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Gunman slays at least 58 in Las Vegas shooting, deadliest in US history

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People carry a peson at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)
Updated 02 October 2017
Arab News
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Gunman slays at least 58 in Las Vegas shooting, deadliest in US history

Updated 02 October 2017
Arab News

At least 58 people have been killed and more than 515 injured after a gunman opened fire at a 22,000-strong audience of Country music fans attending a festival in Las Vegas - before killing himself police said.
The death toll, which police emphasized was preliminary and tentative, would make the attack the deadliest mass shooting in US history, eclipsing last year’s massacre of 49 people at an Orlando night club.
The gunman was identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a local resident, who killed himself after first carrying out the massacre.

There were 22,000 people at the concert that was being held at an outdoor area known as Las Vegas Village, across the Strip from the Mandalay Bay and the Luxor hotels.
Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told an early morning press conference the gunfire came from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, where the Paddock was found dead.
A federal law enforcement official told USA Today that they found a cache of weapons inside the hotel room where Paddock died, where investigators believe he carried out the massacre.
Police have said they do not believe this was an act of terror, but media have described Paddock as “alt-left” and anti-Trump.
Paddock shot himself before police entered the hotel room he was firing from, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters.
Earlier reports indicated that Paddock, who had more than 10 rifles in his hotel room, had been shot by police.
The suspected shooter's brother, Eric Paddock, said the family was stunned by the news.

“We have no idea. We’re horrified. We’re bewildered and our condolences go out to the victims,” Eric Paddock said in a brief telephone interview, his voice trembling. “We have no idea in the world.”
Lombardo said the suspect acted alone and was not believed to be connected to any militant group.
“We have no idea what his belief system was,” he said. “Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static.”
Initially Lombardo said police were interested in his traveling companion, who was also described as his roommate. He named the woman as Marilou Danley. But gave no details of whether she was suspected of involvement in the attack but described her as an “associate.”
It was later suggested in media reports that she had been located. Authorities later on Monday said they no longer regarded her as related to the case, CNN and Fox News reported, citing police sources.
“We are pretty confident there is no longer a threat other than we are attempting to locate the person of interest.
“It’s an ongoing investigation. Right now, we believe he is the sole aggressor at this point.”
US President Donald Trump tweeted his response hours after the incident had happened, offering his condolences to the victims and families of the shooting.

The dead included one off-duty police officer, Lombardo said. Two on-duty officers were injured, including one who was in stable condition after surgery and one who sustained minor injuries, Lombardo said. Police warned the death toll may rise.
Police are still finding people who had taken cover during the attack, Lombardo said. "It's going to take time for us to get through the evacuation phase," Lombardo said.
Police had swarmed the Las Vegas strip late Sunday following reports of multiple shots fired from the Mandalay Bay casino, police and US media reported.
Best-selling country singer Jason Aldean was on stage at the time of the shooting which came towards the end of the concert.
Video footage circulating on social media showed a large crowd enjoying a concert as part of the Route 91 country music festival just outside the casino before what sounded like volleys of automatic gunfire halted the performance.
“We were watching the concert having a great time, then we heard what sounded like firecrackers,” witness Joe Pitz told the local Las Vegas Sun news outlet.
“I guess it was an automatic weapon going off but it literally sounded like firecrackers… Then soon enough there was commotion on the Mandalay Bay side of the stage. They were motioning for medics to come and safety people to come and Jason Aldean ran off the stage.
“Everybody in the vicinity went down. I don't know if they were ducking or if they were but it was chaos.”
A shocked Aldean told his fans via Instagram that he and his band was safe.
“Tonight has been beyond horrific,” the singer wrote.
“I still dont know what to say ... My Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight.
“It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night.”

In the Twitter footage as people begin to realize what is happening, some crouch down on the ground, while others start to flee.
Police had earlier said they were investigating reports of an active shooter near the Mandalay Bay Casino.
Witnesses speaking to CNN described the scene. “We heard (what) sounded like a glass breaking, so you looked around to see what’s going on and then heard a pop, pop, pop,” Monique Dekerf said. “You’d think for a moment okay we’re fine, there’s no more gunfire, then it starts again.”
Another told the network that it sounded like the “shots were coming from the right side ... it sounded like they were right beside us too ... it was right there.”
This video captured the moment gunshots were heard as the band performed live on stage. First there appears to be confusion as the music suddenly stops, then more gunfire can be heard.

One Twitter user posted that the casino hotel was on lockdown, while another, citing police scanners, said two gunmen who had shot at a bodyguard and police were on the 32nd floor.
Video clips posted online showed what sounded like automatic weapons as panicked concertgoers fled, dropped to the ground screaming.
Witnesses heard numerous gunshots at the hotel, where police tactical teams were searching for the attacker, according to reports on CNN and in the New York Times.

Flights at Mccarran International Airport were temporarily halted after the reported shooting, the airport said on Twitter.
Police have said multiple casualties have been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.
In this video posted on Twitter people can be seen lying on the ground as bursts of gunfire can be heard.
As people try to flee another burst and people dive to the ground.

Heavy machine gun fire can be heard on mobile phone footage posted on Twitter.

Further video footage appears to show victims being carried out on makeshift stretchers as a woman in a vehicle is asked to help take the wounded to hospital.

 
(With Reuters, AFP and AP)

Topics: crime Las Vegas United States Stephen Paddock alt-left mass murderer

US Senate Republicans pass measure to move forward on Trump’s tax cuts

Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
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US Senate Republicans pass measure to move forward on Trump’s tax cuts

  • House Republicans now must weigh Senate’s work
  • Plunging stock market hovers over fiscal outlook
Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The US Senate approved a Republican budget blueprint early on Saturday that aims to extend trillions of dollars worth of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and sharply reduce government spending.
The 51-48 vote, following a late-night legislative session, unlocks a maneuver called budget reconciliation that will allow Republicans to bypass the Senate’s filibuster — a rule that imposes a 60-vote threshold on most legislation — and pass Trump’s tax, border security and military priorities later this year without Democratic votes.
“Tonight, the Senate took one small step toward reconciliation and one giant leap toward making the tax cuts permanent, securing the border, providing much-needed help for the military and finally cutting wasteful Washington spending,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said.
Two Republicans — Senators Susan Collins and Rand Paul — joined Democrats in opposing the measure.
The Senate’s action sent the measure on to the Republican-led House of Representatives, which is expected to take it up next week.
Non-partisan analysts say the Trump agenda, if enacted, would add about $5.7 trillion to the federal government’s debt over the next decade. Senate Republicans contend the cost is $1.5 trillion, saying that the effects of extending existing tax policy that was scheduled to expire at the end of this year should not be counted in the measure’s cost.
The measure also aims to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling by $5 trillion, a move Congress has to make by summer or risk defaulting on $36.6 trillion in debt. It aims to partly offset the deficit-raising costs of tax cuts by cutting spending. Democrats have warned that Republican targets would imperil the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income Americans.
Republicans warned that allowing the 2017 tax cuts to expire would hit Americans hard, imposing a 22 percent tax hike on the average taxpayer. The cuts, Trump’s signature legislative achievement of his first term, reduced the top corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, a move that is not set to expire.
The remainder of the cuts, for individual Americans, were set to expire, a decision made to limit the 2017 bill’s deficit-raising effects.
“Donald Trump has betrayed the American people. Tonight, Senate Republicans joined him in that betrayal. In voting for this bill, Senate Republicans sided with billionaires against the middle class, in total obeisance to Donald Trump,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said after the vote.

BRUTAL SELL-OFF
Hanging over the debate, which began late on Thursday, was a brutal stock market sell-off following Trump’s sweeping new trade tariffs, which economists warned will drive up prices and could trigger a recession.
Some Republicans said economic uncertainty could slow the path forward for Trump’s agenda if market weakness continues.
“My concern is, if we are having the kind of conversation today three weeks from now, then the distraction will be so great that it will slow down what we try to do,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters.
During a six-hour “vote-a-rama” session to consider amendments, Senate Republicans altered the blueprint to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund to help protect Medicaid and the Medicare health care program for the elderly.
Republicans also turned away dozens of Democratic amendments aimed at rescinding Trump trade tariffs and protecting Medicaid, Medicare, nutrition support for low-income women and children, the Social Security retirement system, veterans benefits and other government assistance.
Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Josh Hawley and Collins backed Democratic measures to safeguard social safety-net programs, but their support was not enough.
If House Republicans get their way, Congress could enact $2 trillion in spending cuts by overhauling Medicaid and food assistance programs and by eliminating popular environmental policies.
The budget blueprint would also make room for tighter security measures along the US border with Mexico, fund administration efforts to significantly ramp up immigrant deportations and bolster US military readiness. 

