A South L.A. woman says rats have infested her home, and her landlord is not offering to help get rid of them.
Kacey Montoya reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on Feb. 28, 2017.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2017
2 Killed in Fullerton Crash When Car Loses Control, Crashes into Tree: Police
Two people were killed Tuesday night when a car crashed into a tree in Fullerton, police said.
Two people were killed on Feb. 28, 2017 when a car crashed into a tree in Fullerton. (Credit: OC Hawk)
The deadly crash happened about 8:43 p.m. at the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Euclid Street. A 2006 black Lexus lost control and struck the tree, killing the driver and passenger, the Fullerton Police Department said in a news release.
Investigators says speed may have contributed to the deadly crash.
A witness told investigators the Lexus was traveling at a high rate of speed, police said.
The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Fullerton Police Traffic Bureau at 714-738-5313.
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Family Members of 14-Year-Old Elias Rodriguez Say His Parents Finally Have Closure
The parents of Elias Rodriguez, the 14-year-old boy who went missing nearly two weeks ago when a massive storm hit the area, received closure Tuesday as the body found in the Los Angeles River was confirmed to be their son.
Candles and balloons were placed at a memorial in honor of Elias Rodriguez on Feb. 27, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
Family members, friends and community members who hoped and prayed Elias, who was last seen on Feb. 17, would be found gathered Tuesday to pay their respects, light candles and mourn the teenager's passing.
"He was always helping people and was just a really kind-hearted person, so it just hurt really bad to know he passed," classmate Jennifer Guzman said.
Over the weekend a body was found lying face down on a small island by a volunteer who was searching the L.A. River near the 5 Freeway in Los Feliz. The L.A. County coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday, three days after the grim discovery was made, that the body was Elias.
His death an accidental drowning.
Elias Rodriguez is seen in a photo provided by family members.L.A. County coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday, three days after the grim discovery was mad
"We did bring Eli home, not the way we wanted to, but he's home,"Rodriguez's aunt, Beronica Flores, told KTLA." His parents will have closure and the family will too."
During the time period that Elias was missing, his family, friends, community members and law-enforcement agencies tirelessly searched for him.
Officials responded to the L.A. River on Feb. 25, 2017 to recover a body found on a small island believed to be that of missing 14-year-old Elias Rodriguez. (Credit: KTLA)
Police believe Elias fell into the Pacoima Wash, which family members say he sometimes used as a shortcut, while walking to his grandmother's house after leaving his school in San Fernando on the day he disappeared.
The teenager's body likely traveled a distance of more than 20 miles from the area where he was last seen where currents reached up to 70 mph.
"We never stopped looking for him and we did everything we could,"Flores said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the teen’s family.
A vigil to remember Elias is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. from the the Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies to the wash.
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Burglary in Multi-Million Dollar Hollywood Hills Neighborhood Caught on Surveillance Camera
A home in an upscale Hollywood Hills neighborhood was burglarized earlier this month and the suspects were caught on surveillance camera.
Kimberly Cheng reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on Feb. 28, 2017.
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Natalie Zea Discusses Beauty, Comedy, and “The Detour”
You can catch new episodes of "The Detour" Tuesdays at 10pm on TBS.
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on February 28th, 2016.
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Jessica De Gouw Talks New Season of “Underground”
Don't miss the season two premiere of "Underground" premiering on WGN America Wednesday March 8th at 10pm.
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on February 28th, 2016.
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Kevin McHale Discusses Powerful New Mini Series “When We Rise”
Don't miss "When We Rise" parts two and three tomorrow night at 9pm on ABC.
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on February 28th, 2016.
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Signet Jewelers Shares Plummet After Hundreds of Sexual Discrimination Claims Surface Against Company
Trading in Signet Jewelers was halted briefly Tuesday morning following reports of a sexual discrimination case against the company, which owns Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry.
Shoppers walk by a Kay Jewelers and Zales Jewelers stores at the Serramonte Mall on February 19, 2014 in Daly City, California. on Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Before Signet stopped trading, shares fell by more than 8 percent. When trading resumed shortly after noon, it continued to fall. Overall, shares fell by 12.8 percent Tuesday.
The arbitration has been ongoing since 2008 and now represents 69,000 former and current Sterling employees.
Hundreds of complaints claim that the company systematically discriminated against female employees and are rife with allegations of rampant sexual harassment.
Signet said in a statement Tuesday that the class action suit did not include allegations of sexual harassment.
“It’s critical to understand that none of the 69,000 class members have brought claims in this arbitration for sexual harassment or sexual impropriety,” the company stated. “Since the case was filed in 2008, it has never included legal claims of sexual harassment or hostile work environment discrimination. The only claims certified to proceed on a class wide basis related to alleged unintentional gender pay and promotions discrimination.”
“Indeed, the distorted and inaccurate picture of our company presented in these allegations does not represent who we are. They involve a very small number of individuals in a workforce of more than 84,000 during the class period, and many of the allegations go back decades,” the statement said.
Women who issued sworn statements in 2012 said that the company forbade discussion of pay among employees, which made it difficult for underpaid women to gauge whether they were being treated fairly.
The sworn statements include a number of accusations against Sterling managers and executives. Heather Ballou worked for Sterling in Florida, Louisiana and Alabama from 2000 until 2009, when she said the company terminated her employment. In a statement given in 2012, Ballou described an incident that took place during an Annual Managers’ Meeting.
“There was a group of about 10 female Sterling managers in the pool. Two of them were totally nude. One or two others had removed their dresses and were clad in only bras and underwear,” she recalled. “Seated by the edge of the pool observing the women was [a Sterling executive]. He had a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other,” Ballou said. “It was a very disturbing scene.”
Ballou added that “[The executive] said nothing to the women in the pool. He simply sat there gazing at them with a grin on his face.”
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Marc Friedland Reveals What May Have Caused the Oscars `Best Picture` Snafu
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on February 28th, 2016
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Rosie O’Donnell Protests President Trump Outside the White House
Rosie O’Donnell’s longtime feud with Donald Trump hit close to home for the President: The comedian and actress protested outside the White House ahead of Tuesday night’s Joint Address to Congress.
Rosie O’Donnell’s protested outside the White House on Feb. 28, 2017 ahead of President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress. (Credit: CNN)
“This is not Russia. To Donald Trump and his pathetic band of white, privileged criminal businessmen, I would like to say to him, ‘nyet, sir,’ ” she said at a rally in Lafayette Park, billed as “A Resistance Address: Defending American Values in a Time of Moral Crisis.”
