Daily Briefing: Gun violence and July 4

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
Updated ·5 min read
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Shootings in multiple states during the July 4 weekend highlighted a disturbing trend of public gun violence around Independence Day. Also in the news: Cocaine was found in the West Wing of the White House while President Biden was away and Wimbledon is off to a slow start as the Grand Slam tournament grapples with rainy forecasts.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. 62 hot dogs later, Joey Chestnut is still the eating king.

Now, here we go with Wednesday's news.

At least 10 dead amid gun violence over Fourth of July weekend

Gun violence led to at least 10 killings and multiple injuries in U.S. cities including Philadelphia; Baltimore; Wichita, Kansas; and Fort Worth, Texas as the nation gathered to celebrate Independence Day.

Even before this weekend, the country had already seen more mass killings and victims at this point in the year than in any other year since at least 2006. But Independence Day weekend has emerged as a particularly bloody holiday in the United States.

Residents join the community walk in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2023.
Residents join the community walk in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2023.

Israel ends deadly West Bank raid

Israel has withdrawn its troops from a militant stronghold in the West Bank but warned that its most intense military operation in the occupied territory in nearly two decades was not a one-off. The pullout Wednesday morning ended an intense two-day operation that killed 12 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier. The Israeli Defense Forces previously said that the mission had been necessary to "dismantle" terrorist infrastructure, arrest suspects and capture weapons used by militant groups who use the camp as a stronghold. Read more

A Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2023.
A Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2023.

More news to know now

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White powder found inside a work area in the West Wing

President Joe Biden and his family were away from the White House when a substance suspected to be cocaine was discovered in the West Wing Sunday evening. The Secret Service said in a statement the White House was temporarily closed to allow members of law enforcement to investigate the substance and that the District of Columbia fire department assisted in evaluating it. How the substance entered the president's residence will undergo further investigation, according to the Secret Service. Read more

Judge restricts Biden officials from contacting tech companies

A Louisiana federal judge has restricted some branches of the Biden administration from communicating or meeting with social media platforms about content moderation on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana blocked agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services from flagging social media posts and accounts, with exceptions for national security threats and criminal activity. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit alleging that government officials, under the guise of curbing misinformation, colluded with social media platforms to remove conservative voices and viewpoints. Read more

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Andy Murray gets a win at rainy Wimbledon and a thumbs-up from Roger Federer

Thanks to rain, there are still plenty of first-round matches to complete as Wimbledon heads to Day 3. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, is among 10 players who originally were on Monday's schedule but have not played a point so far at the year’s third Grand Slam tournament and now are scheduled to get started on Wednesday. On Tuesday, retired Roger Federer was saluted with a 1 1/2-minute standing ovation during a pre-match tribute to his career at Centre Court before Andy Murray earned a 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 victory over wild-card entry Ryan Peniston in an all-Brit first-round match. Read more

Roger Federer, eight-time Wimbledon champion, is honored in the Royal Box on Day 2 at Wimbledon. Also in attendance in the box were The Princess of Wales.
Roger Federer, eight-time Wimbledon champion, is honored in the Royal Box on Day 2 at Wimbledon. Also in attendance in the box were The Princess of Wales.

Quick hits

Photo of the day:  Wisconsin carnival riders stuck upside down for hours

Fairgoers in Crandon, Wisconsin, ended up in a terrifying predicament on Sunday when a malfunction left riders stuck upside down for hours. Riders, seven of whom were children, were trapped on the "Fireball" coaster for more than four hours as first responders worked to rescue them. Read more

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: July 4 shootings, gun violence, White House cocaine, Wimbledon, Israel, Palestine, tech: Daily Briefing