It was a fourth straight week at #1 at the box office for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which pulled in an estimated $40 million. That brings its domestic gross to $490 million, and boosts its global tally to just over $1.2 billion — the first film of the year to pass that milestone.
Supernatural horror sequel The Evil Dead Rise took second place with an estimated $12.2 million, bringing its two-week total to $44.4 million in North America.
It was an estimated $6.8 million third-place debut for Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, the adaptation of Judy Bloom‘s beloved book, starring Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie.
John Wick: Chapter 4 landed in fourth place, delivering an estimated $5 million in its sixth week of release. The film has earned $176 million domestically and $375 million globally to date, making it the franchise’s highest-grossing film, passing John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum‘s $328 million gross in 2019.
Rounding out the top five was the 40th-anniversary rerelease of 1883’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, grabbing an estimated $4.7 million from just 475 theaters. The film has grossed $311 million in North America and $475 million worldwide.
In U2′s 2004 song “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own,” which is about Bono‘s late father, he sings, “You’re the reason the opera is in me.” At his Stories of Surrender book tour event in New York City on Saturday night, Bono devoted much of the evening to exploring the truth of that particular line.
“I’m still pretending this is a book tour,” he told the sold-out audience at the Beacon Theater. In truth, it’s more of a one-man show, with Bono recreating the stories from his book on a stage that was bare except for some chairs and tables, used as props to great effect.
Bono punctuated those stories with performances of U2 songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday, “With or Without You” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)” with help from producer Jacknife Lee on keyboards and percussion, cellist Kate Ellis and harpist/singer Gemma Doherty. Stripped of U2’s backing, Bono’s singing seemed even more emotional than usual.
But while the rapt audience heard about Bono’s relationship with his band mates and his wife Ali, the show’s main set piece involved Bono acting out the weekly chats he had with his dad, Bob, whose hobby was singing opera, in their local pub.
Bob remained stubbornly unimpressed by his famous son, and in scenes alternately funny and heart-breaking, Bono described his desperate attempts to impress his dad, which mostly involved boasting to him about his friendship and musical collaboration with opera icon Luciano Pavarotti.
Bono’s tales of his father, opera and their all too infrequent moments of connection culminated in the show’s closing number. Bono delivered a stunning, a cappella performance of “Come Back to Sorrento” — one of his father’s favorites — in Italian.
(KHARTOUM, Sudan) — As countries wind down mass evacuations of their nationals from war-torn Sudan and the White House warns time is running out, the United States has undertaken its first effort to move hundreds of Americans citizens out of Khartoum, the capital.
A government-organized convoy carrying U.S citizens, locally employed staff and nationals from allied and partner countries arrived at Port Sudan on Saturday, according to the State Department, which said Sunday that a second convoy had also arrived.
“We continue to assist U.S. citizens and others who are eligible with onward travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where additional U.S. personnel are positioned to assist with consular and emergency services,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Sunday.
Almost 1,000 U.S. citizens have left Sudan since fighting broke out between Gens. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, Miller said Sunday.
“Fewer than 5,000 US citizens who have sought guidance from the government,” he said.
The State Department has stressed its commitment to American nationals amid the still-developing violence. According to Miller, the routes for exit have included partner-country flights and convoys as well as U.S.-organized travel and seats on departing ships.
“The U.S. government has taken extensive efforts to contact U.S. citizens in Sudan and enable the departure of those who wished to leave. We messaged every U.S. citizen in Sudan who communicated with us during the crisis and provided specific instructions about joining this convoy to those who were interested in departing via the land route,” the department said in a statement Saturday. “We encourage U.S. citizens who want to leave Sudan but chose not to participate in this convoy to contact the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website.”
The evacuations have been enabled by “intensive negotiations by the United States with the support of our regional and international partners,” according to the State Department, which reiterated its warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan.
Later Saturday, the Pentagon confirmed it received a request for assistance, though it did not say whether it came from Sudan.
The Pentagon has provided intelligence and surveillance assets, including drones, a department spokesperson said.
