This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ron-desantis-officially-enters-2024-presidential-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DeSantis Officially Running </a>
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis filed official paperwork this afternoon with the FEC to run for President of the United States. He will kick off his presidential campaign with a conversation with Elon Musk on Twitter tonight at 6 pm ET. We’ll have the full report on that event tomorrow morning. 

<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177857316/its-been-1-year-since-the-mass-shooting-in-uvalde-texas-killed-21-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One-Year Anniversary Of Uvalde Shooting</a>
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a ceremony at the White House today to mark the 21 lives lost at Robb Elementary School and to promote Democrats’ gun control policies. According to an exclusive report from the Washington Post, the supervising law enforcement officers who had direct knowledge of the ongoing shooting and were responsible for decisions that led to the deadly 77-minute delay in entering the school and engaging the gunman remain on the job. 

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-situation-target-makes-emergency-calls-after-backlash-to-tuck-friendly-female-swimwear-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target Attempts To Backtrack</a>
According to sources inside the company, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target</a> made “emergency” calls last week to managers and senior directors at stores across the country after the company faced backlash for its Pride collection, which included “tuck-friendly” female swimwear and other products. 
Store managers were given less than 36 hours to move Pride products displays to a  less prominent position in order to avoid a “Bud Light situation.” Target says that the move is to protect store workers after experiencing, quote, “threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work.” As a result, the store will be “making adjustments” to its plans, including “removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-murdaugh-to-be-deposed-in-wrongful-death-lawsuit-brought-by-family-of-19-year-old-killed-in-boat-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Murdaugh To Be Deposed In Wrongful Death Lawsuit Brought By Family Of 19-Year-Old Killed In Boat Crash</a>
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh will be deposed for a wrongful-death lawsuit that is being brought against his family. The family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach is suing the Murdaugh family and a convenience store following Beach’s untimely death in 2019 – a death attributed to Murdaugh’s youngest son Paul. Paul, according to his friends, was driving a boat while drunk when he crashed into a bridge and sent two passengers flying into the water, with Beach dying as a result. Paul was indicted on one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of causing significant bodily injury, but he was murdered along with his mother before the case went to trial. Murdaugh will face questions from representatives for the Beach family and Parker’s Kitchen convenience store. A date has not been set for the deposition.
<a href="https://www.wate.com/business/press-releases/cision/20230524PH10032/new-research-finds-dramatic-increase-in-illegal-ketamine-seized-by-authorities-sparking-concern-about-potential-dangers-of-rising-recreational-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEA Warns About Ketmaine </a>
 The Drug Enforcement Agency is concerned about a rise in the use of ketamine as a party drug.  Ketamine which is used in veterinary practices as an anesthetic is now often prescribed “off label” as a treatment for depression and anxiety. . Using data from the  “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program” scientists at NYU say there has been a 350% rise in the seizure of street ketamine since 2017. The states of Tennessee and Florida had the most illegal seizures of the drug with 130 and 113 respectively. 

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-nation-bans-short-domestic-flights-over-climate-worries-private-jet-flights-still-allowed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France Bans Short-Haul Domestic Flights</a>
<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/france" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a> banned short-haul domestic <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flights</a> in a decree published Tuesday over concerns that the trips will accelerate <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>. 
The new <a href="https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000047571222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decree</a> will prohibit flights when a rail trip of less than two and a half hours is available to travelers, effectively ceasing flights between the cities of Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyons, and the Paris-Orly International Airport. Clément Beaune, the nation’s transport minister, said in a <a href="https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/clement-beaune-salue-publication-du-decret-qui-rend-effective-linterdiction-des-lignes-aeriennes-en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> that he strongly supports the move. The decree did not specifically mention private jets, however. 
Tina Turner Dead At 83
And, iconic singer Tina Turner died Tuesday at the age of 83 after a long illness in Switzerland, her management team revealed today. &#8220;It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner,&#8221; In a statement posted on Turner’s page says, &#8220;With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.”
<div class="css-j7qwjs">
<div id="post-body-text">
<div class="e1nzmkc90 css-15jw47d">
To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
</div>
</div>
</div>

Wednesday

Wednesday Afternoon Update: DeSantis Officially Running, Tina Turner Dead At 83, One Year Anniversary Of Uvalde Shooting

Drugs

Florida

France

Hollywood

Joe Biden

Morning Wire

Podcast

Ron DeSantis

Uvalde

Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a> school district police chief, explained his crucial, tragic decisions in an interview after the shooting in May of last year.
Arredondo carried out an interview with authorities on the day following the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, that resulted in the deaths of nineteen students and two teachers. The interview was acquired by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/us/uvalde-school-massacre-arredondo-interview/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN.</a>
He said the main decision point happened when he saw other classrooms with children inside of them. 
“Once I realized that was going on, my first thought is that we need to vacate. We have him contained – and I know this is horrible and I know it’s [what] our training tells us to do but – we have him contained, there’s probably going to be some deceased in there, but we don’t need any more from out here,” Arredondo said. 
“The ammunition was penetrating the walls at that point,” Arredondo <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/09/uvalde-chief-pete-arredondo-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Texas Tribune in June of last year. “We’ve got him cornered, we’re unable to get to him. You realize you need to evacuate those classrooms while we figured out a way to get in.”
Arredondo reportedly maintained that decision for more than an hour, even once he thought he heard the shooter loading his weapon again and after it was known that children were stuck inside the room with the gunman. 
While he told the Tribune that he “didn’t issue any orders” and “called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door,” the new interview showed that wasn’t true. 
He said that he told officers to form a “pyramid” on one side of the hallway to keep away from crossfire if the shooter emerged. He also decided to get people out of the building instead of going after the shooter.
&#8220;We’re going to clear out this building before we do any breach,” Arredondo told law enforcement in the hallway, as was reportedly heard on body camera footage. “As soon as they clear this room, I’m going to verify what’s been vacated, guys, before we do any kind of breaching.”
“Time’s on our side right now. I know we probably have kids in there, but we’ve got to save the lives of the other ones,” he continued. 
In the interview, Arredondo said, “We’re going to get scrutinized, I’m expecting that. We’re getting scrutinized for why we didn’t go in there.” 
“I know what the firepower [the shooter] had, based on what shells I saw, the holes in the wall in the room next to his. I also know I had students that were around there that weren’t in the immediate threat besides the ones I know were in the immediate threat and the preservation of life around, everything around him, I felt was priority,” he explained. “Because I know there’s probably victims in there and with the shots I heard, I know there’s probably somebody who’s going to be deceased. I know these weren’t,” he said of those who were in the other classrooms.
He also said he thought the door in the hallway was locked but didn’t try to get it open. However, he previously said he tried to open the doors with another officer. 
Children inside with the shooter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/01/us/uvalde-911-classroom-call-delay/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tried</a> to get help from the police while Uvalde police officers were standing by in the hallway. United States Border Patrol Tactical Unit personnel eventually <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/uvalde-police-chief-reveals-reason-slow-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot</a> the gunman. In August, Arredondo was <a href="https://people.com/crime/uvalde-school-police-chief-said-he-contained-shooter-classroom-protect-kids-outside/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a>.

43166872-D98F-44BE-A032-7EE24B84A021_1_201_a

Former Uvalde Police Chief Explains Reason For Not Going After Shooter In Newly Released Interview

Crime

Mass Shooting

U.S.

Actor <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/topic/matthew-mcconaughey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthew McConaughey</a> visited Congress shortly after the horrific school shooting in his home town of Uvalde, Texas, and he shared what he learned in a no-holds-barred op-ed that blistered both parties.
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/conservatives-slam-gun-control-activist-matthew-mcconaughey-thats-gonna-be-a-no-from-me-dawg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McConaughey</a> explained in the <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a41502792/matthew-mcconaughey-gun-reform-uvalde/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a>, which was published on Tuesday, that he had gone to Washington, D.C., hoping to find people there who wanted to see change and perhaps to be a part of bringing about that change. Instead, he said, he found a number who were unwilling to take risks because they feared it could impact their chances at being re-elected.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
i hope i told it well <a href="https://t.co/Zm8bV9JUPI">https://t.co/Zm8bV9JUPI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/esquire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@esquire</a> <a href="https://t.co/AoF3zq2ztO">pic.twitter.com/AoF3zq2ztO</a>
&mdash; Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) <a href="https://twitter.com/McConaughey/status/1579828994182029312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Writing this story was hard. It’s personal—for me, but more so for the victims and their families, who have paid the ultimate cost. Which is why I’ve hesitated to write it,&#8221; McConaughey prefaced the article. &#8220;Observing from the front lines, then sharing what I saw—it makes me feel a bit like a fraud. Am I trespassing? Sharing sacred secrets that are not my stories to tell? I hope not.&#8221;
The Oscar-winning actor, who grew up in Uvalde, headed home as soon as he heard about the shooting. &#8220;This would be a journey with a one-way ticket. We had no sense of how long we’d go for, nor a plan beyond showing up. But we knew that if we did, purpose would intercept us,&#8221; he said — and when he arrived with his wife, model Camila Alves, they made a point to avoid media. Instead, they went from home to home — where they hugged, listened to, and spoke with the families who had just endured the unthinkable.
He then turned to the topic of gun control — and his own early experience with a father who taught him that firearms were to be treated with respect and used only in the proper fashion.
&#8220;I was nine, and I still remember the sober tone he assumed while presenting it. &#8216;This is a tool, son,&#8217; he said. &#8216;It can feed you, and it can take a life. You must give it full respect,’” McConaughey wrote of receiving his first BB gun. &#8220;He instilled in me the rules of engagement: barrel management, muzzle control, safety catch, secure storage, the awareness of what’s behind your target.&#8221;
His belief that protecting the Second Amendment came along with a responsibility to protect children sent him to Washington, D.C., shortly thereafter. He said that he had initially intended to try to meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), but that he had eventually set up a number of meetings with members of both parties from all over the country.
&#8220;I arrived in Washington with such a reverence for our government and those who run it. While I’m not going to say that I lost that reverence, I did see the most powerful legislators in America playing an implicit political game, one they seemed to be handcuffed to, even systematically imprisoned by, as if it were the price of entry,&#8221; the actor continued, noting that one of the key takeaways from his trip to the nation&#8217;s capital was a crash course in just how frustrating politics can be for those in the middle of it.
&#8220;It sometimes feels like politicians don’t really want solutions, because solutions would put them out of a job. Optics are often prized over substance—who gets the credit often takes precedence over whom that credit is serving, or how well,&#8221; he wrote, adding, &#8220;With a disparity between belief and action, it’s hard to be in the make-a-difference business if you’re only in the reelection business.&#8221;
McConaughey&#8217;s conclusion was simple: the American people needed to take the power back from both party&#8217;s extremes.
&#8220;We are reasonable and responsible, and we share more values than we’re being told we do—and we believe that meeting each other in the middle is in service of the greater good. We have the majority. We have the numbers,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;That’s why it’s high time we take the megaphone back from the extremists who’ve been manufacturing these false fractures among us. They’ve been selling us soft porn at the pep rally for too long. It’s time to kick them off the port and starboard sides of the boat on which American democracy sails &#8230; or at least relegate them to mopping the deck.&#8221;

