A.M. Links: President Speaks on Gun Violence, Mitt Romney Crosses the Pond, Hollywood Director Blames Violence in Movies
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President Obama addressed the National Urban League yesterday on the topic of gun violence. "Every day and a half the number of young people we lose to violence is about the same as the number of people we lost in that movie theater," he said. The president wants to "arrive at a consensus around violence reduction."
- Mitt Romney begins his international trip with the opening of the London Olympics, and will then go to Poland and Israel. While the candidate vows not to bash President Obama publicly, he's expected to do so privately with Polish and Israeli officials.
- Drug money may be involved in vote-buying schemes being prosecuted in eastern Kentucky. "These folks go out and hijack the local elections for their own purposes and then they use those jobs to enrich themselves and their confederates. It really is a terrible problem and it has to be stopped," said the U.S. attorney Kerry Harvey explained.
- A United Nations report says there are so many drones over Somalia they're starting to interfere with air traffic. One even crashed into a refugee camp. The U.N. did not blame the United States, because, secrets!, but it noted the drones were manufactured in the U.S. and President Obama acknowledged military operations in Somalia in a war powers letter to Congress last month.
- Director Peter Bogdanovich suggests the rise of "pornographic" violent movies may be to blame for violence in society.
- State Farm and Chubb Insurance are both in court arguing they're not obligated to pay Jerry Sandusky's legal bills. State Farm says the convicted child rapist's insurance plan did not include "bodily injury that is intentionally caused by the policyholder."
- Iran says it will comply with an Olympics rule that no country's representatives may refuse to compete against another country's representative. The only Iranian athlete that could've faced an Israeli competitor withdrew due to medical reasons the day before.
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