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The Uvalde police chief who’s gone into hiding · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, June 6th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news, and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
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  There was a lot of gun violence in this country over the weekend. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Sunday, multiple shooters left three people dead and more than a dozen injured. In Philadelphia on Saturday, several shooters killed three people and wounded at least 11. And in Wisconsin on Friday, a retired judge was shot and killed in his home. Police say the suspect targeted him after being sent to prison by the judge over a decade ago, and that the shooter had other government officials on a list of targets, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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  Meanwhile, in Uvalde, Texas, it was a relatively quiet weekend after many days of back-to-back funerals for the 19 children and two teachers who were killed two weeks ago. One thing that is noticeably different in town is a beefed-up police presence. The "Houston Chronicle" reports that officers from across the state have flocked to Uvalde to back up and show support for the local police force. The "Chronicle" says they've been especially visible at the funerals and have at times blocked reporters from doing their jobs, even in designated media areas.
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  And it's not just the "Chronicle." Reporters from other local outlets are saying they've been hitting roadblocks with police officials, trying to question them about the details of what happened on the day of the shooting and why the police waited over an hour for backup to charge into the school.
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  "The Texas Tribune" takes a closer look at an official who's at the center of a lot of these questions, but has so far stayed pretty quiet. That's Pete Arredondo. He was the chief of the Uvalde school district police department. It was his call to wait for backup instead of immediately sending officers into the school. The chief of the state police later singled out Arredondo, and said he made the, quote, "wrong decision, period."
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  Now, the "Tribune" describes Arredondo as a man in hiding, with police officers standing guard outside his home. Last week, he was quietly sworn in for his new role on the City Council. The public ceremony for that was canceled. The state police has said Arredondo has not cooperated with a state investigation into the shooting, a claim that Arredondo refuted.
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  Meanwhile, some people in Uvalde are frustrated in their grief and asking, "Where is the accountability for the police?" Richard Marini is a reporter with the "San Antonio Express-News." He told us about a conversation he had with a lifetime Uvalde resident who was questioning the police timeline.
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  Richard Marini: Unprompted, he went off about his anger at the police not going into that school and into that classroom sooner. No one would know what would happen. No one can tell what would happen if they had. But he seemed to feel that some of those children would still be alive had they gone in faster than they did.
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  Many people in town told the "Tribune" they aren't sure who to blame, partly because the authorities have repeatedly changed their narrative of what happened that day. One of the bottom-line questions that still hasn't been answered is why Arredondo, who commanded a small police force, was the person in charge of response that day, even though larger police agencies with more active shooter experience were also engaged.
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  Did your child do enough learning this year? This has been a huge struggle throughout the pandemic, as parents deal with the stress of virtual school, then back to classrooms, then back to virtual whenever there's a big spike in cases. We know that it's hard on kids, but exactly how much education are they missing out on? There's an article about learning loss in "The Atlantic" that caught our eye because it cites data showing just how far students have fallen behind. And it argues that schools may not be doing enough to make up for it.
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  Thomas Kane: And I'm just concerned that their plans are not nearly commensurate with the magnitude of their students' losses.
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  Thomas Kane is a Harvard economist and education researcher. The jury's still out on how this school year went, but his team arrived at some conclusions based on last year's test results from millions of students across the country.
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  Kane: The extent of your loss really depended on two things: the school poverty status and the percent of the year that your schools were closed. In areas where schools were closed for a half a year or more, there were large losses, especially for students in high poverty schools.
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  Kane explains that students lost the equivalent of months' worth of in-person instruction during the pandemic. It could scale back their lifetime earnings. He estimates it's a $2 trillion impact. As for what to do about these educational setbacks, Kane says intensive tutoring and summer school could help. But he thinks a much bigger move is needed.
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  Kane: People will gradually realize that the only choice will be between expanding the school year or allowing large student achievement losses.
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  That's right, he's proposing a longer school year for the next two years. Kane points out, schools got $190 billion in federal pandemic relief and a lot of that is still unspent. The money could pay for teachers, bus drivers, everyone in a school to work a longer year. He says the losses are just too big for us to try to move the needle with a bit of tutoring here and there. And while extending the school year sounds like a big sacrifice, these kids, he says, deserve a full academic recovery.
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  The Queen's Jubilee celebrations over the weekend had millions of people tuning in and partying in the streets to mark her 70 years on the throne. Three generations of the royal family attended Jubilee events, although it was four-year-old Prince Louis who really stole the show doing what four-year-olds do, which is make a lot of funny faces. According to the "BBC," more than 13 million people tuned in to watch the Jubilee concert on Saturday, where legends like Diana Ross performed and beloved British icons like Paddington Bear made an appearance in a little video with the Queen.
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  Paddington Bear: Happy Jubilee, ma’am, and thank you for everything.
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  Queen Elizabeth II: That's very kind.
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  But this morning, Brits are waking up to a drastic shift in the national mood. Today, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a no confidence vote that could oust him from leadership. This comes after reports that Johnson broke lockdown protocol at the height of the pandemic to host parties at Downing Street. Johnson needs a majority of members of parliament in his Conservative Party to vote in his favor in order to survive today's vote. And there is no consensus on who would replace him.
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  So far, the odds are looking like they are in his favor. But even if Johnson hangs on to power, the "BBC" says no confidence votes are almost always bad news for political leaders.
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  For example, the last time there was a no confidence vote was in 2018. Theresa May was the Prime Minister. She survived, but she went on to resign a few months later.
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  And finally, this good news story comes to us from Alaska. An Iditarod sled dog who'd been missing for three months was finally found and reunited with its owner this weekend.
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  The dog is a three-year-old husky named Leon. And Leon went missing during the annual long-distance sled dog race back in March. According to officials, he got loose while his musher was camped out at a checkpoint, roughly halfway through the race. And there was a big search for him. The musher posted emotional updates on Facebook, saying he'll never stop looking for his dog.
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  A few weeks ago, in a town about 150 miles away from that checkpoint, locals reported seeing a dog that looked a lot like Leon. They eventually managed to catch him. He survived brutal conditions out there, and he is a little bit skinnier. But overall, he's healthy and he's recovering. His owner posted some pictures to Facebook, a toast for Leon's safe return. He's got his pup by his side looking up at him lovingly. He's got a drink in one hand and a glass of water for Leon in the other.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And when you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News+ partners. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
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