Adam in the News
Congress Again Faces Questions About Terrorism, Gun Access (Wall Street Journal)
WASHINGTON-The shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando early on Sunday has reignited congressional debate over terrorism and the country's gun laws, as lawmakers grappled with responding to one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) and members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, were briefed on the attack Sunday. "We pray for those brutally attacked in Orlando," Mr. Ryan said on Twitter. "While we … Continue Reading
June 13, 2016
Omar Mateen Called 911 From Bathroom, Says House Intelligence Panel's Rep. Schiff (NPR Morning Edition)
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, shares the latest on what's known about the gunman in … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Orlando Mass Shooting (TIME)
The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the mass shooting attack in an Orlando gay club on Sunday that left more than 50 people dead. "The attack that targeted a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando, Florida and that left more than 100 dead and wounded was carried out by an Islamic State fighter," the group said in a report on its official Amaq news agency. The message was attributed to an unnamed "source." The claim comes after law enforcement … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
Congress stunned by Orlando shootings (Politico)
The shooting deaths of 50 people in Orlando sharply jolted Capitol Hill out of its election-year doldrums. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been briefed by Obama administration officials, while CIA Director John Brennan is scheduled to testify in an open hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday. That panel will also hold a closed briefing Tuesday afternoon. President Obama scheduled a rare Sunday statement on the shootings and the killings prompted Vice … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
After Orlando, the right points to radical Islam, while the left points to guns, hate (Washington Post)
What happened in Orlando early Sunday morning, which already ranks as the deadliest mass shooting in American history, quickly raised big political questions about terrorism, guns and hate crimes. And answers to those questions are still unfolding at this very early hour, with details about how the tragedy came about slowly trickling out. The combination of all of those things makes the tragedy a particularly combustible combination of some of the most passion-infused issues in American … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
Dem rep: Orlando shooter 'made pledge of allegiance' to ISIS (The Hill)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that he was told the Orlando, Fla., nightclub shooting suspect pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). "What I've heard from the Department of Homeland Security this morning is that, according to local police, he made a pledge of allegiance to ISIL," Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN, using an alternate acronym for ISIS. "[He] was heard praying in a foreign language, and I don't … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
Shooting at Orlando Nightclub Kills 50, Police Say (New York Times)
ORLANDO, Fla. - A gunman killed 50 people and wounded 53 in a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, officials said, in the worst mass shooting slaughter in American history, and law enforcement officials called it an act of terrorism. The gunman was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, 29, an American citizen living in Port St. Lucie, Fla., federal law enforcement officials said. The killer stormed the Pulse nightclub armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun at about 2 a.m., … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
U.S. officials: No evidence of direct ISIS link to Orlando shooting (Reuters)
U.S. officials said on Sunday they had seen no immediate evidence of any direct connection between the worst mass shooting in U.S. history and Islamic State or any other foreign extremist group. The two officials, who were familiar with the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said they had yet to uncover any direct contacts between any extremist group and the suspect who opened fire in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. At least 50 people were killed and 53 … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting: 50 killed in ‘domestic terror incident’ at gay club; gunman identified (Washington Post)
ORLANDO - A gunman opened fire inside a crowded nightclub here early Sunday morning, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others in a rampage that was the deadliest mass shooting in the country's history. Authorities in Orlando said Sunday that the siege at Pulse, a popular gay bar and dance club, was quickly deemed an act of domestic terrorism. Police said that after a first round of gunshots at 2 a.m., the shooter took hostages for about three hours, until officers who went inside to rescue … Continue Reading
June 12, 2016
50 dead in Orlando nightclub terrorism attack, state of emergency declared (Los Angeles Times/Orlando Sentinel)
A lone gunman armed with a pistol and an assault rifle killed 50 people and injured 53 more at a gay Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning in the deadliest mass shooting in American history. The man, whom officials have identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, was killed after a shootout with Orlando police. U.S. investigators are operating under a theory that the Orlando nightclub mass shooting was inspired by Islamic State, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence … Continue Reading
May 20, 2016
Data Points to Rapid Loss of Control Aboard EgyptAir Jet (New York Times)
CAIRO - A piece of luggage adrift in the Mediterranean Sea. Floating nearby, a passenger seat from a plane. Scraps of metal, scattered personal belongings and, finally, the grim discovery of human remains. As the investigation continued Friday into what caused an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo to suddenly and violently plunge from the sky, the discovery of the debris allowed search crews to home in on the location of the crash - an area about 180 miles north of Alexandria, Egypt - even … Continue Reading
May 19, 2016
U.S. intelligence still searching for clues (Los Angeles Times)
U.S. intelligence officials are combing through satellite imagery, communications intercepts and passenger records for clues that might explain the downing of an EgyptAir jetliner in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said analysts are checking a series of classified databases. "We are going through our intelligence holdings to determine, do we have any images of what happened to the plane, do we have any … Continue Reading
May 18, 2016
Top Intel Dem: Trump joins 'great statesmen' like Dennis Rodman (The Hill)
A leading House Democrat on Wednesday slammed presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's "overture" to speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "With his earlier praise of the dictator's execution of his own uncle, Trump now joins the ranks of other great statesmen, like Dennis Rodman," Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Rodman, who backed Trump's White House bid last summer, grabbed the international spotlight … Continue Reading
May 16, 2016
Gov. Brown seeks to beef up California's earthquake early warning system (KPCC)
California's pilot earthquake early warning system is one step closer to being ready for prime time thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown's latest budget proposal. In it, he asks the state legislature to allocate $10 million for the project. "This is a huge thing for us and a great contribution from the state," said Ken Hudnut, science advisor for risk reduction with the U.S. Geological Survey, which is helping develop the early warning technology. The system works thanks to sensors placed near faults … Continue Reading
May 16, 2016
California quake warning system could start sending public alerts by 2018 (Los Angeles Times)
In a major reversal, Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking state funds for a fledgling earthquake early warning system for California, which would allow for a limited rollout of alerts by 2018. The governor has supported creation of the system, which can give as much as a minute of warning before shaking from a big earthquake hits urban areas. But until now, Brown and the state Legislature opposed providing funds from the state's budget, arguing instead the money should come from only private and … Continue Reading
May 11, 2016
Leaders praise DOJ lawsuit, CA’s moves for trans rights (Beverly Press)
The U.S. Department of Justice this week filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state of North Carolina for its recently passed HB2 legislation. Dubbed the "bathroom bill," HB2 marked a sweeping reversal of ordinances that protected transgender citizens who use public restrooms based on their gender identity. "The legislature and the governor placed North Carolina in direct opposition to federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity," U.S. Attorney … Continue Reading
May 05, 2016
Spies Worry Candidate Trump Will Spill Secrets (Daily Beast)
After Donald Trump is formally chosen as the Republican presidential nominee, he'll be able to receive classified U.S. intelligence briefings, which could include some of the same sensitive information that President Obama is given in the Oval Office. And that prospect has some spies sweating. Trump, who can't seem to dam his stream of consciousness on Twitter, and who has lately taken to spreading rumors and conspiracy theories on national television, has never been privy to national … Continue Reading
May 05, 2016
Key Congressman Unsure About Sharing Classified Info With Donald Trump (Huffington Post)
WASHINGTON - Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, doesn't sound particularly comfortable with sharing classified information with GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump. "The practice of providing intelligence briefings to the presidential nominees of both parties is a sound one," Schiff said in a Thursday statement. "Whether it is premature in the case of Donald Trump is one question; whether it would do any good is another." Traditionally, … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
U.S. Legislators Call for Justice for Armenian Genocide (Asbarez)
WASHINGTON-Members of U.S. Senate and House took part in the annual Capitol Hill remembrance of the Armenian Genocide on April 27, stressing that the United States, as a matter of national policy, should be working toward a truthful and just recognition of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). During the evening remembrance program, legislators raised serious concerns, on a bipartisan basis, regarding the dangerous modern day implications of continued … Continue Reading
April 28, 2016
Repealing the Gun Industry’s Inexcusable Immunity Shield (Los Feliz Ledger)
In 2002, fear gripped the nation's capital as two snipers took the lives of ten victims in and around Washington, DC. When the culprits were found and arrested, investigators learned that the gun they used?-?a Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle?-?had been stolen from a gun dealer in Tacoma, Washington, with a long history of having guns simply go missing from its inventory. Families of the victims brought lawsuits against both the dealer, for failing to oversee the sale of its weapons, … Continue Reading