By Devan Cole, Josh Campbell, CNN

(CNN) — Claims by Trump administration officials that the man fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis lacked a right to possess a firearm and that his killing was justified are being dismissed by legal experts and assailed by gun rights groups ordinarily aligned with the president.

The rhetoric from Trump law enforcement officials, including his FBI director and the top Border Patrol agent, goes against the decadeslong GOP effort to throttle gun control rules.

“They’ve stood up in court and tried to push back against state laws that regulate firearms — access, use, carry — so it’s pretty shocking to me to see them now use an example of a lawful gun owner as justification for force,” Megan Walsh, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who specializes in the Second Amendment, said of the Trump officials’ comments.

A federal immigration officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday after wrestling the lawful gun owner to the ground as he was recording agents with a phone. At least one officer can be heard shouting “he’s got a gun” as one officer appears to reach into Pretti’s waistband. An officer appears to step away holding Pretti’s weapon, and then a shot rings out about a second later, followed by at least nine more, videos reviewed by CNN show.

“We respect that Second Amendment right, but those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers and, most especially, when you mean to do that beforehand,” Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday:

Bovino, who has been leading the administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, did not cite evidence on his claims that Pretti committed violence or interfered with agents or that the protest was a “riot.”

Minnesota has for years allowed the open and concealed carry of a handgun with a license issued after an applicant meets certain criteria, and state regulations do not restrict such individuals from having firearms at protests. The state’s laws are so permissive that licensed firearm owners are even allowed to bring guns into Minnesota’s Capitol building.

Yet FBI Director Kash Patel, one of several administration officials who rushed to defend the shooting, said on Fox News: “You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.”

“No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines,” he added.

Walsh said she sees “no gray in this situation.”

“He was lawfully carrying a firearm, and that is not any license to kill someone,” Walsh said. “We have a Constitution that provides a Second Amendment individual right, and it is unlawful to kill a man for exercising his constitutional rights.”

Walsh noted that the Trump administration’s rhetoric toward Pretti is out of step with its opposition to state firearms regulations. Just last week, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to strike down a Hawaii law that bans people from carrying guns onto private property without the explicit approval of the property owner, arguing it trampled on Second Amendment rights.

Amy Sweasy, a

CNN

By Pete Muntean, Zoe Sottile, Alexandra Skores, CNN

(CNN) — A private jet carrying eight people crashed on takeoff from Bangor, Maine, Sunday evening, according to the FAA.

The extent of their injuries was not known, a source briefed on the incident told CNN.

“First responders are still on the scene and are expected to be actively working the site for several more hours before any additional information is available,” the City of Bangor and Bangor International Airport said in a statement Sunday, without revealing the cause of the crash.

The airport told CNN emergency crews responded to an incident around 7:45 p.m. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash, according to a statement from the FAA, and the airport remained closed overnight Sunday.

The plane is a Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet and is registered to a limited liability corporation in Houston, according to federal records.

The crash comes amid a massive snowstorm making its way through the Northeast. Temperatures were well below freezing in Maine, with light snow causing very low visibility.

Minutes before the crash, controllers and pilots at Bangor Airport can be heard talking about low visibility and deicing, though it is not immediately clear who is talking to whom, according to audio obtained from LiveATC.net.

A controller clears the pilot for takeoff on Bangor’s Runway 33.

Nearly two minutes later, a controller loudly radios: “All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!”

Moments later, another controller is heard saying, “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.”

The airport is then closed, and emergency vehicles are allowed to drive on the airfield.

A controller later states they are aware of “three crew and possibly five passengers” on board.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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Por Laura Sharman, CNN

La presidenta encargada de Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, dijo el domingo que ya tuvo “suficiente” de las órdenes de Washington, mientras trabaja para unir al país tras la captura de su exlíder Nicolás Maduro por parte de Estados Unidos.

Rodríguez ha estado caminando por la cuerda floja desde que recibió el respaldo de Estados Unidos para liderar el país de manera interina; equilibrando el mantener a los leales a Maduro en casa mientras intenta asegurar que la Casa Blanca esté satisfecha.

Ahora, casi un mes después de asumir su nuevo cargo, Rodríguez respondió a la presión de Estados Unidos, que incluye una serie de exigencias para que Venezuela reanude la producción de petróleo.

“Ya basta de las órdenes de Washington sobre los políticos en Venezuela”, dijo a un grupo de trabajadores petroleros en la ciudad de Puerto La Cruz, en un evento transmitido por el canal estatal Venezolana de Televisión.

“Que la política venezolana resuelva nuestras diferencias y nuestros conflictos internos. Esta República ha pagado un precio muy alto por tener que enfrentar las consecuencias del fascismo y el extremismo en nuestro país”.

