| Federal investigators are working tirelessly to determine how a would-be assassin nearly ended former President Donald Trump’s life, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Wednesday. |
| “The shooter may be deceased, but the FBI investigation is very much ongoing,” Wray said at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. |
| The director disclosed new details about suspected shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks and how he planned the attack that killed one rally-goer, critically wounded two others, and pierced the former president’s right ear. |
| Wray noted that agents are still working to identify a motive for the shooting, though Crooks’s phone has provided some insight. |
| In addition to searches for various public officials, the 20-year-old gunman also researched the details of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on July 6—just one week before the shooting. |
| His Google search: “How far away was [Lee Harvey] Oswald from Kennedy?” |
| Investigators believe Crooks first visited the site of the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally one week before the shooting, and that he also returned for one hour on the morning of the event. |
| At 1:30 p.m., he purchased 50 rounds of ammunition. At 3:50 p.m., he was back on-site, flying a drone roughly 200 yards from the stage where Trump would later deliver his remarks. |
| Agents later recovered that drone from his car. |
| Crooks also purchased a ladder prior to the shooting, but that ladder was not found at the rally site. Instead, investigators believe Crooks scaled the AGR building—from which he fired on Trump and others—using vertical piping attached to the building and “mechanical equipment” on the ground. |
| The day before the rally, agents think Crooks visited a shooting range, where he “probably” shot the same AR-style rifle he used in the assassination attempt—a gun he purchased from his father. |
| Wray advised that “easily 700” FBI agents are involved in the ongoing investigation, including some stationed overseas. |
| So far, they have uncovered no evidence to suggest Crooks had accomplices in his mission. |
| —Samantha Flom |
 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) listen in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) |
| NETANYAHU’S JOINT ADDRESS |
| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a joint address to Congress on Wednesday, called on the United States to expedite its military assistance to Israel amid its conflict with Hamas. |
| “Give us the tools faster and we will finish the job faster,” he said in his speech, which received many cheers and standing ovations by those in attendance. |
| Netanyahu thanked the United States, including President Joe Biden, for their support of the Jewish state, which has been trying to annihilate Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, when the U.S.-designated terrorist group launched the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust in an attack that also involved raping and taking Israelis hostage. |
| Earlier this spring, the Biden administration stated that it had halted delivery of certain “high-payload” munitions to Israel, as it raised concerns about civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. |
| Netanyahu responded to concerns over possible civilian casualties in Rafah. He said, outside of one incident that “unintentionally” killed a couple dozen civilians, there have been “practically none,” citing to the precautionary measures Israel’s military takes in warning civilians about upcoming bombings and other moves. |
| The prime minister noted that Israel has been delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza but accused Hamas, which controls the geographical strip, of stealing assistance. |
| Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists gathered in the streets outside the U.S. Capitol for a rally calling for a cease-fire and for the Israeli prime minister to be arrested for war crimes. |
| Netanyahu also condemned anti-Semitism in the United States including on college and university campuses. |
| He accused many protesters of siding with Hamas and “with rapists and murderers.” |
| “Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza.’ They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC,’” he said. |
| Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Epoch Times after the address that Mr. Netanyahu delivered “an epic speech” that conveyed a vision that “is the only way to defeat Hamas.” |
| Graham said he hoped that viewers paid particular attention to the portions of the speech in which the Israeli leader described his post-war vision. |
| Netanyahu said his post-war vision is one of a “demilitarized and deradicalized” Gaza Strip. The Israeli leader insisted that his country does not seek to resettle the territory, but he said that it “must retain overriding security control there” for the “foreseeable future” to prevent a resurgence of threats to his country. |
| Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told The Epoch Times following the address: “Israel is fighting our fight right now. And I wish a lot of people on the other side of the aisle realized that. They’re sending their children into harm’s way to protect America. That’s what they’re doing. And people need to hear that.” |
| Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said: “There is no question Hamas has to be removed from power. I agree with that, but I don’t agree that anyone who is protesting their strategy on war in Michigan are people who support Hamas.” |
| Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said he felt that Mr. Netanyahu’s speech entailed a lot of “war-sloganeering, and not much thoughtful, detailed explanation of how he’s going to keep Israel safe in the long run.” |
| —Jackson Richman and Ryan Morgan |
| BOOKMARKS |
| A federal judge has decided not to dismiss President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos. The suit is based on Mr. Stephanopulous’ March 2023 interview in which he said President Trump was found liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll, when the jury actually found him liable of sexual assault. |
| A plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal claimed the lives of 18 people o Wednesday. The small passenger plane burst into flames shortly after takeoff; the pilot is the only survivor. |
| The nation of Georgia is opening an investigation into a plot to kill Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. The plan allegedly involved the overthrow of the government, and was formed by “former senior Georgian officials and law enforcement officers currently residing in Ukraine.” |
| Scientists in Brazil have released a study reporting the presence of cocaine in muscle and liver tissue of sharks found off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The anomaly may be the result of undiscovered cocaine packs polluting the ocean, or “continuous environmental release from inadequate sewage treatment facilities as well as from clandestine refining operations.” |
| The UK has fined social media giant Tik-Tok £1.9 million for failing to provide the Office of Communications with accurate data about parental controls. The faulty data forced the Office to revise its child safety report last-minute, and authorities said Tik-Tok had noticed the mistake three weeks before reporting it. |
| —Stacy Robinson |
