The Full Belmonte, 8/27/2023
Three killed in racially motivated shooting at Florida store, sheriff says
By Andrea Salcedo and Bryan Pietsch
A White man armed killed three Black people after opening fire on Aug. 26, at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., in a racially motivated attack. (Video: Reuters)
“A White man armed with a high-powered rifle covered in swastikas killed three Black people after opening fire Saturday at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., before fatally shooting himself, local law enforcement said, describing the attack as racially motivated.
‘He targeted a certain group a people, and that’s Black people,’ Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters (R) said at a news conference Saturday evening.
Two men and one woman were killed in the shooting, he said. Authorities have not publicly identified the gunman but said he was in his early 20s and fatally shot himself after law enforcement arrived at the scene. No other people suffered gunshot wounds, and the shooter is believed to have acted alone, Waters said.
The FBI’s Jacksonville office is investigating the shooting as a hate crime, the agency said in a statement posted to social media. Images provided by authorities of an AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting showed white swastikas drawn on the weapon….” Read more at New York Times
DNA evidence confirms Wagner chief Prigozhin died in plane crash outside Moscow, Russian investigative committee says
“Russia's Investigative Committee said that Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Wagner Group mercenary chief who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin in June, was among the 10 people killed on a plane that crashed in Russia on Wednesday.” Read more at Washington Post
Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right for 35 years, dies aged 99
“Bob Barker, who hosted the US game show The Price Is Right for 35 years, has died at the age of 99.
The Price is Right is the longest-running game show on US television and is watched every weekday by audiences in other countries.
Barker was its smiling face from the first series in 1972 until 2007. He won 19 Emmy awards during a radio and TV career that spanned six decades.
He died of natural causes at his home near Los Angeles, his agent said.
‘The World's Greatest MC [Master of Ceremonies] who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,’ publicist Roger Neal said in a statement on Saturday.
Barker was born in December 1923 in Washington State and joined the US Navy during World War Two, before starting a career in radio, and later TV.
In CBS's The Price Is Right, excited contestants were famously invited to ‘come on down’ before Barker tested their knowledge of the price of consumer items in return for prizes.
In 2007, aged 83, he was succeeded as host by comedian Drew Carey.
When Baker's death was first reported, Carey tweeted: ‘There hasn't been a day on set that I didn't think of Bob Barker and thank him. I will carry his memory in my heart forever.’
Hollywood actor Adam Sandler also paid tribute to his Happy Gilmore co-star, saying Barker was ‘The man. The myth. The best’ and that he would be ‘missed by everyone’.
Fellow actor James Woods also praised Barker, highlighting his "greatest contribution" as an advocate for animal rights.
Woods said as well as being a world famous game show host, Barker's ‘love for our furry friends inspired compassionate movements all over the world’.
Animal rights group Peta said Barker would be remembered for his ‘lifelong work for animals’ and that he was committed to pushing for the end of animal exploitation in ‘every way’.
Barker was a vegetarian for more than 40 years, and repeatedly spoke out about animal cruelty and donated money to animal rights work.” [BBC]