Enlarge this imageSupporters of Iranian ultraconservative presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi carry posters bearing his portrait and wave national flags as they attend a rally in the capital Tehran, on Wednesday, ahead of the presidential election on Friday. The field of candidates in Iran’s presidential election thinned today, two days before the vote in which a victory by Raisi is widely predicted.Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionAtta Kenare/AFP via Getty ImagesSupporters of Iranian ultraconservative presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi carry posters bearing his portrait and wave national flags as they attend a rally in the capital Tehran, on Wednesday, ahead of the presidential election on Friday. The field of candidates in Iran’s presidential election thinned today, two days before the vote in which a victory by Raisi is widely predicted.Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty ImagesIran is holding a presidential election on Friday. A hard-liner close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is widely predicted to win, with an exceptionally low voter turnout. The vote comes at a cro sroads for the country of about 85 million people. World powers are trying to revive the Iran nuclear deal by bringing Iran and the United States back into compliance. Progre s there could reinstate limits on Iran’s nuclear program while giving the country acce s to global markets that its economy needs. President Ha san Rouhani by law cannot run for a third consecutive term. His succe sor will have a heavy to-do list. Iran is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, and an economic crisis that’s generally blamed on a combination of mismanagement and U.S. sanctions reimposed after the Trump administration abandoned the nuclear deal.Here is a look at some of the Francisco Liriano Jersey candidates and i sues to watch in the upcoming election:Enlarge this imageThis combination of four photos shows candidates for the Iranian presidential election on Friday. From left to right: Abdolna ser Hemmati, Mohsen Rezaei, Amir Ho sein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Ebrahim Raisi.APhide captiontoggle captionAPThis combination of four photos shows Jimmy Wynn Jersey candidates for the Iranian presidential election on Friday. From left to right: Abdolna ser Hemmati, Mohsen Rezaei, Amir Ho sein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Ebrahim Raisi.APWho is running for president of Iran? There are four candidates, but one expected winner: Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian judiciary chief. The state-linked Iranian Students’ Polling Agency said on Wednesday that Raisi is favored to win about 64% of the vote. The other candidates are Abdolna ser Hemmati, former governor of Iran’s Central Bank; Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; and deputy speaker of parliament Amir Ho sein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.As The A sociated Pre s puts it, Iran’s political spectrum includes hard-liners who seek to expand the country’s nuclear program and its power in the world, moderates who generally want to maintain the status quo, and reformists who want to change the theocracy. Even though there’s voting in Iran, activists who oppose the Islamic Republic’s rulers say there aren’t free and fair elections and some view voting as a way to push for progre s.In the weeks leading up to Friday’s election, the Guardian Council approved just seven candidates out of a field of nearly 600 registered, disqualifying many more moderate contenders and dozens of women registered to run. Critics said the move was a form of ballot manipulation to secure a hard-line presidency. Three candidates have dropped out of the race this week.Enlarge this imageIranian presidential candidate Abdolna ser Hemmati (left) speaks as Ebrahim Raisi listens in the candidates’ final debate at a state-run TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Blank Jersey on June 12.Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/Young Journalists Club via APhide captiontoggle captionMorteza Fakhri Nezhad/Young Journalists Club via APIranian presidential candidate Abdolna ser Hemmati (left) speaks as Ebrahim Raisi listens in the candidates’ final debate at a state-run TV studio in Tehran, Iran, on June 12.Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/Young Journalists Club via APWhat’s known about the leading candidate, Ebrahim Raisi? Raisi is a 60-year-old Shiite Muslim cleric with close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. He ran for president previously and lost to Rouhani in 2017. Two years later, Khamenei appointed Raisi to head the judiciary. Analyst and president of Eurasia Group Ian Bremmer writes in Time: “Raisi can fairly be described as a ‘hardliner,’ one of those Iranian officials who is openly hostile to the idea of deeper engagement with Western governments and who favors the strict application of Islamic law at the expense of personal freedom.” The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2019, saying: “Raisi was involved in the regime’s brutal crackdown on Iran’s Green Movement protests that followed the chaotic and disorderly 2009 election. Previously, as deputy prosecutor general of Tehran, Raisi participated in a so-called ‘death commi sion’ that ordered the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.” Enlarge this imageA supporter