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National

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

In the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas shooting that killed 19 children and two adults, elementary school-aged survivors are appearing on local and national television to tell their stories. 

Why it matters: Although these children are younger, their media presence in the wake of this week's devastating tragedy is reminiscent of the Parkland shooting survivors, who went on to lead the nation through weeks of grief.

The young Uvalde children are not making calls to action on gun control, unlike the teenage Parkland students, but they are forced to bear witness to what they saw in their classrooms. 

"I have the fear of guns now because I'm scared someone might shoot me," 8-year-old Edward Timothy, a second-grade survivor, told CNN. He added that his school has been holding drills on what to do if there's a school shooting since kindergarten.

Another survivor, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo, who witnessed some of the victims getting shot, told the outlet that she dipped her hands in the blood of a classmate who had been killed and smeared it on herself to play dead.

Miah and her classmates were watching "Lilo & Stitch" when her teachers got word of the shooter. 

"I know it might happen again, probably," 10-year-old Jayden Perez told CNN, remarking he was friends with "basically all" of those who died.

What they're saying: "It's messed up that these kids have to go on CNN, or MSNBC, or whatever it is, and talk about death," said Jaclyn Corin, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting and co-founder of March For Our Lives, a student-led organization that advocates for gun control laws.

Corin said that sharing her experience as a survivor "led to a lot of people feeling like it was okay to ask me intrusive questions down the line."

"I do think children telling their stories is incredibly impactful," she added, but "I hope that they're not taken advantage of moving forward because they are so young."

"It should not be our responsibility to speak out," Corin told Axios, adding how, after she survived the Parkland shooting at 17 years old, some elected officials and other adults would ask her what they should be doing. "It's quite ridiculous, but that's the expectation."

The big picture: Cable news outlets were created by adults for adults, which makes it jarring to see young children making regular appearances as the days following the shooting unfold.

Between the lines: Some parents and guardians are struggling to speak with their children about the Texas shooting. Uvalde survivors’ appearances across major television networks show how hard it may be for them to avoid the conversation.

 "All of it can be a trigger. It's important to focus on your own kids' sensitivities when sharing details, including any visuals of the actual kids," said Jill Murphy, editor in chief of children's media advocacy group, Common Sense Media. "We hope the intention of sharing these images isn't sensational, but to impact viewers to take action."

Go deeper: Remembering the victims of the Texas school shooting

"It might happen again": Uvalde's kid survivors tell their stories

"It's messed up that these kids have to go on CNN, or MSNBC, or whatever it is, and talk about death."

Picture of children visiting a memorial for the victims of the Uvalde shooting

Mourners visit a memorial for the vitcims of Tuesday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on May 26, 2022. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Guns

Politics & Policy

The commander on scene during the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school mass shooting made "the wrong decision" by not breaching the classrooms where the gunman was with students and teachers sooner, said Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, on Friday. 

The latest: The on-scene commander considered the gunman barricaded and that the school was not in an active-shooter situation, despite 911 calls from students inside two connected classrooms, McCraw said. 

The admission took place a chaotic press conference where officials shared new information about the timeline of the shooting, some of which contradicted previous details they had provided.

McCraw said at least two children who had called 911 survived. At least one victim, 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, was killed as she attempted to call 911, her grandmother told the Daily Beast. 

McCraw said there were at least 19 officers in a hallway outside of the classrooms when the first call from inside one of the rooms was made around 12:03 pm but law enforcement did not breach the classrooms until 12:51 pm.

Driving the news: 19 kids and two teachers were killed and 17 other people were injured throughout the attack.

Local and state law enforcement officials in Texas are facing ferocious criticism for why it took so long for officers to confront and stop the Uvalde shooter inside two fourth-grade classrooms.

Authorities said Thursday the shooter was inside the school for nearly 80 minutes before law enforcement shot and killed him.

What they're saying: The door through which the shooter entered the school had been previously propped open by a teacher, McCraw said.

Initial reports that a school security officer first confronted the shooter before he entered the school were false, McCraw said. The security officer was not on campus when shooting near the school was first reported but immediately proceeded to the scene.

After arriving at the scene, the security officer drove past the shooter and instead confronted a teacher, McCraw said.

The gunman shot "at least 100 rounds" throughout the attack. The doors to the classrooms in which the gunman barricaded himself were locked from the inside.

According to the timeline provided by McCraw, the shooter entered the school at 11:33 a.m. on Tuesday and immediately began firing into the classrooms. 

He was followed by three Uvalde police officers only minutes after he entered the school. Two of those officers were injured after they approached one of the doors to the classroom. 

The first call from inside one of the classrooms was made at 12:03 pm. Law enforcement did not breach the classrooms until 12:51 pm.

The first call was from an unidentified person inside the classroom. The person made another call at 12:10 pm and advised that multiple people were dead. 

She called again at 12:13 pm and 12:16 pm and said there were eight to nine students alive inside the classroom she was in.  

Another call was placed from inside a classroom at 12:19 pm from another unidentified person, "who hung up when another student told her to hang up," McCraw said.

The initial caller, identified as a "student/child" made two more calls at 12:43 p.m. and 12:47 p.m. and asked the 911 operator to "please send the police now," McCraw said.

The Border Patrol tactical agents that breached the door to kill the suspect did so after receiving keys from a janitor to unlock one of the doors, McCraw said.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show McCraw said two of the 911 callers survived. A reference to a teacher calling 911 has also been removed as it was unclear if any teachers attempted to call police.

Texas official says police made "the wrong decision" during Uvalde shooting

Police waited several minutes to breach the classrooms where the gunman had barricaded himself with victims.

Police officers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27.

Police officers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Texas

A federal judge on Friday dismissed former President Trump's lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James, which he filed in an attempt to stop her office's civil investigation into the Trump Organization's business practices.

Why it matters: The dismissal comes just a day after a four-judge panel ruled that Trump and his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are obligated to comply with subpoenas issued by James and testify under oath as part of the state's investigation.

Trump sued James' office in December 2021, arguing that her multi-year investigation is politically motivated and has violated his constitutional rights. 

The big picture: Criminal charges can't be filed in civil investigations, but the Trump Organization could face a lawsuit from the office if it finds evidence of wrongdoing.

Trump was held in contempt of court in late April and fined $10,000 every day he refused to turn over documents as required by another subpoena issued by James' office.

In total, he was fined $110,000, which he paid to the attorney general's office last week. 

Decision and Order - NDNY (1)

Go deeper: Court rules Trump must testify under oath in N.Y. state's investigation

Judge tosses Trump suit against New York AG that aimed to halt investigation

Trump sued James' office in December 2021, arguing that her multi-year investigation is politically motivated .

 Former President Trump speaking in Austin, Texas, on May 14.

Former President Trump speaking in Austin, Texas, on May 14. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Donald Trump

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has opened an investigation into five gun manufacturers in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school earlier this week that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Driving the news: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the committee, sent letters to the companies Thursday. She requested information regarding the manufacturing, sale and marketing of semi-automatic rifles that have been used in many of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

Why it matters: The attack in Uvalde and another mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 dead on May 14 have intensified the debate on gun control legislation and renewed scrutiny on gun rights organizations and gun manufacturers. 

The Uvalde shooter and the Buffalo gunman both used AR-15-style rifles produced by gun makers Daniel Defense and Bushmaster, respectively.

What they're saying: “Our country faces an epidemic of gun violence, which is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States,” Maloney said in a statement Friday.

“I am deeply concerned that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war, including the AR-15- style assault rifle that a white supremacist used to murder ten people last week in Buffalo, New York, and the AR-15-style assault rifle that was reportedly used this week in the massacre of at least 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas," she added.

"Despite decades of rising gun deaths and mass murders using assault weapons, your company has continued to market assault weapons to civilians, reaping a profit from the deaths of innocent Americans.” 

The big picture: Maloney sent the letters to Daniel Defense, Bushmaster, Sig Sauer, Smith &Wesson Brands and Sturm, Ruger & Company on Thursday, requesting they respond to several questions by June 2.

"Despite strong public support for an assault-weapon ban in light of the horrific violence perpetrated with assault-style rifles, your company continues to manufacture large quantities of assault weapons and aggressively market them to the public," Maloney wrote in the letters.

"The Committee respects the rights of law-abiding Americans under the Second Amendment, but that does not excuse irresponsible corporate conduct that fuels deadly gun violence and endangers our children."

Zoom out: Gunmaker Remington Arms was sued by the parents of Sandy Hook victims in the aftermath of that school shooting, which killed 20 children and 6 adults.

In February, Remington settled the lawsuit for $73 million, making it the first time that a gun manufacturer was held responsible for a mass shooting in the U.S.

By the numbers:  U.S. gun manufacturing has tripled since 2000, with licensed gun manufacturers producing around 11.3 million firearms in 2020 alone, according to a new federal tally of gun commerce released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives this month.

