Democratic National Committee staffer shot and killed in Washington

A Democratic National Committee staffer was fatally shot early Sunday morning in his Washington, D.C. neighborhood, according to city police officials.
Authorities have identified the victim as 27-year-old Seth Rich, the DNC’s director of voter expansion.
Police said they heard gunshots about 4:20 a.m., then found Rich shot several times but still conscious and breathing. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.
“Our hearts are broken,” said DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “Seth Rich was a dedicated, selfless public servant who worked tirelessly to protect the most sacred right we share as Americans -- the right to vote.”
The shooting occurred in the 2100 block of Flagler Street NW, about three blocks from Howard University Hospital. Residents commenting on news accounts of the shooting report a recent spike in armed robberies near the crime scene.
Rich’s Linkedin page shows he graduated in 2011 from Creighton University in Nebraska with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
Police said Monday they have no suspects or possible motives in connection with the shooting.

Officials concerned about 'virtual' war on cops

Even after a militant anti-cop shooter stopped firing a barrage of shots at Dallas police officers in the streets on Thursday, Police Chief David Brown was forced to confront a virtual war on his force and other officers nationwide, as hate-filled posters took aim at cops online.
Brown said Monday that he was the subject of death threats almost as soon as Micah Johnson’s deadly rampage – which killed five officers and wounded nine others – had ended. The threat against Brown was posted by a private Facebook account to the Dallas police Facebook page, and Brown said he was taking the menacing social media message seriously. Dallas police have so far been unable to identify the source of the threat.
“There is a heightened sense of awareness over threats we’ve seen all around the country,” Brown said at a news conference. “We’re all on edge, we are, and we’re being very careful.”
The concern Brown is facing, even days after Johnson’s assault ended with the killer being blown up by a police robot, is mirrored by other officers and other police departments around the country.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Sunday that four men in that city were arrested for making Facebook threats against white police officers.
One of the men is accused of posting “All lives can’t matter until black lives matter. Kill all white cops,” The Detroit News reported.
Craig said while his department must consider the free speech rights of Internet posters, direct threats to law enforcement officers won’t be tolerated.
“Social media is new territory, and while it’s been established that hate speech is protected by the First Amendment, we’re talking about people specifically saying on Facebook they want to kill white police officers,” Craig said.
While the rhetoric of protesters marching in anti-cop demonstrations in recent years – including a “What do we want? Dead cops” chant in 2014 – has often been heated, online threats in the days following the Dallas shooting are taking on a new significance.
The co-founder of a black militia whose events the Dallas police shooter had attended wrote after the attack in a since-deleted Facebook post that the killer “shall be celebrated one day,” The Dallas Morning News reported.
Huey P. Newton Gun Club co-founder Yafeuh Balogun also tweeted: “I have no remorse for the Dallas Police Officers shot downtown, it’s about time.. at the protest etc.”
The gun club was named after the radical founder of the Black Panther Party and was formed to institute armed patrols of communities in Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The FBI’s New Orleans Division on Friday also sent out a bulletin to police departments in the Baton Rouge and Shreveport areas warning of multiple groups on social media calling for a “purge.” The FBI memo was obtained by Judicial Watch.
“Baton Rouge purge starts July 9th 12am ends 5am July 10th…Rule 1 must kill every police!!!” one post cited by the FBI said.
Though nothing materialized from the threat, police officials are eyeing the warnings with increasing alarm.
“If someone threatens to kill the president, that person would be arrested and prosecuted,” Craig said. “How is it any different when someone threatens to kill white cops?”

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Clinton Trust Issue Cartoons

Labor Secretary Perez says Clinton must win back voters' trust

Labor Secretary and potential Hillary Clinton running-mate Tom Perez acknowledged Sunday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “has some work to do” to regain voters’ trust before the November election, even after the Justice Department concluded its investigation last week into her email scandal.
The investigation ended Tuesday with FBI Director James Comey saying Clinton was “extremely careless” in using a private email-server system while secretary of state, but recommended no criminal charges, which led Attorney General Loretta Lynch to close the case.
"She made a mistake,” Perez told “Fox News Sunday.” “And she acknowledges that she has to earn the trust back."
Perez in part defended Clinton by pointing out that Comey testified last week on Capitol Hill that “career officials” had given her guidance on her email and server use.
He also suggested that the GOP-controlled Congress will nevertheless continue to hold hearings on the issue.
In addition, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is almost certain to continue to raise the issue in hopes of defeating Clinton in November.

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Perez also argued that Clinton had to win the trust of New York voters when she successfully ran in for a U.S. Senate seat, considering she had never run for office.

“There were a lot of skeptics in New York,” said Perez, who declined to discuss being a potential vice presidential pick. “And she earned their trust, and then she got re-elected. … I’ve seen Hillary Clinton up close and personal. The voters of New York saw her up close and personal.
"And I often judge a person by what they did when they weren't in the spotlight. And Hillary Clinton has spent her entire life breaking down barriers.”

Trump adviser, possible veep choice Flynn says abortion is a woman's choice

One of Donald Trump's potential running mates, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, said Sunday that women should be the ones to decide whether to have an abortion, a statement that counters Republican policy asserting constitutional rights for the unborn.
“These are difficult issues, but I think women … are the one that have to make the decision because they are the ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not," Flynn, a Trump adviser and purportedly a registered Democrat, said on ABC's "This Week."
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, said Flynn's position on abortion "disqualifies him" from being Trump's vice president.
“His pro-abortion position is unacceptable and would undermine the pro-life policy commitments that Mr. Trump has made throughout the campaign," Dannenfelser said in a statement.
Flynn is one of several people who Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is considering for his vice president. He is expected to announce his decision at week's end.
Among his other potential VP picks are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former House Speaker Rep. Newt Gingrich and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

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Trump says he opposes abortion with exceptions but has struggled over the issue.
In March, Trump said that if abortion is banned in the United States, which would make the procedure illegal, there should be a punishment. However, he recanted the remarks hours later.

