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Mo News: July 4th Parade Mass Shooting Tragedy
Mosheh Oinounou
July 05, 2022
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Good morning,
Unfortunately we're beginning today's newsletter with yet another mass shooting in this country, this time, at a July 4th parade in Illinois. Here's today's rundown:
What we know about the horrific mass shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, including the suspect now in custody.
On the politics beat, is Trump v. Biden 2024 the matchup that NO ONE actually wants?
Ukraine-- four months in. A look at where things stand on the ground.
Brittney Griner has sent a letter to President Biden from Russian prison.
UM WHAT?!: A Florida county is quarantining because of ginormous African snails.
Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo win Nathan's hot dog eating contest. How many hot dogs did they put down?
It's not Monday, but we still wanted to end the newsletter on a high note-- literally. We've got video of Drake performing with the Backstreet Boys in Toronto.
🎙And be sure to check out our special The Mo You Know podcast, where Mosheh breaks down the history of the July 4th holiday (including some fun facts that will surely let you crush trivia night). We'll also be dropping our usual news podcast on Wednesday and Friday this week. Thanks, as always, for reading AND listening.
~ Mosh & Jill
🚨HIGHLAND PARK PARADE MASSACRE
At least six people were killed and dozens were injured after a gunman opened fire at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, about 25 miles north of Chicago. The injured victims are between the ages of 8 and 85.
Police say the gunman shot parade spectators from a rooftop just as the festivities got underway at 10am local time. They recovered a "high-powered rifle" from the site of the attack and launched a massive manhunt looking for the suspect, 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo III. After about eight hours, they apprehended Crimo in a nearby town. ~ Chicago Tribune
This is how the Chicago Tribune lead their story: "On an idyllic summer morning, from a rooftop high above the Highland Park Independence Day parade, a gunman aimed down at the floats and lawn chairs and strollers and opened fire. The high school marching band’s members sprinted for their lives, still carrying their flutes and saxophones. Bystanders scooped up young children and fled. In all, six people were killed. Some two dozen others were injured, either by rifle fire or in the stampede away from the scene. It was the Fourth of July, and the North Shore suburb of Highland Park became the latest American community to be terrorized by a mass shooting."
And here is how the AP described it: "The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together."
The Victims: Six people were killed-including one Mexican national-and at least 30 people were taken to area hospitals. The patients range in age from 8 to 85 years old. As of late Monday, 19 of the 25 gunshot victims were treated and discharged.
The Suspect: 22-year-old Robert Crimo III. He was identified by digital evidence and surveillance cameras and was apprehended alive driving in his car, several hours after the shooting. Videos connected to him online include eerie and violent imagery, including drawings of a person with a long gun and animations of injured people. Authorities are still investigating his motive. Police believe Crimo likely accessed the rooftop along the parade route by using a ladder in a nearby alley. He left his assault weapon at the scene. ~Chicago Tribune
The Witnesses: At this point, police have not identified any of the victims. Some spectators along the parade route originally thought the gunshots were fireworks. Once they realized what was happening, some hid in local stores along the route. Here's one father who describes putting his son in a dumpster to keep him safe:
Mass shootings: We are 185 days into the year and this is the 308th mass shooting of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The latest event brings the US average to 11 mass shootings a week for the year. There were a record 692 mass shootings, in 2021. That followed 610 in 2020 and 417 in 2019. [Mass shootings are defined as incidents where 4 or more people are shot] ~ NPRIt is yet another example that these tragedies continue to strike seemingly everywhere. The Highland Park July 4th parade is a local tradition. It is a very affluent, safe suburb on the north shore of Chicago that served as the setting for movies like "Home Alone" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Some witnesses said they were worried that the community may have been targeted because of its significant Jewish population.
