Wednesday marks one year since the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. And multiple updates from Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 bid for president in a Twitter Space with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a Miami-Dade County school has banned elementary students from reading “The Hill We Climb” poem Amanda Gorman delivered at the 2021 presidential inauguration.
🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. The surgeon general has voiced concerned about social media’s impact on young people. Here are some tips for safer scrolling.
Now, here we go withWednesday’s news.
One year later, Uvalde victims’ families are still fighting for change
Schools in Uvalde, Texas, will be closed Wednesday to commemorate one year since the heartbreaking massacre at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
The massacre left a lasting impact on the small town and devastated the families of the 21 victims, who are still grieving and fighting for accountability and gun reform.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will kick off 2024 presidential bid
SpaceX founder and Twitter owner Elon Musk will help launch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign into orbit Wednesday with an event hosted on the social media site. Musk boasts a massive Twitter audience and is one of the richest people in the world. While he has said he will not be formally endorsing DeSantis during the event, his financial backing could be pivotal for DeSantis if he chooses to do so. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign mocked DeSantis’ planned Twitter announcement, calling it “one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history.” Read more
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South Carolina Senate passes 6-week abortion ban
A new abortion access battle is poised to begin all over again as a bill which bans abortions after six weeks of conception with exceptions for rape and incest is headed to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk to become law. S.474 was passed Tuesday by the state’s male dominated, Republican-controlled Senate. Five female senators — three Republicans, a Democrat and an Independent — continued efforts to filibuster the ban. Now abortion advocates have promised litigation as soon as the law takes effect. Read more
Florida school bans elementary students from reading Amanda Gorman’s ‘The Hill We Climb’ poem
Officials at a school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on Tuesday banned elementary students from reading “The Hill We Climb,” the poem Amanda Gorman famously recited at President Joe Biden’s 2021 presidential inauguration. The poem, which has been published as a short book, will now be accessible only to middle school students at the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes. The former and first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate wrote on Instagram that she was “gutted” and said her publisher – Penguin Random House – is joining PEN America and others in a lawsuit to challenge book restrictions. Read more
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Brazilians protest outside Spanish consulate after Vinicius Júnior’s racism row
About 100 Brazilian protesters gathered outside the Spanish consulate in São Paulo on Tuesday to condemn the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior in Spain’s top-flight soccer league. The demonstrations come as three people have been detained in Spain in connection with racist taunts aimed at the Brazilian soccer star. The incident occurred Sunday at Valencia, when Vinícius, playing for Real Madrid, was met with racist jeers before getting off the team bus and was the subject of racially tinged chants during the match. Read more
Quick hits
Photo of the day: Niall Horan claims ‘The Voice’ victory with Gina Miles win
The final showdown for the Season 23 title was between Team Blake singer Grace West and Team Niall singer Gina Miles Tuesday night. West performed a soaring cover of Shelton’s “Lonely Tonight” on the finale stage, and she was joined by her loyal coach for the performance. Miles and Horan slowed things down with a soulful rendition of “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel. It turns out Horan made the right choice in the end, as Miles was declared the winner of Season 23, giving the freshman coach his first victory on the show. Read more
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at [email protected] or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
