'I understand you have conditioned your appearance'

The claim originates from a site that is a regular source of misinformation and has been debunked by Check Your Fact several times in the past. 

‘I consider him a comrade in the fight for our people’

Movies & TV Babylon 5 Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Survivors” Garibaldi reveals a tragic backstory and is accused of sabotage… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on June 17, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share “Survivors”Written by Marc Scott ZicreeDirected by Jim JohnstonSeason 1, Episode 11Production episode 111Original air date: May 4, 1994 It was the dawn of the third age… President Santiago is going to visit Babylon 5, partly to deliver a new fighter wing to the station. Garibaldi is complaining about the fact that they should’ve gotten this fighter wing two years ago, and also that the Cobra Bays are being remodeled by inexperienced crews and something will probably go horribly wrong. Just as Ivanova is congratulating the security chief on how Russian he’s sounding, he’s proven right, as there’s an explosion. A worker is blown out into space, and another—Nolan—is badly burned. Franklin treats him—he’s too out of it to answer questions. Garibaldi’s initial investigation doesn’t show any signs of sabotage, but also no ability to rule it out. The head of Santiago’s security detail, Major Lianna Kemmer, has arrived and demands to see Sinclair immediately. Garibaldi reacts to her name, revealing to Sinclair that he was close friends with her father and knew her as a child, but hasn’t seen her in seventeen years. Credit: Warner Bros. Television There’s obvious tension between Kemmer and Garibaldi, and she demands that she be put in charge of the investigation. Garibaldi agrees, and then he angrily goes to the Zocalo and picks on a thief named Dagool, roughing him up some before Sinclair stops him. The commander confronts Garibaldi, who explains the source of the tension between him and Kemmer. Seventeen years earlier, Garibaldi was working on Europa, which was a cesspool of corruption. Garibaldi drank in order to deal with it. His only friend was a shuttle pilot named Frank Kemmer, and Garibaldi was semi-adopted by the Kemmer family. Because he refused to be on the take, Garibaldi made a lot of enemies and they had Frank killed and framed Garibaldi for being guilty of negligence. It just led to Garibaldi drinking more, especially after he broke the news to the Kemmer family, including Frank’s little daughter. Said daughter is all grow’d up and has kicked Franklin out of Medlab and has Nolan revived and interrogated, against Franklin’s medical advice, as that will probably kill him—which it does, but not until Nolan fingers Garibaldi for being the saboteur. Adding insult to injury is that Kemmer’s aide, Cutter, finds detailed plans for the Cobra Bays and Centauri currency in Garibaldi’s quarters. Garibaldi’s response to this accusation of sabotage is to assault Cutter and run away. Kemmer immediately puts out a fugitive alert. Sinclair and Ivanova—who were not present when Cutter showed off the specs and apparent bribe—cancel the alert. Sinclair accuses Kemmer of having a vendetta against Garibaldi that’s clouding her judgment. She counters that she has full authority here as the head of presidential security. Sinclair counters right back that it’s his station, thank you very much, and kicks her out of CinC. (“You are going to resist, I hope?” Ivanova says sweetly.) Sinclair admits to Ivanova that Kemmer will get the authority she needs eventually, but he’s hoping to find Garibaldi before that. To help matters, Ivanova orders a maintenance cycle on the communications array, which keeps Kemmer from contacting Earth. Credit: Warner Bros. Television Garibaldi steals some clothes and finds Mollari in the casino. Mollari denies that he set Garibaldi up, despite the Centauri currency that’s among the evidence against him. Mollari doesn’t deny that he would set Garibaldi up if he had good reason—but he doesn’t and he didn’t. In a reversal of their usual positions, Garibaldi asks Mollari for a loan, which the ambassador is amused to be able to grant, as he’s had some luck at the casino lately. Mollari also thinks that this smells of G’Kar. For his part, G’Kar—who knew Garibaldi was coming, as his spies saw him talking to Mollari, just as Mollari’s spies have no doubt seen Garibaldi sneaking around the ambassadorial wing—also denies setting Garibaldi up. G’Kar admits to admiring the plan and wishing he’d thought of it, but he didn’t. However, the only help he can provide Garibaldi is to offer to let him live in exile in Narn space. Garibaldi refuses, as he’s not that desperate… Garibaldi’s next stop is N’Grath, but the gangster wants nothing to do with a policeman, even a defrocked one. Then Garibaldi is accosted by Dagool, who’s brought a couple of Drazi along to pay Garibaldi back for his treatment in the Zocalo. Sinclair shows up in the nick of time to chase them off—but then Garibaldi sneaks off when