Las Vegas.
A gunman in a Las Vegas hotel opened fire at a concert late Sunday night, killing over 20 and injuring at least 100 (disturbing but safe-for-work video here). The shooting happened in an outdoor concert venue, with the shooter firing an automatic weapon out of a window from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel into the crowd of almost 40,000. Bullets sprayed indiscriminately into the crowd - the hotel is located diagonally across the street from the venue, at least 1,000 feet away. Police - who killed the gunman at the scene - say the shooter was a lone wolf, but were looking for a woman of interest described as a "roommate". The shooter was also believed to be a Las Vegas resident.
SCOTUS.
The Supreme Court returns to the bench today, at full strength for the first full term since Antonin Scalia died in February 2016. With Justice Neil Gorsuch replacing Scalia, the court has scheduled a number of high-profile cases that have been pending for years. Marquee cases include the degree to which states can engage in partisan gerrymandering (scheduled Oct. 3rd), whether businesses can claim religious freedom in refusing to serve customers based on sexual discrimination (Masterpiece Cake, TBD), and whether employees who refuse to join unions can be compelled to pay dues (Janus, TBD). In what may be the most important case due to its wide-ranging privacy implications, the court will examine whether police need warrants before using cell phone records to determine people's past movements (Carpenter, TBD).
Catalonia.
Officials said over 750 were injured in the Spanish state of Catalonia yesterday, after police stormed polling stations to break up a banned independence referendum. Despite warnings from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy - who sent national forces to the region in an unsuccessful attempt to block voters at many polling stations - an estimated 2.2 million Catalans voted, with over 90% voting for independence. Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in Northeastern Spain - it is subject to the Spanish constitution but enjoys a large degree of self-rule. The region's economy is more vibrant than the rest of the country, where unemployment is four points lower than the national average at 13.2% - Spain would lose 20% of its GDP if the state left. Some suggest Rajoy's government miscalculated its response - with a heavy-handed response turning the resolution into a symbolic vote for the democratic process. The vote was non-binding - it does not mean Catalonia is now independent - but regional officials held an emergency closed-door meeting to discuss next steps. See the best photos from the day.
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