Press Secretary Jean-Pierre Holds Daily White House Briefing

Matthew McConaughey Blows Up Both Parties In Op-Ed: ‘They’ve Been Selling Us Soft Porn At The Pep Rally’

Matthew McConaughey Blows Up Both Parties In Esquire Op-Ed

Congress

Matthew McConaughey

Mitch McConnell

School Shooting

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District</a> suspended its entire police department on Friday amidst criticism of how it handled the mass shooting that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-student-survived-massacre-by-playing-dead-laying-on-top-of-dying-classmate">killed over a dozen school</a> children.
&#8220;The District remains committed to resolving issues with verifiable evidence. Decisions concerning the UCISD police department have been pending the results of the Texas Police Chiefs Association and JPPI investigation. Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations,&#8221; the district said in a statement.
The district said Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller had been placed on leave, and other police department members would be placed in different roles for the time being. District officials have requested that the Texas Department of Public Safety handle school security in the police department&#8217;s absence.
&#8220;We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,&#8221; the district said.
Nineteen students and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School last May, when a gunman broke into a classroom and began firing. Although law enforcement made it outside the classroom relatively quickly, it took over one hour for them to stop the gunman. Footage of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom, with the shooter still inside.
“He shot the next person’s door,” one fourth-grader who survived recalled to local news outlet <a href="https://www.kens5.com/article/news/special-reports/uvalde-school-shooting/its-time-to-die-fourth-grade-survivor-uvalde-shooting-recalls-what-gunman-told-student/273-51cc4e26-7a0a-49c0-ba7a-48cdd47fa235">Kens5</a>. “We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, he said, ‘It’s time to die.’”
The gunman was killed by authorities.
The Uvalde School Board voted unanimously in August to f<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-uvalde-school-board-votes-unanimously-to-fire-police-chief-pete-arredondo">ire Police Chief Pete Arredondo</a>, following the district&#8217;s recommendation that he be fired. Arredondo did not show up to the board meeting. His lawyer said in a statement that Arrendondo was refusing to participate &#8220;in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching.&#8221;
People in the room reportedly applauded after he was fired.
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

Uvalde Families Grieve For Loved Ones Killed In School Mass Shooting

Entire Uvalde School Police Department Suspended By District

BREAKING: Entire Uvalde School Police Department Suspended By District

Texas

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> Department of Public Safety (DPS) released guidance for how it wants officers to respond to an active shooter threat as a new school year kicks off in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uvalde</a>.
DPS officers made up some of the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> 376 law enforcement agents from multiple agencies that responded to the Robb Elementary shooting on May 24. It was <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/06/uvalde-school-shooting-dps-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> Tuesday that five of those DPS officers will face an investigation to determine if they violated any policies in the response and weigh potential disciplinary action.
The clarified DPS instructions were included in a letter from July and require officers to treat anyone who fires a weapon at a school as “an active shooter until he is neutralized.” The letter also instructs officers to never treat an active shooter as a “barricaded subject,” according to Statesman and KVUE investigative reporter Tony Plohetski.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Also, DPS has released a letter from July in which DPS officers have been instructed that they should treat any person who fires a weapon at a school &quot;remains an active shooter until he is neutralized.&quot; That person can never be treated as a &quot;barricaded subject.&quot; (3/3)
&mdash; Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) <a href="https://twitter.com/tplohetski/status/1567241103509700609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Uvalde students and teachers returned to class Tuesday, a later-than-usual start for the district as it focused on beefing up security measures at all campuses before the beginning of the school year, ABC affiliate KVUE <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/special-reports/uvalde-school-shooting/uvalde-cisd-students-school-shooting-aftermath/269-26811476-1414-4996-9a9d-0e169db8f82e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The district installed 8-foot non-scalable fences and added security cameras. Dozens of law enforcement officers will also be deployed to each campus, according to the outlet.
Immediately following the tragedy, the DPS and the federal government launched investigations into the local police response to identify what went wrong and how law enforcement can respond better in the future.
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events,” said DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-launches-probe-of-uvalde-polices-botched-response-to-school-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “The review will be conducted with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing.”
Law enforcement officials have faced continued criticism for failures in their response to the active shooter threat. Officers responding to the shooting at Robb Elementary School waited outside the classroom for over an hour as the 18-year-old lone gunman murdered children and teachers inside.
Former Uvalde CISD Chief Pete Arredondo, who was one of the first officials on scene after the shooter entered the school, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-uvalde-school-board-votes-unanimously-to-fire-police-chief-pete-arredondo">fired</a> by the Uvalde school board late last month. Community members <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/uvalde-school-police-pete-arredondo/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> reacted with applause when the board announced its unanimous decision to fire Arredondo.

Robb Elementary School

Texas DPS Clarifies Instructions For Responding To Active Shooter, 5 Officers Face Investigation

Texas DPS Clarifies Instructions For Officers Responding To Active Shooter Threat, 5 Officers Face Investigation

Investigation

Police

The Uvalde school board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to immediately fire police chief Pete Arredondo over the disastrous response to the shooting at Robb Elementary earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of 19 children.
The disgraced police chief refused to attend the meeting because he was scared for his safety.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had already <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-school-board-police-chief-pete-arredondos-firing/story?id=88692404">recommended</a> that Arredondo be fired.
“Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded,” Arredondo&#8217;s attorney George Hyde, said in a statement.
The board deliberated for over an hour Wednesday evening before making its decision. Community members <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/uvalde-school-police-pete-arredondo/index.html">reportedly</a> reacted with applause when the board announced its decision to fire Arredondo.
Uvalde citizens have waited weeks for the decision after the first meeting to consider Arredondo&#8217;s firing was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-district-cancels-meeting-that-was-set-to-consider-uvalde-police-chiefs-firing">canceled</a> last month, just two days after the recommendation to fire the police chief was placed on the agenda.
Arredondo was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-school-district-police-chief-placed-on-leave-as-investigation-into-shooting-continues">placed on leave</a> last month as criticism against him mounted when more details came out on the police response to the shooting in which a lone gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. Nearly 400 law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the shooting, but the shooter remained in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers breached the door and killed him.
Recently released <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-eerie-body-cam-footage-from-uvalde-shooting-released">footage</a> of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom for over an hour while the shooter was still in the classroom with the victims, some of whom were still alive and calling 911 for help.
Body cam footage obtained by CNN also showed Arredondo attempting to negotiate with the shooter from down the hall, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-uvalde-police-chief-tried-to-negotiate-with-shooter">reported</a>.
“Let me know if there’s any kids there or anything!” Arredondo said on tape. “This can be peaceful!”
In early June, Arredondo <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/09/uvalde-chief-pete-arredondo-interview/">spoke</a> with the Texas Tribune, addressing some of the criticisms of his response and claiming officers acted appropriately.
“Not a single responding officer ever hesitated, even for a moment, to put themselves at risk to save the children,” Arredondo said. “We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced. Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”
The UCISD police chief also told the Tribune that when he arrived on scene, he did not consider himself the commanding officer, even though his department was the first to arrive. Arredondo further claimed that no one told him that students in the classroom were calling 911 as the shooter continued his killing.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.
This article was updated after publication to include additional information.

