Southeast
Brother of Parkland school shooting victim welcomes demolition: 'Provides us closure'
The brother of one of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting victims said he is glad that the building where the 2018 massacre took place is being torn down.
Demolition began Friday of the 1200 building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where Nikolas Cruz killed 14 students and three adults in a Valentine’s Day shooting. Cruz’s rampage injured 17 others in what was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
Hunter Pollack, whose sister Meadow was one of the slain students, said the building is a constant reminder of the horrific tragedy.
“Every day I drive by that building, the pain in my heart. It makes me want to throw up because it reminds me my sister was murdered on that third floor. It could have been prevented, it wasn’t prevented, and it makes me furious,” Pollack, 26, told Fox News Digital.
“I think the building should be knocked down. We’ll never forget that Meadow is dead, of course, she’ll be forever in our hearts.”
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People watch as crews begin to demolish the building where 17 people were killed during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on June 14, 2024. Seventeen people were killed and another 17 were injured after a 19-year-old former student opened fire at the school on Feb. 14, 2018. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
The 1200 building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland has stood as a painful reminder of that tragic day and a nightmarish backdrop to current students who have been attending school in a new adjacent building on the campus. The new building replaced temporary classrooms students had been using for years after the massacre.
For years, it was left standing, frozen in time with its bullet-ridden walls and dry blood-stained floors as Cruz’s case and that of Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson moved through the courts.
Crews use heavy equipment to tear down the 1200 building of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday, June 14, 2024, in Parkland, Fla. On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunmen entered the school and killed 17 people. (Miami Herald)
In 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, while Peterson was acquitted last year of felony child neglect and other criminal charges for failing to enter the building, engage the gunman and help the victims during the six-minute rampage.
However, the 1200 building is now being ripped down, and the operation is expected to take several weeks. Torrential rain in the Sunshine State prevented the start of demolition from going ahead as initially planned on Thursday.
Survivors, families of victims, as well as teachers and staff, had any items they desired returned to them, the Broward County Public Schools said.
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Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Resource Officer Scot Peterson reacts as he is found not guilty on all charges at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 29, 2023. Peterson was acquitted of child neglect and other charges for failing to act during the Parkland school massacre, where 14 students and three staff members were murdered. ( Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Pollack said the 1200 building is passed by residents every day given its prominent location in the neighborhood, at the intersection of Holmberg and Pine Island, and has had a fence erected around it.
“We don’t need the building there to remind us, the building is just a negative thing in our community,” Pollack said.
“Especially for the kids going to school there and the other people that live in Parkland that weren’t necessarily affected by the tragedy. But I have to be reminded every time they drive by the building. So I’m 100% in support of knocking down that building. It’s time we provide our community with some closure and having that building does not provide any closure.”
Crews begin to demolish the building where seventeen people were killed during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on June 14, 2024. Seventeen people were killed and another 17 were injured after a 19-year-old former student opened fire at the school on Feb. 14, 2018. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
It is unclear what will become of the site after the structure is torn down.
“I think we could build a beautiful memorial, but if we build nothing, I’m OK with that, too,” Pollack says.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to the school board and the other municipalities and elected officials in Broward County to make that decision. But it’s not fair to the other people in the community to just constantly be reminded of such a terrible tragedy that occurred in Parkland.”
Mariana Rocha holds her son Jackson as she observes a photo of her cousin Joaquin Oliver, right, at a memorial on the fifth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting at Pine Trails Park on Feb. 14, 2023 in Parkland, Florida. On Feb. 14, 2018, 14 students and three staff members were killed during a mass shooting at the school. (Saul Martinez/Getty Images)
Some families have toured the building to see where their loved ones were slaughtered, as did Vice President Kamala Harris and some members of Congress.
Others, however, including Pollack, said it would have been too painful to see where his sister was innocently killed after Cruz stalked three floors of the classroom building.