“The Secretary of Defense approved a request for assistance from the Department of State to support the safe departure of U.S. citizens and their immediate family members via overland. The Department of Defense deployed U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to support air and land evacuation routes, which Americans are using, and we are moving naval assets within the region to provide any necessary support along the coast. Our focus has been and remains to help as many U.S. citizens depart as safely as possible,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a statement.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre advised that Americans in Sudan who wished to leave should “take advantage of the options that are available to them in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Although countries like Saudi Arabia and Spain started evacuating their citizens and other foreign nationals from Sudan in the early days of the week and the U.S. airlifted diplomats from Khartoum over the weekend, the administration maintained that carrying out a large-scale operation to rescue some of the thousands of American citizens residing in Sudan was not feasible.
The U.K., Germany and France have all also evacuated thousands.
But not all operations have gone smoothly. On Friday, Turkey reported that one of its aircraft had come under fire as it landed in Khartoum — underscoring the threat that ongoing fighting poses to air rescues.
Before news of the U.S.-led convoys broke, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, defended the administration’s posture and said it had played a hand in the mass evacuations orchestrated by other countries.
“Our allies and partners that are conducting operations that are able to also take American citizens out–we of course, are incredibly thankful and gracious for their ability to do so. But this is a collective and collaborative effort,” he said. “We are offering logistical support for some of these operations to be conducted. Whether they be overland, whether they be through the air.”
Patel also said that “only a fraction” of the thousands of U.S. citizens in Sudan had actively sought assistance to leave the country.
Other officials familiar with the situation have said it’s unclear how much demand there is from American nationals for an exit route, emphasizing that individual’s desire to leave can change on a day-by-day basis.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the State Department was working to establish “a sustained process” through which Americans could depart Sudan.
“We believe that the best way to have an enduring capability to help people leave Sudan–if that’s what they so choose–is overland. And we’re working to establish a process that would enable people to move overland to a place where they can more easily exit the country,” Blinken said.
At least two American citizens were among the 500-plus killed in in the sectarian violence that first erupted two weeks ago, which has injured thousands more.
Although the U.S. had assisted in brokering a number of cease-fires in Sudan, their implementation has been uneven. While both sides agreed to another 72-hour truce on Friday, there’s little hope it will hold.
“It’s obvious to everybody that the ceasefires are not perfectly working,” a U.S. official said. “But we are hearing from multiple contacts on the ground, as well as our international partners, that the series of efforts to push forward ceasefires are creating meaningful periods of reduction of violence and that these periods are allowing people to move out of Khartoum.”
But as more foreign nationals leave, there’s looming concern in Sudan that the battle for control over the country will catapult to new intensity.
“There’s going to be fewer eyes on what’s happening,” said Jon Temin, vice president for policy and programs at the Truman Center for National Policy.
(BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.) — Two teenagers were killed and at least four others were wounded when a gunman opened fire early Sunday at a house party in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, police said.
One suspect, identified as 19-year-old Cameron Everest Brand, was arrested on six counts of aggravated assault. Following Brand’s arrest, two of the shooting victims died, according to the Bay St. Louis Police Department.
The shooting unfolded around 12:34 a.m. Sunday at a house in the Gulf Coast town about 30 miles west of Biloxi.
“Upon arrival, multiple persons were found suffering from gunshot wounds,” Bay St. Louis Police Chief J. Toby Schwartz said in a statement.
He said two of the victims, an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old, were taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans, where they were pronounced dead. Their names were not immediately released.
Schwartz said the other victims, all between 15 and 18 years old, were taken by private cars to nearby hospitals. One victim remains in critical condition and three others are in serious condition, police said.
“Through a thorough investigation, including witness and victim statements, Cameron Brand was identified as the sole shooter,” Schwartz said.
Brand was taken into custody at his home in the nearby town of Pass Christian, Mississippi, after police obtained an arrest warrant for him, Schwartz said. Everest was jailed without bail.
A motive for the shooting was under investigation Sunday.
(WASHINGTON) — The annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was held Saturday night in Washington and, as is customary, featured a mix of celebrities, media personalities and remarks from a featured performer and the president.
While the night included laughs, there were also noted moments of reflection. Outside, climate protesters gathered.
Here are highlights from the event.
Biden’s remarks: Praising journalism, joking about cable hosts
Opening his address, President Joe Biden initially struck a serious tone as he addressed U.S. citizens who are being held abroad, naming Evan Gershkovich, Austin Tice, Paul Whelan and WNBA star Brittney Griner, the latter of whom was released last year.
“We’re working every day to secure his release, looking at opportunities and tools to bring him home,” Biden said about Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges he denies. “We keep the faith.”
“Tonight our message is this: Journalism is not a crime,” Biden said. “Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every other American held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.”
Biden praised the power of journalism itself. “You make it possible for ordinary citizens to question authority. And, yes, even to laugh at authority without fear or intimidation,” he said.
The president, who launched his 2024 campaign last week, joked about his age, which some claim makes him unfit for a second term. At 80, he is the oldest president in U.S. history.
“Call me old? I call it being seasoned. They say I’m ancient, I say I’m wise,” Biden said to laughter from the audience. “They say ‘over the hill.’ Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime,” he continued, referencing a headline-making gaffe by the former CNN anchor about presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Lemon wasn’t the only cable news personality to get a mention.
“Truth is, we really have a right to be proud of vaccinating the nation, transforming the economy, around historic legislative victories and midterm results. But the job isn’t finished — I mean, it is for Tucker Carlson,” Biden said of the now-departed Fox News host.
As he finished his speech, Biden donned a pair of dark aviator sunglasses and quipped about his “Dark Brandon” persona, which is a popular internet meme.
Roy Wood’s routine roasts Biden, Thomas
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. elicited many laughs from the audience during his stint as the featured performer — a tradition that was paused under President Donald Trump and before COVID-19, after comedian Michelle Wolf’s jokes about Trump aides stirred controversy.
During his routine on Saturday, Wood took jabs at Biden and the recently settled Dominion lawsuit against Fox News.
“We should be inspired by the events in France. They rioted when the retirement age went up two years to 64,” Wood said. “Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work.”
Joking about trying to avoid a Dominion suit himself, Wood praised the company.
“Let me just say right now, my favorite voting machine is Dominion voting machines,” he said. “When I go to the polls, I make sure it is a Dominion machine that I use.”
“If your election needs the truth, put Dominion in your booth,” he continued.
More pointedly, Wood also addressed a recent ethics scandal involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas privately receiving years of gifts from friend Harlan Crow, a GOP donor.
“This man bought a Supreme Court justice. Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a Supreme — a Black one on top of that?” Wood joked. “There’s only two in stock, and Harlan Crow owns half the inventory.”
The night’s biggest guests
Dinner attendees mixed some of the biggest names in Washington and beyond.
Griner attended with her wife, Cherelle; and the family of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was also reportedly at the dinner.
Other guests included Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, model Winnie Harlow, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Anthony Fauci.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and actress Julia Fox were also pictured together.
Climate demonstrators outside
The lavish event at the Washington Hilton drew demonstrators, too.
Climate Defiance organizers told ABC News before the dinner that they planned to try and blockade the area near the hotel in an effort to hold Biden accountable for what they say was his 2020 campaign promise to end fossil fuel extraction on public lands.
“We disrupted the rich + powerful b/c Joe Biden’s approval of deadly new oil + gas projects is killing the planet,’ the group wrote on Twitter. “We will continue to disrupt until we #EndFossilFuels.”
The youth-led group of activists protested in Washington for most of the week leading up to Saturday’s event.
ABC News’ Noah Minnie and Beatrice Pearson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Severe weather is continuing on the East Coast, bringing more opportunities for tornadoes to form in regions that have already experienced several twisters in the past few days.
On Thursday, seven tornadoes were reported in Florida and Georgia. More tornadoes, some with winds up to 60 mph, rolled into Florida’s Atlantic coast on Saturday, flipping cars and uprooting trees in places like Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Boynton Beach.
Residents all over the South woke up Sunday morning to damage caused by violent storms overnight.
More storms are bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to the east on Sunday. A tornado watch is in effect in for 19 million residents in Florida until 2 p.m.
The weather extends to the eastern Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic, which are also at risk for damaging winds and isolated tornadoes, forecasts show.
Farther north, heavy rain has been drenching the Northeast all weekend.
Another round of rain is on the way for cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Hartford, Connecticut.
The heaviest rain will arrive Sunday evening and continue into the overnight hours.
Flood watches have been posted for several states in the Northeast, leading to an additional 1 inch to 3 inches of rain into Sunday night.
While the heaviest of the rain finally moves out of the Northeast by Monday, a stubborn low pressure system will park itself over the Great Lakes in the next few days, leading to an unsettled period of weather for much of this upcoming week.
(CLEVELAND, Texas) — Authorities are continuing the search for the suspect connected to an “execution-style” shooting that killed five family members in Texas, including an 8-year-old boy.
The carnage began Friday night after neighbors asked the suspect, Francisco Oropesa, 38, to stop shooting his gun in the yard of his home in Cleveland, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston, investigators said.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 11:31 p.m. Friday detailing harassment, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters on Sunday. When deputies arrived at the home, they found five victims at the property, Capes said.
Three minors who were found uninjured but covered in blood were transported to a local hospital, authorities said. Two of the female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities told ABC News.
All of the victims are from Honduras, police said.
Oropesa is still on the loose and likely armed with an AR-15-style rifle. He is a “threat to the community,” FBI Houston field office agent James Smith told reporters during a press briefing on Saturday.
The neighbors had asked the suspect to stop shooting his gun in the front yard because there was a baby trying to sleep, Capers told ABC Houston station KTRK.
Oropesa, who allegedly had been drinking, responded, “I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,” Capers said.
The massacre went from a case of harassment to a shooting very quickly, Capers said. All of the victims were shot from the neck up, “almost execution-style,” Capers told KTRK.
The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8. Five other people who were in the home were not harmed.
Footage from a Ring doorbell at the victims’ house shows the shooter entering the home with a weapon, Capers said.
Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The youngest, an 8-year-old boy, was declared dead after being transported to the hospital, police said.
Some of the victims were trying to shield their children from the bullets, Capers said.
Shell casings were found in Oropesa’s front yard, police said.
Wilson Garcia, who owns the home, told KTRK that the family was preparing a meal when Oropesa began shooting on his property.
Garcia said he moved in three years ago and “never had a problem” with his neighbor until Friday, he said. Garcia’s wife and 8-year-old son were among the victims killed in the shooting.
Neighbor Veronica Pineda told KTRK that she had grown accustomed to neighbors shooting firearms in the area.
“There’s always shooting,” she told the station. “There’s always people calling the cops and there’s nothing being done.”
Another neighbor named Shawn told ABC News that the tight-knit neighborhood is typically “peaceful” and described the victims as “good people.”
“It is a shock that this took place in our neighborhood,” he said.
Investigators described Oropesa as a 5-foot-8 Hispanic man with a goatee and short black hair. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt and work boots.
Authorities believe they have the weapon used in the attack, a .223 rifle, but do not know if Oropesa is carrying a smaller weapon, Capers said.
Investigators have found Oropesa’s abandoned cellphone and several articles of clothing, Capers said.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s Houston Field Office are assisting in the manhunt.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, Jamie McCarty and GIna Sunseri contributed to this reported.
(WASHINGTON) — Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons on Sunday pushed back on concerns that President Joe Biden’s age and the lack of enthusiasm he inspires in voters make him unfit for reelection — predicting instead that Biden would win in a 2024 rematch with the “the alternative”: Donald Trump.
“Two years later, President Biden is stronger,” Coons, a national co-chair of Biden’s campaign, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “He has an incredible record to run on. And the former president is weaker. He’s been indicted. He spent years just re-litigating 2020.”
In the interview, Coons defended the Biden White House, and the performance of Vice President Kamala Harris, while criticizing Republicans, including the GOP’s latest strategy on raising the debt ceiling to avoid default.
Biden launched his 2024 bid with a video announcement on Tuesday that contrasted his work with what he called “MAGA Republicans.”
“I’ll remind you, our president often says, ‘Don’t compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative,'” Coons said on Sunday. “When folks get polled on a head-to-head if Donald Trump should be the Republican nominee again, he wins, and he wins decisively.”
But Raddatz pointed to polling that also shows a majority of Democrats don’t want Biden to be their nominee in the next election. Coons contended that a different set of numbers matter more: the millions of jobs — 850,000 of which are in manufacturing — created during the Biden administration.