Mass Shooting At Elementary School In Uvalde, Texas Leaves At Least 21 Dead

Uvalde School Board Votes Unanimously To Fire Police Chief Pete Arredondo

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/houston">Houston</a> Astros baseball club gave thousands of tickets and welcomed ten busses filled with 500 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a>, Texas, residents Sunday in the latest show of support for the community that lost 19 children and two elementary school teachers in May after a lone gunman carried out the third-deadliest mass school shooting in American history.
&#8220;We can all relate to the tough time they&#8217;ve been through, so this is just a little distraction and give a little something back, and that&#8217;s what the Astros are about,&#8221; Jim Crane, Astros owner, told MLB.com.
Sunday&#8217;s game follows a private brunch hosted by Crane last month for the affected families and city officials. Those who lost a loved one received an autographed Astros jersey customized with their loved one&#8217;s names on the back and a gift bag that included a $1,000 H-E-B gift card.
Crane and the team&#8217;s players and staff invited the grieving community to Minute Maid Park for Uvalde Strong Day. The gameday experience included a walk around the outfield track, a pregame ceremony, and a ceremonial first pitch.
Faith Mata, 21, lost her ten-year-old sister, Tess, during the horrific event at Robb Elementary School earlier this year — and she threw the first pitch before Sunday&#8217;s game against the Oakland Athletics.
Mata said her sister loved watching second baseman Jose Altuve play.
&#8220;Any time the Astros&#8217; games were on, she&#8217;d throw on her [Astros] T-shirt and just run into the living room and just cheer for them, even though she didn&#8217;t know what was going on,&#8221; Mata told <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/astros-host-uvalde-victims-at-minute-maid-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com</a>. &#8220;She just loved Altuve.&#8221;
Jerry Mata, the father of Faith and Tess, said he couldn&#8217;t express his gratitude enough when the professional baseball asked to host the community.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t put it into words,&#8221; the father told MLB.com. &#8220;I wanted to pass out when [the Astros] asked.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s an honor, and I&#8217;m just like, stunned,&#8221; Mata added. &#8220;It feels good, and I know my daughter is up above and looking down with a smile and saying, &#8216;Go get &#8217;em, sister!'&#8221;
Jerry Cazares, who lost his 9-year-old daughter, Jacklyn, said while his family takes things one day at a time, the support brought a lot of emotions to his family, who were happy to attend the game.
&#8220;It&#8217;s something different,&#8221; Cazares told MLB.com. &#8220;For me, it&#8217;s just a little escape from being at home, and I&#8217;m glad we were invited, and we&#8217;re going to make the best of it.&#8221;
&#8220;My daughter would have been happy to be out here,&#8221; he added. &#8220;[That&#8217;s] where it hurts. Overall, we&#8217;re happy to be here.&#8221;
While the Astros played nine innings on Sunday, fans had the chance to purchase Uvalde Strong t-shirts, with all proceeds going to Uvalde Strong efforts, a 50/50 raffle awarding $10,000 with the rest of the funds raised going to Uvalde Strong initiatives.
Abraham Gonzales, who teaches physical education at Robb Elementary, said the trip would go a long way in helping Uvalde through the healing process that forever changed the community.
&#8220;It means a lot,&#8221; Gonzales told MLB.com. &#8220;The Astros have been so great to our community — we&#8217;re hurt, but it doesn&#8217;t get any better than this.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of just what it means to them right now,&#8221; he added. That makes me really happy.&#8221;
Gonzales, who also formerly coached softball in Uvalde, gave Astros manager Dusty Baker a maroon and white Uvalde baseball cap.
&#8220;I had an extra cap from when I coached, so I thought before I left the house today, I said, &#8216;You know what, I&#8217;m going to present Dusty a cap,&#8217; and I actually told Dusty, I said, &#8216;Any time you need a rally cap, just rub on this, and you guys will get a for-sure hit,'&#8221; Gonzales told MLB.com.
Baker sported the cap before the game, saying the team not only showed up to play baseball for themselves and the fans but also to help aid the healing process for those impacted by the school shooting.
&#8220;This is what we&#8217;re here for,&#8221; Baker told MLB.com.
During the pre-ceremony before the Astros and Athletics faced each other on Sunday, Uvalde residents met with Crane, Altuve, the team&#8217;s third baseman Alex Bregman, and pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.
A young fan asked if the Astros could hit a home run in honor of the Uvalde community.
Within the first inning of Sunday&#8217;s game, Bregman knocked a two-run home run out of the park leading to a 6-3 victory against the A&#8217;s.

