Matthew McConaughey tells the story of those killed in Uvalde in ...

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CNN —

Actor Matthew McConaughey delivered impassioned and at-times emotional remarks at the White House press briefing on Tuesday, telling the stories of those who died in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and urging more action on gun control.

McConaughey, a Uvalde native, said he and his wife, Camila Alves, spent most of the past week with the families of those who were killed in his hometown. He showed pictures of their artwork and brought to the briefing room green Converse shoes like the ones that one girl wore every day that were used to identify her body after the shooting. She had drawn a heart on one of the shoes.

He said he needed to tell their stories to show how action needed to be taken to honor the lives of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last month.

“You know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for? What every parent separately expressed in their own way to Camila and me? That they want their children’s dreams to live on. That they want their children’s dreams to continue, to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter,” McConaughey said.

He said there was now a “window of opportunity” to enact meaningful gun legislation reform and called for universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 to 21, a waiting period for purchasing AR-15s and the implementation of red flag laws.

“These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step back – they’re a step forward for a civil society and, and the Second Amendment,” McConaughey said in a roughly 20-minute speech from the podium.

The Academy Award-winning actor met briefly with President Joe Biden before appearing at the podium, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

McConaughey spoke in great detail about the children and what dreams they held before they were killed – one wanted to be a marine biologist, one had been preparing to read a Bible verse at church the next week, another wanted to go to art school in Paris.

“You could feel the shock in the town. You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halted,” he said.

McConaughey said, “Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle, most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA test or green Converse could identify them. Many children were left not only dead but hollow. So, yes, counselors are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time.”

“We got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. What we truly value. We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations,” McConaughey said.

He continued, “Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue. Because I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are.”

McConaughey held meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier in the day to discuss gun reform legislation

The “Dallas Buyers Club” actor publicly weighed a run for governor in Texas last year but ultimately ruled one out – for now. He said it was “a path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”

McConaughey told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday he hoped he was making progress in his meetings with lawmakers. He had left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was heading to another meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

The President earlier on Tuesday met with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who is leading bipartisan negotiations on gun reform. Murphy told reporters at the White House he met with the President for about half an hour and spoke about the outlines of the ongoing gun reform negotiations. Murphy emphasized how much he appreciated Biden and the White House giving senators “space” to try and reach a deal, and said his goal remains to reach a deal by the end of this week.

While the odds of any sweeping reforms remain very steep, lawmakers have expressed optimism that a deal for narrow and targeted bill could be reached as soon as the end of this week. Jean-Pierre said Monday Biden was “encouraged” by the Senate negotiations on gun control measures.

The President delivered an impassioned speech from the White House after the mass shooting at the Uvalde elementary school last month and ratcheted up the pressure on Congress to act. He has called on Congress to implement stricter gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify that the green Converse shoes that Camila Alves held in the briefing room were replicas of the ones worn by a victim of the Uvalde shooting.

Matthew McConaughey White House speech calls for end to gun ...

WASHINGTON – Actor Matthew McConaughey on Tuesday used the megaphone of the White House and his own star power to urge leaders in Washington to address gun violence in honor of the young victims of the mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.

After meeting with President Joe Biden, McConaughey choked up as he shared the victims' stories and pressed for action.

“This moment is different. We’re in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change – real change – can happen," he said during an appearance at the White House briefing room.

McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, the town where he said he was taught "to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun" – and where 19 children and two teachers were massacred at an elementary school last month.

“They want to make their loss of life matter,” he said of the victims' families he's met with.

McConaughey, who also spent time on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, said he came to Washington to share stories of his hometown, meet with leaders and urge them to speak with each other.

"Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals," said the actor, who has starred in numerous movies, including "Dallas Buyers Club" and "The Wolf of Wall Street." "This should not be a partisan issue."

Wearing a black suit with a Texas pin stuck through a lapel, McConaughey spoke for 20 minutes, at one point slamming the lectern so hard it shook.

His wife, Camilla, held in her lap a pair of green, high-top Converse sneakers, with a heart on the right toe, that belonged to one of the students. The shoes, he said, were “the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting.”

USA TODAY/Ipsos poll:Half of Republicans support stricter gun laws, a double-digit jump in a year

Also happening:Still facing nightmares, Uvalde survivor Miah Cerrillo, 11, will testify at House hearing on guns

Related:Matthew McConaughey launches fund for his hometown of Uvalde following school shooting

McConaughey's visit to the White House came on the same day that Biden met with Sen. Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat leading negotiations with Senate Republicans on gun measures.

Murphy, who hopes he can reach an agreement by the end of the week, said he wanted to keep the president apprised on the talks to ensure he will sign off on any deal.

Biden has signaled he will support legislation that can pass the narrowly divided Senate, even if it doesn't include everything he wants.

OPINION:Matthew McConaughey: There's a difference between gun control and gun responsibility

"He believes any step is a step forward," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday said he’s encouraging the talks to continue.

"Senator Murphy has asked for some space to have the bipartisan talks continue, and I have given him that space," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

McConaughey appears on Fox News following White House visit

Following his White House appearance, McConaughey opened up to Bret Baier on Fox News about his "penetrating" experience visiting his hometown in the wake of the shooting.

"I’m not some other someone from the entertainment industry who decided to swing by (the White House)," he said. "It happened in the town I was born in, so it got pretty personal for me."

When asked if he harbors political ambitions, the actor replied he's "not running for political office."

McConaughey also outlined what he sees as sensible gun control policies, including waiting period after somebody purchases a gun, and said he believes Americans are not as politically divided as they may think.

"I think we're being told we're more divided than we are," he said. "I believe that the people I talk to on both sides are much more reasonable about things than we're being told we are."

'Aggressively centric': What party does McConaughey belong to?

Last year, McConaughey toyed with the possibility of running for governor of Texas, but he eventually dropped the idea. He has not identified with either the Democratic or Republican party but has instead described himself as “aggressively centric.”

"Look, I’m a 'Meet You in the Middle' man,” he said in an interview last year with the Austin Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.

“When I say “aggressively centric,” that sometimes gets parceled over there with 'Oh, that’s a shade of grey, a compromise’.”

On Monday, The Austin American-Statesman, published an essay by McConaughey calling on leaders to make "bipartisan compromises on a few reasonable measures to restore responsible gun ownership in our country."

He said those measures include universal background checks, a national waiting period to purchase assault rifles and raising the minimum to buy an assault rifle to 21. He also backed "red flag" laws which allow courts to remove firearms from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.

"Is this a cure all? Hell no. But people are hurting," McConaughey said Tuesday. "We've got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations. Enough of the counter punching."

Contributing: Charles Trepany

Read Matthew McConaughey's full White House speech on gun ...

Actor Matthew McConaughey took his star platform to the White House Tuesday to encourage lawmakers to take action on gun violence, citing stories of the young victims of the mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.

McConaughey delivered a passionate 20-minute speech, after meeting with President Joe Biden, at the podium of the White House press briefing room while wearing a black suit with a Texas pin stuck through the lapel as he spoke of May's shooting leaving 19 children and two teachers dead.

In early June the actor traveled to his hometown to visit victims' families during the aftermath and afterward he and his wife Camilla announced the launch of their Just Keep Livin Foundation's Uvalde Relief Fund to help support the reeling community.

Aftermath:Matthew McConaughey launches fund for his hometown of Uvalde following school shooting

Tuesday, during his speech Camilla held a pair of green high-top Converse sneakers in her lap which the actor said were the same pair one of the victims was wearing and that they were “the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting” as he emotionally hit the lectern.

“This moment is different. We’re in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change – real change – can happen," McConaughey said.

Below is McConaughey's full speech according to the official transcript from The White House.

McConaughey: To make the loss of these lives matter.

My wife and I -- my wife and I -- Camila -- we spent most of last week on the ground with the families in Uvalde, Texas, and we shared stories, tears, and memories.

The common thread, independent of the anger and the confusion and sadness, it was the same: How can these families continue to honor these deaths by keeping the dreams of these children and teachers alive?

Again, how can the loss of these lives matter?

So while we honor and acknowledge the victims, we need to recognize that this time it seems that something is different. There is a sense that perhaps there is a viable path forward. Responsible parties in this debate seem to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward -- a path that can bring us closer together and make us safer as a country, a path that can actually get something done this time.

Camila and I came here to share my stories from my hometown of Uvalde. I came here to take meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. We came here to speak to them, to speak with them, and to urge them to speak with each other -- to remind and inspire them that the American people will continue to drive forward the mission of keeping our children safe, because it's more than our right to do so, it's our responsibility to do so.

I'm here today in the hopes of applying what energy, reason, and passion that I have into trying to turn this moment into a reality. Because as I said, this moment is different. We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change -- real change can happen.

