. >> i'm melissa rehberger. a bombshell from the supreme court justice anthony kennedy announcing he is retiring effective at the end of july. president trump now poise today appoint hisur farther to the ri. the news reverberated through the country with advocates for civil, lgbt and abortion rights among others, warning the vacancy puts progress at risk. the new york daily news perhaps capturing their sentiment with this front page. >>> many democrats are already demanding any confirmation hearing be delayed until after the midterm elections, setting the stage for a heated political battle. nbc's blayne alexander brings us more. >> reporter: for years he was the critical swing vote on the supreme court. justice anthony kennedy announcing he is retiring.or pr fundamentally change the makeup of the highest land. >> a man who is displaying great vision. he displayed tremendous vision and tremendous heart, and he will be missed. >> reporter: president trump praising kennedy while already making plans to choose his

i'm melissa rehberger. >> and i'm phillip mena. people around the nation are reeling this morning after a lone gunman opened fire into a md newsroom. killing five people and injuring numerous others, as police continue their investigation they are now releasing the names of those five victims. sales assistant rebecca smith. deputy editor rob hiason. mayor. gerald and wendy. all crossir targeted attack after learning ramos had allegedly threatened the capital gazette newspaper on social media. as authorities continue to dig in for a motive and s.w.a.t. teams comb his home, we learned ramos has had a long-standing grudge against the paper over a 2011 column that reported his guilty plea to criminal harassment according to court records. nbc's jennifer johnson has more from annapolis. >> reporter: nbc news is reporting police are at the suspect's maryland home. 38-year-old gerald ramos hours after he allegedly opened fire inside a local annapolis newspaper. >> this person was prepared to shoot people. his intent was to cause harm. >>