SC’s Nikki Haley raises $11 million in first 6 weeks of White House bid
Nikki Haley has raised more than $11 million since launching her 2024 White House bid in mid-February, her campaign announced Wednesday.
Her campaign received more than 70,000 individual donations, with 67,000 of the contributions being $200 or less.
She ended the quarter, which ran from Jan. 1 through March 31, with $7.8 million cash on hand.
Haley’s campaign said her top fundraising states were South Carolina, Florida and Texas.
“In just six weeks, Nikki Haley’s massive fundraising and active retail campaigning in early voting states makes her a force to be reckoned with,” Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney said.
Haley’s campaign did not release fundraising totals the first week as is traditional for campaigns, which political analysts thought may be a potentially troubling sign.
The former South Carolina governor’s haul is more than the $9.5 million raised by former president Donald Trump in the first month-and-a-half of his 2024 campaign, and is more than was raised by nearly all 2016 Republican presidential candidates in their first quarters.
Trump, however, has raised about $8 million since he was indicted Thursday in New York in a hush money case, as his campaign has seen a spike in interest and media attention.
—The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Victims in Texas church shooting, US settle case for $144 million
The U.S. government said it will pay $144 million to victims and family members of the 26 people killed and 22 injured during a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017.
The tentative settlement announced Wednesday by the Justice Department could end years of litigation over claims the U.S. Air Force failed to report the gunman’s history of violence to the FBI’s background check system, including a conviction for domestic assault. Had the information been reported, he couldn’t legally purchase the gun used in the attack.
“No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta in a statement. “Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime.”
The shooting occurred during a church service, and the gunman killed himself after the attack.
A federal judge in Texas ruled in 2021 that the Air Force was largely liable for the deadly attack for failing to prevent the shooter from buying guns. The government appealed the decision, drawing criticism from gun-control groups who accused the U.S. of retraumatizing survivors.
—Bloomberg News
Police in Georgia investigating murder-suicide in Chick-fil-A drive-thru
ATLANTA — A Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Rome abruptly turned into a crime scene Wednesday morning when a man walked up to a woman’s car, fatally shot her and then shot himself as commuters waited in line for breakfast.
Rome police were called to the fast-food restaurant on Shorter Avenue around 7 a.m. for what was initially reported as a vehicle crash with injuries, the department said in a statement. They were then notified it had actually been a shooting.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Cassie Davis, who had just turned 39 on Friday, was waiting in the drive-thru when 56-year-old Anthony Green pulled into the parking lot, got out of his vehicle and shot her three times through the passenger-side window, according to Floyd County Deputy Coroner Chris Giles. Green then turned the gun on himself, delivering one fatal shot, Giles said.
As Davis’ foot came off the brake, her vehicle then rolled forward and hit a power box before going down an embankment into traffic, which is why the incident was initially reported as a wreck, Giles said. No other vehicles were involved.
Police have not released details about what may have sparked the shooting, but Giles confirmed the two had previously been in an apparent relationship.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
'Queen Camilla' used officially for first time on coronation invites
LONDON — The title Queen Camilla has been used for the first time in an official capacity, appearing on invitations for King Charles III's coronation.
Camilla had been referred to as Queen Consort since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but is named as Queen Camilla alongside King Charles III on the invites due to be sent to more than 2,000 guests.
The move marks the incredible journey of Camilla over more than five decades, from romantic involvement, to mistress and finally wife of the king — and will end with her formally being crowned queen alongside the new king.
Future king Prince George will play an important role in the coronation of his grandfather alongside seven schoolboys, with all named as pages of honor who will "attend their majesties during the coronation service."
The group are either family friends or close relatives of Charles and Camilla, including three of the queen's grandchildren, and will be expected to carry the robes of prominent figures during the day.
With the coronation almost a month away, a new double portrait of the king and queen, wearing a Fiona Clare dress, has been released showing them smiling in Buckingham Palace's blue drawing room in an image taken by Hugo Burnand, a favorite photographer of the royal family.
—PA Media/dpa
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