School Shooting by 15-year-old Female Student in Wisconsin Leaves Two Dead

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

There are two important announcements this week.

1. Starting today, we are running a Christmas Sale for the next 14 days. Support us by becoming a Premium member and enjoy 40% off. 🤩

2. We will not be sending the regular Memo next week given the Christmas holiday. However, we will be sending a cool announcement so still check your email.

Merry Christmas y’all and thank you for your support!

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+ GetSmart: 🌎 Group of Flat-Earthers Fly to Antarctica for “Final Experiment”

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Newsbites

Immigrants accounted for 84% of U.S. population growth in 2023, according to new Census reports. The growth was fueled by a large spike in legal and illegal immigration into the U.S. in recent years, as well as falling birthrates and an aging population. In the past four years, the U.S. grew by 8.5M people, with immigrants making up the vast majority. The states that saw the biggest population increases included Texas (563,000) and Florida (467,000).

More: The Census Bureau made major revisions to their earlier estimates in order to better capture the massive increase in immigration (the Census doubled the net migration number from the prior year).

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The House voted no to the Trump-backed 116 page spending bill to fund government operations before the new year and avert a shutdown. The bill was an alternative to the original GOP-backed 1,547 page spending bill which was vehemently opposed by Trump and Elon Musk through their online posts, which sent Congress into a frenzy to rewrite the much shorter and simpler spending bill. Vice President-elect JD Vance told reporters, “They would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship bullsh*t. They've asked for a shutdown, and I think that's exactly what they're gonna get.” A new GOP-backed bill will be voted on today around 10:00 a.m. with minor changes. (Image comparing size of both bills)

Insight: Every year, Congress must pass funding bills that provide money for various federal agencies and programs. If these bills are not passed by the deadline, the government runs out of funding, leading to a shutdown of certain “non-essential” services. The bills tend to be very long and confusing and are often passed right before Christmas or Holidays when lawmakers want to go home.

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Justin Trudeau is facing growing calls to step down as Prime Minister of Canada, including from his own Liberal Party. Increasing the pressure was the resignation on Monday of Trudeau’s deputy PM and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland. She published her resignation letter and said, “You and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.” At the heart of their disagreement is the impending trade war with the U.S. Trump has pledged to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports, which Freeland said is a “grave challenge.”

More: Trudeau’s approval rating has plummeted over the past few years over growing frustration with the cost of living, immigration policy, and crime. Canada holds national elections in 2025 and the Conservative Party holds large advantages in public polls. Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party and a favorite to be the next Prime Minister, recently delivered a speech in the House of Commons (video).

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Honda and Nissan are exploring a possible merger. The two automakers, which are the 2nd and 3rd largest Japanese carmakers after Toyota, have been losing market share in recent years. They’ve struggled to compete in China, where new car companies such as BYD are aggressively selling low-cost electric vehicles (EV). In the U.S., Nissan has struggled with its weak brand and lack of hybrid and EV options. While Honda has fared better, it is significantly behind Toyota in terms of hybrid vehicles.

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The Supreme Court will rule in January whether the impending TikTok ban / forced sale is constitutional. In April 2024, Congress passed a law that mandated TikTok either be shut down or that the U.S. portion of the business be sold by its Chinese parent-company, ByteDance. The deadline for the ban / forced sale is January 19. TikTok is appealing the law, arguing it violates free speech rights for the 170M Americans on the platform.

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Mass grave sites are being discovered throughout Syria as people search for their loved ones who disappeared under the Assad regime from 2001 to 2024. Syrians are discovering thousands of bodies throughout the country. The most likely explanation is that the deaths occurred in Assad's brutal detention centers. (video)

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Graphic of the week: U.S. Population Growth From Immigrants (legal and illegal) Has Surged in Recent Years

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School Shooting by 15-year-old Female Student in Madison Wisconsin Leaves Two Dead

What happened?
A 15-year-old female student at a small Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, shot and killed a substitute teacher and a fellow student on Monday. Six other students were injured in the shooting, including two that remain hospitalized with critical injuries. The tragedy occurred at Abundant Life Christian School, which has about 400 students K-12.

The shooting happened during a study-hall with mixed grades, and a second-grade teacher was the first person to call 911. When police arrived, the 15-year-old girl was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a 9mm pistol. She died on the way to the hospital. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said, “Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive was a combination of factors.” Authorities are still trying to verify the authenticity of a manifesto-type document shared online.

Investigation remains ongoing
Thus far, authorities have said the shooter brought two handguns to school the day of the attack, but only one was used. How the guns were obtained is unknown.

Additionally, the shooter was reportedly in communication with a 20-year-old man from California. The two were exchanging messages and the man told her he planned to conduct an attack on an unknown government building with explosives and guns. It’s not clear at this point what the relationship between the two people exactly consisted of.

• The City of Madison has posted a webpage to answer ongoing questions about the incident.