Oakland Athletics v Houston Astros

‘Uvalde Strong Day:’ Houston Astros Honor Thousands Of Grieving Community Members

Houston

Houston Astros

Madison County, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina">North Carolina</a>, is planning to put <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/guns">semi-automatic rifles</a> in each of its six schools heading into the 2022-2023 school year for enhanced security in the case of an active shooter threat.
County Sheriff Buddy Harwood announced that the rifles will be stored in secured safes at each of the county&#8217;s elementary, middle, and high schools. The six schools will also store breaching tools and ammunition in the safes that law enforcement could access in the case of an emergency.
“We were able to put an AR-15 rifle and safe in all of our schools in the county,&#8221; Harwood <a href="https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2022/08/05/madison-county-schools-add-ar-15-rifles-enhance-security/10234037002/">told</a> the Asheville Citizen Times. &#8220;We&#8217;ve also got breaching tools to go into those safes. We&#8217;ve got extra magazines with ammo in those safes.”
The Sheriff said that storing the breaching tools and AR-15s in school safes will help law enforcement act more quickly in the case of an emergency. Having the option to obtain a semi-automatic weapon in the instance of an active school shooter could save time and help law enforcement officers save lives, according to Harwood.
“Hopefully we&#8217;ll never need it, but I want my guys to be as prepared as prepared can be,” the Sheriff commented.
Harwood admitted that storing semi-automatic rifles in schools is not ideal, but said it’s necessary given the recent school shootings around the country. “I want the parents of Madison County to know we&#8217;re going to take every measure necessary to ensure our kids are safe in this school system,” he said.
The county’s decision stems from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-cops-knew-kids-were-still-alive-inside-the-school-and-waited-outside-anyway-report">police failures</a> during the May 24 Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a lone gunman murdered 19 children and two adults. Law enforcement officers waited in the hallway outside the classroom for over an hour after the shooter began killing elementary-aged children at Robb Elementary. One of the first <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uvalde-shooting-police-waited-hour-backup-rcna30622">excuses</a> given by police for their hesitation after arriving on scene was that they were ill-equipped to engage the shooter and needed backup.
“Those officers were in that building for so long, and that suspect was able to infiltrate that building and injure and kill so many kids,” Harwood said of the Uvalde massacre. “I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in the event that happens.&#8221;

AR-15

North Carolina County Will Put AR-15s In Every School

Guns

North Carolina

Schools

Climate activist and former Democratic Vice President Al Gore on Sunday said &#8220;climate deniers&#8221; were comparable to the police officers who failed to act during the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Appearing as a guest on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; Gore assailed Republicans and tactics like the Senate filibuster for preventing Democrats from passing legislation to tackle global warming. Gore compared &#8220;climate deniers&#8221; in Congress to police officers who were equipped and trained to deal with mass shooters, but failed to stop the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in <a href="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d005cf551ad52eea13d8753ede93320c/Uvalde%20Robb%20Shooting%20Report%20-%20Texas%20House%20Committee.pdf?_ga=2.216812497.696777951.1658086082-733005564.1658086082">Uvalde</a>.
&#8220;You know, the climate deniers are really in some ways similar to all of those, almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, who were waiting outside an unlocked door while the children were being massacred,&#8221; Gore told host Chuck Todd.
&#8220;They heard the screams. They heard the gunshots and nobody has stepped forward,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;God bless those families that suffered so much. And law enforcement officials tell us that’s not typical of what law enforcement usually does.&#8221;
&#8220;And confronted with this global emergency, what we’re doing with our inaction in failing to walk through the door and stop the killing is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings. We do have the solutions. And I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds. We have to have unity as a nation to come together and stop making this a political football. It shouldn’t be a partisan issue.&#8221;
Gore then blasted the filibuster for preventing Congress from taking action, again comparing climate change to the Uvalde shooting.
&#8220;The same reason it is seemingly impossible for the Congress to pass legislation banning these weapons of war, these assault rifles that are being used to murder children in classrooms and create hundreds of mass casualty events already this year and that’s getting worse, the same reason we can’t pass legislation to, for example, to reinstate the ban on assault weapons is the same reason that we can’t pass climate legislation: we have the minority government,&#8221; said Gore.
&#8220;We have the filibuster still, which ought to be eliminated,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We have big money playing much too large a role in our politics, lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry, and they’re still running all of these advertisements trying to convince people that &#8216;it’s not that bad&#8217; or &#8216;they’ve got this, don’t worry about it.&#8217; We have got to rise to this challenge.&#8221;
&#8220;We, the people, have to solve this, and we have to instruct those who are in positions of leadership to start doing the right thing. Our survival as a species may depend upon it.&#8221;

Al Gore

Al Gore Compares ‘Climate Deniers’ To Police In Uvalde, Attacks Senate Filibuster For Blocking Action On Climate Change

Al Gore Compares 'Climate Deniers' To Police In Uvalde, Attacks Senate Filibuster For Blocking Action On Climate Change

