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Democrats skip testimony from GOP lawmakers with sniper experience at Trump assassination attempt hearing

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Democrats skip testimony from GOP lawmakers with sniper experience at Trump assassination attempt hearing

Democratic lawmakers on the House task force investigating the attempted assassinations of former President Donald Trump skipped the final portion of the panel’s first hearing Thursday, which featured the two Republicans who have been conducting their own “parallel” investigation into the shooting.

Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Cory Mills, R-Fla., two Republicans and both military veterans, took part in the second portion of the hearing, but the Democratic minority fumed behind the scenes that their leadership was not informed of their testimony until late Wednesday afternoon, Fox News sources said. Some Democratic lawmakers were not informed until Thursday morning, however.

The move was seen as the first bipartisan split in what has been a united effort to investigate the incident thus far. 

The Trump assassination attempt task force, led by Reps. Mike Kelly, inset left, and Jason Crow, inset right, have formally launched a probe. (Getty Images)

SECRET SERVICE BOSS SAYS VITAL INFO NOT RELAYED OVER RADIO, DELAYING RESPONSE TO WOULD-BE RALLY ASSASSIN

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“We did not receive notice of the second panel until late yesterday. We didn’t have an opportunity to present our own witnesses,” Crow said when asked about Mills and Crane. “[Task Force Chairman Mike Kelly, R-Pa.] and I are still very committed to having this be bipartisan, consensus-based, and it’s my hope that we can return to that … approach going forward.”

Kelly similarly told reporters that this would not impede the task force’s bipartisan mission and said that he invited Mills and Crane to testify because of their expertise, welcoming their assessment of the security perimeter for the rally. 

He brushed off Democrats’ absence during their portion of the hearing, suggesting that some members may have had flights out of Washington, D.C., per KTLA.

“If you want to participate, you can participate. If you decide not to, you can make that decision too,” Kelly said of the members. 

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., the ranking Democrat on the panel, said lawmakers were frustrated, but he made clear that it was not aimed at Thursday’s witnesses.

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“We did not receive notice of the second panel until late yesterday,” Crow said. “It’s unclear to us what testimony will be provided by these witnesses that relates to today’s hearing.”

The first portion of the hearing, the panel heard from a former Secret Service agent, as well as local and state law enforcement officials who were present at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where one attendee was killed and Trump himself was shot in the ear. 

Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., a military veteran, took part in the second portion of the hearing. (David Dee Delgado)

TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNMAN EVADED SECURITY

Witnesses and lawmakers repeatedly signaled that a lack of clear communication of security plans from the Secret Service helped lead to a 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, being able to open fire on the rally from a rooftop just outside the security perimeter.

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“In the days leading up to the rally, it was not a single mistake that allowed Crooks to outmaneuver one of our country’s most elite group of security professionals. There were security failures on multiple fronts,” Kelly said. 

“The communication between the Secret Service and local and state partners was disjointed and unclear,” Crow said. “It was the fault of the Secret Service, because the Secret Service is ultimately responsible for the protection at events like that. They did not do their job. They did not provide the clarity and the guidance to local law enforcement. That was pretty clear to me,” Crow told reporters.

One bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, while firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally struck. Rally-goers James Copenhaver and David Dutch were also shot and injured.

One key question has been why there were no law enforcement personnel on top of the AGR building where Crooks eventually climbed up and took his shots, considering that it was so close to the rally stage and afforded a clear line of sight to Trump.

“A 10-year-old looking at that satellite image could have seen that the greatest threat posed to the president that day” was the building near the stage, said Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas.

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Former President Donald Trump just seconds after the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The panel — comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats — has spent the last two months analyzing the security failures at the rally, conducting nearly two dozen interviews with law enforcement and receiving more than 2,800 pages of documents from the Secret Service.

 

An interim report released Wednesday from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is also conducting an investigation, said the Secret Service failed to give clear instructions on how state and local officials should cover the building where the gunman eventually took up position. The report also said the agency didn’t make sure it could share information with local partners in real-time.

Multiple lawmakers indicated that they are looking to hear from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe again, particularly after Congress recently allocated $230 million in additional funding for the agency.

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Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Boston, MA

Boston sports anecdotes aplenty feature on new YouTube channel

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Boston sports anecdotes aplenty feature on new YouTube channel


Sports

Front Row to Boston Sports shares stories from the past by area media legends, including the Globe’s Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy.

The Front Row to Boston Sports channel has launched on YouTube. screenshot

When reminiscing about sports moments and personalities of days gone by, the familiar anecdotes are often a joy to hear again and again.

Even better, though, is when there are fresh new stories to be told by those who were there.

