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The Nasdaq topped 10,000 for the first time ever, proving that during this period of economic uncertainty, America still has faith in tech stocks like Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix.
1. Police reform
A constitutional collision between House Democrats and the Trump administration grew ever more likely Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. That now goes to the full House for a vote. The Democrats in the House want the full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation. Barr has refused to give that to them, and just before the vote President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege over the report.
MONDAY
Kendrick Castillo died a hero. When a fellow student pulled out a gun in class this week, the 18-year-old lunged at the shooter, giving others at STEM School Highlands Ranch enough time to hide. Castillo’s sacrifice was remembered during a vigil at the suburban Denver school. Eight other students were injured in the shooting. The two suspects accused in the crime – both students at the school – made their first court appearances Wednesday. It’s the second time in as many weeks that a student was killed confronting a gunman at school. It happened last week at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte when Riley Howell died after knocking down a gunman. Howell’s parents say they are devastated that another family has to go through similar pain.
The world’s biggest election is over, and it looks like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will win a second term. Most exit polls show Modi’s political party and coalition winning a clear majority. Official results from the election will be released Thursday. The exit polls suggest voters still supported Modi despite a worsening jobs outlook, a drop in farmers’ wages and a rise in far-right Hindu nationalism. About 900 million people participated in the election, which took several weeks to complete and required the use of one million polling stations.
3. Election 2020
North Korea launched something today, but no one knows just exactly what it was. The North fired at least one unidentified projectile in the western part of the country, South Korea’s military said. The launch took place in a region that’s believed to be home to one of 20 undeclared missile facilities in the North. Just less than a week ago, Pyongyang test-fired several new weapons systems. State media in the North said the launches were part of a “strike drill,” but experts said they think the country was trying out some new short-range ballistic missile – the type that could carry a nuclear warhead.
THURSDAY
Two people are being hailed as heroes after they helped police find an 8-year-old girl who was snatched off a street in Fort Worth. Salem Sabatka was walking with her mother Saturday night when a car came up and a man grabbed her and took off. An Amber Alert with pictures of Salem and a description of the vehicle, a Ford Five Hundred, flooded social media. Two people, who were not identified by police, went looking for the vehicle and later found it in a hotel parking lot. They called police, who eventually found Salem, unharmed in a room. A 51-year-old man was charged with aggravated kidnapping. Salem, after being checked out at a hospital, was reunited with her family.
Obamacare helped bring the nation’s uninsured rate down. But that’s starting to change. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the uninsured rate for people ages 45 to 64 jumped to 10.3% last year. It was 9.3% in 2017. It’s the first time a government study has shown an increase in the rate. The increase isn’t surprising since the Trump administration has made dismantling the Affordable Care Act (and adding restrictions to Medicaid) a top priority. When Obamacare was passed in 2010, the uninsured rate for nonelderly adults was 22.3%.
5. Nigeria
Amanda Knox is going back to Italy. Knox, a former exchange student, vowed never to “willingly” return to the country after she was convicted of murder, for a second time, in the killing of British student Meredith Kercher. Knox will speak in June at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena on a panel titled “Trial by Media.” She was first convicted of Kercher’s murder in 2009, then freed in 2011 after an appeals court tossed out her conviction. She returned to Seattle and then, after a 2014 retrial, was sentenced in absentia to 28.5 years. Italy’s Supreme Court overturned her conviction in 2015.
THIS JUST IN …
‘Game’ over
“Game of Thrones” ended its epic eight-year run last night with a finale full of surprises. And if you’re worried about how to live a post-“Thrones” life, counselors are here to help.
Royal portraits
First there were the baby Archie photos. Then came the Harry and Meghan behind-the-scenes wedding pics. Now William and Kate have put out some cute family photos.
Same old song?
The Netherlands won the Eurovision Song Contest over the weekend in Tel Aviv, Israel, but not without some controversy.
Rain, rain go away
Check out the Italian island that will refund your hotel room if it happens to rain during your stay.
HAPPENING LATER
Historic day
Lori Lightfoot, a former assistant US attorney, will be sworn in as Chicago’s mayor later this morning. She’ll be the city’s first African American lesbian mayor.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“I’m the worst driver in the world.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook, telling Tulane University graduates that his generation failed on climate change
TODAY’S NUMBER
1,000-plus
The number of guns found in a home in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood.
The value of the donation that Oprah Winfrey made to a New Jersey high school’s after-school program.
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY
No hiding
Are those disguises in spy movies even close to being authentic? The CIA’s ex-chief of disguises breaks it all down. (Click to view.)
These gender reveals just get more creative. In this one, kids crack eggs to find out the gender of their new baby sibling. (Click to view)