The U.S. at a glance ... NEWS^7
Washington, D.C.
Gun shy: President Trump phoned
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne
LaPierre this week and reportedly assured
him that universal background checks for
gun sales are “off the table,” reversing the
public stance he took after 31 people were
shot dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton,
Ohio. In the wake of those shootings,
Trump said, “Republicans and Democrats
must come together and get strong
background checks.” He reportedly told
LaPierre on Aug. 7 that people “will love
us” for enforcing background checks
on all gun purchases, including private
transactions—a bill House Democrats had
already approved. Yet the NRA pressured
Trump to oppose that bill, and he’s since
adopted their talking points, saying, “It is
not the gun that pulls the trigger, it is the
person holding the gun.” He also blamed
mental illness for gun violence, despite
having rolled back Obama-era regulations
making it more difficult for the mentally
ill to buy guns.New York City
More from the Mooch: As his falling out
with President Trump grew nastier this
week, former White House communica-
tions director Anthony Scaramucci prom-
ised to enlist former Cabinet officers in his
efforts to remove an “unstable” Trump
from office. The New York investor and
longtime Trump surrogate—who lasted
just 11 days in the White House—said
other former members of the administra-
tion share his view that Trump is unfit for
office. He urged them to “defy the culture
of fear” and go public with their con-
cerns. The goal, he said, was to build sup-
port for a primary challenge to the presi-
dent. “When you’re trying to deprogram
people from a cult, one of the first things
you have to do is allow them to change
their mind,” Scaramucci said. Trump
called Scaramucci a “nut job,” and some
Republicans accused Scaramucci of con-
triving a stunt to get his wife, Deidre, on
The Real Housewives of New York City.Ringle, Wis.
Fugitive: Jeremiah Button evaded authori-
ties for nearly four years, hiding deep
in the woods in a
self-made, solar-
powered bunker
before getting caught
Aug. 9, several
news organizations
reported this week.
Police marveled at
the hideout, dug
about 15 feet into
an embankment
and equipped with eight solar panels,
a tin-can chimney, and an antenna that
snaked down a tree to his flat-screen TV.
Charged with child sexual assault, incest,
and possession of child pornography,
Button fled his mother’s home in 2016
and traveled 150 miles to a remote state
park near a landfill, which he scoured
daily for food and supplies. Using books
on engineering, Button, 44, outfit-
ted the bunker with LED lights,
fans, and a bicycle-powered gen-
erator. When authorities arrived
after being alerted by a hunter,
Button said he considered
setting himself on fire. Yet he
became chatty with deputies,
telling them, “It was nice to
talk to some human beings.”New York City
Five years on: Daniel Pantaleo,
the police officer whose use
of a banned chokehold led
to Eric Garner’s death in
2014, was fired this week and
stripped of his pension benefits.
Police Commissioner James
O’Neill said that although
Pantaleo, 33, was right to
try to subdue Garner, 43,
who was confronted on a
Staten Island sidewalk on
suspicion of illegally selling
loose cigarettes, he should have switched
to a “less lethal” method. Garner had
been pushed against the ground with
Pantaleo’s arm around his neck when
he repeatedly gasped, “I can’t breathe.”
Police union president James Lynch stood
before an upside-down New York Police
Department flag and said O’Neill had
caved to “anti-police extremists,” leaving
cops “brokenhearted.” He called
on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to
remove Lynch and Mayor Bill
de Blasio. The Garner family
said the firing was long overdue
and that Pantaleo belongs in jail.
Federal and local prosecutors
had declined to charge Pantaleo, who
pledged to sue for reinstatement.Norwalk, Conn.; Daytona
Beach, Fla.; Youngstown, Ohio;
Chicago; Memphis
Stopping shootings: Five men were
arrested in separate incidents over the
past two weeks
for plotting mass
violence. In Ohio,
James Reardon, 20,
threatened to shoot
up a Youngstown
Jewish community
center. Reardon
attended the 2017
“Unite the Right”
rally in Virginia and spoke of wanting “a
homeland for white people.” In Florida,
authorities found 400 rounds of ammuni-
tion in the apartment of Tristan Wix, 25,
who had sent a text saying he wanted to
“break a world record for longest con-
firmed kill ever.” After Brandon Wagshol,
22, of Connecticut expressed interest on
Facebook in committing a mass shoot-
ing, police found military-style gear at his
home. Thomas McVicker, 38, allegedly
told a friend he planned to shoot up a
Memphis church. And Farhan Sheikh of
Chicago posted about plans “to slaughter
and murder” anyone at an abortion clinic.
He told FBI agents he was joking.Philadelphia
Standoff:
Police serving
a narcotics
warrant in a
row house last
week were
met with a
barrage of
bullets, spark-
ing a seven-hour gun battle. Police
Commissioner Richard Ross said it was
“nothing short of a miracle” that no
officers were killed, or even seriously
injured, after Maurice Hill fired more
than 100 rounds with an AR-15–style
rifle and handgun, grazing one officer
in the head and hitting five others. Hill,
36, has an extensive criminal history and
said during the standoff that he didn’t
want to return to prison. Two officers
and three other people were trapped in
Hill’s house for hours. At least 30 offi-
cers fired shots before using tear gas to
force Hill onto the street, his arms up
and a handgun still in his pocket. Hill,
father to a teenage son and a daughter
born two days before the standoff, now
faces multiple counts of attempted mur-
AP (4) der, among other charges.
Hid in a bunker PantaleoReardonPhiladelphia investigation