As expected, Hamilton dominated for most of the evening winning 11 of 16 nominations. Many that weren’t won were in categories where Hamilton folks competed against fellow Hams.
Noteworthy: in a departure from Hollywood award shows like the Oscars, it is notable that all four actors honored in the musical categories are of color.
Hurray for diversity!
In more good news, the blockbuster that is Hamilton helped CBS notch it’s highest ratings for the Tony Awards since 2001, with an audience of almost 9 million.
In his Tony Award acceptance speech tonight for “Best Score of a Musical,” Lin-Manuel Miranda read a sonnet he wrote acknowledging life, love, and today’s tragedy.
“Senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day,” he said. “This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer.”
Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016
Republican presidential candidate was the recipient of backlash today on Twitter when he apparently took time for a humble brag about “being right” about something.
Twitter didn’t take to his insensitivity.
Once again, Donald, you have shown why you cannot lead us. 50 people are dead, and you bask in congratulations. https://t.co/pUN7ceAff7— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) June 12, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump You're congratulating yourself because 50 people are dead this morning in a horrific tragedy?— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 12, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump FYI: turning worst mass shooting in US history into a Trump humble brag isn't smart. It's childish, arrogant, thoughtless.— (((Adam Mordecai))) (@advodude) June 12, 2016
@realDonaldTrump shut the actual fuck up. People DIED. It's time to mourn. Not radically brag, you insensitive sensationalized asshole.— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) June 12, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump And congrats on being the biggest dirtbag on the Internet – and in life.— Tweets by Collin™ (@TweetsByCollin) June 12, 2016
@realDonaldTrump Congrats on showing us you are even more deplorable than we already thought.— Sally Shea (@abundantpundit) June 12, 2016
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has released a statement regarding the massacre at Orlando gay nightclub Pulse overnight which took the lives of at least 50 people and hospitalized 53 others.
“I join Americans in praying for the victims of the attack in Orlando, their families and the first responders who did everything they could to save lives.
“This was an act of terror. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are hard at work, and we will learn more in the hours and days ahead. For now, we can say for certain that we need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad. That means defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners to go after them wherever they are, countering their attempts to recruit people here and everywhere, and hardening our defenses at home. It also means refusing to be intimidated and staying true to our values.
“This was also an act of hate. The gunman attacked an LGBT nightclub during Pride Month. To the LGBT community: please know that you have millions of allies across our country. I am one of them. We will keep fighting for your right to live freely, openly and without fear. Hate has absolutely no place in America.
“Finally, we need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States and it reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets.
“This is a time to stand together and resolve to do everything we can to defend our communities and country.”
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Florida Gov. Rick Scott painfully refused to acknowledge that the LGBT community was the target of last night’s deadly shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
During an interview on CNN, host Jake Tapper pointed out that the LGBT community “appears to have been directly targeted in this attack.”
“There are a lot of members of that community and supporting friends and family who are very worried,” Tapper explained. “Obviously if this was radical Islam, which the special agent in charge of the FBI suggested it may have been, that is a community that has been under siege from radical Islam.”
“Are you taking any special precautions,” the CNN host wondered, “especially during Pride month, but also in Florida, which is known as being hospitable to the gay and lesbian community, to make sure that community is protected?”
Scott, however, declined to acknowledge the LGBT community in his response.
“We don’t want anybody in our state to ever be targeted,” he insisted. “We don’t want anybody to be discriminated against. And so in every case, when we believe there is somebody doing the wrong thing, we work hard to make sure we take care of them.”
“And so what we’ll — you know, as we go through this process, what we’ll learn through this, is we’ll learn what we can do to hopefully to never, never, ever to let this happen again,” the governor added.
“But, I guess my point is you’ve declared a state of emergency in Orange County,” Tapper replied. “But there are areas of the state of Florida — South Beach, for example — where there may be a large and thriving LGBT community that might be very, very afraid this morning.”
“Are you taking precautions?” the CNN host pressed. “Are you sending law enforcement to make sure there are no copy cats or just in case this individual wasn’t a lone wolf, that that community is being protected?”
“Absolutely,” Scott replied, refusing to refer to the gay community by name. “We have really good law enforcement in our state. And when something like this happens, one of the first things you do on top of dealing with the issue you have at hand, is say, ‘Who else could this impact and what can we do to make sure that does not happen?’”
MSNBC is reporting that Omar Mateen, the gunman who opened fire at a gay nightclub in Florida, had called 911 moments before to pledge allegiance to the leader of ISIS.
Mateen appeared to be a follower of ISIS propaganda and referenced the Tsarnaev brothers, who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, at the scene, sources said.
But as investigators try to determine the radicalization that apparently motivated Mateen to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, his family believes he was pushed over the edge by pure hate against the LGBT community.
As a mark of respect for the victims of the act of hatred and terror perpetrated on Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, June 16, 2016. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
UPDATE: The LAPD has released the man’s name – James Howell of Indiana – and his mug shot.
Los Angeles police are reporting a man in possession of explosives and assault rifles has been arrested out of concerns for attendees at Los Angeles Pride.
Early Sunday, Santa Monica police received a call of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.
The car had Indiana plates. The man made comments that he was in town for the Pride event in West Hollywood this weekend. The source said authorities did not know of any connection between the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday morning and the Santa Monica incident. The investigation has been taken over by the FBI. The source said the man appeared to be white.
A city official in West Hollywood also confirmed the arrest and stressed that officials were beefing up security at the gay pride event.
“They found him with weapons that were very disconcerting,” said the source, adding officials are “taking the appropriate safety precautions.”
The parade comes hours after the attack at the Orlando club that killed 50 people. At least 53 were injured in the deadliest shooting in modern American history after a gunman took hostages. The gunman has been identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
One source in West Hollywood said there was discussion of calling off the parade but that officials decided to go forward, with heavy security including undercover officers in the crowd.
President Obama addressed the nation shortly after 2PM today regarding the Orlando shooting.
From the president’s statement:
This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends — our fellow Americans — who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub — it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.
So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American — regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation — is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country. And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.
The President was briefed this morning by Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the tragic shooting in Orlando, Florida. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims. The President asked to receive regular updates as the FBI, and other federal officials, work with the Orlando Police to gather more information, and directed that the federal government provide any assistance necessary to pursue the investigation and support the community.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump posted these messages on Twitter:
A man identified as Omar Marteen went on a deadly shooting spree at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, last night killing 50 and leaving 53 more hospitalized.
The shooting incident began at 2AM with approximately 320 people in the club.
It is officially the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States.
Mateen — who was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun, according to Orlando’s police chief — entered Pulse club around 2 a.m. Sunday morning and began shooting. After most of the 320 people there escaped, Mateen took hostages from a group that was hiding in a bathroom. Shortly before 6 a.m., a SWAT unit breached the club and engaged Mateen in what’s being called a protracted gun battle. Mateen was killed.
The police classified the attack as a “terror incident. The police and the federal authorities said they were pursuing several angles in the terrorism investigation, both overseas and in the United States.
The shooting was clearly a hate crime meant to target LGBT people, and is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News that Mateen was born in New York in 1986 and was listed as living at a residence in Port St. Lucie, about 125 miles south of Orlando. The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism, officials said.
Mir Seddique, Mateen’s father told NBC News, “this has nothing to do with religion.” Seddique said his son got angry when he saw two men kissing in Miami a couple of months ago and thinks that may be related to the shooting.
“We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country,” Seddique said.
According to CNN, the terrorist called 911 about the attack, pledged allegiance to ISIS and mentioned the Boston bombers, according to a U.S. official.
Equality Florida, the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization is collecting contributions via a GoFundMe page to support the victims of the horrific shooting at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub. Please contribute and share this page.
We are reeling from the tragic news that a gunman opened fire on the 2am capacity crowd at Pulse leaving 20 people dead and 42 injured according to preliminary reports. We are heartbroken and angry that senseless violence has once again destroyed lives in our state and in our country.
Gay clubs hold a significant place in LGBTQ history. They were often the only safe gathering place and this horrific act strikes directly at our sense of safety. June commemorates our community standing up to anti-LGBTQ violence at the Stonewall Inn, the nightclub that has become the first LGBTQ site recognized as a national monument.
We have received a steady stream of emails and messages from those seeking to help or to make sense of the senseless. We make no assumptions on motive. We will await the details in tears of sadness and anger. We stand in solidarity and keep our thoughts on all whose lives have been lost or altered forever in this tragedy.
President Barack Obama will address the nation about the terror attack in Orlando at 1:30pmET from the White House briefing room.
