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Fundraiser for UK Slain Lawmaker Breaks Record

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An online fundraiser to generate funds for charities in the name of slain British lawmaker Jo Cox has raised more than $820,000, making it the largest U.K. effort in the history of the popular website where it was hosted, NBC News reported.

Donors have given a little more than 574,000 pounds (or $824,000 USD) as of early Sunday local time, three days after Cox was fatally stabbed and shot in Birstall. The money will go to three charities chosen by Cox's family.

The website, Gofundme, said Saturday that the effort is the largest U.K. fundraiser hosted on the website since the site was launched in 2010.

Cox, a rising star in the opposition Labour Party a mother of two, was shot and stabbed in broad daylight after a meeting with her constituents in Birstall, near Leeds, northern England.

Her alleged attacker, Thomas Mair, 52, was charged with murder and weapons related charges Saturday.



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Psychologist: I Never Evaluated Omar Mateen

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The global security firm that employed Orlando shooter Omar Mateen is facing additional scrutiny over whether it adequately screened his fitness to be a gun-carrying licensed security guard, this time from a psychologist who says she never administered a key mental health evaluation of him when he was hired in 2007.

Dr. Carol Nudelman's name appears on the document G4S Secure Solutions USA submitted to the state of Florida, which cleared the Orlando shooter to carry a firearm as a private security guard. Mateen shot and killed 49 people last Sunday in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Nudelman said in a statement to NBC News she never administered the test to Mateen and was not even practicing in Florida at the time when G4S ordered the evaluation.

The company called the discrepancy a "clerical error" and said that Mateen, who was a G4S employee for 9 years, had been evaluated by a different psychologist.



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Arson at Bloomfield Convalescent Home

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The Bloomfield Fire Department is investigating after a fire was intentionally set at a nursing home Saturday morning.

 According to officials, the fire department was called to Touchpoints Healthcare Facility, 140 Park Ave. just before 8:30 a.m. When the fire department arrived the discovered a fire in one room of the care facility.

 The fire department evacuated 27 patients. Five patients were transported to a nearby hospital. The rest of the patients were placed in another wing of the facility.

 Touchpoints is a convalescent care facility and many of the patients are immobile.

 While investigating, officials learned that the cause of the fire was arson and that a suspect had fled of foot through a wooded area.

 The suspect was located by officers in a nearby marshy area near the facility.

 The suspect told officers that he set the fire because he no longer wanted to stay in the facility. He was transported to the hospital for evaluation.

 Touchpoints spokesman Michael Landi issued the following statement on the incident:

 "Staff responded quickly to a small fire in a resident room this morning. Facility staff are currently working with local and state officials on the cause of this event. Precautionary measures were immediately instituted to ensure the safety of residents and staff. There are no reports of serious injuries."

Two People Shot Multiple Times in Stamford

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Two people were shot multiple times in Stamford early Sunday morning.

At 2:40 a.m., Stamford police received a 9-1-1 call from a woman stating that she and her boyfriend had been shot multiple times and they were at the front entrance of Stamford Hospital.

Police arrived at the hospital and located a 2012 Nissan Sentra on the sidewalk in front of the hospital with nine gunshot holes. Both the driver and the passenger were shot several times.

The 21-year-old female driver was shot twice, in her abdomen and right leg. She underwent surgery and is listed in Stable condition at Stamford Hospital.

The 28-year-old male passenger was shot six times in the right leg, groin, right arm and abdomen. He is in the ICU at Stamford Hospital

The female told police that they were leaving a nightclub on Greenwich Ave. and head towards I-95 when someone pulled alongside them and started shooting.  She could not give police an exact location of the shooting and police were unable to locate a scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Stamford Police Detective Bureau at 203-977-4417.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Two Dead, Three Injured in Biker Shootout in Ohio

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A shootout between rival biker groups in Ohio Saturday left two people dead and three others wounded, police said.

The gunfight broke out in the parking lot of a bar in Warren Township, about 55 miles east of Cleveland. Officials told NBC affiliate WFMJ that one of the groups at the bar was planning the route for a Father's Day Poker Run when the confrontation occurred.

Township Police Chief Don Bishop said that four of the people shot — including the two fatalities — were from one group of bikers. The fifth person wounded was from the second gang, he added. The names of the victims were not released.

