Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Texas police are facing mounting questions and criticism over how much time elapsed before they stormed an elementary school classroom and put a stop to the rampage by a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
A law enforcement official said today that an armed school district officer did not encounter the attacker before he entered Robb Elementary in the town of Uvalde, as previously reported. But many other details about the timing of events and the police response remain murky. During the siege, which ended when a U.S. Border Patrol team burst in and shot the gunman to death, frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school, according to witnesses.
- The Uvalde shooting has also reignited debate over lax U.S. gun-control laws, a reminder of America’s status as the only developed country to experience such persistent mass shootings
- One Texas official faced horror of identifying victims he knew after deadly school shooting
- Take a look at these charts that highlight different aspects of the complex gun issue
- From Sandy Hook to Uvalde: A parent on enduring the tragedy of school shootings
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Russian forces get closer to encircling Ukraine troops in eastern Donbas region
A police officer walks next to a school building damaged by a Russian military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Kostiantynivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 22, 2022.STRINGER/Reuters
Three months into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has abandoned its assault on Kyiv and is trying to consolidate control of the industrial eastern region, where it has backed a separatist revolt since 2014. Thousands of troops are attacking from three sides, and if the two cities straddling the Siverskiy Donets river fall, nearly all of the Donbas province of Luhansk would be under Russian control.
- Also: Canada donates extra $1-million to help investigate sexual violence by Russian troops in Ukraine
- Opinion: The painful food truths exposed by Russia’s war in Ukraine
- From Eric Reguly: My father was a war correspondent. The job has changed between his time in Vietnam and what reporters are experiencing in Ukraine today
Luxury tax will reduce sales of autos, planes and boats by more than $600-million a year, PBO report says
Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux released an updated assessment of the Liberal government’s planned luxury tax today and later appeared as a witness before the House of Commons finance committee, which is studying the government’s latest budget legislation, C-19.
The updated report features a slightly revised estimate of the amount of new tax revenue that will be collected by the tax once it is fully estimated, to $176-million in 2024-25, up from last year’s projection of $159-million. The report shows that in 2024-25, the tax will reduce aircraft sales by $31-million, auto sales by $123-million and the sale of vessels will drop by $473-million, for a combined sales reduction of $628-million. That total is projected to increase each year.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ottawa sets new CRTC policy directives to promote competition and affordability: Ottawa has issued a new proposed policy directive for the telecom sector through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that emphasizes competition and affordability in the internet and mobile phone markets and instructs the federal telecom regulator to improve its wholesale network access regimes.
Families of N.S. mass shooting victims boycott inquiry: The group protested outside the Truro, N.S. hotel where public hearings are being held, and instructed their lawyers not to participate in the proceedings, angry that senior RCMP officers are being shielded from cross-examination.
Overdraft protection, creditor insurance more often recommended to racialized consumers: When a federal consumer watchdog sent mystery shoppers to hundreds of branches of Canada’s big banks and asked them to secretly take notes on their interactions, it found Indigenous or racialized consumers were more likely to be pitched financial products that didn’t fit their circumstances.
Ontario election today: Party leaders target key ridings and issues with June 2 vote just a week away. Here’s where the leaders of Ontario’s main political parties are today.
Alberta men accused of killing Métis hunters took law into own hands, says prosecutor: In Jordan Kerr’s cross-examination of Anthony Bilodeau, he says Bilodeau should have told his father and brother not to pursue the hunters’ truck and call police. Kerr says Bilodeau instead got a gun and ammunition before catching up with his relatives and shooting Jacob Sansom and his uncle Maurice Cardinal and leaving their bodies on the side of the road.
Israeli forces deliberately killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian officials say: The conclusion echoed the results of a preliminary investigation announced nearly two weeks ago and were widely expected. Israel rejected the findings, with Defense Minister Benny Gantz calling them “a blatant lie.”
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday after optimistic retail earnings outlooks and waning concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve put investors in a buying mood.
The Canadian stock market also advanced, although gains were less robust owing to a pullback in the materials and telecom sectors. The financials sector gained as more of the Big 6 banks reported earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 516.91 points to 32,637.19; the S&P 500 gained 79.11 points to 4,057.84; and the Nasdaq Composite added 305.91 points to 11,740.65. At current levels, all three indexes are poised to notch their biggest weekly gains since mid-March. The Canadian dollar also saw gains today.
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TALKING POINTS
It’s time for NATO to stop being ‘the West,’ and add an East Asian member
“Having Asian states on board would prevent this from becoming a Western enterprise, and reduce the chance of it triggering a world war.” – Doug Saunders
How soon until people regret all the megaspending they’re doing right now?
“Today’s spending binge is a result of pent-up demand, and it’s a celebration of the pandemic hitting a down cycle as summer approaches. But it’s also disconnected from the economic concerns that are driving consumer confidence lower.” –Rob Carrick
On climate-related disclosure, Canadian companies have stalled
“Regulators in Canada and abroad are finalizing plans to make the practice mandatory. Today’s laggards will be forced to get up to speed awfully quickly once the rules are put into force.” – Jeffrey Jones
LIVING BETTER
Engaged couple Theo Markou and Laura Payne water their garden bed, where they sowed various flower seed that will be used for their summer wedding, at their home in Caledon, Ont., on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
As inflation drives up wedding costs, couples get creative
As the wedding industry gears up for one of its biggest seasons in 2022, Canadian couples looking to finally tie the knot after years of pandemic-related delays will be forced to dig deeper than ever because of a surge in demand, soaring inflation and rising transport and freight costs.
But as prices have jumped as much as 50 per cent, some are looking at new ways to get flowers, bartenders and set up to keep costs low. That includes taking on more of the organization themselves, and experimenting with what they can do on their own. Some are even trading their own services for wedding services. Read more about how Canadians are getting creative.
TODAY’S LONG READ
The homeowner tax exemption isn’t fair to renters and should be reconsidered
As house and condo prices in Canada rise at a pace well beyond increases in average household income, it seems reasonable to predict that an ever-larger proportion of the country’s population is looking ahead to a lifetime of renting. So, one can ask, why do homeowners get to put their fingers on the scale, even when there’s plenty of evidence these benefits are helping to widen the wealth gap between those who own property and those who don’t?
As the ranks of renters increase steadily, and the wealth chasm between owners and tenants grows ever wider, the politics of the principal residence exemption might someday soon get flipped, too. Read more from ROB magazine.
Also from the mag: Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey on fighting racism and overcoming barriers facing Black entrepreneurs
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.