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Police make arrest in Austin shooting that wounded 14

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police have arrested one suspect and are searching for another after a mass shooting on a crowded downtown Austin street left 14 people wounded early Saturday, two of them critically.

The Austin Police Department said in a news release that the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force assisted in making the arrest, but it provided no other details other than to say it is continuing to follow up on leads for the suspect still at large.

Interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon said the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. on a street packed with bars and barricaded off from vehicle traffic. He said investigators believe it began as a dispute between two parties. Chacon said both suspects are male, but declined to disclose details such as whether both fired shots, saying the investigation was ongoing.

“Most of the victims were innocent bystanders, but we’re still sorting out all of the victims to see what their involvement is in this case,” Chacon said.

The mass shooting — one of at least three in the U.S. overnight — sparked panic along 6th Street, a popular nightlife destination in the city that’s home to the University of Texas.

Joe Biden to name Pulse nightclub a national memorial

(AP) — President Joe Biden said on the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that he will sign a bill naming the site as a national memorial.

The deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in U.S. history left 49 people dead and 53 people wounded as “Latin Night” was being celebrated at the club. Biden said in a statement Saturday that he has “stayed in touch with families of the victims and with the survivors who have turned their pain into purpose” and described the club as “hallowed ground.”

The president emphasized that the country must do more to reduce gun violence, such as banning assault weapons and closing loopholes in regulations that enable gun buyers to bypass background checks. Biden said the nation must acknowledge that gun violence has hurt members of the LGBTQ community

“We must drive out hate and inequities that contribute to the epidemic of violence and murder against transgender women — especially transgender women of color,” Biden said.

White House advisers Susan Rice and Cedric Richmond hosted a virtual roundtable on Friday with LGBTQ leaders, gun violence survivors and gun control advocates.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, walked Saturday with the crowd for the Capitol Pride Walk And Rally in Washington.

Winning bid to fly in space with Jeff Bezos: $28 million

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An auction for a ride into space next month alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother ended with a winning $28 million bid Saturday.

The Amazon founder’s rocket company, Blue Origin, did not disclose the winner’s name following the live online auction. The identity will be revealed in a couple weeks — closer to the brief up-and-down flight from West Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing.

It will be the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket with people on board, kicking off the company’s space tourism business. Fifteen previous test flights of the reusable rocket and capsule since 2015 — short hops lasting about 10 minutes — were all successful.

Saturday’s auction followed more than a month of online bidding that reached $4.8 million by Friday. More than 7,500 people from 159 countries registered to bid.

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