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Texas Gov. Abbott not attending Houston NRA summit, will speak in Uvalde

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has canceled his planned Friday live speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Houston following a deadly mass shooting at a Texas elementary school this week.

Abbott will hold a press conference at Uvalde High School at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, according to a press release from his office, around the same time as an event for which he is listed as a confirmed speaker on the NRA convention website.

The Texas governor will send a pre-recorded video to the summit in lieu of appearing in person at the convention center in Houston, which is about 300 miles away from Uvalde, according to The Dallas Morning News, which cited a spokesperson for Abbott.

The convention will still be attended by prominent Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and former President Donald Trump.

The NRA has faced calls to cancel the event after the mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Abbott, who has worked to loosen gun laws in Texas, was slammed for his scheduled appearance at the NRA summit, which was slated to take place just days after the Tuesday tragedy in the state.

On Wednesday, Abbott deflected a question about his planned appearance at the convention during a press conference, saying he was living “moment to moment.”

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who got into a confrontation with Abbott during a press conference after the mass shooting, called on the governor to immediately withdraw from the event.

“Governor Abbott, if you have any decency, you will immediately withdraw from this weekend’s NRA convention and urge them to hold it anywhere but Texas,” O’Rourke tweeted.

O’Rourke is planning to attend a protest outside the NRA convention center on Friday along with several organizations.

Others have also canceled appearances at the convention, including country singers Larry Gatlin and Larry Stewart and Don McClean, who is best known for his hit 1971 song “American Pie.”

Two other Republican lawmakers from Texas, Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, also canceled appearances at the NRA summit, but they had reportedly planned to do so before the shooting.

Source: TEST FEED1

New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays skip social media game coverage to post about gun violence

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays skipped covering their game Thursday night on social media and instead used their accounts to raise awareness about gun violence in the aftermath of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.

“In lieu of coverage and in collaboration with the Tampa Bay Rays, we will be using our channels to offer facts about the impacts of gun violence,” the New York Yankees wrote on the team’s official Twitter account.

The post added: “The devastating events that have taken place in Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities across our nation are tragedies that are intolerable.”

A racially motivated mass shooting occurred earlier this month in the Yankees’ home state of New York when a white 18-year-old traveled to a heavily Black community in Buffalo and killed 10.

The Tampa Bay Rays also have a close tie with one of the recent shootings. Rays pitcher Brooks Raley hails from Uvalde, a small town of 16,000, where another 18-year-old gunman killed 21, including 19 children, this week.

“It’s just a tragedy. Obviously growing up there and going to that school, it kind of hits home,” Raley said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. “It’s small and a close-knit community, so it’s obviously tough.”

He added: “Having young children myself, you just feel for those families, and you pray for them and your thoughts are with them.”

“The most recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have shaken us to the core,” tweeted the Rays’ official account Thursday night.

The Rays announced that their team organization made a $50,000 payment to Everytown for Gun Safety’s Support Fund in light of the massacres.

“Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America. Rather than our usual game coverage on social media tonight, we’ve partnered with Everytown to amplify facts about gun violence in America,” the team wrote.

The post added: “We understand that no single organization can solve this crisis alone, but working together, we can make an impact. We invite you to join us and do what you can, when you can, where you can — because our lives depend on it.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Manufacturer of rifle used by Uvalde shooter posted photo of child holding gun days before attack

The manufacturer of the semi-automatic rifle an 18-year-old gunman used in a deadly school shooting in Texas on Tuesday posted a photograph days before the tragedy of a child holding a rifle.

Daniel Defense, which manufactured the DDM4 V7 rifle used in the mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead in Uvalde, tweeted a photo on May 16 of a little boy sitting on the floor holding in his hands a rifle of a similar model to that used by the Texas gunman.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” a cutline reads above the photo.

The tweet, an apparent reference to a Bible verse, ended with a prayer emoji.

