Month: July 2022

Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of former President Donald Trump, died on Thursday, her family announced. She was 73 years old.  New York City officials confirmed that authorities responded to a 911 call at Trump’s Upper East Side home around 12:40 p.m. Thursday afternoon, where she was found alone and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead on the scene. An official cause of death for Trump not yet been determined by the medical examiner, though no foul play is believed to be involved.

Born Ivana MareIvana Marie Zelnickova in the former Czechoslovakia, she left the country in 1970 and worked as a model. She later married Donald Trump in 1977, and went on to hold key positions in the Trump Organization, including acting as CEO of Trump’s Castle in Atlantic City, and helping to design interiors for the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Trump Tower.  Ivana Trump also created her own clothing line and authored several bestselling books.

Ivana Trump shared three children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — with the former president, whom she was married to until 1992. She remarried twice after their highly publicized divorce, but did not have any other children.  Donald Trump announced Ivana’s death in a post on his social media site Truth Social, calling her a “wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great inspirational life,” adding, “her pride and joy were her three children. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest in Peace, Ivana!”

Son Eric Trump posted a tribute to his mother on Instagram Thursday, remembering her as “a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren.”

Daughter Ivanka Trump tweeted she was “heartbroken” about the death of her mother: “Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She lived life to the fullest — never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance. I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always.”

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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill with a 260-169 vote to create a nationwide alert system to be used in active-shooter incidents. The Active Shooter Alert Act would establish a network similar to Amber alerts, to notify the public when a shooter is nearby. The bill will now head to the Senate.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who co-sponsored the bill, in a statement: “During active shooter events, law enforcement officers are having to take to social media to communicate with the surrounding community so that no one accidentally walks into the line of fire. This is terribly inefficient and dangerous. Law enforcement needs and deserves better tools than Twitter to communicate with the community and the Active Shooter Alert Act answers that call.”

Rep. Fred Upton, R-M.I., who also co-sponsored the bill, said he did so because it has nationwide support from law enforcement officials and organizations: “By alerting the public to an ongoing active shooter threat, we can help folks avoid the area and better enable police and first responders to focus on ending the situation and saving lives.”

Cicilline and Upton introduced the bill in hopes the new alert system could prevent further tragedy in the wake of active-shooting incidents, saying in a joint statement:  “The new alert system established under the Active Shooter Alert Act could be deployed during emergency situations like that recently seen in Highland Park, Ill., when the suspected shooter was at large for 8 hours — providing him the time to drive to Wisconsin and contemplate carrying out another mass shooting.”

Editorial credit: Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com