World News: Your weekend long reads 🗞

Saturday, May 29

Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends of The Short List! It's John, and I hope you and yours get to where you're going for some fun, relaxation and... shopping.

This week, we're shining the spotlight on two important USA TODAY investigations:

►Reporters for The Trace and USA TODAY spent more than a year examining inspection records for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). They found that the federal agency in charge of policing the gun industry has largely bent over backward to go easy on wayward dealers – sometimes allowing guns to flow into the hands of criminals. Gun industry lobbyists have fought for decades against tougher oversight. But that may be about to change. President Joe Biden has nominated David Chipman, a retired ATF agent who has advocated for legislation to make it easier to hold dealers accountable, to lead the agency. Chipman also supports a ban on the popular AR-15 rifle.

►Officials at three of Louisiana's largest public universities failed to share information about six alleged sexual assaults by the same student, leaving women on their campuses without warning and potentially at risk. The accused student, Victor Daniel Silva, has never been charged with a sex crime. Following the investigation, the president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette admitted it had revealed "critical communication gaps that need to be addressed" and promised to improve the school's response to sexual assault allegations.

We hope you'll check out more of our long reads below. Have a great weekend!

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