She joked to the few hundred protesters assembled that there was a “crowd of 1.8 million” in the park, later impersonating the President: “I’ve had a really good presidency, really good ideas … It’s a bigly good idea.”
CNN has reached out to the White House to respond to the protest and O’Donnell’s comments and has not yet gotten a response.
O’Donnell lamented media organizations that will “not call him a liar.”
“He lies, he lies, he lies,” she said. “And it’s about time they all started saying that, instead of, ‘It appears as if he hasn’t been speaking the truth.’ Cut it down to the least common denominator like he does.”
O’Donnell spoke to the crowd through steady pouring rain. The lighting went out moments before she took the podium, but she pressed on.
“How dare you, Donald Trump? This is America. It is not yours. It is not corporately owned. And we the people will not stand for it,” she said, knocking him on degrading behavior toward women.
Tuesday’s rally was organized by progressive advocacy groups, including Hip Hop Caucus, VoteVets, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the ACLU.
The bad blood between Trump and O’Donnell began in December 2006 when Trump decided not to fire Miss USA Tara Conner after revelations of drug use, underage drinking and sexual activities. O’Donnell, then a co-host of “The View,” slammed Trump the next day during the show’s “hot topics” segment. Trump fired back in a People Magazine interview, calling her “a real loser.”
He called her a “pig” multiple times, comments Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton seized on during the election. He responded during a September general election debate, saying she deserved it.
“Somebody who’s been very vicious to me, Rosie O’Donnell, I said very tough things to her and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her,” he said on the debate stage.
His @realDonaldTrump Twitter account has tweeted about O’Donnell 60 times since 2011.
“Sorry, @Rosie is a mentally sick woman, a bully, a dummy and, above all, a loser. Other than that she is just wonderful!” he tweeted in 2014, six months before he announced his candidacy.
In 2013, he was asked whether he’d rather have a third Obama term or “make out with Rosie.” “I’ll take the third term,” he tweeted, later adding that it would take “One trillion, at least!” for that to happen.
O’Donnell has dished it right back, tweeting about Trump over 150 times, calling him a “STUPID LYING ARROGANT ONE SENTENCE SNIFFER,” a “SEXUAL PREDATOR,” and a “CON MAN.”
On Tuesday evening, O’Donnell told the crowd that she had only actually met Trump twice. Once during his wedding to Marla Maples, and once at a game show.
“I don’t know him. I know he’s a bully, he’s a mean man, he hates women, he’s taken away women’s rights, and we will not stand for it,” she said.
“Don’t fear the rain,” she told the crowd, promising to come back to the stage to lead a sing-a-long. The rainy speeches continued for over an hour before the protesters began the march toward the Capitol. O’Donnell never returned to the stage, but an organizer told the crowd she’d be marching.
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Trump Says He Will Ask Congress for a $1 trillion Infrastructure Bill
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will ask Congress to approve a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, a push that would make good on a key campaign pledge.
“To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking the Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States — financed through both public and private capital — creating millions of new jobs,” Trump said, noting that the effort will be guided by his “Buy American and Hire American” principle.
Trump invoked Dwight D. Eisenhower in his call for infrastructure spending.
“Another Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the last truly great national infrastructure program — the building of the interstate highway system. The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding,” he said.
And in this call, Trump knocked the amount of money spent in foreign wars.
“America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this $6 trillion we could have rebuilt our country — twice. And maybe even three times if we had people who had the ability to negotiate,” he said, eliciting a laugh from House Speaker Paul Ryan.
As Democrats gird for a fight with Trump on a host of topics, infrastructure may be one area with bipartisan agreement. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the liberal icon who ran for president against Hillary Clinton in 2016, also ran on the pledge to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure.
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Utah Couple’s Ultrasound Image Shows Baby Flashing Distinctive ‘Rocker’ Hand Gesture
A Utah couple’s ultrasound images are attracting attention online after they noticed their unborn child's distinct hand position.
Makelle and Jared Ahlin of Santaquin said they spotted something unusual as they perused the ultrasound images.
“She kind of went past it, and I was just like, ‘Hey, go back, I need that picture!'” Jared Ahlin told local station KSTU.
In the ultrasound the infant appears to be holding his or her hand in a gesture familiar to anyone who has ever been to a rock concert.
The couple swears the images weren’t altered digitally, and they even have the original paper copies to back up that claim, KSTU reported.
“Our boys are very active I guess, so it probably sounds like they will fit in to the family,” Jared Ahlin said.
“They're pretty wild I would say,” Makelle Ahlin added.
The baby is due toward the end of June and the couple have decided to keep the gender a surprise until delivery.
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Police Searching for Suspected Carjacker, Kidnapper at Cal State San Bernardino: Officials
Police in San Bernardino were searching Tuesday for a carjacking and kidnapping suspect that targeted at least one person on campus, officials said.
The suspect possibly carjacked the victim’s car around 11 a.m. and returned to the area near University Village, officials from California State University San Bernardino said in a tweet.
University Village residents were urged by police to stay in their rooms.
The suspect was described as an African-American male in his 20s. The suspect was wearing a gray shirt, was about 6 feet tall and weighed approximately 170 pounds, police said.
The university is located at 5500 University Parkway in San Bernardino.
No other details were immediately released.
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18-Year-Old Woman Fatally Struck by Car in Apple Valley While Trying to Aid Injured Kitten on Roadway
An 18-year-old woman was fatally struck by a car over the weekend while trying to rescue a cat that was hit by the car she was a passenger in, police reported.
At about 10:50 p.m. Sunday, deputies responded to the 13800 block of Kiowa Road for a report of a car versus a pedestrian. Investigators say the victim, Emily Sanchez, 18, was the passenger in a car that hit a kitten on Kiowa Road.
“The victim concerned for the cat had the driver turn around so she could check on it,” the Apple Valley Police Department said in a released statement.
When Sanchez got out of the car and picked up the small kitten, she was hit by another car, police said.
Responding deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department began CPR on Sanchez. Police said she suffered severe head trauma and was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
Sanchez was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The drivers of both cars remained at the scene and were cooperative with investigators.
