Trump, unfiltered: I was right the first time that 'both sides' are to blame

USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump waited to 'know the facts' about Charlottesville From Trump Tower in New York City, President Trump defends his decision to delay responding to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In third statement, Trump doubles-down

President Trump made an impromptu third statement about the Charlottesville attacks, repeating his original message that "there's blame on both sides." He re-read his first statement, made Saturday after a "Unite the Right" white supremacist rally and counter-protests in Charlottesville turned violent, and declared Tuesday that it was a "fine statement." He was criticized for that response by politicians of all stripes and lost several members of his manufacturing council over it. On Monday, a full 48 hours after the attacks, he directly condemned the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. But Tuesday he dug in further and even, it appeared, defended the white supremacists. He argued heatedly that counter-protesters were just as violent and, asked to specifically denounce the so-called alt-right by name, Trump refused, then took aim at "the alt-left," saying it was "very, very violent." You can watch Tuesday's full news conference here. Here are some of the most shocking things Trump said and how Twitter reacted. And there's this: former KKK leader David Duke thanked the president.

Here's how America's reacting

People across the USA reacted to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., this week with rallies and protests, and many more are planned. There were several Tuesday in Kentucky, where the man charged with second-degree murder in the Virginia car attack was raised. Protesters are targeting Confederate statues, chanting in Louisville to "take it down!" In Durham, N.C., people took a more direct approach, toppling a statue. "This is not just about a statue," said Carol Kraemer, one of the Louisville organizers. "This is about institutionalized racism." There are at least 700 Confederate monuments in the U.S. — and many aren't budging. Here's a list of other rallies planned in the coming weeks.

ESPN's fantasy football auction did not look good

An auctioneer stands on stage, "selling" a black football player. Fantasy football auction draft, or something resembling a slave auction? ESPN is under fire for ESPN2's approach to auctioning players — who were both black and white — on Fantasy Sports Marathon on Monday night. ESPN apologized, saying, "We understand the optics could be portrayed as offensive." As one Twitter user put it: "ESPN sold Odell on an auction block to a crowd of White people. In 2017."

Breakfast at Tiffany's? Costco's paying

Would a Tiffany ring by any other name shine as brightly? Tiffany says no. The famed New York jeweler won a suit against Costco, to the tune of at least $19.4 million, in a trademark infringement battle. A judge ruled Monday that Costco must pay damages for its years-long practice of selling rings labeled as "Tiffany" that, well, weren't. Costco's defense was that the rings had a "Tiffany" pronged setting, and it vowed to appeal.

And now, a PSA: You need eclipse glasses. This man knows.

You still don't have eclipse glasses? An Oregon man has a message for you: If you're going to look up at the sun, "any time looking can do damage." Lou Tomososki should know; he and a friend stared at the sun during a partial solar eclipse in 1962 and both have vision problems to this day. Looking directly at any sliver of sun, no matter how small, can burn your retinas and cause permanent damage. The only time you can look at the sun during an eclipse without special glasses is during totality — that's when the sun is 100% blocked by the moon. If you're not in that path for Monday's eclipse, you gotta get those special specs. (And beware fakes!) This has been a public service announcement.