Almost immediately, three media narratives emerged.
One, semiautomatic weapons, not the killer Audrey Hale, were mostly responsible for the massacre.
Read MoreCommentary: Weaponizing Death
Tag: Death
Longtime Arizona Legislator, Husband, and Father: Rick Murphy Dies at Age 50
Rick Murphy, who represented the areas around Glendale and Peoria in the Arizona Legislature from 2005 to 2014, passed away on Thursday, leaving behind his wife, Penny Murphy, their five children, and many foster children. Born with hemophilia, he received a tainted blood transfusion as a child that led to hepatitis and finally liver disease, which ultimately took his life at age 50.
Read MoreArizona Citizens Defense League’s Founding President and Chief Lobbyist Dave Kopp Has Died
Dave Kopp, the longtime lobbyist and founding president of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), a Second Amendment organization in Arizona, passed away at age 56.
Kopp fought cancer for 12 years but succumbed to the illness on August 24. Several people in the Arizona gun industry told The Arizona Sun Times Kopp was responsible for transforming Arizona into the top-ranked state for Second Amendment-friendly laws.
Read MoreWisconsin Child Likely Died of Fentanyl Poisoning, Officials Say
Officials are investigating a recent death of a five-year-old child, indicating the young individual likely died of fentanyl poisoning.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office provided an update on the case after the child was found dead last week.
Read MoreWisconsin Gov. Evers Vetoes Riot Penalties, School Choice Enrollment Boost, PFC Changes
A lawsuit contends negligence on the part of Grand Ledge Public Schools caused the death of a Michigan fourth grader.
Attorney Steve Kallman filed the suit Tuesday on behalf of the family of Malachi Williams. The suit alleges the school district is at fault for the death of the 9-year-old student.
Williams died after he was struck by a GLPS school bus while riding his bicycle in a crosswalk in front of the school at 3:17 p.m. on May 17, 2021.
Read MoreDoctors Sue California for Threatening to Punish Them for not Facilitating Assisted Suicide
California doctors who object to assisted suicide are fighting an amended state law that implicates them in their patients’ intentional deaths.
They are suing California officials, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Department of Public Health Director Tomas Aragon, and Medical Board members to block SB 380, which made it easier for patients to commit suicide under the End of Life Options Act that took effect in 2016.
The original law issued a broad exemption for healthcare providers, granting them a liability shield for “refusing to inform” patients about their right to physician-assisted suicide and “not referring” patients to physicians who will assist in their suicides.
Read MoreHead of Atlanta’s Transit System Kills Self by Stepping in Front of Commuter Train
The top executive of Atlanta’s MARTA transit system has died by suicide after stepping in front of a commuter train, officials said.
Jeffery Parker, 55, the CEO and general manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority since 2018, was hailed by MARTA Board Chairwoman Rita Scott as a dedicated civil servant and leader in a statement Saturday announcing his death.
Read More‘He Knew How to Fight’: European Parliament President Dies at 65
David Sassoli, president of the European Union’s parliament, died in a hospital on Tuesday at the age of 65 after months of poor health, the Associated Press reported.
Sassoli, a socialist and former Italian journalist, had been hospitalized since late December 2021 due to abnormal immune system functioning, his spokesperson said, the AP reported. He had been struggling with poor health since he became ill with pneumonia due to the legionella bacteria in September.
European Council President Charles Michel said Sassoli was a “sincere and passionate European. We already miss his human warmth, his generosity, his friendliness and his smile,” the AP reported.
Read MoreCommentary: Police Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt was Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing Without Interview
When U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd went on “NBC Nightly News” to tell his side of shooting and killing unarmed Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt, he made a point to note he’d been investigated by several agencies and exonerated for his actions that day.
“There’s an investigative process [and] I was cleared by the DOJ [Department of Justice], and FBI and [the D.C.] Metropolitan Police,” he told NBC News anchor Lester Holt in August, adding that the Capitol Police also cleared him of wrongdoing and decided not to discipline or demote him for the shooting.
Byrd then answered a series of questions by Holt about the shooting, but what he told the friendly journalist, he likely never told investigators. That’s because he refused to answer their questions, according to several sources and documents reviewed by RealClearInvestigations.
Read MoreBob Saget, 65, Dies in Orlando Hotel Room
Comedian Bob Saget passed away Sunday at the age of 65 in an Orlando, Florida hotel room, TMZ reports.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reports that detectives on the scene “found no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”
Ritz-Carlton Hotel security reportedly found Saget in his room and called emergency personel. Saget was pronounced dead on the scene, and his death is still under investigation.
Saget is remembered for starring as host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and as father Danny Tanner in “Full House.”
Read MoreFormer Sheriff Slams Walz for ‘Apathetic’ Response to Record Homicides
In 1995, Minneapolis saw a record-setting 97 homicides. Operating by the strict definition of a homicide as an event where one person intentionally kills another, there were 97 homicides in the city last year.
The final homicide of 2021 occurred just hours before the new year as a 15-year-old boy was gunned down in north Minneapolis. No arrests have been made. The shooters are believed to have fired from a vehicle.
Some homicides, like the killing of Winston Smith in June, were justified and non-criminal. Technicalities aside, most share a concern about the high number of murders in 2021.
