Orlando: Despite warnings that he was mentally unstable and interested in Islamic terrorism, the Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was able to legally buy the assault rifle and semi-automatic pistol he used in the massacre at the Pulse nightclub. Mateen had previously been investigated by the FBI and was described by people who knew him as mentally unstable. But none of that raised a red flag in the background checks for buying guns.

The count of people killed in the Orlando nightclub shooting has dropped by one, but with 49 dead it is still the worst mass shooting in US history.

Although there’s a lot of national chatter about radical Islam, there’s no immediate evidence that the attack was religiously or politically motivated. Mateen’s ex-wife said he was bi-polar and his father said he hated homosexuals. His ex said, “He was not stable as a person to be with another person.” Former co-workers said he had talked about killing and being a member of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Mateen was re-married and had one child. He had worked as a security guard.

FBI Director James Comey said, “We see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States. And we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network.”

Politics of Death: Although Mateen was born in the United States to immigrant parents, Donald Trump yesterday renewed his call to bar the national door against the entry of Muslim immigrants and visitors. “The only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here,” Trump said. He said of Muslims, “They enslave women, and they murder gays. I don’t want them in our country.”

But Trump took it further, suggesting yesterday in several that there’s something sinister about Obama. Trump was a leader in the “birther” movement questioning whether Obama is a foreign-born Muslim. “Look,” he said, “we’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind… There’s something going on. It’s inconceivable. There’s something going on.”

As a result of The Washington Post’s coverage of his comments, Trump revoked the paper’s credentials for covering his campaign. Trump posted on Facebook, “Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post.”

I Like To be in America: The Supreme Court has struck down Puerto Rico’s plan to put its own utilities into bankruptcy, leaving the island territory’s financial future in the hands of Congress. The Court ruled that Puerto Rico doesn’t have the financial authority to write its own bankruptcy plan.

Aside from the disappointment, the ruling also tells Puerto Ricans that they are not sovereign. Our Puerto Rico correspondent, Christopher Young, tells us, “Many Puerto Ricans are in shock. They have been told though textbooks, and their leaders during three or more generations that Puerto Rico is not a colony, and of course it is. All of a sudden it’s like a light has been turned on, followed by a collective cry of Oh Nooooo!” Young says, “Add to that the realization that the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, currently before the US Senate is entirely based on that colonial relationship. Nearly every section of that document pushes another button for an indigenous resident.”

Hoop Dreams: The Cleveland Cavaliers have forced Golden State into a sixth game, beating the Warriors 112-97 last night.

None of the Above: In what may be a decision that has lasting impact for people who are transgender or kind of male/kind of female, an Oregon judge has ruled that a person can declare themselves to be “non-binary,” neither male nor female. The case involved Jamie Shupe, who was born male and served in the Army. Shupe said, “It feels amazing to be free from a binary sex classification system that inadequately addressed who I really am, a system in which I felt confined.”

At the moment, there’s no pronoun that goes with non-binary.

-30-