Good morning. It's Tuesday, Dec. 17, and we're covering a shooting at a K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin, sentencing in the fraud trial of a media founder, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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Wisconsin School Shooting |
At least two people were killed and six injured after a shooter opened fire at a K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday. The suspect also took their own life before encountering police, according to reports.
Officials have not publicly identified the shooter; however, multiple accounts suggest the shooter was a female teenage student at the nondenominational Christian school, Abundant Life. In a press conference yesterday afternoon, local police described the victims as a student and a teacher.
No motive for the attack was offered as of yet, but officials recovered a single handgun and described the condition of those injured as ranging from minor to life-threatening. As of this writing, no information has been revealed about the victims.
See a database of recent school shootings in the US here. |
Germany's Government Collapses |
Germany’s government collapsed yesterday after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence. A caretaker government is now steering Europe’s largest economy, with snap elections planned for Feb. 23.
Scholz called the unusual vote last month after firing his finance minister over differences on tax and debt policy, triggering his coalition’s collapse. Some analysts suggest the vote played out as intended, spurring early elections Scholz hopes will deliver his center-left Social Democratic Party an outright majority. Still, recent polls suggest the center-right Christian Democratic Union is on track to return to power, with the conservative populist Alternative for Germany polling in second.
The collapse of Germany’s government is the latest in a string of political upheavals this year; incumbent parties suffered losses or setbacks in at least a dozen countries. The economy is regularly cited as a leading concern for voters, with inflation up across the globe (see map here). |
Former talk show host and Ozy Media cofounder Carlos Watson was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison yesterday for attempting to defraud investors and lenders by lying about his now-defunct media company's finances.
The sentencing comes five months after a federal jury convicted 55-year-old Watson and Ozy Media of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud; Watson was also convicted of identity theft. The scheme included forged contracts and false claims about the company's 2018-2021 earnings and audience size. Ozy's chief operating officer also misrepresented himself as a YouTube executive during a 2021 call with Goldman Sachs. The bank was reportedly considering a $40M investment in Ozy, based primarily on self-reported readership numbers and a purported relationship with YouTube.
Ozy Media was an Emmy-winning digital media platform popular with younger consumers until it shut down in October 2021 after reports emerged questioning its business practices. Watson has denied any wrongdoing. Listen to a podcast series on Ozy Media's unraveling here. |
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In partnership with Mode Mobile |
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The deadline to invest and receive your shares this year is 12/20. Join 30,000+ shareholders and invest at $0.26/share today.* |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> "Wicked" sequel gets official title "Wicked: For Good" with film set for November 2025 release date (More) | Lionel Messi-inspired animated series tapped for Disney Channel and Disney+ (More) |
> Jill Jacobson, actress known for roles on "Falcon Crest" and "Star Trek," dies at 70 (More) | Dick Van Arsdale, three-time NBA All-Star, dies at 81 (More) |
> Documentary in the works by filmmaker Alex Gibney about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (More) | Jamie Lee Curtis in talks to play lead role in upcoming "Murder, She Wrote" film (More) |
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In partnership with Motley Fool Money |
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> Google's DeepMind reveals Veo 2, the latest update to its AI-generated video platform; product is meant to compete with OpenAI's Sora (More) | Generative AI 101, from how it works to why it hallucinates (1440 Topics) |
> James Webb Space Telescope confirms two-decade-old mystery, finds evidence planets bigger than Jupiter formed around stars much earlier in the universe than predicted by theory (More) | Explaining the JWST in four minutes (More, w/video) |
> Researchers discover closest known relative to Psilocybe cubensis, also known as magic mushrooms; fungi potentially reached North America as much as a million years earlier than believed (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq +1.2%); Nasdaq notches record ahead of Federal Reserve's interest rate decision tomorrow (More) | Nvidia closes in correction territory, down roughly 11% from record close last month (More) | Bitcoin hits new record midday, briefly surpassing $107K (More) |
> TikTok asks Supreme Court to block the US' divest-or-ban law pending an appeal of a lower-court ruling to uphold the law taking effect Jan. 19 (More) | Ken Leech, former co-chief investment officer at Western Asset Management Co., pleads not guilty to federal charges over improperly allocating trades to favored clients (More) |
> Honeywell considers spin-off of lucrative aerospace business—a move backed by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which took a $5B stake in the conglomerate last month (More) |
💼 1440 Business & Finance: Have a friend who works in management consulting but have no idea what they do? This Thursday's newsletter takes a deep dive into the industry. Sign up here to get it in your inbox! |
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> Japanese tech giant SoftBank pledges to invest $100B into US companies over next four years and create 100,000 jobs; SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who met with President-elect Donald Trump yesterday, made a similar pledge in 2016 (More) |
> Former FBI informant pleads guilty to fabricating claim that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes from a Ukrainian energy company; false claim was used as part of evidence in GOP-led efforts to investigate Biden family (More) |
> Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns following dispute with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over tax policy and the country's response to Trump's tariff threats (More) |
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> How Now, Big Cow?
Works in Progress | Jared Hutchins. The story of how the US created the most productive dairy cows in history—thanks to big data, public-private partnerships, and Danish immigrants. (Read)
> How WhatsApp Ate the World
Rest of World | Issie Lapowsky. WhatsApp is the world's most widely used messaging app, boasting over 2 billion daily users. Now, the app known for privacy is dipping into the delicate world of advertising and business integration. (Read) |
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In partnership with Mode Mobile |
This Tech Company Grew 32,481% |
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"Where there is no work, there is no dignity." |
- Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) |
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*Disclosure: Please read the offering circular at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A Offering. Any IPO timing is unknown, general steps to be accepted have not been undertaken at this point, and that listing is not guaranteed. |
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