Sep 2, 2019

In photos: Odessa vigil held for West Texas mass shooting victims

Katelyn Cooper, 26, and her sons Trevor, 5, and Bronston, 7, at the prayer vigil at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) Sunday for the region's mass shooting victims. Photo by Cengiz Yar/Getty Images

Hundreds of people attended a prayer vigil at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas, on Sunday evening to honor victims of the mass shooting in the region a day earlier, AP reports.

The big picture: 7 people were killed, including the shooter, and 22 others injured in the drive-by shooting in the West Texas sister cities of Odessa and Midland on Saturday. Odessa Mayor David Turner said West Texans "will get through the tragedy," per AP. "We will show our beloved state and nation what it means to be Permian Basin strong," he said.

Flags fly at half-staff at the UTPB. Photo: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images
Lindsey Clark and her daughter Caitlin Clark take small flower bouquets provided by local Odessa residents before the UTPB prayer vigil. Photo: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images
A prayer takes place at the UTPB. Photo: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images
The UTPB prayer vigil is the first of several vigils and prayer services for the shooting victims, per NewsWest 9. Photo: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images)

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Politics: Obama: Trump is "jealous of COVID's media coverage."
  2. Health: Mask mandates help control the rise in coronavirus hospitalizations. Hospitals face a crush.
  3. Business: Coronavirus testing is a windfall. Winter threat spurs new surge of startup activity.
  4. Media: Pandemic causes TV providers to lose the most subscribers ever.
  5. World: Putin mandates face masks.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The GOP's monstrous math problem

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Republicans, win or lose next week, face a big — and growing — math problem.

The state of play: They're relying almost exclusively on a shrinking demographic (white men), living in shrinking areas (small, rural towns), creating a reliance on people with shrinking incomes (white workers without college degrees) to survive.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Right-wing misinformation machine could gain steam post-election

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

With less than a week until the 2020 election, researchers have expressed concern that the information ecosystem today is ripe for an unprecedented level of exploitation by bad actors, particularly hyper-partisan media and personalities on the right.

Why it matters: The misinformation-powered right-wing media machine that fueled Donald Trump's 2016 victory grew stronger after that win, and it's set to increase its reach as a result of the upcoming election, whether Trump wins or loses.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow