Cross-Border Narratives

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Defending Champion Alcaraz Into Wimbledon Final

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached his fourth Grand Slam final at Wimbledon on Friday when he recovered from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.

World number three Alcaraz beat his fifth-ranked opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and will face either seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti for the title on Sunday.

"Obviously it will be a really difficult match. Let's see who I am going to play on Sunday," said Alcaraz who crunched 55 winners to the 31 from Medvedev.

"I feel like I am not new anymore. I know how I am going to feel before the final. I have been in this position before."

He added: "I started really nervous today. Daniil was dominating the match, playing great tennis. It was difficult for me."

Twice Medvedev, beaten by the Spaniard at the same stage last year, led with breaks in the first set only to be pinned back.

Such was his frustration that he was handed a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct by umpire Eva Asderaki for an apparent foul-mouthed reaction to a ball called for bouncing twice as he was broken in the ninth game.

The tournament referee and supervisor were even summoned to Centre Court by Asderaki, but Medvedev shrugged off the incident to sweep through the tie-break and take the opening set in which he committed only eight unforced errors to the Spaniard's 15.

It was the third time at this year's Wimbledon that Alcaraz had dropped the first set.

Alcaraz recovered impressively, breaking Medvedev for a 3-1 lead in the second, having come out on top in the previous game on the back of a 27-shot rally.

The 21-year-old then hit 14 winners in the third set, pocketing the only break in the third game.

Medvedev, who had knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, retrieved a break early in the fourth set.

But Alcaraz kept up his assault, edging ahead again for 4-3 on his way to victory.

Djokovic has equalled Roger Federer's mark by reaching a 13th Wimbledon semi-final and is two wins from matching the Swiss star's record of eight singles titles at the All England Club.

Victory on Friday would take him to a 10th final at the tournament and 37th at the Slams.

At 37, Djokovic could also become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the modern era, an impressive achievement for a man who underwent knee surgery as recently as last month.

This season he has lost his Australian Open and French Open titles and has yet to make a final on tour.

He was handed a free pass into Friday's last-four when Alex de Minaur withdrew from their scheduled quarter-final with a hip injury.

The Serb has been in feisty mood at Wimbledon accusing fans of disrespecting him in his last-16 win over Holger Rune.

"If somebody steps over the line, I react," he said.

Djokovic has a 5-1 winning record over Musetti, including a come-from-behind five-set victory at the French Open last month.

That third-round match set the record for the latest finish at Roland Garros, with Djokovic completing victory at 3:07 in the morning.

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Trump rally victim's controversial 'get over it' Gaza post sparks backlash

Firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died while trying to protect his family during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, was very active on X and some of his posts have now sparked a debate. In particular, Comperatore's posts on the war in Gaza have drawn heavy criticism.

One post that has received a significant amount of attention is Comperatore's reply to broadcaster Piers Morgan's tweet on news that said over a million people had fled their homes in Gaza following a warning from Israel.

"Where are these Palestinians going to live when the war is over? So many of their homes are being destroyed," Piers Morgan replied to the post by Sky News on October 28, 2023.

The remark by Comperatore was seen as a reference to the atomic bombings of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, which killed tens of thousands of people.

Comperatore's remark has prompted a string of reactions on X, with one user saying, "Your tweets is your legacy. Don't be like this guy."

"This is a reminder that the version we present to the world today, may be the only version many people ever know about you. Be mindful of how you interact with the world around you," another one posted.

A third tweeted, "First I felt bad for the guy but after seeing this I feel like it's some form of karma."

Several of his tweets indicated that the avid supporter of Donald Trump was against the United States providing military aid to Ukraine to fight Russia.

Former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a post on X in 2023, claimed that the US would lose if Ukraine lost the war to Russia.

"The least costly way to move forward is to provide Ukraine with the weapons needed to win and end the war," Pompeo had said.

"And what exactly will our great loss?" Comperatore replied to Pompeo's tweet.

In another post, the firefighter said he would rather save Russian President Vladimir Putin instead of Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

Nevertheless, Comperatore, a father of two girls, is being hailed as a hero for shielding them from the gunfire during Trump's Pennsylvania rally.

