What we’re reading: Suspect in Pelosi Attack, Trump’s tax records, The Twitter takeover, and Halloween drive-by shooting

AP

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins addresses reporters at a news conference with Police Chief William Scott standing next to her on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in San Francisco. Jenkins announced state charges against David DePape, including attempted murder. DePape is accused of breaking into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

By Josh Willie, Staff Writer
Published Nov 1, 2022

Attack on Nancy Pelosi fails

On Friday, October 28th, David Wayne Depape, the suspect in the Pelosi attack, entered Nancy Pelosi’s home in an attempt to kidnap her and even “break her kneecaps,” said Depape. New evidence arose in a press conference led by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins Monday morning. Detailed evidence through documents and witnesses may suggest Depape’s motives, according to the New York Times. Depape entered the back of the house through a window and immediately greeted Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Jenkins stated that the suspect asked where Nancy was right away. Paul ran to the bathroom and made a 911 call. Depape proceeded to strike Paul directly in the head with a hammer, and San Francisco Police restrained Depape. The police found other items in Depape’s backpack including tape, rope, a hammer, gloves and a journal. Depape is being charged on multiple accounts including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family, said Jenkins. Paul Pelosi is still contained in an ICU located in San, Francisco after undergoing surgery to fix his fractured skull.

Trump’s tax records shielded

FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Minden Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nev., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. For years, as Trump was soaring from reality TV star to the White House, his real estate empire was bankrolling big perks for some of his most trusted senior executives, including apartments and luxury cars. Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial this week for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors say was a 15-year scheme by top officials to hide the plums and avoid paying taxes. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, File) (AP)
Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court requested a “temporary hold” on the Internal Revenue Service’s request to view former President Donald Trump’s internal tax records, according to CNN. Roberts set a block against House Democrats and lower courts from obtaining any type of tax records from the past few years. Specifically, Roberts targeted the House Ways and Means Committee from gathering years of Trump’s tax records. The House Democrats gave reasoning on why they wish to obtain such records. “The committee’s purpose in requesting President Trump’s tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the president’s tax information to the public,” they claimed. Roberts along with Trump and his lawyers are giving the Ways and Means Committee until Nov. 10 to respond, according to NBC News. “The Committee maintains the law is on our side and will file a timely response as requested,” said Dylan Peachey, a spokeswoman for The Ways and Means Committee.

Elon Musk removes Twitter’s board of directors

Elon Musk attends Heidi Klum’s 21st annual Halloween party at Sake No Hana at Moxy Lower East Side on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has officially started. The purchasing Twitter for a hefty $44 billion deal came with an extensive back-and-forth discussion between Musk and the Twitter Board. Musk is now named the chief executive of Twitter. After the removal of top executives in the company, Musk has drawn in high-profile allies to the company according to BBC News.  As Musk continues to make changes and revamps the platform, there is a small community of members that still have access to the internal parts of Twitter to make sure there is no real harm caused by this purchase and the “improvement” of the platform. Kurt Wagner, a reporter behind the Bloomberg article, said in a tweet that some employees “still have full access but it’s a small group” of roughly 30 people.

Halloween shooting harms 14 people

At approximately 9:30 p.m., gunfire rang out in Garfield Park, located in Chicago’s West Side on Halloween night, according to the New York Times. “At least 14 people, including three minors, were wounded in a drive-by shooting,” said David Brown, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Brown stated the victims of the shooting included a 3-year-old boy and two teenagers who were 11 and 13 years old. The gunfire lasted less than three seconds, according to Brown. As the case is still under investigation, the Chicago P.D. noted that at least 14 are wounded and there was one person who shot out the car. “There are no known motives behind this shooting yet,” Brown said. “They’re all in various conditions, between critical and non-life-threatening. We also have a person struck by a vehicle at the scene as well.” No known cases of death exist yet, and the families are praying for a full recovery for each of the victims. “They’re just young,” said community activist Andrew Holmes of the children shot during the incident. “They’re putting on an outfit just to enjoy the evening and then you got a clown that goes and discharges that weapon, bringing great bodily harm to these families.”