AirTalk dives into the latest on yesterday’s mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, including the threatening messages gunman Devin Kelley sent his mother-in-law, who attended the targeted church. We also parse through the political news you need to know this week and more.
Week in politics: Following President Trump’s Asia trip, fallout from memo on Clinton/DNC deal and more
President Trump is in the middle of a big trip through Asia with a focus on security, trade and strengthening diplomatic relations with some of the U.S.’s closest allies in the area.
After a short stop in Hawaii, President Trump flew to Tokyo over the weekend where he met with Japanese royalty as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to talk about trade as well as the Japanese-American alliance in facing the North Korean nuclear threat. We’ll look at the goals President Trump aims to accomplish during the trip and preview the other countries he’s slated to visit, including South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, where he’ll attend a political summit.
We’ve heard a lot about turmoil within the GOP in recent weeks, but the Democratic Party is dealing with internal issues of its own after an excerpt from former interim Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile’s forthcoming memoir was published last week. A memo has since surfaced detailing a deal between the DNC and Hillary For America (HFA) where the campaign agreed to help raise money in exchange for control over certain DNC decision-making. The excerpt has raised questions about just how much control the Clinton campaign had over the nomination process and what the impact might have been on then-candidate Bernie Sanders’ campaign.
We’ll also preview Tuesday’s highly-contested governor’s race in Virginia, explain how Special Counsel Robert Mueller has enough evidence to bring charges against former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and examine reports of ties between U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and companies with links to the Kremlin.
Guests:
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies; he is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets @RodStrategies
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets
Nomiki Konst, correspondent for The Young Turks Network and a former Bernie Sanders surrogate in 2016; currently sits on the DNC's Unity Reform Commission
New details emerge from Texas’ deadliest mass shooting in history
On Sunday, a gunman dressed in black opened fire outside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a small town about 30 miles east of San Antonio with a population of just under 500.
The gunman then entered into the church in the midst of its service and proceeded to spray bullets, killing 26 victims and injuring 20 others, the youngest victim now reported to be 18-months-old.
The shooter, who eventually killed himself after attempting to escape by car, has been identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, a resident of New Braunfels, Texas. But new details released by Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. have confirmed that the incident is a domestic issue and not racially motivated, although details surrounding the shooter’s motive are still unclear.
Kelley, a member of the U.S. Air Force before being court-martialed for assaulting his then wife and child, had sent threatening text messages to his ex-mother in law. She is a regular member of the church, but was not at Sunday's service.
We get the latest from two reporters on the scene in Sutherland Springs.
Guests:
Caleb Downs, crime reporter for San Antonio Express News who is in Sutherland Springs and following the story
Silvia Foster-Frau, reporter for the San Antonio Express News; she has been speaking to members of the church community; she tweets
Is the national conversation about sexual harassment changing your personal behavior?
As the reverberations of Weinstein’s sexual misconduct and the #MeToo campaign continue to spread, we want to know whether the national conversation has led you to reassess your own past behaviors.
Last month, Ben Affleck apologized for groping actress Hilarie Burton in 2003 and in an interview Sunday, he said he’s reevaluating his past actions and is now hoping to become a “part of the solution.” There have been calls in think pieces and social media to engage people, men especially, to call out sexual misconduct, in themselves and in others.
As more people share their stories via #MeToo, are you reconsidering jokes, comments or behaviors that you once thought harmless? Have you apologized to someone from your past or decided to start acting differently? If you’re a man, is the conversation about harassment changing the way you talk or call out behavior in your male-only circles?
Call us at 866-893-5722.