The former Buffalo Township volunteer fire chief was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks at the rally that left Trump and two others injured. Crooks was shot dead by US Secret Service agents. However, the motive behind the shooting is yet to be revealed by the police.

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World's Rarest Whale Washes Up On New Zealand Beach

The body of a spade-toothed whale -- a species so rare it has never been seen alive -- appears to have washed up on a New Zealand beach, scientists say.

The remains of the obscure, five-metre (16.4 foot) long, beaked creature were found near a river mouth in southern Otago province on July 4, government researchers said.

It was identified by marine-mammal experts from New Zealand's Department of Conservation and the national museum, Te Papa, as a male spade-toothed whale.

A DNA investigation has been launched to confirm its classification, the scientists said.

"Spade-toothed whales are one of the most poorly known large mammalian species of modern times," said the conservation department's coastal Otago operations manager, Gabe Davies.

"Since the 1800s, only six samples have ever been documented worldwide, and all but one of these was from New Zealand," Davies said in a statement Monday.

"From a scientific and conservation point of view, this is huge."

The find was fresh enough to offer the first opportunity for a spade-toothed whale to be dissected, the conservation department said.

The species is "so rare next to nothing is known about them", it said.

The body of the whale has been placed in cold storage and genetic samples have been sent to the University of Auckland as curators of the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive.

It may take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final identification confirmed.

"The rarity of the whale means conversations around what to do next will take more time because it is a conversation of international importance," the conservation department said.

The species was first described in 1874 from just a lower jaw and two teeth collected from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand.

That sample, along with skeletal remains of two other specimens found in New Zealand and Chile, enabled scientists to confirm a new species.

Marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta said researchers would study the whale's stomach contents, genetics, and how this sample compared to previous ones.

This could shine light on the whales' behaviour, their population and why they are so rare, Pirotta told AFP, describing the discovery as "like hitting the jackpot".

Because so few specimens have been found and there have been no live sightings, little is known about the spade-toothed whale and it is classified as "data deficient" under New Zealand's Threat Classification System.

The first intact specimen was from a mother and calf stranding in Bay of Plenty in 2010, the New Zealand conservation department said.

A further stranding in 2017 in Gisborne added one more specimen to the collection.

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Trump Formally Named Republican Candidate, Picks Right-wing Vance As VP

Donald Trump won the formal nomination Monday as the Republican presidential candidate and picked a right-wing loyalist for his running mate, kicking off a triumphalist party convention in the wake of the weekend's failed assassination attempt.

The Milwaukee gathering erupted into cheers as Trump announced 39-year-old Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential pick, rewarding a one-time harsh critic who has become one of his most uncompromising supporters.

"As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump posted on Truth Social.

The applause was even louder as the 78-year-old ex-president showed up to the convention in person hours later, his ear bandaged after the attempt on his life left him wounded.

He waved at the massed delegates and took his seat without speaking, just two days after surviving the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania.

While Trump is increasingly confident of a shock return to the White House -- despite multiple legal problems and two impeachments clouding his first term -- President Joe Biden is reeling from weak polls and Democratic concerns over his health.

In the delegate count in Milwaukee, Eric Trump put his father over the threshold on behalf of the Florida delegation, calling him "the greatest president that ever lived."

Vance will boost support from the right but offers less chance of expanding the ticket's appeal to more moderate voters and women.

The standard-bearer for a new kind of populism that has come to the fore under Trump, Vance is also one of the least experienced VP picks in modern history.

But he embraces the ex-president's isolationist, anti-immigration America First movement and is even further to the right than his new boss on some issues including abortion, where he embraces calls for federal legislation.

He initially made his name with the 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," a best-selling account of his Appalachian family and modest Rust Belt upbringing that gave a voice to rural, working-class resentment in left-behind America.

Turning his back on previous Republican opposition to Trump, whom he once said might be "America's Hitler," Vance reinvented himself and ultimately won the ex-president's endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Senate race, launching his meteoric rise.

Some 50,000 Republicans descended on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day Republican National Convention, four months before election day.

The gathering comes with the country reeling from a botched attempt by a gunman to kill Trump at a rally in Butler, western Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The attack -- which killed one bystander and left Trump with a bloodied ear -- was expected to dominate proceedings.

At 81, Biden meanwhile is facing calls from his own side to quit the race over concerns around his age.

His campaign released a statement saying the Trump-Vance agenda would "take away Americans' rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive -- all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations."

Trump told the New York Post he had "prepared an extremely tough speech" about Biden's "horrible administration" to deliver at the convention.

Still, that means him having to rein in the instinct to settle scores -- demonstrated by his cry for supporters to "fight" in the seconds after Saturday's attack.

The Milwaukee gathering is largely designed in Trump's image, with digital banners beaming out a message in the cavernous convention arena: "Make America Great Once Again."

The branding reflects his takeover of the party.

Installing loyalists including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump atop the Republican National Committee, the billionaire has effectively crushed dissent within the party.

He scored another victory Monday as a judge dismissed one of the criminal cases against him, concerning accusations he endangered national security by holding on to top secret documents after leaving the White House.

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Meet Indian-Origin Usha Chilukuri Vance, Wife Of Trump's Vice President Pick

Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of JD Vance, whom Donald Trump declared as his running mate in the upcoming US presidential elections on Monday, brings a wealth of credentials and a deep connection to Indian values and culture.

A litigator at a national firm, Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants and has an impressive academic background.

She holds a bachelor's degree in History from Yale University and a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, according to the New York Times.

Born Usha Chilukuri, she has carved out a distinguished career in the legal field, having clerked for Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before Kavanaugh's nomination to the Court.

Raised in a suburb of San Diego, California, with a strong emphasis on education and hard work, Usha's academic achievements include serving as Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and Executive Development Editor of The Yale Law Journal, according to a biography from Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm.

After four years of intense extracurricular activity at Yale, she continued her studies as a Gates fellow at Cambridge, where she engaged with left-wing and liberal groups. She was a registered Democrat in 2014.

Usha and JD Vance first met at Yale Law School and were married in Kentucky in 2014, with a Hindu priest presiding over a separate ceremony, according to the New York Times. The couple has three children together.

Usha Vance has played a subtle yet significant role in her husband's success. She assisted Vance in organizing his thoughts on the social decline in rural white America, which inspired his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which was adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard in 2020.

In the past, she has made some rare appearances with Vance as he sought the Ohio Senate seat.

As the US presidential elections draw near, former US President Donald Trump made his pick for Vice President, selecting JD Vance as his running mate on Monday. Trump confirmed Vance's candidature through a post on social media.

Speaking to ANI, a US-based global real estate investment advisor and a well-known entrepreneur, AI Mason said, "Usha Vance is a highly accomplished attorney and daughter of Indian immigrants -- and her husband brings youth and diversity to the Trump ticket."

"She knows the Indian culture and all about India. She can be a big help to her husband in navigating great ties between USA and India," the entrepreneur, who is also a friend of the Trump family, said.

Meanwhile, in an interview earlier with Fox & Friends, Usha Chilukuri Vance and her Senator husband talked about the two having different faiths, and what are their views on the speculations of him becoming a pick for the Vice President of the US.

"I don't think people understand how hard he works and how creative he is. Everything he says and does is built on a foundation of so much thought. He's always trying to do better," Usha Vance said.

On being asked about the reason behind her support for JD Vance, as the US Presidential elections remain around the corner, Usha told Fox, "There are a few different reasons…One is that I grew up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu, and that was one of the things that made them such good parents, that makes them really very good people. And so I think I've seen that…the power of that in my own life, and I knew that JD was searching for something. This just felt right for him."

The interview was taken three weeks before the announcement of JD Vance as the running mate of Trump in the upcoming US presidential polls.

Vance was born James David Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, to a mother who struggled with addiction and a father who left the family when JD was a toddler. He was raised by his grandparents.

