Good morning and happy winter. Yesterday’s winter solstice made it the shortest day of the year. From now until a vague point in the distant future (otherwise known as June 20), the sun will set later and the days will get longer.

Next week is Christmas and the following Monday is New Year’s Day. We’re taking a break over the holidays, so the next time you see The Elective in your inbox will be Wednesday, January 3, 2024. We’ll be tweaking some things in the meantime to bring you a bigger and better product to make you even smarter next year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We’ve got a lot in store today:

• Tragedy in Prague

• The first rule of politics

• The long fall of America’s mayor

• And much more!

Here’s today’s edition of The Elective:

 EUROPE 

Shooting leaves 14 dead in Prague

Tragedy struck Prague, Czechia yesterday. A student at Charles University went on a shooting spree at his school in the nation’s capital. Authorities said 14 people are dead and another 25 are injured but warned those numbers could rise.

What happened? Police said the gunman (who they thankfully didn’t name) killed his father before going on his evil rampage. He’s also suspected in the killing of two others on Dec. 15. He was, of course, “an excellent student with no criminal record.” He owned several guns legally. Police do not believe there is any connection to political extremism or international terrorism.

Is this rare? This is Czechia’s worst-ever mass shooting. The previous (awful) record was held by a shooting in 2015 that killed eight. While they happen significantly less often than in the U.S., Europe does experience mass shootings periodically. Earlier this year, there were two in Serbia and another in Germany. Germany also dealt with one in 2016. Norway and the Netherlands each saw one in 2011. Slovakia and the U.K. each experienced mass shootings in 2010.

Don’t they have gun control? Czechia has some of Europe's most permissive gun laws. Firearms are permitted explicitly by legislation and implicitly by the Czech constitution. That said, only about 3% of Czech citizens legally own firearms and they have to pass various checks and tests to get them.

PS: The artist formerly known as the Czech Republic now prefers to go by the name Czechia in unofficial contexts, though its legal name hasn’t changed.

 POLITICS 

Rep. Dean Phillips (President Biden’s longshot Democratic primary challenger) disagrees with the Colorado Supreme Court’s move to kick former President Trump off the state’s ballot. He says Trump should be convicted of a crime before getting booted from the ballot. For his part, President Biden said it’s “self-evident” that Trump “supported an insurrection” but that it’s up to the courts to decide.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s surge continues. A new poll shows her leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa. The Republican presidential race’s first contest, the all-important Iowa caucus, takes place in just over three weeks on Jan. 15, 2024. Of course, the average of all recent polls has her trailing DeSantis by 3. But it’s a good sign for Haley that her campaign surge in New Hampshire is translating to other states. Of course, the contest she’s leading is the one for second place: former President Trump leads her by 33% in the same poll.

Over in New Hampshire, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is refusing calls to drop out. His campaign strategy is based entirely on winning New Hampshire. Now another poll shows Nikki Haley gaining ground — this one has her trailing Trump by just 14% there. Christie was again asked why he was still in the race. He's falling, she's rising, and three-fourths of Christie voters are considering Haley as well. So why not leave the race and throw his weight behind Haley? Said Christie, “At this point eight years ago, I was second in the polls, behind Donald Trump. Right now. And I didn’t see...any of those guys” dropping out. “But here’s my problem. If I were to drop out and support Nikki Haley, I have no confidence...that she’ll make the case against Trump.” Calm down there, governor. Don't want to inspire too much confidence.

President Biden's support among Black voters has fallen from 86% when he took office to just 60%. Exit polls (polls taken of voters as they exit the polling place) show the president received 92% of Black support in 2020. Republicans haven't earned over 20% of the Black vote in a presidential race since 1960, so Biden's in no danger of losing Black voters to a Republican. But, as President Hillary Clinton found out in 2016, even a slight dip in voter turnout can change the outcome of a close race. Democrats aren't taking any chances. Since 2021, they’ve spent millions on outreach programs targeting predominantly Black colleges, radio stations, social media users, and more with messages about how much the Biden administration is doing for their communities. Will it work? We’ll find out next year. But Team Biden is confident.

What’s the first rule of politics? Buy yourname.com before you ever think about running. Mazi Pilip, the Republican nominee in the February special election to replace Cameo star expelled Rep. George Santos (R) did no such thing. Now when voters type in MaziPilip.com, they get redirected to Santos’ old campaign site. Do things like this move votes? Probably not. But they don’t help.

 TRIVIA 

 WORLD 

🇫🇮 Finland: In the wake of Ukraine's deadlocked war with Russia, Finland announced it would double its production of military ammunition. Some European leaders worry that Russia will attempt to expand its war by invading other countries in Eastern Europe.

🇦🇴 Angola: The southwestern African nation of Angola will leave OPEC (the global Saudi-led oil group). Angola's government said remaining in OPEC no longer served the country's interest. The remaining OPEC members control about 27% of the world oil market (down from 34% in 2010).

🇨🇳 China: The top military officers of the U.S. and China spoke yesterday for the first time in over a year. China severed military-to-military ties last year after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Presidents Biden and Xi agreed last month to stop giving each other the silent treatment.

 BRIEFS 

⚖️ Legal questions arose recently surrounding the removal of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. Opponents claimed removing the (huge) statue would disturb nearby graves. But a federal judge threw cold water on that. The removal will continue as planned. The statue, a personification of the South, was installed in 1914.

📺 Variety came up with a list of the (totally subjective) “100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.” Number 1 will surprise you! Just kidding, you can probably guess it.

💸 Former NYC mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani just filed for bankruptcy. The move comes days after a defamation lawsuit left him owing two election workers $146 million. Giuliani served as mayor from 1994-2001.

📦 Due to the ongoing shipping crisis in the Red Sea, the cost to ship a 40-foot container has spiked. In some cases, rates have gone from $2,400 to $10,000.

🛴 Bird, the electric scooter company once valued at $2.5 billion, also filed for bankruptcy. Their micromobility services will continue during the bankruptcy process. Long live Lime?

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

President Benjamin Harrison put up a Christmas tree in 1889. Previous presidents all celebrated the holiday, just without the trees most Americans use today. For an interesting look at the history of Christmas in the White House, check out this list from the nonprofit White House Historical Association. We promise it's just as nerdy as it sounds.