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International

Sweden experiences worst mass shooting in its history

Witnesses described the scene as chaotic and full of bloodshed. An adult education center in Sweden was at the center of a shootout on Wednesday, leaving at least 11 people dead, including the shooter, and five critically wounded.

What we know so far

Around 12:30 pm local time, the attacker opened fire at Campus Risbergska, a facility for adults who need vocational training and remedial education located in Orebro, Sweden. Police warned that the school was in danger of “deadly violence” before the attack.

• Authorities have said there is currently no indication that the assailant “acted based on ideological motives.”

• Officials have not yet released the attacker’s identity and the type of weapon used.

The complex, which was near other schools housing children, was placed in lockdown while students and staff were evacuated and family members were made aware of the situation. Some classrooms barricaded doors using chairs and tables while they heard shots fired.

Currently, police are using dental records and fingerprints to identify those who passed during the attack. The ages and names of the deceased and injured have not been released as of writing. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the tragedy as the Nordic country’s worst mass shooting in history.

A rising trend: While most of Europe has seen a decrease in gun violence over the past 20 years, Sweden's gun homicide rate has more than doubled to about four deaths per million people due to growing adolescent gang conflict.

Trade

China fires back as US tariffs go into effect

International leaders love playing chicken when it comes to economic punishment. In retaliation to US President Donald Trump's 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, Beijing unveiled a comprehensive set of economic penalties aimed at the US that will go into effect on February 10th.

Retaliatory technique

China is planning to introduce a 10% tariff on roughly 80 products, including crude oil, trucks and other large vehicles, and agricultural equipment, along with a 15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas.

But that isn’t all:

• The Ministry of Commerce and China’s customs administration announced it will increase export restrictions on minerals including tungsten, tellurium, and bismuth that are essential to US defense and technology supply chains.

  • The ministry also said it would add biotech company Illumina and fashion retailer PVH Group, owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger to its unreliable entities list.

• Additionally, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it would investigate Google on anti-monopoly grounds just minutes after the tariff announcement.

While the US' blanket levy covers $525 billion of Chinese exports to the US, China's proposed duties will only impact roughly $14 billion of US imports. The tariff battle comes amid a downturn in China’s export-reliant economy, but both sides are leaving room for negotiation.

Let’s talk

During his campaign, Trump threatened to push sweeping 60% tariffs on Chinese goods, which is a stark contrast to the 10% tax that’s currently imposed. The drop could hint that Trump is looking for a compromise, as the US could increase the levy later on.

• Trump has said that he wants the two nations to work together on a trade deal and other issues, such as ending the war in Ukraine and a proposed TikTok deal.

• Beijing has also said it’s willing to open talks to avoid a long-winded trade war like the one that occurred during Trump’s first administration.

As the days go by, analysts expect issues like these to play into extended talks between the two as both leaders search for common ground.

Amazon benefited the most: As a part of the change, the White House said it would get rid of the de minimus rule, which allows cheap goods to be shipped into the US tax-free. The rule helped Chinese e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein rapidly sell inexpensive products, but now shoppers may have to look to Amazon.

Space

There’s a small chance this asteroid will hit Earth

Finally, an event we can look forward to. UN planetary defense organizations are closely monitoring an asteroid that may collide with Earth in 2032 and say the chances of an impact are around 1.3%.

It’s a non-zero chance

The potentially dangerous rock is called 2024 YR4, a freshly discovered near-Earth asteroid. The object, which is between 130 and 300 feet long, has a 1 in 83 probability of hitting the earth on December 22, 2032.

Although the 1.3% probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 will collide with Earth may not seem like a lot, scientists gave it a score of 3 out of 10 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which is the second-highest grade ever assigned to an asteroid.

• Only when it hits 8, 9, or 10—the numbers increasing in proportion to the potential damage—is a collision certain.

  • A zero means there is no threat to Earth, while a 10 is basically giving a 100% chance the planet will be destroyed.

Do we have a plan to stop it? If the asteroid gets close enough and is still on track to hit the planet, a set of precautionary measures would be enacted to nullify the threat it may pose.

• One approach to deflect YR4 would be to strike it with an unmanned spacecraft, similar to how NASA's DART mission did in 2022.

