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X Edition: United States Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media Politics | Wed Jun 14, 2017 | 7:02pm EDT Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media left right 4/4 left right James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois is seen in this undated photo posted on his social media account. Social Media via REUTERS 1/4 left right 2/4 left right 3/4 left right 4/4 left right 1/4 By Sue Britt | BELLEVILLE, Ill. The suspect who opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they played baseball on Wednesday raged against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on social media and idolized Bernie Sanders, whom he saw as the only politician who understood the working class. Authorities identified the gunman as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He died from injuries sustained in a shoot-out with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Hodgkinson is believed by investigators to have been a person "of strong views," a senior U.S. official said, without elaborating. The Belleville News-Democrat newspaper posted a photograph of Hodgkinson protesting outside a post office there in 2012, wearing sunglasses and a goatee and holding a homemade placard that read "TAX the Rich." Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook including "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans," "Terminate The Republican Party," and "Donald Trump is not my President," his profile showed before it was taken down. Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Republicans also control both chambers of Congress. "Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co." Hodgkinson wrote in a March 22 post. His profile picture was a U.S. flag with the slogan: "Democratic Socialism explained in 3 words: 'We the People.'" Hodgkinson went to Washington several weeks ago to protest against Trump's election, his brother told the New York Times. The former mayor of Alexandria, Bill Euille, said he talked with the suspect at the local YMCA most mornings for more than a month, and even tried to help find Hodgkinson a job after seeing he was living out of a gym bag, the Washington Post said. Stephen Brennwald, an Alexandria attorney, also saw Hodgkinson at the YMCA wearing long pants rather than gym attire, and said he often seemed to be staring into space. "It's just very freaky to think that this guy who was just sitting in there for weeks, not really doing anything, actually turned out to shoot at people," Brennwald told Reuters. 'DESPICABLE ACT' Hodgkinson's Facebook profile featured a cover photo of Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who ran unsuccessfully to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year. Sanders, an independent who ran as a progressive populist but was defeated by Hillary Clinton, said the suspect had "apparently volunteered" on his campaign. In a statement, Sanders condemned the shooting as a despicable act." One woman who asked not to be named told Reuters that Hodgkinson had contacted her via Facebook as part of a political discussion, but that he subsequently commented on her page that Clinton was a "liar" and a "baby killer." "I actually blocked him at one point," the woman said. A bartender at the Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria said Hodgkinson started coming in for beers about a month ago. "He was a regular-looking guy that kind of gave you a sense of the creeps, but you can't really put your finger on it," said Christina Shrimshaw, 27, who served him a handful of times but never remembered him discussing politics. "He would talk about very mundane things, like golf. He was big into watching the Golf Channel." Also In Politics No hint of new gun control push in U.S. Congress after shootings Trump being investigated for possible obstruction of justice: Washington Post A neighbor in Belleville, William Schaumleffel, recalled how in March he heard gunshots and saw Hodgkinson shooting with a long gun toward woods across a corn field from his yard. "I yelled at him: 'Hey, stop shooting over there. There are houses over there,'" Schaumleffel said. Hodgkinson did not stop, he added, so he filed a report with the sheriff's office. Hodgkinson's criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations, according to state records that identified him as a 5-foot, 6-inch (1.67-metre) man weighing 190 pounds (86 kg), with brown eyes. Most of the infractions were ultimately dropped. Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and real estate appraiser, but did not renew his home inspector license after it expired last year, state records showed. His license to appraise real estate expired in 1997. According to Facebook, Hodgkinson went to Belleville Township High School West and studied flight training at Southwestern Illinois College. Beginning in mid-2015, Hodgkinson began expressing support for Sanders' 2016 campaign, and federal records showed he donated $18 to the effort. "Bernie is the Only Candidate in Decades that Really Cares about the Working Class," Hodgkinson posted on June 13, 2016. The Belleville News-Democrat published letters he wrote the paper criticizing Republicans, tax policies and income inequality. One from August 2012 read: "I have never said 'life sucks,' only the policies of the Republicans." (Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins, Diane Bartz, Dustin Volz, Letitia Stein, Gina Cherelus, Mark Hosenball, Chris Kenning, Ian Simpson, Angela Moon, Peter Szkeley and Grant Smith; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Politics Senate backs legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday for new sanctions punishing Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and to force President Donald Trump to get Congress' approval before easing any existing sanctions. 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New York travel ban lifted, Washington at standstill after storm

Sun Jan 24, 2016 | 1:59 PM EST 9:55 AM EST | 00:48 The big dig out begins By Frank McGurty and Ian Simpson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York lifted a travel ban and mass transit started getting back to normal on Sunday after a record-setting blizzard in the U.S. Northeast, but Washington remained at a standstill following storms that killed at least 19 people across the country. The blizzard was the second-biggest snowstorm in New York City history, with 26.8 inches (68 cm) of snow in Central Park by midnight on Saturday, just shy of the record 26.9 inches (68 cm) set in 2006, the National Weather Service said. Thirteen people were killed in weather-related car crashes in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on Saturday. One person died in Maryland and three in New York while shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, officials said. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday would be a major cleanup day. He urged residents to stay off streets so city crews could clear roads. “The snow pile is going to be with us for a while, but I think we'll be in good shape in the next 24 hours," he said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopolous." After the storm moved out into the Atlantic Ocean, much of the Northeast was expected to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday with temperatures just above freezing. New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a travel ban on New York City-area roads and on Long Island at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday. A state of emergency declared by Cuomo was still in place. Most bus and subway services operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were up and running again by 9 a.m. (1400 GMT), officials said. The agency was working on restoring full service on Sunday. The Metro-North rail line, which serves suburbs north and east of New York City, expected to have commuter train service running into and out of New York by 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the New York Stock Exchange said the market planned to open as usual on Monday. City schools also were set to open on Monday. The New York Sanitation Department had plowed all streets at least once, and was focusing on Sunday on secondary and side streets, the mayor's office said in a statement. The city was deploying more than 2,300 pieces of snow-clearing equipment and keeping sanitation workers on 12-hour shifts, it said. RECORDS SET The National Weather Service said 17.8 inches (45.2 cm) fell in Washington, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport notched a record 29.2 inches (74.2 cm). The deepest regional total was 42 inches (106.7 cm) at Glengarry, West Virginia. Peter Hoeppe, head of reinsurer Munich Re's Geo Risks research unit, said in a statement that it was too early to estimate possible losses from the storm. Washington was a dazzling white under a bright sun, and walkers, sledders, some cars and the occasional cross-country skier were out on Sunday. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a call for 4,000 people to help dig the city out, above the 2,000 volunteers already signed up. The House of Representatives canceled its voting until Feb. 1. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had suspended operations through Sunday. Public schools were closed on Monday across much of the Washington and Baltimore region, with some shuttered through Tuesday. One Washington food store, Broad Branch Market, opened with a handful of employees, and was trying to organize volunteers to shovel the sidewalks of the elderly and others who needed help. “I have a lot of people on the list (who want shoveling) but I have yet to have any kids sign up to work today,” said the owner, Tracy Stannard. The market is out of firewood, snowmelt chemical and bread - but is baking baguettes, she said. A snow plow stuck on a nearby street late on Saturday was still there on Sunday. At Dupont Circle, hundreds of people gathered to pelt each other with snowballs. Jomel Nichols, a tourist from Kansas City, Missouri, accompanying three exchange students and her daughter, was plastered with snow. "They all turned on me, as teenagers will do," she told Reuters Television. FLIGHTS CANCELED About 3,500 flights were canceled on Sunday, and 700 were called off for Monday, according to aviation website FlightAware.com. Among New York-area airports, John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia were open, with limited flight activity expected on Sunday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. About 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 in New Jersey lost electricity during the storm. More than 20,000 residential and business customers in New Jersey remained without power on Sunday, mostly along the Jersey Shore, which was hit with major flooding.. In North Carolina, about 4,000 Duke Energy customers had no power on Sunday, mostly in the eastern part of the state. On Sunday, moderate coastal flooding was still a concern in the Jersey Shore's Atlantic County, said Linda Gilmore, a county public information officer. The storm developed along the Gulf Coast when warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean collided with cold air to form the massive winter system, meteorologists said. (Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, David Gaffen and Susan Cornwell; Writing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Jonathan Oatis)