Buffalo massacre suspect arraigned on murder and hate crime charges
Payton Gendron, 18, the man accused of carrying out a racist massacre that killed 10 Black residents at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, was arraigned in an Erie County courtroom Thursday on more than two dozen charges, including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Thirteen people were shot May 14 at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo’s East Side; three survived. Gendron pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also include three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and a single count of criminal possession of a weapon. He remains held without bail and is due back in court July 7.
Youngest children could get COVID shots in late June, White House says
A top federal health official, anticipating that regulators will soon authorize coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5, said Thursday that the first doses could be administered as early as June 21, and that states, pharmacies and community health centers can begin ordering them from the Biden administration Friday. Dr. Ashish Jha, President Joe Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, cautioned that the preparations are contingent on Food and Drug Administration authorization of doses for children 6 months through 4 years old, and a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No doses will be shipped until the FDA and the CDC sign off.
House panel examining Jared Kushner over Saudi investment in new firm
A House committee said Thursday that it was investigating whether Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser, traded on his government position to land a $2 billion investment in his new private equity firm from a prominent Saudi Arabian wealth fund. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, gave Kushner a two-week deadline in a letter sent Thursday to furnish documents related to the Saudi fund’s investment last year in his firm, Affinity Partners. She also asked for any personal correspondence between Kushner and the Saudi kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Avenatti gets 4-year sentence for defrauding Stormy Daniels of $300K
In 2018, attorney Michael Avenatti took on a new client, pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, who said she had been paid $130,000 before the 2016 election to keep quiet about a sexual encounter that she said took place with Donald Trump about a decade earlier. In February, Avenatti was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of a scheme to steal almost $300,000 from Daniels. On Thursday, Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Avenatti to four years in prison, saying he had “breached the highest duty a lawyer owes” to a client.
Police: Tulsa gunman targeted surgeon he blamed for pain
Police say a man who blamed his surgeon for ongoing pain after a recent back surgery bought an AR-style rifle hours before opening fire at a Tulsa medical office, killing the surgeon and three other people before fatally shooting himself. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin identified the shooter as 45-year-old Michael Louis. He says the gunman had recently undergone back surgery and had called a clinic repeatedly complaining of pain. Franklin says the doctor who performed the surgery, Dr. Preston Phillips, was killed Wednesday, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and visitor William Love.
Queen Elizabeth celebrates 70 years on the throne
With columns of Scots and Irish guards, throngs of Union Jack-clad admirers and waves of aircraft roaring overhead, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years on the throne Thursday, earning tributes for one of history’s great acts of constancy. Shortly before 1 p.m., she stepped out onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet a sea of well-wishers. It was only the first of four days of festivities. But it was perhaps the grandest, featuring a military parade with 1,200 officers and soldiers, hundreds of Army musicians, 240 horses, a 41-gun salute and a 70-aircraft flyover.
As war rages into its 100th day, Russia now controls a fifth of Ukraine
As the war in Ukraine approaches its 100th day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian forces now control one-fifth of the country, a blunt acknowledgment of the slow but substantial gains that Moscow has made in recent weeks. Zelenskyy said Russia had expanded its control of Ukrainian territory from an area roughly the size of the Netherlands before the invasion began Feb. 24 to an area now greater than the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg combined. Seizing that swath of land could give Russian President Vladimir Putin huge leverage in any future talks to end the war.
By wire sources
