May 26, 2022

TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING | The investigation into the school shooting Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, continues; updated information includes [more]:

• At least 17 people were wounded in addition to the 19 children and two adults killed in the attack.
• The attacker, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, purchased two AR-15-style assault rifles legally at a local store in recent days -- just days after his 18th birthday.
• Prior to the attack, the gunman sent a private message to an online acquaintance saying he intended to shoot his grandmother and another message saying he was going to shoot an elementary school.
• At a press conference, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said between 40 minutes and an hour elapsed between the time the gunman arrived on the school grounds and when he was killed by law enforcement agents.
• Media reports say onlookers urged police who were gathered outside the school to enter the building after shooting inside began.
• Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic candidate for governor in Texas, interrupted a press conference held by Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials, saying that such a shooting was predictable and that changes must be made to prevent such attacks.

UKRAINE | Today is day 92 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday strongly rejected suggestions that Ukraine could have to give up portions of its territory to Russia to end the current war. Zelensky compared such suggestions to attempts to appease Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II. [more]
• Russian officials say shipping in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is now functioning again after its waters were cleared of mines. [more]
• British military officials say elite Russian units have suffered substantial losses in Ukraine due to complacency among commanders and an underestimation of Ukrainian resistance. [more]

CLIMATE CHANGE | The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court yesterday rejected an attempt by ExxonMobil to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the oil giant of misleading the public about the role its fossil fuels play in causing climate change. [more]

LAW ENFORCEMENT | U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order yesterday aimed at increasing police accountability and oversight. Among the provisions, which apply mostly to federal law enforcement agencies, are required reviews of policies on use of force and the creation of a database to track officer misconduct. The order was signed on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd. [more]

PACIFIC SECURITY | A delegation led by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the Solomon Islands today amidst reports that China is seeking to reach a regional agreement with up to 12 Pacific Island nations on security, trade and data communication issues. [more]

U.S. POPULATION | The U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimates yesterday indicating that eight of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. lost population during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the 10 largest cities, only San Antonio and Phoenix gained new residents. [more]

ABORTION | Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the strictest abortion ban in the U.S. into law yesterday. The law, which goes into effect immediately, prohibits all abortions, at any point after conception, except to save the life of a pregnant woman or in cases where a pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. [more]

DAVOS | Speaking on the final day of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and called for global cooperation to address threats caused by climate change and hunger. [more]

GAMBIA | The Gambian Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that it will prosecute former military dictator Yahya Jammeh for murder, rape, torture, and other alleged crimes committed under his 1994-2017 rule. [more]

OPIOID CRISIS | Drug companies Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan reached a tentative agreement with attorneys for the state of West Virginia yesterday under which the companies will pay $134.5 million to the state for their role in the opioid crisis and provide $27 million worth of medication to treat opioid overdoses. [more]

PHILIPPINES | A joint session of the Philippines' Congress yesterday officially declared Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the country's next president after he won a landslide victory in recent elections. [more]

TWITTER | Under the terms of a settlement with U.S. government regulators announced yesterday, social media platform Twitter will pay a $150 million penalty and implement new data safeguards to settle charges that it deceived users about how well it protected the privacy and security of their nonpublic contact information. [more]

BUSINESS | Semiconductor maker Broadcom announced plans this morning to purchase cloud computing giant VMware for approximately $61 billion. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1940, during World War II, the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops began to be evacuated from Dunkirk, France, to England by a flotilla of naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats.  [more history]