Santa Fe High School freshman Caitlyn Girouard, center, hugs her friend outside the Alamo Gym where students and parents wait to reunite following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP)Michael Ciaglo/The Canadian Press
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
At least 10 killed, 10 wounded in Texas school shooting
The sound of gunshots tore through the air at Santa Fe High School, near Galveston, Texas shortly before 8 a.m. local time Friday leaving at least 10 people dead. Another 10 were taken to hospital for treatment. Heavily armed police responded to the scene as lines of students evacuated the building. The sheriff said they have taken into custody a possible suspect and another person of interest.
U.S. President Donald Trump called the attack heartbreaking, but has showed mixed messages about changing gun laws since the Parkland school shooting in Florida, where 17 people died. No major federal gun controls have been imposed since that shooting in February despite rallies held across the U.S.
Following the Parkland shooting, Globe U.S. correspondent Joanna Slater examined why the U.S. federal government has purposely restricted funding for studies on gun violence.
Windsor braces for onslaught of royal well-wishers as security tightens ahead of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s wedding
More than 100,000 royal well-wishers have descended on the town of Windsor as security around Windsor Castle increased ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day. As Globes European correspondent Paul Waldie reports from Windsor, police were out in full force on the town’s streets Friday amid a carnival-like atmosphere and warm sunshine, with Union Jacks flying from every lamppost. Fans are expected to line the streets many people deep Saturday morning hoping to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds.
Friday night: Ms. Markle will spend tonight with her mother at a nearby hotel while Prince Harry will stay with his brother at another nearby hotel.
The ceremony (7 a.m. ET): About 600 family and friends will gather inside the chapel, including most of the Royal Family. Ben and Jessica Mulroney’s children will act as a bridesmaid and page boys during the ceremony. Prince Charles will walk Ms. Markle down the aisle. And 2,640 specially invited guests will be gathered outside the castle’s St. George’s Chapel and will be the first to greet the couple after the ceremony.
After the ceremony: The couple will travel through the town in a carriage past tens of thousands of people lining the streets and then return to St. George’s Hall for a reception. In the evening, about 200 close friends and family have been invited to a private reception at Frogmore House, near Windsor Castle.
From the procession to the guests, here’s what you need to know about what’s happening, who’s paying and why it makes some people mad.
Jen Sookfong Lee looks back at the royal wedding of 1981, how the years that followed changed both of their lives and about what Diana taught her: “She was all the things my sisters and I were supposed to aspire to back then – pretty but not flashy, devoted to children, demure enough to be acceptable to a prince and, especially, his mother. And yet, there is a glimmer of defiance.”
Could the DNA of these ‘super seniors’ hold the secret to healthy aging?
At 88, Donald Faulkner hits the gym twice a week, curls, drives and joins his pals for happy hour on Fridays. He makes it look easy. Even though he used to be a smoker and a heavier drinker, today he is mentally sharp and physically fit. However, Mr. Faulkner’s experience isn’t typical. He belongs to a select group of Canadians with a real-life superpower: healthy aging. Researchers are looking at Mr. Faulkner and 699 others as part of a study to discover what gives healthy elders a leg up, instead of focusing on what makes people sick. As Adriana Barton reports, the hope is to pinpoint genetic variants that protect them against disease, paving the way for new drugs that mimic the variants.
Boeing 737 crashes after taking off from Havana airport
A Cuban domestic flight carrying 104 passengers crashed around midday Friday. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. The ruling Communist Party newspaper, Granma, said three people had survived. We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
Pipeline pledge won’t cost taxpayers a cent, Morneau says
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau says Ottawa might even make money from a vow to protect the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project from financial loss caused by any B.C. government obstruction. The move was an attempt to spur Kinder Morgan to resume construction or sell it to another entity that would. Critics say the plan is essentially offering the company a “blank cheque,” but Mr. Morneau says it would function more like insurance. (for subscribers)
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index was closed flat on Friday as a rise in health care stocks offset a drop in financial shares after inflation data lifted expectations the central bank will hold interest rates steady later this month. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.12 per cent to finish at 16,162.31. Meanwhile, in the United States, the S&P 500 ended lower after a choppy trading session as bank and chipmaker stocks weighed on the index and investors grappled with U.S.-China trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01 per cent to close at 24,715.91, the S&P 500 lost 0.26 per cent to end at 2,713.01 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.38 per cent to finish at 7,354.34.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed Justin Trudeau’s call for an international investigation into deadly clashes at Gaza’s border but pledged to get to the bottom on the sniper shooting of a Canadian-Palestinian doctor. Mr. Netanyahu phoned Mr. Trudeau Thursday to discuss the recent violence and killings at the Israeli-Gaza border.
On Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted to set up a probe into the recent killings and accused Israel of excessive use of force.
TALKING POINTS
How did tennis get this boring?
“ While Canadian tennis is on a roll, however, it’s not such a great time for tennis fans over all. As the French Open gets under way on May 21, with Spain’s Rafael Nadal looking unstoppable as he goes after a record 11th title at Roland-Garros, it’s worth asking whether the sport’s utter domination by the same two players hasn’t killed all the fun.” (for subscribers) - Konrad Yakabuski
Ontario gets taken to the cleaners in casino deal
“ Reminiscent of the privatization of Highway 407, the sale involves a massive transfer of wealth from the Government of Ontario, and ultimately all Ontarians, to the private sector. This is yet another example of the government’s inability to receive maximum value for its assets, limiting its capacity to service its soaring debt and pay for essential social services.” - David Zarnett
Political correctness vs. progress: Michelle Goldberg and Jordan Peterson each make their case ahead of Munk debate
Conservatives think progressives worry too much about “political correctness” – words and attitudes that include, protect and above all don’t offend. Progressives respond that ‘what you call political correctness, I call progress,’ which is the resolution of Friday’s Munk debate at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall.
To preview the debate, Globe reporters spoke to both sides about the relationship between political correctness and free speech and if there are justifiable limits such as hate speech?
LIVING BETTER
Don’t want to fork over the big bucks for a trip to Disneyland? We asked a panel of regional family travel experts for their thoughts on Canada’s best child-friendly historic sites. From gold-panning and underground train tours in British Columbia to the Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place in PEI, here are the top pics from coast to coast.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
This 12-year-old leukemia survivor is fighting for equal access to medicine for all Canadians
Each year about 3,800 Canadian children, adolescents and young adults are diagnosed with cancer. While most of these patients can be cured with standard treatment, the remaining few don’t have good odds. Today, experimental therapies are curing tough-to-treat cancers like never before, but a child’s chances of receiving a potentially life-saving treatment may depend on whether he or she lives near where a clinical trial is taking place – the majority happen in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Helena Kirk, 12, is looking to change all that. And while she has already met with the prime minister and health minister, neither has made promises.
Mermaid mythology making waves in the fashion world
Mermaids are not born, they’re made, and the fanciful fins trend that has emerged this year is decidedly darker than Disney’s Ariel. Today’s mermaids are as dangerous as they are beguiling, and these new interpretations, with deeper roots in cultural mood, speak to the sociopolitical preoccupation of the times. For generations, the mermaid has existed as the star of a children’s tale about altering one’s body and giving up one’s voice for a prince – a lesson about how girls should behave in a world that silences them and polices their bodies. As Nathalie Atkinson writes, the mermaid is now assertive, sexual and even violent. (for subscribers)
PLAYOFFS
The Winnipeg Jets will face off against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference final at 8 p.m. ET in Las Vegas. The Jets are down 2-1 in the series after losing the last two games. As Marty Klinkenberg reports from Las Vegas, it is the first time the Jets have trailed this postseason and took an expansion team to do it. Mr. Klinkenberg also reports on how the Golden Knights are defying the odds to reunite a community. The team is the only one in the league to invite spectators to view its workouts every day. A DJ plays music, dancers entertain and free popcorn is handed out. “It is a spectacle unseen in any pro market in Canada or the United States,” he writes.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and Kristene Quan. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.