U.S.Associated PressSearch for Supreme Court leaker falls to former Army colonel
When Gail Curley began her job as Marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court less than a year ago, she would have expected to work mostly behind the scenes: overseeing the court's police force and the operations of the marble-columned building where the justices work. Earlier this month, however, Curley was handed a bombshell of an assignment, overseeing an unprecedented breach of Supreme Court secrecy, the leak of a draft opinion and apparent votes in a major abortion case. People who know Curley, 53, described the former Army colonel and military lawyer as possessing the right temperament for a highly charged leak investigation: smart, private, apolitical and unlikely to be intimidated.
U.S.USA TODAYAlleged Texas school shooting gunman identified: What we know about the suspect, his motive and more.
Texas saw its deadliest school shooting in modern state history Tuesday as details begin to emerge after an alleged gunman reportedly killed at least 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. During a news conference, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott identified the assailant as Salvador Ramos, 18, and said he was a resident of the heavily Latino community about 85 miles west of San Antonio. The governor said Ramos walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde around 11:30 a.m. Central time and opened fire.
U.S.INSIDER'The agonized screams of family members are audible from the parking lot' as parents of the Texas school shooting victims discovered their children had been killed: report
"The agonized screams of family members are audible from the parking lot." That's how a reporter covering the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, described the scene on Tuesday night. In a series of tweets, Niki Griswold, a journalist with Austin-American Statesman, described the anguish at the Uvalde Civic Center, which is serving as a reunification site for families impacted by the shooting.
PoliticsAssociated PressPelosi pushes back on archbishop who denies her Communion
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back Tuesday on the decision by San Francisco's conservative Catholic archbishop to deny her Communion over her support of abortion rights, saying she respects that people have opposing views but not when they impose them on others. Pelosi made her comments on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.” In a letter last week to Pelosi, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said he would refuse her Communion after she vowed to codify into law the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.
U.S.Miami HeraldPassenger’s punch knocks United Airlines worker through the counter, NJ video shows
A passenger's powerful punch knocked a United Airlines worker through the ticket counter and bloodied his face at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey during a dispute, video shows. The ticketed passenger, identified as Brendan Langley, 27, of Georgia, was arrested after the May 19 incident resulted in the United Airlines customer service representative getting sent to the hospital, a Port Authority media representative confirmed to McClatchy News in a statement. Port Authority oversees transportation in New Jersey and New York.
U.S.Kansas City StarWhat killed ‘big frigging snake’ in Indiana? The answer may be stuck in its throat
Big snakes have even bigger appetites, but one large, swimming serpent in Indiana was recently found dead with a “huge” fish lodged in its throat, photos show. Amber Conley and Brad Walton were fueling up at Brookville Lake, about 76 miles southeast of downtown Indianapolis, when they spotted the snake, Conley said in a May 22 Facebook post. “While fueling up today, we came across a dead snake that had choked on a huge fish,” Conley said.
U.S.Associated PressJury selection in school shooter's trial upended by T-shirt
The already slow slog of picking jurors in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz hit a new stumbling block Monday when a potential juror's T-shirt honoring those killed and traumatized in the 2018 massacre resulted in the dismissal of her entire group of 10. The woman, a 58-year-old high school teacher, was wearing a T-shirt in the burgundy and silver colors of Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that read “Teacher Strong. Below that were two hashtags that were commonly found on T-shirts and bumper stickers throughout South Florida long after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting: #msdstrong and #NeverAgain.
WorldThe TelegraphHenry Kissinger: Ukraine must give Russia territory
Veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe. The former US secretary of state and architect of the Cold War rapprochement between the US and China told a gathering in Davos that it would be fatal for the West to get swept up in the mood of the moment and forget the proper place of Russia in the European balance of power. Dr Kissinger said the war must not be allowed to drag on for much longer, and came close to calling on the West to bully Ukraine into accepting negotiations on terms that fall very far short of its current war aims.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘How do you even sleep at night?’ Texas Sen. Ted Cruz faces backlash after Uvalde shooting
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is taking heat to his response to the shooting in Uvalde that left more than 20 dead, including at least 18 elementary school students. Uvalde is a town of 15,000 about 80 miles west of San Antonio. “Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde,” Cruz said in a post on Twitter.