There had been no arrests as of Saturday evening, Bishop said, but he said police have interviewed around 25 people and are pursuing leads.



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Speaker Ryan Talks Obligation to Support Trump

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Paul Ryan says it's his obligation as the Speaker of the House to support presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, but he won't force fellow Republicans to do the same.

In an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, Ryan said it's his responsibility as Speaker of the House to keep the Republican Party united and promised to continue criticizing Trump if he says or does "something that puts a bad label on conservatism."

"Imagine the Speaker of the House not supporting the duly elected nominee of our party, therefore creating a chasm in our party that splits us in half which basically helps deny us the White House, and strong majorities in Congress.”

Ryan explicitly denied that he was choosing party over country, arguing that he remains behind Trump because Republican primary voters chose him.

"He won the election. The voters voted for him…That's the choice they made." He continued, "That's not something I can control."



Photo Credit: Illustration by Daniel Sircar/NBC; Photos by Getty Images
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Drug War Impact Endures 30 Years After Len Bias' Death

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Basketball star Len Bias' 1986 cocaine overdose sparked a panic, stoked by false rumors and a high-stakes political campaign that culminated in a law that swept thousands of low-level drug offenders — most of them young and black — into prison.

The All-American forward at the University of Maryland, died on June 19, two days after being drafted by the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established mandatory minimum drug sentences, provisions that exacerbated racial disparities, led to an explosion in prison populations and helped lay the groundwork for grievances that erupted in anti-police riots in Baltimore last year and in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

Thirty years later, on the anniversary of Bias' death, America is still reeling from the impact.



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Gang Records Metro Attack of Girls

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Two teenage girls on their way home from school were beaten in a Washington D.C., Metro station by a group of teens — who then posted video of the attack on social media.

The girls left their high school and were waiting for a train on a crowded platform at the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station at about 6 p.m. on June 6 when they were approached, their mothers told News4.

"They came up behind her and said 'What you want to do?' and started hitting on her," one mother, who asked not to be identified, said her daughter reported.

The group of teens pummeled the girls for minutes while at least one person recorded the attack using a cellphone, the mothers said.

One of the victims suffered damage to her eye socket. 

"The swelling has gone down, and now the pain of the cracked bone is there and it's starting to bother her," her mother said. "She sleeps almost all day and is up all night." 

One of the victims then found footage of the beating on Instagram. It was one of the most popular "fight videos" on the social media site the following day. The video has since been removed.

The mothers say they were horrified to see the footage of the attack.

"It was animal-like to see how they pound on my child like she don’t mean anything," one of the mothers said. "You pound on her and pound on her, and you laughed about it, you recorded it."

The train platform was full of commuters who did not intervene, the victims told their mothers.

"She didn't understand why so many adults stood around and no one helped them," one of the mothers said.

The mothers have retained legal representation to help them determine their next steps.

"The mothers of these children want justice," attorney Bart Columbo said. "They want the perpetrators prosecuted, and they want to make sure this doesn’t happen to other children."

Police in D.C. and Prince George's County said they are familiar with the group of youths responsible for the attack and monitor their activities. Most of the young people live in Prince George's County, D.C. police said.

Metro Transit Police said they are close to making an arrest in the case but did not provide additional details. Members of the group were identified with help from surveillance cameras.

In the meantime, both teen girls have switched schools because they do not want to ride the Metro.

"Metro is not safe at all, and I challenge somebody to tell me that it's safe," the mother of one of the victims said. "It's not."



Photo Credit: NBC Washington

Analysis of EgyptAir Black Boxes Begins

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Investigators have started analyzing the two black boxes recovered from EgyptAir flight MS804, NBC News reported. 

According to a statement from Egypt’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee, memory units from the two recorders went through an eight-hour “drying process which occurred in the technical research center of the armed forces with drying ovens which have a high standard of technology." 

Investigators are conducting electrical tests on the units — the final step before trying to extract data. 

The analysis is being conducted with representatives from France and the United States, the committee said. The two boxes may help explain why the flight crashed on May 19 en route from Paris to Cairo.



Photo Credit: AP/File

Rome Elects City's First Female Mayor

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Rome elected its first female mayor Sunday, NBC News reported. 

Rome city council member Virginia Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer from the opposition Movimento 5 Stelle, or Five Star Movement, had 67 percent of the vote with almost 80 percent of the vote counted early Monday, the Interior Ministry said. 

She beat Roberto Giachetti, who was backed by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Her defeat ousted Renzi's Democratic Party from power in the capital city. 

Raggi's party, known as M5S, was founded on the Internet about 6½ years ago as a "clean" alternative to business as usual by TV comic Giuseppe "Beppe" Grillo, M5S is already the largest single party in Italy's lower Chamber of Deputies.



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Cox Slaying Suspect Attended White Supremacist Meeting: Report

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The man suspected of killing British lawmaker Jo Cox once attended a meeting of American white supremacists in London, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center report published Sunday, NBC News reported. 

According to the SLPC, which tracks hate groups, Mair was one of between 15 and 20 people to appear at a gathering 16 years ago, aimed at expanding an American neo-Nazi’s “white power” music business into Europe. 

Mair appeared to be loosely connected to a local chapter of the neo-Nazi group National Alliance, former GOP domestic policy analyst and consultant Todd Blodgett told the SLPC. 

Cox, 41, died Thursday after Mair, 52, allegedly stabbed and shot her and referenced a far right anti-immigrant group opposed to Britain's membership in the European Union.



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Jail on Lockdown for Father's Day

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Cook County Jail in Chicago was placed on lockdown Sunday morning on Father's Day, after hundreds of staff members called off for two shifts, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office.

A statement on the Sheriff's website said that staffing levels dropped "below the normal," prompting the lockdown for officer safety. The Sheriff's office tweeted just before 6 p.m. that a total of 317 staff members called off for the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shifts. 

For the morning shift, 150 of the 702 employees scheduled to work, or 21.3 percent, called in sick, according to Cara Smith, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office. For the afternoon shift, 167 called in sick. 

"While placed on lockdown inmates will be allowed movement for medical reasons, emergencies, and visitation only," a statement reads. "Discharges will also be processed."

According to the statement, regular operations will resume "as soon as staffing levels reach the normal level."

"I think it has everything to do with Father's Day and the NBA game 7 tonight," Smith added. She said the biggest challenge the jail faces when it comes to staffing is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires employers to provide leave for certain medical reasons.

"About one-third of our staff has FMLA coverage, which is concerning," Smith said. "And they're permitted to use it, the vast majority of them are allowed to use it intermittently," she said, adding that the FMLA can cover conditions like back spasms, migraines, and more.

"Because of that, it puts the employer in an impossible position," Smith said. "As we’re preparing to start our shift at 7 a.m., we have people calling in up until 6:45 a.m. Our ability to be proactive, our hands are tied, primarily by the federal law.”

The jail was also placed on lockdown in early May on Mother's Day due to a staffing shortage. 

“We suspect it was Mother’s Day related, and, while we wish all our staff could have spent time with their moms and families, we have to run the jail, which is a 24/7 operation, and keep detainees and staff safe,” sheriff's spokesperson Sophia Ansari said in a statement at the time. The exact number of workers who called off was not immediately available.

The jail was also placed under lockdown in January when 148 people, or 18 percent of the 793 employees scheduled to staff the morning shift, did not show up for work. 

In February, NBC 5 Investigates found that seven out of the top 10 sick days at the Cook County Jail happened either the day of, or the day after, a major televised sporting event.



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1,500-Acre Fire Forces Evacuation

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A wildland fire by the U.S.-Mexico border near Potrero has jumped from five acres to 1,500 acres in a matter of hours. As the flames spread, the City of Potrero is being evacuated. 

As of 11 p.m. the fire was five percent contained, four outbuildings have been destroyed and one firefighter has been injured. 

Homes along Highway 94 between Emory Road and Plaskon Road are also being evacuated. Highway 94 is closed from Highway 188 to Potrero Valley Road. 

The City of Potrero is 45 miles east of San Diego. When the US Census Bureau did their American Community Survey back in 2014, they estimated the total population was 693 people and there were 207 units.

Schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District will be closed Monday, the district confirmed around 8 p.m. Sunday. 

Evacuees from other temporary evacuation shelters are being directed to Campo Elementary School, which will be open overnight. It is located at 1654 Buckman Springs Road. 

“As we came out of Potrero there was fire on both sides of the road so I guess it was a good thing we got out when we did,” evacuee Andy Lindsay said at the evacuation location on Sheridan.

