TGIF. Good morning.
We’ll start with the serious stuff and then end with a lighthearted chaser as a pick-me-up to head into the weekend, OK?
OK.
Today is the 8th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and it really couldn’t come at a more pertinent time.
Last night, President Biden addressed the nation in a rare evening prime-time speech from the White House, calling for Congress to get its act together and pass more gun control in the wake of yet another mass shooting – this time at a Tulsa , OK hospital.
Biden delivered his remarks from the Cross Hall, which, according to the official WH website, “connects the main rooms and parlors on the State Floor…is used as an elegant thoroughfare and more recently as a gallery for presidential portraits.”
The president recalled his recent visits to the memorials of mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo. Behind him, 56 candles burned to represent victims of gun violence in all US states and territories.
“Standing there in that small town like so many other communities across America, I couldn’t help but think there are too many other schools, too many other everyday places, that have become killing fields – battlefields,” Biden said of his visit to Uvalde, where an 18-year-old shooter killed 21 people – 19 of them children. “For God’s sake, how much more carnage are we willing to accept?”
It has become traditional to mark this day by wearing orange. (It’s also known as #WearOrangeDay).
This is to commemorate a movement started by the childhood friends of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was fatally and mistakenly shot by gang members on a playground in Chicago, on January 29, 2013.
Blaze orange, in case you’re not aware, is the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others.
The majority of Americans agree that gun violence is a big or at least moderately big problem. On the question of what to do about it, however, they are far less unified.
Even though support for universal background checks is fairly strong – sometimes as high as 90 percent, depending on where you’re polling in the country – most Republicans continue to resist any additional measures that are perceived by gun advocates as limiting their 2nd Amendment rights.
Here in New York, a Democrat dominated state, we have some of the strongest gun control laws in the nation – and those will become even more stringent in the face of a deal struck this week by the governor and legislative leaders.
And yet, Buffalo still happened.
I don’t know the answer. I do know that I’m damn depressed, and not a little scared.
You know what might make me feel better? A doughnut. Maybe even two. Thankfully, Dunkin’ has me covered today with free treats, as long as I purchase a beverage. A number of other doughnut shops are also offering specials in honor of National Donut – Doughnut? – Day. Get yours while supplies last.
Also, the weather forecast is something to be thankful and positive about. We’re looking at some fabulous sun-filled days this weekend (starting today), with temperatures in the mid-to-high 70s and low to moderate humidity.
Get out there and be happy. And also safe.
In the headlines…
Enough, enough,” President Joe Biden exclaimed over and over as he delivered an impassioned address to the nation imploring Congress to take action against gun violence after mass shootings he said had turned everyday places into “killing fields.”
If legislators fail to act, he warned, voters should use their “outrage” to turn it into a central issue in November’s midterm elections.
Speaking at the White House, Biden acknowledged the stiff political headwinds as he sought to drive up pressure on Congress to pass stricter gun limits after such efforts failed following past attacks.
A House panel advanced legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 as Democrats moved quickly to put their stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York.
Beneath Biden’s struggle to break through is a deeper dysfunction calcified among aides who largely started working together only through Zoom screens and still struggle to get in rhythm.
Biden’s approval rating among Americans has risen 6 percentage points this week, after recording his lowest approval rating in his presidency a week prior, according to a new Reuters-Ipsos opinion poll.
Since the devastating attack on an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last week, mass shootings around the country have been relentless, coming at a pace of more than two a day.
Some 20 shootings in which at least four people were hurt or killed have unfolded in a matter of nine days, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
A shooter gunned down two people outside an Iowa church last night. The shooter also died at the scene, according to police.
The man who shot up a Tulsa hospital Wednesday was gunning for a doctor he believed had botched his back surgery. Michael Louis, 45, killed four people — including the surgeon — at the medical facility before fatally shooting himself, cops said.
New York’s Legislature voted to ban anyone under age 21 from buying or possessing a semi-automatic rifle, a major change to state firearm laws less than three weeks after an 18-year-old used one of the guns to kill 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he plans to sign a bill reducing the training requirements for teachers and other staff to carry guns in schools, in an effort to strengthen security after the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.
Biden and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are planning to meet later this month after two key deals were reached yesterday following months of diplomatic heavy lifting by the US.
Saudi Arabia took steps to boost oil production and extend a truce with Iran-backed forces in Yemen, two significant moves that help pave the way for President Biden to visit the kingdom as the two countries try to reset their strained relationship.
Biden unveiled new sanctions targeting influential Russians and President Vladimir Putin’s yachts on the 99th day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine — but two oligarchs linked to his son Hunter Biden again were spared.
Ukrainians fled front-line towns in eastern Ukraine as Russian forces sought to push beyond the city of Severodonetsk, and Kyiv probed Russian defenses in areas where Moscow’s occupying forces are more thinly stretched.
The European Union has approved a sixth sanctions package against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including a phased-in oil embargo, diplomats said, with the measures set to take force today.
New applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week, marking four months of historically low claims in a tight U.S. labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 200,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 211,000, the Labor Department said.
The rate of U.S. layoffs recently hit a record low and there’s little sign of businesses shedding jobs. Layoffs usually start to rise steadily before a recession.
As COVID-19 cases began to accelerate again this spring, federal data suggests the rate of breakthrough COVID infections in April was worse in boosted Americans compared to unboosted Americans — though rates of deaths and hospitalizations were lower.
A top federal health official, anticipating that regulators will soon authorize coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5, said that the first doses could be administered as early as June 21.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said if the FDA authorizes the youth vaccines soon after a June 15 advisory meeting, shipments of the first 10 million doses could start arriving at doctors’ offices as soon as the next weekend.
Dr. Jha said the government purchased a large amount of both vaccines and therapeutics that will get the country through the summer, even with rising case numbers. But he warned, those tools will begin to run out by the fall and winter.
Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Buckingham Palace said, which will force him to skip a thanksgiving service that is part of the Platinum Jubilee festivities celebrating his mother’s 70-year reign.
A study published in the journal Plos One offers further evidence that dogs can indeed be trained to detect Covid.
Bullets flew near a popular Manhattan tourist spot in broad daylight, striking a COVID-19 vaccination bus and prompting lockdowns at two nearby schools, cops said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Tom Suozzi and city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams are all vying for the Democratic nomination for governor, but only Suozzi and Williams faced off last night in a Democratic debate moderated by Spectrum News anchors.
“Although we have some differences. At least we both showed up. I really wish that the governor would have as well. I think New Yorkers deserve to hear the different visions that we have,” Williams said at the beginning of the hour-long debate.
A campaign spokesperson for Hochul said she did not participate so that she could focus on legislative issues on the final day of the scheduled 2022 session. She will join Suozzi and Williams on the debate stage in five days on CBS2.
Hochul announced that applications are now being accepted for the eighth year of 43North, the state-funded accelerator that invests $5 million annually to attract world-class entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Buffalo.
Democratic lawmakers in Albany plunged into the national debate, wielding supermajorities to enact protections denied elsewhere in the wake of recent mass shootings and a conservative shift in other states and on the Supreme Court.
Still, Carl Heastie, the Assembly speaker, said that “a real call to action by the federal government has to happen as well.”
A bill awaiting Hochul’s signature would legally require surveillance cameras in every New York City subway station, a step the MTA believes will bolster its authority to keep cameras in place despite concerns from civil liberties advocates.
Mayor Eric Adams named a veteran violence interrupter as his “gun violence czar” as the city braces for the summer months when shooting rates historically tend to surge.
Andre Mitchell — founder of Man Up!, a Brooklyn-based anti-violence group that has attracted scrutiny from city authorities in the past — will serve in the newly created post on a volunteer basis.
Adams is standing firm on his mask mandate for New York’s youngest as summer fast approaches. Parents aren’t happy.
Five of the city’s largest LGBTQ clubs are boycotting a Pride Month reception that Adams plans to host next week over what they see as his insufficient commitment to gay rights.
A bill to shrink class sizes in New York City schools has passed the state Legislature — despite strong opposition from Adams, who is expected to maintain accountability over the school system for the next two years.
State legislators passed a bill that could unlock several billion dollars for NYCHA, which oversees the city’s public housing, by leasing up to 25,000 apartments to a newly created public benefit corporation, which could then borrow money for needed repairs.
Meanwhile, tenant advocates and developers alike were left disappointed with the final days of the legislative session in Albany.
State senators this week passed a bill that would expand authority for the New York Office of Cannabis Management to seize illicit marijuana and for the state Department of Taxation and Finance to penalize people allegedly selling weed illegally.
The Clean Slate Act, which could erase the criminal records of more than 2 million people, cleared an impasse at the Capitol in the waning days of the 2022 session after lawmakers eased the concerns of the State Education Department.
A New York appeals court upheld Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony sex crimes, increasing the likelihood that the disgraced movie producer will serve a significant portion of his 23-year sentence.
Two lawyers involved in throwing a Molotov cocktail at a NYPD car during a 2020 protest following the killing of George Floyd pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, under a new agreement with prosecutors that could lead to a shorter prison sentence.
A pair of NYC Council bills would crack down on placards used by city employees to park illegally in streets across the five boroughs.
As New York’s current ethics commission prepares to shutter in July, one of its most significant legacies has survived a legal challenge.
A man who served time in state prison was charged with murder in the death of Jessica Hildenbrandt, the 43-year-old Ballston Spa woman whose remains were found in a gravel pit two years ago.
What Saratoga County authorities responded to as a call for possible shots fired at the Wood Road Elementary School turned out to be fireworks set off nearby, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A pot-dealing ex-convict who was shot by a retired Albany police lieutenant he considered a friend said Wednesday a plea deal that sent the former officer to jail for six months shows how the system takes care of its own.
Nearly a year after Uncommon Grounds said it would open a cafe in a Stuyvesant Plaza space occupied for nearly four decades by Bruegger’s Bagels, the debut of its fourth location remains several months away.
Eighteen Capital Region broadcast personalities have departed the airwaves thus far this year.
Onetime celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing $300,000 from the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, whom he represented in her battles with former President Donald Trump.
More than two-thirds of Americans want to uphold Roe v. Wade, and most favor women having access to legal abortion for any reason, according to a new WSJ poll that shows a four-decade evolution in the country’s viewpoints regarding the procedure.
