El Paso shopper, recently arrived from Mexico, took a bullet for his wife

Juan de Dios Velazquez had only moved to El Paso, Texas, with his wife Estela Nicolasa from Ciudad Juarez, just across the border in Mexico, six months before they were caught in Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart store. Juan de Dios, 77, and Estela, 65, were about to enter the store to buy groceries, just like any normal day, when shots rang out, according to their niece Norma Ramos. "He was arriving at the store when he was shot at close range and the bullet passed through him and hit my aunt Estela," Ramos told Reuters in a phone interview from Ciudad Juarez, where she lives.

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Polls show top tier 2020 Democrats widening lead over rest of presidential field

In the first polls after the second Democratic debate, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders are the top contenders.

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Man who threatened to 'shoot up' Walmart in Florida said he was inspired by El Paso shooting

A Florida man who threatened to "shoot up" a Walmart on Sunday said he was inspired by Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

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Trump on mass shootings: 'Our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy'

President Trump addressed the nation following the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

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El Paso shooting suspect happened to attend my high school. Don't blame mental health.

Men like the El Paso shooting suspect — my high school classmate — don't have a monopoly on unhappiness, but Donald Trump gives them a scapegoat.

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UPDATE 1-China warns of countermeasures if U.S. puts missiles on its 'doorstep'

China threatened countermeasures on Tuesday if the United States deploys intermediate-range, ground-based missiles in Asia and warned U.S. allies of repercussions if they allow such weapons on their territory. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday he was in favour of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in the region soon, possibly within months. Washington formally pulled out last week from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 pact with the former Soviet Union that banned ground-launched nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500-5,000 km (310 to 3,400 miles).

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A United Airlines flight from Scotland to New York was canceled after 2 pilots were arrested on suspicion of drinking before they were meant to fly

Scottish police arrested the pilots on suspicion of "carrying out pilot functions or activity while exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol."

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Texas police condemned after officers on horseback lead black suspect by rope

Police in Texas have apologised after photographs emerged of two white officers on horseback leading a black man down the street by a rope. Donald Neely, 43, had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in an office building in downtown Galveston, a coastal city of 50,000 people just outside Houston. The officers attached a rope to the handcuffs behind his back, before leading him to a police staging area eight street blocks away. A passerby took photographs which circulated on social media, leading to a widespread backlash against the police department. "This is 2019 and not 1819," said James Douglas, president of the Houston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It was the latest incident to raise tensions over police treatment of black suspects. Prominent alleged abuse and deaths in custody have sparked riots in recent years up and down the US. Melissa Morris, a lawyer for Mr Neely's family, said he was homeless, mentally ill, and suffered from bipolar disorder. She said: "I'm appalled. I believe the way they handled him was disgusting. The family is offended. The family is upset." Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do. It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations. However, following fierce criticism, it was announced that the practice would be discontinued. In a statement the police department said: "We understand the negative perception of this action and believe it is most appropriate to cease the use of this technique. "While this technique of using mounted horses to transport a person during an arrest is considered a best practice in certain scenarios, such as during crowd control, the practice was not used correctly in this instance." Vernon Hale, the Galveston Police Chief, said: "First and foremost I must apologise to Mr Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment. "Although this is a trained technique, and best practice in some scenarios, I believe our officers showed poor judgment in this instance, and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest. "We will review all mounted training and procedures for more appropriate methods." He added that the officers had no "malicious intent" when they led Mr Neely by a rope, and their body cameras were activated at the time. Mr Neely was previously known to the officers. The officers were named by the police department as Officer P. Brosch and Officer A. Smith, but it was not clear if they would face disciplinary action. Mr Neely was accused of trespassing in a building containing offices for companies including investment management firm Merrill Lynch. He was later released on bail. Leon Phillips, president of the Galveston Coalition for Justice, said: "These are two white police officers on horseback, with a black man, walking him down the street with a rope tied to the handcuffs, and that's doesn't make sense, period. "Stay there with him instead of humiliating him, and now you've humiliated the whole city of Galveston. And I do understand this, if it was a white man, I guarantee it would not have happened." The incident will likely put authorities on high alert for a backlash. In 2014 Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in Ferguson, Missouri. The officer was not charged and Mr Brown's death led to months of protests, becoming a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement. The following year there were protests in Baltimore when Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died after being injured in a police van. In New York relations between police and the black community have been poisoned by the death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man, in police custody in 2014. Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who applied a chokehold to Mr Garner, is still on the force amid ongoing calls for him to be fired.