In 2000, roughly 1,400 firearms were produced for every 100,000 people in the U.S. That ballooned to more than 3,400 by 2020. The U.S. population increased 18% over those two decades.

Meanwhile, firearm-related injuries surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in 2020, according to an analysis of new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published in April.

House Oversight panel investigates gun makers after Uvalde mass shooting

It requested information from five gunmakers on the sale of rifles commonly used in mass shootings.

A police officer walking past a memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27.

A police officer walking past a memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

House Committee On Oversight and Government Reform

Pro Rata

Axios Pro Rata

The largest shareholder in America's largest gunmakers isn't a reclusive billionaire or a 2A rabble-rouser with a heavy Reddit presence. It's BlackRock, the investment giant that talks Wall Street's loudest game on social duty.

Why it matters: With great power comes little accountability.

Cap table: BlackRock holds a 16.18% stake in Sturm Ruger (NYSE: RGR), a 15.26% position in Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO) and an 8.3% stake in Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq: SWBI).

BlackRock says that none of those shares, valued at a combined $597 million at Thursday's market close, are held in actively managed funds. 

Instead, they're in passive funds tied to third-party indexes (i.e., BlackRock doesn't choose which stocks to include). BlackRock also offers custom products for clients who don't want exposure to firearms; products created after the 2018 high school massacre in Parkland, Florida.

Price of select gun company stocks

Data: Yahoo Finance; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios

What they've said: BlackRock regularly stresses the value of ESG and conscious capitalism, including specific comments about how gun manufacturers should do more to prevent their products from being misused. After Parkland, the firm said:

"The recent tragedy in Florida has driven home for BlackRock the terrible toll from gun violence in America. We believe that this event requires response and action from a wide range of entities across both the public and private sectors."

What they've done: Very little. The company did manage to eventually get some gunmaker engagement, but there's no evidence that any of the companies made policy or product changes to reduce gun violence. Nor does BlackRock claim that they did. Instead, the firm just seems content to have had the conversation and then let business continue as usual:

In 2020, for example, BlackRock voted to re-elect all seven of Smith & Wesson's directors. In 2021 it voted against one director, vice chairman and ESG board committee chair Michael Golden, saying: "The Company does not meet our expectations for disclosure of material social policies and/or risks." 

But it supported all of the other Smith & Wesson directors, as if Golden alone was the stumbling block. Opposing the full slate would have been a much stronger statement of disapproval, even if it wouldn't have led to a different outcome (Golden still sailed through). BlackRock also opposed a resolution, brought by Catholic nuns, for Smith & Wesson to adopt a comprehensive human rights policy. It failed after receiving 44% shareholder support, which means BlackRock's vote would have put it over the top.

BlackRock voted against two Sturm Ruger directors in 2020 and 2021, but because of "board diversity" issues, rather than for business practices or policy. It also backed all Vista Outdoor directors in each of the past three years.

To be clear, BlackRock doesn't hold any shares in Daniel Defense, the privately held Georgia company that made the weapons used this week to murder 19 Texas schoolchildren and two of their teachers.

The bottom line: This isn't about my feelings about firearms manufacturers. Or yours. It's about BlackRock's, and how its actions don't match its rhetoric. And that matters because, as these companies' largest outside shareholder, it could have far more influence than you or I. 

BlackRock's gun money

 Illustration of a gun target with bullet holes forming a dollar sign.

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Water supply at major California reservoirs, <br>by year


Data: U.S. Department of Energy; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios

The long-lasting, severe drought affecting California is likely to have major ramifications for how the region generates electricity this summer, as well as how reliable and costly that supply is, according to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

Driving the news: The drought's depletion of California's large reservoirs is likely to strain hydroelectric plants to the point where some may have to be shut down. 

California and the West face a summer of power outages

California's hydropower resources are greatly diminished due to the long-running drought.

Axios

Friday's top stories

"It might happen again": Uvalde's kid survivors tell their stories

Texas official says police made "the wrong decision" during Uvalde shooting

Judge tosses Trump suit against New York AG that aimed to halt investigation

House Oversight panel investigates gun makers after Uvalde mass shooting

BlackRock's gun money

California and the West face a summer of power outages

Scoop: Manchin serious about Schumer talks

The last anti-abortion Democrats

Southern Baptist Convention publishes list of accused sex abusers

The rise of aspirational capitalism