What A Day - Another School Shooting: 'It Doesn't Have To Be This Way'

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

Georgia police on Wednesday said four people were killed, and nine others were taken to the hospital with injuries after a shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta. Police identified the alleged shooter as a 14-year-old student at the school. Natalie Fall, the executive director of March For Our Lives, talks about how gun safety advocates are responding to the latest school tragedy.A new poll from CNN/SSRS shows Vice President Kamala Harris with a lead in the vital swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin and in a statistical tie with former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia. As the nation prepares to potentially make Harris the first Indian American president in U.S. history, WAD host Priyanka Arabindi sat down with members of her own family to do exactly what you're not supposed to do at a big family gathering: talk about politics!And in headlines: The Biden administration is planning to make it harder to end a restrictive asylum policy that was supposed to be temporary, the Department of Justice said it had disrupted Russian efforts to meddle in the upcoming election, and Montana's Republican Senate nominee Tim Sheehy was caught on tape making racist comments about Native Americans.Show Notes:Check out March For Our Lives – https://marchforourlives.org/Take the AP's Gen Alpha Quiz – https://tinyurl.com/bdedmazzSubscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday   

It's Thursday, September 5th. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver and this is What A Day, the show that is debating the meaning of mogging and Ohio. Yes, we found this quiz on AP News about Generation Alpha slang. Didn't even know there was a Generation Alpha until yesterday. We're learning a lot. Yeah, that's not very skippity of you. I'm very Ohio according to this quiz. On today's show, the Department of Justice has taken action against Russian meddling in this year's election. Plus, the Biden administration is expected to update its border policy. But first,

the community of Winder, Georgia is mourning after a school shooting at a local high school. At least four people, two students and two teachers, were killed at Apalachee High School on Wednesday and dozens of others were injured. Early Wednesday morning, the school received a phone call from an unknown source claiming that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first. And as the nation mourns yet another school shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and former President Donald Trump have all commented on the deadly incident. Here's Vice President Harris speaking about the shooting while campaigning in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It's senseless. We've got to stop it. And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. You know, it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way.

It really does not. This does not need to be how students and families go into a brand new school year. Just a reminder of what kids face every single day as they go to school and hope to learn something. So what do we know so far about the shooter? The FBI says the shooter, a 14-year-old, was on law enforcement's radar. The agency's Atlanta field office was tipped off about the shooter a year ago, and he and his father were even questioned by the local sheriff's office. Apparently, he had previously made threats online about a school shooting in 2023, and he even posted pictures of guns. The shooter is in custody after being

talked down by a school resource officer, and the story is still developing. I reached out to Natalie Fall. She's the executive director for March for Our Lives, a youth-led movement for gun safety. I started our conversation by asking for her reaction to the Appalachian school shooting. What's clear is that we're not doing enough. Leaders in Georgia are not doing enough. Our leaders in Congress are not doing enough to prevent tragedies like this from happening. You know, we're just a couple weeks into the school year and already, you know, it's just back to school, back to school shootings. I want to focus on that context of back to school in this moment, because I'm curious, how many school shootings have there been in the United States this year? And is there a reason we haven't been hearing more about them lately? Well, I don't know the exact number of how many school

shootings so far this year. I do know that we're on track, unfortunately, to break records in that regard. The past few years, really since 2020, we've just seen mass shootings and all other kinds of shootings on the rise. Guns have become the leading killer of young people in this country. It's just an unacceptable state of things. And then so much more needs to be done by our leaders. Okay, you mentioned our leaders multiple times. I do want to ask about them because Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and former President Donald Trump have all responded to this deadly incident. What did you make of their reactions? I think Vice President Harris and President Biden, their statements were in line with what they have said and done in the past in their time in office. We really are proud to have been a part of pushing

the administration to create the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. And that was a huge effort on the part of March for Our Lives and our partners in the gun violence prevention space. Vice President Harris has been the leader of that office. She's been out on the road meeting with victims and families. One thing we've been really heartened to see, I've appreciated about their approach to this work, is that they really have been survivor-focused in what they're doing, putting those who have experienced tragedy, who know the causes of gun violence and know it very viscerally, putting them at the center of creating