Georgia-based Daniel Defense has since made its account private, but The Hill was able to verify the tweet on an internet archive site.

The Hill has reached out to the company for comment.

The Texas Tribune reported that the gunman bought the DDM4 V7 rifle and a second, similar firearm just days before the shooting from a licensed gun store. He also purchased 375 rounds of 5.56-caliber ammunition. The gunman only brought the DDM4 rifle with him after he crashed his truck and walked into Robb Elementary School, according to the outlet.

Daniel Defense released a statement on its website saying it was “deeply saddened by the tragic events in Texas” and said it would cooperate with any investigations into the incident.

“It is our understanding that the firearm used in the attack was manufactured by Daniel Defense,” the company said. “We will keep the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community in our thoughts and our prayers.”

Social media ignited in criticism of Daniel Defense after photos of the post of the child with the firearm circulated. The company was criticized as marketing lethal products to youth and many of its tweets and social media posts are also under the spotlight for what critics say is aggressive marketing of firearms and weapons.

Daniel Defense told Fox News it will not attend the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, this week as planned, because of the shooting where its weapon was “criminally misused.”

The DDM4 V7 is a semi-automatic rifle similar to an AR-15 and modeled after the M4 carbine used extensively by the U.S. military.

Billed by Daniel Defense as “the perfect rifle for anybody” in promotional videos on its website, the DDM4 V7 has a price tag around $2,000.

Source: TEST FEED1

WHO passes resolution condemning Russia for causing health emergency in Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday passed a resolution condemning Russia for causing a health emergency in Ukraine while rejecting a counter-proposal from Russian representatives that did not mention their country’s role in the crisis.

The WHO resolution passed with 88 votes in favor, 12 votes against and 53 abstentions at the organization’s 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

The resolution condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and notes that the invasion is “causing a serious impediment to the health of the population of Ukraine, as well as having regional and wider than regional health impacts.” It also urges Russia to immediately cease attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine.

Russian officials had proposed a counter-resolution that expressed “grave concerns over the ongoing health emergency in and around Ukraine” without acknowledging Russia’s role in that emergency, but WHO member states rejected it.

Reuters reported that Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations Yevheniia Filipenko said Russia’s resolution was a “twisted alternative reality,” while Russian deputy ambassador to the UN Alexander Alimov said the passed resolution was “one-sided.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Ukraine, saying the Russian assaults on healthcare facilities in the country “must stop.”

The WHO has tracked the number of attacks on healthcare facilities, systems and personnel since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

As of Thursday, the organization’s dashboard has recorded 266 attacks on healthcare systems in Ukraine since the invasion began on Feb. 24. Among those incidents they have logged 239 attacks on healthcare facilities, which includes the bombing of a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol.

The WHO has recorded 76 deaths related to the attacks and 62 related injuries.

Thursday’s resolution expresses “grave concerns” with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and “condemns in the strongest terms” the war.

The resolution also urges relevant WHO member states to continue assisting with healthcare operations, medical supplies and refugee programs and requests that the director-general bolster the organization’s data collection and dissemination of information on healthcare-related attacks in Ukraine.

Source: TEST FEED1

O'Rourke to attend protest outside Houston NRA conference

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke on Friday will attend a rally outside of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual summit in Houston alongside several organizations following the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this week.

O’Rourke and the organizations aim to “hold the NRA and the politicians they purchase accountable,” according to an event page posted by his campaign.

“This massacre and the too many others before it are totally predictable, direct consequences of the choices made by Greg Abbott and the majority of those in the Texas legislature,” the statement for the event reads.

“There will be more Uvaldes, El Pasos, Sutherland Springs, and Santa Fes until we decide to put the lives of our kids ahead of the political careers of gun lobby politicians like Greg Abbott,” it added, referencing several other mass shootings that have taken place in the state in recent years.

O’Rourke will join eight organizations, including March For Our Lives, which was organized following the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

“Action is the antidote to despair,” O’Rourke wrote in a tweet linking to an event page for the rally.

The protest follows O’Rourke’s confrontation with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) at a press conference in Uvalde on Wednesday. O’Rourke, who is challenging Abbott in November’s elections, also called on him to cancel his scheduled appearance at the NRA summit.

Source: TEST FEED1

DOJ declines to charge ex-FBI agents accused of mishandling Larry Nassar investigation

Criminal charges will not be brought against two former FBI agents accused of mishandling the sexual abuse case involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Thursday.

Following an investigation into their conduct during the Nassar probe, the DOJ stood by its original stance that it would not be filing charges against the agents.

Despite finding that the former agents provided inaccurate or incomplete information to investigators, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to proceed forward with charges.

“This does not in any way reflect a view that the investigation of Nassar was handled as it should have been, nor in any way reflects approval or disregard of the conduct of the former agents,” the department wrote in the announcement.

The decision comes months after a bipartisan group of senators called on the FBI and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to implement changes after determining failures on behalf of the FBI’s Indianapolis office during the Nassar investigation. Among their allegations was that the FBI did not act with urgency in addressing the sexual abuse claims.

“It is imperative that Congress is fully aware of the steps the FBI is taking to ensure that we may provide the Bureau with adequate resources, and ensure that these mistakes are never repeated,” the senators wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray in November.

In December, the organizations that head U.S. gymnastics agreed to pay $380 million in a settlement to Nassar’s victims, among the largest ever for sexual abuse.

Source: TEST FEED1

US effort to impose tougher UN sanctions on North Korea blocked by China, Russia

China and Russia on Thursday blocked an effort to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations Security Council that was led by the U.S. after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un conducted a spate of missile tests this year, including the launch of several intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Both China and Russia hold veto powers at the U.N. Security Council, which they exercised after the introduction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — North Korea’s official name — for the tests with more restrictive sanctions.

China’s Ambassador to the U.N., Zhang Jun, said at the UN meeting on Thursday that “the reason why today’s draft resolution failed to pass” was because the U.S. had refused to accept proposals other than implementing sanctions.

“China’s voting position is based on our assessment as to whether a proposal contributes to a solution,” Zhang said. “Perhaps some people wanted nothing but this situation, based on their cynical intentions.”

The U.S. and South Korea led the push in recent weeks for the U.N. to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea following more than 15 missile launches from the regime this year. If the effort had passed, the U.N. would have toughened sanctions on North Korea for the first time since 2017.

Following President Biden’s visit to East Asia over the weekend, North Korea fired at least three ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday morning local time.

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. have mounted amid the war in Ukraine, while U.S.-China relations have been strained over Taiwan’s status and China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups in the country, among other reasons.

Russia and China proposed a counter-resolution that would have eased sanctions on North Korea over humanitarian concerns, given that the country has teetered on the brink of a famine and is reportedly in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.

But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield slammed both nations for the proposal earlier this month, saying “this council should not stand for it.”

On Thursday, Thomas-Greenfield said Kim has launched six intercontinental ballistic missiles while Russia and China’s veto “protects” North Korea despite the nation violating UN security council policy.

“So China can explain, along with Russia, their actions to the general assembly,” the U.S. ambassador said in brief remarks.

The number of missile tests this year have also alarmed North Korea’s neighbors, Japan and South Korea. Biden met with South Korea’s newly elected president and with Japan’s prime minister during his visit to East Asia.

South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Oh Joon said the resolution imposing tougher sanctions was “long overdue.”

“This could send the wrong signal to both the DPRK and other [nuclear-proliferating nations] that they can do whatever they want with impunity,” Oh said. “Unchecked provocations will only embolden the DPRK’s continued escalatory behavior.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Energy & Environment — SCOTUS rebuffs bid to halt climate accounting metric

The Supreme Court refused to take up a request from Republican attorneys general to block the Biden administration’s use of the “social costs” of greenhouse gases. Also, the Interior Department is proposing new offshore wind leasing off California’s coast.  

