The Morning: A second Trump assassination attempt

Plus, a judicial overhaul in Mexico, flooding in Africa and the Emmy winners.

View in browser|nytimes.com September 16, 2024 By the staff of The Morning Good morning. We're covering a second attempted assassination of Donald Trump. We also have the latest on a judicial overhaul in Mexico, flooding in Africa and the Emmy winners. Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Saul Martinez for The New York Times An armed threat For the second time in just over two months, federal officials say, a man armed with a rifle attempted to assassinate Donald Trump. A Secret Service agent spotted a man with a gun at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., yesterday and fired at him before the man could hit anyone. Trump was unharmed, and the police arrested a suspect. In today's newsletter, we'll share what we know about the episode and the suspect. In the bushes Pictures of evidence found at the fence of the golf course. Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Trump was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon with a few staff members and a longtime friend. A Secret Service agent traveling ahead of Trump noticed the barrel of a rifle sticking through a fence along the course. The agent quickly fired shots toward the gunman, the Palm Beach County sheriff said. The gunman fled, and it's not clear whether he fired any shots. He left behind an AK-style rifle with a scope; two backpacks filled with ceramic tile, which he had hung on a fence; and a video camera. A witness's photo allowed the police to track the suspect as he drove up Interstate 95, and he was arrested a short time later. A law enforcement source identified him as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii. Lily Boyce, Lazaro Gamio, Helmuth Rosales Not long after the shooting, Trump sent an email to supporters saying, "Before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!" People close to him said that he was shaken but upbeat, and that he had joked about not getting to finish what had been a good round of golf. President Biden said he was briefed on the attempted shooting. "I am relieved that the former president is unharmed," Biden said. "As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country." Vice President Kamala Harris said she was "deeply disturbed" by the assassination attempt. The suspect Routh's social media history shows a penchant for violent language and an obsession with the war in Ukraine. He wrote in 2022 that he was willing to fight and die to defend that country. The Times interviewed him in 2023 for an article about Americans volunteering to aid the war effort in Ukraine. Routh, who had no military experience, said he had traveled there after Russia's invasion. (Read the reporter describe his call with Routh.) Since 2019, Routh has made several small donations totaling $140 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democrats, The Associated Press reported. He had also criticized Trump on social media, according to CNN. The Martin County, Fla., sheriff said that Routh was unarmed and showed little emotion when deputies arrested him. The F.B.I. is leading the investigation. More on the attempted shooting Trump is an avid golfer. The hobby presents a challenge for the Secret Service: Courses are large and wide open, and often border public areas like roads. The attempted shooting directed even more scrutiny toward the Secret Service, which has now twice allowed armed men to get relatively close to Trump. Trump sent a fund-raising appeal after the attempt on his life. "There are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us," it read. The Guardian reached the suspect's son, who spoke about his father's time in Ukraine. We're covering this story as it evolves. Follow updates here. Campaign news JD Vance, asked on CNN about the false rumors that Haitian immigrants were eating pets, said he was willing "to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention." At his first major campaign event for Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the crowd that he was being investigated over his handling of a whale carcass decades ago. Georgia runs the nation's only Medicaid work program. It's a preview of how Trump could reshape health care. Young women have become more liberal in the last eight years, analysis shows. Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump and the overturning of Roe helped shape their views. THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War Israeli security officers observing a group of Palestinians praying outside Al Aqsa Mosque. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times The war in Gaza has disrupted the celebration of major religious holidays for Jews, Muslims and Christians in the area. Three Israeli hostages in Gaza were probably killed by an airstrike in November that targeted a senior Hamas commander, the Israeli military said. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's top leader, is using couriers, codes and handwritten notes to direct the group's operations. The avoidance of electronic communication is frustrating Israel's ability to find him, The Wall Street Journal reports. More International News In Maiduguri, Nigeria.  