The Supreme Court is looking for a gun case to rule on, McDonald's isn't reopening its dining rooms just yet, and a cat thrower repents
THE BIG STORY The Supreme Court really wants to hear a gun case
It has been a decade since the Supreme Court last issued a major ruling on gun rights, and the court's new conservative majority looks keen to change that.
In a ruling yesterday, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote he has concerns that lower courts are not interpreting the law correctly on some gun cases, and that the Supreme Court should take up such a case "soon." He noted that he agreed with previous Supreme Court decisions that struck down handgun bans in states and cities.
Three other members of the court's conservative majority voiced concerns about a New York City gun control measure in a ruling on Monday, saying they would have declared it unconstitutional if given the opportunity.
"The justices' concerns about Second Amendment infringements are real, and our membership is excited to have their rights formally vindicated before the nation's highest court," said Jason Ouimet, the head of the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm. There are a number of gun cases working their way towards the Supreme Court, including one questioning whether state or local governments can ban or restrict carrying firearms outside of the home.
 Getty Images/Luke Sharrett STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Will McDonald's join the reopenings?
Georgia and Tennessee have begun allowing restaurants to reopen their dining rooms, and Alaska and Texas are in the process of doing the same. But for the time being, some of the biggest fast food franchises will be remaining to-go only, Venessa Wong reports.
McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, and Dunkin' all said they won't be opening their dining rooms just yet. "We're moving thoughtfully, judiciously and in close partnership with franchisees to determine what additional procedures will be needed when we open dining rooms again," McDonald's said in a statement.
But one beloved chain is testing the waters: Waffle House has begun preparing its dining rooms in Georgia and Tennessee to welcome sit-down customers once more, albeit with limitations. "It will be a slow recovery, but it's trying a solution rather than being stuck in time," a spokesperson said.
 IT'S NEWS O'CLOCK Our new podcast is live! BuzzFeed News has a new daily podcast, and it's wonderful. News O'Clock comes out every evening, just in time for what you once would have called your after-work commute, and in the latest episode, Hayes Brown and Casey Rackham talk through the world's most mysterious story: North Korea. Check it out here! SNAPSHOTS Two people in California have been arrested and charged with fraud over a deal to sell $4 million worth of face masks and respirators. They didn't actually have the goods, prosecutors claimed, saying it was all "a fraudulent scheme designed to line their own pockets."
Sweden appears to be experiencing the cost of its more relaxed approach to the coronavirus. It has seen a 34.5% rise in overall deaths this month, compared to a 6.5% increase in neighboring Denmark.
The federal government must pay out billions of dollars to health insurers, the Supreme Court ruled. It overturned laws passed by the Republican-led Congress to defund a key part of the Obamacare system.
German doctors are posting nudes to protest a shortage of protective equipment. "The nudity should symbolize that we are vulnerable without protection," one doctor said.
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THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
UFOs are a thing now
The Pentagon has released videos of what it described as "unidentified aerial phenomena" captured by American pilots, and which regular viewers like you or I would describe as what appear to be alien spaceships, just flying around doing their thing. The videos, which were initially leaked a few years ago, were formally released yesterday "in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos," according to a statement from the Pentagon. "The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as 'unidentified,'" it said, which is exactly what aliens would want you to believe.
Scientists reacted skeptically to the initial release of the videos, saying there are any number of more earthly explanations that are more plausible than aliens whizzing around in spaceships. A CAT THROWER REPENTS Meow
A member of the city planning commission in Vallejo, California has resigned after a Zoom meeting where he threw his cat and allegedly drank alcohol and used bad language.
Commissioner Chris Platzer was asked during the meeting if he had any comments on an agenda item. You can hear loud meows in the background as he prepares to speak. "OK, first, I'd like to introduce my cat," he says, picking it up and showing it to the camera before throwing it in the air. "The cat lands off camera with a thud," Stephanie Baer reports.
"I did not conduct myself in the Zoom meeting in a manner befitting of a planning commissioner and apologize for any harm I may have inflicted," Platzer told the Vallejo Times-Herald. He has stepped down from his position.
Conduct yourself in a manner befitting a planning commissioner on all your Zoom calls today,
Tom BuzzFeed, Inc.
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