Friday, June 3rd, 2022
Biden Demands Gun Reform, Tropical Storm Warning & Spelling a Victory
All the news you need in around 10 min:
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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...
Biden’s Gun Reform Speech
President Biden gave a passionate, prime-time speech about gun control. He called on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, expand background checks, and get rid of laws that protect gun manufacturers from being sued over how their products are used. All those measures are seen as being extremely unlikely to pass. A lot of Republicans oppose them, mostly because they say the 2nd amendment shouldn’t be limited. Biden also laid out other proposals that have at least some support from both sides, like red flag laws, safe storage requirements, and resources to address a mental health crisis.
Read More: AP, NY Times, WSJ, NBC News, Fox News, White House
Oklahoma Shooting Update
We have an update about the mass shooting at a Tulsa, Oklahoma medical building. Police now say the gunman was targeting an orthopedic surgeon who the shooter blamed for the pain he was in after back surgery. The shooter killed that doctor and three other people before turning a gun on himself. Investigators say the gunman had a letter with him, explaining his motive. They also say he purchased both of the guns he used this week, and they were both purchased legally.
Read More: Reuters, AP, WSJ, Tulsa World, Tulsa PD
Russia Occupies 20% of Ukraine
Today marks 100 days since Russia first invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky says Russia now occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. He also says the Russian army has destroyed almost the entire eastern region. Still, Ukrainian troops aren’t giving up. They are fighting along a roughly 620-mile front, from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the Black Sea in the south. Both the Russian and Ukrainian armies are said to have suffered heavy losses.
Read More: CNN, NY Times, NPR, The Hill, President Zelensky
OPEC+ Increases Output
This summer, countries around the world are going to start pumping a lot more oil. The new commitment comes from the nations in OPEC+, an organization of the world’s biggest oil producers. The group says it will increase output by about 50% in July and August. The idea is to at least ease surging oil prices during the high-demand summer months. However, even with the extra oil, there will be a supply crunch since Russia’s output has fallen so much in response to the sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Plus, China has started easing lockdowns, meaning gas is in much higher demand there.
Read More: Bloomberg, The Hill, CNN, Reuters, NY Times, OPEC
Tropical Storm Watch in Florida
This weekend, the U.S. could get hit by the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Whether it becomes an official tropical storm or not, it’s expected to bring flooding rains to Cuba, Mexico, the Bahamas, and parts of Florida. This is the same storm system that became Hurricane Agatha in the Pacific Ocean. It brought flooding and mudslides to Mexico, leaving a lot of damage in its path. Now that it’s in the Atlantic, it could become Tropical Storm Alex sometime today.
Read More: Weather Channel, Axios, AP, USA Today, NHC
First 3D-Printed Ear Transplant
The first 3D-printed ear implant made of living tissues has been successfully transplanted. A 20-year-old woman from Mexico who was born with a small and misshapen right ear received the ear implant. The manufacturer says it was made with her cells and will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue, giving it the look and feel of a natural ear. It was part of the first clinical trial for this type of technology. Company executives think 3D printing could produce more complex vital organs in the future, like livers and kidneys.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, CBS News, The Verge, 3DBio
Ford Creating Thousands of Midwest Jobs
Ford says it will invest $3.7 billion in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. With that, it will add more than 6,000 factory jobs in those Midwestern states. The investment is at least partly meant to help boost the production of electric vehicles. It will also go toward new versions of the gas-powered Mustang sports car and the Ranger pickup truck, as well as improvements to factories. The upgrades and added jobs come as companies across the country are competing for workers in a tight labor market.
Read More: CNBC, WSJ, NY Times, AP, Ford
California’s New Robotic Taxi Fleet
Regulators in California have given the green light for the first ride-hailing business that has cars but no human driver at the wheel. It will be rolled out over the next few weeks in San Francisco with only 30 vehicles. If everything goes well, it could expand. It will be the first robo taxi business to charge customers in California without having a backup driver inside. It will be only the second in the country. This time, the company Cruise, owned by General Motors, is behind it.
Read More: LA Times, Detroit Free Press, AP, Reuters, Cruise
Amazon Invite-Based Ordering
Amazon is reportedly launching invitation-only ordering. TechCrunch says the program started this week with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. It’s been a year and a half since those consoles came out, but they’re still hard to come by. A lot of the reason is that as soon as they become available, they get scooped up by price-gougers and bots. With this new ordering option, customers with an Amazon account will be able to request an invitation at no extra cost. Then, the company will verify genuine customers and send them a special link to place the order. For now, the option is just for gaming consoles, but Amazon plans to expand in the future.
Read More: TechCrunch, CNET, Engadget
Elvis Vegas Wedding Crackdown
Elvis-themed weddings in Las Vegas may soon be a thing of the past. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says the company that controls the use of Elvis Presley’s name and image is telling chapels to stop Elvis-themed ceremonies until they pay. That’s a big deal for a lot of small businesses in the city. The wedding industry in Vegas produces $2 billion a year. The county clerk says this could mean some people lose their livelihood. However, the company behind the cease-and-desist letters says it doesn’t want to shut chapels down. It just wants to partner with each small business so they’re officially licensed.
Read More: Las Vegas Review-Journal, AP, Insider, CBS News
Historic National Spelling Bee Final
For the first time, the Scripps National Spelling Bee was so close that it had to go into a spell-off. The final two spellers had just a minute and a half each to spell as many words correctly as possible. 14-year-old Harini Logan won it all by spelling 22 words correctly in her 90 seconds, besting the runner-up by seven words. She spelled words that would be hard for even most adults to spell correctly. Now, Harini is going home with a $50,000 cash prize and the Scripps Cup trophy.
Read More: WaPo, NY Times, CNN, Scripps National Spelling Bee
Feel Good Friday: Veterans Get Honorary Degrees
Four senior citizens were honored in Springdale, Arkansas. They missed their high school graduation in 1956 to enter the armed forces. So, their school district decided to give them degrees more than 65 years later. Air Force veterans Carl Stults, Charles Leroy Moon, and Bob Self, along with Army veteran Bobby Burke, joined 484 graduating high school seniors in accepting their diplomas last month. Educators say it was a special moment for the whole class of 2022.
Read More: Upworthy, KFSM, Southern Living, Springdale School District