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4 Killed In Georgia School Shooting

Your unbiased daily news brief

Author

James Kratch
September 05, 2024

Good Thursday morning. You never know what you may find in the attic. Like a $1.4M Rembrandt painting that spent decades hiding out in Maine. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

  • DEA: Vyvanse decision

  • Canada: Snap election?

  • Swing states: Many still undecided

  • Nordstrom: Buyout offer

  • NFL: Chiefs-Ravens tonight

... and more

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Top Tips

1) ‘Pure evil’

A 14-year-old gunman killed four people at a Georgia high school.

  • The news: Police said the alleged shooter opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour outside of Atlanta, around 10:20 a.m. ET. He shot and killed two teachers and two students. At least nine other people were injured; local reports indicated not every injured person suffered a gunshot wound. The gunman surrendered when confronted by law enforcement; officials said he will be charged as an adult.

  • The reaction: Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the incident "pure evil," while Vice President Kamala Harris said, "we’ve got to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all" during a campaign event in New Hampshire. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp praised first responders. It is at least the 45th school shooting in the U.S. this year.

  • Next steps: The alleged gunman was set to be booked last night and should make his first court appearance in the coming days. There is no known connection between the shooter and his victims; the FBI said he and his father were questioned by law enforcement last year after “anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting."

2) Gung no

President Joe Biden is preparing to block Nippon Steel's $15B takeover over U.S. Steel.

  • Not a surprise: There is significant bipartisan opposition to the proposed sale of the iconic company to its Japanese rival. Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump all oppose the deal along with a slew of other high-profile lawmakers and labor leaders. Biden will take action once the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States wraps up the regulatory review process.

  • The counterargument: U.S. Steel said it will be forced to close mills and will struggle to maintain jobs if the deal falls through. Nippon Steel has pledged to honor all union deals, maintain the company's name and Pittsburgh headquarters and to have the majority of board members and senior management be U.S. citizens. There is also pushback on national security concerns, as Japan is a close ally. The Biden Administration is also pursuing antitrust concerns.

  • Take note: U.S. Steel, once the world's biggest company, was instrumental in building the country's infrastructure and winning World War II. Its logo also inspired the Pittsburgh Steelers' emblem. But it is now just the world's 27th-largest steelmaker and has been surpassed by Nucor nationally. U.S. Steel's stock plummeted on the news. Advocates of the deal have pointed out Nippon Steel's merger terms were far preferable to domestic rival Cleveland Cliffs' offer. 

3) Playing the hits

Russia is back on the election influence grind.

  • The news: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced indictments and sanctions targeting a Russian effort to manipulate American public opinion regarding the presidential race. The Department of Justice alleges RT, an English language media network backed by the Kremlin, is a key cog in the operation. RT dismissed the allegations.

  • The details: Two at-large Russian nationals are charged with spending $10M to covertly push content that advanced Russian interests through a Tennessee company. DOJ seized 32 internet domains it says were used by Russian-backed actors to spread propaganda under the guidance of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Ten people and two entities were sanctioned in total.

  • Sensitive subject: The Tennessee company is not named in the indictment, but it is believed to be Tenet Media. That firm has ties to several prominent right-wing creators and commentators. There is no indication the personalities were aware the company was a Kremlin proxy. Some of the talent denied any knowledge of Russian involvement and DOJ said the indicted Russians purposely deceived independent contractors.

  • Big picture: Russia's impact (or lack thereof) on the 2016 election was a major flashpoint; it remains to be seen if it will be a repeat this year. Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray said Iran is also bidding to influence the American public, as had been previously reported. Indictments and sanctions related to the Iranian effort do not appear to be imminent. 

Quick Tips

U.S. News

  • The Drug Enforcement Administration has approved a Vyvanse production spike to combat shortages of the ADHD drug. Pharmaceutical companies can make about 24% more product after a Food and Drug Administration request was approved (More)

  • Nineteen people were hurt after an Illinois prison transport van crashed into another vehicle and then hit a utility pole. Two people were critically injured in the accident; prison officials did not disclose how many inmates were hurt (More)

  • A man failed to swim across Lake Michigan for the fourth time since 2023. Jim "The Shark" Dreyer, an ultra swimmer, halted his effort to make the 82-mile swim from Michigan to Wisconsin after 40 hours; the 61-year-old was trying to replicate a feat he pulled off in 1998 (More)

World News

  • Canada's New Democratic Party ended its governance agreement with the ruling Liberal Party, a move that could lead to a snap election. The pact was designed to protect Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from a no-confidence vote, which would push up the 2025 general election; NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said his party is the only one capable of defeating the opposition Conservatives at the polls (More)

  • Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said he will run for president in 2027. The center-right politician's announcement has renewed speculation term-limited President Emmanuel Macron could stand down as the country's political gridlock drags on, forcing an early election (More)

  • NASA said a small asteroid harmlessly burned up in Earth's atmosphere yesterday. The space rock, about three feet wide was initially spotted over Arizona and broke up over the Phillippines; similar-sized asteroids are common, but are rarely spotted before burning up (More)

Campaign News

  • Fifteen percent of battleground state voters remain undecided with two months before Election Day, according to a CNN poll. The network surveyed voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (More)

  • There will be a status conference in former President Trump's federal election interference case today. Judge Tanya Chutkan will set the schedule in next phase of the matter and determine whether Trump will face court fights or a trial prior to Election Day; the former president wants the case tossed on immunity grounds (More)

  • Vice President Harris wants to tax long-term capital gains at 28% if elected. It is her clearest policy break with President Joe Biden yet; he has proposed taxing capital gains as income at a nearly 40% tax rate for Americans making over $1M annually (More)

Business & Markets

  • Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. Job openings hit their lowest level since 2020 in July, opening the door for the Federal Reserve to make a larger interest rate cut than initially expected this month (Dow +0.09%, Nasdaq -0.30%, S&P 500 -0.16%).

  • The Nordstrom family made a $3.76B bid to take their namesake department store chain private. The family currently owns about 34% of the company and plans to team with a Mexican retail group; the offer is on par with the current public share price (More)

  • OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has raised $1B for his new artificial intelligence startup. Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital are among the initial investors in Safe Superintelligence; Sutskever's firm will focus on AI ethics and safety (More)

Entertainment & Sports

  • The NFL regular season kicks off tonight. The two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will host the Baltimore Ravens at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC (More) 

  • Only Murders in the Building was renewed for a fifth season. Hulu recently began the fourth installment of the popular mystery series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez (More)

  • ABC announced the entire cast for the 33rd season of Dancing with the Stars. Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher, ex-Family Matters star Reginald VelJohnson and actor Eric Roberts are among the contestants; the season premiere is Sept. 17 (More)

Quick Hitters

  • Very Cute: This baby has already mastered the art of working smarter, not harder. You cannot argue with his approach to his wooden block sorter!

  • New Idea: Finnish scientists may have found "promising" new antibiotics in an unexpected place. Microbes from the soil under the Arctic Seafloor may be able to effectively fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  • Go Green: There are many ways to make eeryday life more sustainable. Here are seven ideas to transform your home, as well as an idea of how much it will cost to make eco-friendly changes.

  • Take Note: Knowing when to leave a party can be tricky. These are some of the telltale signs, according to the internet. As for how to exit ...

  • Life Hack: Cleaning an air fryer can seem almost impossible. This technique can help, although we would carefully mix electricity and water.

An in-depth look at how America selects its presidents.

Looking Ahead …

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf will go head-to-head while their long-running merger talks continue. The Tour's Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will square off against LIV's Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in a made-for-TV match play event this December in Las Vegas.

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