The deadly crash remains under investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
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Route 91 Harvest
Get ready! Route 91 Harvest country music festival returns to the Las Vegas strip this year. Country stars Sam Hunt and Jason Aldean will be there, along with Jake Owen, Lee Brice, Lauren Alaina, Brothers Osborne and many many more. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10am; details are available at rt91harvest.com. Watch the KTLA 5 Morning News this Wednesday, March 1 for your chance to win a pair of three-day Festival Passes to this fabulous event. Good luck!
Already have the code word? You can also enter below:
The “Short Code” to enter below is 515151
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Democratic Women in Congress Wear Suffragette White to President Trump’s Joint-Session Speech
Democratic women in Congress intend to make an impression Tuesday evening as they sit in the audience for President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Many of the 66 Democratic women representatives and delegates who make up the House Democratic Women’s Working Group will be wearing white clothing, dubbed “suffragette white” in a nod to the women’s rights movement in the early 1900s, which encouraged its supporters to dress in white as a representation of purity.
“We wear white to unite against any attempts by the Trump administration to roll back the incredible progress women have made in the last century, and we will continue to support the advancement of all women,” Florida Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, the chair of the working group, said in a statement.
The members are wearing white to show support for Planned Parenthood, affordable health care, reproductive rights, equal pay, paid leave, affordable child care and “lives free from fear and violence,” the statement also said.
“Tonight, our Democratic #WomenWearWhite in support of women’s rights — in spite of a @POTUS who doesn’t!” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted.
Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Republican Conference, responded to her Democratic colleagues’ statement by calling for unity.
“You know, I think this is an important time for us to be coming together,” she told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” when asked about the movement by the Democratic women.
“Typically, when a president is elected, you have that coming together as a country, which we haven’t had, and I’m hopeful that people will listen to his message tonight and that they’ll be willing to come together, find the common ground, so that we can do the important work that the people expect us to do,” McMorris Rodgers added.
White has become the go-to color for celebrating women in politics at many points throughout history. There was a #WearWhiteToVote movement on Election Day 2016 as a tribute to the suffragettes, who fought for women’s right to vote. And on the night Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, she wore a white suit.
Many women who disagree with Trump have been pushing back in the weeks following the President’s inauguration, holding women’s marches across the globe in January and planning more efforts to protest in the months to come.
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Former Monterey Park High School Tennis Coach Convicted of Having Sexual Relationship With Underage Girl
A former Monterey Park high school tennis coach was sentenced to four years in prison in connection with having a sexual relationship with an underage girl, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Schurr High School Tennis Coach Van Phuoc “Timothy” Dang is seen in a booking photo released by the Monterey Park Police Department on Sept. 13, 2016.
Van Phuoc “Timothy” Dang, 27, pleaded no contest to two felony counts of meeting a minor for lewd purposes and sodomy of a person under 18.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender, officials said.
Dang worked as a tennis coach at Schurr High School when the crime occurred.
He was accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old student after he started coaching her in tennis.
Monterey Park Police Department investigators said the relationship lasted about three years.
A concerned resident alerted school police about the relationship and law enforcement was notified in Sept. 2016.
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Bowling at Lucky Strike with Lion’s Adorable Sunny Pawar
Doug Kolk went Bowling at Lucky Strike with the young Lion Star Sunny Pawar right before he hit the Oscar red carpet.
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Trump Signs Measure Nixing Regulation Aimed at Keeping Guns Out of Hands of Severely Mentally Ill People
President Donald Trump Tuesday signed a measure nixing a regulation aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of some severely mentally ill people.
The original rule was part of a series of efforts taken by the Obama administration to try and curb gun violence after other efforts failed to advance in Congress.
Using the Congressional Review Act — which allows Congress to roll back regulations imposed by the executive branch — the Republican-controlled House and Senate voted to send the bill to Trump’s desk.
What was the rule?
The regulation, finalized in December under Obama’s tenure, required the Social Security Administration to disclose information quarterly to the national gun background check system about certain people with mental illness.
While the list of eligible mental disorders is long — ranging from anxiety to eating disorders to schizophrenia –those who would have been reported by the agency had to meet two main criteria: a) They were receiving full disability benefits because of a mental illness and couldn’t work and b) they were unable to manage their own benefits, thus needing the help of a third party to do so.
The Obama administration estimated that the new rule would have affected roughly 75,000 individuals annually.
And according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General at the Social Security Administration, 81,000 disability awardees would have met the criteria in fiscal year 2015, which amounts to about 9% of the total disability awardee population.
Those affected would have been notified both orally and in writing that they could potentially be prevented from buying a gun.
Such individuals would have been allowed to request a relief from any firearm prohibitions if they could show evidence that they didn’t pose a risk to public safety.
While the rule wasn’t effective until January 18, compliance was not required until later this year — in December. So it’s unlikely that anyone has been affected by the rule.
Who opposed the rule?
Interestingly, the rule had opponents across a wide spectrum. Both the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union spoke out against it.
The ACLU, which advocates for people with mental health struggles, said the rule reinforced a stereotype that people with mental disabilities are violent. The organization argued in a letter to members of Congress that there’s no data to support a connection between receiving disability benefits and a propensity toward gun violence.
Susan Mizner, senior attorney with the disability rights program at the ACLU, also said that people with mental illnesses are more likely to be victims of violence.
While proponents of the rule argue that it only affects a limited group, opponents say that it unfairly targets the wrong people.
“75,000 people a year is a lot of people in my book,” Mizner said. “And these are people who are already at the bottom of our social status. We don’t need to kick them anymore.”
Who supported it?
Gun control groups and activists supported the rule because they felt it would prevent some suicides and accidental deaths.
They argued that it helped enforced laws already in the books that require mental health reporting by federal agencies, said Lindsay Nichols, senior attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“The American people and the families that are being hurt day after day by gun violence — they deserve some due process too,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
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LAPD Ask for Help Identifying 3 Men in Hollywood Hills Burglary That Was Caught on Camera
Officials are asking for the public’s help identifying three men involved in a burglary that was caught on camera at a Hollywood Hills home earlier this month.
Surveillance video released by LAPD officials on Feb. 28, 2017 shows three men burglarizing a Hollywood Hills home earlier in the month.
The incident occurred between 6:05 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 10.
Three men are seen breaking into a residence in the 1600 block of Marmont Avenue, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.
One of the burglars knocked on the front door and waited for an answer, then all three of them went through a back door.
