• Tip News
  • Posts
  • Mass Shooting Rocks Birmingham

Mass Shooting Rocks Birmingham

Your unbiased daily news brief

Author

James Kratch
September 23, 2024

Good Monday morning. An asteroid will enter Earth's orbit at the end of September and hang around for about two months, giving the world a "mini-moon" era. Have a great start to your week!

In Today’s Brief

  • House: New stopgap bill

  • Sri Lanka: Marxist elected

  • Trump: No 2028

  • Movie theaters: Big revamps

  • White Sox: Historic loss

... and more

First time reading? Sign up here

Top Tips

1) 'Laser-like focused' 

Four people were killed in an Alabama mass shooting police said was likely a targeted hit.

  • The news: Multiple shooters opened fire around 11 p.m. local time Saturday in Birmingham. The incident occurred in Five Points South, a nightlife district in the city. Four people died and 17 were injured, some with life-threatening issues.

  • Potential motive: Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said cops believe the shooters were targeting one of the deceased. A vehicle allegedly pulled up to the scene, the shooters exited and fired before fleeing. Police think it may have been a murder-for-hire.

  • Next steps: Police said the shooters' guns were modified to make them fire more rapidly; they are also probing if anyone fired back during the incident. A manhunt was underway as of late last night; Mayor Randall Woodfin said authorities are "laser-like focused" on bringing the alleged shooters to justice.

2) Progress made

U.S. drug overdose deaths fell considerably last year.

  • The news: Public health data indicates 101K people died of drug overdoses in the country over a 12-month period ending in April. There had been 112K overdose deaths during the same period a year earlier, making a 10% YoY drop.

  • Greater context: Overdose deaths have steadily risen in the U.S. over the last few decades amid the opioid crisis and the prevalence of fentanyl. There were under 20K overdose deaths in 1999, for reference. They spiked considerably after the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 before plateauing last year (a 3% decrease). And, now, a significant drop.

  • Big picture: The overdose numbers are still very high; the reasons for the drop remain unclear. Experts believe the drop may be a sign new addiction treatments and law enforcement efforts to curb access to fentanyl are working. States with more up-to-date figures are also reportedly seeing even more dramatic decreases.

3) New fear

A recent yacht disaster in Italy has become a global intelligence issue.

  • Catch up: A superyacht sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily in August. Seven people, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, were killed in the incident. Fifteen people survived; the ship's captain and other staff are under investigation for manslaughter and negligence.

  • At issue: CNN reported there is concern that watertight safes aboard the ship may have contained highly sensitive data tied to Western and NATO intelligence services on encrypted hard drives. Lynch's businesses worked with U.S., British and other governmental intelligence services; he also served as an adviser to several United Kingdom prime ministers.

  • Big picture: The concern that would-be thieves would attempt to plunder the wreckage for valuables has now shifted to fears China and Russia, among other nations, may try to capitalize. Specialist dive teams are searching for the safes and have asked for heightened security and surveillance of the scene above and below water.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

  • Speaker of the House Mike Johnson proposed a new stopgap government funding bill. The lower chamber is expected to vote by Wednesday; the legislation would likely pass the Senate and avert a partial shutdown at the end of the month and run through Dec. 20 (More) 

  • A boy who was abducted in California at age 6 in 1951 has been found alive. The man's niece located him through an online ancestry test, other resources and law enforcement assistance; he is a Vietnam War veteran now living on the East Coast (More)

  • New York's interim Police Commissioner said federal agents raided his homes and seized items. Thomas Donlon is the latest member of Mayor Eric Adams' administration to be the subject of a probe; he ascended to his position after ex-Commissioner Edward Caban stepped down due to his own FBI scrutiny (More)

World News

  • Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist, has been elected as Sri Lanka's new president following a runoff. The veteran legislator has been critical of outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe's austerity measures amid the South Asian nation's economic crisis; Wickremesinghe finished a distant third in the race (More)

  • Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they arrested 12 people for collaborating with Israel in attacks against Iranian targets. At least 50 people died when a coal mine exploded in the Middle Eastern country; the accident was reportedly caused by a methane gas explosion (More | More)

  • Princess Kate made her first public appearance since ending chemotherapy treatments. She, Prince William and other members of the British Royal Family attended church service near Balmoral Castle in Scotland; the princess returned to work last week (More)

Campaign News

  • Former President Donald Trump said he will not run for president in 2028 if he loses this year's race. He would be 82 on Election Day in the next cycle and ineligible to run if he is re-elected this year (More)

  • Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend next month's Al Smith charity dinner in New York. She is the first major party presidential candidate to decline an invitation to the white tie event since former VP Walter Mondale in 1984 (no candidates were invited in 1996 or 2004; Trump is expected to attend (More)

  • Harris quadrupled Trump's fundraising in August. The vice president's campaign reported over $189 million raised last month, while the former president raised $44M; the offset was $361M to $130M when accounting for donations to their parties and other committees (More)

Business & Markets

  • Major indexes closed mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones closed at another record high (Dow +0.09%, Nasdaq -0.36%, S&P 500 -0.19%).

  • A movie theater industry group announced a $2.2B initiative to overhaul box offices in the U.S. and Canada. The organization represents the top eight chains in North America; the plan will affect over 21K screens and almost 70% of locations on the continent (More)

  • General Motors will lay off about 1.7K workers at a Kansas plant. The automaker has filed a WARN notice ahead of the workforce reduction; full- and part-timer employees will be impacted and some terminations will be temporary (More)

Entertainment & Sports

  • The Chicago White Sox lost their 120th game, tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most defeats in Major League Baseball's modern history. The club has six games left to play this season, starting tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (More)

  • A'ja Wilson was the second unanimous WNBA MVP in history. The Las Vegas Stars' center is now a three-time winner of the award; the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark was the unanimous Rookie of the Year (More)

  • Former Miami Dolphins star Eugene "Mercury" Morris died at 77. The running back was a three-time Pro Bowler and won two Super Bowls; he was a member of the 1972 Miami team that was the NFL's last undefeated team (More)

Quick Hitters

  • Feel Good: A Michigan girl ran a lemonade stand and donated her profits to a local animal shelter. Her generosity inspired others, causing a ripple effect that raised over $3K in total.

  • Chow Down: Fall is right around the corner. Here are several dozen seasonal recipes to give a try.

  • Go Deep: The "I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial for a medical alert company in the 1980s was not supposed to be funny. But it ended up becoming a cultural phenomenon that continues decades later.

  • Be Safe: Lactaid has voluntarily recalled its lactose-free dairy milk due to a possible almond allergen. The recall has impacted supplies in at least 27 states.

  • Life Hack: Discussing controversial topics can be extremely challenging. Here are three rules to keep in mind for productive conversations.

The Devil's Castle, a French short silent film made in 1896, is considered the world's first horror movie -- even though it was supposed to make people laugh.

Looking Ahead …

Next year's Oasis reunion may be the subject of a documentary. Apple, Amazon Prime and Netflix are all reportedly pushing to produce a film about the band ending its controversial 15-year hiatus; Apple is believed to be determined to score the deal.

Question of the Day

Do you like horror films?

Let us know!

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Last week’s results:

Trivia: Has a Vice President ever served two non-consecutive terms?

The answer is no. Two VPs — John C. Calhoun and George Clinton — served under two presidents. But their terms were consecutive, although both failed to finish their second term — Calhoun resigned and Clinton died in office.