Gov or VP? Indiana’s Pence has Friday ballot deadline

Indiana Republicans are anticipating that Donald Trump will pick GOP Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate and purportedly have plans in place if Pence drops his re-election bid to become the vice presidential nominee, Indiana Republican sources tell FoxNews.com
The Trump campaign has suggested the VP announcement will be made at the national convention starting July 18 or in the coming days.
However, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will perhaps have to decide on Pence by noon Friday, the deadline for the first-term governor to appear on the state November ballot as either a gubernatorial or vice presidential candidate.
The Indiana Republican Committee is apparently behind state Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pence’s gubernatorial running-mate, to become the nominee if Trump selects Pence, said the sources, who are familiar with the situation.
The speculation around Trump perhaps having already decided on Pence is largely based on the two expected to appear together Tuesday at a rally in Westfield, Indiana, followed by a private fundraiser in Indianapolis.
“Everyone here is acting as if it is happening and Pence is the pick,” Indiana Republican strategist Pete Seat told FoxNews.com on Saturday. “The speculation now, of course, is all about Tuesday. With the fundraiser here on Tuesday evening, one would think announcing it beforehand would bring in major dough. But then, 2016 has been one surprise after another.”

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A GOP state committee member who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue said: "Every indication that has been given to members of the … committee is that Pence getting picked is a very real possibility.”
Pence officials on Saturday again acknowledged last weekend’s meeting with Trump but referred additional questions about a VP selection to the Trump campaign.
To be sure, Pence is not the only potential candidate being vetted by Trump, who in recent weeks has floated several names, held tryouts on the campaign trail and met privately with others, including Pence.
Among those potentially on Trump’s short list, in addition to Pence, are New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie, Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And in the past few days, there have been published reports about retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn being considered.
Tennessee GOP Sen. Bob Corker appeared at a rally last week with Trump but has since withdrawn his name. Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst also met privately with Trump but has since suggested her focus is on helping her state through her work in Congress.
Pence, who endorsed Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz for president, has tried to downplay the VP speculation by saying he’s focused on his re-election bid, but Democrats aren't buying it.
They point out that Pence previously had presidential ambitions of his own, though he ruled out a run last year after his approval rating slumped as a result of his handling of the state's religious objections law.
“Gov. Pence is wanting to move on,” said Pence's November opponent, former Democratic state House Speaker John Gregg. “He's created a mess, and he's not wanting to clean it up."
Polls show Pence and Gregg essentially tied.
Mike Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, said picking Pence makes sense considering he’s a social conservative who would balance Trump and who has fundraising prowess and 12 years of experience in Congress.
However, he also pointed out that Pence could get hammered in a White House race.
“His legislative record was not that strong,” Downs said. “His time as governor has not been smooth and is easy to criticize, in spite of a number of successes.”
Though Holcomb appears to be a favorite among the state GOP establishment, the field of potential replacements if Pence is selected include such well-respected lawmakers as Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, state House Speaker Brian Bosma and Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita -- all Republicans.
“The smart choice is the man who served one of the most beloved governors in the state's history … somebody who could lead Indiana Republicans to historic gains across the state. That man is Eric Holcomb,” said GOP strategist Rob Burgess.
Seat said the state GOP party is “blessed and cursed” with such a deep bench of talent, “meaning we find ourselves picking from a group of individuals that many states would fight over.”
However, he thinks that Holcomb, appointed to the lieutenant governor position a few months ago, has a “leg up” and acknowledges his “deep” relationships within the 22-member state committee, considering he served as state chairman alongside many of the members.

Texas governor burned in accident; could miss GOP convention

DALLAS –  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas sustained "extensive second- and third-degree burns" on both legs below the knees and both feet — and may miss next week's Republican National Convention as a result, his office said Sunday.
Spokesman Matt Hirsch said Abbott was with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Thursday when he was scalded in an accident involving hot water. He declined to provide further details.
The governor was treated for several hours at nearby St. John's Medical Center. As he was being released, a top aide called from Texas to say a gunman had opened fire in downtown Dallas — an attack that killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
"His first words to us were, 'I've got to come back,'" Hirsch said.
Abbott held a press conference in Dallas on Friday, but didn't disclose being burned. Hirsch said that his legs were wrapped at the time, but that wasn't evident since they were covered by his pants.
The only hint anything was wrong, Hirsch said, was that the governor was wearing orthopedic shoes that his staff purchased that morning — rather than the dress shoes or boots he usually dons in public.
Hirsch said surgery won't be required immediately, but that Abbott was heading to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio on Monday afternoon to see specialists. He continues to get his legs wrapped daily and should be required to do so for two or three weeks, Hirsch said.
The governor's communications team had been working on a statement detailing the burning Thursday, but abandoned it in the aftermath of the mass shooting, Hirsh said. Instead, Abbott released statements about the attack late Thursday night and early Friday morning, as well as an open letter to Texans, urging unity in the face of tragedy.
"For him it was important not to distract from what was happening in Dallas," Hirsh said.
The accident wasn't reported until late Sunday. Word first appeared in The Austin American Statesman.
Abbott has used a wheelchair since a tree fell on him while jogging in 1984, paralyzing him from the waist down. Hirsch said the governor still has functioning nerve receptors in his legs and feet, however, and that he has felt pain as they react to the shock of being burned.
The governor is chairman of Texas' delegation to the Republican convention in Cleveland, which begins July 18. But Hirsch said he may now not make the trip, calling a decision about Abbott's attendance "day-to-day." Abbott endorsed the presidential bid of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, but says he supports presumptive nominee Donald Trump.