VP Mike Pence Heads to Texas, Prayerful, After Church Rampage

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is flying Wednesday to Texas to comfort survivors of the state's worst mass shooting in modern history — the bloodbath Sunday at a Sutherland Springs church.He'll visit privately with victims at Brooke Army Medical Center, get briefed by law enforcement, and speak at an evening prayer vigil at Floresville High School, aides said."Our goal is very simple," he told Fox News Channel. "I just want to assure the families there that they have the support of the American people. They have the prayers of the American people."A tragedy of this magnitude typically prompts a hands-on response from the White House. President Donald Trump flew to Las Vegas days after a sniper in a casino hotel killed 58 people at an outdoor concert, five weeks before the Texas massacre.But Trump is unavailable. He's in the midst of a five-country trip to Asia, and will be in Beijing during Pence's visit to Texas. This isn't his first trip to Texas to represent the administration in the wake of disaster. In late August, Pence hauled storm debris and shared prayers and hugs with residents of Rockport and Victoria after Hurricane Harvey. His empathetic, hands-on approach drew markedly better reviews than a more sterile visit by Trump two days earlier, when the president stuck to official briefings and didn't cross paths with anyone but politicians, emergency personnel and disaster agency chiefs.  Continue reading...