of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi shows her hand with writing in Persian that reads “Raisi,” during a rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday. He is the country’s hard-line judiciary chief and is closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Ebrahim Noroozi/APhide captiontoggle captionEbrahim Noroozi/APA supporter of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi shows her hand with writing in Persian that reads “Raisi,” during a rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday. He is the country’s hard-line judiciary chief and is closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Ebrahim Noroozi/APWhat’s the mood around the election? Many voters are disillusioned with politics, and some in the opposition as well as di sidents at home and abroad have called to boycott the vote. The Iranian Students’ Polling Agency projected just 42% of the country’s 59 million eligible voters will cast ballots, which would be a historic low for the country, the AP reported.Middle EastFrom The Streets Of Tehran: Iranians’ Thoughts Ahead Of Friday’s Vote For PresidentFrom The Streets Of Tehran: Iranians’ Thoughts Ahead Of Friday’s Vote For President Listen 2:472:47 Toggle more optionsDownloadEmbedEmbed”>Transcript The “Biden administration is logically holding its breath and are deciding how it needs to react to the outcome of the Iranian election and whether there is going to be really ma sive change in Iran’s position which, frankly, I do not expect,” says Boroujerdi of Virginia Tech. Khamenei supports the Carlos Correa Jersey talks to reenter the nuclear deal and officials in Tehran expect to reach an agreement before the next president takes office in August, according to CFR. In the final presidential debate on June 12, the former Central Bank chief Hemmati said “Mr. Raisi, you and your friends have played in Trump’s ground with your extremist policies.” Raisi a sured viewers he would bring Iran back to the nuclear deal. But he told Hemmati: The deal “would not be executed by you, it needs a powerful government to do this.”
Enlarge this imageInvestigators search for evidence outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday, the day after a ma s shooting took place there.Jae C. Hong/APhide captiontoggle captionJae C. Hong/APInvestigators search for evidence outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday, the day after a ma s shooting took place there.Jae C. Hong/APA reported 21 people were killed in an attack by a lone gunman at an elementary school in the small town of Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. Of the dead are 19 students and two adults. An additional 17 people were injured. All victims had been identified as of Wednesday. The gunman was killed by a law enforcement agent. The attack at Robb Elementary School occurred just two days before summer break was to begin, with the school’s calendar listing May 26 as the last day of cla ses. The school teaches students in grades two through four, and around 600 students attend. Here’s what else we know. Uvalde is a small community Enlarge this imagePeople sit on the curb outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionAllison Dinner/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople sit on the curb outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty ImagesUvalde, Texas, is a community of around 16,000 people, most of whom are Hispanic, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The town sits about 85 miles west of San Antonio. It’s the kind of place where “interconnections are thick” and no one would have expected a ma s shooting at the local school, Marc Duvoisin, the editor-in-chief of the nearby San Antonio Expre s-News, told NPR. Uvalde is also best known as the hometown of Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey. The actor took to social media to share his heartbreak over the tragedy.In a lengthy statement, he offered prayers to those impacted and urged Americans to rea se s their values, saying, “we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” without specifically mentioning guns or Jacksonville Jaguars Jersey reforms. The shooter was from Uvalde Enlarge this imageLaw enforcement officers work on Wednesday at Robb Elementary School, the site of Tuesday’s ma s shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionJordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesLaw enforcement officers work on Wednesday at Robb Elementary School, the site of Tuesday’s ma s shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesThe 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, had attended Uvalde High School, which had its graduation day set for this coming Friday. At some point, however, he had dropped out, officials said. There had been no evidence of mental health i sues prior to the violence Tuesday. Investigators said there is also no evidence of a criminal record, though research is being done into whether the gunman had a record as a juvenile. Law enforcement said the shooter acted alone, but more details have since emerged about his activity in the hours before the shooting. He shared private me sages on Facebook with someone and told the person he intended to shoot his grandmother. Police confirm he did attack his grandmother and shot her in the face. She survived and is in the hospital. After shooting her, he returned to Facebook to send a me sage confirming what he did. He then posted in the chat that he was targeting an elementary