“I saw the footage of the shooting for the first time in December of 2023… and what I saw reminded me of what you would see in a movie or documentary about war,” Pollack said. “It was just totally vile… to me, it’s not something I wanted to walk through after seeing the footage of what occurred.”
Pollack said that his sister Meadow was shot nine times by Cruz, who was armed with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and multiple magazines. Pollack has since successfully advocated for ending a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing after a divided 9-3 jury spared the life of Cruz.
Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during the 2018 shooting. (AP/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
“You could just see in the video and the pictures that I saw that it’s disgusting,” Pollack said. “If you could compare it to what’s going on in some places like Israel and Gaza, then you could do so because these kids were murdered by an AR-15. My sister was shot nine times, I watched it on camera. It was disgusting.”
“In that building, there was blood everywhere. It was a scene that would be in a horror movie.”
“I spoke to a law clerk that was working in a law firm, and he said that when he watched the footage of what happened he had to take a break as he was throwing up and crying. I mean, it was just totally disgusting and the inside of the building itself was blood all over the place. It was chaotic. It was something that you can’t fathom unless you saw the footage, the pictures, or walked the building yourself.”
“And that’s why I think it’s best that that building comes down, and we get a fresh start in the community, because the community deserves a fresh start.”
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NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez is now an American citizen.
Suarez, from Mexico, took the oath at the field office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It wasn’t just the nearly 50 people becoming citizens there for the special day – even NASCAR president Steve Phelps was there, along with members of the rackhouse Racing team, as well as his fiancee.
All of that took Suarez by surprise.
NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez waves an American flag during a naturalization ceremony, June 18, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Noah Watts/Daylon Barr Photography, Trackhouse Racing via AP)
“The most special part of everything was, you see so many people there,” Suarez said Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I was not expecting it. I was not expecting to see so many people.”
“I didn’t think many people were going to really care about it,” Suarez said. “A lot of people really did.”
Suarez’s parents had actually thought about traveling to the United States for his birth, but it wound up being too expensive.
“It’s really funny how my parents, they had that thought before I was born, about being born in the United States, I guess to have more opportunities. They didn’t do it,” he said. “And now, I guess I did it my way.”
NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez stands for the “oath of allegiance” during a naturalization ceremony, June 18, 2024, in Charlotte. (Noah Watts/Daylon Barr Photography, Trackhouse Racing via AP)
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Suarez admitted that becoming a citizen wasn’t originally a thought.
“It wasn’t a dream of mine,” Suarez said. “I came to this country to race and compete. I had been working really hard to try and go to the next step and be more competitive. In a blink of an eye, I’ve been already here 12 years.”
He learned, and dedicated himself to, the process of becoming a citizen about six years ago – his team even quizzed him in April in Dover ahead of his citizenship test.
“I felt like it was the right time to start this process. Slowly, I’m getting more and more responsibilities in my life. It was the right time to feel more secure; that I belong here.”
Daniel Suarez walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 8, 2024, in California. (Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Suarez has two career Cup wins – including the closest finish ever at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
On this day in history, June 23, 1948, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is born in Georgia
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia on this day in history, June 23, 1948.
His entire family grappled with extreme poverty. His parents divorced when he was a toddler; Thomas’ father left the family when young Clarence was only two years old.
Eventually, Clarence Thomas was sent to live with his maternal grandfather following a house fire, multiple sources note.
Thomas’ grandfather had a profound impact on his life: Thomas even titled his 2008 memoir “My Grandfather’s Son.”
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“I even called him Daddy,” wrote Thomas in his book, “because that was what my mother called him … He was dark, strong, proud and determined to mold me in his image … He was the one hero in my life.”
Said Thomas in a September 2021 speech at the University of Notre Dame, “The single biggest event in my early life was going to live with my grandparents in 1955.”
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born on June 23, 1948, in Pin Point, Georgia. In his personal memoir, he wrote that his maternal grandfather was “the one hero in my life.” (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
As a young child, Thomas attended segregated Catholic schools for Black children.