solutions and enacting policy measures to curb this epidemic. I mean, it's not lost on me, you really focused your response on Democrats. What do you have to say about Republican response to gun violence prevention measures, especially in former President Donald Trump? It's the same empty rhetoric. You know, we talk often about this thoughts and prayers. The thoughts and prayers tweets are flying out right now. And Republicans will offer that and nothing else. And they will quickly tell us to stop talking about gun control, to not politicize this. And it's just it's been an effective way for them to kick the can down the road and do absolutely nothing. These school shootings are absolutely a choice that our leaders are making. And I think it's no secret that Republicans are cozying up to the NRA, taking money from the gun lobby, and of course, just out there

unwilling to do anything or even really speak meaningfully about this issue. And in that choice, how do you see that playing a factor in the presidential election? We know November is quickly approaching. We know what you've just described about Democratic response versus Republican response. But how do you expect that to play out, especially as young voters are looking to leadership to have something substantive, a substantive plan as it relates to gun violence prevention? The vast majority of the American people, and that includes gun owners, want to see reasonable, common sense measures put into place to prevent gun violence. When you put it up to the voters consistently, whether it's in polling or ballot measures, we see voters turn out in support of gun safety. Because of that, I'm very hopeful of what's possible in November. And so what we at March for Our Lives are doing right now and are going to really be hitting the gas on over the next few weeks is just those really important peer-to-peer conversations with

young voters, prospective voters, laying out the stakes of this election, particularly as it relates to gun violence, and just really making the case for Vice President Harris to lead the ticket and come out on top as the President of the United States, because we know that she, you know, puts her money where her mouth is. You mentioned your push in the lead up to November around gun safety initiative. Are there any specific demands that you've laid out to Vice President Harris's command or former President Donald Trump's command to consider if they're elected and steps they could take within the first hundred days in office? Yeah, so we've been in close touch with Vice President Harris and President Biden. We laid out for them a five point plan of actions they could take in office.

And the truth is they've done almost every single one of them. So we're really happy about that. The president can't wave a wand and pass an assault weapons ban and all these other legislative measures we'd like to see passed. We really, really need to see Congress act on this. Now, we saw Congress pass the first piece of gun violence prevention or gun safety legislation in about 30 years in 2022, after students and young people rallied across the country after the shootings at Buffalo and Uvalde, Congress really, you know, in a bipartisan way came together. We're really proud

of that work, but it is far, far from enough. But it's also already having really promising results to curb gun violence rates. That was my conversation with Natalie Fall, Executive Director of March for Our Lives. Thank you so much for that, Juanita. I want to switch gears now to the presidential race. According to new CNN SSRS polling released on Wednesday, Vice President Harris is ahead of Trump in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin and has a statistical tie with him in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Though I will say, in Juanita, your famous words, polls are just a snapshot. And I wanted to take a snapshot of my own. Recently,

a bunch of my extended family was in Atlanta to celebrate my cousin Swetha's wedding. And while I didn't want to interrupt the fun, it was also a really interesting opportunity. Here we were, multiple generations of Indian Americans of all different ages living all over the country, all in one place for the weekend. At the very same time that our country prepares to potentially make Kamala Harris the first Indian American president in American history. So I decided to do the one thing you are not supposed to do in large family gatherings. Talk about politics. I feel like the vibe is very different right now since that campaign is all about joy and happiness and possibilities. So I'm sure and I hope your family was welcoming

when you shoved a microphone in their face. You know what? I didn't actually think of that. But, you know, now that you mention it, that might have been why we had so many pleasant conversations. None of these conversations ended in conflict, shouting any of the typical things you might expect. Maybe it's because I did put the microphone in people's faces. Maybe that's the key.