Sinclair is distracted by being told that General Netter wants to speak to him. The general makes it clear that Sinclair is to provide Kemmer with full cooperation. Sinclair acquiesces, but once again accuses Kemmer of a vendetta. He also orders Nolan’s quarters to be searched. Garibaldi goes to a seedy dive in Downbelow, evading security and—for the first time in a long time—having a drink. But, since he’s an alcoholic, he can’t have just one drink, and after guzzling an entire bottle, he stumbles out into the corridor where Kemmer and her people stop him with ridiculous ease, as he’s swozzled (and still injured from being beaten up by Dagool and the Drazi—which is totally the name of my next band). Credit: Warner Bros. Television EarthForce One is due to arrive within the hour. Cutter volunteers to check the Cobra Bays one more time. Welch, one of Garibaldi’s security people, reports to Kemmer what they found in Nolan’s quarters after the search Sinclair ordered: Homeguard propaganda and a bomb detonator. Garibaldi, getting more sober by the second, hypothesizes that Nolan is the saboteur, but his bomb went off prematurely, and he pointed the finger at Garibaldi as a distraction. (And possibly as revenge, as Garibaldi had written him up for damaging a shop owned by a non-human.) And Cutter’s the one who “found” the evidence in Garibaldi’s quarters and now is supposedly checking the Cobra Bay. Garibaldi convinces Kemmer to check the bay herself, which she does, taking Garibaldi at gunpoint with her just to be safe. Before she can start the inspection, Cutter takes her out with a shock stick, but Garibaldi is able to subdue him and convince Ivanova to stop the launch of Zeta Wing. Turns out that Cutter put a whole mess of explosives all along the Cobra Bay. Cutter is revealed to be on Homeguard’s payroll, and he’s arrested. Kemmer—who is now wearing her hair down after having it up in a severe bun through the episode—reconciles with Garibaldi. Santiago’s visit is a great success, but Garibaldi is unhappy about the fact that he fell off the wagon. Nothing’s the same anymore. Sinclair is not at all happy with Kemmer’s throwing her weight around, and is also convinced that Garibaldi is not the saboteur. Ivanova is God. Ivanova isn’t all that thrilled with Kemmer, either, giving her mock-pleasant bureaucratic runarounds when denying her the use of the communications systems. The houshold god of frustration. We get a big chunk of Garibaldi’s backstory, finding out a part of why he has such a crappy reputation. We also learn that he’s an alcoholic, and that he’d been sober for a while before this episode. In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… Mollari has been blessed by Ilarus, the goddess of luck and patron saint of gamblers in the Centauri religion, which is why he’s able to float a loan to Garibaldi. Mollari says that he has a somewhat contentious relationship with that particular goddess… Credit: Warner Bros. Television Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. G’Kar is first seen complaining about the seating arrangements for Santiago’s visit, then later does the mustache-twirling bad-guy thing with Garibaldi… Welcome aboard. Elaine Thomas plays Kemmer (with Robin Wake playing the little-kid version of Kemmer in Garibaldi’s hallucination/recollection), Tom Donaldson plays Cutter, and Rod Perry plays Netter. Maggie Egan returns as the ISN reporter from “Midnight on the Firing Line”—she’ll continue in that role through all five seasons, and also in Crusade. Trivial matters. The original title of this episode was “A Knife in the Shadows,” which, unlike the one they used, actually fits the story…. Homeguard was last seen in “The War Prayer.” Both Mollari and G’Kar reference the Narn invasion of Ragesh III in “Midnight on the Firing Line.” Garibaldi’s time on Europa is fleshed out in the seventh issue of the Babylon 5 comic book DC published in 1995, in a story by Tim DeHaas & John Ridgway, based on an outline by J. Michael Straczynski. When we first met Mollari in “The Gathering,” he was in the casino trying to borrow money from Garibaldi. That their positions are now reversed is commented on by the Centauri ambassador. General Netter is named after executive producer Douglas Netter. This is Marc Scott Zicree’s only writing credit for B5. Most recently, Zicree is the co-creator of Space Command, a crowdfunded science fiction series that features (among others) B5 stars Mira Furlan, Bill Mumy, and Bruce Boxleitner. Amusingly, the main character of Space Command also has the family name of Kemmer, which was also the name of the lead actor in the 1950s TV series Space Patrol. The echoes of all of our conversations. “Mr. Garibaldi! Do you really think that I would do such a thing to you—my good and dear friend?” “In a minute.” “You’re right. But I didn’t.” —Mollari and Garibaldi. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The name of the place is Babylon 5. “The universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest.” As a vehicle of exposition and backstory regarding the character of Michael Garibaldi, this is excellent. The pain of his relationship with the Kemmer family and the character’s vicious struggle with alcoholism are very well portrayed by scripter Marc Scott Zicree (with uncredited rewrites by show creator J. Michael Straczynski) and by actor Jerry Doyle. Unfortunately, that’s the only way the episode is even a little good—in general as an episode of a television show, it’s tiresomely predictable, riddled with clichés, and really badly acted. B5’s hit-and-miss casting has two misses this time, as Elaine Thomas is spectacularly wooden as Kemmer. She only has one bland facial expression, and she has none of the bitterness or ruthlessness that the script insists she has. Her fatal interrogation of Nolan has no bite to it due to Thomas’ shortcomings. And in the end, they have to change her hair to show that she’s softened because the actor herself doing it has proven to be beyond her means. As for Tom Donaldson as Cutter, he’s practically wearing a sign on his forehead that says “I’m the secret bad guy.” Indeed, Cutter’s status as the real saboteur is one hundred percent inevitable, as he’s the only character with a speaking part who it could be, thus draining all suspense from the storyline. I’ve never had much patience with stories where a character becomes a fugitive in order to clear their name, because the very act of becoming a fugitive makes that impossible. I mean, sure, Garibaldi is cleared of sabotage, but he’s now guilty of resisting arrest, assaulting both military personnel and civilians, theft (of the clothes he’s wearing), and disobeying orders from his commanding officer. But—as with Franklin last week—Doyle’s in the opening credits, so he suffers no consequences. (Well, except for the consequences of drinking again, something the show will, to its credit, continue to address.) And then we have my biggest problem with the episode, which is a problem I had with the entire series: we never even see Santiago. Santiago is never seen in the flesh, and his vice-president and successor Clark is only seen briefly on screens in three episodes, finally seen in the flesh very briefly in his fourth and final appearance. These are two incredibly important characters to the storyline, yet they have no kind of significant presence in the foreground, which severely dilutes their impact (especially Clark’s, but Santiago’s, too). Next week: “By Any Means Necessary.”[end-mark] The post <i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Survivors” appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Delta Chat, a messaging application celebrated for its robust stance on privacy, has yet again rebuffed attempts by Russian authorities to access encryption keys and user data. This defiance is part of the app’s ongoing commitment to user privacy, which was articulated forcefully in a response from Holger Krekel, the CEO of the app’s developer. On June 11, 2024, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, known as Roskomnadzor, demanded that Delta Chat register as a messaging service within Russia and surrender access to user data and decryption keys. In response, Krekel conveyed that Delta Chat’s architecture inherently prevents the accumulation of user data—be it email addresses, messages, or decryption keys—because it allows users to independently select their email providers, thereby leaving no trail of communication within Delta Chat’s control. The app, which operates on a decentralized platform utilizing existing email services, ensures that it stores no user data or encryption keys. Instead, it remains in the hands of the email provider and the users, safeguarded on their devices, making it technically unfeasible for Delta Chat to fulfill any government’s data requests. Highlighting the ongoing global governmental challenges against end-to-end encryption, a practice vital to safeguarding digital privacy, Delta Chat outlined its inability to comply with such demands on its Mastodon account. They noted that this pressure is not unique to Russia, but is part of a broader international effort by various governments, including those in the EU, the US, and the UK, to weaken the pillars of digital security. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Delta Chat Refuses Russian Government’s Surveillance Demands appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Wanting Quiet is White Supremacy or Something

