To get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up right here.
The latest on the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings
On Friday, a rampage at two mosques left dozens dead and more than 30 people injured. The death toll climbed to 50 over the weekend.
The victims
The victims of the shooting range in age from 3 to 77. Among them are two children. You should learn everything you can about them, because their lives mattered.
Like Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old who died trying to shield another worshipper from gun fire. Here’s everything we know about the victims so far.
The stories of those left behind are tough. Like this man, who didn’t go to mosque because he had to finish an essay — his uncle was killed, and his brother was saved.
Abdul Aziz is being called a hero for throwing a credit card machine at the shooter and warning the congregation that a man with a gun was coming. Jill Keats stopped her car and treated an injured victim as the bullets fell.
The shooter
The 28-year-old suspected shooter has appeared in court, charged with murder.
What you need to know today:
Facebook announced it took down 1.5 million videos of the Christchurch attacks from the platform in the first 24 hours.
Reddit banned two channels that show human death, including r/watchpeopledie.
New Zealand removed Sky News Australia from the air because it aired footage of the shooting.
“Our gun laws will change,” promised New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Here’s a primer on the country’s gun laws.
Muslims from all over New Zealand travelled to Christchurch to stand with the families of the victims.
The global response
People everywhere are laying flowers for those killed in this awful attack.
An Australian senator blamed Muslims for the massacre. A 17-year-old boy egged him during a press conference, and went viral.
This will keep happening
The way that the shooter used the internet to broadcast and spread his crime and manifesto was especially sophisticated: he knew the audience well.
Ryan Broderick dissects why we have to take this seriously: “We often think of memes as images, funny words on funny pictures. But at their core, they are just ideas that spread.”
The Christchurch shooter was adept at memes, and as Broderick writes, this raises the stakes: “He tapped into a well-established digital feedback loop where white male violence is uploaded, distributed, consumed, and remixed by others. He wasn’t only trying to make himself go viral. He — with extreme self-awareness — was hijacking the white male violence digital feedback loop to spread and amplify his ideas and actions.”
SNAPSHOTS
Two people died after record-breaking winter floods in the Midwest. Residents in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri have been forced to evacuate their homes after heavy rainfall melted snow and caused rivers to overflow and rise to dangerous levels.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May phoned rebel lawmakers to ask them to vote for her Brexit deal. They told her to resign. Around 40 MPs told May they’d vote for a Brexit deal if she quits.
Trump asked to “bring back” Jeanine Pirro after Fox News condemned her comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. Last week, Pirro said “Omar wears a hijab. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the Constitution?” After Pirro did not appear on the network Saturday, Trump tweeted Fox to bring her back.
Kirsten Gillibrand is officially running for president. The New York senator ended the exploratory phase of her campaign and will officially launch her bid in front of a Trump landmark.
A woman flipped off a cop and the court sided with her. A federal appeals court says a Michigan woman was well within her First-Amendment rights when she gave the middle finger to a cop who pulled her over for speeding.
Lori Loughlin reportedly won’t return to Netflix’s Fuller House for its final season. And cue the surprise of no one.
This New Zealand Artist’s cartoon is being shared in response to the Christchurch terror attacks
The cartoon went viral as the world reacted in shock. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and perfect. Read the story about it here. In the meantime:
