Uvalde School Shooting Raises Questions, Calls for Gun Control

The devastating shooting last week that claimed the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has led to renewed calls by gun control proponents to control firearm sales and availability. Gun rights supporters have criticized those calls, saying that such measures would not have a major effect on public safety and would erode constitutional rights.

Questions remain over the police response to the shooting. Uvalde police delayed entering the school to engage the shooter, with much of the scrutiny on the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidate School District, Peter Arredondo. Arredondo is believed to have issued the order for officers not to engage with the shooter inside the school, allegedly believing that he had barricaded himself and was no longer a threat to students. Arredondo has also reportedly stopped cooperating with a state investigation into his response.

Monday saw the first of the many funerals for the victims of the shooting. Services are expected to continue into mid-June.

 

 

 

Clinton Campaign Lawyer Acquitted of Lying to the FBI

Lawyer for the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign Michael Sussmann was acquitted by a jury in federal court Tuesday, ending a two-week trial in which he was accused of lying to the FBI.

The indictment of Sussmann was part of John Durham’s investigation into the origin of the narrative of the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. The indictment accused Sussmann of lying to the FBI in 2016 when he told FBI General Counsel James Baker that he was not representing a client when discussing his allegation that the Trump campaign was working with Russia. Sussmann was working for the Clinton campaign at the time.

 

Markets Close Out Month of Losses with Modest Gains in Final Week

 Today marked the end of a wild month for stocks, and while major indices closed roughly flat from May 1 to My 31, this month saw wild fluctuations in stock prices and investors attempted to price in growing uncertainty as interest rates rise and threats of a recession loom.

The S&P 500 had sustained 7 consecutive weeks of losses prior to last week, the largest such streak since 2001. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) suffered an eight-week losing streak, the longest since 1923. These losses came as the Federal Reserve has tightened monetary policy in an attempt to rein in inflation. Central banks, like the Fed, pursue tighter monetary policy by raising interest rates, which reduce available credit, reducing money supply and reducing the size of the overall economy. In theory, this reduces the rate of price increases and should bring inflation to a stable, low level.

However, with the markets used to the easy money policies since the 2008 financial crash, a tight monetary policy brings uncertainty. Strained supply chains, sticky labor costs, and concerns of the availability of fuel and food have investors concerned about a possible recession and economic turmoil.

While the Russian invasion of Ukraine aggravated much of this turmoil, especially related to food supply given both country’s critical role in supplying food to the world, supply chains have come under enormous strain following the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions, which had reduced supply but also reduced demand. The removal of restrictions helped boost demand, especially given the amount of stimulus provided by governments throughout the pandemic, but supply has not caught up with the demand, creating an inability to fulfill consumer desires.