Wednesday morning news - March 24, 2021

Democrats vow action on gun control » Democrats are renewing their push to pass new gun control measures. 

That in the wake of Monday’s massacre at a Colorado supermarket that left 10 dead. 

In an address Tuesday afternoon, President Biden offered his condolences to the victims and urged members of Congress to take action. 

BIDEN: We can ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines in this country once again. 

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring to the Senate floor legislation passed by the House that would require background checks for most gun sales and transfers. 

SCHUMER: We must confront a devastating truth in the United States: An unrelenting epidemic of gun violence steals innocent lives with alarming regularity. 

But Senate Republicans oppose that bill, and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin told reporters on Tuesday that he does too. 

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley said that doesn’t mean nothing can get done. 

GRASSLEY: I think that we can make bipartisan, common sense, and constitutional progress on the issue of gun violence if we work together. 

It is unclear whether any of the bills currently up for consideration would have made a difference in the Colorado case. Most of them involve tougher background checks. According to a police affidavit, the shooter had purchased an semi-automatic rifle six days earlier.

Police identify Boulder shooting suspect, victims » Meantime, police have identified the suspect in Monday’s mass shooting, as well as the victims. 

Boulder police Chief Maris Herold provided other details about the incident on Tuesday. 

HEROLD: Officers arrived on the scene within minutes and immediately entered the store and engaged the suspect. There was an exchange of gunfire in which the suspect was shot. No other officers were injured. The suspect was taken into custody at 3:28 p.m. 

That suspect is 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa who lives in suburban Denver. Prosecutors have charged him with 10 counts of murder. No word yet on a motive. 

The youngest person who died at the King Soopers store was 20 years old, and the oldest was 65. Fifty-one-year-old Boulder police officer Eric Talley was among the victims. 

AstraZeneca working to update “outdated information” » AstraZeneca is working to clear up concerns that it may have used “outdated information” when it announced the results of its U.S. Phase 3 vaccine trial. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports. 

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: On Monday, the company reported the results of a study of some 30,000 Americans who received the vaccine. Those results showed the shots to be safe and effective against COVID-19. And executives said they would apply for FDA approval early next month. 

But on Tuesday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease said it was concerned that the vaccine trial results may have used “outdated information.” 

AstraZeneca said in a statement that the data it released Monday included cases up to Feb. 17th, as the study rules specified.

It also said it was continuing to analyze newer cases and that newer data rolling in has been consistent with what it had already reported. 

But the company on Tuesday promised an update within 48 hours.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown. 

White House new $3 T spending plan » After winning passage of a near $2 trillion relief bill, the White House is now mapping out a $3 trillion spending bill. 

Biden huddled privately this week with Senate Democrats to talk strategy on a massive package that would spend big on infrastructure and many domestic programs. 

Democrats say the package would include family-friendly policies like strengthening education and paid family leave.

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it’s unlikely to win much, if any, Republican support. 

MCCONNELL: We’re hearing the next few months might actually be a trojan horse for massive tax hikes and other job-killing left wing policies. 

Democrats in Congress have signaled a willingness to go it alone if Republicans aren’t on board. 

Polls show no clear winner in Israeli election » Exit polls in Israel last night indicated no clear winner in Tuesday’s election. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Polls showed Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist allies falling short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in parliament. 

But opponents of Netanyahu’s Likud party also appear to have fallen short. That could set the stage for weeks of paralysis and even an unprecedented fifth consecutive election. 

The polls show Netanyahu and his allies with 53-to-54 seats in the 120-seat parliament. His opponents were projected to win 59. 

But exit polls are often imprecise and the official results may not be known for days.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) A mourner leaves a bouquet of flowers along a fence put up around the parking lot where a mass shooting took place in a King Soopers grocery store Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. 

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