This Week’s Headlines: Life in America hits America's pastime

A gunman targeted Republican members of a congressional baseball team at practice Wednesday morning, shooting five people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. By definition, it was the 154th mass shooting in the first 165 days of the year.

Most lawmakers called for unity in the aftermath, but Rep. Chris Collins responded with strong rhetoric. The Republican began Wednesday by blamed left-leaning vitriol for inspiring the attack. He later told a local TV station he would begin carrying a weapon to protect himself. But Collins was more reserved in a statement released that afternoon, urging for a de-escalation in partisan bickering from all parties, including himself. Contradictions aside, this combative Trump ally could heed the words from the president’s statement: “We are strongest when we are unified and when we work for the common good.”

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Transparency or security threat?

Like parents and teenagers, the New York City Council and the NYPD disagree about who is in charge – and who needs to know what. A council bill would force police to share information about its surveillance programs and equipment. At a Wednesday hearing, City Councilman Daniel Garodnick insisted it was a matter of accountability, but NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said revealing the department’s tactics would give terrorists a “blueprint.”

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Self-driving joyride in Albany

At least one mode of transportation in the state worked properly last week. Audi demonstrated a self-driving car in Albany on Tuesday, the first in a pilot program for companies to test autonomous vehicle technology in New York. The drive was criticized by some who say the governor should instead prioritize subway repairs, and feared by anyone who has seen a movie about autonomous machines taking over the world.