'This moment is different':Matthew McConaughey urges leaders to address gun violence in White House speech

Uvalde, Texas, is where I was born. It’s where my mom taught kindergarten less than a mile from Robb Elementary. Uvalde is where I learned to master a Daisy BB gun. I took that -- that took two years before I graduated to a 410 shotgun. Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun. Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership.

And Uvalde called me on May 24th, when I learned the news of this devastating tragedy. I had been out of cellular range working in the studio all day when I emerged and messages about a mass shooting in the town I was born in began flooding my inbox.

In a bit of shock, I drove home, hugged my children a bit tighter and longer than the night before, and then the reality of what had happened that day in the town I was born in set in.

More:Matthew McConaughey calls for 'gun responsibility' in op-ed after Uvalde school shooting

So the next morning, Camila, myself, and the kids, we loaded up the truck and drove to Uvalde. And when we arrived a few hours later, I got to tell you, even from the inside of our vehicle, you could feel the shock in the town. You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halted.

We saw ministries. We saw first responders, counselors, cooks, families trying to grieve without it being on the frontpage news.

We met with the local funeral director and countless morticians who -- who hadn’t slept since the massacre the day before because they’d been working 24/7 trying to handle so many bodies at once -- so many little, innocent bodies who had their entire lives still yet to live.

And that is there that we met two of the grieving parents, Ryan and Jessica Ramirez. Their 10-year-old daughter, Alithia -- she was one of the 19 children that were killed the day before.

Now, Alithia -- her dream was to go to art school in Paris and one day share her art with the world. Ryan and Jessica were eager to share Alithia’s art with us, and said if we could share it, then somehow maybe that would make Alithia smile in heaven. They told us that showing someone else Alithia’s art would in some way keep her alive.

Now, this particular drawing is a -- is a self-portrait of Alithia drawing, with her friend in heaven looking down on her drawing the very same picture. Her mother said, of this drawing -- she said, “You know, we never really talked to her about heaven before, but somehow she knew.”

Alithia was 10 years old.

'You could feel the pain':Matthew McConaughey on his visit to Uvalde after mass shooting

Her father, Ryan -- this man was steady. He was uncommonly together and calm. When a frazzled friend of his came up and said, “How are you so calm? I'd be going crazy,” Ryan told him -- he said, “No, you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't. You’d be strong for your wife and kids, because if they see you go crazy, that will not help them.”

Just a week prior, Ryan got a full-time line job stringing powerlines from pole to pole. And every day since landing that well-paying, full-time job, he reminded his daughter, Alithia -- he said, “Girl, Daddy going to spoil you now.” Told her every single night. He said, “Daddy is going to take you to SeaWorld one day.

But he didn’t get to -- he didn't get to spoil his daughter, Alithia. She did not get to go to SeaWorld.

We also met Ana and Dani- -- Danilo, the mom and the stepdad of nine-year-old Maite Rodriguez. And Maite wanted to be a marine biologist. She was already in contact with Corpus Christi University of A&M for her future college enrollment. Nine years old.

Maite cared for the environment so strongly that when the city asked her mother if they could release some balloons into the sky in her memory, her mom said, “Oh no, Maite wouldn't want to litter.”

Maite wore green high-top Converse with a heart she had hand-drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature.

Camila has got these shoes. Can you show these shoes, please?

Wore these every day. Green Converse with a heart on the right toe. These are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting. How about that?

Maite wrote a letter. Her mom said if Maite’s letter could help someone accomplish her dream, that then her death would have an impact, and it would mean her dying had a point and wasn’t pointless -- that it would make the loss of her life matter.

The letter reads: “Marine biologist. I want to pass school to get to my dream college. My dream college is in Corpus Christi, by the ocean. I need to live next to the ocean because I want to be a marine biologist. Marine biologists study animals and the water. Most of the time, I will be in a lab. Sometimes, I will be on TV.”

Then there was Ellie Garcia, a 10-year-old, and her parents, Steven and Jennifer.

Ellie loved to dance, and she loved church. She even knew how to drive tractors and was already working with her dad and her uncle mowing yards.

“Ellie was always giving of her gifts, her time, even half-eaten food on her plate,” they said. They said, “Around the house, we’d call her the ‘great re-gifter.’” Smiling through tears, her family told us how Ellie loved to embrace. Said she was the biggest hugger in the family.

Now, Ellie was born Catholic, but had been going to Baptist church with her uncle for the last couple of years. Her mom and dad were proud of her because, they said, “She was learning to love God, no matter where.”

The week prior to her passing, she had been preparing to read a verse from the Bible for the next Wednesday night's church service. The verse was from Deuteronomy 6:5. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

That's who Ellie was becoming. But she never got to read it. Service is on a Wednesday night.

Then there was the fairytale love story of a teacher named Irma and her husband, Joe. What a great family this was. This was an amazing family.

Camila and I, we -- we sat with about 20 of their family members in the living room, along with their four kids. They were -- the kids were 23, 19, 15, and 13. They -- they shared all these stories about Irma and Joe -- served the community and would host all these parties, and how Irma and Joe were planning on getting a food truck together when they soon retired.

They were humble, hardworking people. Irma was a teacher, who, her family said, “went above and beyond, and just couldn't say no to any kind of teaching.” Joe had been commuting to and from work 70 miles away in Del Rio for years.

Together, they were the glue of the family. Both worked overtime to support their four kids. Irma even worked every summer when school was out. The money she had made two summers ago paid to -- paid to paint the front of the house. The money she made last summer paid to paint the sides of the house. This summer’s work was going to pay to paint the back of the house.

More:Matthew McConaughey explains why he's staying out of politics 'at this point' in his life

Because Irma was one of the teachers who was gunned down in the classroom, Joe, her husband, literally died of heartache the very next day when he had a heart attack.

They never got to paint the back of the house, they never got to retire, and they never got to get that food truck together.

We also met a cosmetologist. All right? She was well versed in mortuary makeup. That's the task of making the victims appear as peaceful and natural as possible for their open-casket viewings.

These bodies were very different. They needed much more than makeup to be presentable. They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle. Most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA tests or green Converse could identify them. Many children were left not only dead, but hollow.

So yes, counselors are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time. Counselors are needed in all these places where these mass shooters have been for a long time.

I was told by many that it takes a good year before people even understand what to do next. And even then, when they become se- -- secure enough to take the first step forward, a lifetime is not going to heal those wounds.

Again, you know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for? What every parent separately expressed in their own way to Camila and me? That they want their children's dreams to live on. That they want their children's dreams to continue to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter.

Look, we heard from -- we heard from so many people, all right? Families of the deceased -- mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Texas Rangers, hunters, Border Patrol, and responsible gun owners who won't give up their Second Amendment right to bear arms. And you know what they all said? “We want secure and safe schools, and we want gun laws that won't make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damn guns.”

So, we know what's on the table. We need to invest in mental healthcare. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. We need to restore our family values. We need to restore our American values. And we need responsible gun ownership -- responsible gun ownership.

We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red-flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.

These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes.

Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals.

These regulations are not a step back; they’re a step forward for a civil society and -- and the Second Amendment.

Look, is this a cure-all? Hell no.

But people are hurting -- families are, parents are. And look, as -- as divided as our country is, this gun responsibility issue is one that we agree on more than we don't. It really is. But this should be a nonpartisan issue. This should not be a partisan issue.

There is not a Democratic or Republican value in one single act of these shooters. It's not.

But people in power have failed to act. So we're asking you and I'm asking you, will you please ask yourselves: Can both sides rise above? Can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands?

Because we got a chance right now to reach for and to grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations, a chance to make a choice that does more than protect your party, a chance to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation.

We got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and re- -- rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. What we truly value.

We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations.

Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let's come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a mil- -- middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway, especially on this issue.

Because I promise you, America -- you and me, who -- we are not as divided as we're being told we are. No.

How about we get inspired? Give ourselves just cause to revere our future again. Maybe set an example for our children, give us reason to tell them, “Hey, listen and watch these men and women. These are great American leaders right here. Hope you grow up to be like them.”

And let's admit it: We can't truly be leaders if we're only living for reelection.

Let’s be knowledgeable and wise, and act on what we truly believe.

More:Half of Republicans support stricter gun laws, a double-digit jump in a year, USA TODAY/Ipsos poll says

Again, we got to look in the mirror, lead with humility, and acknowledge the values that are inherent to but also above politics. We’ve got to make choices, make stands, embrace new ideas, and preserve the traditions that can create true -- true progress for the next generation.

With real leadership, let's start giving us -- all of us, with real leadership -- let's start giving all of us good reason to believe that the American Dream is not an illusion.

So where do we start? We start by making the right choices on the issue that is in front of us today.

We start by making laws that save innocent lives and don't infringe on our Second Amendment rights. We start right now by voting to pass policies that can keep us from having as many Columbines, Sandy Hooks, Parklands, Las Vegases, Buffaloes, and Uvaldes from here on.

We start by giving Alithia the chance to be spoiled by her dad.

