A killer’s laugh. A president’s fury. A sprinter’s tears. It’s Wednesday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
1. Orlando mass shooting
The more we hear from survivors of the attack, the more we recoil at the horror. Angel Colon, recovering at a hospital, recalled Omar Mateen’s bloodcurdling laugh right before he fired into a stall where people were hiding. On the investigation front, we learned Mateen visited gay chat rooms and frequented Pulse. But investigators don’t know if that was pleasure or planning. Also, his wife may face charges because she heard his jihadist rants, went with him to Pulse and Disney World as he scouted locations, but didn’t tell cops.
2. Campaign 2016
Look like it’s going to be a 2-on-1 battle on the campaign trail: President Obama and Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump. Obama went into full-on mad dad mode, slamming Trump’s proposed Muslim ban and his “loose talk and sloppiness.” Of course, Trump didn’t take that lying down. He said the president was “more angry at me than he was at the shooter.”
3. Disney alligator attack
A horrific few days in Orlando only got worse last night after an alligator dragged a 2-year-old boy away into a lagoon at Disney World. The child was wading along the water’s edge when the 4- to 7-foot-long gator attacked. The father fought desperately to save his son, but couldn’t. Early this morning, authorities said it’s unlikely at this point the child will be found alive.
4. Euro 2016
Euro 2016, the second biggest soccer tournament after the World Cup, is getting attention for all the wrong reasons. In just its first week, Russian and English soccer fans clashed. Officials slapped Russia with a “suspended” disqualification. And a man who killed a police commander and his partner posted a Facebook video from the scene saying Euro 2016 “will be like a cemetery.” Russia has a match today against Slovakia, and tourney officials have made it clear: any more violence, it’s out.
5. Oscar Pistorius
It’s the week of reckoning for Oscar Pistorius. The ex-Olympic sprinter will learn by Friday how many years he’ll get for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. His lawyers say he’s is too mentally ill to serve more jail time and should be hospitalized instead. But Steenkamp’s dad delivered a gut-wrenching plea, saying he thinks of her “every morning, afternoon and night” and Pistorius has to pay for the crime.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
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Quote of the day:
“I feel like the luckiest mom in the world, for God somehow entrusted me with this glorious child, and we got almost six years together”
Michelle Moon, on the death of her child, 5-year-old Julianna Snow. Her decision to forgo care at a hospital sparked conversations about how to handle terminally ill children and how involved they should be in the decision-making process.
Kiss of death? No, but …
Getting a little “face time” with your sweetie has consequences: Mono and strep throat are just a couple of the diseases you can get from a kiss.
Release your enthusiasm
Guess playing Bernie Sanders has whet our appetite for more Larry David. His HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is coming back after a five-year hiatus.
Rascally rabbits
Evil rabbit doodles left in the margins of medieval texts were both a hilarious and subversive blow against the ruling classes of the day.
In a galaxy far, far away
Remember Luke Skywalker staring at two suns in the first “Star Wars” movie? Such a view is possible on a newly discovered exoplanet NASA’s found.
Weather watch
Yeah, El Nino is gone! But don’t get too happy, because its good friend La Nina just walked in, bringing its own flavor of wild and wacky weather.