school next but didn’t mention Robb Elementary School specifically.He took off in his grandmother’s car, later crashing it not far from Robb Elementary School. He then approached the school, encountered a school resource officer (though no gunfire was exchanged) and entered through a back door on campus.National 27 school shootings have taken place so far in 2022 Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN on Tuesday evening, following a briefing from the Texas Rangers, that the shooter bought at least two a sault rifles shortly after his 18th birthday. “He had no problem acce sing those weapons,” Gutierrez said during the interview. A Border Patrol agent shot the gunman After the gunman LeShaun Sims Youth Jersey gained entry to the school, police from various departments gathered to form a tactical unit. A Border Patrol tactical unit responded to the scene, and one of its agents shot and killed the suspect, according to a source with the agency. The school year is over and other events canceled Graduation for the local high school is postponed for now, according to the superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Hal Harrell. He spoke during a second news conference Tuesday. Harrell clarified that the district’s school year is done, following the shooting, and that all other events are canceled. He said grief counseling was going to be provided for students and their families starting Wednesday morning at the local civic center.Enlarge this imageSheena Rodriguez on Wednesday hands a state trooper a bouquet of flowers, honoring the victims killed in Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Jae C. Hong/APhide captiontoggle captionJae C. Hong/APSheena Rodriguez on Wednesday hands a state trooper a bouquet of flowers, honoring the victims killed in Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Jae C. Hong/APLocal hospitals and the public respond to the need Uvalde Memorial Hospital established an emergency command center after hearing word about the attack from law enforcement. The response following the shooting was “enormous,” and additional staff came on to a sist, according to a news release from Uvalde Memorial. The hospital treated 15 people (11 of whom were children) following the shooting at Robb Elementary. Two children received by the hospital were dead on arrival Shannon Sharpe Women Jersey . Four young patients had to be transferred to trauma centers in San Antonio for further treatment. Seven children were able to be sent home following treatment. Enlarge this imageBlood bank technologists on May 25 prepare during an emergency blood drive for victims of the Uvalde school shooting.Brandon Bell/Getty Imageshide captiontoggle captionBrandon Bell/Getty ImagesBlood bank technologists on May 25 prepare during an emergency blood drive for victims of the Uvalde school shooting.Brandon Bell/Getty Images National How to help Uvalde families after the elementary school shooting Early Tuesday evening, local hospitals and other organizations put out a call for blood donors to respond to the tragedy, and the public has responded in a major way. South Texas Blood & Ti sue said a huge number of donors allowed it to send 15 units of blood to the school and local hospitals immediately after the shooting and another 10 to an area hospital later in the day. The organization also said further appointments to donate were largely booked, but it encouraged people to continue to donate. GoFundMe has established an online hub of verified fundraisers supporting victims and loved ones affected by the shooting. Robb Elementary School has also created a fundraising account at a local bank to a sist families. It is accepting checks and online payments. Biden and politicians respond Enlarge this imagePresident Biden speaks about the ma s shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APhide captiontoggle captionManuel Balce Ceneta/APPresident Biden speaks about the ma s shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday.Manuel Balce Ceneta/APPresident Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other government buildings following news of the tragedy. Biden addre sed the nation Tuesday night following the shooting. “How many scores of little children who witne sed what happened see their friends die as if they’re on a battlefield, for God’s sake,” he said. He plans to travel to Texas in the coming days to meet with families affected by the ma s shooting. Leaders from around the world spoke out. Pope Francis called for stricter gun control Carolina Panthers Men Jersey in the United States. Others, including Ukrainian leaders, sent their condolences. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took to the Senate floor hours after news of the shooting broke. Newtown, Conn., in Murphy’s state, is the location of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, during which 26 people mostly 6- and 7-year-olds were killed. Murphy has aggre sively called for gun reform following that incident. Murphy implored, “What are we doing? Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands. What are we doing?” He pleaded with his colleagues to act on gun control legislation now. Did you know we at NPR tell audio stories? Listen to our podcasts, like Up First, where we talk about the three most important stories of the day, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Loading… Click here for the latest from the NPR newsroom. NPR reporter Ayana Archie contributed to this article.