1) MORE QUESTIONS ARISE ABOUT POLICE RESPONSE — NYT’s Eileen Sullivan and J. David Goodman have new details about the scene outside Robb Elementary School as the horrific shooting unfolded: “When specially equipped federal immigration agents arrived at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, the local police at the scene would not allow them to go after the gunman who had opened fire on students inside the school, according to two officials briefed on the situation. “The agents from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at some point between 12 p.m. and 12:10 p.m., according to the officials — far earlier than previously known. But they did not breach the adjoining classrooms of the school where the gunman had locked himself in until a little before 1 p.m. Members of the federal tactical team killed the gunman. … “The federal officers had driven up from the Mexican border , one official said. The official said it was not clear to the federal agents why their team was needed, and why the local SWAT team did not respond.” — At a news conference this morning: “The Texas DPS is now acknowledging that the wrong call was made by the on-scene commander. They treated it as a barricaded subject, instead of an active shooter, even though children were calling 9-1-1 and begging for help,” NBC’s Ken Dilanian reports. 58-second clip — More from the presser, via Texas Tribune EIC Sewell Chan: “Reporter: Uvalde parents now know that not everything possible was done to save their children. Are parents owed an apology? [Texas Department of Public Safety Director STEVEN] MCCRAW: ‘If I thought it would help, I'd apologize.’” Chan has a thread with more from the presser 2) INFLATION NATION — There is a glimmer of good news for inflation watchers today: “An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 6.3% in April from a year earlier, the first slowdown since November 2020 and a sign that high prices may finally be moderating, at least for now,” AP’s Christopher Rugaber reports. “The inflation figure that the Commerce Department reported Friday was below the four-decade high of 6.6% that was set in March. While high inflation is still causing hardships for millions of households, any slowing of price increases, if it can be sustained, will provide some modest relief.” 3) THE LOAN LURCH — The White House appears to have settled on canceling $10,000 of student loan debt for each borrower, WaPo’s Tyler Pager, Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Jeff Stein report. More details: “The White House’s latest plans called for limiting debt forgiveness to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly, two of the people said. It was unclear whether the administration will simultaneously require interest and payments to resume at the end of August, when the current pause is scheduled to lapse.” When the announcement might come: TBD. “Biden had hoped to make the announcement as soon as this weekend at the University of Delaware commencement, the people said, but that timing has changed after the massacre Tuesday in Texas.” — FWIW, CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere reports that aides are still “waiting for President Joe Biden to make up his mind on whether to go forward with it” and that “a final decision will take more time” than this weekend. Happy Friday afternoon. Programming note: Playbook PM will be off this Monday for Memorial Day, but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. Playbook will still publish on Monday. UVALDE FALLOUT THE LATEST NIGHTMARISH DETAILS — 11-year-old MIAH CERRILLO spoke to CNN about what it was like trapped inside the classroom with the shooter and how she managed to survive. Fair warning: the details in the story are difficult to read. “One teacher went to lock the door, but Miah says the shooter was already right there — and shot out the window in the door. She described it all happening so fast — her teacher backed into the classroom and the gunman followed. She told CNN he made eye contact with one of the teachers, said, ‘Goodnight,’ and then shot her. “He opened fire, shooting the other teacher and many of Miah’s friends. She said bullets flew by her, and fragments hit her shoulders and head. The girl was later treated at the hospital and released with fragment wounds; she described to CNN that clumps of her hair were falling out now. “Miah said after shooting students in her class, the gunman went through a door into an adjoining classroom. She heard screams, and the sound of shots in that classroom. After the shots stopped, though, she says the shooter started playing loud music -- sad music, she said. “The girl and a friend managed to get her dead teacher's phone and call 911 for help. … Miah said she was scared the gunman would return to her classroom to kill her and a few other surviving friends. So, she dipped her hands in the blood of a classmate -- who lay next to her, already dead -- and then smeared the blood all over herself to play dead.” WHO GETS PAID — The owner of the company that manufactured the rifle used by the Uvalde shooter to kill 21 adults and children this week is a well-connected and wealthy Republican donor, WaPo’s Isaac Stanley-Becker writes. “The owners of the Georgia-based company have donated more than $70,000 directly to GOP candidates for federal office this election cycle, according to a review of filings with the Federal Election Commission. Daniel Defense itself gave $100,000 last year to a PAC backing incumbent Republican senators.” “The spending by MARVIN C. DANIEL and his wife, CINDY D. DANIEL, illustrates the financial clout of the gun industry, even as political spending by the flagship National Rifle Association has declined in recent years. And it shows how surging gun sales during the coronavirus pandemic have empowered manufacturers to expand their marketing and political advocacy, experts said.” ALL POLITICS THE LATEST IN THE KEYSTONE STATE … — “McCormick and Oz are fighting over tiny batches of votes in county after county. That’s how tight the Pa. GOP Senate primary is,” by the Philly Inquirer’s Jonathan Lai and Jeremy Roebuck — But that’s not stopping MEHMET OZ from declaring that he “earned the presumptive Republican nomination” over DAVID MCCORMICK in a video that Oz posted on Friday titled, “My Deep Thanks To You, Pennsylvania.” … More from Holly Otterbein — A campaign conundrum: As JOHN FETTERMAN recovers from his recent stroke that has sidelined him from the campaign trail and thrown the Pennsylvania Senate race into further uncertainty, there is a growing question about Fetterman’s overall health. While the campaign has been tight-lipped about his status, the Philly Inquirer’s Tom Avril and Julia Terruso spoke to experts to get a professional opinion. “The uncertainty stems from how Fetterman’s campaign and his wife, GISELE , have characterized his heart condition: a common, irregular rhythm called atrial fibrillation (A-fib). They said the A-fib led to his May 13 stroke, and that is indeed a common cause of stroke. But when he got the defibrillator four days later, they said the device was implanted to treat the A-fib. But that’s not what defibrillators are for, leading cardiologists not involved in his care to suggest that Fetterman, 52, has another heart condition the campaign hasn’t disclosed.”
| 
