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1 MSU Shooter's Father Says He "Turned Evil" After Mother Died
Officials at Michigan State University are identifying three victims who were shot and killed last night on campus, and all were from the Detroit area. Brian Fraser of Grosse Pointe, just east of Detroit, was a sophomore and was working at the Union when the gunman opened fire. The second victim was Alexandria Verner from Clawson, north of Detroit, and she was a junior at the university. The third victim's name hasn't been publicly released. However, Grosse Pointe Public Schools Superintendent Jon Dean released a statement saying the victim was a female from Grosse Pointe. As for motive, the father of the shooter says his son became "evil and mean" following the death of his mother two years ago. He explained that the 43-year-old had a difficult time processing her death and become a hermit after quitting his job. The gunman's father said he attempted to get him into counseling but noted "you never know what your kid will do when they walk out that door." He also didn't know why his son targeted the school or believed that his son was a danger to himself or others prior to the shooting. Meanwhile, police are saying the Michigan State University shooter had a note in his pocket threatening two New Jersey public schools. The Ewing Township school district in New Jersey closed all its schools yesterday out of an abundance of caution.
2 GOP Launches Covid Investigation
House Republicans are launching an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes requests to testify from former White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, former NIH Director Francis Collins, and other top health officials. Fauci previously stated he would comply with any oversight hearings before he stepped down from his position in December. In addition to looking into the origins of COVID-19, the Oversight Committee will investigate the federal response to the pandemic, as well as how taxpayer dollars were spent. Republican Kentucky Representative James Comer is chairing the oversight committee and says Republicans will “follow the facts” and “hold U.S. government officials that took part in any sort of cover-up accountable.”
3 TikkTok Considers Creator Paywalls
TikTok is working on a feature that will allow creators to charge whatever amount they want for some of their videos. Additionally, the social media app is working on a way to pay out more money to creators than early versions of the program. The app originally launched the creator fund in the summer of 2020 with a bankroll $200 million. TikTok announced soon after that the fund would eventually grow to more than $1 billion. What is being branded as “Creator Fund 2.0” could launch as early as next month.