But anyways, in some of the downtime around the wedding, I got a few small groups of my relatives together to hear a little bit more about what matters to them in this election and what they think about Vice President Harris. I talked to my cousins, aunts, uncles, even my parents, and they were some really interesting conversations. This is my cousins, aunts, uncles, even my parents, and they were some really interesting conversations. This is my dad's side of the family, and like Kamala Harris, we're also South Indian, but we're not from the same region of India. And the relatives I spoke with live everywhere from Georgia to Illinois to Texas to California. Most of them do vote, though surprisingly, given how polarized politics is and can seem,

a lot of them didn't speak so strongly about party affiliations. Most people told me that they cared more about the individual candidates. Take a listen to some of our conversations. Have you voted in past elections? Do you consider yourself aligned with any political party? As far as I'm concerned, no. I don't affiliate myself to a party. I just go more with the candidates and their history, and that's more important to me.

I consider myself to be an independent. I mean, mostly so far I've tended to vote for Democrats, but I still like to have a choice, and a good choice. Until Clinton won, I voted Democrat, and I raised a lot of funds for them, tens of thousands of dollars over 20 years. But after Clinton won, I changed to Republican. But this time I'm independent, undecided. Both of the parties I just feel like are mediocre and I felt like it's been like that for a while.

So most everyone I asked voted for Biden in the 2020 election, which does check out with the data. According to the 2020 Asian American voter survey from Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, 65% of Indian Americans plan to vote for Biden in 2020 and 28% for Trump. But there were some outliers in my conversations. One of the uncles I talked to voted for Trump in 2020 and two of my cousins didn't vote at all. I went on to ask everybody about the issues that matter to them in this election, and very unsurprisingly, the economy came up frequently for people across every age range. But I also got a variety of other answers too. I'm looking for a candidate that's more fiscally conservative, because I think as

a nation, we are spending way too much. One thing that's really important to me is the U.S.'s representation in global affairs and promoting justice in global affairs. And specifically, I'm talking about the conflict in Israel and Gaza and having candidates that are more vocal about stopping genocide. This time around, for sure, women's health issues and the whole reversal of road we made is what really is pivotal for me to make that decision. Certainly, inflation is a big issue,

as well as illegal immigration. You know, if you have a country, you need to have a good border to secure it. I don't mind having immigrants and all that, but they need to be properly processed, you know? That was just a selection of answers I heard. But for many other relatives I talked to, it wasn't any one specific issue that's going to determine how they vote. Instead, like more than half of Americans out there, it was their opposition to one person in particular. Yeah, there's a lot of issues I care about, but honestly, I wouldn't be voting on any of them. There's only one issue, and that's making

sure that democracy kind of doesn't go by the wayside if Trump is elected again. I just don't want Trump to be back in there. That's my decision. I've made up my decision a long time ago. I mean, I'm definitely anti-Trump based on what he has said on record. I think it's a disgrace to the country that he was the president in the first place. And the way he conducted himself during the first term disqualifies him from being president ever again or sitting anywhere near the White House. Clearly some very strong opinions over there. But, you know, everybody's had a lot of time to get to know Trump over the years. I was really curious to hear what they thought about Vice President Harris and if her Indian American heritage had any impact on the way they were thinking about voting.

Being an Indian American, I was elated that he selected Kamala Harris. So I became undecided from being a Republican, mainly because of her Indian background. That answer definitely stood out to me, especially coming from my uncle who voted for Trump in 2020. But I'd say for the most part, everybody else I spoke to said that the shared background wasn't really a factor in their decision of whether or not they'd be voting for Vice President Harris. I'm not a great fan of identity politics per se. Her stances on issues align with mine. So I'd gladly vote for her. In other words, if there was a Republican, like Vivek Ramasamy, he may be Indian, but I would never vote for that

person. So I don't think identity per se plays any role for me to vote for her as an Indian American or not. No, I don't actually give too much credence to that. I think she's been here too many years, you know, for her heritage to make a difference in terms of how she, like, you know, conducts a business. I think she knows the ways of how the United States government works, and that's good enough for me. But, you know, I've never voted for people because they're the first of something. Vice President Harris was raised by her Indian mother in Oakland, California. But she isn't just Indian American. She's also half Black. She attended a historically Black university and is part of the black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. She has a really unique background. And one of my cousins questioned how similar that would be to most other Indian American voters.

