5 things to know for November 15: School shooting, impeachment, Gaza, Chile, plague
Those deadly bushfires are still raging in Australia, and now the country’s biggest city, Sydney, may be facing a water shortage.
Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
1. California school shooting
A student walked into his Southern California high school yesterday, pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot five classmates, killing two, police say. It was the suspect’s 16th birthday. The terror unfolded at Santa Clarita’s Saugus High School in a matter of seconds, and when it was all over, the shooter turned the gun on himself. He remains in critical condition. A 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy died at a hospital. Authorities said they are looking into the suspected shooter’s Instagram account, which was taken down after the shooting. It appears he may have posted a warning before the attack, but police want to determine who else had access to the account.
2. Impeachment investigation
The next round of testimony in the impeachment investigation starts this morning. Up today: former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and the counselor for political affairs at the US embassy in Ukraine, David Holmes. Yovanovitch is a career diplomat who was abruptly pulled from Kiev last spring after a personal order from President Trump. House Democrats are hoping she can provide an insider account of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s shadow foreign policy. Holmes was the one who overheard President Trump ask the US ambassador to the EU about the status of “investigations” during a cell phone conversation in a Kiev restaurant. Meanwhile, it looks like Trump will make good on his promise to release a transcript of his first phone call with the Ukrainian President. The decision comes after weeks of internal White House debate about the wisdom of releasing details of the call.
3. Gaza ceasefire
A ceasefire appears to have been reached between Israel and Gaza militants after 50 hours of cross-border fighting that started with Israel’s targeted killing Tuesday of senior Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata. More than 450 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel during the flare of violence, and Israel retaliated with a series of airstrikes. One of those strikes killed eight members of a family in central Gaza, a tragic example of the human toll the ongoing conflicts in the area have wrought. The ceasefire may prove to be a political boon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The death of an Islamic Jihad leader, plus Netanyahu’s calls for political unity in the aftermath, may help him win back support after failing to form a government following September’s general elections.
4. Chile
Chile’s Congress has reached an agreement to reform the country’s constitution in response to weeks of violent political protests. Chilean Senate President Jaime Quintana said the new constitution will be “a true social contract” and “100% democratic.” The protests began over a now-suspended price hike for subway tickets in Santiago but expanded to include various economic and social complaints. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has already promised several reforms to tackle these issues, including pension raises, affordable medical insurance, lower medicine prices and more stable electricity prices. Protesters, however, may see the concessions as being too little, too late. Many have demanded Pinera’s resignation.
5. Plague
This is the comeback absolutely no one in the world wants to see. Two people in China are being treated for the plague, as in the Black Death plague that wiped out 50 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Believe it or not, the plague regularly makes isolated appearances around the world. According to the World Health Organization, more than 3,200 cases and 584 deaths were reported worldwide from 2010 to 2015. About seven Americans a year catch some form of the plague. While here’s no commercial plague vaccine, the disease can be treated with antibiotics (though some forms are far deadlier than others). Here’s the real scary part: With close to 50,000 human cases during the past 20 years, the plague is now categorized by WHO as a re-emerging disease.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
A Texas homeowner’s association asked someone to take down their Christmas decorations because it’s too early
Tell that to the stores that start stocking Christmas stuff in August.
How People magazine selects its ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
Sadly, the process doesn’t include a dinner date.
There’s now a Twinkies breakfast cereal
Listen, just because you can make something a cereal doesn’t mean you should.
A 9-year-old genius will graduate university soon
Oh, yeah? Well, we had Twinkies for breakfast!
TODAY’S QUOTE
“The climate has changed. I cannot attribute the scientific reasons why.”
Pete Gaynor, FEMA’s deputy administrator and the nominee to lead the agency, when asked during his confirmation hearing whether climate change is real
TODAY’S NUMBER
10,000
The number of dogs a group of researchers is hoping to study to find ways to improve canine life spans
TOTAL RECALL
Quiz time!
Which 2020 presidential candidate suspended his campaign this week?
A. Bernie Sanders
B. Pete Buttigieg
C. Joe Walsh
D. Mark Sanford
Play “Total Recall,” CNN’s weekly news quiz, to see if you’re right!
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY
Just under the surface
Is this video of a whale gliding among a bunch of surfers magical or terrifying? Both? (Click here to view.)