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Texas Police Department Under Fire After Viral Photo Shows Officers on Horseback Leading Handcuffed Man By Rope

Chief Vernon L. Hale III of the Galveston police department said the officers "showed poor judgment" in the incident and that they did not have any ill intentions with their decision

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A hero grandmother persuaded her 19-year-old grandson to check into a hospital when she learned he was planning a mass shooting

The US Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Texas announced on Friday that William Patrick Williams, from Lubbock, Texas, had been arrested.

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California's largest recycling business closes, 750 laid off

California's largest operator of recycling redemption centers shut down Monday and laid off 750 employees. RePlanet closed all 284 of its centers, and company president David Lawrence said the decision was driven by increased business costs and falling prices of recycled aluminum and PET plastic, the San Jose Mercury News reported . The move came three years after RePlanet closed 191 of its recycling centers and laid off 278 workers.

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Brazilian inmate, who nearly escaped jail dressed as woman, found hanged in cell

A Brazilian inmate whose masked attempt to break out of jail dressed as his daughter reverberated around the world was found dead in his cell, after apparently having hanged himself, Rio de Janeiro authorities said on Tuesday.

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Funeral instead of 14th birthday for teen killed at festival

Mourners used colored markers to write messages on Keyla Salazar's white casket before a funeral Tuesday for the middle-school teenager killed in a mass shooting at a California food festival. A Mass in English and Spanish was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose just two days after the girl with the sweet smile would have turned 14. Relatives including her sobbing mother wore T-shirts with a photo of a grinning Keyla wearing a crown of small pink paper flowers.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez puts Mitch McConnell on notice after teenage campaign supporter appears to choke cutout of her

In a statement to INSIDER, McConnell's campaign said it in "no way" condoned the behavior seen in the viral picture.

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Obama calls for gun control: 'We are not helpless' to stop attacks

In a Monday statement, former President Barack Obama urged the country to reject hateful and anti-immigrant rhetoric from "any of our leaders."

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An Ohio state lawmaker blamed everything from gay marriage and drag queens to marijuana for 2 recent mass shootings

State Rep. Candace Keller of Ohio blamed mass shootings on drag queens, recreational marijuana, video games, and President Barack Obama.

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China Says U.S. Allies Face Retaliation If They Host Missiles

(Bloomberg) -- China warned that the U.S. and its Asia-Pacific allies risked countermeasures if they accepted the deployment of intermediate-range American missiles, singling out Australia, Japan and South Korea.China’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday that the country “will not sit idly by” in response to such threats, urging the U.S. to avoid escalating tensions. A ministry official separately said Tuesday that the trio of allies should “exercise prudence” and that the deployment of such weapons would “not serve the national security interests of these countries.”The comments underscore the difficulty facing the Trump administration’s effort to counter China’s own missile capabilities in the region after formally withdrawing last week from its Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. Any country that accepts the missiles risks diplomatic and economic retaliation from Beijing -- and all three U.S. allies mentioned count China as their largest trading partner.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out hosting U.S. missile bases Monday, after U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he was in favor or deploying American missiles in Asia within months. South Korea already suffered a trade blow from China after agreeing in 2016 to accept Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, anti-missile system to defend against North Korea.Australia Won’t Consider Hosting U.S. Missiles, PM Morrison Says“China will not just sit idly by and watch our interests being compromised,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. “What’s more, we will not allow any country to stir up troubles at our doorstep. We will take all necessary measures to safeguard national security interests.”Limited OptionsFu Cong, director of the ministry’s arms control department, also said the U.S. move would have a “direct negative impact on the global strategic stability,” according to the foreign ministry’s transcript of a briefing with the official. He mentioned Australia, Japan and South Korea by name.The 1987 INF treaty required the U.S. and Russia to never deploy ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (about 300 to 3,500 miles) -- either nuclear or conventional. The Trump administration formally withdrew after complaining about violations by Russia and a desire to include China in a new accord.While China can target several American allies and territories with intermediate missiles deployed on its own shores, the U.S.’s own options are limited to allies and the tiny territory of Guam. Hua, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said that any U.S. deployment outside of its own borders will show “its aim will apparently be offensive.”The Global Times, a nationalist newspaper published by China’s Communist Party, said the U.S. risked “geopolitical chaos” with any deployments.“Its impact will be much more serious than that of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in South Korea, because intermediate-range missiles are undoubted offensive weapons,” the paper said in an editorial published Sunday. “Any country accepting U.S. deployment would be against China and Russia, directly or indirectly, and draw fire against itself.”To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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The Latest: Gunman's family 'horrified' by festival attack

Family members of the gunman in a mass shooting at a California food festival say they are "deeply shocked and horrified" by his actions. Santino William Legan opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28 before shooting himself. Authorities have opened a domestic terrorism case after finding a "target list" containing religious institutions, courthouses and other sites compiled by the gunman.

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E. Guinea accused of planning border wall with Cameroon: army sources

Yaoundé (AFP) - Equatorial Guinea is planning to build a wall along the border with its neighbour Cameroon, according to sources in the Cameroon army. An army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Equatorial Guinean soldiers had crossed the Ntem river that forms a natural border between the two countries, and erected milestones in the town of Kye-Ossi on the Cameroonian side. At the weekend, state radio reported that Cameroon army chief, Rene Claude Meka, visited the spot at the end of July to see where the border had been encroached, noting "the expansionist ambitions" of neighbouring Equatorial Guinea.

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CORRECTED-POLL-Biden leads Democrats as minorities favor most electable candidate vs Trump

Joe Biden maintained his lead for the Democratic presidential nomination as minorities gravitated toward the former vice president and his top rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in search of the safest bets for beating President Donald Trump in 2020, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The Aug. 1-5 public opinion poll, released on Tuesday, showed that 22% of Democrats and independents would vote for Biden, a level that is unchanged from a similar poll that ran last month. Another 18% said they supported Sanders, up 2 percentage points from the July poll.

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From El Paso to Christchurch, a Racist Lie Is Fueling Terrorist Attacks