We start by giving Maite a chance to become a marine biologist.

We start by giving Ellie a chance to read her Bible verse at the Wednesday night service.

We start by giving Irma and Joe a chance to finish painting their house, maybe retire and get that food truck.

We start by giving Makenna, Layla, Maranda, Nevaeh, Jose, Xavier, Tess, Rojelio, Eliahna, Annabell, Jackie, Uziyah, Jayce, Jailah, Eva, Amerie, and Lexi -- we start by giving all of them our promise that their dreams are not going to be forgotten.

We start by making the loss of these lives matter.

Thank you. Thank you.

Recap: House to vote after Uvalde, Buffalo survivors testify

Lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to respond to a scourge of mass shootings and gun violence.

At least nine witnesses will testify Wednesday.

WASHINGTON – House lawmakers voted to raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles, following a day of poignant testimony from survivors of mass shootings, including a fourth-grader, a mother taking care of her wounded son and parents who lost a 10-year-old daughter.

The House approved raising the age from 18 to 21 as part of a package of gun reform measures that also would clamp down on gun trafficking, ban bump stocks and require safe storage of firearms. The bill, known as the Protecting Our Kids Act, heads to the Senate where it's not expected to pass because Republicans have enough votes to block gun legislation.

The measure passed the House 223-204, largely on a party-line vote.

The vote came after a full and emotional push from advocates – even actor Matthew McConaughey – who urged Congress to tighten the nation's gun laws after recent massacres in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas.

Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old who smeared herself with her slain friend's blood to play dead during the May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, was one of a dozen witnesses who testified Wednesday morning during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing to address gun violence.

In a pre-recorded video, she told lawmakers how she stayed alive for 78 minutes before help arrived and that she's afraid to go to school after surviving a mass shooting.

“I don’t want it to happen again.”

When asked if she thinks it will happen again, she shook her head up and down and said “yes.”

Her testimony, no matter how stirring, is unlikely to move lawmakers from their entrenched positions. Democrats supporting gun restrictions as a way to prevent mass shooting while most Republicans argued that such steps would undermine constitutional protections guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

Democrats, who have majority leadership in the House, also want to ban assault weapons, boost background checks and pass "red flag" laws, which allow courts to remove firearms from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Their bills are expected to hit a roadblock in the Senate, where Democrats do not have the 10 Republican votes needed for their bills to overcome a filibuster.

A bipartisan group of senators is negotiating a narrower gun-control package, focusing on red-flag laws, mental health and school safety.

Lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to respond to gun violence, particularly after mass shootings in Texas and New York gripped the nation last month. But few believe anything beyond modest gun reforms has a chance of passing.

Why she's testifying:Still facing nightmares, Uvalde survivor Miah Cerrillo, 11, will testify at House hearing on guns

Biden: Voters want action on crime, guns

President Joe Biden said Wednesday voters sent a clear message they are worried about crime in primary elections this week which saw a progressive district attorney in San Francisco removed from office amid fears that his policies had made the city less safe.

“I think the voters sent a clear message last night: Both parties have to step up and do something about crime, as well as gun violence,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Los Angeles.

Biden called again for more states and local governments to use funds from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to hire police officers and reform their police departments.

– Michael Collins

Quinnipiac Poll shows 3 in 4 Americans support raising the age limit to buy a gun

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows nearly 3 in 4 Americans support raising the minimum legal age to buy a gun to 21. Among Democrats there is 91% support behind raising the age limit. Among independents there is 76% and among Republicans, there is 59% support.

There is overwhelming support for background checks for all gun buyers at 92%. There is also strong support among Americans behind red flag laws at 83%.

When respondents were asked what they thought were the main causes of mass shootings, 40% cited mental health issues while 19% believed the cause to be the availability of guns. Forty-five percent of Republicans and 41% of independents said they mental health issues caused mass shootings while 46% of Democrats said they thought the availability of guns was behind mass shootings.

– Kenneth Tran

Kimberly Rubio, mom of Uvalde victim, haunted by last goodbye with daughter

Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi died in the Uvalde massacre, described her final moments with her daughter as she and her husband Felix attended an awards ceremony at Robb Elementary School on May 24. Lexi had earned all As and won a "good citizen award."

The Rubios promised to take Lexi out for ice cream that night to celebrate. They parted ways at around 11 a.m., after a picture-taking session.

"I told her we loved her and we would pick her up after school," said Rubio, who testified via video. "I could still see her walking with us towards the exit. In the reel that keeps scrolling across my memories, she turns her head and smiles back at us to acknowledge my promise. And then we left."

"I left my daughter at that school and that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life," Rubio said.

At 11:33 a.m. that same morning, the 18-year-old shooter arrived at Robb Elementary School. Lexi Rubio was among 19 children killed. Two teachers were killed.

Kimberly and Felix Rubio testified about their increasingly desperate search for their daughter that afternoon.

“Bus after bus arrived, but she wasn’t onboard,” Kimberly testified.

She and other family members drove to different hospitals looking for her. “At this point, some part of me must have realized that she was gone,” said Kimberly. Her worst fear was later confirmed.

Tearing up, she pleaded for lawmakers to not “want to think of Lexi as just a number. She was intelligent, compassionate and athletic. She was quiet and shy unless she had a point to make.”

Closing her testimony, Kimberly said: “Somewhere out there there's a mom listening to our testimony, thinking I can't even imagine their pain. Not knowing our reality will one day be hers, unless we act now.”

– Kenneth Tran

GOP lawmaker accuses Dems of traumatizing survivors

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., accused his Democratic colleagues of traumatizing mass shooting survivors, and their families, by inviting them to testify before the House committee.

He particularly called them out for having Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old Uvalde survivor, submit a pre-recorded video testimony, in which she relived her experience during the shooting.

Miah’s father told USA TODAY earlier in the week his daughter was testifying to “make safer schools.”

Biggs said she was forced to relive trauma “for political purposes.”

“If we’re talking about PTSD, you just prolonged it,” he said.

– Candy Woodall

‘Violent people’ – not guns – are the problem: GOP lawmaker

Rep. Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican and member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Congress can’t fix the gun violence epidemic without addressing “violent people.”

“Guns are not the issue,” he said. “We have a people-violence problem, who misuse guns and other means whenever they intend to harm individuals.”

Hice said the solution lies in teaching “moral absolutes” and “respecting one another and respecting life.”

“We’ve got to, in the midst of this conversation, I believe, embrace religious beliefs.”

– Candy Woodall

AOC: Volume of mass shootings ‘delegitimizing’ to the U.S.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used her time to compare the number of mass shootings from 2009 through 2018 in the United States (288) to the total committed in the country’s G-7 partners - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom (five).

“Two hundred eighty-eight versus five. This is not normal,” the New York Democrat and liberal firebrand said. “Not only is it not normal, it is internationally embarrassing and delegitimizing to the United States.”

Ocasio-Cortez called the situation abhorrent.

“Because for all the billions and trillions that this body authorizes in the name of national security, we can't even keep our kids safe from their schools being turned into a war zone,” she said.

-Ledyard King

Democratic Rep. Mfume blasts NRA – and Congress – for gun industry immunity

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., recalled his efforts to sue the gun industry for gun-related deaths when he was head of the NAACP.

The NRA spent 18 months lobbying Congress to win “absolute immunity on the gun industry and unfortunately was able to get this Congress to pass and sign into law,” he said, referencing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which grants immunity to gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits related to gun crimes.

“It is just unbelievable that we will give absolute immunity to any industry in this country particularly when there’s harm and personal injury.”

- Kenneth Tran

Texas Rep. Pat Fallon: Smartphones, breakdown of family partly to blame for rise in mass shootings

GOP Rep. Pat Fallon from Texas said after mass shootings, “It is natural to want to focus blame."

“We need to do something effective that will keep our children safer,” said Fallon. “Some people want to blame guns, some people want to blame gun manufacturers, some people want to blame believe it or not, the Constitution, some people want to blame an entire political party.”

Fallon said “the shooter is the only one to blame.”

But he also said there are other factors at play.

Fallon claimed mass shootings are in some measure due to “a noticeable breakdown of the family, there’s been an erosion of faith.”

Cell phones, Fallon said, also shared culpability for mass shootings.

“There’s been a seismic drop in social interactions in large measure of these dang smartphones and the proliferation of social media which is better described as anti-social media,” he said.

- Kenneth Tran

Buffalo police commissioner calls photo of child with AR-15 ‘disturbing’

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, asked Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia whether he thinks gun manufacturing companies should market weapons to children after Daniel Defense, a gun manufacturing company, posted a picture of a young boy holding an AR-15 on Twitter.

Gramaglia called the picture "disturbing" and asked, "how many children in our country" have taken their own lives and the lives of others because of the lack of “storage of weapons?"

Shortly after the shooting, Daniel Defense took down the picture from its Twitter account, and the account was made private, according to Krishnamoorthi.