He became the first Black student to be admitted to St. John Vianney, a Catholic minor seminary, said the website Oyez.
“My nuns and my grandparents lived out their sacred vocation in a time of stark racial animus, and did so with pride with dignity and with honor,” said Thomas at Notre Dame.
“To this day I revere, admire and love my nuns. They were devout, courageous and principled women,” he said.
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Despite his academic success at St. John Vianney, Thomas was the recipient of racially charged bullying, said Oyez.
Following graduation from St. John Vianney, Thomas intended on becoming a Catholic priest. He entered Immaculate Conception Seminary from 1967 to 1968.
He left seminary after again experiencing racism from classmates — and transferred to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, took his seat on the Supreme Court on Oct. 23, 1991. (AP Images)
He graduated cum laude in 1971, said Oyez.
In 1974, he graduated from Yale Law School and was admitted to law practice in Missouri of that same year, the Supreme Court’s website notes.
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Thomas worked in various roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including doing a stint as assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education and as chairman of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission from 1982 until 1990.
In 1990 until 1991, Thomas was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. Thomas was born on this day in history, June 23, 1948. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
President George H. W. Bush appointed Thomas as an associate Supreme Court justice following the retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Marshall was the first Black member of the Supreme Court; Thomas was the second.
After a highly contentious confirmation hearing, the Senate voted 52-48 to approve Clarence Thomas to the high court, History.com noted.
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He was seated at the court on Oct. 23, 1991, at age 43.
During his time on the Supreme Court, Thomas has typically associated with the court’s conservative wing.
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a photo in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2021. Seated, second from left, is Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)
Thomas’ Martin-Quinn score — (or MQ score, referring to metrics used to gauge the ideology of Supreme Court justices based on their voting record) — of 3.05 during the 2021-2022 term was the most conservative of anyone on the court, the website Ballotpedia noted.
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Thomas is married to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas.
He has one son, Jamal, from a previous marriage, said Oyez.
Mark Paoletta, an attorney, close friend and co-author of the 2022 book, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” told Fox News Digital two years ago of Thomas, “I think he is going to be considered one of our greatest justices. And he’s an originalist who had the courage to apply the Constitution and be faithful to the Constitution into the text of statute, come what may.”
He added, “His legacy is a courageous justice who faithfully applied the Constitution.”
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Southeast
GOP governor's 'massive' appeal to Democrats could be trouble for Biden if picked as Trump's VP: insiders
Editor’s note: This is the seventh in a series of profiles of potential running mates for presidential candidate Donald Trump on the 2024 Republican Party ticket.
A potential name on former President Trump’s running mate shortlist is being lauded for his “massive” bipartisan appeal by political insiders who say his possible selection could spell trouble for President Biden in key swing states this November.
Trump has suggested he will announce his pick for vice president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next month, and is rumored to be considering a long list of names that notably includes Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a rising star within the party.
“He’s brought to the job skills honed by decades of helping buy and improve companies, taking them from good or broken to great!” veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove told Fox News Digital, referencing Youngkin’s experience in the private sector prior to successfully running for governor in 2021.
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From left, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and South Carolina Gov. Tim Scott. All have been floated as possible vice presidential running mates for former President Trump. (Getty Images)
“In doing so, he’s earned a reputation for strong leadership and making government work for the people,” Rove said, praising his so far “successful” tenure leading a Democrat-leaning state while “pursuing an ambitious agenda of education reform, parental rights, economic growth and job creation.”
Rove added that Youngkin’s “victory in a state Biden won by 10 points causes many observers to stress his bipartisan appeal,” a point fellow Republican strategist Erin Perrine said extended to his “governance success” and reflected his “ability to appeal across party lines.”
Perrine told Fox that Youngkin’s strong approval ratings across Virginia, which polls put at over 50%, was because of his “effective leadership,” and that his appeal to even Democrats “would be absolutely massive during a general election campaign.”
