Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed into law the nation's strictest abortion ban, making the state the first in the nation to effectively end availability of the procedure.

State lawmakers approved the ban enforced by civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecution, similar to a Texas law that was passed last year. The law takes effect immediately upon Stitt's signature and prohibits all abortions with few exceptions. Abortion providers have said they will stop performing the procedure as soon as the bill is signed.

"I promised Oklahomans that as governor I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk and I am proud to keep that promise today," the first-term Republican said in a statement. "From the moment life begins at conception is when we have a responsibility as human beings to do everything we can to protect that baby's life and the life of the mother. That is what I believe and that is what the majority of Oklahomans believe."

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he has encouraged Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to discuss the possibility of bipartisan action to address mass shootings with Democrats. McConnell said Thursday that he had met with Cornyn, who flew back to Texas this week after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, west of San Antonio, left 19 children and two teachers dead.

McConnell said in an interview on CNN that he had urged Cornyn to talk to Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, two Democrats who have called for bipartisan talks on gun safety legislation, "and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that’s directly related to the problem."

"And so I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that’s directly related to the facts of this awful massacre," the Kentucky Republican said.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The husband of one of the fourth-grade teachers killed in the Uvalde school shooting Tuesday has died..

Irma Garcia, who was a 23-year veteran teacher at Robb Elementary School, was killed after an 18-year-old gunman entered the campus, barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom and fired dozens of shots — killing 19 students, Garcia and another teacher.

Garcia’s husband, Joe, reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after Irma’s passing. The pair had been together since high school and married for 24 years.

In the wake of mass fatalities at a Texas school, Gov. Greg Abbott speculated that the gunman had mental health issues and called for more to be done. But last month, Abbott slashed $211 million from the state's department that oversees mental health programs, NBC News reports. News outlets also report on how such traumatic events impact kids across the nation.

As Sen. Ted Cruz attended a vigil Wednesday for the victims of the massacre in Uvalde, Tex., he stormed away from an interview after he was asked by a British journalist why mass shootings happen “only in America.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NRA told attendees they will not be able to carry firearms during an event with former President Trump at its Texas conference that will be held just days after a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in the state.

According to the NRA, the Secret Service is taking control of the hall during Trump's speech and is prohibiting attendees from having firearms, firearms accessories and knives. Ammunition, laser pointers, pepper spray, toy guns, backpacks and other items also won’t be allowed.

The Secret Service will search attendees with magnetometers before they enter the hall, the NRA said.

This isn't the first time firearms have been off-limits during a part of the gun group's annual convention. In 2018  a similar prohibition was put in place during a speech by then-Vice President Mike Pence.

The Secret Service told NPR in a statement at the time that the agency has the "authority to preclude firearms from entering sites visited by our protectees, including those located in open-carry states."

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly set in motion a pair of background-check bills for gun buyers Wednesday in response to the school massacre in Texas. But the Democrat acknowledged Congress' unyielding rejection of previous legislation to curb the national epidemic of gun violence.

Schumer implored his Republican colleagues to cast aside the powerful gun lobby and reach across the aisle for even a modest compromise bill. But no votes are being scheduled.

"Please, please, please damn it — put yourselves in the shoes of these parents just for once,” Schumer said as he opened the Senate.

He essentially threw up his hands at the idea of what might seem an inevitable outcome: “If the slaughter of schoolchildren can't convince Republicans to buck the NRA, what can we do?”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gov. Abbott and a variety of state and local officials were holding a press conference to update the public on the Uvalde massacre at Robb Elementary School. It was a governing, not a campaign, event.

After Mr. Abbott had spoken for several minutes, Mr. O’Rourke interrupted to point a finger at the Governor and declare, “This is on you,” referring to the murder of 19 children and two teachers by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. “You said this was not predictable. This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything,” Mr. O’Rourke added. The Democrat was then asked to leave by other officials on the stage, with at least one uttering an epithet.

When Mr. Abbott’s allies saw Mr. O’Rourke step forward, they began yelling at him.

One official ordered the El Paso native to “Shut up!” The state’s lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, told him, “You’re out of line and an embarrassment.” The mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, said he could not believe Mr. O’Rourke was the type of “sick” individual who “would come to a deal like this to make a political issue,” using an obscenity.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A gunman reportedly killed at least 18 children at a Texas elementary school Tuesday in the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since Sandy Hook.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez said 18 children and three adults were dead, based on a briefing by state police. Three people wounded in the attack are hospitalized in serious condition, he said. CNN also reported that 18 children died.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials said the 18-year-old shooter walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde around 11:30 a.m. Central time and opened fire. The shooter was likely killed by responding police, Abbott said. 

Federal law enforcement officials said the death toll was expected to rise. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release investigative details.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut's Senator Chris Murphy spoke from the Senate floor today.

"Sandy Hook will never, ever be the same," Murphy said, his voice cracking. "This community in Texas will never, ever be the same. Why? Why are we here? If not to try to make sure that fewer schools and fewer communities go through what Sandy Hook has gone through. What Uvalde is going through."

"I am here on this floor to beg — to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues," he said. "Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. I understand my Republican colleagues may not agree to everything I support, but there is a common denominator we can find. There is a place where we can achieve agreement..."

He concluded: "What are we doing? Why are we here? What are we doing?"

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned plea Tuesday for Congress to enact gun control, following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left at least 18 children and three adults dead.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A gunman killed at least 18 children and a teacher on Tuesday in a rural Texas elementary school, officials said, in the deadliest American elementary school shooting since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary a decade ago.

The slayings took place just before noon at Robb Elementary School, where second through fourth graders in Uvalde, a small city west of San Antonio, were preparing to start summer break this week.

Eva Mireles, a teacher of 17 years who taught fourth graders at Robb Elementary, was shot and killed by the gunman while trying to protect her students, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, said by phone. Ms. Mireles — who was in her early 40s, married and had a child — was “very loved” and an avid hiker who took pride in teaching mostly students of Latino heritage, Ms. Delgado said. “She was the fun of the party.”

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgia primary pits Pence-endorsed Brian Kemp against Trump-backed David Perdue, Since the 2020 election,  former President Donald Trump has been eager to oust Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for blocking efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. 

 Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened Monday to impose mandatory water restrictions if Californians don’t use less on their own as a drought drags on and the hotter summer months approach.

Newsom raised that possibility in a meeting with representatives from major water agencies, including those that supply Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, his office said in a press release. The Democratic governor has avoided issuing sweeping, mandatory cuts in water use and instead favored an approach that gives local water agencies power to set rules for water use in the cities and towns they supply.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.