Read MoreHarry Reid, Former Democrat Senate Leader, Dead at 82
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid died Tuesday at his home at the age of 82.
The Democratic lawmaker from Nevada served as majority leader from 2007 to 2015.
His death was confirmed by The Nevada Independent CEO Jon Ralston.
Read MoreFootball Legend John Madden Dies Unexpectedly at 85
Pro-Football Hall of Fame coach John Madden died unexpectedly Tuesday morning at the age of 85, the NFL reported.
“We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, adding that he sends his condolences to Madden’s family.
“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today,” Goodell concluded.
Read MoreFormer Georgia US Sen Johnny Isakson Has Died
Former Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, died Sunday morning at 76.
Isakson’s death was confirmed by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who called the former senator one of Georgia’s “greatest statesmen.”
“As a businessman and gifted retail politician, Johnny paved the way for the modern Republican Party in Georgia, but he never let partisan politics get in the way of doing what was right,” Kemp said.
Read MoreFormer Michigan Senator Carl Levin Dead at 87
Former Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat who served 36 years and rose to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, died Thursday at the age of 87.
The Levin Center at Wayne State University in Detroit announced his death Thursday night, describing him as “a dearly beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, and life-long public servant.”
His six Senate terms are the most that any Michigan senator has served.
Read MoreCommentary: Naming the Capitol Police Officer Who Killed Unarmed January 6 Rioter Ashli Babbitt
Most police departments — including Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police — are required to release an officer’s name within days of a fatal shooting. Not the U.S. Capitol Police, which is controlled by Congress and answers only to Congress. It can keep the public in the dark about the identity and investigation of an officer involved in a shooting indefinitely.
Which is what happened with the Jan. 6 shooting of Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed protester in the U.S. Capitol riot who was fatally wounded by a plainclothes police lieutenant as she attempted to breach a set of doors inside the building.
For the past six months, as Congress has proposed legislation to reform police departments across the country, the Capitol Police has stiff-armed government watchdogs, journalists and even lawyers for Babbitt, who have sought the identity of the officer and additional details about the shooting. The USCP still refuses to release his name, in stark contrast to recent high-profile police shootings around the nation.
Read MoreCommentary: What Greek Epics and Their Teachings on the Special Relationship Between Fathers and Sons
Father’s Day inspires mixed emotions for many of us. Looking at advertisements of happy families could recall difficult memories and broken relationships for some. But for others, the day could invite unbidden nostalgic thoughts of parents who have long since died.
As a scholar of ancient Greek poetry, I find myself reflecting on two of the most powerful paternal moments in Greek literature. At the end of Homer’s classic poem, “The Iliad,” Priam, the king of Troy, begs his son’s killer, Achilles, to return the body of Hektor, the city’s greatest warrior, for burial. Once Achilles puts aside his famous rage and agrees, the two weep together before sharing a meal, Priam lamenting the loss of his son while Achilles contemplates that he will never see his own father again.
The final book of another Greek classic, “The Odyssey,” brings together a father and son as well. After 10 years of war and as many traveling at sea, Odysseus returns home and goes through a series of reunions, ending with his father, Laertes. When Odysseus meets his father, however, he doesn’t greet him right away. Instead, he pretends to be someone who met Odysseus and lies about his location.
Read MoreColumbus Lobbyist Charged for Participation in $60 Million Bribery Scheme Found Dead
A Columbus lobbyist facing charges in a $60 million bribery scheme to pass a bill in the Ohio legislature was found dead earlier this week.
Read MoreFirst Person in ICE Detention Dies of Coronavirus Complications
A 57-year-old man from El Salvador became the first individual in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to die from COVID-19 complications.
Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia passed away early Wednesday morning after being hospitalized and on a ventilator for roughly a week, The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported. Escobar Mejia, a detainee at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, was one of hundreds of individuals in ICE custody who have contracted the novel coronavirus.
Read MoreLeahy and Carmichael Discuss Coronavirus Induced Economic Trends and Speculate the Recovery Timeline and Numbers
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast live from Music Row on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by the all-star panelist Crom Carmichael.
During the second hour, Leahy and Carmichael discussed the recent announcement made by Dr. Fauci where he referenced models and how they expect to see a sharp decline on the V graph by end of the second quarter and then a gradual increase by third quarters end.
Read MoreMichigan Reporting 336 Cases of Coronavirus, First Death
Michigan is now reporting its first death from the coronavirus in addition to a rising total of 336 confirmed cases.
Read MoreAttorney General William Barr on Epstein Death: ‘Any Co-Conspirators Should Not Rest Easy’
Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he was “appalled” by Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide over the weekend, but urged that the millionaire pedophile’s co-conspirators “should not rest easy.”
Read MoreThe Tennessee Star Report: Neil McCabe on the Death of Legendary Pollster Patrick Cadell
On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to One America News Networks Neil McCabe about the recent and unexpected death of good friend…
Read MoreJohn Bogle, Founder of Vanguard, Dies at 89
John C. Bogle, who simplified investing for the masses by launching the first index mutual fund and founded Vanguard Group, died Wednesday, the company said. He was 89. Bogle did not invent the index fund, but he expanded access to no-frills, low-cost investing in 1976 when Vanguard introduced the first…
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