-Merdie Nzanga

'Will we be recorded as such a society that accepts the sacrifice of innocents?’: Rep. Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, opened his remarks by comparing the United States’ history of mass shootings to human sacrifices.

“In the history of our species, a number of civilizations have practiced or allowed human sacrifice, including the sacrifice of children,” said Raskin. “Will we be recorded as such a society that accepts the sacrifice of innocents?”

Raskin said the United States is “globally unique” from other countries in terms of gun violence and gun deaths. “No other nation comes close to what we see here.”

“Will we continue to accept the slaughter of innocents, including innocent children, as acceptable collateral damage for loyalty to a completely bogus and distorted misreading of the Second Amendment and what the Supreme Court has said about it?” he said.

- Kenneth Tran

‘I buried six young children’: Rep. Gerald Connolly

Rep. Gerald Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, told the House Committee about his experience during the Virginia-Tech shooting.

“I was the chairman of Fairfax County when the Virginia-Tech massacre occurred,” said Connolly.

“I buried six young children, students that week. Six. I’m still in touch with many of the families years later. And the emptiness in their hearts, souls, cannot be filled. It is a tragedy that lives with them forever.”

- Kenneth Tran

‘Evil deeds do not transcend constitutional rights’: GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde

Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican from Georgia who is also a gun dealer, said “no one should weaponize or politicize these abhorrent acts to punish law abiding citizens.”

“Evil deeds do not transcend constitutional rights, it’s the other way around. Constitutional rights are the ones that transcend evil deeds,” he said.

Speaking about the Uvalde massacre, Clyde said he believes the shooting was “mostly preventable.”

Instead of stricter gun control policies. Clyde criticized President Joe Biden for being “uninterested in pursuing tighter security of schools.” He cited his military service, saying “the harder the target you are, the less likely you will be engaged by the enemy.”

He said schools should have “sensible security measures,” such as single points of entry and “a volunteer force of well trained and armed staff in addition to a school resource officer.”

- Kenneth Tran

What are ghost guns?:In town hall, Biden brings up worries about the untraceable weapons

Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey meeting with lawmakers about gun control

After making an appearance and delivering an emotional speech about gun control at Tuesday's White House Press briefing, actor and Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, according to a reporter who spotted him.

- Kenneth Tran

‘No match’: Buffalo police commissioner says slain ex-officer had no chance against AR-15

Joseph Gramaglia, the police commissioner of Buffalo, New York, praised retired police officer Aaron Salter Jr, who was fatally shot trying to protect customers at the Buffalo supermarket that left 10 people dead.

"It is often said that a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun. Aaron was a good guy and was no match for what he went up against: a legal AR-15 with multiple high-capacity magazines. He had no chance," Gramaglia said.

The shooter "should have never been able to have access to the weapons he used," the police commissioner said, uring Congress to act on gun reform. "Congress must act immediately to close the loopholes in our current system and the caps that allow easy access to military-style weapons."

-Merdie Nzanga

Deadliest weekend in the US for mass shootings this year: 3 days, many guns, 17 fatalities

NYC Mayor Adams pushes for federal gun laws: “It’s more than what we do locally.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told lawmakers federal action is needed, as guns coming from out of state are out of local government’s control. Adams also emphasized the impact one gun can have.

One of the 3,000 illegal guns the New York Police Department seized “was stolen in July 27, 2020. It was used in six acts of violence. Individual cases shooting individuals, shooting into a random crowd, the gun found its way on the streets of New York.”

“It’s more than what we do locally. We need the assistance of the federal government to stop the flow of guns in our cities.”

-- Kenneth Tran

A community in pain:Uvalde forever changed after tragic shooting

'We are a nation of gun violence survivors'

Nick Suplina, Senior Vice-President of Law and Policy for Everytown for Gun Safety, told the House Committee the latest string of mass shootings shows it is “a uniquely American problem.”

He pointed out to lawmakers that mass shootings only make up a small fraction of gun deaths compared to “homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings.”

“We estimate that one half of all Americans have been touched by gun violence either directly or through someone they care for. In other words, we are a nation of gun violence survivors,” said Suplina.

Suplina directed criticism towards the gun industry. “The gun industry is using fear to sell guns and it believes that mass shootings are great for gun sales. They are making money on these tragedies,” said Suplina.

- Kenneth Tran

Dinosaurs, Spider-Man, TikTok:Texas man donates custom caskets for Uvalde shooting victims

'The same debates'

Greg Jackson Jr, executive director for the Community Action Fund, a gun violence advocacy group, was shot near the Capitol while walking home in 2013.

Jackson Jr said Wednesday he "didn't feel welcomed at the hospital" and instead was met by police who "treated him as a suspect first, and patient second."

"I was watching members of Congress have the same debates that we're having right now., that was 9 years. ago."

-- Merdie Nzanga

More:Teacher closed door gunman used to enter school, authorities say; Uvalde community lays first victims to rest

‘Our God-given right to defend ourselves’: Mother of DC victim

Lucretia Hughes' life changed forever in April 2016 when she learned her 19-year-old son Emmanuel was shot in the head at a party while playing dominoes.

"My ex-husband answered the phone and let out a blood-curdling scream, a scream of pain from the depths of his soul," she said.

Hughes, a member of D.C. Project - Women for Gun Rights, said that her organization "believes education is the key to safety" regarding guns and "not ineffective legislation."

Hughes wants Congress to act on stricter gun control measures but believes in the right for people to defend themselves.

"Despite living with the heartache of losing my son daily, I believe it is our God-given right to defend ourselves from any act of violence."

-- Merdie Nzanga

More:Matthew McConaughey calls for 'gun responsibility' in op-ed after Uvalde school shooting

‘Frustrated, heartbroken’: Former teacher says inaction is acceptance

Becky Pringle, now president of the National Education Association, spoke to the House Committee about her time as a teacher watching mass shootings unfold.

“As a teacher with three decades of experience, I am frustrated, I am heartbroken, I am angry, that this is where we are 23 years after Columbine,” said Pringle. She and her fellow teachers had been falsely comforted “by the belief that this society would never let it happen again,” she said.

“But the list continued to grow didn’t it? Virginia-Tech, Sandy Hook, Marjorie Stoneman Douglass, and now Robb Elementary.”

“Is this who we are? Is it?” asked Pringle. “Our country has already experienced nearly 240 mass shootings in 2022 alone.” If trends continue, Pringle says there will be 22,255 more gun-related deaths this year.

“Inaction equals acceptance of the unacceptable,” said Pringle.

-Kenneth Tran

Gun violence 'killing more Americans than war': New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleads for action

New York City Mayor Eric Adams testified to members of Congress in support of stronger gun control policies

“We are facing a crisis that is killing more Americans than war. A crisis that is now the number one cause of death for our young people. A crisis that is flooding our cities faster than we can take them off the street,” said Adams.

Adams told the House committee the New York Police Department so far this year has seized over 3,000 illegal guns and said there is no indication the flow of illegal weapons will stop.

- Kenneth Tran

What is a mass shooting?:There's no consensus definition, but here's what you should know

Armed man arrested near Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh's home

Even as the House hearing was underway, news emerged that an armed man, who allegedly made threats against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was arrested early Wednesday near the justice's Maryland home, according to a court spokesperson.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was arrested about 1:50 a.m., and transported to a local Montgomery County, Maryland Police district.

Armed man arrested near Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh's home; made threats against the justice

'Something needs to change': Miah Cerrillo’s father testifies

Speaking through tears, Miguel Cerrillo implored Congress to act on gun reform.

The father of 11-year-old Uvalde survivor Miah Cerrillo cried as he talked about nearly losing her in the mass shooting.

“I wish something will change not only for kids, but every single kid in the world because schools are not safe anymore,” he said. “Something needs to change.”

-Candy Woodall

‘I don't want it to happen again,' Miah Cerrillo testifies

The most powerful voice in the hearing came from fourth-grader Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old who survived the Uvalde mass shooting with unbearable ingenuity.

She smeared her murdered friend’s blood on herself to play dead and stay alive. She called 911 for help, though help didn’t arrive for more than an hour.

Miah told members of Congress Wednesday about her fears and why she wants change.

“I don’t feel safe at school,” she said in a pre-recorded video. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

When asked if she thinks it will happen again, she shook her up and down and said “yes.”

-Candy Woodall

Uvalde pediatrician haunted by memories

Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician at Uvalde Memorial Hospital, said he is haunted by memories of screams and bloodshed from the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

“I will never forget what I saw that day,” he said.

He saw parents sobbing – the mothers’ cries he will never get out of his head.

He saw fourth-grader Miah Cerrillo in the hallway, her white shirt covered in blood and her shoulder bleeding from shrapnel.

Guerrero knew her as the girl who survived liver surgery as a baby. On May 24, she was a survivor of a mass shooting.

School was almost out in two days. He expected to be treating sprained ankles from summer camp. Instead, he treated wounds from an assault rifle and saw the children who were “decapitated” in the massacre.

-Candy Woodall

Buffalo shooting victim’s mother: Lawmakers who don’t support stricter gun laws ‘should be voted out’

Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Zaire Goodman, a survivor of the Buffalo shooting delivered impassioned testimony to the House committee.

"Parents who provide their children with guns should be held accountable," Everhart said. She said lawmakers need to pass stricter gun laws, saying those who do not support such changes are allowing mass shootings to continue and “should be voted out."

As Buffalo victims testify:Race and history circle us

Everhart described her son’s injuries in detail and said lawmakers who don't support change should come to her house and clean his bullet wounds.

“My son Zaire has a hole in the right side of his neck, two on his back, and another on his left leg, caused by an exploding bullet by an AR-15," she told the committee. "As I cleaned his wounds, I could feel pieces of that bullet in his back. Shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life."

She added: "If after hearing from me and the other people testifying here today, does not move you to act on gun laws, I invite you to my home to help me clean Zaire's wounds."

-Merdie Nzanga and Kenneth Tran

Miah Cerrillo speaks in video, father speaks at hearing

Miah Cerrillo is sharing her testimony with Congress in a pre-recorded video that will be aired Wednesday morning during the hearing.

Her father, Miguel Cerrillo, will share additional brief remarks in person, committee Chair Maloney said.

-Candy Woodall

‘A uniquely American tragedy’

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, launched Wednesday’s hearing by saying she wanted to “examine the destruction and heartbreak” gripping the nation after the recent series of mass shootings, including one in her home state of New York.

On May 14, in a Buffalo supermarket, an 18-year-old killed 10 Black shoppers in what the FBI described as a racially motivated mass shooting.

Ten days later, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“We are failing our children, and we are failing each other,” Maloney said in her opening remarks.

She said gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and “a uniquely American tragedy.”

Maloney emphasized that she supports the Second Amendment, but she doesn’t support outdated gun laws that allow 18-year-olds to get weapons of war and carry out violent crimes.

-Candy Woodall

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, advocates holding rally

As gun violence survivors and victims’ families testify before the committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders will join gun-safety advocates Wednesday morning outside the Capitol to rally for tighter gun laws.

The chairman of the House Gun Violence Taskforce, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., will attend the event along with Pelosi, gun violence survivors and hundreds of gun safety advocates. They plan to gather at 11 a.m. Wednesday in front of the Capitol reflecting pool.

Also in attendance will be: Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who lost a son to gun violence; Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser; Art Acevedo, former police chief in Houston, Austin and Miami; and others.

-Candy Woodall

Three GOP witnesses added to hearing

The Republicans are adding two witnesses to deliver testimony during Wednesday morning’s House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on gun control.

Lucretia Hughes, of the DC Project and Women for Gun Rights, will be part of the first panel of witnesses, along with with Miah Cerrillo and families of victims. Amy Swearer, a legal fellow with the Heritage Foundation, will speak during the second panel, which also includes gun-safety advocates and the Buffalo police commissioner.

Democrats have also added New York Mayor Eric Adams to the second panel. He has been calling for reform, as his city grapples with an uptick in gun violence.

-Candy Woodall

What we know about the House hearing

The hearing Wednesday comes during an emotionally charged week on Capitol Hill. It began with a rally Monday for gun safety laws and has included tense negotiations in the Senate, heated debate in the House and passionate hearings in both chambers.

McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, has been meeting with members of both parties to encourage them to work together, he said during a White House briefing Tuesday.

Lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to respond to the scourge of violence, particularly after mass shootings in Texas and New York gripped the nation last month.

Members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee will hear from a young survivor, victims' parents, a community pediatrician, advocates and others who are reeling from trauma after the mass killings on May 24 at Robb Elementary in Uvalde and the May 14 racially motivated massacre of 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket in a Black neighborhood.

The committee said the hearing will examine "the urgent need for Congress to pass commonsense legislation that a majority of Americans support."

Democrats who have majority leadership on the committee want to ban assault weapons, boost background checks and pass "red flag" laws, which allow courts to remove firearms from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Hearing details:Uvalde and Buffalo survivors, families to testify before House Oversight committee on mass shootings

What we know about the witnesses

The hearing is expected to be lengthy and emotional, with two panels of witnesses.

Miah is part of the first panel, which includes Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Buffalo shooting victim Zaire Goodman; Felix and Kimberly Rubio, the parents of Uvalde shooting victim Lexi Rubio; and Dr. Roy Guerrero, the sole pediatrician in Uvalde.

Those panelists will offer their stories, experiences and trauma just weeks after the mass shootings. They will not field questions from lawmakers, according to a spokesperson for the committee.

The second panel of witnesses includes Greg Jackson, Jr., executive director of Community Justice Action Fund; Joseph Gamaglia, Buffalo police commissioner; Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association; and Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.

The other side:Everyone knows the NRA. Who's on the other side? These groups lobby for curbs on firearms

What we know about the House Oversight and Reform Committee

The large committee that will hear the testimony includes 25 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

Democratic members include Maloney, who is in an intense primary battle with fellow New York Democrat Jerry Nadler; Jamie Raskin, who is also busy this week on the Jan. 6 committee this week investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive who has been calling for reform; Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley and others.

Republican members include Jim Jordan, an outspoken Republican member of the GOP Freedom Caucus who opposes most gun restrictions; Andy Biggs of Arizona; Nancy Mace of South Carolina; Byron Donalds and Scott Franklin of Florida, where reform measures have passed, and others.

A push for reform

The House Oversight and Reform committee is the latest panel to examine the gun violence epidemic.

House Judiciary members last week passed a package of six bills, dubbed the Protecting Our Kids Act, that passed along party lines.

'Shame on us!':House committee passes gun bills that are likely to die in Senate

Senate committees this week are holding hearings on gun laws and white nationalism, which the FBI said was a factor in the Buffalo shooting.

The full House will vote on the Protecting Our Kids Act, a "red flag" bill and an assault weapons ban this week, according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But all those measures are expected to hit a roadblock in the Senate, where Democrats do not have the 10 Republican votes needed for their bills to survive a filibuster.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., are leading a bipartisan group of senators in negotiations on a narrower gun-control package than House Democrats.

The senators' plans focus on red-flag laws, mental health and school safety.

As of Tuesday night, those Senate negotiations were ongoing.

Half of Republicans support stricter gun laws, poll shows

As lawmakers hash out bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill, an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds half of Republicans support stricter gun laws.

The increase in GOP support – from 35% last year to 50% this month – marks a double-digit increase after a series of horrific mass shootings at schools, stores, streets and houses of worship.

A party shift "could boost the prospects for Congress to tighten federal gun laws, an effort that has failed for decades," according to previous coverage.

GOP senator now open to reform

Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming, who has rigidly supported Second Amendment rights and earned a "lifetime A-plus" rating from the National Rifle Association,doesn't seem to be an obvious choice to support bipartisan efforts to reforming the nation's gun safety laws.

But the number of constituents calling her office have made her rethink her position.

"I've been a little surprised at the phone calls we've been getting and how receptive Wyoming callers seem to be to address guns in some manner," she told CNN. "I am of the opinion that it's more of a mental health issue than a gun issue. But, you know, I'm listening to what people from Wyoming are saying."

She is considering voting for bipartisan measures in the Senate that would change "red flag" laws, open juvenile criminal records, and boost mental health programs and school security.

"That's something that I'd be inclined to want to look at," Lummis told CNN.

Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

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Biden makes fervent plea for stricter gun laws: 'How much more ...

(CNN) President Joe Biden issued a fervent appeal Thursday for stricter gun laws -- including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase -- as a spate of gun massacres have left the nation shaken and prompted new discussions on Capitol Hill about how to prevent them.

Speaking from the White House Cross Hall, where somber lines of candles had been lit as a backdrop, Biden ratcheted up pressure on Congress to act after previous shootings failed to produce any meaningful new laws.

"How much more carnage are we willing to accept?" Biden asked, demanding Republicans in particular end their blockade of gun control votes.

It was the President's most forceful and specific call for gun control since recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas , and Buffalo, New York . In his speech, Biden sought both to encourage action and threaten opponents of new gun laws with the wrath of voters, majorities of whom support some type of new action to prevent mass shootings.

In addition to reinstating a ban on assault weapons, Biden urged Congress to expand background check requirements for gun purchases, create new rules for safely storing weapons, enact new "red flag" laws that would prevent gun sales to those with criminal records, repeal liability shields for gun manufacturers and provide more mental health services for students.

Most, if not all, of those items currently appear unlikely to gain approval in the evenly divided Senate, where a bipartisan group of senators is currently determining where action might be possible.

Still, Biden sought to use the moment -- with Americans rattled by a seemingly unending spree of killings -- to rally the nation behind a plan that most Republicans oppose.