Topics: Trump Returns

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Thousands rally for South Korea’s impeached ex-president Yoon

Updated 13 min 12 sec ago
AFP
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Thousands rally for South Korea’s impeached ex-president Yoon

  • The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Friday to remove Yoon over the December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule
Updated 13 min 12 sec ago
AFP

SEOUL: Thousands protested in the South Korean capital Saturday in support of disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office a day earlier over his bungled martial law declaration.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on Friday to remove Yoon over the December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, triggering fresh elections to be held by June after months of political turmoil.
A long wait for the court’s ruling had heightened tensions in the Asian nation, fueling far-right support for Yoon and weekly rival rallies in capital Seoul.
His supporters took to the streets in the capital and braved the rain on Saturday, chanting “impeachment is invalid!” and “nullify the snap election!“
“The Constitutional Court’s decision destroyed our country’s free democracy,” said protester Yang Joo-young, 26.
“Speaking as someone in my 20s or 30s, I’m deeply worried about the future.”
Yoon had defended his martial law attempt as necessary to root out “anti-state forces” and what he claimed were threats from North Korea.
But there were many scenes of jubilation in Seoul on Friday from those opposed to Yoon’s rule, with people hugging and crying after the ruling was delivered.
Yet Yoon had found backing from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers who experts say used misinformation to court support for the former star prosecutor.
“Yoon’s presidency has revealed the societal cracks based on political polarization and misinformation,” Minseon Ku, a postdoctoral fellow at William & Mary Global Research Institute, told AFP.
The court ruled that Yoon’s actions in December had posed a “grave threat” to the country’s stability.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is seen as the frontrunner in the next election, experts say, and his party has taken a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea.
Some Yoon supporters were worried about the prospect of a Lee presidency.
“I honestly believe South Korea is finished,” said pro-Yoon supporter Park Jong-hwan, 59.
“It feels like we’ve already transitioned into a socialist, communist state.”

Topics: South Korea Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

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India’s Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

Updated 05 April 2025
Reuters
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India’s Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

  • Indian official says both leaders discussed Bangladesh’s request for Hasina Wajid’s extradition
  • Public opinion in Bangladesh has soured over India’s sheltering of the former prime minister
Updated 05 April 2025
Reuters

BANGKOK/NEW DELHI: India’s prime minister urged Bangladesh’s interim leader to avoid rhetoric that marred bilateral relations during their first meeting on Friday since the ouster of Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, India’s foreign ministry said.
Relations between the South Asian neighbors, which were robust under Hasina, have deteriorated since she fled the country last August, in the face of massive student-led protests, and sought shelter in India.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who took over as the chief adviser of an interim government in Dhaka after Hasina’s exit, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday on the fringes of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.
“Prime Minister (Modi) urged ... that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided,” India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters.
“(Modi) reiterated India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh,” Misri said, adding that the Indian leader had also stressed New Delhi’s desire for “a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism.”
Bangladesh described the 40-minute exchange between the two leaders as “candid, productive, and constructive.”
Yunus told Modi that Bangladesh wanted to work with him to set the relationship on the right track for the benefit of both countries, Yunus’s press office said in a statement.
Public opinion in Bangladesh has turned against India, in part over its decision to provide sanctuary to Hasina. New Delhi has not responded to Dhaka’s request to send her home for trial.
‘ATROCITIES’
The two leaders discussed Bangladesh’s request seeking Hasina’s extradition, Misri said, without elaborating further.
“She has consistently made false and inflammatory accusations against the interim government of Bangladesh,” the statement from Bangladesh quoted Yunus as saying.
Yunus requested New Delhi take appropriate measures to restrain Hasina from making incendiary remarks while she remained in India, said the statement, adding that Modi said India did not support any particular party in Bangladesh.
India’s Misri said Modi had asked Yunus to help maintain border security and stability, and expressed his hope that Bangladesh would thoroughly investigate all cases of “atrocities” committed against people from minority groups, including Hindus.
India has repeatedly urged Bangladesh to protect its minority Hindus, saying they were being targeted in the Muslim-majority country since Yunus took charge. Dhaka says the violence has been exaggerated and is not a communal issue.
“The hope would be that this meeting would start the process of rebuilding some engagement,” said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think-tank.
“I think at this point, simply stabilizing the relationship perhaps should be the priority.”
With longstanding cultural and business ties, the two nations share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border. India also played a key role in the 1971 war with its rival Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Modi and Yunus met on the sidelines of a summit in Bangkok of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, a grouping that also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Topics: india bangladesh Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Trump dismisses stock market’s tariff plunge, says ‘China played it wrong’ by hitting back

Updated 05 April 2025
AFP
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Trump dismisses stock market’s tariff plunge, says ‘China played it wrong’ by hitting back

  • Says critics got it all wrong, even as the Fed warned that the tariffs could lead to “higher inflation and lower growth”
  • “This is a great time to get rich,” he wrote on social media, adding, “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!”
Updated 05 April 2025
AFP

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump goaded China on Friday after the US’s chief economic rival retaliated against his tariffs, and he dismissed falling stock markets over the growing global trade war, touting it as a chance to “get rich.”
“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do!” Trump posted on Truth Social, writing the message in his trademark all-caps.
For a second day, markets plunged, wiping vast sums off investment and retirement portfolios alike. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned the tariffs were likely to spur “higher inflation and lower growth.”