U.S.Associated PressMcCormick sues over counting mail ballots in Pa. Senate race
The campaign of David McCormick, who is in a neck-and-neck Republican primary contest for the U.S. Senate against celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, sued in a Pennsylvania court Monday to try to ensure counties obey a brand-new federal appeals court decision that could help him make up ground. McCormick's lawsuit, filed after hours, asks the state's Commonwealth Court to require counties to promptly count mail-in ballots that lack a required handwritten date on the return envelope. It is the first — but likely not the last — lawsuit in the contest between Oz and McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO.
U.S.Business InsiderOne place you won't find guns in the wake of the Texas school massacre? The NRA's upcoming leadership conference in Houston this week.
One place you won't be able to find firearms in Texas is at the NRA's Houston conference this week. Attendees aren't allowed to bring their firearms into the event, per Secret Service guidelines. One place you won't be able to find firearms in Texas after the Robb Elementary School massacre is, surprisingly, the National Rifle Association's upcoming forum in Houston on May 27.
U.S.The Daily Beast‘I Was Just 16’: Pastor’s ‘Adultery’ Confession in Church Goes Off the Rails
A church pastor in Indiana publicly confessed to his congregation this week that he'd committed “adultery” two decades ago—but he was quickly called out by a woman who took the stage to say she had only been 16 when he preyed on her. The public confrontation that played out Sunday at the New Life Christian Church and World Outreach in Warsaw has now sparked an investigation by local prosecutors in Kosciusko County, according to local reports. The footage shows the pastor, John Lowe II, announce his resignation from the stage after he revealed that he had “committed adultery.”
- ScienceReuters
Ancient massive 'Dragon of Death' flying reptile dug up in Argentina
Argentine scientists discovered a new species of a huge flying reptile dubbed "The Dragon of Death" that lived 86 millions of years ago alongside dinosaurs, in a find shedding fresh insight on a predator whose body was as long as a yellow school bus. The new specimen of ancient flying reptile, or pterosaur, measured around 30 feet (9 meters) long and researchers say it predated birds as among the first creatures on Earth to use wings to hunt its prey from prehistoric skies. The team of paleontologists discovered the fossils of the newly coined Thanatosdrakon amaru in the Andes mountains in Argentina's western Mendoza province.
U.S.Miami HeraldWoman sees 4-foot ‘surprise’ resting in tree and calls 911, New Jersey firefighters say
A woman spotted a 4-foot “surprise” resting in a tree outside her home and called 911, firefighters in New Jersey say. Then, an unusual animal rescue ensued in Swedesboro on May 22, according to the Woolwich Fire Company. Fire crews, police and animal control arrived to rescue a large, scaly reptile — a monitor lizard — that was sunbathing in the woman's tree, the department's Facebook post said.
- ScienceShreveport Times | The Times
Two houses tested in a wind tunnel
IBHS wind test demonstration of two houses in thunderstorm and straight-line wind conditions. The on on the right was built to Fortified standards.
WorldReutersIran will avenge slain Revolutionary Guards colonel, president says
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees intelligence agency Mossad, declined to comment on the events in Tehran. The killing on Sunday only reinforces the Guard's determination to confront the enemies of Iran and to defend Iran's security and national interests, Guards spokesman Ramazan Sharif said, quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency. "The thugs and terrorist groups affiliated with global oppression and Zionism will face consequences for their actions," he said.
U.S.INSIDERA man who told the FBI he committed fraud on Todd Chrisley's behalf testified that they had an 'intimate' relationship
A man who said he'd committed fraud for Todd Chrisley described their relationship as intimate. Mark Braddock said he became close with Chrisley in the early 2000s and began working for him. A former employee of Todd and Julie Chrisley's who told the FBI he committed bank fraud on their behalf testified in court on Monday that he and Todd Chrisley had an "intimate" relationship.
U.S.DeadlineMatthew McConaughey Addresses School Shooting In His Texas Hometown: “This Is An Epidemic We Can Control”
“As you are all aware, there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown of Uvalde, Texas,” Matthew McConaughey wrote in a message posted to social media tonight. The Oscar winner spent the first 12 years of his life in Uvalde, which is about 80 miles west of San Antonio and where today 19 students and 2 adults were massacred in a school shooting. In his missive, McConaughey asked Americans to find common ground, to “renegotiate our wants from our needs.”