"My God, the fact that the majority of the Senate Republicans don't want any of these proposals even to be debated or come up for a vote, I find unconscionable," Biden said in his remarks, a rare evening address meant to reach the largest number of viewers.

"We can't fail the American people again," he continued.

Fifty-six candles burned behind him to represent victims of gun violence in all US states and territories.

The remarks amounted to Biden's most fulsome speech about guns since a massacre at a Texas elementary school last week. He said the recent spate of horrific mass shootings must impel the nation to take action to prevent further massacres by passing gun restrictions.

After meeting families mourning their slain loved ones in Buffalo and Uvalde, Biden said the message from them was clear: "Do something."

"Nothing has been done," Biden said. "This time that can't be true. This time we must actually do something."

In the little more than a week since the Uvalde shooting , a string of additional mass shootings have unfolded in states across the country, including in Tulsa on Wednesday. That shooting left five dead, including the gunman.

It was the second time Biden has delivered an emotional evening speech at the White House on mass shootings, also speaking in the wake of the Robb Elementary School assault. Since then, however, Biden has only selectively waded into the debate over gun control, stopping short of endorsing any specific legislative action to prevent further carnage.

He offered more specific calls Thursday, including saying the age to purchase assault weapons must be raised from 18 to 21 if lawmakers cannot agree on an outright ban on those firearms.

"We must at least raise the age to be able to purchase one to 21," the President said.

"For the children we've lost, the children we can save, for the nation we love, let's hear the call and the cry. Let's meet the moment. Let us finally do something."

JUST WATCHED 'A big change': Bash reacts to Biden's shift in response to recent mass shootings Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 'A big change': Bash reacts to Biden's shift in response to recent mass shootings 02:18

Both Biden and his advisers have suggested they have exhausted their options on executive action to address guns, though continue to explore avenues for unilateral action.

Speaking a day after consoling families in Texas, Biden expressed limited hope that certain Republicans, like Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and one of his top allies, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, could be convinced to support some type of new gun laws.

McConnell has deputized Cornyn to begin talks with Democrats on some type of legislation to prevent further mass shootings, though the discussions are still in their preliminary stages.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who participated in a Wednesday bipartisan meeting on gun safety, said he and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham are in talks over changes to red flag laws and there still is "significant" work to do.

Senators are looking at strengthening state laws allowing authorities to take away weapons from individuals deemed a risk, known as red flag laws.

Blumenthal called the conversation "productive and encouraging" and said negotiators are "all speaking multiple times a day."

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would bring legislation to ban military-style assault weapons to the floor next week as the chamber moves to address gun violence.

This story has been updated with additional developments on Thursday.

Novavax, Matthew McConaughey, midterm elections, adoption ...

An FDA panel recommended Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine be the fourth allowed for use in the USA. Matthew McConaughey urged an end to gun violence during a speech at the White House. And do male mice really hate bananas?

👋 What's up? Besides gas prices. Laura Davis here, comin' in hot with bad jokes and Tuesday's news.

But first, why are gas prices up again? Another week, another record high. We're breaking down what's driving the surge in prices – and it might not be what you think.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

New COVID-19 vaccine could be coming soon

A federal advisory committee recommended Tuesday that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine be authorized for use in the USA, this one from Novavax, a Maryland-based company. The vaccine, which was supported by $1.8 billion in taxpayer funding, relies on a more traditional approach than those from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, which have been used by more than three-quarters of Americans. Before the vaccine can become available, the head of the FDA must agree with the advisory panel that the benefits of Novavax's vaccine outweigh its risks. Then, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel and the CDC's director must sign off. That process is likely to take a few weeks at least. Novavax said it has millions of doses available and ready to be shipped once it receives authorization.

Another summer COVID-19 wave? Here's why this one is different.

Matthew McConaughey urges end to gun violence in White House speech

Actor Matthew McConaughey used the megaphone of the White House and his own star power Tuesday to urge leaders in Washington to address gun violence in honor of the young victims of the mass shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. After meeting with President Joe Biden, McConaughey choked up as he shared the victims' stories and pressed for action. “This moment is different. We’re in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change – real change – can happen," he said. McConaughey was born in Uvalde, the town where he said he was taught "to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun" and where 19 children and two teachers were massacred at an elementary school last month.

What everyone's talking about

The Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.

2022 midterms: Seven states hold primary elections

Voters in seven states make their choices Tuesday in primary elections that will set fall matchups for House and Senate seats, governorships and a host of other offices. California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota hold primaries. The races aren't likely to offer huge drama, but congressional contests in several states feature politicians facing ethical hurdles or former President Donald Trump's disapproval. The roster of those running includes a California congressman who voted to impeach Trump, a party switcher in New Jersey who angered Trump by supporting an infrastructure bill and the last Democrat in Iowa's congressional delegation. Based on the results of primaries in May, many voters are concerned about the economy, abortion rights and gun control, and immigration and the border generally take a back seat. Here's USA TODAY's cheat sheet on what races to watch.

Why do bananas stress out male mice?

They're tasty. They're healthy. But apparently, bananas are pretty stressful for male mice. Scientists at McGill University accidentally discovered that bananas create stress in male mice because of a compound inside the fruit, according to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances. Jeffrey Mogil, E. P. Taylor chair in pain studies at McGill University, said his team was doing experiments with male and female mice when a student noticed the male mice were doing something odd: When late-pregnant or lactating female mice were near the male mice, the males showed signs of stress and ran around their cages more than normal. Where do bananas come in? A compound called pentyl acetate is found in the urine of late-pregnant and lactating female mice, Mogil said, and a similar chemical compound is found in bananas. When the scientists tested the mice with banana oil, sure enough: stressed-out mice. Read more from the study here.

Real quick

👉 Tuesday's Ukraine news: US officials sail away with $325M Russian-owned superyacht; Zelenskyy says Ukraine troops "not capable of advancing" without more long-range weapons. Read the latest from Ukraine.

Now trending: Instagram adoption scams

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Biden says US would respond 'militarily' if China attacked Taiwan ...

Tokyo (CNN) President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would intervene militarily if China attempts to take Taiwan by force, a warning that appeared to deviate from the deliberate ambiguity traditionally held by Washington.

The White House quickly downplayed the comments, saying they don't reflect a change in US policy. It's the third time in recent months -- including during a CNN town hall in October -- that Biden has said the US would protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack, only to have the White House walk back those remarks.

During a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, Biden was asked if the US would be willing to go further to help Taiwan in the event of an invasion than it did with Ukraine.

"You didn't want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?" a reporter asked.

"Yes," Biden replied. "That's the commitment we made."

"We agree with the One China policy. We signed on to it, and all the attendant agreements made from there, but the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is (just not) appropriate," he said.

Under the "One China" policy, the US acknowledges China's position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijing's claim to the self-governing island of 23 million. The US provides Taiwan defensive weapons, but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

JUST WATCHED Biden's balancing act amid tensions between mainland China and Taiwan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Biden's balancing act amid tensions between mainland China and Taiwan 02:41

Biden's strong warning was made right on China's doorstep during his first trip to Asia as President. The visit is aimed at uniting allies and partners to counter China's rising influence. It also came a day before Biden is scheduled to attend the second in-person summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) -- an informal grouping between the US, Japan, Australia and India that has alarmed Beijing.

Several of Biden's top administration officials were caught off-guard by the remarks, several aides told CNN, adding that they were not expecting Biden to be so unequivocal.

In a statement following Biden's comments, a White House official said the US' official position remained unchanged.

"As the President said, our policy has not changed. He reiterated our One China policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself," the official said.

China expresses 'firm opposition' to comments

Within hours, China had expressed its "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to Biden's comments, saying it will not allow any external force to interfere in its "internal affairs."

"On issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests, there is no room for compromise," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"We urged the US side to earnestly follow the One China principle ... be cautious in words and deeds on the Taiwan issue, and not send any wrong signal to pro-Taiwan independence and separatist forces — so it won't cause serious damage to the situation across the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations."

China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian added, "We urge the US to stop saying or doing anything in violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiqués. ... Those who play with fire will certainly burn themselves."

Taiwan lies fewer than 110 miles (177 kilometers) off the coast of China. For more than 70 years the two sides have been governed separately, but that hasn't stopped China's ruling Communist Party from claiming the island as its own — despite having never controlled it.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that "reunification" between China and Taiwan is inevitable and refused to rule out the use of force. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei are at the highest they've been in recent decades, with the Chinese military sending record numbers of war planes near the island.

Joanne Ou, a spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN that it "expresses sincere welcome and gratitude to President Biden and the United States government for reiterating its rock solid commitment to Taiwan."

Biden compares potential invasion of Taiwan to Ukraine war

Biden on Monday compared a potential invasion of Taiwan by China to Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, warning, "It will dislocate the entire region," and emphasizing "Russia has to pay a long-term price for its actions."

