Friday, May 27th, 2022
Cops Face Scrutiny, Holiday Weekend Travel & Indy 500
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and Pampers.com
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want reading the latest happenings...
Elementary School Shooting Investigation Latest
There are new questions about what exactly happened the day of a mass shooting inside a Texas elementary school. Law enforcement officers laid out a new timeline, saying the gunman lingered outside the building for 12 minutes, firing shots, before walking into the school through an unlocked door. So far, officers haven’t said why no one stopped him from going in or why the initial information told to reporters was different. There’s also conflicting information about what happened as the attack was going on. Witness cell phone videos show frantic family members yelling at police outside to go in and stop the attack, but they didn’t. Now, officers are defending their actions, saying some of them were breaking windows and others were calling for backup.
Read More: AP, WSJ, NY Times, CBS News, CNN (1), CNN (2), Politico
Video from the Scene: Storyful (1), Storyful (2), Storyful (3) WARNING: it is difficult to watch
Students Stage Walkout/Protests
Thousands of students all around the country walked out of their classes yesterday in protest. They were demanding stricter gun laws in the wake of this week’s shooting. In many cases, they were joined by teachers and cheered on by their parents. Protests are also planned for next week, and a large one is scheduled for June 11th at the nation’s capital.
Read More: NBC News, Bloomberg, Axios, WaPo
NRA Convention Begins Today
Despite some calls for it to be canceled, the National Rifle Association’s annual convention is happening this weekend in Houston, Texas. Tens of thousands of NRA members will attend, along with big-name speakers like former President Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. The NRA is a gun-rights activist group and lobbying organization that argues guns make the country safer, so it’s against new gun laws. The convention was scheduled long before the Uvalde shooting. Now, the NRA says it will be thinking about the victims and redouble its commitment to making schools secure. In the past, the NRA has called for more armed teachers.
Read More: Houston Chronicle, KPRC, AP, The Hill, NY Post, NRA
Senate Gun Reform Debate
There is reportedly a new, bipartisan Senate group that’s hyper-focused on new gun laws. It reportedly includes five Democrats and four Republicans, working toward a compromise. Even the top Republican in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, gave his blessing. He encouraged Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to get involved in the talks, too. This came as a surprise to a lot of people since when McConnell was the majority leader, he blocked other gun reform proposals.
Read More: Axios, WSJ, USA Today, CNN
Holiday Weekend Extreme Weather
This weekend, some parts of the U.S. will get triple-digit temperatures. Others will get severe storms, and some can expect snow. It’s going to be sunny and hot from Texas to Maine by the end of the weekend. The most extreme heat is expected in Texas, where temperatures will be in the 100s, and it’s expected to be dry. That’s different from the plains into the upper midwest. There, people could be dealing with strong storms this weekend, especially near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Omaha, Nebraska, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The snow is expected in the higher elevations in the northern Rockies, like parts of Montana, starting on Sunday.
Read More: CNN, WaPo, Today, Weather Channel, NOAA
Memorial Day Travel & Events
Despite record-high gas prices, millions of Americans still plan to travel for the Memorial Day weekend. Travel experts say there’s too much pent-up demand after the last couple of years of the pandemic, so drivers should be ready for more traffic. Of course, Memorial Day weekend isn’t only about travel, discounts, and grilling out. It’s a time to remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military and honor their sacrifice. The National Memorial Day Concert will be live-streamed on PBS this Sunday, and local events are happening around the country all weekend.
Read more (travel): AP, Fox Business, USA Today, WSJ, AAA, Inrix
Read more (events): Military.com, PBS Live Stream, History.com
Kevin Spacey Faces New Charges
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is facing new accusations, this time in the U.K. British prosecutors have authorized police to charge Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men. The alleged incidents happened in 2005, 2008, and 2013. Spacey has already faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.
Read more: CBS News, Deadline, WSJ, AP
Twitter Shareholders Sue Musk
Twitter shareholders are now suing Elon Musk and Twitter itself over their deal. The new class-action lawsuit accuses Musk of purposely manipulating the company’s stock for his personal gain. This comes after Musk put in a bid to buy Twitter, and Twitter accepted, but it’s been a pretty hectic process so far. The lawsuit accuses Musk of conduct designed to drive Twitter’s stock down, so he could then either back out of the deal completely or renegotiate it. Neither of those things has happened yet. Twitter isn’t commenting.
Read more: CNBC, AP, Fox Business, The Verge
Indianapolis 500
The “greatest spectacle in racing” is happening this Sunday. We’re talking about the Indianapolis 500. More than 325,000 people are expected to show up. Broadway star Jordan Fisher will sing the national anthem. “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Miles Teller will wave the green flag as the honorary starter, and country music star Blake Shelton will be the event grand marshal. As for the drivers, 33 of them are in the race. The overall favorite is Scott Dixon. You can watch the Indy 500 from home on NBC or Peacock this Sunday, starting at 11 a.m. ET.
Read More: WTHR, AP, WISH, WRTV, NOLA.Com
Feel Good Friday: Teen Creates Sports Psychology Website
A teenager learned early on that, in sports, mental training is just as important as physical training. Now, he’s helping more kids like him. 17-year-old Brandon Shintani developed the website and nonprofit organization called Mind-Design Sports. There’s information on the site about topics like letting go of mistakes and making decisions about when to compete. There’s also a program that connects young athletes with mentors from high school or college. It’s designed by teens for other teens and kids.
Read More: The Week, NorthJersey.Com, Mind-DesignSports