Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Really? “The gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday entered the school building unobstructed, authorities said Thursday. Contrary to information officials released earlier, the gunman was not confronted by a school police officer before entering Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, state Department of Public Safety South Texas Regional Director Victor Escalon said Thursday.”
* We’re going to have to talk about this: “When news of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, spread, concerned parents and locals gathered on-site, where they said they begged law enforcement to charge into the building and considered entering themselves while the gunman was inside the school for at least 40 minutes.”
* Crushing: “The husband of one of the teachers killed in a Texas school shooting this week collapsed and died on Thursday while preparing for his wife’s funeral, the family said. Joe Garcia had been married to high school sweetheart, Irma Garcia, for 24 years before she was gunned down Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.”
* The victims have been identified: “The victims fatally shot at a Texas elementary school Tuesday include 19 children and two teachers trying to protect them, relatives told news outlets.”
* Falsehoods spread fast: “Rumors about the gunman and what had taken place spread widely online — often with easily debunked evidence or none at all — almost immediately after the first official reports about the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.”
* On the ground in Ukraine: “Russia is tightening the noose on Ukrainian troops in the country’s east. A fierce ground and artillery assault has seen Moscow’s forces advance, and they now appear close to encircling the last two hold-out cities in Luhansk province — which together with neighboring Donetsk forms the Donbas region that has become the key focus of the Kremlin’s war.”
* SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Biden administration, for now, to use a higher estimate for the societal cost of rising greenhouse gases when federal agencies draft regulations.”
* In Afghanistan: “A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said, including a blast inside a mosque in the capital, Kabul, that killed at least five worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the country’s north that killed nine passengers.” * Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma yesterday signed “a bill that bans nearly all abortions after ‘fertilization,’ making it the most restrictive abortion law in the country.” * Nuclear talks: “The United States’ top negotiator for Iran nuclear talks made the case to lawmakers Wednesday for sticking with what may be a last try for a deal re-imposing limits on Iran’s nuclear development, despite Iran closing in on completing a bomb-capable nuclear program.” * Following up on our recent coverage: “Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) reimbursed the full cost of a weeklong trip to Aruba that had been paid for by HSP Direct LLC, a company providing services to his campaign, Mooney spokesperson Ryan Kelly said Wednesday. A report released Monday by a congressional watchdog had flagged the trip, which it estimated cost a total of $10,803.65 for lodging at the Ritz-Carlton, charter air travel and other travel expenses, as a potential violation of federal law and House rules.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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