10 things you need to know today: August 5, 2019

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1. Victims of 2 weekend mass shootings include gunman's sister, new parents
2. Calls for new gun laws increase after 2 weekend mass shootings
3. Mexico considering legal action over El Paso shooting
4. Website security company Cloudflare drops 8chan following El Paso shooting
5. Hong Kong's leader says city is nearing a 'dangerous situation'
6. China lets currency weaken below key level amid growing trade war with U.S.
7. Mitch McConnell fractures shoulder after fall
8. Indian government revokes Kashmir special status
9. The Rookie's Afton Williamson quits show over alleged sexual misconduct and racial discrimination
10. Hobbs & Shaw dethrones The Lion King at top of box office

published 5 August 2019

1. Victims of 2 weekend mass shootings include gunman's sister, new parents

Police in Dayton, Ohio, identified the nine people killed early Sunday outside a popular bar, Ned Peppers, and profiles are emerging on the 20 confirmed casualties from Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Police shot and killed the Dayton gunman, identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, and one of his first victims was his 22-year-old sister, Megan Betts. Also killed in Dayton were Lois Oglesby, 27; Nicholas Cumer, 25; Thomas "Teejay" McNichols, 25; Beatrice Warren-Curtis, 36; Saeed Saleh, 38; Derrick Fudge, 57; Logan Turner, 30; and Monica Brickhouse, 39. Six of the victims were black. In El Paso, five of those killed were Mexican nationals, and racial animus may have been involved. There were also several new parents among the dead, including Oglesby, who had just given birth to her second child, and Jordan Anchondo, a 24-year-old mother of three who appears to have died shielding her infant son in the El Paso shooting; her husband, Andre Anchondo, was also killed.

Calls for more stringent gun laws increased after at least 29 people were killed and 53 injured in two mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) immediately hold an emergency session on gun control, following similar calls by 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The House — which passed new gun laws in February — and Senate aren't scheduled to be back in session until after Labor Day. In an editorial Monday, Rupert Murdoch's conservative New York Post urged President Trump to ignore the NRA and work with Congress to "ban assault weapons now." Trump tweeted Monday that "Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform."

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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Sunday said his country's attorney general is considering litigation alleging Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, which left seven Mexican citizens dead, was an act of terrorism. "For Mexico, this individual is a terrorist," Ebrard said. El Paso is a border town, and Mexicans often cross over from Ciudad Juárez to do their shopping in the city. Authorities said the suspect posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online prior to the massacre, and Jesús Seade, Mexico's deputy foreign minister for North America, called the shooting "xenophobic barbarism." Ebrard did not reveal in which jurisdiction Mexico could file the litigation, but did say he plans on asking the United States for more information about how the suspect was able to get the weapon used in the shooting and whether officials were aware he bought it. John F. Bash, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said the attack was being treated as "domestic terrorism."

Website security company Cloudflare on Sunday night said it will cut ties with 8chan, the online message board frequented by violent white nationalists. Authorities say a racist manifesto was left on 8chan just minutes before Saturday's deadly mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, by a person saying he was the gunman. Messages were also left on 8chan prior to the recent shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Poway, California. "We've seen a pattern where this lawless community has demonstrated its ability to create real harm and real damage," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince told The New York Times. "If we see a bad thing in the world and we can help get in front of it, we have some obligation to do that." The creator of 8chan, Frederick Brennan, gave up control of the site in 2015, but told the Times he believes it should be shut down. "It's not doing the world any good," he said.

Protesters filled the streets of Hong Kong Monday, joined by civil servants, teachers, pilots, construction workers, and others participating in a general strike across seven districts. Demonstrators blocked roads and trains, and at least 200 flights in and out of Hong Kong had to be canceled. The protests were first sparked nine weeks ago by a proposed bill that would have allowed extradition of people arrested in Hong Kong to China. That bill has been suspended, but demonstrators are calling on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to completely withdraw the measure, launch a third-party investigation into police abuse of power, and drop all charges for the protesters who have been arrested. Lam on Monday said due to the protests, Hong Kong is "on the verge of a very dangerous situation," and called for an end to "such extensive disruptions."

China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, allowed the yuan to breach the psychologically important rate of 7 to the U.S. dollar on Monday, pushing the Chinese currency to its weakest level in a decade. The People's Bank of China, which tightly controls the value of the yuan (or renminbi), cited "unilateralism and trade protectionism measures and the imposition of increased tariffs on China," but said currencies fluctuate and the renminbi is stable. President Trump rattled markets by announcing new tariffs on Friday, escalating an already hot trade war, and if China allows the yuan to depreciate further, that could prompt more punitive measures from Washington.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tripped while outside his home in Kentucky on Sunday morning, leaving him with a fractured shoulder, a spokesman confirmed. The incident occurred on McConnell's patio, David Popp said, and he quickly received medical treatment. He has since been released from the hospital. The Senate and House are on August recess, and Popp said McConnell will "continue to work from home."

Indian Home Secretary Amit Shah said Monday that the federal government had revoked decades-old special laws for the disputed Kashmir region, causing an uproar in Parliament. Hours earlier, Delhi cut off internet and phone services in Kashmir, put some regional politicians under house arrest, banned public gatherings, and closed schools in a security crackdown aimed at stemming violent unrest over the news. Shah said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government had revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which allows Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir limited autonomy and blocks Indians outside the Himalayan state from buying land or holding local government jobs in Kashmir. Monday's presidential order says it will "come into force at once" and will "supersede the Constitution."

Actress Afton Williamson announced on Sunday she is not returning to The Rookie next season, saying she was sexually harassed, assaulted, and bullied on the set. Williamson played LAPD officer Talia Bishop opposite star and executive producer Nathan Fillion. In an Instagram post, Williamson said the incidents took place while shooting episodes throughout the show's first season. Williamson alleged she was bullied by the executive producers and experienced "racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department." She also accused a "recurring guest star" of sexually harassing her and said the "racist commentary and bullying from the hair department head escalated into sexual assault at our wrap party." In a statement, production studio eOne said it takes "claims of this nature very seriously," and has launched an "independent investigation."

The Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham action flick Hobbs & Shaw was No. 1 at the box office this weekend, bringing in an estimated $60.8 million in North America. The Fast & Furious spin-off also had a strong opening abroad, with about $120 million in ticket sales. In its third weekend in theaters, the live action film The Lion King fell to the No. 2 spot, with an estimated $38.2 million; the movie has made almost $1.2 billion globally. Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood came in third place, earning an estimated $20 million, followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home with an estimated $7.8 million and Toy Story 4 with an estimated $7.2 million.

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