The Trump campaign says the former president, following his brush with death, will call for unity in the face of tragedy instead of criticising his political adversaries as he faces off with President Biden in a 2024 election rematch.

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Copa America 2024 Final Highlights: Argentina Beat Colombia 1-0, Clinch Back-To-Back Titles

Argentina winger Angel Di Maria said Sunday's Copa America triumph over Colombia was the perfect dream ending to his career with the national team. A 1-0 win after extra-time secured a third straight major title for the Albiceleste following their 2021 Copa win and their World Cup triumph the following year. The 36-year-old winger had announced in November that he would retire from international duty after the tournament. "I dreamt it, that's why I said it was the last Copa America and it ended here. I dreamt that I would reach the final, I dreamt that I would win it, that I would retire like this," he said.

Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni took Di Maria off in the final minutes of extra-time, ensuring he received a huge farewell from the team's fans which his eyes showed he was moved by.

"I have so many beautiful feelings..I am eternally grateful to this generation, they gave me everything, they made me achieve what I wanted so much, and today I am leaving in this way, how better than this?" he said.

Di Maria, had been part of a generation with Lionel Messi who won the Olympics in 2008 but then struggled for silverware, missing out in the final stages of tournaments to the frustration of the nation.

But the 'Triple Crown', which also hands Argentine a record 16th Copa, confirms Lionel Scaloni's team's place among the greats of South American football.

"It seems easy but it is very difficult. I know because I lived on the other side too for ten, 11 years, fighting for it," said the Benfica winger.

"It's not easy to reach finals and win them. And now it's happening, it's like that, at some point it had to happen and I would have liked to have been able to win one too with the previous bunch of lads, we deserved it too but we kept insisting, kept fighting and these guys gave me everything" he said.

Di Maria scored the goal which won the gold medal in Beijing and also grabbed the goal in the 1-0 win over Brazil in the 2021 Copa final.

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Instagram Model Forced Followers Into Sex Work, Kept Them As Slaves

Former Brazilian model and US-based wellness influencer Kat Torres has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the human trafficking and slavery of women, after an FBI investigation found that two women living with her had gone missing in 2022.

Women who claim that they were also trafficked and enslaved by Torres have spoken out about their harrowing experience living with her. Talking to BBC, the women claimed they were attracted to her rags to riches story as she went from living in an impoverished Brazilian neighbourhood to partying with Hollywood stars.

Torres, who was once rumoured to be dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio, also claimed she could make predictions using her spiritual powers and was a common face on reputed Brazilian TV shows.

“She was on the cover of magazines. She was seen with famous people such as Leonardo DiCaprio. Everything I saw seemed credible,” the woman named Ana told BBC.

Torres' former flatmate, who shared a home with her in New York, told BBC that her Hollywood friends had introduced her to a hallucinogenic drug called ayahuasca. It was through the use of this drug that she reinvented herself as a life coach and hypnotist.

Soon, Torres developed a wellness website and subscription service that promised customers “Love, money and self-esteem that you always dreamed of.”

She also created self-help videos offering advice on relationships, wellness, business success including hypnosis, meditation and exercise programmes. She offered one-on-one video consultations for $150 that would solve "any of their problems."

In 2019, Ana moved to New York to work as her Torres' live-in assistant. Escaping a violent childhood and an abusive relationship, she moved alone to the US from Brazil and was studying nutrition at university in Boston.

The work required her to look after Torres' animals, cook for her, do her laundry and clean for $2000 a month. But when she arrived, the situation in Torres' house shocked her. The house was filthy and she was forced to sleep on a sofa covered in cat urine. She was expected to constantly be available for Torres, only being allowed to sleep for a few hours. She would sneak away to the building's gym to sleep for a few hours. She was never paid.

After Ana escaped, Torres hired two more women -- Desirre and Leticia-- who moved with her to a house in Texas. What started out as a life coaching and healing retreat quickly turned into a nightmare for the women.

Within weeks, Desirre was pressured her into working at a local strip club while Torres performed “witchcraft” on her. The two women were forbidden from speaking to each other and had to ask her permission to leave their rooms, even to use the bathroom.

