His face marked with tiny birdshot wounds, the lawyer shot by US Vice President Dick Cheney while quail hunting left a hospital on Friday, saying "accidents do and will happen" and apologizing for the trouble the incident had caused the vice president.
"My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with," Harry Whittington said, his voice a bit raspy but strong in his first comments since being shot on a South Texas ranch six days earlier.
The Austin attorney spoke less than 20 minutes before Cheney made his first public appearance since the shooting, receiving a rousing ovation from legislators in his home state of Wyoming.
"It's a wonderful experience to be greeted by such warmth by the leaders of our great state. It's especially true when you've had a very long week," Cheney told lawmakers in Cheyenne.
"Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well."
Whittington, 78, was hit in the face, neck and chest with birdshot on Feb. 11. After a shotgun pellet traveled to his heart, he had suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday while being treated at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial in Texas.
Whittington, who did not answer questions after giving his brief statement, had what appeared to be a line of cuts on his upper right eyelid and scrapes on his neck.
"We all assume certain risks in what we do, in what activities we pursue," Whittington said. "Accidents do and will happen."
He said the past weekend involved "a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially with those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting."
Doctor David Blanchard, the hospital's chief of emergency care, said the attorney was lucky to have survived the shooting.
Whittington was being released due to "his excellent health," Blanchard said, but added that Whittington wasn't answering questions because "he is not 100 percent."
Whittington did feel well enough to crack a joke.
"I also thank all of you for understanding as best you can that medical attention is very important to someone my age -- and you haven't failed to give my age," he said.
He also sent his love and respect to Cheney and his family. "We hope that he will continue to come to Texas and seek the relaxation that he deserves," Whittington said.
Hospital spokeswoman Yvonne Wheeler wouldn't say exactly when Whittington left the hospital on Friday or where he was going, only that he left in a car.
Cheney took the blame for the shooting in an appearance on Fox News last week, but his comments on Friday focused on reminiscing about Wyoming politicians, including his time as the state's representative in the US House.
"For better than a decade, I proudly answered to the title, `the gentleman from Wyoming,"' Cheney said in his home state.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS