The Breakdown: More Tragedy in Parkland

Getty Images: Joe Raedle / Staff

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The One Big Thing

Two Parkland Shooting Survivors Have Died By Suicide

Yesterday, police in Parkland, Florida confirmed that another survivor of the 2018 shooting died by suicide. The student’s tragic death comes on the anniversary of the March for Our Lives and just days after the suicide of Sydney Aiello, 19, whose parents say she has struggled with “survivor’s guilt” since the shooting. As we celebrate the incredible youth-led movement against gun violence following Parkland, these recent deaths remind us of the continued toll gun violence takes on young people in the form of PTSD, stress, and anxiety.

(Pop) Culture Shock

Us Smashes Box Office Records, A Massive Win for Representation

Jordan Peele’s Us, his follow-up to the groundbreaking Get Out, is already breaking box office records as the biggest original horror movie ever. Centering Black characters in his narratives, Peele’s film is another win for on-screen representation, as well as a blistering social commentary on class consciousness in America. “We are in a time where we fear the other, whether it’s the mysterious invader who might kill us or take our jobs, or the faction that doesn’t live near us that votes differently than we did,” Peele told Vanity Fair. “Maybe the evil is us. Maybe the monster that we’re looking at has our face.”

The Good News Is...

United Airlines Becomes First Airline to Offer Non-binary Option When Booking

On Friday, United Airlines announced that passengers will now be able to specify non-binary options for their gender when booking flights, the first US airline to do so. The airline worked with LGBTQ+ groups like the Trevor Project and the Human Rights Campaign as an attempt to “lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity.”

That's What He Said

“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his final report on whether President Trump colluded with Russia.

Quick Hitters

Why aren’t more people talking about… the fact that Charlottesville schools were shut down for two days after a teen made a threat of “ethnic cleansing.”

My hero today is… The special needs students who just opened the first of its kind coffee shop on North Carolina State’s campus.

I’m obsessed with… Selling Sunset, a new Netflix reality show featuring the drama and intrigue of luxury real estate agents in LA. (Hot take: Chrishell is two-faced and you can’t convince me otherwise.)