Kamala Harris Taps Minnestoa Gov. Tim Walz as VP Running Mate

Your weekly News Memo - a more human way to engage with the news.

In this week’s memo:

• Trends: More U.S. Adults Indicate They’re Unlikely to Ever Have Children

• Kamala Harris Taps MN Gov. Tim Walz as VP Running Mate

• X, Musk Sues Advertisers Group Over Alleged Boycott

• GetSmart: The Human Alarm Clock was a real thing ⏰

  
  Premium Subscribers: You have access to our News Memo hoodies and dad hats. Please email us at john@thenewsmemo.com to get one at cost. 😉

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Newsbites

• 2024 Olympics: The Summer Games conclude on Sunday (Aug. 11). Here are 5 incredible moments from this week we think you’ll like: USA wins men's 1500m race; Simone Biles lands risky double pike flip; Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) pole vault record; Turkish sharpshooter Yusuf Dikec wins silver and becomes a meme; Noah Lyles wins 100m in tightest margin.
  
  More: The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.

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• Iran and Israel: The U.S. warned of a ‘serious risk’ if Iran launches an attack on Israel. A U.S. official close to the matter told the Wall Street Journal, “The United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation if they do a significant retaliatory attack against Israel is extremely high.” Iran accused Israel of assassinating top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Iran at the time. Iran’s supreme leader responded to the death saying, “we consider his revenge as our duty.” 

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• Taylor Swift concert canceled due to terrorist threat: A 19-year-old was arrested in Austria on Wednesday after being identified as the suspect “planning to kill a large group of people using explosives and knives” at a Taylor Swift concert, according to officials. The teenager reportedly stole chemicals from the metal processing company he worked at and was building a bomb. Reports say he planned to drive a car into a crowd outside of the stadium. Online posts show he had frequently shared Islamic State propaganda. Two other suspects arrested included a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old.
  
  More: Swift's three sold-out concerts in Austria that expected around 195,000 people were canceled.

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• Mortgage Rates Drop: U.S. mortgage rates have hit a 15-month low as buyers finally get some relief in what’s been a difficult buying market. The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage now stands at 6.47% - the lowest since May of 2023. Mortgage rates doubled in 2022 as the Federal Reserve and government sought to slow down inflation which made it nearly impossible for many people to buy a home. Home sales in 2023 were at the lowest levels in more than three decades.

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• Unrest in the UK: Following the knife attack on young children at a dance school last week, unrest has broken out in the UK over immigration. The riots have involved looting, property destruction, and violent encounters with the police (video). Around 500 people have been arrested and more than 150 have been charged with crimes. Counterprotests in defense of immigrants and Muslims have risen up in response (video). Migration has been a growing flashpoint in the UK as the country’s demographics change. 
  
  More: Between 2018 - 2022, 75% of the country’s population growth was attributable to migration. India, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and Ukraine were the top 5 countries of origins for immigrants to the UK in 2023.

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Main Stories

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Trends: More U.S. Adults Indicate They’re Unlikely to Ever Have Children

Global birth rates are declining and there may not be many optimistic signs that the trend will reverse. According to a Pew Research survey, a growing percentage of U.S. adults ages 18-49 say they are unlikely to ever have children. In 2023, 47% said they were unlikely to ever have children, up from 37% in 2018 (see chart below).

Reasons for not having children
Respondents were asked why they are unlikely to have children. The most cited major reason for those ages 18-49 was that they “just don’t want to” at 57%. There was a difference among women and men, with 64% of women saying they just don’t want to, compared to 50% of men, for an average of 57%. The second most-cited reason was “wanting to focus on other things” at 44%.

The birth rate in the U.S. has been on a downward trend for many decades. As seen in the chart below, while one-child households (red line) have remained steady since 1985, the number of zero-child households (dark gold line) has increased significantly, especially since 2012.

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Kamala Harris Taps MN Gov. Tim Walz as VP Running Mate

Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz, 60, has governed the land of 10,000 lakes since 2018.

The Harris campaign hopes that Walz’s Midwestern roots and style will help Harris in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

“He talks and looks like a lot of the voters we’ve lost to Trump,” a Democrat strategist told CNN politics. 

Although viewed as a more moderate Democrat during his time serving as a state representative in rural Minnesota, his six years as Governor during covid and the George Floyd riots made him one of the more progressive governors in the country, mirroring policies from California and New York. 

Walz and Harris connected when he accompanied her on her tour of the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Paul. Harris was the first Vice President to tour such a facility.

The Walz pick came as a surprise to many as he is unknown on the national scene. The other candidates on the shortlist were Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania and Mark Kelley from Arizona (both important swing states).

Who is Tim Walz?
Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska. After high school he joined the Army National Guard working in manufacturing. He moved to Mankato, Minnesota in 1996 where he became a high school social studies teacher and the football coach. In 2006, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he was re-elected five times before running for Governor in 2018. 

• More: JD Vance criticized Tim Walz for dropping out of his unit prior to them leaving for combat in Iraq. (video)

Covid Lockdowns
Walz enforced some of the strictest lockdown policies of any state. He mandated an indoor mask requirement from 2020 to 2021. Minnesota also shutdown restaurants, gyms, churches and other institutions for extended periods. Controversially, Walz opened up a covid hotline which allowed Minnesotans to report their neighbors who weren’t following covid-related protocols. Violations carried $1,000 fines or up to 90 days in jail, although Walz said people should first be given a warning before being charged. 

George Floyd Riots
After the death of George Floyd, Minnesota became the epicenter for the protests and riots which eventually spread across the world. Walz received praise and criticism in his handling of the protests. For three days, Minneapolis was controlled by rioters and looters until he called in the National Guard.

Transgender issues
In April of 2024, Walz signed the “trans refuge” bill which made Minnesota a legal sanctuary for minors seeking sex reassignment surgery, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Walz also signed a statewide ban on “conversion therapy” for gay Minnesotans.

Abortion
Walz codified abortion rights in the state of Minnesota with no restrictions up until the moment of birth. He also removed the 24-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion and parental consent before the operation.

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X, Musk Sues Advertisers Group Over Alleged Boycott