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The new YouTube channel Front Row to Boston Sports offers both familiar tales and ones you may not have heard before, as told by four of the most connected journalists and best storytellers in the modern annals of sports in this region.

Legendary former sports anchors Mike Lynch (Channel 5) and Bob Lobel (Channel 4), along with Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and former Globe columnist Bob Ryan, have teamed up to share the funniest, most heartfelt, and illuminating tales from their storied careers, from press row and the locker room.

The project is the brainchild of Peter Brown, a former news director at Channel 4, where he spent 22 years before moving on to an accomplished career in public affairs and communications.

“You come from a news background, you’re always thinking about what’s the best way to tell a story,” he said. “What better story is there to tell than those about Boston sports? Everyone who is from here or has lived here is in some degree a fan. I thought a look back at some great moments and some behind-the-scenes details that only the most plugged-in reporters would know would be a fun thing to do.”

So Brown reached out to Alan Miller, a former sports producer at Channel 4 who worked with Brown during the local news heyday in the 1980-90s. Miller, who later worked at the Globe and in the Channel 7 newsroom before retiring in May 2024, has long been one of the most well-liked figures in the Boston sports media landscape, someone who knows everyone and whose word is as good as a signature on the dotted line.

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Miller thought it was a super idea, and reached out to his close friend Lobel, along with Lynch, Shaughnessy, and Ryan. They all said yes immediately.

“We basically said, just tell us your best stories,” said Miller. “We wanted the stories that maybe you couldn’t tell on TV or in the newspaper, but the ones you might have told your buddies at the bar. The ones about what people are really like and what gets said behind the scenes. The ones about relationships. These were the four perfect guys to tell those.”

Currently, there are eight clips posted on the channel, ranging in length from just longer than three minutes (Ryan talking about his top five all-time Celtics) to 13 minutes (Shaughnessy sharing an assortment of Terry Francona stories). One of Lobel’s clips includes an emotional discussion of Ted Williams, while Lynch is especially insightful talking about Bill Belichick’s candor off camera during their old Bellistrator segments.

Brown and Miller plan to sprinkle out a few new clips each week. Since the project has been in the works for approximately a year, they were able to build up a catalogue of 30 clips before launch.

Miller said there’s another reason that everyone involved wanted to be part of the project — the fear that institutional knowledge about Boston sports isn’t what it used to be because of the changing media landscape.

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“When I was at Channel 7, John Havlicek died, and I think there were about three people in the newsroom who knew how John Havlicek was,” he said. “It’s not their fault, a lot of them are 20-something kids and half of them are from out of town.

“But there can be a real lack of knowledge about the past. And Boston sports, as you know, has an amazing past. You’d like the legacy and the memories to stay alive.”

Bonkers ratings in Boston

It’s no surprise that Patriots television ratings have risen this season corresponding with the team’s return to prominence.

But even if the rise in ratings is logical, some of the heights that they are reaching — or returning to, a half-dozen years after Tom Brady’s final season in New England — are remarkable.

Take last Sunday’s 35-31 loss to the Bills, which aired at 1 p.m. on CBS as a regional broadcast. The game had a 31.4 household rating and 78 share in Boston.

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That household rating — the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time — is the highest for any Patriots game on any network since the regular season finale against the Dolphins in 2021. That also happens to be the last season the Patriots made the playoffs.

The 78 share — the percentage of households with television in use — is reminiscent of the viewership the Patriots enjoyed during the dynasty. As noted here previously, the Patriots averaged a 35.3 household rating and 66 share in 2018, their most recent Super Bowl-winning season.

Nine of the Patriots’ 14 games have aired on CBS this season. Those broadcasts have averaged a 25.7 household rating and 73 share, up 35 percent from last year (19.0/59) through the same span.

Overall last Sunday, the 1 p.m. slot — which also included the Chargers-Chiefs matchup — was a massive success for CBS, averaging 18.9 million viewers across the games. That made it the most-watched regional window on any network in 37 years.

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Chad Finn

Sports columnist

Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.





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Pittsburg, PA

City residents staunchly oppose proposed property tax increase

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City residents staunchly oppose proposed property tax increase






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Connecticut

Woman suffers life threatening injuries in Rocky Hill house fire

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Woman suffers life threatening injuries in Rocky Hill house fire


A woman was rushed to the hospital after being seriously hurt in a fire Saturday in Rocky Hill.

This all unfolded during the late morning hours at a home on Main Street.

Fire officials say they had to rescue the woman from the home and her injuries are considered life threatening.

Hoarding conditions did a play a factor in the fire, according to the fire department.

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No other injuries were reported. Further details pertaining to the fire weren’t immediately available.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.



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