memeorandum: ‘It could have been worse’: Trump downplays Texas mass shooting rampage in rambling rant on White House lawn (David Edwards/Raw Story)

10:50 PM ET, September 1, 2019

Top Items:

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

Odessa, Texas mayor blames ‘problem of the heart’ and video games for most recent mass shooting — The Texas legislature had numerous bills they could have passed this session that would have dealt with disturbed potential mass shooters, but they decided not to act on those.

New York Times:

Shooting Spree Across 15 Miles in West Texas Terrorized Two Towns and Killed 7 — ODESSA, Tex. — The 36-year-old man who terrorized two West Texas towns with an assault-style rifle Saturday had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he led the authorities on a chaotic high-speed chase …

Discussion: ArkLaTexHomepage, KTLA, WPIX 11 New York, BuzzFeed News and Yourbasin

Acacia Coronado / The Texas Tribune:

After West Texas shooting, Texas House Rep. says “NO” to gun restrictions — Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, has received a wave of reactions — and criticism — following his tweets reacting to Saturday's Permian Basin shooting. — After the state's second mass shooting in a month left eight people dead …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Friendly Atheist, twitchy.com, Slate, Daily Wire and Common Dreams

CNN:

Gunman kills 7 in a rampage that started with a West Texas traffic stop — Odessa, Texas (CNN)A man who was pulled over by Texas troopers shot at them with a rifle and sped away, setting off a terrifying rampage that ended with seven victims and the shooter dead, police said.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, Vox, FOX2now.com, Law & Crime, Patterico's Pontifications, Vanity Fair, RAPPLER, Raw Story, Breitbart, fox5sandiego.com and Splinter

Richard Parker / New York Times:

Texas Is a Leader in Mass Shootings. Why Is the Governor Silent? — Greg Abbott's failure to respond to shootings like the one in Odessa is a moral disaster. — Mr. Parker is the author of “Lone Star Nation: How Texas Will Transform America.” — Exactly how many dead Texans does …

Discussion: USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog and Slate

Facebook:
Representative Matt Schaefer

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and CNN

CNN:
Texas loosens firearm laws hours after the state's latest mass shooting left five dead

Discussion: CBS News, fox5sandiego.com, Vox, UPI, Politico, Friendly Atheist, fox8.com and Balloon Juice

Kolten Parker / KSAT-TV:
8 new Texas laws that loosen gun restrictions, starting Sept. 1

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian and New York Times

Nathalie Baptiste / Mother Jones:
One Day After Mass Shooting, New Laws in Texas That Expand Gun Access Go Into Effect

Discussion: Law & Crime and Raw Story

Deanna Watson / USA Today:
Texas gun law changes take effect one day after deadly shooting near Odessa and Midland

Discussion: Slate, KTLA, FOX6Now.com, Common Dreams and WVVA-TV

Devan Cole / CNN:

Trump doesn't think he's ‘ever even heard of a Category 5’ hurricane. Four such storms hit the US since he took office — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump said Sunday that he's “not sure that (he's) ever even heard of a Category 5” hurricane, despite four such storms having threatened the US since he took office.

Discussion: Power Line

Timothy Burke / Burke Communications:

President Donald Trump, On Category 5 Hurricanes — Today Donald Trump stated in reference to Hurricane Dorian that “I'm not sure that I've even ever heard of a Category 5 [...] A Category 5 is something that I'm not even sure that I've ever heard the term.”

Aubree Eliza Weaver / Politico: Julián Castro claims he can reassemble Obama's winning coalition

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Hawkish Trump officials plot national security actions against China — As the Chinese government accelerates its crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters, the Trump administration has sharpened its view of the world's most important bilateral relationship.

Discussion: One America News Network

New York Times:

How Much Will the Trade War Cost You by the End of the Year? — A new wave of tariffs by the Trump administration went into effect on Sunday, rendering the majority of goods imported to the United States from China subject to import taxes. — It is the latest move in a drawn-out conflict between the world's two largest economies.

ABC News:
In escalating trade war, US consumers may see higher prices

Discussion: Boston Herald, One America News Network, Raw Story and ArkLaTexHomepage

Justin Wise / The Hill:

Trump targets Debra Messing after actress calls for exposing Hollywood donors — President Trump on Sunday targeted actress Debra Messing after she called for publicizing the list of donors who are reportedly attending a Beverly Hills fundraiser where the president is slated to appear.

Discussion: Yahoo News, Breitbart and Washington Press

Washington Post:

Trump's lost summer: Aides claim victory, but others see incompetence and intolerance — When President Trump presided over the battle tanks and fighter jets, the fireworks and adoring fans on July 4, he couldn't have known that the militaristic “Salute to America” — as well to himself …

Michael Schulman / New Yorker:

Linda Ronstadt Has Found Another Voice — The singer on living with Parkinson's, the perils of stardom, and mourning what the border has become. — It's been ten years since Linda Ronstadt, once the most highly paid woman in rock and roll, sang her last concert.

Justin Wise / The Hill:

Ocasio-Cortez mocks Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ over lack of women — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday called out participants in Boston's “Straight Pride Parade,” saying it should have been called the “I-Struggle-With-Masculinity” parade.

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, The Right Scoop, FundRazr and Mother Jones

Kate Sullivan / CNN:

The Trump decision that pushed James Mattis to his breaking point — The retired four-star Marine Corps general said in an interview with CBS that aired Sunday that he had intended to serve the full four years, but resigned when he determined his views were not “aligned” with President Donald Trump's.

Zubair Sofi / The Independent:

With meticulous planning then mass arrests and ‘torture’, Kashmir's autonomy was lost — Warning: this article contains images which some readers may find distressing — When Jammu and Kashmir's governor addressed the world in a press conference on 4 August, people in the Muslim-majority valley were worried.

Tim Craig / Washington Post:

In Trump country, a group of coal miners rebel over lost jobs, missed paychecks — CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Sitting in lawn chairs plopped in the middle of train tracks, two coal miners smoked and chewed tobacco to pass the time. There's been little else to do here for the past four weeks …

Discussion: Raw Story