When ‘It Could Never Possibly Happen Here’ Isn’t an Option
The New York Times
A mass shooting inside a suburban Memphis grocery store was called “the most horrific event that has occurred in Collierville history.” But it was one the town had prepared for.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. — A gunman opened fire in a suburban supermarket, and employees and customers immediately sought cover, barricading themselves in freezers and behind pallets of merchandise. Police officers swept in, employing lessons still fresh from training in June. Firefighters followed, shielding themselves in ballistic gear their department bought three years ago in anticipation of a moment like this.
“We wanted to prepare,” Buddy Billings, the fire chief in Collierville, Tenn., told reporters on Friday, a day after one person was killed and 14 others were wounded in the shooting inside of a Kroger store, by a gunman who the authorities say then killed himself.
The aftermath of the shooting about 30 miles outside of Memphis has underscored a grim reality: Gunfire interrupting the rhythms of everyday American life has become far less shocking as the country has confronted recurring bloodshed in schools, workplaces and churches.
Bored troops are standing watch, shelters have emptied from McAllen, Texas, to Tucson, Ariz., and border patrols speed through miles of frontier, finding no one in sight.
Spending that the White House does not like is being labeled fraudulent. At the same time, President Trump is rolling back anticorruption efforts and ethical standards for himself and allies like Elon Musk.
The remains of Edwin Echevarria, 65, were found floating in the East River on Feb. 5. His roommate, Christian Millet, 23, has been charged with second degree murder.
Even as they praise the president’s unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents.
The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday. Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat.
A lawsuit appears to be the first challenge to the constitutionality of an executive order barring trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The comptroller’s office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the federal agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city’s accounts.
The executive order would ban citizenship for children born in the United States to foreign workers on visas that often lead to permanent residency.
The Trump administration’s order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams was the most pronounced example of the president using his power to determine the city’s future.
President Trump had already pardoned his adviser in a similar federal case, which accused him of skimming money from donations to build a southern border barrier.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for companies that operate in the United States to pay foreign government officials to secure or keep business deals.
Representative Dan Goldman’s support may help Mr. Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, to emerge from a pack of progressive Democrats.
The new tone of the department, current and former officials say, appears to promise a campaign of intimidation against career employees viewed as insufficiently loyal.