Hit the snooze button one too many times this morning? That’s OK because we’ve got all the news you missed. Here are the top stories everyone will be talking about today:
1. More gun violence
Last night a Mississippi Delta State University professor shot and killed himself after a daylong standoff with police. Shannon Lamb was suspected of killing another male professor, Ethan Schmidt, and possibly Schmidt’s lover before running off into the woods and shooting himself. Police are still investigating and say they’ve yet to identify a clear motive for his crimes. The university spent Monday on lockdown, and classes will be canceled again today. Counseling sessions will be offered throughout the day for grieving students, and tonight there will be a candlelight vigil to honor the victims. — CNN
More:Gun violence: Is it time to rethink our bloodiest constitutional right?
2. This is a problem
A 16-person panel studying racial inequality in Ferguson, Missouri, and surrounding areas concluded there’s an awful lot of it. They released a 198-page report detailing their findings that called for sweeping changes in housing practices, education, health care, policing and the courts. According to their findings, black men in St. Louis are 75 percent more likely to be pulled over by police than white men, and in one suburb, black people have a life expectancy three decades shorter than white people. The findings are disturbing, but they paint a portrait of racial realities too many people are willing to ignore. — The New York Times
3. So scary
Flash flooding in Utah has left eight people dead and at least five missing. Several cars were swept into waterways when torrential rain hit around 5 p.m. yesterday evening. Officials also reported rock slides, mud and extremely swollen rivers. It might surprise you to know flash flooding is the deadliest weather phenomena in the U.S., claiming about 200 lives annually. As climate change progresses, weather events like this will be on the rise and it’s increasingly important to heed flood warnings. Our hearts go out to the victims and their loved ones. — USA Today
4. Rocket man
Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos will visit Cape Canaveral today for a “big announcement.” It’s rumored that he’ll be announcing plans for his private space company, Blue Origin, to finance, build and launch rockets from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Blue Origin completed a successful test flight of an unmanned suborbital vehicle earlier this year and would be looking to eventually launch orbital human spaceflight missions. The move by Bezos puts him in contest with Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson and is just one more step toward the development of commercial space flight. Who knows? In a few years you could be vacationing on the moon. — USA Today
More:Justin Bieber signs up for space flight with Virgin Galactic
5. The apple doesn’t fall far
Chelsea Clinton — daughter of Hillary and Bill Clinton — is now a published author. Her new book, It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going, aims to inspire young people to take on huge societal issues like gender inequality and environmental destruction. Clinton says her conversations with young people encouraged her to pen the 402-page book and that today’s youth are much more engaged in the world than adults think they are. Kudos to Chelsea for writing a book that makes it cool to care about the big issues. — Washington Post
More:Chelsea Clinton opens up on motherhood, her childhood and changing the world
6. The Arnold versus The Donald
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been tapped as the new host of The Celebrity Apprentice. You’ll recall NBC severed their ties with former host Donald Trump back in June after he made racist comments about Mexican immigrants. Schwarzenegger says he’s a huge fan of the show and can’t wait to get started. He’ll be keeping with the same basic format but will no doubt bring his own style, including maybe changing the signature tag line to “You’re Terminated.” Hey, he’s the former Governator. He can do what he wants. — Entertainment Weekly
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