Friday Morning Scoop: Walk It Out, Again

Welcome to the Morning Scoop for April 20, 2018. It’s Friday, it’s the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre and those infamous Comey memos are now public. And oh yeah, dude, happy 4/20. 

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Walking Out Again, Student Activists Refuse to Back Down on Gun Reform

Teens For Gun Reform protest following the Parkland shooting (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Student activism is back in the national spotlight today, as protests are planned in every U.S. state at some point, the second coordinated wave of walkouts designed to call attention to a rising tide of American mass shootings.

Today’s protests were coordinated to take place on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which left 13 people dead in Littleton, Colorado in 2009, one of the first shocking acts of school gun violence that have become all too familiar in the years since.

Thousands of students walked out of their classrooms on March 14, one of a series of stirring student-led protests who message was centered on toughening American gun control laws, reducing the political power of the National Rifle Association and targeting elected officials in the upcoming midterm elections.

Officials in New York City, Austin, Texas and Richmond, Va. are all bracing for large gatherings today. CMN will monitor events as they develop.

Take a Memo, Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey was so unsettled by a series of seven encounters he had with President Trump in the months before he was fired, he felt he needed to document them in writing. These became the infamous Comey Memos, discussed, debated and partially leaked in the months since his May 2017 firing.

The memos were sent to Congressional investigators yesterday and were widely circulated in the media last night. The memos contain, among other revelations, “a Trump Tower discussion about allegations involving Trump and prostitutes in Moscow; a White House dinner at which Comey says Trump asked him for his loyalty; and a private Oval Office discussion where the ex-FBI head says the president asked him to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the former White House national security adviser,” according to the AP.

The president roared on Twitter late last night that the memos “show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION.”

Ten Arrested During William and Mary Drug Bust

After a months-long investigation, authorities seized drugs such as LSD, cocaine, psilocybin (mushrooms), opioids, amphetamines, steroids, hashish and marijuana in a drug bust at The William & Mary campus in Williamsburg, Virginia earlier this week.

This investigation was tipped to police officers after a sudden tip about unreported sexual assaults on campus, due to drug and party culture. Senior Correspondent Erin Whitten has more in her CMN report. 

Today in a Tweet 

Even if you forgot to leave out milk and cookies for Snoop And Willie Nelson, you should always remember to be safe… #420 Day…

Last But Not Least: News on New Music From Kayne, J.Cole 

Following much speculation from fans, Kanye West announced his new albums in a series of tweets yesterday. His second album is a collaboration with Kid Cudi called “Kid Ghost.” A seven-track solo release is out on June 1, according to his brief and widely re-tweeted posts.

J. Cole took to Twitter to confirm that his latest, K.O.D., would be released today. Many rumors have formed over the past few weeks that he was working on something after deleting all the posts off his Instagram and changing his profile picture to just the color purple.

Danielle Germain has all the info on J. — including images of cover art — in her CMN report. 

This Its-Finally-Friday Morning Scoop was compiled by contributions from Danielle Germain, Erin Whitten, and the CMN Staff. Friday? Yes! 4/20? Cool! Exams?