Joshua Olatunji/Associated Press Flooding in west and central Africa has killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. Shanghai is enduring its strongest storm since 1949, Typhoon Bebinca. It canceled all flights and closed major attractions. Mexico passed a constitutional amendment that will have voters elect judges. Around 7,000 judges, from the chief justice down, will have to run for office. Women displaced by war in the Democratic Republic of Congo face an impossible choice: Starve or risk rape by soldiers as they collect firewood in the forest, The Journal reports. Psychologists working in camps say around 80 percent of women have been raped. Accusations that China recruited an aide to influence New York's governor echo cases around the Western world. New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces a political challenge after two prominent New York City officials quit, with federal investigations surrounding him and his inner circle. The police have been cracking down on street vendors this year. Sellers say they are just trying to earn a living. Officers shot a man with a knife on a subway platform in Brooklyn. Shots also hit an officer and two bystanders. Other Big Stories Lawyers for TikTok will appear in court today, aiming to block a law that would ban the app in the U.S. early next year. Read what to know. An experienced hiker was found dead at Yosemite National Park after he went missing during a backpacking trip, park officials said. Opinions Data centers — warehouses full of corporate computers — are everywhere, and they're an annoying neighbor, Sean Patrick Cooper writes. Gail Collins and Bret Stephens discuss the Trump assassination attempt and Mayor Adams. Here are columns by David French on Trump's views on Ukraine and David Wallace-Wells on China's green transition. Readers of The Morning: Don't miss out on a full year of savings. From in-depth coverage of Decision 2024 to unlimited news and analysis, Games, Cooking, The Athletic and more, subscribe now for only $1 a week for your first year. MORNING READS Calf roping in Calgary, Alberta. Amber Bracken for The New York Times "Yellowstone Effect": Cowboy culture is going mainstream. Cities and towns with Western heritage are cashing in. Mouse fight: In Paraguay, people love Mickey, the cartoon mascot of a 90-year-old food packaging company. Disney doesn't. Memorabilia: Three years ago, a businessman bought roughly 20 million sports cards. Now he wants to show them to the world. Expectations: The surgeon general has said that parenting today is too stressful. Here's what changed. Metropolitan Diary: A mysterious voice on the subway. Lives Lived: Michaela DePrince was born in Sierra Leone during a civil war, and she became an acclaimed ballerina in New York and Amsterdam. She died at 29. SPORTS The Raiders' Davante Adams made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas Raiders N.F.L.: The Raiders came back to beat the Ravens in Baltimore, and the No. 1 draft pick, Caleb Williams, struggled as the Chicago Bears lost 19-13 to the Houston Texans. Read more about Week 2. M.L.B.: The Chicago White Sox are still on pace to have the most losses in league history, but they had a great weekend. Golf: The United States claimed the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, thanks to huge performances from Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang. ARTS AND IDEAS Hiroyuki Sanada and the cast and crew of "Shogun." Mario Anzuoni/Reuters At last night's Emmys, "Shogun," FX's big-budget drama about feudal Japan, won best drama, earning 18 awards overall (the most wins for a show in a single year). "Hacks" — a Max series about two female comedians — took home best comedy, beating out the favorite, "The Bear." However, Jeremy Allen White, Liza Colón-Zayas and Ebon Moss-Bachrach of "The Bear" scooped individual acting awards. Elsewhere, Netflix's out-of-nowhere hit "Baby Reindeer" won several awards in the limited series category. See a full list of the winners. More on the Emmys Ayo Edebiri Jae C. Hong/Invision, via Associated Press Sleek sophistication and classic penguin suits: See 16 looks from the red carpet. Richard Gadd, the writer and star of "Baby Reindeer," gave three of the night's better speeches. "No slump is ever broken without a willingness to take risks," he said. Read about the best — and worst — moments of the show. More on culture Tito Jackson, a member of the Jackson 5 and the third of nine Jackson children, has died at 70. Gillian Anderson, one of the stars of "Sex Education," has written a book about female pleasure. Read an interview. With Oasis touring again, the hairstyles popularized by Liam and Noel Gallagher are back in the spotlight, too. Moo Deng, a baby hippo at a zoo in Thailand, has received a lot of attention online, including from dedicated fan accounts, Time magazine reports. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Testani for The New York Times Bake these crunchy, cheesy breaded chicken breasts. Stream these children's movies. Defeat mice with these traps. Secure your digital life. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was meddling, melding and mingled. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. 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