🗳THE ELECTION NO ONE WANTS? TRUMP vs. BIDEN II
Trump Watch: Former President Trump has reportedly told aides that he could announce a 2024 presidential run as early as this summer, according to the NY Times. Although sources tell CBS News that Trump has not made a final decision on whether he plans to run. Typically, presidential candidates wait until after the fall midterm elections before launching their campaigns for the following political cycle. ~ CBS News
Some sources close to Trump say his "anger toward the televised House Jan. 6 committee hearings is fueling his motivation to run again, and potentially to announce soon." He is also watching with concern as some potential 2024 rivals rise in the polls, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. ~NY Times
Speaking of Which: DeSantis is considered the frontrunner if Trump decides not to run again (and some new polls show him competitive and/or already beating Trump in head-to-head matchups). Former VP Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are among those who could also challenge Trump. ~ The Hill
By the Numbers: A new Harvard poll finds six in ten registered voters say they don’t want Trump to run again. He's still the frontrunner amongst GOP voters. ~ Axios
Biden Watch: President Biden insists that he is running for reelection in 2024, even though 7 in 10 registered voters in that same Harvard poll say he should NOT seek a second term. FULL HARVARD POLL RESULTS
Other names to watch in the event he doesn't run: VP Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and a growing list of Democratic governors who could run if Biden does not. On the short list: lllinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. ~ Politico
🇺🇦 WAR IN UKRAINE: FOUR MONTHS IN
It's been just over four months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Russia says it now has full control of the Luhansk region in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from the city of Lysychansk in order to save their lives. For his part, Russia's Vladimir Putin declared victory Monday. ~ CNN
Luhansk is one of the two areas in the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country. Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists have been fighting in that region since 2014. The seizure marks the first time Russia has conquered an entire Ukrainian province since the war started in Feb.After failing to capture the capital of Kyiv, Russia’s army focused on gaining more ground in Donbas through heavy artillery bombardments. Putin's forces now control 20 percent of Ukraine.U.S. officials are downplaying Russian gains in a new Washington Post report, calling them halting and incremental. US officials highlight the significant number of Russian military fatalities over four months. But the Ukrainians have also sustained heavy casualties. Independent estimates indicate each side has seen tens of thousands of soldiers killed and wounded.
Despite being battered in the east, Ukrainian forces have made some advances elsewhere, forcing Russia to withdraw from Snake Island, just south of Odessa. Moscow captured it at the start of the war.
Ukraine is reportedly planning on a summer counter-offensive, once it has accumulated enough new weapons from Western countries like the US, to then attempt to push back against Russian gains. ~Al Jazeera
Notable Number: In what could be a challenge to any type of final peace agreement, a recent poll from the WSJ shows the vast majority of Ukrainians-- 89%-- say it would be unacceptable to reach a peace deal with Moscow by ceding territory that Russia has seized in its invasion this year. It would, of course, be left to Zelensky to convince his people that certain concessions might be necessary. ~ WSJ
🗞 THE SPEED READ
Brittney Griner has made an appeal to President Joe Biden in a letter passed to the White House through her representatives saying she feared she might never return home and asking that he not “ forget about me and the other American Detainees.” Most of the letter’s contents to President Biden remain private, though Griner’s representatives shared a few lines from the hand-written note.
Ohio police released graphic body camera video and additional details about the shooting of Black motorist Jayland Walker, showing the moment eight officers released a barrage of bullets at Walker as he ran. Those eight officers have been placed on paid administrative leave as part of protocol in a police shooting.
Per NBC, Akron officers said they tried to stop Walker, 25, on June 27 on unspecified traffic violations and chased him when he did not pull over. Police said officers "reported a firearm being discharged from the suspect vehicle" during the pursuit. A handgun and a loaded magazine were found on the driver's seat, police said.
Walker’s family has questioned the use of deadly force. An attorney for the family, Bobby DiCello, said he reviewed the body camera video with the family Thursday. DiCello said that Walker was fleeing from police when they shot at him and that he has not seen any evidence yet about allegations that Walker shot at officers.
Parts of Pasco County, Florida is under quarantine after a rapidly-growing population of invasive African snails was discovered on its grounds. The giant African land snails are theorized to have come from the illegal pet trade. The snails carry a parasite called rat lungworm, which can cause meningitis in humans. The quarantine prevents residents from moving the snail or related items, like plants and soil, in or out of the designated area.
The returning champs did it again...but ate less hot dogs this time. Joey Chestnut earned himself his 15th win yesterday at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest after eating 63 hotdogs, all while sustaining a leg injury and sporting a boot and crutches. This is less than the world record Chestnut set last year, when he consumed 76 hotdogs under the ten-minute limit. Miki Sudo, who set the women’s record in 2020 with 48.5 hotdogs, downed 40 this year to win the women’s championship for the eighth time after taking a hiatus last competition season for her pregnancy.
☀️ ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Check out the Backstreet Boys calling Drake onstage at their concert in Toronto to sing 'I Want it That Way.' Drake said the '90s song helped give him confidence at his bar mitzvah:
"At my Bar Mitzvah, for the first time in my life, this girl who I was in love with came up to me while one of the greatest songs in the world was playing. She asked me if I would dance with her and it was the first time I ever felt acknowledged. It was the first time I ever felt like I had a shot at being cool. The song that she wanted to dance with me to is one of the greatest songs of all time. And by the way, if she could see me now!"
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