Soon, Torres convinced Desiree to turn to prostitution. If she didn't meet the earning quotas that Torres set, she was not allowed to return to the house that night. “I ended up sleeping on the street several times because I couldn't reach that,” Desirre told BBC.

In September, the two women's friends and family launched social media campaigns to find them. To escape media attention, Torres and the women travelled from Texas to Maine. From there, the two were made to post Instagram videos denying being held captive and demanded people stop searching for them.

Over 20 women have come forward with stories of being scammed or exploited by Torres. They are still undergoing psychiatric therapy to recover from what they say they experienced.

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Pressure Cooker: Milwaukee Braces For Trump Convention

Residents and volunteers were urging a lowering of tensions Sunday in Milwaukee as Republicans descend on the city for their national convention just a day after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.

The lakeside municipality in battleground Wisconsin finds itself in the eye of a political and security maelstrom following the spasm of violence that has shaken the 2024 campaign and prompted questions about the country's political polarization.

Police were enforcing a buffer zone in the fenced-off blocks around Fiserv Forum, the sports arena where some 2,400 Republican delegates from around the country will gather, beginning Monday, to formalize Trump as the party's nominee for the third time since 2016.

And President Joe Biden, Trump's election rival, said Sunday that following the shooting he has directed the Secret Service, the agency which protects US leaders, to "review all security measures… for the Republican National Convention."

Several residents told AFP Sunday that they or their neighbors were nervous and on heightened alert, and were calling for an easing of the political pressure cooker.

"Tensions are high on both sides, and I think we've got to tone down the rhetoric," said 60-year-old Trump supporter Martin Kutzler, who was walking in downtown Milwaukee wearing a T-shirt that depicts Trump as 1970s movie character The Godfather.

"Calling any American officeholder Hitler just throws gasoline on the rhetoric, and calling a current president Sleepy and Crooked is not advisable either," said Kutzler, who works for Amazon.

He was referring to some of the ugly comparisons and nicknames that have been thrown around to describe Trump and Biden -- at times by the candidates themselves.

Resident Becca, 25, was walking her dog with her mother along the Milwaukee River when she paused to ruminate over the "kind of crazy" preparations for the convention -- and the passions that are driving US voters.

"It is scary that people are this heated about an election," Becca, who declined to give her last name, told AFP, recalling the trauma from Saturday in Pennsylvania.

"And with everything going on, like we're a little nervous." she added. "I hope that they don't take it and escalate it in certain ways."

Lynn Quirk, who owns multiple college housing units in town, stood somberly watching the proceedings at a security checkpoint outside the convention arena.

"Everybody I talk to is just really super shocked," the 60-year-old Milwaukee native said. "It's a crazy time."

"Talking with my neighbors yesterday, people are nervous," she added. "Some people were going to come down here and look around. Now everybody's like, 'Yeah, no I don't need to come.'"

High metal fencing rings the perimeter area and police vessels patrol the river. An employee of a downtown food establishment conceded that merchants have been meeting and coordinating with the Secret Service.

Security forces are believed to number in the thousands, including hundreds of police from states as far as California.

"Obviously, we're going to be more vigilant -- not that we weren't going to be vigilant before. But with yesterday's events, the security is going to be heightened obviously," said Captain Anthony Scott, one of 63 Indiana State Police officers joining the sprawling operation.

But for some, like convention volunteer and self-described "huge Republican" Becky Hawkins, who grew up in Milwaukee, the crisis of the past 24 hours has bolstered their resolve.

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Trump Rally Shooter Wanted To Join School's Shooting Club. He Was Rejected

The 20-year-old man who allegedly tried to assassinate former US President Donald Trump had tried to join his high school's rifle team but was rejected for being a "terrible" shot.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement when he allegedly attempted to assassinate the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

He slipped onto a rooftop location 140 meters from the stage where Trump was speaking and began firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, purchased by his father, officials said. The gunfire struck Trump's right ear, killed a 50-year-old man, and critically injured two other spectators.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, about an hour away from where the shocking shooting occurred, was a member of a local shooting club named Clairton Sportsmen's Club.