The men went through each room and took about $40,000 in property, including jewelry and camera equipment, police said.
The men are described as being between 20 and 25 years old and were wearing hooded sweatshirts and gloves.
They fled in a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Range Rover.
Anyone with information can call 213-972-2930 or 213-972-2931.
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Victorville Mother Arrested on Suspicion of Murder in 2012 Death of Newborn Son: Sheriff’s Dept.
A 30-year old Victorville woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her newborn son more than four years after he died, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
The infant, identified as “Baby Boy Collins,” was found unresponsive in a home in the 16000 block of Sunhill Drive on Dec. 31, 2012, after deputies and paramedics responded to a medical aid call, a sheriff’s news release stated
The baby was rushed to Desert Valley Hospital where he died a short time later.
After an extensive investigation, sheriff’s detectives determined his mother was responsible for the infant’s death and forwarded the case to the District Attorney’s Office.
The office finished its review of the case last month and issued an arrest warrant for the mother, identified as 30-year-old Tanika Collins, according to the release.
She was arrested last Thursday and booked at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto on suspicion of murder, the Sheriff’s Department said.
An investigation into the boy’s death is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s Detective Troy Mooradian or Sgt. Robert Warrick at 909-387-3589.
Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous can call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-782-7463 or leave information at http://www.wetip.com.
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White House Spokeswoman: Kansas Shooting That Killed Indian Engineer Was ‘Act of Racially Motivated Hatred’
A White House spokeswoman condemned on Tuesday the shooting of two Indian men in Kansas that gained international attention over the weekend, telling reporters that the shooting appears to be “an act of racially motivated hatred.”
Alok Madasani, victim of the Austins Bar shooting, listens as Maggie Grillot, sister to shooting victim Ian Grillot, addresses a prayer vigil on Feb. 26, 2017, at the Ball Conference Center in Olathe, Kansas. (Credit: Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
The comments are the most direct the White House has been on the shooting, which killed Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year old employee at GPS company Garmin, and left Alok Madasani, 32, and Ian Grillot, 24, in the hospital.
“As more facts come to light and it begins to look like this was an act of racially motivated hatred,” said Sarah Sanders, a White House spokeswoman. “I want to reiterate the President condemns these or any other racially or religiously motivated attacks in the strongest terms. They have no place in our country.”
The comments come as some have called for a more forceful response from President Donald Trump and his administration.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was mentioned in the speech tonight,” Sanders added.
Sanders said the President is “keeping the family of the victim who was senselessly killed in his thoughts and prayers and praying for the full and speedy recovery for those who were wounded.”
Adam Purinton, 51, was charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder for the shooting at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas.
Puriton allegedly grew agitated with the two Indian men, before Grillot, a regular at the bar, approached the man and asked him to leave, according to CNN affiliate KMBC.
Purinton then allegedly left the bar before returning and opening fire, according to prosecutors. The Kansas City Star reports that one witness said the shooter yelled “Get out of my country” before shooting.
Purinton was arrested hour later at an Applebee’s restaurant 70 miles away in Clinton, Missouri. In 911 calls released by CNN affiliate KSHB, an Applebee’s bartender told police that a man had admitted to shooting two “Iranian” people in Olathe and was looking for a place to hide.
The FBI is also investigating the incident to determine whether it was a hate crime.
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L.A. City Council Denies Historic Status to Bob Hope Estate in Toluca Lake
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted against giving a declaration of historic status to the Bob and Dolores Hope Estate in Toluca Lake. Ellina Abovian reports from Downtown Los Angeles for the KTLA 5 News at 1on Feb. 28, 2017.
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Trump Hopes to Get Immigration Bill Through Congress After ‘Softening on Both Sides’: Administration Official
President Donald Trump envisions compromise immigration legislation where those who aren’t serious or violent criminals could stay in the US legally, hold a job and pay taxes, without having to worry about being deported, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Governors Association meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House Feb. 27, 2017. (Credit: Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images)
The President is eager to pass an immigration bill, the official said, and is thinking about adding the topic to his speech tonight before a joint session of Congress. Either way, an immigration bill remains a desire for his first term. The topic of enforcing current immigration laws is already in the speech, the official said.
The President believes that the nation is now in a position where it can pass immigration legislation, the senior administration official said, with the need to have “a softening on both sides. There’s got to be a coming together.”
A path to citizenship for those in the country illegally would not be part of Trump’s vision for this deal, with the possible exception of “Dreamers” — those brought into the US illegally as children. Trump does not see the bill as something that would necessarily upset his base, since both sides would need to compromise.
“It has to be a negotiation,” the official said, arguing that the bill theoretically could make people on both the “far right” and “far left” happy.
“It could be good for everyone,” the senior administration official said. “People are exhausted” from debating the topic.
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On 20th Anniversary, LAPD Officers Recall Televised 44-Minute-Long Shootout With NoHo Bank Robbery Suspects
Twenty years ago, one of the wildest shootouts the country had ever seen unfolded in Los Angeles’ North Hollywood neighborhood — and live on the television sets of people across the country.
Police surround a suspect after a shootout in North Hollywood on Feb. 28, 1997. (Credit: KTLA)
On the morning of February 28, 1997, two heavily armed men wearing body armor burst into a Bank of America branch, took a little more than $300,000 and fired their way out.
Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasareanu shot at everything in their path — including police, bystanders, and a news helicopter — in an attempt to get away. They had Kalashnikov rifles filled with armor-piercing bullets that tore through cement, buildings and cars, spraying shredded fragments of glass, metal and concrete as they went.
That gory gunfight is forever etched into the memories of former LAPD SWAT officer Rick Massa and Dr. Jorge Montes, a dentist whose office became an impromptu emergency room for wounded officers. They are just two of the heroes of a shootout that riveted the nation.
Phillips and Matasareanu “had no care for life,” Massa recalled. “And this was obvious when they came out of the bank and started shooting at anyone that moved. They didn’t care.”
The shots the pair fired were seen and heard around the world, as the ensuing confrontation with police was broadcast live on television. By the time it was over, 12 police officers and eight civilians would be injured, and the two robbers, Phillips, 26, and Matasareanu, 30, would be dead.
“The poor uniformed police officers at that time were definitely outgunned,” Massa said. At that time, he said, LAPD patrol officers didn’t carry assault rifles, and didn’t have weapons that could pierce body armor.
