Names and faces
Former President George H.W. Bush was “responding and recovering” to treatment at a Houston hospital Tuesday for an infection that had spread to his blood, according to a family spokesman. Bush has been hospitalized since Sunday, a day after attending the funeral of his wife, Barbara, who died last week at age 92. The two were married 73 years, longer than any other U.S. presidential couple. In a brief post on Twitter, family spokesman Jim McGrath said he could “happily” echo his report from Monday that the 93-year-old former president was “responding to treatments and appears to be recovering.” George H.W. Bush, the nation’s 41st president, had used a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility since developing a form of Parkinson’s disease, and he has needed hospital treatment several times in recent years for respiratory problems and other infections. McGrath wouldn’t elaborate Tuesday on the specifics of Bush’s condition, saying only that he would issue updates “when we have something to update.” Late Monday, McGrath described Bush as eager to get well so he could get to his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. “He’s the most goal-oriented person on this planet,” McGrath said. “I wouldn’t bet against him.” People in their 90s with Parkinson’s disease are often at higher risk of pneumonia and other infections because their swallowing process can be compromised, said Dr. David Reuben, a professor of geriatric medicine at the UCLA medical school in Los Angeles. “And the stress of losing a loved one can weaken the immune system,” he said.
A month after speaking at the March for Our Lives in his hometown of Austin, Texas, Matthew McConaughey says he supports some gun control but fears the youth-led movement could be “hijacked” by those hoping to eliminate all guns in the U.S. McConaughey spoke about his support for the marchers in Las Vegas on Monday, where he was promoting his coming film, White Boy Rick, at the CinemaCon theater-owners convention. While calling gun violence “an epidemic in our country,” he said there are responsible gun owners and others who want to ban all guns, and he worries the March for Our Lives will be overtaken by that faction. The 48-year-old Oscar winner said he hoped to find room for agreement between anti-gun activists and the National Rifle Association. “The two sides [have] got to talk,” he said, adding that he “wanted to speak to my hometown on the capital of my state Texas’ steps.” Noting that as he grew up, he was taught “the right way to respect that tool,” McConaughey said that with change coming, both sides need to figure out where compromise is possible.