“Couple that with Virginia showing signs of possibly being competitive due to dissatisfaction within the Democratic base toward Biden, who would need to count on the support of deeply blue Northern Virginia to win the state,” Perrine said.
A Fox News poll released earlier this month showed Trump and Biden in a dead heat with voters in Virginia, a state no Republican presidential candidate has won since former President George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“Donors appreciate Youngkin’s brand of Republican politics, which balances conservative values with pragmatic governance and could help with bringing in more dollars to the campaign,” Perrine said, adding that another of his “major advantages” was the “ease of his relationship with Trump” while other potential running mates “fight so hard to get in front of Trump and have him like them.”
“Couple that with the potential to flip Virginia electorally. In 2021, Youngkin defeated Democrat and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a state President Joe Biden had won by 10 points just a year earlier. That victory shows his capability to attract swing voters and energize the Republican base in pivotal states, enhancing the GOP’s electoral prospects.”
Democratic strategist Kevin Walling also noted Youngkin’s ability to attract support from across party lines, crediting his “sunny optimism” that he said plays well across the commonwealth, and led to “a unique coalition of MAGA, traditional Republicans, and independents” putting him in the governor’s mansion.
“He could possibly help win over Nikki Haley voters, independents, and maybe some disaffected Democrats as a balance on the ticket,” he said. “Yet, Trump seems to care less about optimism, electability and balance, and more about picking someone who will just be his attack dog and ‘yes man.’”
While Youngkin “shocked the political universe” with his stunning victory in 2021, Walling said that success, as well as his high approval rating, didn’t translate to victories in legislative elections last year when Republicans lost control of the Virginia House of Delegates and fell short of winning a majority in the Virginia Senate.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference on Saturday in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“While he was a very successful business person before his only campaign, which would seem to mesh with Donald Trump’s background, he may be much more well suited for a cabinet position in the Trump administration or as the frontrunner in 2028 if Trump loses in 2024 again,” Walling said.
“Youngkin is worrisome as a nominee in 2028, and would be a worrisome vice presidential pick in 2024. But I think there’s zero chance he’s the party’s nominee for vice president this cycle.”
Rove and Perrine also argued there were some downsides to Youngkin’s potential selection, including aspects of his private business career and his relatively small amount of experience holding elected office.
“He’s in his first, and only, term and has only one campaign under his belt,” Rove said, adding he would likely face scrutiny for being extremely wealthy from his career in finance.
“Youngkin is popular in Virginia but not as widely known on the national stage as other potential VP candidates. His appeal overlaps with that of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Tim Scott, meaning he might not stand out in terms of fundraising potential compared,” Perrine said.
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Former President Trump and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin met for the first time earlier this month. (Trump Campaign)
“Additionally, Youngkin’s pragmatic, CEO-level approach is nicely wired to navigating the business community, whereas other VP candidates have been members on Capitol Hill, which would mean the Hill and its twists and turns are a little more uncharted for Youngkin than others, but a strong background in relationship building that can still balance it,” she said.
A source close to Youngkin told Fox News Digital the governor was not looking to elevate himself amid Trump’s running mate search.
“There’s no ambition here,” the source said, adding Youngkin’s only goal was to help Trump compete against Biden in Virginia. “The focus is winning, and that decision is up to the president and his team.”
Youngkin, who largely kept his distance from Trump during his 2021 campaign, told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this month that he “fully endorsed” the former president in his bid to oust Biden, and said he planned “to enthusiastically campaign” for him to win.
The governor spoke just ahead of Trump at Saturday’s Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, D.C., issuing a call to action to get the former president back into the White House, as well as for strengthened Republican majorities in Congress.
Youngkin also met Trump for the first time earlier this month, fanning the already circulating rumors of his potential running mate consideration, although there have notably been no reports or confirmations he’s actually been included in any ongoing vetting process.
Others who have been floated as possibilities to join Trump on the Republican ticket include House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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