Back in 2007 Lindsay spent six days in an evacuation center during the Harris Fire. “Hopefully we won't be here for five or six days like we were last time,” he said.

Mary Hall was working at the library when she was told to evacuate. She grabbed some cats wandering around as she left, and is now waiting at the evacuation center. “I am nervous about the state my home is in right now,” she told NBC 7.

Additional temporary evacuation points were set up at the Campo Community Center, at 300 Sheridan Rd. and Dulzura Community Center at 16985 State Route 94.

The fire broke out Sunday morning around 11:30 a.m. near Highway 94 and Highway 188, north of Tecate, Mexico, and west of Campo. 

At first, Cal Fire crews reported the fire at three to five acres with a slow rate of spread, not threatening any structures. 

The fire grew to 900 acres by 6 p.m., jumped Highway 94 and was heading southeast toward Potrero, threatening structures. 

In 2007, the Harris Fire burned more than 90,000 acres in the same area, killing one person and badly burning another. The fire also destroyed 253 homes. 

Sunday night the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire. 

The FMAG also enables local, state and tribal agencies to recover eligible costs.

The fire comes during a day of record-breaking heat across San Diego County. 

The closest weather station to the fire is in Potrero, slightly northeast of the blaze. In Potrero, the weather is hot and dry but not too windy, Bledsoe said. It is currently 104 degrees with a 10 percent relative humidity and winds at 7 miles per hour from the west.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says an excessive heat watch will be in effect for parts of San Diego County and Imperial Valley, including valleys, mountains and deserts, from Sunday morning through next Thursday evening.

Communities that will feel the heat the most include: El Cajon; Santee; La Mesa; Poway; Pine Valley; Julian; Escondido; San Marcos; Lake Arrowhead; Big Bear.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. If you have photos or videos of the fire, please send them to isee@nbcsandiego.com.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego
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4 Dead in Arizona as Heatwave Intensifies in Southwest

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Officials reported at least four deaths related to the intense heatwave that got stronger Sunday in the Southwest, NBC News reported. 

All four were found dead in Arizona this weekend from separate heat-related emergencies, according to authorities who spoke to NBC News. 

A 25-year-old man died while hiking the Peralta Trail in Pinal County on Sunday. In a separate incident, a 28-year-old woman died during a morning hike along the Desert Visa Trail in Maricopa County. Another woman died Sunday at a hospital after hiking in Pima County. And another man died after his hiking group was overcome by heat in Ventana Canyon near Tucson.

Excessive heat warnings blanketed Southern California and Arizona where temperatures jumped into triple digits and are expected to remain there until Monday.

Fire officials said the excessive heat would hamper efforts to quell five explosive wildfires that were forcing evacuations in three states.         



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Vigil Honors South Windsor Man Gunned Down in Hartford

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In Hartford people came together Sunday evening to remember a young man shot and killed last week.

Friends say Daylon Ore was a rising star on the basketball court and inspiration to the youth of the city. At the corner of Main and Earle Streets, loved ones were grieving the loss of Ore. Police say it was at this intersection the 22-year-old was shot and killed on Thursday.

“It’s like I lost a son,” says Shawn Bell.

Bell says Ore was a role model to kids in his youth basketball league.

They were inspired by Ore’s scoring streak at Hartford High School and his accomplishments at college, at Pine Manor in Massachusetts. Ore was planning to help coach the league this summer.

“He had a bright future, yes he did. He was a humble kid,” says Bell.

Friends say Ore had new outlook on life after a previous run-in with violence. A few years ago they say he had been hurt in a drive-by shooting.

“Daylon was loved by so many people in this city. Someone who had gotten a second chance, who had made the most of it, was full of hope and promise for his own life,” says Mayor Luke Bronin, D-Hartford.

Ore’s mother, Janet Martin, says her son was never looking for trouble. Despite that she forgives whoever took him away.

The family will remember Ore’s smile, big heart, and that he touched so many lives.

“It hurts so bad. It hurts. Trying to hold it together for him. Because if he was here right now, he’d be like 'Mom don’t cry. It’s alright. I still love you.' I love my son,” says Martin.

