Gun violence erupted in multiple cities across the nation last weekend, but it was a mass shooting believed to be racially motivated in Buffalo, New York, that led many news reports this week.
18-year-old Payton Gendron is accused of killing 10 people Saturday at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. Wearing a helmet camera, the gunman livestreamed the shooting on Twitch.
President Joe Biden mourned with Buffalo’s grieving families on Tuesday and asked the nation to reject what he angrily labeled as the poison of white supremacy.
On Thursday, Gendron appeared briefly in court after a grand jury indicted him on a first-degree murder charge.
Even as prices continued to rise with inflation at a 40-year high, the Commerce Department said retail sales managed to rise 0.9% in April. However, by the middle of the week stocks continued to tumble and recession fears grew.
Additionally, supply chain and production issues continued to wreak havoc for new parents desperate to find baby formula. President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and has authorized flights to import supply from overseas.
This came after regulators and Abbott Nutrition reached an agreement to reopen a plant in Michigan that had been closed since February due to contamination issues. There is hope production will resume in the next week.
Multiple primaries were held Tuesday, with Pennsylvania, a key presidential battleground state, making headlines.
The Pennsylvania primary for the open U.S. Senate seat was likely heading to a recount on the Republican side with heart surgeon-turned-TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick in a tight race.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman won the Democratic nomination as he recovered from a stroke he suffered just days earlier.
In Pennsylvania’s GOP race for governor, far-right candidate Doug Mastriano, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump, will face Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state's attorney general, in the November general election.
In North Carolina, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the youngest member of Congress, was ousted by state Sen. Chuck Edwards.
U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley have won their respective Senate primaries. Budd led the 14-candidate Republican field while Beasley was the front-runner out of 11 for the Democratic nomination. They will face each other to replace the retiring Sen. Richard Burr.
Former Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek has won the Democratic gubernatorial primary governor, beating state Treasurer Tobias Read in a victory for the party’s progressive wing.
In other political news, printing errors marred the primaries and we have an update on the Jan. 6 committee.