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Thursday, May 26, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Officers Urged To Rush School Building

Daily Mail 5/26/22

FATHER SAYS POLICE WERE UNPREPARED: A day after the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, information emerged Wednesday that onlookers had urged police officers to rush into the school and go after the 18-year-old gunman. AP reported that Juan Carranza, who lives across the street from Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, said that onlookers were shooting, "Go in there! Go in there!" at the officers, who didn't do it. Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn Cazares was killed, said he quickly went to the school when he heard about the shooting and arrived when police were still outside the building. He was upset that they weren't going in and raised the idea of charging in with several other bystanders. He said, "Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to. More could have been done." He added, "They were unprepared."

Brief profiles of some of the victims here


Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said that 40 minutes to an hour went by from when gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire on a school security officer he, quote, "encountered" outside the school to when a Border Patrol tactical team fatally shot him. After he ran inside the school, Ramos fired on two police officers outside the building, injuring them. Ramos ran into one classroom and began shooting, and officials say he, quote, "barricaded" himself in by locking the door. All of those killed were in that classroom. AP cited an unnamed law enforcement official as saying the Border Patrol agents had trouble getting into the classroom and had to get a staff member to open the door with a key.


Texas Governor Greg Abbott said yesterday that Ramos sent the first of three online private messages via Facebook warning about what he planned to do about 30 minutes before the shooting. In one he said he was going to shoot his grandmother, in the second he said he'd shot her, and in the last he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school. CNN reported the messages were sent to a 15-year-old girl in Germany who said she'd begun chatting with Ramos on a social media app earlier this month.


Former Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running for governor against Abbott, interrupted the news conference held by Abbott and other officials yesterday. He pointed at Abbott and said, "This is on you until you choose to do something different. This will continue to happen." O'Rourke was escorted out as some yelled at him, including Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, who called him a "sick son of a bitch."


➤BIDEN SIGNS POLICING ORDER ON ANNIVERSARY OF GEORGE FLOYD'S DEATH: President Biden signed an executive order yesterday to improve accountability in policing, doing so on the second anniversary of George Floyd's death. Floyd's family was at the White House for the signing, executive action that's come as lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on legislation reforming police policies. Most of Biden’s order is focused on federal law enforcement agencies, requiring them to do to things like review and revise their policies on use of force, and creating a database to help track officer misconduct. The order is also meant to restrict the amount of surplus military equipment going to local police.

Gov Stitt
➤OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR SIGNS ABORTION BAN THAT'S NATION'S TOUGHEST: Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed the toughest abortion ban in the country yesterday (May 25th) that effectively outlaws the procedure in his state. The law bans abortion from the moment of fertilization, with exceptions only if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that's been reported to police or if the life of a pregnant woman is in danger. As in the law Texas passed last year that bans abortion after six weeks, it's enforced by civil lawsuits filed by citizens rather than criminal prosecution.

➤DR. OZ's SENATE RACE GOING TO RECOUNT: The race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Pennsylvania between former TV doctor Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick is going to a recount, with just 902 votes separating the two men, Secretary of State Leigh Chapman announced yesterday. Oz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has the razor-thin lead, which is well below the 0.5 margin that requires a recount under Pennsylvania law. Mail-in ballots without a date on them, or that have an incorrect date, have become an issue in race. McCormick has sued to have the 860 of them counted, but Oz's campaign is opposed and a suit has been filed.

👶SECOND SHIPMENT OF BABY FORMULA ARRIVES FROM EUROPE: A second shipment of baby formula that's been expedited by the Biden administration from Europe to deal with the shortage in the U.S. arrived yesterday, and First Lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy were there to welcome it at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. There were 60 tons of baby formula that arrived yesterday, and more deliveries are scheduled to arrive soon. The administration has cut the timeframe for deliveries to three days, down from up to four weeks under Operation Fly Formula, Murthy said. The first shipment arrived Sunday.

⛽THIS IS HOW MUCH YOUR MEMORIAL DAY ROAD TRIP WILL COST WITH RECORD HIGH GAS PRICES: If you’re taking to the road this weekend you’re one of an estimated 34.9 million people who are expected to do so, according to AAA. Unfortunately, you’ll also be paying quite a bit for gas. For perspective, in 2019, gas cost less than $3 per gallon, and this year, it will cost over $4.50 per gallon for a regular gallon, on average. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a calculator tool on their website that can be set for any make or model of vehicle, and the local gas price, to estimate how much they cost to be driven in 25-mile increments. Fox News notes that for a Toyota Camry, it will cost about $14.08 on average for a 100-mile trip, while in California the same trip would cost $18.76—as California is a state where gas costs are now over $6 per gallon.