Ore’s former college also plans to remember him with a memorial service on campus this week.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

1 Injured in Barkhamsted Crash

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One person was airlifted to the hospital after a motorcycle accident in Barkhamsted Sunday.

Emergency dispatchers say crews responded to a motorcycle involved accident the Riverton Section of Route 20 around 8:30 p.m. Lifestar responded and transported one victim to Hartford Hospital for treatment of a chest injury.

The victim has not been identified at this time. No other details were immediately available.

 

Man Killed By Cops After Threat

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A 25-year-old man died early Sunday morning after he pointed a handgun at police who opened fire as the man threateningly approached them, investigators said.

The man, later identified as Rashaun Lloyd, was hit several times in a barrage of 31 gunshots.

The officers were responding to an alert issued by the NYPD gunshot detection system at the Soundview Houses in the Bronx at about 1:50 a.m. when they encountered Lloyd, police said.

“The officers ordered him to drop the gun, which was verified by at least one 911 caller,” Patrol Borough Bronx Commanding Officer Larry Nikunen said at a news conference.

“The suspect then starts to walk towards the officers pointing his gun at them. Three officers then fire a total of 31 shots, some of which struck the suspect.”

Lloyd was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators are trying to determine what Lloyd was doing before police arrived at the public housing project on Randal Avenue. He has a criminal record that includes arrests for robbery and marijuana.

A 9mm firearm was recovered at the scene, police said.

Four officers were taken to Montefiore Medical Center as a precaution, not because of any injuries sustained during the confrontation, police said.

Meanwhile, friends of Lloyd are grieving. One friend, Kasha Zelner, was listening to the last voice message he left her before he died. She can't believe it's the last time she'll hear his voice. 

"I keep playing his messages. I keep looking around. I just called his phone a few times hoping he'd answer. But his family members answered and told me he's gone," Zelner said. 

She said Lloyd leaves behind a little boy.

"That was like his main focus, his son," Zelner said. "He was trying to do better for his child." 

Patty Curry, another friend, said there was no need to shoot him so many times. 

"I mean this is getting ridiculous. I'm not saying he was innocent. But it don't take 31 shots. He wasn't shooting an elephant," Curry said. 

Investigators were seen combing through shell casings and other evidence at the scene throughout the day on Sunday. The NYPD also has surveillance video from the New York City Housing Authority, which is being reviewed. Police will try to figure out how many of the 31 shots fired by officers struck Lloyd. 



Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York
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Estimated 50,000 People Attend Vigil for Orlando Victims

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An estimated 50,000 people gathered for a candlelight vigil Sunday night to remember the 49 people killed in Orlando, Florida, last week, event organizers said.

Throngs of people packed onto the banks of Lake Eola, near downtown Orlando, holding signs with messages like "Love always conquers hate" and "Free hugs."

It was a staggering display of support punctuated by a moment of silence, a rainbow and tens of thousands of attendees, each holding his or her own lighted candle.

"Wow, Orlando," Mayor Buddy Dyer told the crowd, The Orlando Sentinel reported. "You're showing your love, your compassion, your unity."



Photo Credit: AP

Double Fatal Crash in Rocky Hill

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Two people have died after a crash in Rocky Hill.

According to police, an officer observed a car driving recklessly on Maple St. near Gilbert Ave. The car was speeding and crossed the center line.

The officer pulled the car over and as he approached, the driver sped away.

Just moments later, the vehicle crashed into a tree just south of Elm St. The officer was not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash.

The passenger in the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was transported to Hartford Hospital by Lifestar. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Mid-State Accident Reconstruction Unit is investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call Rocky Hill Police at 860-258-7640.

Anti-Trump Republicans Allege 'Intimidation' by Party Leaders

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Republicans who do not support Donald Trump as their presidential candidate said that "intimidation" tactics were being used by party leaders against them to prevent any subversion at the party's convention next month, NBC News reported.

A North Carolina delegate said the delegates in her state "are very much under direct threat from our state with a $10,000 fine," adding that she had been "threatened" by the state GOP "vice-president" over Facebook and asked about the possibility of a legal fund being established to defend them.

"I think that that's definitely going to affect very many people who are not going to be willing to step up in front of the committeemen" and contest votes for Trump at the convention, she said.

She also noted that delegates in Arizona are required to sign a pledge committing to vote for Trump or they'll be barred from the convention.



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