Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including Russian forces are making advances in the Donbas region as Ukrainian troops fight to hold onto key cities; Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed a mental health crisis for the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde; President Biden’s nominee to champion the enforcement of U.S. gun laws faced a tense confirmation hearing, and more.

National

Dems put rush order on Biden’s ATF pick in wake of Texas shooting

President Joe Biden’s nominee to champion the enforcement of U.S. gun laws faced a tense confirmation hearing Wednesday, less than 24 hours after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.

Steve Dettelbach speaks during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 11, 2022, after President Joe Biden nominated him to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Appeals court quashes CNN defamation suit from Devin Nunes

It’s the end of the line for Devin Nunes in a defamation claim that first bounced from Virginia to Manhattan federal court before landing in front of the Second Circuit, where judges affirmed its dismissal Wednesday.

Skies smoky from a nearby wildfire, campaign signs for Republican Congressman Devin Nunes sit on all four corners of an intersection off California Highway 99 in Tulare. (Courthouse News photo/Barbara Leonard)

Regional

Texas governor blames mental health crisis for elementary school shooting

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was joined by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and law enforcement officials Wednesday to give the latest news on the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde.

A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, following a shooting at an elementary school. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

After school shooting, California Senate passes Lone Star State-style bounty law targeting ghost guns, assault weapons

The California Senate has passed a bounty-hunter law modeled after Texas’ 2021 ban on abortions performed after six weeks gestation — but targeting firearms rather than bodily autonomy.

A display of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers, that have been linked to a rise in violent crime across the U.S. (Haven Daley/AP)

Recount ordered in Pennsylvania Senate race between Oz, McCormick

Pennsylvania’s top election official announced Wednesday that the Republican U.S. Senate primary race between celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and former financial manager David McCormick — who tails Oz by a mere 902 votes — is so close a recount has been triggered.

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidates Dave McCormick, left, and Mehmet Oz during campaign appearances in May 2022 in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/File)

International

Russia claws away at eastern Ukraine, Black Sea becomes new focus in war

Russian forces this week are making advances in the eastern Donbas region as Ukrainian troops withdraw from towns and villages and desperately fight to hold onto key cities.

A woman walks in front of a building damaged by shelling in Horenka, Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Denmark prepares for historic vote on joining EU defense pact

On June 1, Danish voters will decide whether to join military forces with the European Union. The Nordic country currently stands outside all EU-led interventions in conflict zones abroad.

Copenhagen, Denmark. (Image by lachrimae72 from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

As war rages, international justice teams are keeping a different kind of score

The war in Ukraine entered its fourth month this week, but Ukraine has already secured its first war crimes conviction stemming from the full-scale invasion.

A local resident injured in a Russian strike rests in a hospital in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Two rockets struck the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region early Wednesday morning, causing at least four injuries. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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