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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, CVS Health Corp and supermarket chain Wegmans Food Markets Inc said on Thursday they would start asking customers to not openly carry firearms in their stores, joining Walmart Inc and Kroger Co, in a change of gun policy following several deadly mass shootings in the United States. The retailers are among a growing number of U.S. companies, such as Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, that are responding to calls for action to help curtail the rash of gun violence that has plagued the nation, risking backlash from powerful gun owners' groups as politicians consider options. (Fares, 9/5)

“We join a growing chorus of businesses in requesting that our customers, other than authorized law-enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into our stores,” CVS said. “The sight of someone with a gun can be alarming, and we don’t want anyone to feel that way at Wegmans,” the grocer’s corporate Twitter account said Thursday. The statements come two days after Walmart Inc., the country’s largest retailer, asked shoppers to stop carrying guns openly in stores and said the company will cease sales of ammunition that can be used in semiautomatic rifles and handguns. Last month, 22 people died in a mass shooting in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart, prompting company executives to rethink their policies around gun violence in the U.S. (Nassauer, 9/5)

President Donald Trump is finalizing his proposals designed to curb gun violence. But it's unclear whether anyone really wants what he’ll be offering. Most Democrats consider them too weak. Most Republicans, long resistant to triggering their base or the gun lobby, fear Trump won’t push them forcefully enough — leaving them hanging. (Kumar, 9/5)

President Trump met with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin at the White House on Thursday to discuss a policy response to mass shootings that have killed dozens of people over the past several weeks, three people familiar with the matter said. The 30-minute private meeting, which included several White House staffers, touched on a range of possible gun-related policy issues including background checks, the people said. Mr. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) have long urged legislation expanding background checks for gun sales. Their bill failed to pass the Senate in 2013. (Restuccia and Andrews, 9/5)

Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke says a mandatory government buyback program for AK-47 and AR-15 rifles is needed because other gun control measures don't do enough to remove weapons already on the streets. O'Rourke spoke Thursday at Tufts University in his first campaign stop in Massachusetts. He said that while universal background checks and red flag laws that allow guns to be removed from those deemed a danger to themselves or others will save lives, neither will address the millions of assault-style weapons already in private hands. (9/5)

The orders focus largely on strengthening law enforcement’s ability to respond to and prevent future shootings, mainly through improving reporting channels and closing "information gaps" when members of the public or law enforcement agencies worry that a person might be a threat to commit violence. But, Abbott's office added in a news release, "legislative solutions are still needed." (Pollock, 9/5)

The authorities in Houston said Thursday that they had brought charges in what they believed to be the country’s first prosecution under a new ban on bump stocks, the attachments that enable semiautomatic rifles to fire in sustained, rapid bursts. The ban, which went into effect in March, was ordered last year by the Trump administration following several mass shootings. The suspect in the Houston case, Ajay Dhingra, 43, drew the authorities’ attention in August after he sent an email to the George W. Bush Presidential Center asking the former president to “send one of your boys to come murder me,” according to court records. “I want to die by the hands of a white Christian.” (Zaveri, 9/5)

It haunts him. The face, its expression blank. No sign of anger, no flicker of excitement or worry. A numbness. The right arm is extended toward him, lining up a target for the gun in hand. “I see him every day,” Jim Meyers said, calmly but emphatically. “Every day. I saw him when I was in the shower this morning. It is burned into my mind.” (Sewell, 9/6)

After 26 people were gunned down in a Sutherland Springs church in 2017 and 10 people were shot and killed at a Santa Fe high school seven months later, Texas leaders sought answers. They talked exhaustively about mental health and campus safety. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick talked about whether schools had too many doors. But the groups of stakeholders tasked with making recommendations about how to protect Texans did not seriously entertain measures to restrict gun access. (Allen, 9/5)

The St. Louis Board of Education took the brunt of the frustration about gun violence that has taken the lives of a dozen children in the city from residents, parents and school staff Thursday night. The school board held a special meeting at its Vashon High School to listen to ideas for how to keep its students alive. (Delaney, 9/6)