News Wrap: Biden announces executive orders to curb gun violence

In our news wrap Thursday, President Biden rolled out actions to improve active shooter drills and create a task force to investigate machine gun conversion devices and 3D-printed guns, Oklahoma executed a man after the governor rejected a parole board recommendation to spare his life and advocates condemned the sentencing of a former news editor to two years in jail in Hong Kong.

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Amna Nawaz: We start the day’s other headlines with a look at gun violence in America.

President Biden rolled out new executive actions today aimed at improving active shooter drills in high schools. Officials say the new order will maximize the effectiveness of drills while also making them less traumatic for students. It also establishes a task force to investigate new technologies like machine gun conversion devices and 3-D printed guns.

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared beside Mr. Biden at the White House today. Before signing the executive order, Biden criticized statements made by former President Trump and Trump’s running mate.

Joe Biden, President of the United States: If you want to talk about reducing crime and violence in America, you need to talk about guns in America. I’m going to be very blunt. The secretary of defense Ohio has called these shootings facts of life. Who the hell do these people think they are?

Amna Nawaz: An Associated Press tally says that, as of yesterday, there have been at least 31 mass killing so far this year, the vast majority of them involving guns. The FBI defines a mass killing as one that involves the death of at least four people.

Oklahoma has executed a man for his role in the 1992 shooting death of a convenience store owner after the state’s governor rejected a parole board recommendation to spare his life. Emmanuel Littlejohn received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary this morning. The 52-year-old had acknowledged his role in the robbery, but had long maintained that he did not kill the store owner, Kenneth Meers.

Littlejohn’s death comes just days after Missouri executed 55-year-old Marcellus Williams despite prosecutors and the victim’s family asking that he be spared.

Human rights groups and press freedom advocates have condemned the sentencing of a former news editor to nearly two years in jail in Hong Kong for publishing articles deemed — quote — “seditious.” It’s the first time a journalist has been convicted under a colonial era law since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.

Chung Pui-kuen ran Stand News before it was shut three years ago. A second editor, Patrick Lam, was also sentenced, but was allowed to go free on health grounds. After the ruling, a former colleague of the two criticized the decision.

Ronson Chan, Former Reporter, Stand News: Chung Pui-kuen created a very good platform that all our staff, including me, have a high degree of the freedom of press. And I feel very sorry that both him and Patrick have to bear our privilege and they have to pay for their freedom.

Amna Nawaz: The Stand News case was widely seen as a barometer for the state of press freedom in Hong Kong, a city once known as a rare bright spot for free press in the region.

Voting machine maker Smartmatic has reached a settlement in its defamation case against conservative broadcaster Newsmax. The deal came as jury selection began for a trial in Delaware. Smartmatic had argued that Newsmax hosts and guests made false and defamatory claims that the company played a role in stealing the election from Donald Trump. Newsmax said it was simply reporting on allegations being made by Trump and his allies.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. That comes after FOX News agreed to pay $787 million last year to settle a similar defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

The postmaster general says the U.S. Postal Service is ready to successfully deliver all 2024 election ballots on time. It comes after a group of election officials raised concerns earlier this month about the service’s readiness for ramped-up operations. At a Senate subcommittee hearing today, Louis DeJoy said that nearly 99.9 percent of ballots were delivered within seven days during the 2020 election.

He said the service is even better prepared this time around.

Louis DeJoy, U.S. Postmaster General: We are overwhelmingly enhancing our training across all aspects of our operation. That is the fundamental thing we need to do for these extra efforts that we put in election mail to actually work.

Amna Nawaz: DeJoy urged voters to mail their ballots at least one week ahead of their state’s respective deadline, whether that’s November 5 or otherwise.

The U.S. economy is showing signs of stability. The Commerce Department confirmed today that GDP grew at a rate of 3 percent from April to June, compared to the same period last year. That is a jump from the 1.6 percent we saw in the first quarter and is due largely to strong consumer spending.

Separately, claims for new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week in a sign that the labor market remains strong.

That positive economic data gave Wall Street a boost today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 260 points to close back above the 42000-point level. The Nasdaq added more than 100 points on the day. The S&P 500 closed at a new record high.

And it is the end of an era in Oakland. Today, the city’s Major League Baseball team, the Athletics, played their final game there. The A’s will spend the next three seasons playing in West Sacramento before settling at their new home in Las Vegas in 2028. That means that, after today, Oakland will no longer have a major professional sports team.

The NFL’s Oakland Raiders left for Las Vegas back in 2020. The NBA’s Golden State Warriors moved across the bay to San Francisco. The A’s began playing in Oakland in 1968 and leave behind decades of memories. They won four championships while based at the Coliseum, the city’s run-down, yet beloved stadium.