But the weapons Phillips and Matasareanu had could go “like a hot knife through butter” through the officers’ vests, Massa said.
“The Battle of North Hollywood,” as it came to be known, would change how routine police patrol officers are armed in Los Angeles and around the country.
“As a result of this shooting, there are rifles in all police cars, in all the stations,” Massa said. “All police officers are trained with assault rifles to be able to handle this type of situation.”
‘Multiple officers shot’
Massa was getting ready for a jog at the police academy that morning with fellow SWAT team member Steve Gomez when they heard frantic reports of a shooting at a North Hollywood bank.
Massa changed into his SWAT gear, but Gomez didn’t have time — in news footage from the day, he can be seen firing at the robbers while wearing shorts.
“Multiple officers shot,” the 911 dispatcher could be heard saying on the radio.
Another of the SWAT members, Donny Anderson, joined his colleagues.
The robbers seemed to have had some practice. The FBI said it suspected them in two other similar suburban bank robberies, the Associated Press reported at the time. Police in nearby Glendale told the news service that Phillips and Matasareanu had been arrested in 1993, after officers discovered weapons, smoke bombs and disguises in their car during a traffic stop.
On February 28, the duo had planned to rob the bank of $750,000, according to multiple news reports, but a change in the delivery schedule left much less money inside. An angry Matasareanu destroyed some money when he shot 75 rounds into a safe. The money they did manage to leave with was ruined by dye packs.
As the robbers exited, the undermanned police responding to the robbery call couldn’t know that they were about to be participants in the most brutal kind of live television drama.
It would soon Montes, whose dental office still lies just across Laurel Canyon Boulevard from the bank, into an emergency triage doctor for wounded police.
From inside the office, Montes could hear the gunshots. The patrol officers’ pistols sounded like toys compared to the deafening blasts of the robbers’ assault rifles, Montes said.
Then two injured officers — rookie cop James Zboravan and Detective William Krulac — scrambled up to his second-floor office.
A dental office turned field hospital
“I had to improvise,” Montes said. “I put gloves on to deal with the blood.”
The dentist said the rookie suffered gunshots to the back, and the detective had shrapnel sticking out of his ankle. Montes remembered using gauze and gel normally meant for dental surgery to slow the officers’ bleeding from garish holes.
The shrapnel sticking out of the detective’s lower leg particularly worried Montes. “I told him I don’t want to take it (the shrapnel) out because I don’t know if it’s crossing an artery, vein or bone marrow,” he said.
“He came back Monday with his wife to thank me, with the shard still in his ankle,” Montes went on. “If I had taken it out, he would have bled to death because the (blood) clotting would have not worked.”
With the help of the dentist, first responders and others, all 12 injured police officers and eight civilians survived the carnage.
The gunmen didn’t. Phillips died first, in a sickening moment that was broadcast live. In news footage, Phillips can be seen walking down a side street randomly firing a pistol, then getting shot in the hand and losing his grip on the gun.
“He drops it, picks it up, put the gun under his chin and presses the trigger,” Massa explained.
“As he goes down, an unknown uniformed patrol officer fires at him and hits him in the upper torso, through the side, misses his armored vest and severs his spine.”
Phillips dropped to the ground, dead. It was unclear which bullet killed him.
The final confrontation
Later, the trio of SWAT members who scrambled to get there from the police academy squared off with Matasareanu. Both sides used vehicles as shields.
Massa remembered being worried that the gunman would come around and shoot all three of them. “I see his feet,” he said, recounting his thought process in that moment.
“I’m going to do what I can to put him down. I shoot and hit him two or three times in the ankle, underneath the cars, which drops him.”
While Massa and his SWAT partners were laying “prone out” and aiming their guns at Matasareanu, he says they hit the robber 28 times, until he stopped shooting. The three SWAT team members rushed to Matasareanu, who could be seen on TV in a fetal position, breathing heavily, lying among streams of blood pouring from his wounds.
Massa removed the ski mask the gunman had been wearing. “Why don’t you just put a round through my head?” Massa remembered him saying. The two exchanged a few words, then Massa cuffed him and turned him over to the detectives, the SWAT officer said.
There were shell casings strewn everywhere like confetti, holes in the bank’s walls and gouges in sidewalk, Massa recalled.
Matasareanu would bleed to death 56 minutes later. His family sued the LAPD afterward, arguing that police “murdered” the 30-year-old by not providing him with medical aid. The case ended in a mistrial and was later dismissed, the AP reported.
By the day’s end, more than 2,000 rounds had been fired — more than half of them by the robbers. The Battle Of North Hollywood would go on to inspire everything from a TV movie to a Megadeath song, titled “44 Minutes” for the length of the shootout.
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Deported Mom’s Children to Face Trump During Joint Session of Congress as Invited Guests of Arizona Lawmakers
Angel and Jacqueline Rayos-Garcia stood side by side outside the US Capitol on Tuesday.
In a matter of hours, the teenagers plan to be inside, in the same room as the president they blame for their mother’s deportation.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos is seen locked in a van on Feb. 8, 2017, outside ICE headquarters in Phoenix. (Credit: KNXV via CNN)
Two Arizona lawmakers invited them to be their guests when President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.
The teenagers took their first-ever flight to be here.
It’s been less than three weeks since their mother, 35-year-old Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, was apprehended in Phoenix and deported back to Mexico.
Today is her birthday.
“I’m sad that I don’t get to spend the day with her,” 14-year-old Jacqueline said, “but I’m proud to be here.”
Her 16-year-old brother, Angel, agreed.
“We’re the face of all those people who want to speak out but can’t,” he said. “So we’re here, speaking for them.”
Did Trump’s policies spur deportation?
Garcia de Rayos’ case has drawn widespread attention. Protesters in Phoenix attempted to stop her deportation earlier this month by trying to block an Immigration and Customs Enforcement van.
Her lawyer argues that her deportation was a direct result of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which prioritizes the deportation of undocumented immigrants who are convicted or charged with crimes.
Garcia de Rayos came illegally to the United States in the mid-1990s with her parents when she was 14. She was arrested in 2008 during a workplace raid and convicted one year later of felony criminal impersonation.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have said there was nothing special about Garcia de Rayos’ case. She committed a crime, was placed under a deportation order, and her time had come, they said.
