Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated while giving speech: Friday, July 8

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation's most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, hospital officials said.Abe, 67, was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was later pronounced dead despite emergency treatment that included massive blood transfusions, hospital officials said.Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of an attack that shocked many in Japan, which is one of the world’s safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet ministers hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country after the shooting, which he called “dastardly and barbaric."Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe suffered major damage to his heart in addition to two neck wounds that damaged an artery, causing extensive bleeding. He was in a state of cardio and pulmonary arrest when he arrived at the hospital and never regained his vital signs, Fukushima said.Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/shinzo-abe-assassinated/507-7691dd2f-13f3-4705-af0c-8e1c2f1b8198South Carolina lawmakers held a public hearing Thursday to consider banning nearly all abortions in the state, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last month to overturn Roe v. Wade.Many speakers shared personal stories.Aaron Cameron Popkin of Spartanburg told lawmakers he was a father of three children he called "survivors." “We lost three other children before they were born. All three died in my wife's body and required medical professionals to operate and save my wife’s life," said Popkin. "That procedure is not a flippant decision, it’s a live-saving procedure some legislation would ban.""My mother was shocked and possibly disappointed when I took my first breath because I survived an abortion by induction," said one woman. Outside of the packed room, demonstrators from both sides chanted for and against abortion access. Many of them waited in line for hours for the opportunity to speak their mind in front of lawmakers. READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/sc-house-lawmakers-first-public-testimony-total-abortion-ban/101-2a7f0040-8f39-4995-b3c4-b2c88353e1aaWatch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!