South Carolina congresswoman's home vandalized
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Charleston police are investigating the vandalism of South Carolina U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace’s Daniel Island home after someone spray-painted it with profanity and symbols during Memorial Day weekend.
A statement and a video from Mace’s congressional office shows graffiti painted on the street outside of the freshman Republican congresswoman’s home, the sidewalk leading up to her house and on the side of her home.
Part of the graffiti on the sidewalk reads, “No gods, no masters, all politicians are bastards,” and is followed by the anarchist “A” symbol. “Pass the pro act” also was spray-painted on the side of her home, referring to a bill currently in Congress that would protect the rights of workers to organize.
“Although my kids and I are thankfully fine, the criminal events at my home where I’m raising my two children are unacceptable no matter your politics,” Mace said.
The Charleston Police Department is handling the investigation, and a spokesman said Tuesday no arrests had been made.
A police report provided to media outlets said officers responded to Mace’s home on Wando Landing Street Monday morning. Mace told police her daughter noticed “several black graffiti marks” after she returned home Sunday night.
In their report, Charleston police said officers found other graffiti at different locations across Daniel Island, including near Barfield Park and Center Park. In Barfield Park, someone spray-painted the acronym for “Make American Great Again” and wrote an expletive on the ground at Center Park. Near Daniel Island Drive and Mazo Street, someone also spray-painted “Black lives matter” in the roadway, according to the police report.
—The State
Harris’ staff to shift to in-person work in July
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will have all her staff with her on the White House grounds for the first time since she took office beginning in July.
According to a White House memo obtained by McClatchy, aides to the vice president who have been working from home all or some of the time since the inauguration will be onboarded beginning July 6.
The policy change also applies to other White House staff, in addition to aides to Harris. They will make the transition to full-time work at the White House between July 6 and July 23, the memo said, although there are possible exceptions for those facing extenuating circumstances.
The directive does not apply to every aide to President Joe Biden who is working remotely. The memo said those who are not working out of the White House already will be contacted about relocating to Washington, D.C., and transitioning to on-campus work at a later date.
The White House has already dropped a mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals. More journalists were also allowed at the White House and in the press briefing room beginning in late May.
But the White House Office of Management and Administration signaled in a memo to aides on Tuesday that it plans to curtail additional health and safety restrictions it put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic in the next few weeks.
A full reopening of the White House is not expected in early July. Rather, an official stressed that the White House would resume normal operations in phases this summer.
—McClatchy Washington Bureau
Dad takes son on ‘paint ball drive-by.’ Boy is shot by scared resident
MIAMI — Police say a 10-year-old boy approached his father with an unusual request: Could he take him to do a drive-by shooting in Opa-locka with a paint gun? The father, 26-year-old Michael Williams, agreed, detectives say.
Williams’ van pulled up to the house on Rutland Street, and the boy began to shoot paint balls into the crowd, where some other young people were gathering in the front yard. But the resident, Gregory Barns, believed “he and his family were under attack” — and squeezed off one round with a real gun, wounding the boy on Sunday night, according to police.
Williams has now been charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, saying he “acted recklessly by agreeing to conduct a drive-by paint ball shooting,” according to a police report made public on Tuesday.
The boy suffered a further injury after losing his balance and getting run over by the van, according to the police report. In the chaos, Williams got the boy, put him in the van and drove home, where the child’s mother called 911, police said.
It was unclear Tuesday if Williams had an attorney. Information on his case has yet to be posted online. He was no longer listed as being in a Miami-Dade jail.
—Miami Herald
Unvaccinated NY governor candidate won't wear a mask indoors
NEW YORK — Despite opting against getting the coronavirus vaccine, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Giuliani keeps making campaign appearances in various indoor settings without a face mask on in apparent violation of New York’s public health restrictions.
In the past two weeks alone, Giuliani has posted photos of himself on Twitter appearing maskless and shoulder-to-shoulder with staff indoors at a bagel shop, a diner and a pizzeria in upstate New York. In a video from the pizzeria stop in Rensselaer outside Albany on May 22, Giuliani can also be seen talking to reporters who are less than 6 feet away, his face uncovered.
Giuliani’s face covering flouting appears to violate New York State Department of Health regulations that say unvaccinated individuals “must wear masks in all public settings,” including while in food and retail establishments.
The 35-year-old son of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was forthcoming during his campaign announcement on May 18 that he had not gotten vaccinated and claimed he didn’t need to as long as COVID-19 antibodies remained in his system from when he caught the virus in November.
Speaking to the Daily News on Tuesday, Giuliani said he still hasn’t gotten vaccinated and reiterated the same reason for deciding against it.
“I have not been vaccinated. I have the antibodies,” Giuliani said.
—New York Daily News
