What we’re reading: six killed in Nashville school shooting, Israel protests and more

AFP via Getty Images

US Vice President Kamala Harris addresses the crowd after arriving at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, on March 26, 2023. – US Vice President Kamala Harris starts a three-country tour of Africa, promoting the White House’s positive vision of the continent as the “future of the world.” Harris’ trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia is the latest salvo in deepening US engagement with a continent largely ignored under Republican Donald Trump — and long viewed in Washington as more of a problem area than a land of opportunity. (Photo by Nipah Dennis / AFP) (Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

By Lance Sanders, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2023

Multiple dead after school shooting in Nashville

Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville Monday according to Fox News.

The shooter was a 28-year-old woman who entered the building through a side door before climbing stairs to the second floor, where she opened fire and was killed by first responders, according to Fox News.

The three students were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital according to Craig Boerner, a spokesperson for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The Covenant School is a private school in Nashville for students in pre-school through sixth grade. According to the school’s website, there are approximately 200 students currently enrolled.

According to data compiled by Education Week, there were 12 school shootings in 2023 through March 23 that have resulted in deaths or injuries in the United States, according to BBC.

This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shooter event that took place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn. Monday, March 27, 2023. Authorities say the suspect in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville is dead. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

Protesters take to the streets after judicial overhaul

Israelis took to the streets Sunday night in protest after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister Yoav Gallant for challenging the Israeli leader’s judicial overhaul plan, according to the Associated Press.

The protests come after a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

In the proposed judicial changes, the government is trying to change the structure of its nine-member committee that selects judges for the court.

The proposal would give representatives and appointees of the government an automatic majority on the committee. Under this change the government would select its supreme court judges.

Additionally, the government wants to reduce the power of the Supreme Court by drastically reducing its ability to strike down laws that are deemed unconstitutional, according to The New York Times.

Currently, the overhaul is paused because Netanyahu stated he wanted to avoid a civil war by making time to seek a compromise over the contentious package with political opponents, according to the Associated Press.

Disney announced it will lay off 7,000 employees

Bob Iger, CEO, Disney, during CNBC interview, Feb. 9, 2023. Randy Shropshire | CNBC

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Monday that the company will begin lay offs this week. This comes after his announcement in February that the company would cut 7,000 jobs.

The layoffs are part of a multibillion dollar cost-cutting initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations in a period of media industry turmoil, according to CNN.

“This week, we begin notifying employees whose positions are impacted by the company’s workforce reductions,” Iger wrote in the memo. “Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days. A second, larger round of notifications will happen in April with several thousand more staff reductions, and we expect to commence the final round of notifications before the beginning of the summer to reach our 7,000-job target,” according to CNBC.

In addition to the layoffs, Disney also announced a plan to restructure the company into three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks and Experiences and Products, according to Yahoo Finance.

Vice President Kamala Harris starts Africa tour

Kamala Harris met with the President of Ghana and pledged to offer aid to fight violent extremism and economic instability.
NIPAH DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Ghana Sunday night to kick off a three-nation tour of Africa in her first visit to the continent since taking office, according to CBS News.

The United States will provide $100 million to Ghana and four other West African countries to assist in combating violent extremism and instability, according to Reuters.

This is in addition to $139 million in bilateral assistance that the United States intends to provide to Ghana in the fiscal year 2024, according to Harris’s office.

 “The U.S. is strengthening our partnerships across the continent of Africa, and they are guided not by what we can do for Africa, but with Africa and our African partners on this continent,” Harris said at a news conference with the Ghanaian leader.

 The Biden administration is hoping this visit will help propel efforts to secure a more sustainable African partnership in hopes of countering the rising influence of China in Russia within the region, according to CNN.