U.S.Associated PressLone survivor of 2009 plane crash testifies in Paris court
The lone survivor of a 2009 plane crash in the Indian Ocean took the stand Monday in a Paris courtroom, recounting her ordeal as a 12-year-old girl hearing screams, clinging to floating debris and desperately hoping that her mother was still alive. Bahia Bakari's mother was among 152 people who died on the flight operated by Yemen Airways, which is now known as Yemenia. Composed throughout her testimony, Bakari cried as she mourned her mother's loss.
PoliticsLexington Herald-Leader‘Nobody saw it coming.’ How 3 influential Northern Ky. Republicans lost on primary day.
Hopefully, this is a wake up call for the people in Frankfort – who are just voting with the agenda of the lobbyists – that that's not going to get it done anymore,” Massie said. But some in the Republican party say the results are a little more muted than 'a wakeup call. Tres Watson, a former spokesman for the Republican Party of Kentucky who launched his own moderate conservative Super PAC this election cycle, was quick to point out that House GOP incumbents' losses came mostly at the hands of Boone County voters, though Koenig's district is split between Boone and Kenton counties.
U.S.Business InsiderGOP Rep. Paul Gosar spread a baseless transphobic rumor that the Uvalde school shooting suspect was a 'transsexual leftist illegal alien'
Gosar tweeted that the shooter was a "transsexual leftist illegal alien." The false claim has spread based on the photos of a person who is unrelated to the attack. Following Tuesday's mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, Arizona GOP congressman Paul Gosar spread a false and transphobic claim that the suspected shooter was a "transsexual leftist illegal alien."
WorldReutersUkrainian court orders ex-president's arrest in absentia on treason charge
A Ukrainian court on Monday ordered the arrest in absentia of former President Viktor Yanukovych, accusing him of treason over an agreement he signed in 2010 extending Russia's lease on naval facilities in Crimea. The agreement, widely known in Ukraine as the Kharkiv Pact, allowed Russia to keep its Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014 after mass protests, has already received a 13-year jail sentence in absentia for treason.
U.S.The Daily BeastFox News Guest: People Calling for Change Post-Shooting Are ‘Hurting the Situation’
Fox News guest Buck Sexton said Tuesday on Tucker Carlson Tonight that those who criticize politicians who can but won't enact legislation to help prevent mass shootings like the one at a Texas elementary school earlier in the day are “hurting the situation.” Host Tucker Carlson hypothesized that mental illness could have played a part in the shooting. Many on the left, he claimed, “don't seem that interested in the fact that there are an awful lot of tragically, sometimes dangerously mentally ill people wandering around all of a sudden.”
U.S.NextSharkTexas county commissioner candidate apologizes for doctored image of Asian American opponent’s face
A candidate for the Harris County Commissioners Court in Texas has apologized to her Asian American opponent and the larger Asian American community after releasing an ad that contained a doctored image of her rival. Lesley Briones, who is running against Benjamin Chou in the Democratic nomination to represent Precinct 4, initially deflected blame on an unnamed graphic designer and doubled down on accusing the latter of spreading lies. The openly gay, Chinese American candidate said it “whitewashed” his skin and followed a long history of “doctoring images of people of color to make them look angry or menacing.”
- U.S.Associated Press
Indiana pastor admits 'adultery'; woman says she was a teen
A church pastor told his Indiana congregation that he had committed “adultery” about 20 years ago, a disclosure that was followed moments later by a woman who stepped forward and said she was victimized by him when she was 16 years old. The remarks were recorded on video Sunday at New Life Christian Church and World Outreach in Warsaw and posted on Facebook. The Kosciusko County prosecutor's office is investigating, WANE-TV reported.
“It could give millions a chance to finally buy a house or start their business or help their kids get an education, too.”
“You signed a contract…If you don’t want to deal with the financial pressure of debt, don’t take out the loan.”
“Without action from Biden, Black student debt will hinder his agenda with respect to eliminating racial inequities.”
“Blanket relief could end up routing too much relief to those who do not need it and too little to those who do.”
“Unlike a number of other policy issues, student debt relief doesn’t need to be pushed through a narrowly controlled Congress.”