“I look forward to talking about the numbers based on what we’ve gotten done with President Biden in the White House, on infrastructure, manufacturing, prescription drugs,” Coons said. “It’s a great record to run on.”
Still, Raddatz noted that many voters raise concerns about Biden’s age. At 80, he is the oldest president in U.S. history. (Trump is 76.)
Coons cited to two of Biden’s recent high-profile appearances: His annual State of the Union speech in February and his remarks at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
“He had great delivery. You saw the State of the Union address — nearly an hour and a half, he was faster on his feet than most members of Congress. I think Joe Biden is agile, is capable,” Coons said. “His record of leadership both at home and abroad makes him imminently qualified. And we should be focusing some on the wisdom and experience he brings to the job.”
Raddatz followed up that “some of those people have watched him and still have doubts, so what would you say to them about those stumbles?”
“I’d say, ‘Compare him to the alternative,'” Coons responded. “Recognize the value of experience and seasoning, recognize that his values align better with where we want America to go.”
As Biden’s 2024 campaign ramps up in the coming months, Coons said the president is eager to be on the trail, in contrast to the last cycle during the onset of COVID-19, when Republicans like Trump accused Biden of avoiding the public.
“Joe Biden loves campaigning. He loves going to a coffee shop, a union hall, a fire station,” Coons said.
GOP presidential candidates have continued to stress Biden’s age and what they say is his lack of stamina.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s team said last week that a vote for Biden would in effect be a vote for Kamala Harris because she suggested Biden wouldn’t live through a second term.
On Harris’ role going forward, Coons defended her work as vice president and said she is a capable leader in her own right.
“The vice president, like many vice presidents, has struggled to get positive press coverage and to get the credit she deserves for the hard work that she’s been doing,” Coons told Raddatz, adding, “The vice president’s ready to run and ready to be president, should that ever happen. I know our president has great confidence in her and so do I.”
Separately, Coons criticized a bill passed by House Republicans last week to address the nation’s debt ceiling, which must be raised to avoid a historic default. Coons labeled the GOP strategy as a form of “hostage negotiations.”
Conservatives argue Democrats must compromise on spending and policy changes to avoid a default. Biden has insisted the limit be raised without conditions, but he would also look at brokering a deal on the budget.
“The Republicans are demanding hostage negotiations where they will crash the full faith and credit of the United States,” Coons said. “That would raise the rates that your viewers are paying on credit cards or student loans or mortgages. It would throw our country into recession and hurt us globally.”
When Raddatz pressed the senator on the issue, Coons indicated Democrats are interested in negotiations on spending separate from the debt limit.
“What’s the mix of revenue increases and spending cuts that makes sense going forward?” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Sunday urged President Joe Biden to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy amid the threat of political brinkmanship over raising the nation’s debt ceiling to avoid an unprecedented default.
“We just passed a bill through the House. And we’ve been very vocal. It’s been over two months since President Biden has sat down with Speaker McCarthy to have negotiations. President Biden is clearly trying to run out the clock and create a debt crisis. That’s irresponsible,” Scalise told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“The White House needs to ultimately get into this negotiation. The president’s been in hiding for two months, Martha. That’s not acceptable to Americans,” Scalise said.
While much of his appearance focused on the national debt, Scalise also briefly touched on the 2024 GOP primary. He said the party must pick “a strong leader who’s going to focus on getting our country back on track.” But he didn’t yet back any candidate, including former President Donald Trump.
Scalise instead talked at length about how he wants debt talks to unfold. The national government hit its debt limit early this year and has been employing “extraordinary measures” to continue paying its bills since then.
As Scalise noted, House Republicans last week narrowly passed legislation to increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion while reducing federal government spending and reversing some key Biden-backed policies.
The GOP bill is dead on arrival in the Democratic Senate, with the president repeatedly insisting the debt ceiling be raised without any spending or policy compromises included in the legislation — as has happened multiple times in the past — while the budget is addressed in separate talks.
Scalise maintained on Sunday that the issues were connected: “As we’re addressing the debt limit, we also have to address the problem that got us here.”