He had also tried out for the rifle team at high school but was rejected, The Post reported.

He once missed his target by close to 20 feet, former student Jameson Murphy told The Post.

"He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day," he said.

"Crooks couldn't shoot at all. He was a terrible shot," another classmate told The Post.

Even the coach had concerns about Crooks, the former students said.

"He made some crass jokes that weren't appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting," they said, without elaborating on what Crooks said.

The early details that have emerged about Thomas Matthew Crooks show that he was working an entry-level job near his hometown in Pennsylvania.

He graduated from high school in 2022 with a reputation as a bright but "quiet" classmate.

His counselor at Bethel Park High School described him as "respectful" and said he never knew him to be political.

Jim Knapp, who retired from his job as the school counselor at Bethel Park High School in 2022, said Crooks had always been "quiet as a churchmouse," "respectful" and kept to himself, although he did have a few friends.

Knapp said he rarely came across Crooks because "he wasn't a needy type kid".

He was employed as a dietary aide at a nursing home at the time of the shooting.

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Biden Tells Americans To 'Cool It Down' After Trump Assassination Bid

US President Joe Biden sought to calm a divided nation Sunday after his rival Donald Trump survived an assassination bid, saying in a rare Oval Office address that it was time to lower the temperature of America's hostile politics. "It's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that," Biden said in a televised address following the attack in which Republican Trump was injured in the ear and a bystander was killed by gunfire.

As the country reeled from images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist after the gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden added that US politics "must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid a killing field." The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service agents amid scenes of chaos. Authorities say his motive remains unclear. The FBI said it was investigating the attack as a potential act of domestic terrorism and studying Crooks's phone to discover any "ideologies" he may have had. Biden, giving just the third Oval Office address of his presidency, also mentioned the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by pro-Trump supporters as proof that the situation is getting out of hand. "We can't allow this violence to be normalized," the 81-year-old Democrat said, adding that the November 5 election would be a "time of testing" for the United States. The short but forceful speech went without any major hitches -- bar Biden twice referring to the ballot box as a "battle box". Democrats are closely watching the president following a disastrous debate performance renewed concerns about his age and ability to govern. The attempt on Trump's life has opened a dark new chapter in an already polarized election rematch with Biden, who beat him in 2020. Despite their bitter enmity, both Biden and Trump called for calm after the most serious attack on a US president or ex-president in more than four decades. Trump said it was "more important than ever that we stand United" and added that Americans should not allow "evil to win," in a post on social media. Numerous Republicans -- who themselves often pose with guns in political ads -- have claimed Democrats have promoted extreme rhetoric that led to the shooting. Just before Biden's speech, Trump landed in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, during which he will formally be anointed the party's nominee. The US Secret Service insisted the agency is "fully prepared" to maintain security at the convention, as it comes under severe scrutiny over the attempt to kill Trump. The agency faces searching questions about how the shooter was able to climb onto a rooftop around 150 meters (500 feet) from where Trump was speaking and fire multiple rounds. The FBI was "looking at it as a potential domestic terrorism act," the bureau's assistant director of counterterrorism Robert Wells said. The shooter's father was believed to have bought the semi-automatic weapon used in the attack but it was unclear how the shooter accessed it. Investigators also found a "suspicious device" in the shooter's car. Crooks's former schoolmates described him as a quiet student who often came across as lonely. "He was quiet but he was just bullied. He was bullied so much," Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school as Crooks, told reporters. The attack threatens to further inflame tensions at an already febrile moment in the race for the White House. Trump was recently convicted of criminal charges while Biden's dismal debate performance sparked Democratic party fears over his age and mental acuity. The shooting will likely now upend how both campaign. Biden, who is behind in most polls, will meanwhile have to tone down the full-throated criticisms of Trump that he pivoted to last week to shift attention from his own woes. But while the president canceled a trip to Texas on Monday he will continue with a visit to the battleground state of Nevada later this week. "That's how democracy should work," he said in the Oval Office address. "We debate and disagree."