If 2024 YK4 does manage to hit Earth, it would have a similar power level to that of a nuclear bomb (see scale here) and could cause significant damage to a populated region. However, it is most likely—if it does collide—that it would simply fall into a remote part of the planet or the ocean.

Grab Bag

The average reading level of children in the US is dropping

The youth of America need to lock in. Data released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed middle schoolers’ reading scores in the US have declined every year since 2017 and many fail to achieve a basic reading level.

Score slump

While many may attribute the decline to the pandemic, where children’s educational prowess was significantly stunted, the trend started even before Covid was a thing. The drops affected kids from a wide range of states, school types, races, and economic backgrounds:

• Only 60% of fourth-graders and just 67% of eighth-graders received basic or above-average reading scores.

  • The percentage of eighth-graders is the lowest since testing started in 1992 and fourth-graders’ scores are nearing record lows.

The wave of dropping scores comes as schools increasingly adopt phonics-based education (see overview) and abandon alternative reading strategies that place more emphasis on deriving word meanings from context.

• That being said, researchers and federal officials believe there are no apparent causes for the recent results and warn that the findings don't reflect how well the latest teaching adjustments have worked.

So, why the drop?

The National Center for Education Statistics commissioner, Peggy G. Carr, pointed out that the decline in reading proficiency could be caused by societal factors, including the increase in reading on screens and children using devices instead of reading for enjoyment.

It’s a big deal: A decline in reading proficiency could have numerous consequences. Poor readers are less likely to complete high school, they vote less frequently as adults, and they are more likely to be incarcerated. Additionally, test scores and wages are also correlated, as low literacy rates tend to harm the economy over time, leading to trillions of dollars in lost income.

Super Bowl ads will be a little more pricey this year

Your favorite beer shelled out a record amount this year. Now that we’re in the big 2025, 30-second Super Bowl commercials have “cracked the $8 million mark”, up from nearly $7 million last year.

Price to pay

Last year's Super Bowl was the most-watched US broadcast ever, with over 123 million viewers. Businesses anticipate that the game—which takes place in two days—will continue to break records, especially since two sizable fan groups will undoubtedly be watching.

What you’re going to see during the game (besides football and Taylor Swift):

• Some newcomers: Ritz, Totino's Pizza Rolls, Häagen-Dazs, Coffee Mate, and Instacart are launching their first-ever Super Bowl commercials.

• Some old-timers: Bud Light, Doritos, Mountain Dew, Budweiser, and Sketchers (for the 12th year in a row), will all return.

• You won’t see: A lot of car advertisements. Jeep and Ram are the only ones airing this year, according to Forbes.

• Strategy switch-up: Marketing experts predict a greater focus on celebrity appearances, humor, and nostalgia.

  • Analysts also think AI will play a big part in this year’s commercials for the big game.

See a full list of brands you’ll see during the Super Bowl here.

Are they even worth it? According to a 2022 study by the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, Super Bowl marketers may not instantly notice a huge rise in profits, but they do get an immediate surge in online searches that help spread brand recognition and could lead to future sales.

Fun facts: In the inaugural 1967 Super Bowl, a 30-second commercial cost $37,500. In contrast, the Sunday Night Football ads during the NFL regular season cost around $882,079 to run.

Fast Facts

Purple Pal: To the delight of customers, McDonalds has officially brought back its famous shamrock shake. However, along with it came Grimace's Irish relative, Uncle O’Grimacey.

Sicko Saints: Internal emails from the New Orleans Saints reveal that the NFL franchise assisted local Catholic Church officials in organizing a public relations campaign to try to hide allegations of clergy abuse.

Continuous Quakes: More than 200 earthquakes have rattled the Greek island of Santorini since last Friday, with tremors occurring every few minutes and reaching a magnitude of up to 4.9. Experts are saying they could last for weeks.

Buyout Bundle: Around 40,000 US federal employees have quit their jobs, accepting the Trump administration’s buyout. That represents about 2% of the more than 2 million federal employees, below the White House's goal for 5% to 10% to accept buyouts.

Sweet Treat: A group of Chinese agricultural researchers produced tomatoes with up to 30% more natural sugar than conventionally cultivated tomatoes using the gene-editing technique CRISPR... without compromising harvest size.