In the latest incident in a wave of gun violence occurring across the country, four people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at a medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. A white 18-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket will be arraigned today. Vice President Kamala Harris will announce that federal student loans will be canceled for anyone who borrowed money to attend a school owned by Corinthian Colleges. Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee honoring her 70 years on the throne has kicked off. The NBA finals between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics tip off tonight.
🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, and here’s Thursday’s news.
Four killed in mass shooting at medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Officers responded to a report of a man armed with a rifle at the St. Francis medical campus Wednesday afternoon, which “turned into an active shooter situation.” During a news conference, Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish confirmed four people were dead and added the shooter also was dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was unclear what prompted the deadly assault. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement the shooting was a ”senseless act of violence and hatred.” The shooting in Tulsa comes after two high-profile shooting massacres in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were killed, and Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed last month.
⭕ A gun control package that would include a proposal to raise the minimum age to own a semi-automatic rifle is expected to pass through the House Thursday. However, the Democratic-led effort is unlikely to pass the Senate where Republicans can block gun legislation and have indicated they will not support major gun reform.
⭕ Red flag laws might be the one gun measure Democrats, Republicans agree on. Do they work?
⭕ Uvalde: School police chief says he’s ”in contact” with investigators in regards to the response to the Texas school shooting.
More news to know now:
✔ A woman who was injured during the Brooklyn subway shooting in April has filed a civil lawsuit against Glock Inc., the maker of the handgun allegedly used in the attack, and its Austria-based parent company.
🌩 As Atlantic hurricane season begins, a storm is likely to form within the next few days and potentially threaten South Florida over the weekend.
🔔 John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, will be freed from all restrictions this month, a federal judge said.
🍼 Baby formula manufacturers say they alerted retails of a looming baby formula shortage, but President Joe Biden said he wasn’t notified until much later.
☀ With global warming intensifying, here are 10 ways you can fight climate change this summer.
🎧 On today’s 5 Things podcast economic opportunity reporter Charisse Jones looks at LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
Newsmakers in their own words: Amber Heard and Johnny Depp react to trial verdict
A jury awarded Johnny Depp $15 million on Wednesday in the defamation case he brought against Amber Heard, his ex-wife – $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard, meanwhile, was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and nothing in punitive damages. Thus ends one of the uglier high-profile civil trials in recent times – the case captured the public imagination in a way that prompted people to vehemently take sides. And no matter what side people took, concerning online trends highlighted the danger of turning an alleged victim of domestic violence such as Heard into a villain.
📺 Analysis: How the media covered the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard verdict, and why audiences cared so much
Grand jury indicts Buffalo shooting suspect on charges of domestic terrorism, murder
The white 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket last month is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday after being indicted Wednesday. The suspect was charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate and 10 counts of first-degree murder. The 25-count indictment also contains charges of murder and attempted murder as a hate crime and weapons possession. He had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, which also injured three people. He has pleaded not guilty. Federal authorities also are investigating the possibility of hate crime charges against the shooter, who allegedly meticulously planned his attack and his racist motivation in hundreds of pages of writings he posted online shortly before the shooting.
✔ Racist, extremist violence: Buffalo attack highlights most lethal domestic threat.
✔ What ”Great Replacement”? In Buffalo, Black people say they’re being replaced.
Just for subscribers:
⚫ Texas authorities are reviewing how quickly school officials moved to impose a lockdown of Robb Elementary School.
✍ ”You don’t give up on family”: These adoptive parents’ quest to help their foster daughter met a tragic end.
🔵 Durham probe: What we know about Michael Sussmann’s acquittal – and what comes next.
🚗 Ford’s CEO said electric vehicles will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable prices.
These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here.
Are you already a subscriber and want all of the subscriber-only content emailed to you directly every day? We can do that! Sign up for the Your Day newsletter.
Harris to announce loan erasure for students preyed upon by Corinthian
Anyone who borrowed money to attend a school owned by Corinthian Colleges – a for-profit institution with a history of defrauding students before its sudden closure – will have their federal student loans canceled. The mass discharge is the largest amount of debt the federal government has erased in one action and benefits more than a half million borrowers to the tune of $5.8 billion. Based in California, but with campuses nationally under the names Heald, Everest, and WyoTech, Corinthian Colleges opened in 1995, but closed in 2015 after the Education Department cut off the institution’s ability to access federal money. But borrowers who had attended the college sometimes struggled to get their loans discharged. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has a history with Corinthian, is expected to formally announce the debt cancellation Thursday at the Education Department. As California’s attorney general, Harris secured a judgment against Corinthian that resulted in $1.1 billion in relief for former students.
🎓 Biden extends pause on student loan payments until Aug. 31: What does it mean for borrowers?
Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee bash begins
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee is here and a good time is predicted for all during the four-day holiday – most especially, Brits hope, by the 96-year-old monarch herself. Four days of celebrations honoring the queen’s 70 years on the throne began Thursday with a display of British military traditions. First is the Trooping the Color, an annual military review that has marked the sovereign’s official birthday since 1760. The queen is expected to join the working members of her family on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the event. But the backdrop for this jubilee is the uncertainty of the queen’s public appearances, which have waned since she tested positive for COVID-19 in February in addition to “episodic mobility problems.” Jubilees aren’t uncommon in British royal history but Elizabeth has celebrated more than any other monarch. The 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrated her 60 years on the throne.
👑 An historic portrait for an historic occasion: Queen Elizabeth II poses for her Platinum Jubilee picture.
👑 ”We’ve brought two British icons together”: Queen Elizabeth II’s portraits projected onto Stonehenge ahead of Platinum Jubilee.
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday
⚫ Three-time PGA Tour winner Bart Bryant was killed in a car accident in Florida.
✔ Bill Cosby has been accused of assaulting Judy Huth as a teenager in the opening statements in a Los Angeles County civil trial. Cosby is not expected to testify or attend the trial.
🌈 Schools aren’t guaranteed to be safe for LGBTQ families. Here’s how to show support.
⛽ New York suspended its gas tax for seven months has price per gallon in the state approaches $5.
NBA Finals between Celtics, Warriors tip off
The NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics tips off with Game 1 Thursday in San Francisco (9 p.m. ET, ABC). The Warriors are returning to the Finals for the sixth time in eight years, while the Boston Celtics are back for the first time since 2010. The Celtics are coming off of a grueling seven-game series against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Meanwhile, the Warriors have gotten plenty of rest after eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference finals. Much of the attention heading into the series will focus on the two biggest stars – and conference finals MVPs – Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Boston’s Jayson Tatum, with both averaging more than 25 points per game in the playoffs. Although both teams have a lot of offensive fire power, the series may be dictated by defense, as the two squads finished 1-2 in defensive rating in the regular season.
🏀 How the Warriors are eyeing the Lakers as they try to create a long-running NBA dynasty.
🏀 Column from Jeff Zillgitt: The Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals the hard way after a wild series vs. Miami Heat.
🏀 Curry vs. Smart: Here are the most popular NBA Finals player prop bets.
Key women’s sports events to follow Thursday
🥎 A field of 64 NCAA Division I women’s softball teams has been whittled down to eight squads that will compete in the 2022 Women’s College World Series. The field includes reigning champion and No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma, which has dominated this season with its explosive offense, and No. 5 seed UCLA, the most successful team in college softball history.
🏌️♀️ In golf, the U.S. Women’s Open purse has long had a life-changing impact, not just for winners. This week, that will likely happen more than ever with an historic $10 million on the table. The event kicks off at Pine Needles in North Carolina today.
A little less heavy
📚 Here are 20 summer books to read: ”Woman of Light” by Ottessa Moshfegh and Michael Mann’s ”Heat” are on the list.
⛰ The 5 best places to take a family vacation in June: Cape Cod, Wisconsin Dells, Australia.
🍅 Love small business? Here’s why you should shop at your local farmers market.
🥕 Try these Vegan BBQ recipes this summer.
📷 Photo of the day: Emotional reactions of the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee📷
Competitors’ reactions may be one of the best elements of the Scripps National Spelling Bee – the highs and lows of spellers provide a dramatic effect as they either advance to the next round or stand in disappointment after a misspelled word.
Click here to see more photos of spellers at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Contributing: The Associated Press
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism