Stock Markets, Federal Agencies to Close Wednesday for Day of Mourning
*By Chloe Aiello*
Stock markets and the federal government will close on Wednesday as the U.S. marks a national day of mourning for George H.W. Bush, the 41st president.
Bush died at his home in Houston Friday night. He was 94.
President Trump has also ordered that flags on public grounds fly at half-staff for 30 days as a show of respect for the late president, who will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol before a Wednesday funeral service at Washington National Cathedral. Later, Bush will be memorialized in Houston and buried at his presidential library in College Station, Texas.
Trump's relationship with the Bush family has been marked by animosity since his bitter campaign against Jeb Bush for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. As president, Trump has mocked the elder Bush for his famous "thousand points of light" philosophy that called for a national campaign of volunteerism.
Despite his strained relationship with the Bush family, the White House said Trump will attend the state funeral with his wife, Melania. Trump also celebrated Bush's legacy in statements after his death.
"President George H.W. Bush led a long, successful and beautiful life. Whenever I was with him I saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. His accomplishments were great from beginning to end. He was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all," [he wrote on Twitter.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1068826073775964160)
Bush's influence on American politics far transcended his one term as president. The patriarch of a political dynasty, he fathered another president, his son George W. Bush, and a two-term governor and presidential candidate, Jeb Bush. His foreign policy legacy included presiding over the over the end of the 40-year Cold War and navigating the delicate political climate that followed, including the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also united a coalition of more than 30 countries to end the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the first Gulf War. His decision not to remove Hussein from power laid the groundwork for the 2003 invasion of Iraq by George W. Bush.
George H.W. Bush's long career in public life began with his decorated service as a Navy pilot in WWII. That was followed by more than four decades in government, including as a congressman from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. envoy to China, director of the C.I.A., and vice president to Ronald Reagan.
George W. Bush issued a statement late Friday confirming his father's death, just eight months after the death of his wife of more than 70 years, Barbara Bush.
"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens," the 43rd president wrote.
In recent years, Bush suffered from numerous health problems, including Parkinson's disease that kept him wheelchair bound and a bout of severe pneumonia in 2013. Following his wife's April funeral, Bush was hospitalized with a severe blood infection. Still, the former president remained active late into his life ー famously celebrating his 90th birthday in 2014 with a tandem skydive.
The school shooting in Texas that left 19 children and 2 teachers dead has reignited the debate over gun control.
The tragedy in Uvalde is the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade and marks the latest in a string of mass shootings in the country. Jared Moskowitz, Broward County Commissioner and candidate for Congress in FL-23, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why gun control measures are stalled in the Senate, and where legislation can move forward from here.
Police and detectives are still investigating the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two adults. Cheddar News was joined by Kirk Burkhalter, professor at New York Law School and former NYPD detective to gain some insight on what investigators are looking for and what comes next.
Texas authorities say the gunman who massacred 21 people at an elementary school was in the building for over an hour before he was killed by law enforcement officers.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines for Thursday, May 26 including updates on the Texas school shooting, President Joe Biden's executive order on police reform, and a recount in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary.
Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia rebuked words from the FDA commissioner that could have been construed as blaming parents for stockpiling baby formula exacerbating the shortage.
Cheddar News reporter Megan Pratz brings the latest from the scene of yesterday's horrific school shooting at a Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Now the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history with 19 children and two adults killed, Pratz goes into comments by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, details about the deceased shooter, and reactions from members of the community.
The Robb Elementary School mass shooting killing 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas pm Tuesday was the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and came just 10 days after the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, New York. Nelson Vergara, the founder and CEO of 360 Protective Solutions, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss. "Right now what law enforcement is concentrating on is trying to trace his steps as to what motivated the gunman to act the way he did. What it boils down to just trying to figure out what led to his motivation to do such a horrific act.”
An recently conducted AP-NORC poll found that majorities of the Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. still find themselves either somewhat worried or extremely worried over the pandemic, while more than half of white Americans responded with either being not too worried or not worried at all. Dr. Chris Pernell, the chief strategic integration and health equity officer at University Hospital, joined Cheddar News to talk about how perceptions of COVID-19 differ between groups of Americans. "We’re still seeing people get infected, and because of the toll of the disproportionate impact, we have concerns among the Black and brown community about whether or not they have an increased risk of exposure because of where they work, because of the use of public transportation, because they live in homes that they may not be able to safely quarantine and or isolate in, and because they have at baseline chronic health conditions that may make coronavirus more severe in those persons," she said.
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the EPA and the president of Beyond Plastics, joined Cheddar News to talk about the role of plastics in the climate crisis and California's investigation of ExxonMobil and other oil companies for misleading the public on the ability to recycle plastics. "The reason why petrochemical companies like Exxon have gotten away with selling more and more plastic is that they've lied to the public and told us don't worry about all those negative upstream impacts and downstream impacts of plastics. Just be sure to recycle it. Well, guess what? Plastics largely are not recycled," Enck said.