Her experience growing up was really largely the African American experience, which again, I think has made her an amazing candidate today. And it's her background. Does she bring the kind of perspectives that the quote unquote averagequote average Indian American would bring I mean I don't know I kind of disagree with that a little bit because regardless of what her politics are giving her a platform and a voice and a place or her having that and working hard for that kind of puts that in the Indian American community that there are different family styles that are possible, different members of community that are allowed to be part of our community, like people of mixed backgrounds and things like that. And so I think for the Indian American community itself,

like having her on this platform, in a way allows for more acceptance for Indian Americans of different backgrounds. That's absolutely true. I mean, there's a lot of anti-Black racism in the community. Hopefully, we'll ease up with her being elected. That was a really interesting exchange to me. A lot has been said about Harris's racial identity over the past couple months, especially by President Trump, who earlier this year made the bizarre and wildly offensive claim that she became Black when she was running for office. Obviously, that is not true. I'm glad we got to hear a little more nuance

from actual Indian Americans about how they are thinking about Harris's identity and what it means for Indian Americans if she is to ascend to this office. At the end of all of our conversations, I asked everyone if they had decided who they'd be voting for in November yet. It was really a mix between people who were still making up their minds and some who seemed very set in their decision.

Biden was like a no-go for me. I was going to just stay home if Biden was running. But Kamala being in the mix now, I think is a little bit better. I am truly undecided at this time. I'm definitely for Kamala and for a variety of reasons. Definitely Harris-Waltz. I mean, it's not even a question. I think I need to see her in a debate, Ms. Trump, to really see how she's going to do.

Yes, and we will all get to see a debate on September 10th. That is Tuesday of next week. So check back here. We can all watch together. Here's the thing. I doubt that debate is going to be as cordial and kind as your family were speaking to each other, even when they disagreed and interjected. I appreciated that so much.

But truly, the person who takes the cake for me is your dad, who was like, yeah, Vivek Ramaswamy, not that guy, not ever. I don't care how Indian he is. No, there were a lot of things that stood out to me in these conversations. That was one of them. I also didn't expect to hear multiple people say that this was not an issues election. I asked everybody about the issues that matter to them. And several independently said that there were things that they cared about, but none

of them were prioritizing those in this election. That is how much they were afraid of Donald Trump. Right. There was also my uncle, as I pointed out, who was a Trump voter. And because Kamala Harris is Indian, specifically is considering changing his vote. That I thought was really interesting, but really cool. I am so happy that I got to do this. Beautiful piece. Yay. And shout out to our senior producer, Erica, for giving you the nudge. Yes.

Thank you, Erica. I really appreciate it. That is the latest for now. We'll get to some headlines in just a moment. But if you like our show, please make sure to subscribe and share it with your friends. We'll be right back with some headlines. Headlines. The Biden administration is planning to make it harder to end a restrictive asylum policy that was supposed to be temporary. In June, President Biden rolled out the

policy, which effectively ended the ability of most migrants to apply for asylum if crossing at unauthorized points of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. Currently, the policy can be lifted if the number of daily illegal crossings stays below 1,500 for seven days in a row. Two officials from the Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that a change is being considered that would require the asylum ban to remain in place until daily illegal crossings stay below 1500 for 28 consecutive days. That's more than two additional weeks. Since the new asylum policy went into effect in June, illegal crossings have dropped significantly. The American Civil

Liberties Union is suing the Biden administration over its temporary asylum policy, arguing that it violates a congressional statute. And more news from the Biden administration. White House officials told multiple outlets on Wednesday that the president is likely going to block the planned sale of U.S. steel to the Japanese company Nippon Steel. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, has been working on a recommendation on the deal for the president and has reportedly already sent U.S. Steel a letter saying that the committee has found national security concerns associated with the sale.

