Active Shooter in Jacksonville and Florida State University Shooting – 4/20/2025

An active shooter incident in Jacksonville, Texas, and a deadly shooting at Florida State University have heightened safety concerns, with authorities responding swiftly to both crises. Internationally, escalating tensions in Ukraine and China’s rare earth export restrictions underscore ongoing global challenges.

United States

  • President Trump’s approval rating in the first quarter of his second term surpasses his first term’s, according to a recent Gallup survey.
  • Justice Alito dissents against SCOTUS’s midnight ruling halting Trump’s deportation of criminal aliens, calling it “legally questionable,” per Supreme Court.
  • Physicist Paul Ginsparg’s 1991 email server project became arXiv, now hosting 2.6 million papers and driving scientific breakthroughs, per WIRED.
  • AI startup Mechanize aims to automate all jobs, sparking debate over economic impacts, per TechCrunch.
  • Tom Homan criticizes a senator for meeting an MS-13 member abroad while ignoring victims’ families, saying, “How many Angel Moms and Dads has he met in Maryland?”
  • JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, faces charges for bribing 1,800 officials and mislabeling imported meat as “Product of the USA.”
  • AOC emerges as a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, per Yale survey.
  • Trump’s tariffs and deportation policies could cost U.S. tourism $90 billion as travelers avoid the country.
  • Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee defends central bank independence amid Trump’s criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, per Bloomberg.
  • U.S. DOGE Service meets with National Gallery of Art leaders, hinting at potential budget cuts or changes for the museum, per The Washington Post.
  • DHS emails titled “Notice of Termination of Parole” warn immigrants to leave the U.S. or face removal, but some U.S. citizens reportedly received them, per NBC News.

Southeast

  • An active shooter was barricaded inside Super Gallo grocery store in Jacksonville, Texas, firing rounds, with no hostages reported and customers evacuated, per CBS19.
  • Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida charity faces scrutiny over a $10 million health care settlement misuse, with some funds allegedly used to oppose weed legalization, prompting resignations and threats of subpoenas, per The Guardian.
  • Florida man Wayne Volz, 34, claiming to be “Jesus,” held parents hostage and died in a shootout with police after saying, “Do you want to die today?” per PEOPLE.
  • Florida State University reopens after a shooting by student Phoenix Ikner killed campus workers Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba, with classes resuming amid community support, per CBS.
  • Florida State University holds a vigil for community healing after a shooting killed Robert Morales, 57, and Tiru Chabba, 45, and wounded five others, per CBS News.
  • Missouri State safety Todric McGee, 21, died from a reportedly accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound, per NBC News.

Appalachia

  • CDC layoffs jeopardize a West Virginia lab’s frozen tissue and urine samples, risking millions in research on PFAS and cancer; one researcher warned: “The clock is ticking,” per WIRED.

International

  • The US proposes easing sanctions on Russia as part of a Ukraine peace plan, per Bloomberg.
  • Ukraine reports 387 shellings and 290 drone attacks within hours of Russia’s failed 30-hour “Easter truce,” per BBC News.
  • Jared Isaacman, Trump’s NASA pick, pushes for human missions to both the moon and Mars to counter China’s lead in lunar and Martian exploration, per SpaceNews.
  • Hundreds of Christians celebrate Easter at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, led by Archbishop Pizzaballa, per Associated Press.
  • France warns that ousting Fed Chair Jerome Powell could undermine the US dollar’s credibility.
  • UK ministers urged to emulate Trump’s funding cuts to “woke” universities, targeting “left-wing ideology,” per Daily Mail.
  • A Spanish woman died after an AI system, VioGén, deemed her “medium risk” and denied her protection from her abusive ex, per BBC News.
  • Taiwan extends short-selling restrictions to stabilize financial markets and reduce volatility.
  • British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, on Bali’s death row for drug smuggling, gains hope of avoiding execution due to a new Indonesian law, per Daily Mail.
  • China restricts rare earth exports in response to Trump’s 145% tariffs, threatening global car production with only 2-3 months of supply left, per Daily Express.

Middle East

  • Israeli military admits fault in Gaza strike that killed 15 Palestinian medics, citing “poor night visibility” and misidentification; the deputy battalion commander involved will be dismissed, per AP.
  • Israeli military dismisses a special forces field commander for an “operational misunderstanding” that led to the deaths of 15 Gaza emergency workers, per The Washington Post.