Climate Change

Filibuster

Former vice president and global warming activist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/al-gore">Al Gore</a> claimed in a pre-recorded interview Saturday that those who deny <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/climate-change">climate change</a> are comparable to police officers who refuse to enter a school to stop a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/violence">shooting</a>.
In an interview set to air on Sunday, Gore <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/al-gore-compares-climate-deniers-uvalde-law-enforcement-officers-nobod-rcna39707">told</a> NBC, &#8220;You know the climate deniers are really in some ways similar to all of those almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, who were waiting outside an unlocked door while the children were being massacred. They heard the screams, they heard the gunshots, and nobody stepped forward.&#8221;
Following the Robb Elementary School shooting tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults dead, a <a href="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d005cf551ad52eea13d8753ede93320c/Uvalde%20Robb%20Shooting%20Report%20-%20Texas%20House%20Committee.pdf?_ga=2.216812497.696777951.1658086082-733005564.1658086082">report</a> compiled by the Texas House committee indicated that almost 400 officers were gathered outside the school before anyone attempted to breach the school and take down the shooter who had barricaded himself inside.
The <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/">report</a> detailed a series of missteps on a number of fronts — from the shooter’s family failing to identify warning signs to the school’s apparent habit of leaving doors unlocked or propped open — but the strongest condemnation was reserved for <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/they-couldve-been-shot-texas-cop-explains-why-police-waited-to-enter-uvalde-school/">law enforcement officers</a> who arrived on the scene and then waited to act for over an hour.
&#8220;God bless those families who suffered so much,&#8221; Gore added.
Gore, who has been pontificating about the purported dangers of climate change for nearly two decades now, continued to scold individuals who do not act to lower carbon emissions.
&#8220;Confronted with this global emergency, what we’re doing with our inaction, and failing to walk through the door, and stop the killing, is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings,&#8221; Gore said.
&#8220;We do have the solutions, and I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds. We have to have unity as a nation, to come together and stop making this a political football. It shouldn’t be a partisan issue,&#8221; Gore said. &#8220;We have to have unify as a nation to come together and stop making this a political football.&#8221;
Gore has taken some steps to help reduce dependency on fossil fuels, but it is unclear that they had any major impact on his own carbon footprint.
The Nobel Prize winner was awarded an Oscar for his 2006 climate change documentary, &#8220;An Inconvenient Truth.&#8221; The following year, he appeared to put his money where his mouth was by revamping his Tennessee home with 33 solar panels. Yet, a 2017 report <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mr-hypocrisy-al-gores-huge-estate-used-21-times-hank-berrien">indicated</a> that the former vice president was still using more than 21 times the amount of energy in a 12-month span than the average household. Solar energy accounted for just 5.7% of that consumption at that time.
Gore has also found success in the TV world while profiting off the backs of fossil fuel-producing countries.
In 2016, Current TV was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/al-gore-sells-current-tv-to-al-jazeera-nets-reported-100-million">sold</a> to the Qatar state-owned media network Al-Jazeera. Gore had a 20% stake in Current TV and made a reported $100 million. One of Qatar&#8217;s top exports has <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Qatar/Economy">consistently been petroleum</a> and it is also home to one of the largest natural gas fields in the entire world.

Al Gore Says ‘Climate Deniers’ Are Like Uvalde Police Officers Who Didn’t Rescue Children

Al Gore Says ‘Climate Deniers’ Are Like Uvalde Police Officers Who Didn't Rescue Children

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a> Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) canceled a school board <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-school-board-will-consider-recommendation-to-fire-embattled-police-chief">meeting</a> that was set to consider firing UCISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo just two days after the recommendation to fire Arredondo was placed on the agenda.
District Superintendent Hal Harrell recommended the police chief’s firing following law enforcement failures during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in late May. According to an agenda released earlier this week, the school board was set to discuss Harrell&#8217;s recommendation in a special meeting Saturday, but CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/22/us/uvalde-arredondo-board-meeting-canceled/index.html">reported</a> Friday that the meeting has been canceled and will be moved to an undetermined date.
“In conformity with due process requirements, and at the request of his attorney, the meeting to consider the termination of Chief Arredondo will be held at a later date which has yet to be determined,” the UCISD wrote in a statement.
The embattled police chief will be on administrative unpaid leave until the meeting is finally held, the district added, according to CNN.
Arredondo was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-school-district-police-chief-placed-on-leave-as-investigation-into-shooting-continues">placed on leave</a> last month as criticism against him mounted when more details came out on the police response to the shooting in which a lone gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. Nearly 400 law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the shooting, but the shooter remained in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers breached the door and killed him.
Recently released <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-eerie-body-cam-footage-from-uvalde-shooting-released">footage</a> of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom for over an hour while the shooter was still in the classroom with the victims, some of whom were still alive and calling 911 for help.
Body cam footage obtained by CNN also showed Arredondo attempting to negotiate with the shooter from down the hall, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-uvalde-police-chief-tried-to-negotiate-with-shooter">reported</a>.
“Let me know if there’s any kids there or anything!” Arredondo said on tape. “This can be peaceful!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
JUST IN: Exclusive body cam video from the law enforcement response to the Uvalde, TX school shooting. <a href="https://twitter.com/ShimonPro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShimonPro</a> obtained the video from the city&#39;s Mayor. It shows just how chaotic the situation was: <a href="https://t.co/VppNuJ1d7b">pic.twitter.com/VppNuJ1d7b</a>
&mdash; Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanobles/status/1548799795590053888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In early June, Arredondo <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/09/uvalde-chief-pete-arredondo-interview/">spoke</a> with the Texas Tribune, addressing some of the criticisms of his response and claiming officers acted appropriately.
“Not a single responding officer ever hesitated, even for a moment, to put themselves at risk to save the children,” Arredondo said. “We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced. Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”
The UCISD police chief also told the Tribune that when he arrived on scene, he did not consider himself the commanding officer, even though his department was the first to arrive on scene. Arredondo further explained that no one told him that students in the classroom were calling 911 as the shooter continued his killing.

