Health

An anguished and angry President Joe Biden is calling for new restrictions on firearms after a gunman massacred at least 19 children at a Texas elementary school. “We have to act,” Biden told the nation Tuesday night from the White House, after years of failure to pass new laws. He spoke after arriving home from a five-day trip to Asia that was bookended by “horrific” mass tragedy. Just two days before he left on his trip, he met with victims’ families after a hate-motivated shooter killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on policing Wednesday, the second anniversary of George Floyd's death. Most of the order is focused on federal law enforcement agencies — for example, requiring them to review and revise policies on use of force. It would also create a database to help track officer misconduct. The administration cannot require local police departments to participate in the database, which is intended to prevent problem officers from hopping from job to job. But officials are looking for ways to use federal funding to encourage their cooperation. The order would also restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police.

South Korea’s government says one of the three weapons North Korea test-launched Wednesday was a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile. It would be North Korea's first ICBM launch in about two months and comes after a self-imposed moratorium on test-launching long-distance weapons. North Korea’s long-range missile program is aimed at obtaining an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the mainland U.S. The launches came after President Joe Biden wrapped up his trip to Asia where he reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend its allies in the face of the North’s growing nuclear threat. The South Korean military said the U.S. and South Korea fired two surface-to-surface missiles in response to demonstrate the allies’ striking capabilities.

Georgia’s high-stakes primary election appeared to be running smoothly with no reports of major problems. Tuesday's election was the first statewide test of new voting restrictions passed by Republicans after the 2020 presidential election. A record number of ballots cast during the early voting period in the three weeks before Election Day helped ease the strain at polling places. There were no reports of long lines or widespread equipment problems despite hotly contested GOP primary races for governor and U.S. Senate. Voting in Alabama and Arkansas, the other two states holding regular primaries, also appeared to be problem-free.

Federal prosecutors in Maryland say a West Virginia man has pleaded guilty to sending threatening emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci and former National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins. Thomas Patrick Connally Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to making threats against a federal officials. One email threatened to harm Fauci and his family, according to the plea. It said Connally also admitted threatening former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, a Massachusetts public health official and a religious leader in New Jersey. Connally faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing in August.

A massive recall is getting most of the blame for the U.S. baby formula shortage, but experts say the products have long been vulnerable to this type of crisis. They point to decades-old policies that have allowed a handful of companies to corner the market. Safety and manufacturing rules imposed by U.S. regulators make it hard for smaller companies to enter the market. And federal contracting rules also favor the largest manufacturers who can offer the lowest prices on formula. Those government rules are aimed at assuring safe, affordable formula. But they are now getting renewed scrutiny because of the shortage.