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 

SCOTUS won’t block climate accounting measure

The Supreme Court is rebuffing an attempt from red states to block the Biden administration from using a key climate accounting metric in its decision making.  

In a new order on Thursday, the high court denied the states’ request to review a ruling that enabled the Biden administration to use the climate impacts measurement. 

The order did not provide insight into the court’s reasoning. 

So what is this all about? The metric in question, known as the “social costs” of greenhouse gases, is a set of values that help the government calculate the climate costs or benefits of its actions.  

The Obama, Trump and Biden administrations have all used social cost values for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, but the Trump administration put a much lower cost on their release. 

A higher cost of these gases may be used to justify taking more stringent climate actions, while a lower cost could justify actions that are less stringent. 

But, the Biden administration has met GOP pushback: Republican attorneys general say that their states are harmed when high values are used to evaluate potential oil and gas leasing on their lands.  

Since the states receive revenue from those leases, they may end up shortchanged if less land is leased because of the climate costs, the attorneys general argued.   

At their request, a federal court in Louisiana temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s use of the metric in February, but in March, that ruling was halted, reinstating the use of the social costs.   

Late last month, 10 Republican attorneys general asked the Supreme Court to once again block the administration’s use of the social costs. 

Read more about the case here.  

Interior proposes California offshore wind lease sale

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an offshore wind lease sale off the coast of California, the latest in a series of sales as the administration seeks to build out renewable energy infrastructure.  

The lease sales, which are the first off the U.S. west coast, would take place in five proposed lease areas. 

Two of the areas are off the coast of northern California in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area, while the remaining three are off of central California in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.  

The proposed leases total about 373,268 acres and could unleash more than 4.5 gigawatts of offshore energy capacity, according to the Interior Department. That’s the equivalent of about 495 million LED lights. 

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already held 10 lease sales and issued 25 offshore wind leases in an area of the Atlantic stretching from North Carolina to New England. The proposed lease sale notice for the West Coast will last for 60 days beginning May 31. 

Read more about the proposal here.

TWO DEMOCRATS BACK SOLAR PROBE 

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) signaled their support Thursday for a federal investigation into solar panel components condemned by many of their colleagues in both parties.  

The Commerce Department investigation, announced in March, concerns allegations that panel parts manufactured in southeast Asian countries have been used as fronts for Chinese companies to avert antidumping and countervailing tariffs. 

The Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA) has said the investigation could devastate the U.S. solar industry, and allies in the Senate, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), have called on Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and President Biden to expedite the conclusion of the probe.   

Brown and Casey pushed back against the SEIA characterization of the investigation in a letter Thursday, writing that “it is troubling that corporate lobbying against a simple investigation would reach this level of mass hysteria if there was not some concern over what career civil servants at [the Department of Commerce] may uncover.”  

Read more about their letter here. 

SEC hopes to crack down on greenwashing 

New federal rules released Wednesday could help ensure that investment funds labeled as environment, social and governance (ESG) actually deserve the name.  

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a new regulation to combat the practice of “greenwashing,” the misleading marketing of unsustainable investments under the ESG label. 

If adopted, the measure would require funds marketing themselves as ESG-focused to disclose additional information to investors.  

A related rule also introduced Wednesday would require any fund that labeled itself as ESG-focused to put at least 80 percent of its money into such investments. 

“ESG encompasses a wide variety of investments and strategies. I think investors should be able to drill down to see what’s under the hood of these strategies,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in the statement. 

Read more about the proposals here, from Rachel and The Hill’s Saul Elbein. 

NOM NEWS 

The Senate late Wednesday confirmed Christopher Frey to lead the EPA’s Office of Research and Development.  

The senators voted 51-43 in favor of his confirmation. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) voted with Democrats in Frey’s favor.  

