Wednesday, May 26 top stories
Hello, it is Wednesday, May 26. Here are today’s top news stories.
At least eight people were killed in a mass shooting this morning in San Jose, California at a light rail yard.
A police spokesman said the shooter was a male employee at the rail yard and that he is dead, but it is not known if he killed himself or if he was shot by police.
The gunman is said to set his home on fire before going to the rail yard and opening fire around 6:30 a.m.
A witness at the scene told “The Mercury News” that deputies entered a building while shots were still being fired. About 100 workers were evacuated. One worker said “a whole crew, a whole shift” is gone.
It seems like the shooting happened during a union meeting. The rail yard is used for maintenance of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) trains.
VTA and city officials said it is a terrible tragedy and a horrible day.
News reports say Manhattan’s district attorney has convened a grand jury to examine evidence of possible crimes committed by Donald Trump, or by his company, or by someone close to him. The grand jury will sit three days a week for six months before they vote to either indict or dismiss charges.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in the past that it was investigating tax and insurance fraud and falsification of business records.
Just to make it clear — this is not a trial jury, who listens to evidence presented by two sides before voting to convict or acquit. A grand jury can only decide to indict or not to indict. Another key difference is that a grand jury has 23 members that are randomly selected.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said “this is the continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history.”
Amazon announced it will acquire MGM Studios in a deal worth $8.45 billion. It will allow Amazon to offer more entertainment options for its streaming services.
Axios said this is Amazon’s second-largest acquisition ever, second to the Whole Foods acquisition worth $13.7 billion.
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com ]
The first male to get a Covid-19 vaccination when it started rolling out in England in December, William Shakespeare, has passed away at the age of 81. British officials said he died of a stroke and that it was unrelated to the virus or the vaccine.
The first person to get the vaccine is a 91-year-old woman named Margaret Keenan. Shakespeare came after her.
He leaves behind a wife, Joy, who said in a statement that he loved seeing the media coverage about his unique name and the positive difference he made in encouraging people to get their vaccine.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of people gathered outside of the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland, Oregon on the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
ABC News said a dumpster was set on fire and pushed up against the building as crowds chanted, “burn the building down.” Portland Police declared a riot and arrested five people. Several businesses had windows broken.
A court in the Netherlands ruled that Shell, the oil and gas company, must reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels. CNN explained that it includes emissions from Shell’s own operations and from the energy products it sells.
Shell, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, already had a goal to cut its emissions by 45% by 2035.
However, an environmentalist group brought a case against Shell, saying its investments into oil and gas extraction show that it doesn’t take climate change seriously.
News analysts say this is a landmark case because it is the first time a company was ordered by a court to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Shell said it would appeal.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/26/san-jose-shooting/
Amazon: https://www.axios.com/amazon-mgm-studios-acquisition-031a2e56-fd32-4f59-82f5-c45872769347.html
William Shakespeare: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/05/26/covid-vaccine-variants-travel-cdc-restrictions/7438857002/
Shell: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/26/business/shell-court-case-climate-change/index.html