Midwest
RNC Chair Michael Whatley says 'politics is secondary' after Trump assassination attempt
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said Sunday that “politics is secondary” after the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Whatley said he still expects Trump to attend the upcoming nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that begins on Monday.
Host Shannon Bream asked Whatley about the Sunday editorial in the Wall Street Journal that the assassination attempt at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania presents an opportunity for Trump and his party to call for political unity at the Republican National Convention. The Journal editors argued that Trump “will make a mistake if he blames Democrats for the assassination attempt” on Saturday, and “if the Trump campaign is smart, and thinking about the country as well as the election, it will make the theme of Milwaukee a call to political unity and the better angels of American nature.”
The board added that “the country wants civil disagreement and discourse, not civil war.”
“Look, I think unity is obviously very important. I think strength is obviously very important. But right now, this morning, I think politics is secondary,” Whatley said in response.
RNC’S SECRET SERVICE CLASH THRUST BACK INTO SPOTLIGHT AFTER DEADLY TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING
RNC co-chair Michael Whatley leaves Fiserv Forum, which will host the Republican National Convention, shortly after former President Trump was shot in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I think right now we need to be praying for these families that have been affected,” he added. “I think we need to be grateful that President Trump is alive and is actually going to be here, and certainly, we look forward to him being here in Milwaukee, and I think it’s going to be tremendously important for him to be here, and to deliver that message to America.”
Bream also asked the chairman whether he feels that the shooting “is a bit of a wake-up call that rhetoric has gotten so heated,” given Democrats have claimed Trump’s re-election would end democracy as we know it. Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, told Fox News on Saturday night that Democrats must stop their “grossly irresponsible talk” about Trump being “an existential threat to democracy.”
Former President Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Where do we go in our political conversation? I mean, this country is built on being able to disagree and do it in a very heated way, but what about this?” Bream posed to Whatley.
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“Well, it is, but there is no place in politics in any way, shape or form for this kind of violence, for these types of action,” Whatley said. “It’s a horrific act, and we certainly don’t know all of the details and we’re going to have time for investigations on it. But right now, I think everybody in America needs to stop. They need to pause. They need to reflect on what is actually important for us in this political process going forward.”
“And, you know, fortunately, we are here in Milwaukee and the show is going to take place,” he added. “I think it’s tremendously important for us as a country that the Republican Party is going to move forward. We are going to be strong. We are going to be resilient and certainly, President Trump is going to be strong and resilient.”
The Fiserv Forum ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On security at the convention, which had taken more than 18 months to plan, Whatley said the “arena’s set, the security is here, and we feel very comfortable that we’re working with the Secret Service.”
He said the RNC is working with 40 different law enforcement agencies on security for the convention.
“This is going to be a facility where we’re going to be able to have 50,000 delegates and alternates and guests and members of the media who are going to be here and who are going to be safe. That’s very critical for us,” he said. “Look, our business is critically important for the process, right? We’re going to be nominating President Trump for the president, and we’re going to be nominating a vice president. They’re going to give their speeches to accept those nominations, and then we’re going to move back into the field. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, and we’re going to go to work.”
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Illinois
Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman
Illinois Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the death of a woman at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, with some calling it a “murder” and an “execution.”
The woman was fatally shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism” by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
Noem said an officer “acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Videos taken by witnesses show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him, according to the Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is at least the fifth death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Silverio Villegas González died on Sept. 12 after being shot as he allegedly tried to flee from ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. Body camera footage first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the federal agent telling local police he was “dragged a little bit.” Speaking over the radio, his partner relays the agent suffered “a left knee injury and some lacerations to his hands.”
Villegas González had no criminal history, but DHS has said he had “a history of reckless driving” and was in the country without legal status.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said he is “heartbroken and outraged” by what he called a “murder.” U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson called it “an execution in our streets.”
“This tragedy occurred less than a mile from the hallowed ground where George Floyd was murdered during Donald Trump’s first term,” Jackson said in a statement. “It is a chilling and devastating reminder that the cycle of state-sanctioned violence against our communities has not only continued but has been weaponized under this administration’s ‘Operation Metro Surge.’”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for an immediate investigation into the ICE officer who fired the shot. She wrote on X, “ICE is clearly not making us safer. This needs to stop.” And Sen. Dick Durbin called the death “tragic, heartbreaking and enraging” but urged protesters to “remain peaceful.”
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed,” Durbin said in a statement. “Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.”
Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
“This is Donald Trump’s America: a woman is dead because ICE is operating with impunity in our neighborhoods,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “…When federal agents are unleashed without restraint or oversight, the consequences are deadly — and the responsibility for this killing is on their hands.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly evoked Villegas’ death in commenting on the Minnesota shooting.
“The city of Chicago knows all too well that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only lies. After the deadly shooting of Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop, Secretary Noem tried to hide the truth, but bodycam footage disproved injuries sustained by the ICE officer,” Kelly said. “The Minneapolis Mayor has already said that video disputes Secretary Noem’s claims. It’s clear that to achieve public safety, ICE must leave our cities immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.”
“Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”
Rep. Brad Schneider called the fatal shooting “a stain on our entire nation.”
“Sending strength to the Minneapolis community. Chicagoland knows all too well the trauma and terror Trump’s chaotic immigration operations bring to otherwise peaceful communities,” Schneider said. “Our President should be making America and Americans safer. He is failing.”
Indiana
Nick Saban gives thoughts on Kalen DeBoer, Alabama’s blowout loss to Indiana
Nick Saban had a chance to weigh in on the state of Alabama football after 2025 on Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show.
McAfee questioned whether Alabama should have hired a Saban disciple to replace him considering all four coaches left in the playoff once worked for Saban at Alabama.
“I think if somebody was available, I’m not sure anybody was available that they could have maybe gotten to come here,” Saban said. “I do think that Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach and doing a good job here.”
Saban highlighted the “tough transition” DeBoer underwent with all of the players coming and going.
“So that’s a lot to overcome for anybody,” Saban said. “It would have been a lot to overcome for even for one of the guys that formerly coached for me.”
Saban then said he “fully supports” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne, what he’s done and how the administrator has done it.
“I’m hoping they get the ship going in the right direction here,” Saban said. “It’s not bad to get in the playoffs and finish you know in the final eight, but not the expectation around here, which is tough to live up to sometimes.”
During his appearance on McAfee, Saban also talked some about Indiana and what the Hoosiers did to beat Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bow.
“Indiana man, I mean they were impressive in the game,” Saban said. “Not that Alabama played great, and they made some mistakes early on that hurt them … These cats, man. Everybody talks about their offense. They’ve got some dawgs on defense now. These guys play hard, they play fast, they play together, they don’t make a lot of mental mistakes. They’re well coached. They fit the runs. This pop they put on Ty (Simpson) right here. …. Incredible the job they’ve done at Indiana. Curt Cig has done a fantastic job there.”
Iowa
Univ. of Iowa students practice life-saving skills through realistic medical simulations
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Some students at the University of Iowa are getting hands-on medical experience before the spring semester officially begins — and they’re doing it inside a mobile simulation lab.
Wednesday, Simulation in Motion-Iowa (SIM-IA) brought its high-tech training truck to the university’s main hospital campus during what’s known as “transitions week,” just days before physician assistant students head out on clinical rotations.
Instead of practicing on classmates, students worked through simulated emergency scenarios using lifelike mannequins designed to closely mimic real patients. The mannequins can breathe, blink, sweat, and even go into cardiac arrest — giving students a realistic first taste of what they’ll soon face in hospitals and clinics.
“So they have pulses like you and I, they have lung sounds, breath tones, so they get to practice their patient assessments — their head-to-toes, what they think is wrong with that patient, determine what treatments they’re going to offer and do,” said Lisa Lenz, a Simulation in Motion-Iowa instructor.
Lenz controls the mannequins’ movements and symptoms behind the scenes, adjusting each scenario based on how students respond in real time.
“We can kind of assess and watch and make sure they’re doing the skills that we would expect them to do, we then get to change and flow through our scenario,” Lenz said. “So we start out with a healthy patient, maybe something like chest pains and continue through states of either progression or decline.”
Faculty members say the goal is to help students bridge the gap between classroom learning and real patient care — especially with clinical rotations beginning soon.
“This is now putting book work to the clinical practice,” said Jeremy Nelson, a clinical assistant professor in the university’s Department of PA Studies and Services. “We’re getting them ready to go out to various scenarios.”
Nelson says repetition is key, especially since some medical emergencies are rare while others are unpredictable.
“They may see them 10 times on rotation, they may see them once,” Nelson said. “This gives them that ‘first touch’ so when they do see it they have a better chance of learning more and being engaged and practicing.”
The spring semester at the University of Iowa officially begins January 20 for those students. Faculty say experiences like this help boost confidence and reduce anxiety before students ever step into a real emergency situation.
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