10 things you need to know today: June 2, 2019

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Victims identified in Virginia Beach shooting
2. China says it's prepared for trade war, but still willing to negotiate
3. Shanahan says U.S. won't 'tiptoe' around China's behavior, Beijing warns U.S. not to meddle
4. FTC will reportedly monitor Amazon closely amid antitrust scrutiny
5. Leader of Merkel's coalition partner to step down, threatening centrist alliance
6. Late design change confused 737 Max decision makers
7. Pompeo says U.S. is ready to engage Iran in discussions 'with no preconditions'
8. 2020 Democrats challenge Biden's call for calm at California gathering
9. Andy Ruiz stuns favorite Anthony Joshua in heavyweight title fight
10. Liverpool captures 6th Champions League title

published 2 June 2019

1. Victims identified in Virginia Beach shooting

The 12 victims of a mass shooting inside a Virginia Beach municipal center on Friday, carried out by a city employee named DeWayne Craddock who was killed in a shootout with police, were identified by police on Saturday. Among the victims were 11 city employees and one contractor, who together had 150 years of experience serving Virginia Beach. "They leave a void that we will never be able to fill," Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen said. The shooter had also been employed for 15 years as an engineer in the city's utility department. Police did not comment on a possible motive. Four others were injured in the attack.

China is ready for a trade war if necessary, a government policy paper released by Beijing on Sunday said. The paper blamed the United States for a breakdown in trade negotiations and accused the Trump administration's "America First" program and use of tariffs of hurting the global economy. In recent days China has threatened to bar the export of rare earth metals to the U.S. and create a blacklist of American companies and individuals, and launched in an investigation into FedEx after Chinese tech giant Huawei said the delivery company misdirected its packages. Despite the escalating tensions, though, the policy paper also suggested China remains willing to return to the negotiating table. "What truly matters is how to enhance mutual trust, promote cooperation, and manage differences," it said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan addressed an audience at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. His speech focused heavily on China, a country with which he says he hopes to foster a military relationship. However, he did not tread lightly regarding some of China's more aggressive actions in the region. "We're not going to ignore Chinese behavior and I think in the past people have kind of tiptoed around that," Shanahan said. U.S. lawmakers reacted with bipartisan positivity toward Shanahan's speech. On Sunday, China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe warned the U.S. not to meddle in security disputes — whether it be over Taiwan or the South China Sea.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported Google could soon be the subject of a Justice Department investigation of possible antitrust practices by its parent company, Alphabet, Inc. The following day, The Washington Post reported that Amazon will also be watched carefully as part of heightened antitrust scrutiny, people familiar with the matter said. While the Justice Department is keeping its eye on Google, the Federal Trade Commission will focus on Amazon as part of a deal between the U.S. government's top two antitrust enforcement agencies. The Post reports such an agreement usually signals more serious antitrust scrutiny on the horizon, which has garnered bipartisan support in Congress due to fears that tech companies have become too powerful.

Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party and a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, announced her resignation on Sunday, citing a lack of support for her leadership. Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats party currently governs in a coalition with the SDP, but a more left-leaning leader replacing Nahles could throw the alliance into jeopardy and potentially end Merkel's chancellorship. Both the SDP and the CDU suffered heavy defeats in last week's European Union parliamentary elections. Germany's Greens have surpassed the CDU as the country's most popular party and the SDP's popularity is at an all-time low.

The design flaw in Boeing's 737 Max planes, which led to two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in recent months, can reportedly be traced to a breakdown late in the plane's development. Test pilots, engineers, and regulators told The New York Times they were not aware of a late-stage "fundamental overhaul" to an automated anti-stall system that is believed to have played a role in both crashes. Those who spoke with the Times said they did not understand the changes and made critical decisions under misguided assumptions. They reportedly worked on the plane under a "compartmentalized approach," leaving them without a complete view of the software.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said that the Trump administration is prepared for unconditional discussions with Iran. The two countries have been mired in escalating tensions ever since 2017 when the U.S. pulled out of an international pact in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear capacity. Those tensions have created fears of a potential conflict. Pompeo said that while the U.S. wants to sit down and solve the issue diplomatically, the White House will not relent in trying to pressure Iran to change its behavior. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani previously said on Saturday that Tehran would be willing to negotiate, as well, if the U.S. shows Iran respect.

Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates took advantage of Joe Biden's absence from a California state party gathering on Saturday evening. Biden was reportedly the only prominent candidate not in attendance. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of 14 candidates at the event, seemingly took a jab at Biden who had previously preached calm in the Democratic Party and said once President Trump is out of office, the GOP may have an "epiphany," leading them to embrace bipartisanship. "Some say if we all just calm down, the Republicans will come to their senses," Warren said. "But this country is in crisis. The time for small ideas is over." South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was less direct than Warren, but also said "the riskiest thing we can do is play it safe."

In a shocking outcome, challenger Andy Ruiz stripped boxing's heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua of his belt on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was the first loss of Joshua's professional career. The American-born Ruiz, who is now the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent, scored a technical knockout in the seventh round to secure the title, which is already considered one of the biggest upsets in the sport in decades — Ruiz was an 11-1 underdog going into the fight. The victory was no fluke, though. Ruiz floored Joshua four times over the course of the evening. Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said a rematch is already being planned for later in the year.

Liverpool defeated Tottenham, 2-0 to claim the UEFA Champions League title on Saturday. It was the club's sixth Champions League crown and first since 2005. The match was bookended by the two Liverpool goals. The club's star, Mohamed Salah put the team up in the second minute when he converted on a penalty, while Divock Origi scored in the 87th to seal the victory. The win caps a highly successful, but sometimes painful year for Liverpool, who were runners-up in last year's Champions League and also finished just one point behind Manchester City in the English Premier League, which wrapped up in May.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.