Thursday morning news - June 9, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

1. House lawmakers hear testimony from Uvalde survivors, families » Lawmakers on Capitol Hill heard gut-wrenching testimony Wednesday from survivors and families affected by the Uvalde school massacre.

And just a word of caution: This story may be disturbing for young ears.

Speaking by video, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo said she used the blood of a classmate to play dead.

CERRILLO: He shot my friend that was next to me, and I thought he was going to come back to the room. So I grabbed a little blood and put it all over me.

She called 911 using the phone of her deceased teacher and pleaded for help.

Nineteen children and two teachers died when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on May 24th. Kimberly Rubio’s daughter was among them.

RUBIO: Somewhere out there, there is a mom listening to my testimony thinking I can’t even imagine their pain, not knowing that our reality will one day be hers, unless we act now.

It was the second day House lawmakers heard testimony on recent mass shootings.

Debate continues in Washington over how to respond.

The Democrat-controlled House voted on Wednesday to raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The vote was largely down party lines.

SOUND: They yeas are 228. They nays 199. The title is retained.

That was part of a package of new gun measures in the House.

Most Republicans say new gun restrictions won’t help and will only infringe on the rights of lawful citizens.

But negotiators in the Senate say there is some common ground in trying to address mental health issues and possibly on a national red flag law and tighter school security.

3. Armed man arrested for threat to kill Justice Kavanaugh » Police in suburban Washington D.C. arrested a man on Wednesday who said he planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Officers found 26-year-old Nicholas John Roskeman carrying a gun, a knife, and zip ties near Kavanaugh's house in Maryland.

He is charged with attempted murder.

According to an affidavit, he told police he planned to break into Kavanaugh's house and kill him. He said he was upset about a leaked Supreme Court draft ruling that indicated the court may soon reverse Roe v. Wade.

He also said he was upset about recent mass shootings and believed Kavanaugh would vote to loosen gun control laws.

2. Vandals firebomb New York pregnancy center » Meantime in upstate New York, a pro-abortion group appeared to claim credit for firebombing a pro-life pregnancy center this week. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Flames rose from a brick building early Tuesday morning that housed the Christian nonprofit group CompassCare.

Someone reported a fire at the facility near Buffalo around 3 a.m. The blaze left the building temporarily unusable.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on pro-life facilities since the leak of the high court’s draft ruling.

Investigators found graffiti on the side of the CompassCare building with the words “Jane was here.”

That appeared to be a claim of credit by a pro-abortion group calling itself “Jane’s Revenge.”

That group’s motto is “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.” And police in Asheville, North Carolina found those words spray painted on a vandalized pregnancy counseling center on Monday.

And last month, a pro-life group in Wisconsin found its headquarters firebombed, reportedly by the same group.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

4. Berlin man drives into pedestrian school group » In Germany, a man drove his car into a group of students and teachers on a school trip on Wednesday wounding more than a dozen and killing at least one teacher.

American actor John Barrowman witnessed the aftermath.

BARROWMAN: The police presence is unbelievable. They are clearing out the area and it was cordoned off. I heard the bang and the crash when I was in a store and then we came out and we just saw the carnage.

The students were visiting Berlin from a town in central Germany. Authorities say six of the injured were in life-threatening condition, and three were seriously hurt.

Police said the driver was a 29-year-old German-Armenian man who lived in the city. He sped into the group at a street corner and crashed into a shop window about a block later. Investigators believe he did it intentionally but have not suggested a motive.

5. Gymnasts file $1b settlement against FBI for Nassar case » Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney are among 90 women suing the FBI over its handling of sexual abuse allegations. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has more.

LEIGH JONES: The women say the bureau failed to take sufficient action after they reported sexual abuse allegations against USA Gymnastics sports doctor Larry Nassar.

USA Gymnastics took allegations against him to two separate FBI field offices within a 9-month span more than five years ago. But neither of those offices opened a formal investigation.

Months later, Michigan State University police arrested Nassar while he was a doctor at the school. He pleaded guilty in 20-17 to committing sexual abuse and is serving decades in prison.

The Inspector General later found that the FBI mishandled evidence and violated bureau policies.

Combined, the women are seeking $1 billion dollars in damages.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

I’m Kent Covington.

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