Pride Month, Biden to visit Tulsa, UFO report: 5 things to know Tuesday

Celebrations planned nationwide throughout Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈

Pride Month is officially here. The month of June marks a time of celebration and reflection for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. But first, some history: Pride dates back to riots at Stonewall Inn in June 1969, led by Black transgender women. New York City police had raided the landmark bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, enforcing a law against selling alcohol to gay patrons. Thirteen people were arrested. Now more than 50 years later, Pride is celebrated with street festivals, events and parties. While last year’s festivities were moved largely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many 2021 celebrations will host a blend of virtual and in-person events as more Americans become vaccinated. Looking to celebrate Pride in your area? USA TODAY compiled some of this year’s biggest events.

Biden to visit Tulsa to mark race massacre centennial

President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa on Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a tragedy that marks one of the lowest points in Oklahoma history. The history of the massacre spotlights the formation of an affluent Black community known as “Black Wall Street,” and the gruesome events that destroyed it. In 1921, a white mob attacked the area in Tulsa, killing hundreds of people and destroying the country’s wealthiest African American community. Its abrupt demise and similar incidents around the country during that period played a role in widening the racial wealth divide, experts say.

Pentagon set to release government report on UFOs

A government-sanctioned report on unidentified aerial phenomena is expected to be released by the Pentagon and other federal agencies on Tuesday.  It will include information that cannot easily be explained, according to a former top national intelligence official. UFOs are often synonymous with aliens in pop culture, but those who study the phenomenon say they should be understood by their literal name: unidentified flying objects. Often, they may have mundane explanations like weather balloons or drones. But for now, some sightings don’t have accepted explanations. Last week, a UFO filmmaker shared a video clip depicting radar footage he claimed shows a swarm of unidentified flying objects near a Navy ship off the coast of San Diego almost two years ago. 

‘Potentially hazardous’? An asteroid the size of the Space Needle will pass near Earth 

A massive asteroid is expected to whiz by Earth in a relatively close encounter – 4.5 million miles – on Tuesday, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The asteroid, known as 2021 KT1, is about 600 feet, the size of the New York Olympic Tower or the Seattle Space Needle. The asteroid is classified by NASA as a “potentially hazardous object” because it is larger than 492 feet and within 4.6 million miles of Earth. It will be flying near Earth at a speed of 40,000 mph, according to the laboratory, which tracks objects that drift close to Earth’s orbital area. While the asteroid is not expected to make a direct hit, NASA is keeping a close watch.

Hurricane season officially begins

Tuesday marks the beginning of hurricane season in the Atlantic, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The season, which runs through Nov. 30, typically peaks in August and September. If the season follows predictions, it will be the sixth consecutive year of above-normal activity. Overall, the NOAA said 13 to 20 named storms will develop. Of the predicted hurricanes, three to five could be major, packing wind speeds of 111 mph or higher. Forecasts include storms that spin up in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

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