10 things you need to know today: September 1, 2019

(Image credit: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images)

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1. More than 20 shot, 5 killed in West Texas shooting
2. Hurricane Dorian strengthens to a Category 5 storm as it heads toward Bahamas
3. China, U.S. hit each other with retaliatory tariffs
4. Protesters take to the streets throughout U.K. after Johnson suspends Parliament
5. Taliban launches second consecutive attack in northern Afghanistan as peace settlement grows closer
6. Hong Kong protesters block roads to airport
7. Ginsburg says she'll be ready for Supreme Court term following cancer treatment
8. Netanyahu revives call to annex West Bank settlements
9. Saudi-UAE coalition reportedly kills at least 60 in Yemen detention center
10. Osaka defeats Gauff to advance at U.S. Open

published 1 September 2019

1. More than 20 shot, 5 killed in West Texas shooting

Police said at least five people were killed in a shooting Saturday afternoon between Midland and Odessa, Texas. There were reportedly at least 21 gunshot victims overall, including three injured police officers. The alleged gunman was reportedly killed by law enforcement after being chased to a parking lot at an entertainment complex. The shooting reportedly began after the alleged shooter was pulled over for failing to signal a left turn. The gunman reportedly then hijacked a mail carrier truck and fired at random as he drove around the area. It was the second mass shooting in Texas this month, following an earlier incident in El Paso on Aug. 3.

Hurricane Dorian strengthened to a Category 5 storm Sunday with winds of 160 mph that could reach as high as 190 mph before it is expected to hit the Bahamas. Residents of the Bahamas have boarded up their homes and moved from low-lying areas to bigger islands. The most recent path projection showed the hurricane shifting slightly west placing more of Florida in the cone of uncertainty. The storm is expected to slow down after Sunday before veering northwest and then eventually northeast sparking preparations in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Florida's east coast will remain within striking distance as the storm travels, though Dorian is expected to downgrade slightly to a Category 4 storm by then.

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Trade teams from the U.S. and China will reportedly meet in September in the hopes of inching closer toward a deal between Beijing and Washington, but tariff increases on $112 billion in certain Chinese goods still went into effect Sunday at midnight, as planned. The tariffs will make it 15 percent more expensive for U.S. companies to import many Chinese goods, though some tariffs have been delayed until after the holiday shopping rush. The newest round of tariffs are consumer-focused and will reportedly cost the average American household $1,000 per year. Chinese retaliatory tariffs ranging from five percent to 10 percent also went into effect Sunday; Beijing plans to start collecting additional tariffs on Dec. 15.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators thronged the streets throughout the United Kingdom Saturday, including right outside the gates of Downing Street to protest Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament. People in the crowds reportedly carried banners promising to "defend democracy," waved European Union flags, and chanted "stop the coup." Critics have accused Johnson of suspending parliament as a method to prevent MPs from trying to find a way to block a no-deal Brexit before the Oct. 31 deadline. Johnson has maintained he wants to reach an agreement with the EU, as well, but is prepared to leave the union without one. The decision to shut down Parliament until mid-October has drawn a barrage of criticism from ministers and civilians, alike.

Taliban fighters launched their second attack in as many days in northern Afghanistan on Sunday. The Taliban targeted Pul-i-Kumri, the capital of the Baghlan Province, about 145 miles north of Kabul. There were no immediate reports of casualty figures, but a spokesman for the Taliban said fighters entered the city, overran four government checkpoints, and killed several soldiers and police officers. Heavy fighting reportedly continues. Sunday's attack follows a similar one Saturday in Kunduz, one of the country's largest cities, which set off a day of gun battles before the Taliban was mostly driven out of the city by Afghan military reinforcements. The attacks come as the United States and the Taliban reportedly grow closer to a peace settlement aimed at ending more than 18 years of conflict in the country.

Hong Kong's anti-government, pro-democracy protesters once again targeted the city's airport Sunday. This time, instead of primarily occupying the transportation hub, they reportedly called for overwhelming metro stations in the hopes of hindering train and bus services to the airport which could subsequently lead to flight cancellations. Transport links to and from the airport were reportedly cut off for hours. Sunday's protests follow a violent end to Saturday's demonstrations, which resulted in at least 51 arrests — graphic footage showed police hitting some individuals with their batons in a train station. The officers said they were responding to citizen reports of disruption and vandalization. Sunday caps the 13th consecutive weekend of protests in Hong Kong.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Saturday she is on her way to being "very well" following radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer that wrapped up over a week ago. The 86-year-old Ginsburg, speaking at the Library of Congress National Book Festival, also said she would be prepared for the start of the Supreme Court's term in October. Ginsburg has had multiple bouts with cancer over the last two decades, including surgery for lung cancer last year. But doctors have said that following her most recent radiation therapy, there is no sign of the disease anywhere else in Ginsburg's body.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he intends to annex all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, doubling down on an election promise he made five months ago, though he did not provide a timeframe. "With God's help we will extend Jewish sovereignty to all the settlements as part of the [biblical] land of Israel, as part of the state of Israel," Netanyahu said in a speech in a West Bank settlement. Settlements are one of the most contested issues in the Israeli-Palestine conflict; a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Netanyahu's announcement "will not lead to any peace, security, or stability."

A Saudi-UAE-led military coalition battling the Houthi rebel movement reportedly struck a detention center in an air raid over Yemen Sunday, killing at least 60 people. A spokesman for the Houthis' ministry of health said that at least 50 more people were wounded in the bombing, which took place north of the city of Dhamar in western Yemen. The coalition said in a statement carried on Saudi state television that the air raids were launched on Houthi military targets and destroyed a site storing drones and missiles. Another Houthi spokesman said those held in the bombed detention facility were awaiting their release as part of a prisoner swap with Yemen's internationally-recognized government, adding that the fate of many of the prisoners remains unknown.

Naomi Osaka, the No. 1-ranked player in women's tennis, still has a chance to defend her 2018 U.S. Open title after defeating Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-0, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York Saturday evening. Osaka will move on to face 13th-seeded Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals Monday. The matchup between the 21-year-old Osaka and 15-year-old Gauff was notable because it featured two phenoms who figure to take up much of the spotlight in tennis over the next several years. Gauff became the youngest woman since 1996 to win two matches at the U.S. Open, but the two-time major winner Osaka proved to be too tough. Both players received praise afterward for their sportsmanship, as Osaka consoled a tearful Gauff on the court following the match.

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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.