U.S. Steel denies that the deal would create any national security issues and says that if the sale is locked, they will be forced to close their facilities with unionized workers. The company currently employs around 4,000 workers in Pennsylvania. Earlier this week, Vice President Kamala Harris said that she opposes the sale during a rally in Pittsburgh. And former President Donald Trump has also said that he would block the sale if reelected. The Department of Justice on Wednesday accused Russia of trying to meddle in the 2024 election and unveiled a major effort to counter Kremlin influence campaigns ahead of November. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ's actions include the seizure of dozens

of Kremlin-run web domains used to push Russian propaganda. He said they were used in a campaign run in part by Russian President Vladimir Putin's deputy chief of staff to reduce support for the war in Ukraine and sway voters in the U.S. Garland also announced the indictment of two employees of RT, Russia's state-owned broadcaster. The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power is attempting to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to send around its own propaganda. Garland said the two RT employees were based in Russia, but that they had funneled $10 million to a Tennessee company. The goal was to covertly fund the creation of English-language social media content supporting Russian interests. Garland said the Tennessee company did not

disclose its ties to RT, to the influencers it contracted to create the content, nor to their millions of followers. Yeah, I'm just going to need to see the get readies with me, the outfit of the day. It's like, what is this Russian propaganda?

Kremlin edition, yikes. Yeah, I'm curious. Montana's Republican Senate nominee, Tim Sheehy, has been caught on tape making racist comments about Native Americans. His comments were captured during two campaign events last November. We are going to spare you the specifics, but in recording, Sheehy can be heard perpetuating racist stereotypes regarding alcoholism while talking about a visit to the Crow Reservation. The Republicans' comments

were first published last week by the Charcousteosta News, a local outlet that covers the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. The story picked up national coverage on Wednesday after the recordings were obtained and published by the New York Times. Sheehy is a cattle rancher and businessman backed by former President Donald Trump. He is running against Democratic Senator Jon Tester in one of the most closely watched races this year. Sheehy has so far declined to publicly comment on the recordings. Indigenous residents make up about 6% of Montana's population and could be a decisive voting bloc in what's expected to be a close race.

It's definitely going to be a close race. And also, do we need any more evidence of racism running rampant among Republicans and under Trump's leadership? I think my only other question is, this is September, y'all. What's the October surprise gonna look like? I don't even wanna know. And those are the headlines.

Two more things before we go. Does scrolling through your newsfeed make you feel as confused and overwhelmed as Trump in a policy briefing? We got you. Crooked just launched Crooked News, a new social destination for our 100% correct news and analysis. Put real news back in your news feed.

Follow Real Crooked News at Real Crooked News on Instagram, threads, and Twitter, also known as X. And finally, WOD Squad, today will be my last time hosting WODaday, and I wanted to take a second to thank each of you for your support and kind words, especially when I get the rare chance to meet some of y'all in person. It's truly been a gift working with my homie Priyanka, Josie, and Trebell

to bring you daily news and fun in our own way. And a very special thank you to our senior producer, Erica, who has elevated our show and our sound in the best ways possible. Of course, I want to keep in touch with y'all. So follow me at Juanita Tolliver on Twitter and Instagram. Sign up for updates on my website at JuanitaTolliver.com.

Catch me on MSNBC, of course, in the lead up to November. And please pre-order my book, A More Perfect Party, The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diane Carroll Reshaped Politics. It's going to be out in January 2025, and I will definitely be hitting the road for a book tour. So sign up now so you don't miss any updates. I'll definitely see all around. Cheers. I just want to say on behalf of Trayvon, Josie, myself, working with you has been just what a gift. We always have the best time together you always always keep it real I admire you so much for that it really is the end of an era and you will be so very missed I know by all of the

listeners but us on this team especially you really bring so much soul so much to this and we'll miss you so much I appreciate you friend and, I'm sure you and Josie and Treville texted about that message. So thank you, Josie and Treville. We love you. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, feel lucky that you don't have

Merrick Garland's job, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about Russian election meddling deja vu like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Cricut.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And canvas with your cousins.

I mean, only if your cousins are as dope as Priyanka's, clearly. Listen, there are a couple in there who haven't voted before who I will certainly be texting and making sure they are registered, have everything they need. Do that. It's the same. It's easy. Starts with your family. And it gets your family engaged.

So it sounds like a good plan for me. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. We had production help today from Michelle Alloy, Ethan Oberman, Greg Walters, and Julia Clare. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kshaka.