"And the reason I bother to say this, not just about Ukraine -- if, in fact, after all (Russian President Vladimir Putin has) done, there's a rapprochement ... between the Ukrainians and Russia, and these sanctions are not continued to be sustained in many ways, then what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting, attempting to take Taiwan by force?"

Biden said that China is "already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvers they're undertaking."

"But the United States is committed, we made a commitment, we support the One China policy, we support all we've done in the past, but that does not mean, it does not mean that China has the ability, has the, excuse me, jurisdiction to go in and use force to take over Taiwan," he added.

At the press conference, Kishida also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

"Attempts to change the status quo by force, like Russia's aggression against Ukraine, should never be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific, above all, in East Asia," he said.

"As the regional security environment becomes increasingly severe, I reaffirmed with President Biden that we need to speedily strengthen the deterrence and response of the Japan-US alliance," he said, adding that he conveyed his determination to "fundamentally strengthen Japan's defense capability."

This story has been updated with additional reporting and reaction.

Steve Kerr: 'I'm tired of the moments of silence,' says Warriors coach ...

Marco Reus: 'Haaland can be one of the best strikers in the world'

Dortmund's Norwegian forward Erling Braut Haaland (L) celebrates with Dortmund's German forward Marco Reus scoring during the German Cup (DFB Pokal) final football match RB Leipzig v BVB Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin on May 13, 2021. - RESTRICTIONS: ACCORDING TO DFB RULES IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO IS NOT ALLOWED DURING MATCH TIME. MOBILE (MMS) USE IS NOT ALLOWED DURING AND FOR FURTHER TWO HOURS AFTER THE MATCH. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DFB DIRECTLY AT +49 69 67880 (Photo by ANNEGRET HILSE / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTIONS: ACCORDING TO DFB RULES IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO IS NOT ALLOWED DURING MATCH TIME. MOBILE (MMS) USE IS NOT ALLOWED DURING AND FOR FURTHER TWO HOURS AFTER THE MATCH. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DFB DIRECTLY AT +49 69 67880 / RESTRICTIONS: ACCORDING TO DFB RULES IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO IS NOT ALLOWED DURING MATCH TIME. MOBILE (MMS) USE IS NOT ALLOWED DURING AND FOR FURTHER TWO HOURS AFTER THE MATCH. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DFB DIRECTLY AT +49 69 67880 (Photo by ANNEGRET HILSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (L) and and NFL quarterback Tom Brady attend the Big Pilot Charity Challenge at the Miami Beach Golf Club, in Miami Beach, Florida on May 4, 2022. (Photo by Giorgio VIERA / AFP) (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 08: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain poses for photographs with the troph after his straight sets victory during the Men's Singles final match against Alexander Zverev of Germany during day eleven of Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on May 08, 2022 in Madrid, Spain (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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DORTMUND, GERMANY - MARCH 26: Borussia Dortmund's coach Juergen Klopp and Marco Reus after the 0-0 result in the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 at Signal Iduna Park on March 26, 2014 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)

Red Bull Paper Wings is the official paper plane world championship and the 2022 edition saw a record number of pilots competing in the categories of Distance, Airtime and Aerobatics. The national finalists participating at the sixth-ever World Final at Hangar-7 in Salzburg were the elite of more than 61,000 hopefuls from over 60 countries who'd taken part in more than 500 Qualiflyer events and, in the case of Aerobatics, submitted videos online. // Lazar Krstic of Serbia performs in the Longest Distance discipline during the Red Bull Paper Wings World Finals 2022 in Salzburg, Austria on May 14, 2022. // Philipp Carl Riedl / Red Bull Content Pool via AP Images // For more content, pictures and videos like this please go to http://www.redbullcontentpool.com

Aurélien Tchouaméni lifts the lid on his future: 'It's a good situation to be in [...] But at the end it's just social media'

Monaco's midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni celebrates after scoring during the French L1 football match between Lille OSC and AS Monaco at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve d'Ascq, northern France on May 6, 2022. (Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP) (Photo by DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

DALLAS, TX - MAY 24: Damion Lee #1 of the Golden State Warriors speaks to the media after Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2022 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

'Maybe we are alone': Jude Bellingham questions whether authorities 'care' about racist abuse directed at Black footballers

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Jude Bellingham of Dortmund is seen during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Hertha BSC at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

CNN —

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned plea to take stronger action against gun violence in the United States after 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Kerr refused to speak about basketball ahead of Game 4 of the Warriors’ series against the Dallas Mavericks, instead raising his voice as he railed against gun violence in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

“In the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California, now we have children murdered at school,” Kerr told reporters at the start of the press conference.

“When are we going to do something? I’m tired. I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there … I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.

“There’s 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on H.R. 8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple years ago. It’s been sitting there for two years. There’s a reason they won’t vote on it: to hold onto power.”

Last year, the House passed H.R. 8 to expand background checks on all commercial gun sales – the first congressional move on significant gun control since the Democrats won the White House.

Currently, background checks are not required for gun sales and transfers by unlicensed and private sellers.

“I’m fed up. I’ve had enough,” continued Kerr, whose father was serving as the president of the American University of Beirut when he was assassinated by gunmen in 1984.

Kerr stands for a moment of silence following Tuesday's mass shooting. Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

“We’re going to play the game tonight. But I want every person here, every person listening to this, to think about your own child or grandchild, mother or father, sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today?”

Tuesday’s shooting by a lone, 18-year-old gunman, who was killed by law enforcement, was the second mass shooting in the US in less than two weeks after a different 18-year-old gunman trafficking in White supremacist theories killed 10 Black Americans in Buffalo.

Tonight we held a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in multiple tragedies in TX.

We play tonight’s game for Coach Michael Coyne, who lost his life on Sunday returning home from our game, & the victims of the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. pic.twitter.com/cqMF5RoMbW — Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 25, 2022

Ahead of Tuesday’s game in Dallas, which was preceded by a moment of silence, Warriors guard Damion Lee joined Kerr in calling for gun reform.

“It’s just sad,” Lee told reporters. “Obviously, everyone saw Steve’s pregame presser. Those are my exact same sentiments. It’s sad the world that we live in. We need to reform that.

“Guns shouldn’t be as easily accessible. Like, it’s easier to get a gun than baby formula right now. That’s unbelievable in this country that we live in.”

The NBA said in a statement that it is “devastated by the horrific shooting that took place today in Uvalde, Texas,” while Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said ahead of the game that his team would play “with heavy hearts.”

“We’re going to try to play the game. We have no choice. The game is not going to be canceled. But we have to find a way to be pro, find a way to win and move forward,” said Kidd.

“But the news of what’s happening, not just here in Texas but throughout our country, is sad.”

The Mavs won the game 119-109 and trail the Warriors 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

Biden-Xi call: 5 reasons it is so important amid Russia-Ukraine war ...

Washington (CNN) When President Joe Biden spoke Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, it wasn't just another phone call in an ongoing flurry of telephone diplomacy.

This call -- which went nearly two hours, according to the White House -- comes at a potential turning point for ties between the United States and China. White House officials are watching with growing concern the budding partnership between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has proved troubling to western observers. Beijing appears to be neither fully supportive nor directly opposed , making for an uncertain stance Biden hopes both to decipher and influence in the call.

The White House said after the call that Biden "described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia."

"The President underscored his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis," the White House said. The White House said Biden and Xi agreed to maintain "open lines of communication."

Conflict and confrontation is not in anyone's interest, Xi told Biden at the start of the call, according to Chinese state media.

"Peace and security are the most cherished treasures of the international community," CCTV quoted Xi as saying on the call.

White House officials said ahead of the call that they expected it could turn intense; a preliminary meeting between the two leaders' aides stretched for seven hours earlier this week . And Biden upped the stakes when he alluded to his call a day beforehand, declaring his Chinese counterpart "does not believe democracies can be sustained in the 21st century."

1. The call came at a critical moment in the Russia-Ukraine war

Biden spoke to Xi at a key juncture. According to US officials, China is weighing whether to provide military or financial assistance to Russia, which has requested it as its military sustains major losses in Ukraine. If China agrees, it could dampen its relationship with the West for decades to come.

"We're concerned that they're considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, confirming what other US officials had been warning for days.

Already, the United States has conveyed to some NATO allies it believes China has some willingness to support Russia, though Moscow denies asking for it and Beijing says it's not providing any help.

American officials say they believe Xi has been unsettled by Russia's invasion and the performance of Russia's military, which has experienced logistical and strategic setbacks since the invasion began more than two weeks ago.

Watching from Beijing, Xi was caught off-guard that his own intelligence had not been able to predict what would happen, even though the United States had been warning of an invasion for weeks, the officials said.

