CDC Exodus, Greenland Contraception, & Blue Lobster

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Adam Rogers
August 28, 2025

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A gunman opened fire at a church during morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday, killing two children ages 8 and 10. Seventeen others were injured, including 14 children ages 6 to 15 and three elderly parishioners in their 80s. The injured children are expected to survive.
The shooter fired dozens of rounds from a rifle, shotgun, and pistol through stained glass windows before dying by suicide at the scene. Staff immediately moved students under pews and evacuated them within minutes when safe. Police said all three weapons were purchased legally and recently.
The FBI is investigating the attack as domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, though police say the motive remains unknown. Investigators are examining social media accounts linked to the shooter, including a YouTube video posted Wednesday showing drawings of weapons and church interiors

Susan Monarez, the CDC's director for just 27 days, stepped down Wednesday along with three senior leaders. Monarez’s stint as director is the shortest tenure in the agency's 79-year history. The Health and Human Services Department gave no explanation, and Monarez offered no comment before the announcement.
The departures include Dr. Debra Houry, deputy director; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of emerging diseases; and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, head of immunization programs. In emails, they cited budget cuts, new restrictions on CDC communications, and political pressure under the Trump administration.
The leadership crisis caps a difficult period for CDC that included a shooting at its headquarters earlier this month when an anti-vaccine gunman killed a police officer and fired over 180 shots at the building.

Denmark's Prime Minister issued a long-awaited apology Tuesday for forced contraception of Greenlandic women after a 2022 investigative podcast exposed the scandal. Records show 4,500 Inuit women and girls, some as young as 12, had IUDs implanted without consent between 1966-1970 under the Danish healthcare administration. The campaign severely slowed Greenland's population growth and left some women sterile.
A group of 143 women is suing the Danish state for compensation, with 138 of them minors at the time of implantation. A formal government inquiry will release findings next month, following a two-year investigation into what victims call physical and psychological trauma. The scale of non-consensual procedures among the 4,500 cases remains unclear.
Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, has seen growing calls for independence due to other colonial-era controversies, including forced adoptions. Some contraception cases occurred as recently as 2018, decades after Greenland gained control of its healthcare system in 1992.

Iowa Democrats flipped a Republican state senate seat and broke the GOP supermajority, winning by much larger margins than expected in Trump territory. (More)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser credited Trump's federal law enforcement surge with an 87% drop in carjackings but criticized immigration agents and National Guard as counterproductive. (More)

Federal prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to indict Sean Dunn for throwing a sandwich at a border agent despite the viral video of the incident. (More)

French, German, and Polish leaders openly invited Moldova to join the EU and urged voters to reject Russian propaganda before September's critical election. (More)

A Japanese town wants all residents to limit smartphone use to two hours daily to combat online addiction, but the non-binding proposal has been widely criticized. (More)

*Update from one of yesterday’s big stories: Argentine police searched a house for a Nazi-looted master painting spotted in an online real estate listing but found a tapestry in its place. They will continue hunting for the artwork. (More)

US stock markets closed higher on Wednesday (S&P +0.24%, Nasdaq +0.21%, Dow +0.32%). Markets closed higher in anticipation of Nvidia earnings, which beat estimates but dropped during after-hours trading. (More)

Cracker Barrel stock rose 8% after the company scrapped its new logo and returned to the original, following criticism from customers and President Trump. (More)

Lego hit record revenue of $5.4 billion in the first half of 2025, thanks to 314 new sets, including flowers and Formula One cars. (More)

Messi scored twice in his comeback from injury to lead Inter Miami past Orlando City 3-1 and into the Leagues Cup final. (More)

Two "Saturday Night Live" cast members left the show as creator Lorne Michaels began promised cast changes following the comedy show's 50th season. (More)

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley chose not to include himself on the US team, selecting Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and four others as captain's picks. (More)

Chinese researchers made succulents glow in the dark for two hours by injecting light-absorbing particles, potentially creating sustainable plant-based lighting for cities. (More)

Paleontologists discovered a fossil of a heavily armored dinosaur called Spicomellus afer in Morocco that lived 165 million years ago and had golf-club-length spikes around its neck. (More)

Chipolo released rechargeable item trackers that compete with AirTags, including a wallet-sized CARD and colorful LOOP that last six months per charge. (More)

Belgium tops the list of countries with the most calories per person.

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