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Trump targeted, Springfield scapegoated and 'Shogun' sweeps

 
Today's NATIONAL story

FBI: Secret Service stops 2nd Trump assassination try

What happened
Donald Trump narrowly avoided what "appears to be an attempted assassination" yesterday afternoon at his golf club in Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said. A Secret Service agent scoping the course ahead of Trump fired several shots toward a rifle barrel the agent saw sticking out of bushes by the perimeter fence, prompting the gunman to drop his "AK-27-style" rifle and flee in his car, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters. Police apprehended the suspected gunman a while later.

Who said what
The Secret Service "significantly bolstered" Trump's protective detail after coming under "intense criticism" for failing to stop a gunman from firing at him in July, The New York Times said. The "beefed-up detail" may have "played a role" in foiling this plot, but "urgent problems" clearly remain "unresolved." The reported suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, is a self-employed builder with a criminal record and social media posts suggesting he's a soured former Trump supporter. 

Bradshaw said the gunman was about 400-500 meters from Trump, which is "not a long distance" with the rifle and targeting scope found at the scene. Because Trump isn't president, "security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible," he said. The agents "did a fantastic job," but next time "there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter." The Secret Service has "long viewed" golf courses as a "vulnerability," The Wall Street Journal said. The risks are "especially pronounced with Trump," who golfs often and mostly at "courses he owns."

Trump said in a fundraising email yesterday that "nothing will slow me down" and "I will never surrender!" Democratic leaders, including President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, condemned all "political violence." Harris said she was "deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt" and "thankful" Trump "is safe."

What next?
Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule. Biden said, and Harris reiterated, that the White House would "continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president's continued safety."

 
 
Today's POLITICS story

Ohio governor slams attacks on migrants

What happened
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said yesterday that recent Republican "garbage" about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield "needs to stop." Springfield Mayor Rob Rue (R) also criticized "federal politicians" who have "negatively spun" his Ohio city and its migrant residents. Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Donald Trump's running mate, defended spreading the baseless "cat meat" rumors.

Who said what
We known "the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal," they came to work, and they are "very good workers," DeWine told ABC's "This Week." "Frankly, that's helped the economy," but thanks to the misinformation "there are hate groups coming into Springfield." The city is "caught in a political vortex," Rue told Politico "We’ve had bomb threats the last two days. We've had personal threats the last two days, and it's increasing, because the national stage is swirling this up." Pets, he added, "are safe in Springfield."

Ohioans are "telling me that this happened," Vance told CNN. But "if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I’m going to do because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast." Following last week's grade school evacuations and hospital lockdowns, Springfield's Wittenberg University and Clark State College canceled in-person classes this week due to threats of violence.

What next?
“We talk about abortion, we lose. We talk about immigration, we win," a Trump adviser told Marc Caputo at The Bulwark. If that takes spreading baseless incendiary stories, "we'll take the hit to prove the bigger point." While the campaign is "not displeased" by the criticism, Caputo said, it's gambling the "pet-eating story becomes centered on immigration," not "the GOP ticket whipping up fear with exaggerations and fabrications."

 
 
Today's Culture Story

'Shogun' dominates Emmys, 'Hacks' surprises

What happened
"Shogun," a big-budget FX show about feudal Japan, won a record 18 Emmys last night, including for best drama, beating the 13 awards HBO's "John Adams" miniseries took in 2008. In a surprise upset, "Hacks" beat "The Bear" for best comedy. "Shogun" stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai took best lead actor awards in a drama, while "Hacks" star Jean Smart won best actress in a comedy.

Who said what
"Shogun" co-creator and showrunner Justin Marks "expressed awe" in his acceptance speech, Variety said, marveling that Disney's FX "green-lit a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition." But the only "major" surprise at the Emmys was the "Hacks" win, The New York Times said. After "The Bear" set a record for most nominations in Emmy history in July, there was "mounting frustration" that a "tense workplace series that takes place in a Chicago's dining scene was even eligible in the comedy awards."

"In the true spirit of 'The Bear,' we will not be making any jokes," host Eugene Levy quipped at the top of the ceremony. The series still won 11 awards, topping the 10 comedy wins it notched at the last Emmys — held only eight months ago due to the Hollywood strikes.

What next?
The Emmys in January had "just over 4 million viewers, the lowest ever recorded," the Times said. The producers of Sunday's broadcast "were hopeful for a turnaround."

 
 

It's not all bad

A new ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence model designed by Harvard Medical School researchers can help diagnose cancer. Current AI tools are able to execute singular tasks on a few cancer types, and "by contrast, the new model can perform a wide array of tasks and was tested on 19 cancer types," said The Harvard Gazette. This model, called CHIEF (Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation), had nearly 94% accuracy in cancer detection.

 
 
Under the radar

Texas is set to become the first U.S. state to execute someone convicted for causing a brain injury called shaken baby syndrome. The state's top criminal court declined to stop the October 17 execution of Robert Roberson, even after his legal team argued that the cause of his victim's death, now known as abusive head trauma (AHT), was based on since-debunked pseudoscience. And while Texas passed a first-of-its-kind "junk science law" a decade ago, no death row inmates have benefitted from it yet.

Roberson has maintained his innocence since being convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals previously halted his execution in 2016 and sent his case back to lower court after the "scientific consensus around shaken baby syndrome diagnoses came into question," said The Texas Tribune. 

That was three years after Texas passed a law allowing courts to overturn convictions if the "scientific evidence used to reach a verdict has since changed or been discredited." But in 2023, the top criminal court upheld Roberson's death sentence and in July, set his new execution date.

Child abuse specialists once assumed bleeding in the brain, brain swelling and retinal hemorrhages were proof that someone violently shook a child. However, several studies in the 2000s and 2010s "challenged the assumption that the triad of AHT symptoms was conclusive evidence of child abuse," said Reason. 

Norman Guthkelch, the pediatric neurosurgeon who popularized the diagnosis in 1971, said in a 2012 paper he was "struck by the high proportion" of cases where the deceased likely had a "natural or congenital, rather than abusive," problem.

 
 
On this day

September 16, 1620

The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, headed for the New World. The ship carried a group of about 135 exiled Puritans known as the Pilgrims. The trip across the Atlantic took just over a month, and the Pilgrims established the Plymouth Colony in modern-day Massachusetts upon their arrival in North America.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Most U.S. newspapers on Monday lead with the gunman scared off as Donald Trump golfed at his Palm Beach club yesterday. "Apparent assassination bid targets Trump," The Boston Globe says. "Trump unharmed after shots fired," The New York Times says. "AGAIN!" the New York Post says. USA Today, however, focuses its front page on "hope in America," based on polling that shows "we're optimistic about everything except our politics." The Washington Post says that "for Afghan women, new laws erode hopes" under Taliban crackdown.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Help finding the exit

Japanese workers are turning to a "resignation agency" called Momuri to help them quit their jobs. Momuri, which translates to "I can’t do this anymore," offers its services for $154. The agency pledges to help employees resign, negotiate with their companies and provide advice for lawyers if disputes arise. "Some people come to us after having their resignation letter ripped [up] three times and employers not letting them quit even when they kneel down to the ground to bow," Momuri's Shiori Kawamata said to CNN.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Joe Raedle / Getty Images; Allison Joyce / Getty Images; Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images; Gwengoat / Getty Images