2. China could provide Russia with a range of support

US officials don't believe China would be willing to provide Russia with large offensive equipment like tanks or jets. Instead, officials said they believed it more likely China would send smaller items like meals, ammunition, spare parts or surveillance equipment -- if they send anything at all.

Officials said it was still possible China helps Russia alleviate the effect of withering Western sanctions through financial support, though it's unlikely the country would be able to completely blunt the effects of the US and European measures.

On their phone call, Biden hoped to make clear to Xi the downsides of assisting Russia's war, either through military or financial assistance. He was set to "make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression and we will not hesitate to impose costs," Blinken said ahead of the call.

It is widely assumed Xi will secure a historic third term in power during the Communist Party's 20th National Congress in Beijing this fall. During such an important year, western experts believe Xi will be particularly mindful of the economic risks posed by secondary-sanctions. Trade between the European Union and China topped $800 billion last year and US-China trade was over $750 billion, according to China's official data, while its trade with Russia was just under $150 billion.

Yet there remains an ongoing debate within the administration about what steps to take against China should it decide to assist Russia. Biden and his administration have declined to publicly discuss exactly what options they are considering, but have warned that there will be "consequences" for China if they support Russia.

3. US must manage a 'cold-blooded' partnership between Russia and China

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, US officials were watching warily as Putin and Xi grew closer. CIA Director Bill Burns said last week the partnership was rooted in "a lot of very cold-blooded reasons."

The two leaders declared their relationship had "no limits" in a lengthy document in February, when Putin visited Beijing for talks and to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The document saw China back Russia's central demand to the West, with both sides "opposing further enlargement of NATO."

Since then, the partnership without limits has been tested as Xi weighs how to respond to Russia's war in Ukraine. Beijing's evolving response -- from denying an invasion would happen to attempting to avoid Western condemnation by presenting itself as willing to participate in mediation -- has been closely monitored by the White House.

US officials have seen mixed signals. When China abstained from a United Nations reprimand vote against Russia, it was viewed as a sign of Beijing distancing itself. And a top Chinese official said last month that Ukraine's sovereignty must be respected.

But other signs have pointed toward a more accommodating stance, including China's amplification of Russian disinformation. And top US officials have said a lack of denunciation is enough indication of where China's allegiance lies.

"We believe China in particular has a responsibility to use its influence with President Putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support," Blinken said Thursday. "Instead, it appears that China is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a neutral arbiter."

4. American allies in Asia are watching China's reaction to Ukraine war closely

Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- breaching its sovereignty and sending Europe into its worst conflict in decades -- has sent ripples of anxiety across the world. One place watching closely is Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China.

Beijing has recently stepped-up military flights close to the island there and warned against American support. In the early days of the Ukraine conflict, there were fears Russia's invasion could portend a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, even though it did not appear one was imminent.

American officials have since downplayed the parallels, saying if anything, the united response to Russia may cause China to rethink whatever plans it had for Taiwan. Russia's invasion has galvanized not only the West and NATO but also countries in the Asia-Pacific -- an outcome American intelligence believed Xi was unprepared for, supposing instead that economic interests would prevent countries there from imposing severe sanctions.

Even some on Biden's own national security team were surprised at how quickly some US allies in Asia, including Japan and Australia, were willing to slap sanctions on Russia following its invasion.

5. Biden and Xi have a long history -- and very different worldviews

Biden is fond of citing the long hours he spent with Xi when both were serving as their country's vice president. He has claimed to have spent more time with Xi than any other world leader.

Yet they haven't met face-to-face since Biden took office and Xi has not left China during the Covid pandemic. That has left them to meet in web conferences or speak on the phone, a dynamic Biden has said that he does not find ideal.

He and his team have worked to establish a policy of managed competition with China. They have left in place the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump and criticized China for not upholding its commitments from a Trump-era trade deal.

Before the conflict in Ukraine, Biden appeared intent on refocusing American foreign policy toward Asia, where he views the competition between the US and China as a defining challenge of the next century.

And while the Ukraine crisis has preoccupied the White House in recent weeks, officials insist they are still able to maintain their overriding vision.

NRA convention 2022: What to know about the annual meeting in ...

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021 photo, Donald Trump supporters participate in a rally in Washington, near the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

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Attorney General William Barr participates in a press conference at the Department of Justice along with DOJ officials on February 10, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Demonstrators join the "March for Our Lives" rally in Los Angeles, California, on June 11, 2022. Protesters are demonstrating across the US for tighter firearms laws to curb devastating gun violence plaguing the country.

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Washington CNN —

The National Rifle Association is set to hold its 2022 annual meeting in Houston on Friday, bringing together its top brass and several notable conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, for the first time in three years.

The NRA’s annual meeting was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this year, the organization is moving ahead with its plans, holding the meeting at a time when both gun rights and the organization itself have come under intense scrutiny, especially after a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 21 dead.

Here’s what we know about the 2022 annual meeting.

Who is participating?

Despite the controversy surrounding this year’s convention, a number of high-profile Republicans are set to participate in the event, with some scheduled to deliver speeches:

Trump

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

NRA members were also expecting to hear from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but the Republican canceled his in-person appearance to instead attend a news conference in Uvalde, with his spokesperson telling the Dallas Morning News Thursday evening that the governor will address the convention “through prerecorded video.”

Friday’s meeting will feature remarks from NRA head Wayne LaPierre and Jason Ouimet, the executive director of the group’s lobbying arm, according to the event website.

The former President, who maintained a close relationship with the gun lobby and its activists throughout his presidency, spoke at the 2019 event, which marked his fifth consecutive speech to the annual meeting.

Who has backed out?

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who appeared alongside Abbott during a press conference Wednesday, said in a statement he was canceling his appearance, “after prayerful consideration and discussion with NRA officials.”

“While a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and an NRA member, I would not want my appearance today to bring any additional pain or grief to the families and all those suffering in Uvalde,” Patrick said Friday.

On the federal level, two GOP lawmakers have backed out of the convention, though neither cited the deadly shooting in Uvalde as the reason for their cancellations:

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw

Texas Sen. John Cornyn

Notably, at least four musicians who were set to sing in a concert at this weekend’s convention have canceled their performances, citing the shooting in Uvalde:

Don McLean

Lee Greenwood

Larry Gatlin

Larry Stewart

“I just did not believe it was the right thing to do,” Gatlin told CNN’s Pam Brown on Thursday. “It would have been kind of a classy move on the NRA’s part, and they need some good PR right now, if they’d cancel the whole thing and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go in here for one big moment and say a prayer for those folks or have a moment of silence, and we’ll come back and do this later. We can always have our big convention.’”

He emphasized that he still supports the NRA and believes in the Second Amendment, but that he “didn’t think it was a good time to go down to Houston and have a party.”

When is the meeting?

The NRA’s 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibits is scheduled to take place from May 27-29, according to the event website. The leadership forum, which the organization bills as “one of the most politically significant and popular events in the country,” will take place Friday afternoon.

Where is the meeting?

The leadership forum will be held in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, the same location it was going to be at last September for the 2021 annual meeting.

Who can attend the meeting?

The annual meeting is only open to NRA members. The organization currently has over five million members, according to its website.

What are the security measures?

The NRA said that because Trump will be at the event, the US Secret Service “will take control of the General Assembly Hall and have magnetometers in place before entry.”

Attendees are prohibited from bringing “firearms, firearm accessories, knives, and other items,” including backpacks and selfie sticks.

What has happened since the 2019 meeting?

Friday’s annual meeting will take place at a time when gun rights and the NRA have come under intense scrutiny, with supporters of gun control turning their attention to the organization this week after an 18-year-old gunman fatally shot 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said.

The NRA condemned the shooting in a statement Wednesday, calling it a “horrific and evil crime.”

“Although an investigation is underway and facts are still emerging, we recognize this was the act of a lone, deranged criminal,” the group said. “As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure.”

The massacre is the deadliest shooting at a school since the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012 that left 26 people dead, including 20 children aged between 6 and 7 years old.

The NRA has also been in a fight to remain afloat after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued to dissolve the NRA for allegedly misusing charitable funds. In March, a New York State Supreme Court justice blocked James’ attempt to dissolve the organization but allowed her suit against it to move forward.

And observers are also awaiting a decision from the US Supreme Court in the biggest Second Amendment case it has taken up in more than a decade. The justices are considering whether to strike down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed gun outside the home.

What happened at the last annual meeting?

At 2019’s annual meeting, Trump announced that he would not ratify a United Nations arms trading treaty and then signed a message to the Senate in front of an audience of NRA leaders.

The meeting was also notable because then-NRA President Oliver North told members during it that he would not be renominated president of the group following a dispute with LaPierre. The announcement was made in a letter in which North said he hoped he would be renominated for a second term but, “I am now informed that will not happen.”

Already a controversial figure due to his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal, North joined the NRA at a critical juncture for it as it responded to renewed calls for gun control in the wake of the 2017 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

This story has been updated with additional information Friday.