Joel Angel Juarez/GettyIt’s the meme behind the massacres. In El Paso this weekend and across the globe this year, white supremacists have left manifestos referencing a racist conspiracy theory to justify slaughtering religious and ethnic minorities.Alleged killers in Christchurch, New Zealand; Poway, California; and El Paso, Texas believed a theory that claims white people are being “replaced” by people of color through mass immigration. Conspiracy theorists often falsely claim this is a deliberate effort by any number of groups demonized on the far right: liberals, Democrats, Jews, Muslims. It’s the theory peddled by white-supremacist groups seeking recruits and the torch-bearing marchers in Charlottesville two years ago. It’s also a thinly disguised—and often not disguised—talking point from some conservative politicians and pundits, experts say.By leaving these conspiratorial manifestos, white supremacists are trying to add to a long and growing library of terror, and get others to follow their examples.“They’re also trying to inspire others about the urgency of the moment. In particular with the New Zealand shooter, the Poway shooter, and this guy in El Paso, you see these ideas building on each other,” Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, told The Daily Beast.“There’s no question these people are feeding off each other because they’re referencing prior manifestos. In the Poway case and the El Paso case, they both referenced Christchurch.”Accused El Paso Walmart Shooter Apparently Posted Racist Manifesto Before AttackIn name alone, the conspiracy theory began in 2011, with the book The Great Replacement by French author Renaud Camus. The anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant text likened the growth of non-white populations to the genocide of white people in European countries. This supposed genocide is nonexistent. White supremacists use it as an excuse for violence anyway. On Aug. 11, 2017, white supremacists led a torch-lit march on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville. The marchers chanted “You will not replace us,” or sometimes “Jews will not replace us,” in a callout to the conspiracy theory. The gathering, the first event of the two-day “Unite the Right Rally,” was intended as a coming-out moment for America’s increasingly visible white-supremacist movement. On the second day, a neo-Nazi drove a car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, murdering one.The conspiracy theory continued to gain traction with white supremacists. The Christchurch shooter referred to the “replacement” in the title of his manifesto before he allegedly massacred 51 people at a mosque in March—and live-streamed it on Facebook for propaganda. White supremacists online glorified the Christchurch attack. The alleged shooter at a Poway synagogue in April cited the Christchurch manifesto as his motivation for murdering Jews. The alleged shooter at a Walmart in El Paso on Saturday also cited the Christchurch tract as inspiring him to murder Hispanic people.Clint Watts, a former FBI agent and current distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the alleged attackers were mobilizing each other.“They all cite each other,” Watts told The Daily Beast. “Yesterday’s El Paso shooter cited Christchurch. Then he talked about how a month ago, he started to think about an attack. That’s really a short time, which makes it even more impossible for law enforcement to get in front of it.Mass Shooting Kills 20 at El Paso Walmart: Gunman ‘Started Shooting Everyone, Aisle by Aisle,’ Witness SaysWatts likened the attacks to terror campaigns by organized groups like ISIS, which touched off a series of attacks across the world in the summer of 2016, with new violence inspiring new violence.“Because of those successful attacks, you’d see a wave of inspired attacks, meaning that there are often one, two, three people already thinking about doing an attack,” Watts said. When those people see a violent incident, “they mobilize because they want to get into the media storm. They want to be part of that phenomenon. It becomes a contagion.”ISIS terror and white-supremacist terror both require a wide network of online extremists potentially ready to commit violence for the cause. The difference with the current wave of white-supremacist violence, Watts said, is that white supremacists are decentralized and do their organizing through a leaderless online movement, rather than following orders from recognized leaders.Media treatment of ISIS and white-supremacist violence are also different, Watts noted. “What’s remarkable is that our response [to white violence] is just, ‘Eh, this guy is a bad apple; he’s crazy,” he said. Sometimes, the white-supremacist rhetoric actually comes from conservative media and politicians, SPLC’s Beirich said.These figures are “not always using the term ‘Great Replacement,’” she said, but “even from Trump and others, there’s a lot of talk about Latinos ‘invading’ the United States, about the idea that Democrats like immigrants because they’re going to vote for the Democratic Party, the idea—which we’ve heard from Trump, Tucker Carlson, and others—that white people are basically being pushed out of their areas by these new populations.”Trump on Twitter has repeatedly described Hispanic immigrants as “invading” the U.S.—the same terminology the alleged El Paso shooter used—and in a campaign speech last year said migration from Central America was “like a war” on America. (Trump condemned white supremacy in an address Monday from the White House.)Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has gone further, promoting explicit white nationalists and writing that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies” in a tweet defending a racist Dutch politician’s stance on “demographics.”Fox New personalities have also invoked similar terms, with pundit Laura Ingraham recently claiming that Democrats support “replacing the current American population, or swamping the current American population, with a new population of people.”The line could have belonged in one of the emerging manifestos, according to Beirich.“They’re not calling it ‘white genocide,’ per se, but it’s the same idea,” she said.America Under Attack by White Supremacists Acting Like ISISRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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At least 9 dead, 27 injured. Victims identified. What we know about the Dayton, Ohio shooting

Nine people were killed and at least 27 were injured when a gunman opened fire in Dayton, Ohio. Here's what we know.

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