Skip to main content

Back to school with a bulletproof backpack

Nicole Fallert   | Paste BN

A new report found the last school year saw a dramatic spike in gun violence. Prosecutors in Arizona want to enforce a near-total ban on abortions under a 1912 law. Vanessa Bryant is expected to testify in a civil trial involving the crash photos of her late husband Kobe and daughter Gianna. Keep scrolling for a look at Idris Elba in "Beast."

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Friday is finally here. Let's get to the news.

🌅 Up first: Young people in Japan aren't drinking as much as they used to. So the country is launching a business contest to boost booze sales. Read more

Last school year brought more gunfire, study finds

No school year in the U.S. in nearly a decade saw as much gunfire as the 2021-2022 academic calendar, according to a report released by Everytown For Gun Safety, a non-partisan group advocating against gun violence. It shows the last school year, between Aug. 1 and May 31, saw 193 incidents of gunfire, more than doubling the total of the previous year. Authors of the report found most shootings were perpetrated by a student or former student at a school. Read more about the report.

What the numbers mean: School gun violence happens with a "distressing frequency," the report found, but many school shootings are preventable.

  • Wearable protection: Bulletproof backpack sales are on the rise as parents send their kids back to school. 
  • Parents at the forefront: Meet one conservative group gaining traction in school board races nationwide.
  • Gun advertisers are embracing a new culture of defense and personal protection. 
  • Uvalde update: School board to consider firing school district police Chief Pete Arredondo on Aug. 24.
  • Analysis: What do we need from our teachers?

More news to know now:

🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, investigative reporter Nick Penzenstadler takes a look at gun advertising. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

📝 News quiz time! President Biden signs a major spending package into law, the Big Ten signs a massive media deal and plans to resurrect an extinct species are unveiled. Test your knowledge on this week's news.

Arizona judge to hear state request to enforce abortion ban under 1912 law

An Arizona judge will hear arguments Friday on the state's request to allow prosecutors to enforce a near-total ban on abortions under a law that has been blocked for nearly 50 years under a now-overruled Supreme Court ruling. Abortion-rights advocates are fighting the request from Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who wants prosecutors to be able to charge doctors who provide abortions, unless the mother’s life is in danger. That law was first enacted decades before Arizona was granted statehood in 1912 and blocked following the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Read more of our coverage on ongoing state abortion battles. 

Just for subscribers:

These articles are for Paste BN subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content emailed to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for the Your Day newsletter.

Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO, pleads guilty to tax-fraud scheme

Allen Weisselberg, former President Donald Trump's longtime top business lieutenant, pleaded guilty Thursday to all 15 criminal charges in a scheme that paid him lavish corporate benefits in off-the-books payments from the Trump Organization without paying taxes. In a deal with the Manhattan district attorney's office, he must testify truthfully about the scheme if called as a government witness at the scheduled October trial of two companies of the Trump Organization, which Weisselberg long served as chief financial officer. Here's what we know 

  • Trump investigations update: A federal magistrate Thursday set up the possible release of a heavily-edited version of the Justice Department affidavit authorizing the search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
  • ''Can I count on you?'' Trump revs up fundraising pitches after FBI's Mar-a-Lago search.

Saudi doctoral student gets 34 years in prison for tweets

A Saudi court has sentenced a doctoral student and women’s rights advocate to 34 years in prison for spreading “rumors” on Twitter and retweeting dissidents in a decision that has drawn growing global condemnation. Activists and lawyers consider the sentence against Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and a researcher at Leeds University in Britain, shocking even by Saudi standards of justice. Al-Shehab was detained during a family vacation on Jan. 15, 2021, and held for over 285 days in solitary confinement before her case was even referred to court. Read more of our latest coverage on Saudi Arabia. 

ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday

Vanessa Bryant expected to testify in trial over Kobe crash photos

Vanessa Bryant is expected to take the stand Friday in her civil trial against Los Angeles County. Bryant is suing the county for invasion of privacy, accusing county sheriff’s and fire department employees of improperly taking and sharing grisly photos of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna shortly after they perished in the helicopter crash that killed all nine aboard in January 2020. She is joined at the trial by plaintiff Chris Chester, who lost his wife and daughter in the same crash and is suing the county for the same reasons. Read more

  • Here's why the Vanessa Bryant trial over Kobe crash photos has gotten so gruesome
  • In the courtroom: Witnesses squirm as they testify about crash photos.

A little less heavy

📷 Photo of the day: One great photo from every game of the 2022 WNBA playoffs 📷

Breanna Stewart had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Jewell Loyd scored 12 of her 16 points in the final five minutes and the fourth-seeded Seattle Storm beat the fifth-seeded Washington Mystics 86-83 in a WNBA basketball first-round playoff of the WNBA playoffs Thursday night. Here's how you can keep up with the competition. 

Click here to see more winning photos from the 2022 WNBA playoffs.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN. Send her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to Paste BN here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

Facebook Twitter Email