Depp, Moss, Heard
➤JOHNNY DEPP CALLS AMBER HEARD'S ACCUSATIONS 'INSANE':  Johnny Depp called Amber Heard’s accusations of sexual and physical abuse “insane” as he returned to the witness stand on Wednesday.

When asked about his reaction to his ex-wife’s testimony earlier in the trial, the Pirates of the Caribbean star said it was “Ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unbelievably brutal, cruel, and all false.”

Earlier in the day, his ex-girlfriend, Kate Moss took the stand to refute Heard’s allegations that Depp had pushed her down the stairs when they were dating in the 90s. According to the model, she slipped while they were vacationing in Jamacia, and Depp came to her rescue.

Moss told jurors, "We were leaving the room and Johnny left the room before I did, and there had been a rainstorm. And as I left the room, I slipped down the stairs and I hurt my back. And I screamed because I was in — I didn't know what happened to me — and I was in pain, and he came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention."

Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday, May 27th.

Austin Butler as 'Elvis'
➤'ELVIS' RECIEVES 10-MINUTE STANDING OVATION: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis received a 10-minute standing ovation after its premiere at Cannes Wednesday. According to Deadline, the director told the crowd, “I really believed that we would come to Cannes, but then the Covid came and the film was shut down and it was never going to happen, but for the bravery of Tom [Hanks] to come back and the bravery of this cast and this crew to go on through Covid and finish this film. And we are back in Cannes. And to see these streets so full of people who love movies of every form of life, every kind of movie, says so much more about what this place means and what it means to be back in the cinema. For that we are eternally grateful, Cannes. … All I can say is, merci beaucoup, merci beaucoup.”

🏀CELTICS DOWN HEAT 93-80 TO TAKE 3-2 LEAD IN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: The Boston Celtics downed the Miami Heat 93-80 last night in Florida to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, putting them on the brink of reaching the NBA Finals. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points and Jayson Tatum added 22 points. Game 6 will be on Friday in Boston, with the Celtics hoping to clinch a ticket to the Finals for the first time since 2010.

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from second-round games yesterday:
  • St. Louis Blues 5, Colorado Avalanche 4 (OT) - Colorado leads series 3-2

🏈ESPN: KAEPERNICK WORKED OUT FOR THE RAIDERS: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick worked out for the Las Vegas Raiders yesterday, ESPN reported, his first workout with an NFL team since 2016, when he last played in the league the same year he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. It was also the first time he met with a team since he did so with the Seattle Seahawks in the spring of 2017, before they went on to pass on signing him. The Raiders' starting quarterback is Derek Carr, and they traded for backup Jarrett Stidham earlier this month. They also have quarterback Nick Mullens, who signed with the team in the offseason.

🎾DJOKOVIC, NADAL WIN, SAKKARI UPSET IN SECOND ROUND AT FRENCH OPEN: Top-seeded Novak Djokovic, Number 3 Alexander Zverev and fifth-seeded Rafael Nadal were among the winners in the second round of the French Open yesterday. It was a landmark win for Nadal, who reached 300 career Grand Slam wins, joining only Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Djokovic and Martina Navratilova in having done so. On the women's side, Number 4 Maria Sakkari was upset by unseeded Karolina Muchova, while 18th-seeded American Coco Gauff advanced to the third round.

🏈JUDGE DENIES NFL'S MOTION TO DISMISS GRUDEN'S LAWSUIT, FORCE ARBITRATION: A Nevada judge yesterday dismissed both the NFL's effort to dismiss former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden's lawsuit and the league's effort to force the matter into arbitration. That clears the way for the lawsuit to go to trial unless a settlement is reached. The NFL says it will appeal. Gruden has accused the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell of selectively leaking his emails to force his removal last October. The emails, which were discovered in the workplace investigation of the Washington NFL franchise now called the Commanders, included racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language.


⚾TAMPA BAY PITCHER RALEY, WHO'S FROM UVALDE, COMMENTS ON SCHOOL SHOOTING: Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Brooks Raley is from Uvalde, Texas, where the elementary school shooting took place Tuesday that left 19 children and two teachers dead, making it particularly disturbing for him. In comments Wednesday, Raley told reporters, "My family is still there, my brother lives there, and his wife and daughter. So it hits close to home." The 33-year-old continued, "I did go to that school. I walked those halls, so I can imagine what they experience each day, and I'm feeling for that community. . . . I don't know if there's anything I can do. It's going to take time."



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