer. I called my family and told them I loved them." President Biden spoke publicly after the shooting and spoke with Trump later in the night. "Look, there's no place in America for this kind of violence," Biden said in a brief televised speech. "It's sick." Other politicians, including some touched by violence themselves, also denounced the shooting. "I'm holding former President Trump, and all those affected by today's indefensible act of violence in my heart," Gabby Giffords, a former representative who survived an assassination attempt, posted on social media. "Political violence is un-American and is never acceptable — never." More coverage "It was the first attempted assassination of a current or former American president in the era of social media, and the conspiracy theories, finger-pointing and campaign gamesmanship moved at the speed of the internet, far faster than the actual facts," The Times's Jonathan Weisman explained. This Times graphic explains the layout and location of the important sites from yesterday's shooting. CNN compiled photos of Trump at the rally that show multiple angles of him exiting the stage. The Biden campaign scrambled to pause television ads and campaign communications after the shooting. Follow the latest all day through live Times updates posted here. Commentary The attack on Trump is antithetical to America, The Times's editorial board writes. "The darkest hours of American history, the ones shadowed by political violence, remind us that incitement and hatred must be constantly challenged," the Washington Post editorial board writes. "Transparency in the investigation will be critical to avoid the spread of conspiracy theories on the right and left," The Wall Street Journal's editorial board writes. "Now is the time for America's moral center to rise up and declare — with one voice, neither red nor blue — 'Enough,'" David French of Times Opinion writes. THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War In southern Gaza.  Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock Israel conducted a major airstrike in southern Gaza that it said had targeted a top Hamas military commander, Muhammad Deif. The Gaza Health Ministry said 90 people had been killed in the assault. Hamas now acts as a guerrilla force. Its fighters are hiding under residential neighborhoods and emerging in plain clothes. More International News Caño Cabra, in central Colombia. Federico Rios for The New York Times Shifts in the international drug trade have devastated poor Colombians whose livelihood is tied to cocaine. Ukraine, now armed with American-made deep-strike missiles, is targeting Russian air defenses and logistics hubs in Crimea. Hundreds of fires are burning in Brazil, weeks before the usual wildfire season. Other Big Stories A heat wave that broke temperature records across the American southwest is shifting to more of the country. Heat will peak in the Northeast in the coming days, while the West will get a respite. Richard Simmons, who for years was the face of home fitness through his wildly popular videos and his energetic personality, died at 76. FROM OPINION "I've learned the restorative effects that come from not moving": Gregory Berns writes about his herd of cattle, and how they taught him to slow down. Here are columns by Maureen Dowd on Biden's age and Nicholas Kristof on women who could replace Biden. MORNING READS Ruth Westheimer Gabby Jones for The New York Times Lives Lived: Ruth Westheimer, the grandmotherly psychologist known as "Dr. Ruth," became America's best-known sex counselor with her frank, funny and taboo-breaking radio and television programs. She died at 96. Lighting the way: At the Met, there's an art to displaying the art. Meet the "lampers" who make sure the paintings look perfect. Metals in tampons? These findings can sound scary, but experts say there isn't reason to worry. Vows: Joe Gorman and Matt Capbarat felt an instant spark. But it took a harrowing climb of Denali to know theirs was a forever love. THE INTERVIEW Robert Putnam Philip Montgomery for The New York Times By Lulu Garcia-Navarro This week's subject for The Interview is Robert Putnam, the Harvard political scientist whose groundbreaking book "Bowling Alone" warned that America was transforming into a nation of loners who are going to church less frequently, joining fewer clubs and losing trust in fellow citizens. Putnam is now 83, and in the two decades since "Bowling Alone" he has watched the nation become steadily more lonely and polarized. I asked him: What went wrong? Your passion is so great, and I'm moved by it, frankly. But here we are. Yeah. So, I don't know. You shouldn't think I've never asked myself that question. One way to put it is this: Twenty-five years ago I essentially predicted everything that was going to happen. That's a little exaggerated, but not much. And yet they happened. I've been a little bit of an Isaiah, preaching how awful things are. One person once said I was like an Old Testament prophet with charts. I've been working for most of my adult life to try and build a better, more productive, more equal, more connected community in America, and now I'm 83 and looking back, and it has been a total failure. Should I be optimistic or pessimistic about the future? I don't know that I'm optimistic or pessimistic. Honestly, looking at the polls today, I could be pretty pessimistic. But I am hopeful because I can see how we could change it, and I'm doing my damnedest, including right this moment, to try to change the course of history. I'm sorry, that's very self-important and I apologize for that, but I'm telling you honestly how I feel. I don't mean to sound cynical, it's just, What can I do? I tried my damnedest to sketch a way forward, but I've not been persuasive enough. Well, maybe it's just that one man can't do it alone! We need community. [Laughs] You're right! Read more of the interview here. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Photograph by Dina Litovsky for The New York Times Click the cover image above to read this week's magazine. BOOKS Raphaelle Macaron Literary guide: Read your way through Prague, a city that has survived wars and political strife. Our editors' picks: "Night Flyer," about Harriet Tubman's extraordinary life, and five other books. Times best sellers: "The Anxious Generation," Jonathan Haidt's examination of the mental health impacts of a phone-based life on children, returns to No. 1 this week on the hardcover nonfiction list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Warm up before your workout. Sleep better in the heat. Fold a suit the way King Charles's former suit maker suggests. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For The Wimbledon men's final is today. Carlos Alcaraz will play against Novak Djokovic. Two soccer tournaments end today: Euro 2024, where the final is Spain vs. England, and the Copa América, where it's Argentina vs. Colombia. The Republican National Convention begins tomorrow in Minneapolis. Rwanda votes in its presidential election tomorrow. M.L.B.'s Home Run Derby is tomorrow, and the All-Star Game is on Tuesday. Nominations for the Emmy Awards are announced on Wednesday. The W.N.B.A.'s All-Star Game is on Friday. Meal Plan Joe Lingeman for The New York Times Ali Slagle makes a lot of quick dinners, especially in summer. This week, she recommends a savory, salty stir-fry of Thai basil chicken; a caprese with roasted red peppers, caper berries, olives and prosciutto; and a crispy coconut, asparagus and green bean salad. Get the recipes. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was bilingual. Can you put eight historical events — including building of the pyramids, Ella Fitzgerald's debut, and the creation of Kermit the Frog — in chronological order? Take this week's Flashback quiz. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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