After going extinct in the wild in the 1960s, Przewalski’s horses are now beginning to make a comeback to their native home of the plains of Central Asia. In order to help with conservation efforts, researchers from the University of Minnesota have successfully mapped the entirety of the species’ genome.Genomics, the study of the entirety of an organism’s DNA, has an important role to play in conservation. It can give scientists insight into how diverse the population is – which can help to avoid inbreeding – as well as the genetic basis underlying its traits, especially those that might affect health.However, in order to use genomics in this way, there must first be something to compare to – a reference genome. One already existed for Przewalski’s horses, but the team wanted to improve upon it.“Studying genes without a good reference is like doing a 3 billion-piece puzzle without the picture on the box,” said Nicole Flack, who co-led the study describing the generation of the genomic map, in a statement. “Przewalski's horse researchers studying mutations in an important gene need a good reference picture to compare their puzzle with.”To do this, the researchers first took a blood sample from Varuschka, a 10-year-old Przewalski’s mare housed at the Minnesota Zoo and descended from wild members of the species that once lived in Mongolia.The next step was to sequence and then assemble the reference genome. This was done using a device that’s only roughly the size of a soda can – genomics has come a long way in the last few years from big machines taking up space in the lab. These kinds of devices are pretty portable, meaning they could be used in the field to study the genomes of Przewalski’s horse populations living in remote regions.The resulting reference genome was found to have something called a BUSCO score of nearly 99 percent – that’s a measure of the completeness of a genome, suggesting this one would make a pretty solid reference for conservationists to use.Przewalski’s horses very nearly went completely extinct in the 20th century due to changes in the climate, loss of habitat, competition for resources, and hunting. Nonetheless, the species survived through 12 wild-caught horses; thanks to conservation efforts the population is now at around 2,000, and some have even recently been reintroduced to the Golden Steppe in Kazakhstan.However, Przewalski’s horses are still considered endangered. As the last true wild horses left in the world, those conservation efforts, including the creation of a reference genome, become all the more significant. “Availability of a highly contiguous reference genome is essential to support these continued efforts. […] This improved Przewalski’s horse assembly will serve as a valuable resource,” the study authors write.The study is published in G3.

Diagrams and animations showing the orbits of the planets are lying to you a little bit. Or to put it more accurately, they are simplifying the orbits of the planets so that teachers don't have to explain barycenters to children who are still coming to grips with Earth not being the only planet that exists.The way you are taught about the orbits of the planets generally looks something like the below video.     But this is a simplified version. Though the Sun is the largest object in the Solar System, with about about 1,048 times the mass of Jupiter, gravity is a two-way street. Just as the Earth exerts a gravitational pull on the Earth, you exert your own (far, far smaller) gravitational pull on the Earth. "Kepler's third law describes the relationship between the masses of two objects mutually revolving around each other and the determination of orbital parameters," NASA explains. "Consider a small star in orbit about a more massive one. Both stars actually revolve about a common center of mass, which is called the barycenter. This is true no matter what the size or mass of each of the objects involved. Measuring a star's motion about its barycenter with a massive planet is one method that has been used to discover planetary systems associated with distant stars."For simplicity, we say that the planets orbit the Sun. However, the barycenter of the Solar System's objects is usually near the Sun, given that it provides the most mass, but thanks to the orbits and influence of gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, it is rarely actually inside the Sun. The orbits look a little more like the below video from planetary astronomer and science communicator James O'Donoghue.    As a result, the Earth is not currently orbiting a point inside the Sun, as the barycenter is outside of it. We are orbiting that point in space, rather than the Sun."Planets orbit the Sun in general terms," O'Donoghue explains on X (Twitter), "but *technically* they don't orbit the Sun alone because the gravitational influence of (mainly) Jupiter means planets must orbit a new point in space.""The planets do orbit the Sun of course, we are just being pedantic about the situation," he added. "The natural thinking is that we orbit the Sun's center, but that very rarely happens, i.e. it's very rare for the solar system's center of mass to align with the Sun's center."The same is true of smaller objects, such as the planets and their moons. The Earth and Moon orbit a point around 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from the center of the Earth, though this changes as the Moon moves further and further away from the Earth.Though these facts will probably have little impact on your life (assuming you are not an astrophysicist), it's nonetheless interesting, and a reminder that just about everything is a little more complicated than you were probably taught in school.

There are 126 species of birds that have been lost to science according to a new analysis. “Lost” species are defined by not having had a confirmed sighting in at least a decade, but you could help find some of them as researchers are calling on citizen scientists to be their eyes and ears.The Search for Lost Birds is a collaboration between Re:wild, American Bird Conservancy, and BirdLife International, and it aims to identify “lost” birds among the 11,849 species known to science. For the 126 that made the list, there have been no confirmed photos, videos, or audio recordings in the last 10 years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are extinct.Fortunately, we humans bloody love birds. Twitching, as bird watching is known, has seen the Aves become one of the most well-documented animal groups on the planet – a passion that’s reflected in the fact that 1 percent of the world’s birds have managed to evade documentation for this length of time. The unseen few encompass several highly threatened species, however, so while some birds may be “lost” simply because they’re hard to capture, for others, it may be damning indication of the health of the population.“Figuring out why these birds have become lost and then trying to find them can feel like a detective story,” said John C. Mittermeier, the director of the Search for Lost Birds at American Bird Conservancy, in a statement emailed to IFLScience. “While some of the species on the list will be incredibly challenging or maybe even impossible to find, others might reveal themselves relatively quickly if people get to the right places. Regardless of the situation, working closely with local people and citizen scientists is the best way to find lost birds and begin conservation efforts to ensure that these species don't become lost again.”Some of the rediscovered species:   Compiling the list of 126 involved analyzing more than 42 million photos, videos, and audio recordings listed on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, iNaturalist, and xeno-canto, as well as diving into museum collections. Originally, 144 were identified, but 14 of those were recorded in the last couple of years, bringing the current number of lost bird species to 126.The good news? You may be able to play a part in removing more species from the lost list. As study lead author Cameron Rutt told IFLScience, many of these species occur in regions that are secure and accessible to citizen scientists. They include:Purple-winged Ground Dove Buff-breasted Buttonquail Kinglet Calyptura Ghana Cuckooshrike (also known as the Western Wattled Cuckooshrike) Streaked Reed Warbler Cozumel Thrasher St. Kitts BullfinchIn the past, employing the help of citizen scientists has already returned several species to science including the Bismarck honeyeater, long-billed bush warbler, rusty thicketbird, and kangean tit-babbler. Should you be lucky enough to find one of the 126 lost birds, you can get in touch with the Search for Lost Birds via their website. Scientists need as much information as they can get to confirm a rediscovery, so clear photos, videos, or sound recordings of the birds' calls can go a long way to helping them on their mission.“While birds are the most well-documented group, every additional data point helps focus the direction of the program,” added Christina Biggs, leader of the Search for Lost Species at Re:wild and one of the co-authors of the paper. “We want to make sure that our resources go toward preventing extinction of the most threatened species, so this research is extremely valuable for us. As the sixth mass extinction progresses, it’s imperative that we grow our scientific circles to include Indigenous, local community, and citizen science knowledge, every possible bit of information directed at halting biodiversity loss.”The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Over the weekend, three communities across the United States were victims of gun violence as parties and gatherings came to sudden ends when scumbags decided to kill people. NBC’s Today looked to exploit the tragedies on Monday by having correspondent Erin McLaughlin blame the murders on the U.S. Supreme Court, citing their decision to strike down the Trump-era bump stock ban. But none of the shootings involved bump stocks. “A mass shooting at a splash pad in Michigan, another at a Juneteenth celebration in Texas, and yet another at a gathering in Massachusetts, all just days after Friday's Supreme Court ruling that rejects a ban on bump stocks,” she announced at the top of the segment. McLaughlin delivered very glancing explanations of what allegedly happened at each of the shootings but never disclosed what kind of firearms were used: MCLAUGHLIN: In Rochester Hills, Michigan, a man opened fire at a splash pad, unleashing 28 rounds. The attack left nine injured, including children. Some seriously wounded. (…) MCLAUGHLIN: Police say the suspect later shot himself and are investigating his motive. (…) MCLAUGHLIN: While in Round Rock, Texas, police are searching for a shooter who killed two and injured more than a dozen others at a Juneteenth celebration. (…) MCLAUGHLIN: And at least eight people were injured by a shooting at a pop-up party in Methuen, Massachusetts with two victims in critical condition.     “The weekend shootings come just days after the Supreme Court struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks,” she proclaimed as if the shooting were direct result of the conservative justices defending gun rights and pushing back against the administrative state. “The gun accessories used to modify semi-automatic weapons so they can fire faster. But this morning, many are just searching for answers.” Despite her suggestion, there’s no evidence that bump stocks were used in any of the shootings. As of the publication of this piece, it appeared as though authorities had not yet released what kind of firearm was used in the Round Rock and Methuen shootings, but it’s likely that if it was an “AR-style” rifle, it would have been plastered everywhere. In fact, a handgun was recovered from the scene of the Rochester Hills, which was incompatible with bump stocks. McLaughlin actually put off mentioning the fact that bump stocks weren’t used but threw in a caveat for cover. “The shootings from over the weekend did not involve bump stocks to our knowledge, but experts say if they did they could have been so much worse,” she argued, seemingly suggesting the killings were coming. If that misinformation wasn’t bad enough, she also cited claims from the left-leaning Gun Violence Archive that, “So far this year, there have been 225 mass shootings in the U.S.” NewsBusters has repeatedly debunked their hyperbolic numbers and pointed out their deceptive methodology. Neither ABC’s Good Morning America nor CBS Mornings framed the shooting the same way. Actually, on GMA, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas admitted: “Most of the nation's major cities have seen double-digit decreases in shootings this year, with mass shootings falling dramatically as well.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: NBC’s Today June 17, 2024 8:04:14 a.m. Eastern HODA KOTB: We now turn to a wave of violence over the weekend. Mass shootings in Michigan, Texas, and Massachusetts. NBC's Erin McLaughlin joins us with these details. Hey, Erin, good morning. ERIN MCLAUGHLIN: Hoda, good morning. A mass shooting at a splash pad in Michigan, another at a Juneteenth celebration in Texas, and yet another at a gathering in Massachusetts, all just days after Friday's Supreme Court ruling that rejects a ban on bump stocks. [Cuts to video] This morning, friends and families across the country are grieving after multiple mass shootings this weekend. 9-1-1 DISPATCH: Multiple shootings, victim, from an active shooter [Transition] Deputies aren't on scene yet. MCLAUGHLIN: In Rochester Hills, Michigan, a man opened fire at a splash pad, unleashing 28 rounds. The attack left nine injured, including children. Some seriously wounded. SHERIFF MICHAL BOUARD (Oakland County, MI): An 8-year-old boy who has a gunshot wound to the head. MCLAUGHLIN: Police say the suspect later shot himself and are investigating his motive. BETTY PAWELSKI (Local business owner): It was heartbreaking, saddening, devastating. [Transition] Nothing like this has ever happened around this area. MCLAUGHLIN: While in Round Rock, Texas, police are searching for a shooter who killed two and injured more than a dozen others at a Juneteenth celebration. CHIEF ALLEN BANKS (Round Rock Police Department): These folks could care less about someone's life and took someone's life on a day we're here to celebrate community. MCLAUGHLIN: And at least eight people were injured by a shooting at a pop-up party in Methuen, Massachusetts with two victims in critical condition. PAUL TUCKER (D.A. Essex County): Here we see again gun violence that's striking at the heart of a community. MCLAUGHLIN: So far this year, there have been 225 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. The weekend shootings come just days after the Supreme Court struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks. The gun accessories used to modify semi-automatic weapons so they can fire faster. But this morning, many are just searching for answers. CHIEF SCOT MCNAMARA (Methuen Police Department): Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. These acts of senseless violence do not represent the values of our community. [Cuts back to live] MCLAUGHLIN: The shootings from over the weekend did not involve bump stocks to our knowledge, but experts say if they did they could have been so much worse. CRAIG MELVIN: Jeez. KOTB: All right, Erin. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.