La Casa Blanca ha mantenido una presión constante sobre Venezuela desde que Maduro y su esposa, Cilia Flores, fueron capturados en una redada a principios de enero y llevados a Estados Unidos, donde el exlíder enfrenta cargos.

Rodríguez, exvicepresidenta de Maduro, ha insistido en las últimas semanas en que Estados Unidos no gobierna Venezuela, pero, al mismo tiempo, no ha buscado la confrontación con Washington.

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, dijo que su país “iba a administrar” Venezuela inmediatamente después de la captura de Maduro, pero luego respaldó a Rodríguez como presidenta encargada del país.

CNN ha contactado a la Casa Blanca para obtener comentarios sobre la última declaración de Rodríguez.

Durante los últimos 25 años, la Venezuela socialista y rica en petróleo ha estado en constante confrontación con Estados Unidos. Pero tras la destitución de Maduro, Washington ahora busca asegurar una fuente estable de autoridad en Caracas.

Internamente, el país sigue dividido entre los leales a Maduro, la oposición de izquierda y los “chavistas no-maduristas”; es decir, partidarios del fallecido Hugo Chávez que rechazan a Maduro y lo acusan de traicionar los ideales socialistas del siglo XXI.

Días después de los ataques estadounidenses en Caracas a principios de enero, la administración Trump presentó una serie de exigencias que Venezuela debía aceptar, incluyendo cortar lazos con China, Irán, Rusia y Cuba, y acordar asociarse exclusivamente con Estados Unidos en la producción de petróleo, según dijeron en ese momento a CNN dos altos funcionarios de la Casa Blanca.

También se esperaba que Rodríguez diera prioridad a la administración Trump y a las empresas petroleras estadounidenses para futuras ventas de petróleo.

El principal motor económico de Venezuela es el petróleo. El país posee las mayores reservas mundiales de crudo extrapesado, una variedad que requiere un proceso de refinación más complejo y costoso, pero que también es compatible con las refinerías estadounidenses.

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Con información de Ivonne Valdés Garay, Isabelle D’Antonio, Rocío Muñoz-Ledo y Mauricio Torres, de CNN.

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By Laura Sharman, CNN

(CNN) — Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez said Sunday she has had “enough” of Washington’s orders, as she works to unite the country after the US capture of its former leader Nicolás Maduro.

Rodríguez has been walking a tight-rope since being backed by the US to lead the country in the interim; balancing keeping Maduro loyalists on board at home while trying to ensure the White House is happy.

Now, almost a month into her new role, Rodríguez has pushed back on the US, amid ongoing pressure including a series of demands for Venezuela to resume oil production.

“Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” she told a group of oil workers in Puerto La Cruz city, at an event broadcast by state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión.

“Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts. This Republic has paid a very high price for having to confront the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country.”

The White House has maintained steady pressure on Venezuela since Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in a raid in early January and taken to the US, where the former leader is facing charges.

Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, has insisted in recent weeks that the US does not govern Venezuela but, equally, has not sought confrontation with Washington.

US President Donald Trump had claimed the US was “going to run” Venezuela in the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s capture, but he later backed Rodríguez as the country’s interim leader.

CNN has contacted the White House for comment on Rodríguez’s latest statement.

Seeking stability

For the past 25 years, oil-rich socialist Venezuela has been in constant confrontation with the US. But after deposing Maduro, Washington is now seeking to secure a stable source of authority in Caracas.

Internally, the country remains divided among Maduro loyalists, left-wing opposition and “Chavistas No-Maduristas” – supporters of the late Hugo Chávez who reject Maduro, accusing him of betraying 21st-century socialist ideals.

Days after the US strikes on Caracas in early January, the Trump administration outlined a number of demands that Venezuela must agree to, including cutting ties with China, Iran, Russia and Cuba, and agreeing to partner exclusively with the US on oil production, two senior White House officials told CNN at the time.

Rodríguez was also expected to prioritize the Trump administration and US oil companies for future oil sales.

Venezuela’s main economic driver is oil. The country has the world’s largest reserves of extra-heavy crude, a variety that requires a more complex and expensive refining process but which is also compatible with US refineries.

CNN’s Ivonne Valdes Garay, Isabelle D’Antonio, Rocio Muñoz-Ledo and Mauricio Torres contributed to this report.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Themed bachelorette parties are big business.

One of them packed the Wildcat Lounge in Santa Barbara.

Friends hosted a Like a Bride-themed bachelorette party and brunch for the leader of the La Boheme dance group.

 Teresa Kuskey and fellow dancers dressed as Madonna-style brides.

The bride ties the knot on Valentines Day.

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