She became the subject of a removal order in 2013 and was placed under court-ordered supervision. For years, she reported regularly to a local ICE office — until this month, when officials took her into custody and deported her.
Since then she has been living in Acámbaro, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
Rep. Raul Grijalva and Rep. Ruben Gallego, both Democrats from Arizona, said they are honored to have Garcia de Rayos’ children join them at the Capitol for Trump’s speech.
The two teens are courageous for speaking out, Grijalva said in a statement last week.
“Their example is a bright light of hope for immigrant communities across this country who are fearful that Trump will come for them next,” he said. “Their fight is all of our fight, and I am proud to stand side by side with them in opposition to these atrocious policies.”
Taking in their first flight
Weeks ago, Jacqueline cried before television cameras as she described what it was like to see her mother’s face looking out at her through the ICE van window.
“No one should ever go through the pain of having their mom taken away from them,” she said, “or the pain of packing her suitcase.”
On Monday night, she and her brother — both of whom were born in Arizona — each carried only a small backpack as they headed to the Phoenix airport for their first airplane flight.
Their father made signs of the cross over them before they went into the security line.
That’s something the teens say their mother used to do every night. Now, it’s become their father’s role to bless them before bedtime.
Angel was impressed by the security scanners at the airport. On the plane, Jacqueline sat in the window seat, gazing at the landscape below.
She wished her mother were still by her side, taking in the scenery.
“It’s not fair that she’s not with us,” Jacqueline said.
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‘Gayle Anderson Day’ Declared by Proclamation in Los Angeles
Tuesday was declared “Gayle Anderson Day” in Los Angeles during a City Hall event that came as a surprise to the longtime KTLA reporter.
Gayle Anderson tears up next to Councilman Joe Buscaino after he presented her with a proclamation declaring “Gayle Anderson Day” at L.A. City Hall on Feb. 28, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
City Councilman Joe Buscaino presented a proclamation declaring the day in her honor as Anderson, surrounded by KTLA management, cried next to him at the podium.
“A true Los Angeles icon,” Buscaino said. “When we see news trucks come to our respective districts, immediately we think of hard news, negative news … the crime issues that face our city.
“But when Gayle Anderson emerges out of the KTLA news van, we know something good is happening in our districts,” the councilman continued.
Anderson has been reporting for KTLA since 1993 and is known for her enthusiastic — and often participatory — appearances every day on the KTLA Morning News.
“Gayle, during her morning segments, has made us laugh, made us cry, and sometimes made us cringe,” Buscaino said. “Television in Los Angeles would not be the same without Gayle Anderson and KTLA Morning News.”
Council President Herb Wesson told Anderson she was a “treasure.”
Gayle Anderson speaks at L.A. City Hall after “Gayle Anderson Day” was declared on Feb. 28, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
“She is just real,” Wesson said.
KTLA Vice President of News Jason Ball told Anderson he’d never met anyone like her during his quarter-century in the television news business.
During her turn at the podium, Anderson was initially and uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
“I don’t deserve this,” Anderson said. “To quote country-western singer Brad Paisley, ‘I’m a turtle on a fence.’ You see me on the fence, you gotta wonder, ‘How’d that happen?’
“There are lots of people who hold me up on that fence every day,” she continued. “There are so many people to thank.”
Councilman Joe Buscaino presents a proclamation to Gayle Anderson for “Gayle Anderson Day” on Feb. 28, 2017. (Credit: KTLA)
During Anderson’s 8 a.m. live shot, when she was covering World Spay Day, Buscaino appeared out of nowhere and surprised her with a framed proclamation. She immediately teared up.
“I hate KTLA. They love to make me cry on television,” she said.
The proclamation cited Anderson’s work for World Spay Day, which highlights animal shelters’ and rescue programs’ spay/neuter efforts, and her advocacy against animal cruelty.
The proclamation honoring Gayle Anderson Day. (Credit: Jason Ball / KTLA)
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Shine Like a Star: Live from the Oscars
Celebrity stylist Anya Sarre shows us how to shine like a star with Measurable Difference makeup.
This segment aired on KTLA's Live from the Oscars on Sunday, February 26, 2017.
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Slim in the Spotlight: Live from the Oscars
Dr. Julius Few shows us how to get our skin ready for the spotlight with Venus Concept.
This segment aired on KTLA's Live from the Oscars on Sunday, February 26, 2017.
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Simple Skin Care by eb5: Live from the Oscars
Celebrity stylist Anya Sarre shows us how to get glowing skin like the stars with eb5.
This segment aired on KTLA's Live from the Oscars on Sunday, February 26, 2017.
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‘Gary From Chicago’ Spent 20 Years in Prison Just Before Meeting Hollywood’s A-List at Oscars
A trip to the Oscars would be cool almost any day of the week. But doing that days after being released from decades in prison? That’s what happened to the Oscars’ newest viral sensation, Gary Alan Coe, better known as “Gary From Chicago.”
Coe, 59, and his fiancee, Vickie Vines, were the first of a dozen or so unsuspecting tourists to enter the Dolby Theatre while the Oscars were in progress.
“I spent this afternoon laughing and crying with Gary and Vicky,” public defender Karen Nash posted Monday on Facebook. “For those of you who missed it, I spent years working on Gary’s case. He got a life sentence for stealing perfume in 1997, and we finally won release this year. He got out on Friday, and was sight seeing with his lovely fiancé Vicky. If you watched the Oscars, you know the rest.”
The state’s inmate locator, which still lists Coe as a resident of the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran, notes Oct. 20, 1994, as his original prison admission date. Other than Nash’s statement, details of the Chicago native’s offenses are unclear, but a life sentence would imply some sort of three-strikes conviction.
Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.
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Teen Among 3 Killed in Riverside Plane Crash; NTSB Investigation Underway
National Transportation Safety Board officials arrived Tuesday morning to investigate a deadly plane crash in Riverside that left three people dead and two others hospitalized.
National Transportation Safety Board officials investigate on Feb. 28, 2017, the day after a fatal plane crash in Riverside. (Credit: KTLA)
A teenage girl, a man and a woman where killed when the six-seat, twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed shortly after taking off from Riverside Airport about a half-mile away Monday afternoon, Riverside Police Department Officer Ryan Railsback said during a news conference Tuesday.
Two other passengers, both women, survived the crash and were still hospitalized Tuesday morning, Railsback said.
One of the women was in stable condition at a local hospital in Riverside. The other was in critical condition with severe burns and underwent surgery at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in San Bernardino, Railsback said.
The relationships between the passengers and pilot were unknown, but one of the survivors told firefighters the group had been in the area for a cheerleading conference at Disneyland.
A witness captured the aftermath of a plane crash in Riverside on Feb. 27, 2017. (Credit: @rebel_time_dork/Instagram via CNN)
The plane was scheduled to fly to San Jose when it left Riverside Airport Monday, FAA officials confirmed.
Delmy Pennington, the owner of a café at the airport, said the pilot had trouble getting the plane started before takeoff.
“He looked like he was worried about it,” Pennington said of the pilot.
The plane finally started when the pilot went out for the third time to get it going, Pennington said.
Not long after lifting off, the plane went down near Central and Streeter avenues about 4:41 p.m.
The crash resulted in a large fire that destroyed two homes and damaged several others.
No one on the ground was believed to be injured as a result of the crash, but officials planned to go through all of homes Tuesday to make sure no victims were still inside.
The residents of the home most directly hit by the plane were not home at the time of the crash, Railsback said.
A man in another home managed to escape just as the plane burst into flames and the house caught fire.
“Very remarkable that no one else was injured,” Railsback said, mentioning that airplane parts were spread up and down the street.
Video showed one of the planes propellers landed on top of a home.
NTSB officials were at the scene Tuesday morning to determine the cause of the crash.
Officials were planning an 11 a.m. news conference to give further information.
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NFL free agency: Adrian Peterson to Giants? Vikings won't pick up option
The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that the team will not be picking up the option on Adrian Peterson's contract, making the running back a free agent when the new league-year opens on March 9.
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NFL Draft 2017 in Philadelphia: What you need to know
The City of Philadelphia and the NFL announced Tuesday the details for the 2017 NFL Draft to be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from April 27-29, 2017 (4/27-4/29/17). It will include a temporarily erected theater and the NFL Draft Experience. The Jets could be looking at Clemson QB Deshaun Watson with the No. 6 pick. The Eagles might have Clemson WR Mike Williams on their radar. The Giants will be looking at Alabama TE O.J. Howard.
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Mohamed Sanu blaming Super Bowl loss on Lady Gaga's halftime show? 'Fake news,' says ex-Rutgers star
Mohamed Sanu said extended Super Bowl halftime show cost Falcons in loss to Patriots, but did he blame Lady Gaga?
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Body Recovered From L.A. River Identified as Missing Teen Elias Rodriguez: Coroner’s Office
A body found in the Los Angeles River over the weekend has been identified as a missing 14-year-old boy who vanished from San Fernando amid a powerful storm that hit the area more than a week ago, the L.A. County coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday, three days after the grim discovery was made.
Elias Rodriguez is seen in a photo provided by family members.
Family members, friends and community members were out searching for Elias Rodriguez Saturday when, about 1:15 p.m., one of the volunteers discovered a body lying face down on a small island in the river near the 5 Freeway in Los Feliz.
The Los Angeles Police Department had worked throughout the day Saturday to properly investigate the scene and to rule out foul play, but were unable to confirm the victim’s identity without a coroner’s report.
The body, which was recovered around 9 p.m. that day, had been badly battered from traveling down the canal through the rushing water, according to police. The coroner’s office said previously they would have to use dental records to make a positive identification.
In a statement Sunday morning, Mayor Eric Garcetti shared his condolences with Elias’ family.
“There is nothing more painful than the loss of a child, and the thoughts and prayers of all Angelenos are with the loved ones of Elias Rodriguez,” the mayor said in the statement. “Words cannot capture the agony that Elias’ grieving family has felt since his disappearance. I’ve asked my Crisis Response Team, who have been with the family, to do everything possible to help them through what is surely their worst nightmare.”
Elias’ family remained at the scene through the evening as they awaited confirmation that the body was that of the missing teen.
Elias was last seen walking home from school in the 1000 block of Arroyo Street on Friday, Feb. 17 — the same day a powerful storm hit Southern California.
Pahola Mascorro, mother of missing teen Elias Rodriguez, at a police news conference on Feb. 25, 2017. (Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
In a Saturday news conference, LAPD Capt. Peter Casey guessed that Rodriguez did not use an overpass while walking home from school that day and instead traversed the Pacoima Wash, a path he said is common with most of the high school students. The Pacoima Wash feeds into the Tujunga Wash, which is a tributary of the L.A. River.
Elias attended the Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies in the city of San Fernando. The school is located just a few blocks from his grandparents’ house, and he would usually go there once classes were done for the day.
The teen called his mother from a friend’s phone the day he disappeared, but she didn’t pick up because she didn’t recognize the number, LAPD Lt. Kathleen Burns said at a news conference on Friday. Elias left a voicemail saying he was walking home, she added.
Burns noted a powerful storm had swept the region the day he disappeared, and about 5 inches of rain fell in the area.
Investigators had searched a nearby wash several times over a period of days as they tried to determine whether the boy’s disappearance was the result of something “unfortunate” happening, or if it involved foul play, according to the lieutenant.
Family members described the boy’s absence as uncharacteristic, saying Elias had never run away from home before. His aunt, Jessenia Vega, said he would never leave his mother, who has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer.
The FBI, LAPD, the San Fernando Police Department and the Los Angeles School Police Department have all been working on the investigation into the disappearance of the teenager.
A map by the Los Angeles Times graphics desk shows where Elias Rodriguez was last spotted and where his body was found on Feb. 25, 2017.
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Vehicle Hits Members of Marching Band During Mardi Gras Parade in Alabama; Unknown Amount of Injuries
The Gulf Shores Mardi Gras parade in Alabama was canceled Tuesday after a vehicle in the parade struck a marching band from behind, city spokesman Grant Brown told local media.
The city issued a statement saying the parade has been canceled “due to an injury at the start of the lineup.”
It was not immediately clear how many members of the band may have been injured.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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Live Video Shows April the Giraffe Is Getting Closer to Giving Birth at New York Zoo
April the giraffe is showing “major changes” on Tuesday as she inches closer to giving birth at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York.
It’s been five days since hundreds of thousands of people began tuning in to the live stream, waiting for the baby calf to enter the world, according to KTLA sister station KPIX in New York City.
April is bigger and her belly has become “nice and tight,” Animal Adventure Park said in its latest Facebook update on Tuesday.
The calf, which was generally on the left side of the giraffe’s stomach, has shifted to proportionately take up her belly, the zoo said.
There have been “major changes” to the back end of April, an indication of how close she is to giving birth. She has a strong appetite, but opted out of eating hay for most of Monday afternoon, according to the zoo.
An exact date and time of when April will be giving birth is still not known, according to the zoo, which joked the vet had brought a “foolproof tool” — a Magic 8 ball — to determine the moment, but still got a “Cannot Predict Now” answer.
Animal Adventure Park is encouraging in those watching the birth to keep checking in.
This will be April’s fourth calf and the first for the father, Oliver.
Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months, according to Animal Adventure Park. The calf will weigh around 150 pounds and be approximately 6-feet-tall at birth.
Once the calf is born, the zoo will hold a contest to name it.
Animal Adventure Park started the stream on Thursday. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have joined in daily to see the birth.
More than 81,000 people follow the YouTube channel as of Tuesday morning.
The stream, however, was briefly taken down when animal rights activists flagged it as “sexually explicit,” according to the park.
The zoo has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to offset the annual care of the giraffes.
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Trump to Deliver First Address to Joint Session of Congress Tuesday Evening
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President Donald Trump has his best chance to ignite momentum behind his agenda Tuesday night when he strides into the House chamber amid the pageantry of his first address to a Joint Session of Congress.
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Governors Association meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House February 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump will step up to the speaker’s rostrum after a tumultuous five weeks in office, in which he has started making good on his election promises but also whipped up controversy and disruption with his quintessential political style.
So far there is little sign that the new President’s legislative agenda, which includes repealing and replacing Obamacare, a big tax overhaul, and a trillion-dollar infrastructure program, is anywhere near coming to fruition.
That could quickly turn out to be a problem for the President because there is only so much he can do by flexing his power through executive orders — his main method to date of showing that he is leading the nation in a new direction.
So Trump is under intense pressure to show that his White House can be effective in delivering on the sweeping changes he has promised by working with allies on Capitol Hill. The President may also see the need to reach out to Democrats who may be locked out of power in Washington but have the numbers in the Senate to frustrate Trump — notably by slowing down the confirmation of his top cabinet members.
Trump aides are promising an “optimistic” speech designed to rally Americans toward a hopeful future, and say the President’s topics have been influenced by a series of “listening” sessions he has held in his first weeks in office with business executives, union leaders and blue collar workers.
He will start off by noting that he made big promises in the campaign — and that he has kept some of them already, including pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade deal and putting job creation at the center of his political agenda.
The President plans to talk directly to the country and stress the need to solve “real problems for real people,” a senior administration official said.
Following a string of raucous lawmaker town hall meetings in recent weeks, it is imperative that the President spells out a message that his own troops can get behind and explain to their own voters back in their districts.
Republican lawmakers have been left particularly exposed by the apparent lack of a plan to reform the Affordable Care Act, amid boiling anger among many Americans who fear losing their health care.
Despite voting multiple times to repeal the law during the Obama administration, Republicans have failed to show that they have a clear plan for a replacement, and Trump’s frequent but unspecific promises to produce a much better health care system have done little to alleviate the pressure.
“Now, I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” Trump said, when talking about health care at a meeting of governors on Monday. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”
The President also needs to use Tuesday’s address to buy himself some political time. Trump’s approval ratings are hovering at depths never seen for a modern president so early in his administration.
Some 44% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, while 48% disapprove, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll published on Sunday.
Trump remains a highly divisive figure, after the most negative presidential campaign on record, although has consolidated the support of many Republicans. Still, his White House is struggling to fend off a controversy about alleged ties between his campaign and Russia.
Trump’s fast start in office, engineered by a flurry of executive orders fulfilling campaign vows was meanwhile derailed by the chaotic rollout of his travel entry ban on the citizens of seven predominately Muslim nations, which was stayed by federal courts. An amended plan is due to be unveiled this week, so Trump has a chance to explain the need for the ban to voters in a way he neglected to do the first time around.
The address also comes at a moment when the White House is fleshing out the ideological foundation of the Trump presidency. The President’s top political aide Steve Bannon spoke last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference of a relentless effort to dismantle the “administrative state” and a crusade against regulations Republicans believe have crushed innovation and economic growth.
Trump’s speech to the same meeting struck stark themes of economic nationalism and an America First foreign policy.
And in the first details of his forthcoming budget unveiled on Monday, Trump gave notice of a 10% spike in defense spending to be financed by steep cuts at other government departments and a reduction in foreign aid.
In a nod to another central theme of Trump’s campaign, several relatives of people killed by undocumented migrants will be in First Lady Melania Trump’s box on the House balcony for the address. They include Jessica Davis and Susan Oliver, widows of Detective Michael Davis and Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, who were California police officers killed while on duty in 2014.
Trump will also highlight his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court when the first lady is joined by Maureen Scalia, widow of Justice Antonin Scalia who Gorsuch will replace if he is confirmed.
Reaching out?
Unlike most new presidents, Trump has done little to broaden his support and to unite the nation after a polarizing campaign. His inaugural address evolved into a searing indictment of Washington elites, whom he blamed for unleashing “American carnage” in the nation’s industrial heartland.
But the only predictable characteristic of Trump is that he rarely takes the conventional path — so it is difficult to predict how he will approach Tuesday’s speech. Aides once assured reporters that Trump’s convention speech last summer would be optimistic in tone — yet it turned out to be one of the darkest political speeches given by a presidential nominee for decades.
The White House is framing Tuesday’s address as an optimistic speech.
“The theme of the address is Renewal of the American Spirit — an optimistic vision for All Americans,” said a senior administration official.
Aaron Kall, Director of Debate at the University of Michigan, has just edited a book about presidential addresses to a Joint Session of Congress, and doubts that Trump will reach for bipartisanship and unity in his speech.
“I have seen all the articles saying is going to be more optimistic. But Stephen Miller, the same aide, has been tasked to produce this speech just like he did with the inauguration,” said Kall.
“I think it would be the definition of insanity to expect a different outcome this time.” Kall however points out that Trump’s inaugural address that struck many in Washington as off key, was viewed as much more palatable by the President’s supporters outside Washington. And Trump has made clear that he is far more concerned with keeping up the spirits of his supporters than currying favor in Washington.
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