 

Wall Street went into free fall, following similar collapses in Asia and Europe. The Dow Jones dropped 5.5 percent and the S&P 5.97 percent.
Trump, who unveiled his barrage of import duties against dozens of countries Wednesday, was unrepentant, posting that “my policies will never change.”
“This is a great time to get rich,” he wrote.
The 78-year-old Republican, who was spending a long weekend golfing at his course in Palm Beach, Florida, is banking on the theory that the might of the world’s biggest economy will force foreign companies to manufacture on US soil, rather than continue to import goods.
“ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!” Trump touted in yet another Truth Social post Friday.

China, however, responded by announcing its own new 34 percent tariffs on US imports starting April 10.
Beijing said it would sue the United States at the World Trade Organization and also restrict export of rare earth elements used in high-end medical and electronics technology.
Other big US trading partners held back as they digested the unfolding international standoff and fears of a recession.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the EU, which Trump hit with a 20 percent tariff, will act in “a calm, carefully phased, unified way” and allow time for talks.
However, he also warned the bloc “won’t stand idly by.”

EU leaders mull retaliation
France and Germany have said the 27-nation EU could respond by imposing a tax on US tech companies.
Economy Minister Eric Lombard urged French companies to show “patriotism” after President Emmanuel Macron argued it would send the wrong message if they pressed ahead with investments in the United States.
Lombard said the EU’s retaliation would not necessarily involve tit-for-tat tariffs and could use other tools, pointing to data exchange and taxes instead.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for a “calm-headed” approach after Trump slapped 24 percent tariffs on Japanese-made goods.
Trump said he’d had a “very productive” call with Vietnam’s top leader after the southeast Asian manufacturing hub was hit with extraordinary 46 percent US duties.
Separate US tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-made cars went into effect this week, and Canada swiftly responded with a similar levy on US imports.
Stellantis — the owner of Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat — paused production at some Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.
But Japanese carmaker Nissan said on Friday it would revise plans to reduce production in the United States. And Sweden’s Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, said it would increase its US production.

“Messing around with people’s lives”
Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar lashed out at the tariffs, saying they would hurt regular Americans.
Trump is “messing around with people’s lives... while he’s out golfing!” she said.

 

And there was rare criticism from the right too, with Trump loyalist Republican Senator Ted Cruz worrying that the tariffs could “hurt jobs and hurt America.”
The Fed chairman’s speech also highlighted concerns that the tariff shockwaves will reach deep into the US economy.
But minutes before Powell suggested the Fed will continue to hold off from cutting its benchmark lending rate, Trump pressured him to do so.
“CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!” he posted — once again defying the longstanding custom in which the White House respects the central bank’s independence.
In a more concrete sign of how tariffs are impacting trade, Nintendo announced it was delaying preorders of its hotly anticipated Switch 2 gaming console while it assesses “evolving” conditions.
 

Topics: Trump Returns Trump tariffs China-US trade war

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Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party over Israel contract

Updated 05 April 2025
AP
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Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party over Israel contract

  • An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon
Updated 05 April 2025
AP

WASHINGTON: A pro-Palestinian protest by Microsoft employees interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration Friday, the latest backlash over the tech industry’s work to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military.
The protest happened as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was presenting product updates and a long-term vision for the company’s AI assistant product, Copilot, to an audience that included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” shouted Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad as she walked toward the stage and Suleyman paused his speech. “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”

 pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a kufiyyeh as they interrupt Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of a 50th Anniversary presentation at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash. (AP)

“Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” Suleyman said. Aboussad continued, shouting that he and “all of Microsoft” had blood on their hands. She also threw onto the stage a keffiyeh scarf, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people, before being escorted out of the event.
A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted another part of the celebration during which Gates, Ballmer and current CEO Satya Nadella were on stage — the first public gathering since 2014 of the three men who have been Microsoft’s CEO.
An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The story also contained details of an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that struck a vehicle carrying members of a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.
In February, five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for protesting the contracts. While the February event was an internal meeting, Friday’s protest was far more public — a livestreamed showcase of the company’s past and future.
“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard,” said a statement from the company Friday. “Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
Microsoft declined to say whether it would take further action.

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza USA Microsoft

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