School District Cancels Meeting That Was Set To Consider Uvalde Police Chief’s Firing

School District Cancels Meeting That Was Set To Consider Uvalde Police Chief's Firing

Legendary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baseball">baseball</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/football">football</a> superstar Bo Jackson revealed he helped pay for the funerals of the 19 children and two teachers killed in one of America&#8217;s deadliest mass shootings in May at Robb Elementary School in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a>, Texas.
Jackson led a successful career in both the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nfl">NFL</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mlb">Major League Baseball</a> in the 1980s and 1990s. NFL and MLB League officials named him an All-Star — the only professional athlete to carry the title in both leagues — and is still considered one of the greatest in sports history.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-shootings-texas-a480febf50ac834b715d20e27018c4ab">reported</a> that he and an anonymous friend flew to the City of Uvalde three days after the 18-year-old gunman carried out the massacre. Jackson donated a check for $170,000 and offered to pay for all funeral expenses for the victim&#8217;s families.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s because I&#8217;m getting old,&#8221; Jackson told the Associated Press. &#8220;It&#8217;s just not right for parents to bury their kids — it’s just not right.&#8221;
He said when the news broke on May 24, he <a href="https://twitter.com/BoJackson/status/1529267191207673856?s=20&amp;t=qA48kUxSkiYobKPVCr6syA">tweeted</a> a plea for Americans to &#8220;stop all the nonsense.&#8221;
&#8220;Please pray for all victims. If you hear something, say something. We aren&#8217;t supposed to bury our children. I&#8217;m praying for all of the families around the country who have lost loved ones to senseless shootings. This cannot continue,&#8221; Jackson said.
Jackson closely followed the news, particularly the coverage of the funerals.
&#8220;I know every family there probably works their butts off just to do what they do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The last thing they needed was to shell out thousands of dollars for something that never should have happened.&#8221;
Jackson said he&#8217;s driven through Uvalde many times before, which personalized a connection for him to the city.
He said despite not knowing a &#8220;soul&#8221; in Uvalde, the town stuck in his mind.
&#8220;It just touched me,&#8221; he said.
When Jackson visited Uvalde, he and his friend kept a low profile and dodged attention from the media.
Jackson presented the donation to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who &#8220;quickly directed to cover funeral costs&#8221; to a nonprofit helping with Uvalde relief efforts, a spokesperson from the governor&#8217;s office said.
During a May 27 news conference about the state&#8217;s aid given to the victims, Abbott first announced Jackson&#8217;s charity as an anonymous donation.
&#8220;The true spirit of our nation is Americans lifting up one another in times of need and hardship,&#8221; Abbott said. &#8220;In a truly selfless act, Bo covered all funeral expenses for the victims&#8217; families so they would have one less thing to worry about as they grieved.&#8221;
The governor kept the gift anonymous until Jackson publicly spoke it about this week.
Jackson noted to the Associated Press that mass shootings in the country are happening regularly, and the last thing anyone wants to hear is there&#8217;s an active shooter in another school. However, he didn&#8217;t want to turn away from his donation.
&#8220;I was just trying to put a little sunshine in someone&#8217;s cloud,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;A a very dark cloud.&#8221;
Jackson has donated to relief efforts in the past. The Associated Press reports he raised money for his home state of Alabama when more than 60 tornados ripped across the state, killing nearly 250 people.
But the Uvalde massacre marks his first donation for a mass shooting.
&#8220;It&#8217;s the children. &#8230; It&#8217;s the children. &#8230; It&#8217;s the children,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;If it doesn&#8217;t bother you, something&#8217;s wrong with you.&#8221;

Texas Rangers v Chicago White Sox

Legendary Athlete Bo Jackson Anonymously Donated To Pay For Uvalde Victims’ Funerals

Legendary Athlete Bo Jackson Anonymously Donated To Pay For Uvalde Victims' Funerals

Menu