05/04/23
Good morning! It’s Thursday, May 4th.
May the 4th be with you.
(And also with you.)
That’s a Star Wars reference. Do I get it? Sure. Do I get Star Wars? …no. But that’s okay! The joke still works. And isn’t that really what it’s all about?
And now, the news.
Atlanta Shooting
As we do here in America… we are, once again, starting with news of yet another mass shooting.
One woman is dead, and four others are injured, after a man opened fire in the waiting room of an Atlanta medical facility.
Now, it may just be a coincidence that all the victims are women, but I mention it because, you. Know… violence against women is real and police don’t yet know if they were specifically targeted because they’re women.
While police believe they know who the suspect is, he is still on the run. A shelter-in-place order was lifted a few hours after the shooting, since officials don’t think he’s in the area anymore. Police say witnesses have called in with possible reports of the suspect in Atlanta and Cobb County.
His mom, who is cooperating with the police, was with him when the shooting began, but was not injured.
Police are also aware of a carjacking that happened a few blocks away, not long after the shooting, and are trying to figure out if it’s connected.
Lots of moving parts. This is obviously a fast-moving story. Hopefully, by the time I record tomorrow, he’ll be caught.
Texas Manhunt Concludes
-via CNN
Let’s talk about a different manhunt that began after a mass shooting (nothing to see here. Definitely let’s not change some laws to make these shootings less common. We’re doing just fine…)
The hunt for the man who shot five neighbors, including a 9-year-old, concluded Tuesday night after the shooter was found at a relative’s house, hiding in the closet under a pile of clothes.
His partner of twelve years was also arrested for aiding and abetting. And she’s not the only one! Police say “several arrests” have been made, with possibly more to come, depending on who helped him.
Trump Trial
And breaking news as I record this, but not as you listen to it… Donald Trump’s lawyers (Joey Tapiocy) will not put up a defense case in the civil rape trial.
They did have a previously proposed witness but will not be calling them due to health concerns.
The day in court included the jury seeing clips of the Access Hollywood tape, where Trump admits that he grabs women sexually without consent, as well as testimony from a woman who said Trump forcibly kissed her against her will in 2005, while she was writing an article about the first anniversary of his marriage to Melania Trump.
So, no defense from the Trump team. Probably because what he did was indefensible.
Feds Raise Interest Rates
-via Axios
Hey. Good. More economy talk. Right in my wheelhouse…
The Fed raised interest rates again on Wednesday, by a quarter point. This is the 10th consecutive raise, in hopes of hitting the “could ya just, like, chill? For a second?” button on inflation.
Probably people would feel better about the economy with Kevin McCarthy’s jawline would just raise the debt limit and not have us sweating over defaulting on our loans. And if banks stopped closing.
Listen… I don’t like Kevin McCarthy. Not many people do. I’m not entirely sure he likes himself a whole lot right now. But that jawline? It’s serious. A serious jawline for an unserious Congressmember.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of… the Star Wars. All of em. Doing, ya know, classic Star Wars stuff. Oh, I guess not all of them. Famously, there are bad guys. Darth, for example. He’s bad. But, on the other hand, we’ve got Yoda. And baby Yoda. Good guys. And Mandeloreans… are also characters in the franchise.
And… that’s Star Wars. So, more than Star Wars and what can only be described as my stellar and accurate summary of it… I’m proud of you.