The Morning Briefing: Las Vegas Massacre Day Three and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday Morning.

Here is what’s on the President’s agenda today:

In the morning, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will depart the White House for Joint Base Andrews, en route to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Later in the morning, the President and the First Lady will arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will visit with patients and medical professionals.
The President and the First Lady will then visit with civilian heroes and first responders.
In the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will depart Las Vegas, Nevada, for Washington, D.C., en route to the White House.

What’s the latest on the Las Vegas massacre?

We now have confirmation that the man who slaughtered 59 concertgoers and injured 500+ attendees in Las Vegas had modified 12 guns with “bump stocks,” an accessory which would allow his rifles to fire virtually at the rate of a fully automatic weapon. Bump stocks are legal, apparently. Forty-seven weapons have been recovered from three different locations: the Mandalay Bay, his house in Mesquite, and his house in Northern Nevada. The New York Post writes that the shooter’s weapons cache “included a .308-caliber AR-10 rifle and an AK-47 type rifle — as well as four Daniel Defense DDM4 rifles, three FN-15s and other rifles made by Sig Sauer, according to reports.” Spendy stuff. In addition to the firearms, there were bomb-making materials found in the shooter’s home and car. It was also confirmed the shooter had set up cameras inside and outside his room to monitor the inevitable force that would come to stop him. The police have released selected body-cam video. The Daily Beast floats an idea: did the gunman target a Chance the Rapper and Lorde Concert the week before?

The shooter’s companion/girlfriend has returned to the U.S. Prior to the shooting, the gunman wired $100,000 to the Philippines, where his lady friend was visiting at the time of the massacre.

EXCLUSIVE: Marilou Danley, girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. More: https://t.co/LObba2CM6i pic.twitter.com/mpqNMKNqEJ

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 4, 2017

We still do not know much about the shooter. Employees at a casino in Mesquite said he was abusive to his lady friend. “He would glare down at her and say — with a mean attitude — ‘You don’t need my casino card for this. I’m paying for your drink, just like I’m paying for you,'” supervisor Esperanza Mendoza told the Times. “Then she would softly say,’OK’ and step back behind him. He was so rude to her in front of us.”

Parade of jackasses

The gun-control escalation by the gun-ignorant masses is beyond my capabilities to chronicle. But here’s something to notee: we have a Drexel University professor who blames the Las Vegas massacre on white, male Trumpism. “White people and men are told that they are entitled to everything. This is what happens when they don’t get what they want…”

On the plus side…

Airlines offer free flights to victims’ families. Both Allegiant and Southwest Airlines will donate flights to come to the city. The GoFundMe effort to help with relief is up to $8 million.

Historical picture of the day:

A policeman and volunteers help bring ashore the body of a victim of the Eastern Airlines turbo-prop electra Airliner that crashed into Boston Harbour on Oct. 4, 1960. Sixty one people died in the disaster and 11 others were injured. (AP Photo)

Other morsels:

Cable access host: Let’s face it, the NRA is a terrorist organization

Hurricane Maria death toll jumps to 34 in Puerto Rico

Danny Tarkanian Tells MSNBC He Would Do Something on Gun Control if Elected

Wisconsin judge denies new trial for ‘Making a Murderer’ convict

LOL Vox: The media is distorting coverage of Antifa

IRS part of $5 million push to pressure uninsured Americans to buy Obamacare

Elementary school bans Halloween parade over inclusiveness. Here’s what kids will celebrate instead.

White House seeking $29 billion more in disaster assistance

Dogwalker claims that her Basset Hound discovered a severed human penis while playing on the beach

‘Downton Abbey’ star Rob James-Collier says playing gay hurt his career

Equifax ex-CEO: Hacked data wasn’t encrypted