🗻Machu Picchu's not up to Muchu Picchu ⛰
➕ An update on the Monterey Park shooting, & Beyoncé just did her first concert in four years… in Dubai 🎤
First of all the BIGGEST HI IN THE WORLD to all our hot new subscribers from Instagram. Welcome to the best offshoot of the SYSCA universe (in my humble opinion) - the daily newsy. I’m Luce, I’ve been writing this thing every weekday for over a year now, trying to bring you the news without giving you the blues (and hopefully succeeding thus far.) This is the cutest and most wholesome community, and the biggest thing you need to know is that you can reply to this email and I’ll DEFINITELY read it and MOST PROBABLY reply to you - so please never hesitate to send me your thoughts/ feelings/ cute recs.
Yesterday at work Liv and I recorded you a cute episode of Culture Vulture all about CRINGE and why we do it (that’s dropping on Wednesday, as usual), we also ate some birthday cake, did some work on a secret project (👀), schemed with Bel on some new bonuses for paying supporters (hell yeah) and just did general good work-y stuff. When I got home Hayden cooked us smashburgers, Flo and I went and did the groceries, I read a lil bit more of ‘The Man Who Died Twice’ and caught up on Love Island! This Monday defs Mondayed. How was yours???
An update on the Monterey Park shooting
An update on the six-year-old who shot his teacher
Machu Picchu has been closed indefinitely
Beyoncé just did her first concert in four years… in Dubai
An update on the Monterey Park shooting
Content warning: shooting.
As you know (because you read yesterday’s newsy) police were looking for the person who shot and killed ten people in a ballroom in Monterey Park on Sunday. Since yesterday’s update they have identified the suspect - 72 year old Huu Can Tran - who was found dead in his car by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. While police have not identified a motive, a witness has told CBS that “the gunman came to the Monterey Park dance studio to find his wife.”
“He found his wife there," the witness, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.
"He started to shooting everybody... when they dance."
An update on the six-year-old who shot his teacher
Praying for the day I no longer have to give you multiple updates on shootings in here, but today is not that day. We’ve got a bit more info on the recent incident in Virginia where a six-year-old got hold of a gun and shot his teacher:
The family of the child said he suffered an ‘acute disability,’ which meant one of his parents usually accompanied him to class. (They didn’t the week the shooting occurred.) “We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives.”
The family say the firearm that he used was ‘secured:’ “Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children. The firearm our son accessed was secured.”
The gun was apparently in his mother's closet “on a top shelf that was well over six feet high.” It also had a trigger lock that required a key.
The teacher he shot was released from the hospital this week.
What next?
Well - it’s unclear how to proceed when a six-year-old is at the centre of a crime. The Times has reported that the youngest you can be sentenced to a juvenile prison in Virginia is 11, '“and a 6-year-old cannot be charged as an adult.”
“…children under the age of 7 generally do not have the ability to form intent to commit a crime, nor do they have the mental capacity to understand what it means to stand trial. “You have to understand the nature of legal proceedings against you and assist in your own defense. There’s no way a 6-year-old would meet that criteria.”
Machu Picchu has been closed indefinitely
Peru has indefinitely shut access to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail (trapping 417 visitors in) among the anti-government protests that are engulfing the country. Right now in Peru, protesters have descended on Lima (the capital city), to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.
Protests began last month after then-President Pedro Castillo (Peru’s first leader with a rural Andean background) was “impeached and imprisoned for trying to dissolve Congress.” Yep, he attempted a coup in Peru (that rhymes!!)
“In a shocking move, he announced on national television that he was dissolving Congress and that he would create a government that would rule by decree. This was widely seen as an illegal power grab. He was, in a matter of hours, impeached, arrested and taken to a detention center. His vice president was sworn in to replace him.”
Since then, demonstrators have been demanding that the new President - Dina Boluarte - resigns, that Congress is dissolved, and that new elections are held.
More than 55 people have died in the protests so far, and they seem to be getting bigger and more violent (hence the closure of Machu Picchu to keep tourists safe.)
This is a good interview to read if you want to go deeper on this!
Beyoncé just did her first concert in four years… in Dubai
And apparently got paid anywhere from $24 - $35 MILLION to do it (that’s according to TikTok and The Daily Mail though, so idk if we believe that yet.)
Anyway, Beyoncé is back! In a kinda controversh way… she performed a 19-song set (even bringing Blue Ivy out to sing at one point) at a luxury resort in Dubai for a bunch of influencers and journalists - she DIDN’T perform any Renaissance though.
The reason some people aren’t super into this is because homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates (and considered a crime punishable by death), citing people like Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber who cancelled shows there after being asked to by Human Rights Watch.
I guess this is a tricky one because the fans aren’t the ones imposing these inhumane rules, yet they’re the ones suffering when their favourite artists cancel shows. Beyoncé’s show was a little different because it wasn’t for normal fans - it was for influencers and journalists who were there to advertise a new resort.
Anyway, for those of us who weren’t there, there have been a few leaks of this performance (even though people at the concert were asked to put their phones in locked pouches to prevent footage from the event circulating.) Here are some snippets:
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A good thought
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I noticed Rebel Wilson was at the Beyoncé concert in Dubai with her girlfriend. Saudi created an exception to their law allowing Christian’s girlfriend to live with him. Looks like changes are happening.
As an autistic (and adhd) person, the statement about the 6 year old having an "acute" disability (or however you worded it) worries me because disability - especially autism - is already represented so badly and negatively and this could influence people to thinking even worse. Having a disability is not an excuse for shooting someone. (I'm not saying the 6 year old is responsible, but he isn't the one excusing it with a disability either).