Former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi dies aged 86 | First Thing

Media tycoon was one of Italy’s most flamboyant politicians whose career was tainted by sex scandals. Plus, fears over Republicans’ pro-Trump rhetoric

Good morning.

The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86, according to the news agency Ansa.

An estimated 12 million adults – 4.4% of the US population – believe violence is justified to return Trump to power, according to a recent survey by the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats.

“What’s happening in the United States is political violence is going from the fringe to the mainstream,” Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago who leads CPOST, told the Guardian.