“If the president is going to sit this one out, we’re not, we’re gonna lead,” he said. “We passed a bill to address the problem. It’s time now for the president to get in this game, get off the sidelines and let’s start negotiating and figuring this out. Not in June when we get to the midnight hour, but today.”
Scalise’s comments mark the latest salvo in Republicans’ pressure campaign on Biden to compromise with the House’s GOP majority over the debt ceiling.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said her department will exhaust its “extraordinary measures” sometime after June, though a specific date for a default — the so-called “X-date” — remains unclear.
While they disagree on how to solve the problem, lawmakers from both parties agree that the U.S. defaulting on its debt is not an acceptable outcome.
“We can’t default Martha. You know what the consequences would be for your viewers in our country if we were to default, and that’s what this is really about. The Republicans are demanding hostage negotiations,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Raddatz in a separate appearance on “This Week.”
Pressed by Raddatz, Coons said, “I’d be happy to negotiate. What’s the mix of revenue increases and spending cuts that makes sense going forward?”
Scalise and other Republicans say that the ball is now in Democrats’ court to put forward a plan after passing their own legislation.
“For all that we hear from our Senate friends, Martha, they’ve yet to pass anything,” Scalise said. “If they’ve got a better idea, I want to see that bill.”
He insisted the Republican legislation included “basic, commonsense” provisions such as work requirements for some recipients of federal aid as well as efforts to reduce “red tape, so we can promote American energy production.”
He pushed back on criticism from Coons and some veterans’ advocates that the GOP bill could harm veterans because it would reduce government spending. A letter last week, signed by two dozen groups, underlined that concern.
“Show me in the bill where it says any of those things. It doesn’t,” Scalise told Raddatz, adding, “The president doesn’t want to talk about what’s in the bill because, ultimately, we do things like reclaim unspent COVID money.”
Raddatz also asked Scalise about his relationship with McCarthy, who has privately described Scalise as ineffective, according to The New York Times.
“We have a very strong open relationship. We don’t always agree on everything, but we have a very candid relationship,” Scalise said. “I know palace intrigue sells papers.”
When asked about the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Scalise praised Trump’s record on the economy and foreign policy — but said he was not yet ready to announce his support for any particular hopeful.
“You’re gonna know what my announcement’s going to be in time. I’ve been focusing on our House agenda, and we’ve been moving a really strong agenda for the American people,” he said. “That’s what families want.”
(NEW YORK) — Thousands of guns — including numerous assault-style rifles and “ghost guns” — were surrendered in a single day over the weekend across the state of New York in exchange for gift cards, according to the state attorney general.
Describing it as a “landmark event,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office hosted and coordinated Saturday’s program, said more than 3,000 guns were surrendered at nine buyback locations throughout the state, including two in New York City.
In Syracuse, New York, where police crime statistics show a 133% jump in homicides in the first four months of this year compared to the same time frame last year, 751 firearms were turned over by community residents.
“Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers,” James said in a statement. “Every gun that we removed out of Syracuse homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.”
The buyback program came just days after Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said at a news conference that the ongoing proliferation of guns in his community is contributing to a rise in the city’s violent crime rate in the first quarter of the year.
“There are too many damn guns in this country. They’re everywhere. And we have too many states that are abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being sold safely,” Walsh said at the news conference. “And our federal government is abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being handled safely.”
In comparison to the weekend’s gun buyback program, Syracuse police officers have seized and removed 76 guns from the community this year compared to 55 at the same point last year, Walsh said. He said 90% of the guns seized by police are from out of state.
Officials said 90 guns were surrendered in the first three hours of the buyback program at the at the All Saints Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York.
“There’s a lot of firepower on this table,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, standing beside a table full of firearms turned over Saturday at the All Saints Church. “And each and every one of these guns is a potential life saved, and a non-fatal shooting avoided.”
In exchange for firearms with no questions asked, participants were given $500 gift cards for turning in assault-type rifles and untraceable “ghost guns.” People turning over handguns also received $500 gift cards for the first weapon surrendered and $150 give cards for each additional handgun.
Those surrendering other types of rifles and shotguns received $75 gift cards and $25 cards were given out for each non-working replica, antique or 3D printed gun.
