The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Buffalo gunman reportedly planned to continue
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*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.
NEWS THIS MORNING
Thank God he wasn’t able to continue:
The alleged gunman who killed 10 people at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket, had planned to continue his rampage after leaving the grocery store, according to CNN.
From Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia: “There is ‘some documentation’ the suspect had plans possibly for a shooting at ‘another large superstore,’” Gramaglia said. “He was going to get in his car and continue to drive down Jefferson Avenue and continue doing the same thing.”
IT’S MONDAY. It’s been an eerie morning in the D.C. area as strong storms are bubbling up. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
Horrible:
13 people were shot at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday, leaving 10 dead. (Buffalo News)
Of the 13 victims: 11 of the victims were Black. Four of the victims were store employees, while the others were customers, according to ABC News.
What we know about each of the victims: Here are the names and a bit about each of the victims via The Hill.
The suspect: Officials have identified the shooter as 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron. Gendron attached a camera to his helmet and livestreamed the attack on Twitch. Twitch quickly removed the video, but the footage is still circulating. ‘After Buffalo Shooting Video Spreads, Social Platforms Face Questions.’
How we know it was racially motivated: The suspect reportedly posted a white supremacist manifesto online. What we know, via CNN
Tidbit: WKBW’s Taylor Epps tweeted, “I just talked to an 8-year-old girl who hid in a cooler inside the grocery store. She was shopping with her dad and ran out the back of the store to safety. 8 years old.” https://bit.ly/3FPFKe2
➤HAPPENING TOMORROW — THE BIDENS WILL VISIT BUFFALO:
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will meet with local leaders and families tomorrow in Buffalo, N.Y.
➤POLICE PRESENCE HAS BEEN RAMPED UP AROUND BUFFALO:
According to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
In Congress
Ready, set, BREAK:
The House and Senate are both in session this week with a laundry list of action items.
First — the baby formula shortage: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is working on two measures: One to provide states with federal grants for formula and the other to relax regulations on which formulas can be purchased.
Second — Jan. 6: Last week, the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot subpoenaed five House Republicans. The members have not yet responded to the subpoenas, but the committee is working on backup plans.
And finally — aid for Ukraine: The Senate is working on a House-passed $39.8 billion bill in aid to Ukraine. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held up the bill, but Senate leaders are hoping to approve the funding this week.
Context and details for each from The Hill’s Mychael Schnell
➤RELATED READS:
‘Baby formula industry successfully lobbied to weaken bacteria safety testing standards’: “The current formula shortage is traced in part to a contamination-induced shutdown at a key manufacturing plant.” Via The Intercept’s Lee Fang
Op-ed: “Baby formula is just the latest supply chain crisis — we should be asking why.” From Harvard Business School’s Willy C. Shih.https://bit.ly/3yW8RuX
In the White House
Record scratch — reverse, reverse:
Via The New York Times’s Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt, “President Biden has signed an order authorizing the military to once again deploy hundreds of Special Operations forces inside Somalia — largely reversing the decision by President Donald J. Trump to withdraw nearly all 700 ground troops who had been stationed there, according to four officials familiar with the matter.” What we know
Out with the J, in with the K:
Karine Jean-Pierre is holding her first briefing today as White House press secretary.
Why this is historic: She is the first Black and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role.
How Jean-Pierre’s experience differs from her predecessor, Jen Psaki: “For starters, she’s a political person. She’s an organizer,” said one Democrat who has known Jean-Pierre for years. “Psaki was born and bred as a flack. That’s not Karine.” More on how her style is different than Psaki
Speaking of Jen Psaki: She is reportedly joining MSNBC.
🗳 On the campaign trail
Super Tuesday has been taken, but how about … Splendid Tuesday? Superior Tuesday? Superb Tuesday?:
Via The Hill’s Max Greenwood, “May 17 will mark the single busiest primary day to date this year, as voters in several states head to the polls to cast their ballots in some of the cycle’s biggest nominating contests.”
The biggest states to watch: Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Plus, Oregon and Idaho.List of what we’re watching
🦠 Latest on COVID
It’s Groundhog Day — ‘You Could Catch Covid Again. And Again. And Even Again’:
Via Bloomberg’s Madison Muller, “As a stealth wave of Covid makes its way across the US, those who have so far evaded the virus are now falling ill — while others are catching Covid for a second, third or even fourth time.”
Cases are very hard to accurately track these days: “The rise of at-home tests, which rarely make it into official case numbers, have made keeping accurate count of positive cases impossible. Additionally, many US states and jurisdictions are now reporting Covid data only sporadically to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” What we know
➤ BY THE NUMBERS
Cases to date: 82.3 million
Death toll: 997,083
Current hospitalizations: 15,168
Shots administered: 581 million
Fully vaccinated: 66.4 percent of Americans
🐥Notable tweets
There was a stunning rainbow in the DMV yesterday:
Embed: https://giphy.com/gifs/vidiots-official-VelhDI6pdStJ4fvAtJ
NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell tweeted a photo of the double rainbow over Reagan National Airport yesterday. Photo — it almost looks fake
More photos from @LeighEdmonds
Video from Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis
⏱On tap
The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in the United Arab Emirates.
7:10 a.m. EDT: Harris landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
8:25 a.m. EDT: Harris offered condolences on the death of the United Arab Emirates’ president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. She also met with country’s new president. More on Harris’s visit
9:30 a.m. EDT: Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.
3:30 p.m. EDT: Biden meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
5:30 p.m. EDT: A Senate cloture vote on the Ukraine aid bill. The Senate’s agenda
6:30 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s agenda
📺What to watch
11:45 a.m. EDT: Biden awarded Public Safety Office Medals of Valor. Livestream
2:30 p.m. EDT: Karine Jean-Pierre holds her first press briefing as White House press secretary. Livestream
5 p.m. EDT: Biden and first lady Jill Biden host a reception for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife. Livestream
🍗 In lighter news
Today is National Barbecue Day!
And to leave you on a good note, here’s a cat practicing its baking skills: https://bit.ly/3MlRNC7
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
