| Need To Know |
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| Shooting in Santa Clarita |
At least two students were killed and three others injured after a gunman opened fire at a high school in the city of Santa Clarita, Calif., about 20 miles north of Los Angeles. The shooter - who carried out the attack on his 16th birthday, armed with a single .45-caliber handgun - is in grave condition after attempting to take his own life, according to reports. Police say the weapon was recovered without any bullets remaining, suggesting the shooter counted as he emptied the chamber, saving the final bullet for himself. Officials originally believed the suspect had fled the scene, before police realized he was one of six injured students. The attack is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have rocked communities in the US this year. Despite violent crime in the US falling by an estimated 70% over the past 25 years, the rate of mass shootings has nearly quadrupled over the same period.
More than 50% of students say they worry a shooting could happen at their school. |
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| Mandatory Vaccinations in Germany |
| Lawmakers in Germany approved a measure yesterday mandating nationwide measles vaccinations for all schoolchildren in preschool or higher grades. An exception will only be allowed for medical reasons and failure to comply will result in a fine levied on the parents of up to €2,500 (about $2,750). The move comes in response to a global rise in cases of the highly contagious airborne disease; Europe alone saw a spike of 350% in reported cases of measles last year. The disease - which kills more than 2.6 million people each year and was declared eliminated in the US as recently as the year 2000 - has made a comeback, fueled by a burgeoning anti-vaccination movement. Through vaccination, health officials hope to achieve herd immunity (see 101), where the number of people protected against a disease is enough that it is unlikely to spread to highly susceptible hosts, like children. The contagious nature of measles requires a vaccination rate close to 95% to achieve herd immunity. |
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| Ousted Ambassador to Testify |
Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is set to testify today in the second public hearing in the ongoing impeachment inquiry. A career foreign service officer, Yovanovitch was recalled in May for unspecified reasons. However, she previously testified (read here) that the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, pushed for her removal for not fully supporting investigations into White House political opponents, specifically Joe Biden. Yovanovitch maintains that she never attempted to block any potential investigations. House Democrats have teed up eight witnesses for hearings Tuesday through Thursday of next week, with two of those witnesses - diplomats David Hale and Kurt Volker - also being requested by Republicans. You can watch today's hearing here, beginning at 9 am ET.
Need to catch up? Start here. |
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| In The Know |
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| Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
| > Alicia Keys selected to host the 2020 Grammy Awards (Jan. 26); Keys also hosted last year's awards show (More) |
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| > Branko Lustig, two-time Academy Award-winning producer of "Schindler's List", dies at 87 (More) |
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| > Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout picks up third American League MVP award (More) | Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, wins his first National League MVP (More) | Thursday Night Football: Browns beat Steelers, 21-7; brawl breaks out at end of game (More) |
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| Science & Technology |
| > Engineers demonstrate novel approach to holography, using ultrasonic speakers to levitate and control foam beads faster than the human eye can track (More, w/video) |
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| > MIT researchers develop compact terahertz raditation imaging device; "T-rays" capable of seeing through materials with higher resolution than microwaves, safer than X-rays (More) |
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| > Japan's Hayabusa2 probe, the first to ever land on and collect subsurface samples from an asteroid, begins journey back to Earth (More) |
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| Business & Markets |
| > Walmart beats earnings expectations, sees 21st consecutive quarter of revenue growth and reports 41% online sales growth (More) |
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| > Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway discloses investment in Restoration Hardware parent, shares surge 7% in after-hours trading (More) |
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| > Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs releases list of managing director promotions, 29% female composition up from 24% in 2017 (More) |
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| Politics & World Affairs |
| > Incumbent Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin (R) concedes to challenger Andy Beshear (D) after vote recanvass shows Bevin trailing by 5,000 votes (More) |
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| > Police arrest suspect in notorious Potomac River Rapist case from the 1990s, the latest high-profile arrest relying in part on DNA ancestry sites (More) |
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| > International Criminal Court authorizes investigation into alleged crimes committed by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya minority in 2017 (More) |
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| Weekend Reads |
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| He Told a Kid to Slide - Then He Got Sued |
| NJ.com | Steve Politi. It was a baseball play just like any other, except this time it ended in a life-altering injury. How a New Jersey suit could change the face of youth sports as we know it. (Read) |
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| Decades in the Waiting |
| Washington Post | Ed Regis. This week, Bangladesh will become the first country in the world to start distributing golden rice - a genetically modified rice that fights vitamin A deficiency, the leading cause of blindness and death in developing nations. (Read, $$) |
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| The Priest Next Door |
| USA Today | Lindsay Schnell and Sam Ruland. A nine-month, nationwide probe uncovered more than 1,000 Catholic priests and officials accused of sexual abuse who were relocated without any criminal investigations. (Read) |
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- Margaret Mead |
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