Frey is currently serving as the deputy leader of the office, and previously worked as a processor at North Carolina State University. He has also served on a number of EPA advisory organizations, including the Particulate Matter Review Panel when it was disbanded under the Trump administration

QUOTE OF NOTE  

Lawmakers met for the fifth time on climate and energy, but the outcome of their meetings is still uncertain.  

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) expressed openness to cutting a deal with some policies he opposes in order to undercut the possibility of a Democrat-only deal through reconciliation.  

Cramer called the possibility of a Democrat-only deal a “factor in our calculations,” but also noted that Election Day is coming up. 

He expressed opposition to tax credits for electric vehicles, but whether he’d consider a deal including them “depends on what I’d get for it.” 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Block-by-block data shows pollution’s stark toll on people of color (The Washington Post) 
• Lake Mead water level running well below predictions, could drop another 12 feet by fall (CNN) 
• Solar giant Qcells to build new $171 million plant in Georgia (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 
• Natural-Gas Prices Surge as Summer Cooling Season Switches On (The Wall Street Journal) 
• MT Supreme Court rules in favor of wind energy company (The Billings Gazette) 

And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: That’s what big brothers are for. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.  

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Cheney officially launches reelection bid: 'This is a fight we must win'

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) formally launched her reelection bid on Thursday, seeking the Republican nomination for her seat for the fourth time amid rebukes from her own party.

“Some things have to matter,” Cheney said in her announcement video. “American freedom, the rule of law, our founding principles, the foundations of our republic matter. What we do in this election in Wyoming matters.”

“I’m asking for your vote because this is a fight we must win,” she said.

Cheney has drawn the ire of former President Trump and his allies for voting for Trump’s second impeachment and serving as the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The committee is seen as illegitimate by a number of her Republican colleagues in the lower chamber.

First elected to the House in 2016, Cheney has faced primary challengers in each of her reelections but has won each previous time with large margins. In this year’s Aug. 16 primary, she will face a challenger, attorney Harriet Hageman, backed by Trump and his allies, who have viewed removing Cheney as a top priority.

Trump is slated to stump for Hageman at a Saturday rally, which will also include video addresses by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who became chair of the House Republican Conference after Cheney was ousted from the role last year. Saturday’s rally will also feature speeches from Hageman, Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Frank Eathorne and two more of Cheney’s House Republican colleagues, Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.).

Cheney made no direct mention of Hageman or her backers in the video posted Thursday, but she called for voters to “reject the lies” and “toxic politics.”

“When I know something is wrong, I will say so,” Cheney said in the announcement. 

“I won’t waver or back down. I won’t surrender to pressure or intimidation. I know where to draw the line and I know that some things aren’t for sale,” she continued.

Cheney has deep ties in Wyoming — her father served as Wyoming’s sole congressman for ten years before becoming the secretary of Defense and later vice president. Cheney highlighted those ties in her announcement video, which included images of her dad and mentions of her family history in Wyoming that she said dated back to 1852.

“In Wyoming, we know what it means to ride for the brand,” she said. “We live in the greatest nation God has ever created, and our brand is the United States Constitution.”

The Wyoming Republican Party has repeatedly admonished Cheney in recent months.

The state party censured her last February after Cheney voted to impeach Trump over Jan. 6. and later voted in November to no longer recognize her as a member of the GOP.

On a national level, House Republicans last May decided to oust Cheney from her role as conference chair in a closed-door meeting by voice vote. 

Among the intense criticism from her own party, Cheney has continued to criticize her fellow GOP lawmakers. Earlier this month, she accused House Republican leadership of enabling “white nationalism, white supremacy and anti-semitism” after a mass shooting in Buffalo that killed 10 people in a racist attack.

Cheney has boasted strong fundraising throughout her campaign, hauling in $2.94 million in the first quarter of 2022. But her influence will come to the test as she faces primary voters in a state Trump won by more than 40 points in 2020.

Source: TEST FEED1