Thursday, December 25
Wednesday, December 24
Tuesday, December 23
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Four teams advance to join the four top seeds in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals; see preview of the matchups, scheduled to begin Dec. 31 (More)
> Bowen Yang ends run at "Saturday Night Live," bidding farewell to the show midseason (More) | Third "Avatar" installment earns $88M at the domestic box office, $345M globally (More)
> Boxer and influencer Jake Paul loses to former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Netflix match Friday, confirms jaw broken in two places (More)
Science & Technology
> Self-driving company Waymo temporarily suspends service in San Francisco after widespread blackout knocks out traffic lights, leaving cars unable to function safely (More) | See our favorite insights on autonomous cars (1440 Topics)
> Commerce Department reportedly cancels five-year, $285M contract with the public-private SMART Institute; consortium focused on using digital replicas to speed up chip manufacturing (More)
> Evolutionary study suggests ant species with weaker individual exoskeletons free up nutritional resources to create more worker ants, tending to lead to more successful colonies (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up Friday (S&P 500 +0.9%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq +1.3%), driven by a rebound in AI stocks; Oracle rises 6.6% on news of impending TikTok sale (More)
> Analysis shows a record $61B flowed into data center construction deals in 2025, with roughly 75% made in the US and Canada (More)
> Delaware Supreme Court reinstates Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $56B bonus package from 2018, which was rescinded by a lower court last year; Musk becomes first person to surpass $700B in net wealth (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Gunmen kill at least nine people, wound 10 others in mass shooting in Bekkersdal, South Africa (More)
> Files released by the Justice Department Friday include copy of the earliest known complaint against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, submitted to the FBI in 1996; the government did not bring charges until more than a decade later (More)
> French authorities arrest three employees at the Élysée Palace on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars' worth of silverware (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
My Writing (1972 to present)
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What I started writing was poems... not sure why I began with poetry but I did. What I would do is go to McDonalds and get a large cup of coffee (free refills), sit in a corner with a little notebook and begin writing about my thoughts putting it into a poetic rhythm, not trying to rhyme. At th end of each month, I would put those pages in an envelope, label the month-year-amount.
I gradually stopped doing this in 2009 when I started my blog and completed stopped doing this in 2012 when I started posting a poem each day. Interestingly, when I thought about halting my morning writing routine, I had amassed over 42,000 poems.
In the 1970's I joined a local writer's club and began writing short stories along with my poems but my journey into short stories did not last long as I only wrote about 10/12 of them.
Around the 1980s, I joined LinkedIn and began posting essays and opinion articles. When I left LinkedIn in the late 1990s earlier 2000s, I had managed to publish right around 1500 of these essays. This achievement seemed rather important to me but I really did not do anything about it.
In 2015, my wife and I retired and I started writing novels. By the end of this month, or ten years later, I have written 22 novels, each of which is over 100,000 words. Totaling the word count, I have written over 2.200,000 words which is rather a remarkable achievement.
My Writing Totals:
42.000+ poems
1500 essays/opinion articles
22 Novels at 2,200,000+ words
Plasma Turbulence Is Doing Surprising Things Inside Fusion Reactors
The interiors of fusion reactors can get seriously chaotic. But for obvious reasons—like extreme temperatures and pressures—researchers aren’t typically able to peek directly inside a reactor. Some physicists have found workarounds, and when they do, the results appear to contradict conventional theory on what scientists think should be happening inside.
Monday, December 22
At A Glance
See the world's first beer vaccine.
How Earth's atmosphere sheds onto the moon.
Denmark's postal service to end service after 400 years.
The ultra-efficient power of the human brain. (w/video)
Thousands gather to see winter solstice sunrise at Stonehenge.
... and words for winter from around the world.
A roundup of good news stories from 2025.
Everything you need to know to play white elephant.
Clickbait: Is swearing good for us?
... and want to see something cool? Surprise me.
Historybook: Beethoven’s "Fifth Symphony" premieres (1808); Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson born (1912); Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees born (1949); Colo becomes first gorilla born in captivity (1956); “Don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy repealed (2010).
Headlines
Anadolu/Getty Images
Waymo paused robotaxi service in San Francisco due to power outage. A widespread blackout in the city that began on Saturday afternoon affected about 130,000 customers at its peak. Photos and videos proliferated across social media showing Waymo vehicles stuck in traffic. Once the stoplights went out, the cars could no longer navigate the streets safely, apparently putting them in a freeze mode. Waymo retrieved vehicles and suspended service until Sunday. A researcher at the MIT Center for Transportation told CNBC that Waymo’s failure during an “entirely predictable” power outage suggests that robotaxis are not yet ready to be a widespread solution for cities.
The US pursued a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. After seizing a second oil tanker this month on Saturday, a US Coast Guard official told multiple outlets on Sunday that the third one was “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion” and that it was flying a false flag, though the statement was provided anonymously. Last week, President Trump ordered a “total and complete blockade” on oil tankers under sanctions entering or leaving Venezuela in an attempt to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the Trump administration wants to force out of office. Experts say cutting off Venezuela’s oil trade could devastate its economy. Trump has accused Maduro of using oil to finance “Drug Terrorism,” which Maduro denied. The US has not imposed sanctions on Venezuelan oil.
Thousands of people flocked to Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice. There went the sun. Yesterday, the shortest day of the year, saw thousands of visitors assemble at the prehistoric stone circle, which was built to align with the sun on solstices. The site in Wiltshire, England, announced it had completely sold out of parking for its annual event and encouraged would-be revelers to tune into livestreams. Many attendees gathered before dawn for what they consider a spiritual experience. Why get happy over the longest night of the year? Because in the Northern Hemisphere, it means every day from here until June 21 will get a little brighter.—HVL
Robert Reich
How older humans greet each other in the cosmos
Friends,
I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office last week when someone I hadn’t seen for many years came in. When he saw me, he said “Bob! How are you? You look great!”
I don’t look great. Since I last saw him, my hair has turned from gray to white, and there’s far less of it. My skin has gone blotchy. The bags under my eyes have gone from brown to blue. And my wattle has become the size of a bullfrog.
“You look great, too, George.”
I lied. George looked about a hundred years older than I remembered him.
Why do we feel compelled to say “You look great” to someone who looks like a fossil?
I’m nearing 80. George must be 82 or 83. No one looks great at our age (unless they’ve had lots of “work” done).
In The NEWS
'Joy to the World'
The meaning of Christmas
Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrating the belief in God's birth as a first-century Judean man, Jesus Christ, celebrated each year on Dec. 25. Faithful observers believe the all-powerful, uncreated God became "incarnate" to redeem humanity from a fallen state by dying and rising again at Easter (though sects disagree on specifics). In recent centuries, the religious feast expanded into a major holiday season of gift-giving, celebrated by an estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide.
Its timing and many of its customs trace back to ancient seasonal festivals, such as Saturnalia and Yule, when communities in Europe celebrated the winter solstice. As Christianity spread through the continent in the fourth century, church leaders placed Christmas on Dec. 25 and adopted some of these long-standing traditions.
Amid the holiday's gradual secularization, the legend of Saint Nicholas’s gift-giving and the Dutch tradition of “Sinterklaas” helped shape the modern conception of Santa Claus (what we've learned about the figure). Customs solidified in Victorian England transformed Christmas into the family centered celebration recognized today—popularizing Christmas trees, cards, and carols. The holiday season brings in nearly $1T in revenue for retailers in the US.
... Read what else we learned about the holiday here.
Also, check out ...
> See Christmas traditions from around the world. (Read)
> The title of "World's Largest Christmas Tree" is disputed. (Watch)
> Before electric lights, Christmas trees were lit with candles. (Watch)
> A Swedish town erects a giant straw Christmas goat each year—often burned down by pranksters. (View)
Home Sweet Home
Homeownership, 101
Historically, homeownership has been considered a cornerstone of the American Dream. Today, about 65% of American households own a home, and roughly 5% own more than one. Homeowners view these residences as not only a place to live, but also a path to building substantial wealth.
Centuries ago, homeownership became more common as political systems evolved to allow individuals, rather than governments, to own land. In the US, the number of homeowners increased as mortgages became more accessible: Roughly 74% of today’s US homeowners used a mortgage to finance their home.
Real estate makes up roughly half of the typical American homeowner’s household net worth. The financial benefits of homeownership include diversifying one’s financial portfolio while protecting it from inflation, building equity, and more. The numerous costs associated with homeownership are often cited in the ongoing debate over whether renting or owning makes more financial sense, including homeowners insurance, property taxes, and budgeting for maintenance and repairs.
... Read our full explainer on homeownership here.
Also, check out ...
> The vast majority of homeowners feel that they've made a good investment. (Read)
> See a guide to home buying. (Read)
> Is it better to rent or buy? (Calculate)
> The income needed to buy a home in each state. (Explore)
Homeownership, 101
Historically, homeownership has been considered a cornerstone of the American Dream. Today, about 65% of American households own a home, and roughly 5% own more than one. Homeowners view these residences as not only a place to live, but also a path to building substantial wealth.
Centuries ago, homeownership became more common as political systems evolved to allow individuals, rather than governments, to own land. In the US, the number of homeowners increased as mortgages became more accessible: Roughly 74% of today’s US homeowners used a mortgage to finance their home.
Real estate makes up roughly half of the typical American homeowner’s household net worth. The financial benefits of homeownership include diversifying one’s financial portfolio while protecting it from inflation, building equity, and more. The numerous costs associated with homeownership are often cited in the ongoing debate over whether renting or owning makes more financial sense, including homeowners insurance, property taxes, and budgeting for maintenance and repairs.
... Read our full explainer on homeownership here.
Also, check out ...
> The vast majority of homeowners feel that they've made a good investment. (Read)
> See a guide to home buying. (Read)
> Is it better to rent or buy? (Calculate)
> The income needed to buy a home in each state. (Explore)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Speculation
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Does life just happen regardless of what we think, do, or say; or, does it happen out of coincidence; or, does it happen because something or someone is orchestrating our lives?
Interesting question, yes? no?
Have you ever wondered why the HUMAN RACE is the only race that is in existence in a universe that is a billion light years long?
Even our solar system is extensive with its dimensions preventing anyone from crossing it in their lifetimes if we had the ability to move at the speed of light which we don't. Yet, even our science and scientists claim there is no proof of other life without evidence. And, since there is no evidence, then there is no other life.
This sounds childish...
It doesn't take a brain surgeon, or maybe it does, to speculate based upon technology and logic, that there are other living beings in the world, even though there is no evidence.
Look at our belief in God...
Many of the global religions/philosophies believe in a God or super being or something superior simple because our eyes see creation all around us. The fact that our universe is around, is an example of creation. However, there are some that don't believe in creation because they believe that SOMETHING came from NOTHING.
Well, if something did come from nothing... then please explain to me who created the nothing?
Just because we do not have any evidence does not mean that we cannot logically speculate based upon what we have heard, read, or learned. To not speculate and just live our lives, is a narrow view of life and what she has to offer.
Sunday, December 21
STREAMING
Netflix is dipping into Santa’s bag
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
What’s dressed in red, was a home delivery pioneer, and wants to bring holiday magic to your household this season? Netflix, of course. The streaming giant has bulked up its library with Christmas content to make sure jingle bells don’t drown out that “tudum” sound.
Snowball effect: Netflix released its first fully festive original movie, A Christmas Prince, in 2017. Now, it has dozens of holiday movies, including two additional Christmas Prince installments.Last year’s hit rom-com, Hot Frosty, was Netflix’s No.1 movie for a spell.
And this year, several newcomers (My Secret Santa, Jingle Bell Heist, and Champagne Problems) have been shoulder-to-shoulder with nonseasonal content at the top of the Netflix leaderboard.
The streamer also has plenty of holiday specials and several themed virtual fireplaces to warm up your home, figuratively speaking.
Sharing Hallmark’s crown: In addition to streaming its own movies, Netflix also partners with Hallmark for some content. Last year, Netflix added 10 Hallmark productions to its holiday lineup, and this year, the two signed a multiyear licensing agreement.
It’s not just Netflix. The Great American Family network (formerly known as GAC Family) has found similar inspiration, scooping up Hallmark veterans like Candace Cameron Bure and Lori Loughlin to star in holiday fare. This year’s “Great American Christmas” programming kicked off in October and will run through January 1.—BC
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
What’s dressed in red, was a home delivery pioneer, and wants to bring holiday magic to your household this season? Netflix, of course. The streaming giant has bulked up its library with Christmas content to make sure jingle bells don’t drown out that “tudum” sound.
Snowball effect: Netflix released its first fully festive original movie, A Christmas Prince, in 2017. Now, it has dozens of holiday movies, including two additional Christmas Prince installments.Last year’s hit rom-com, Hot Frosty, was Netflix’s No.1 movie for a spell.
And this year, several newcomers (My Secret Santa, Jingle Bell Heist, and Champagne Problems) have been shoulder-to-shoulder with nonseasonal content at the top of the Netflix leaderboard.
The streamer also has plenty of holiday specials and several themed virtual fireplaces to warm up your home, figuratively speaking.
Sharing Hallmark’s crown: In addition to streaming its own movies, Netflix also partners with Hallmark for some content. Last year, Netflix added 10 Hallmark productions to its holiday lineup, and this year, the two signed a multiyear licensing agreement.
It’s not just Netflix. The Great American Family network (formerly known as GAC Family) has found similar inspiration, scooping up Hallmark veterans like Candace Cameron Bure and Lori Loughlin to star in holiday fare. This year’s “Great American Christmas” programming kicked off in October and will run through January 1.—BC
Robert Reich
Friends,
Trump calls it “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” I have a more accurate description: our political trauma.
After almost a year of Trump’s second term, I and many other people — including, very likely, you — are feeling exhausted, distraught, and sickened by what’s happened to our country and the world.
As Times columnist Bret Stephens puts it, we are being led by the most loathsome human being ever to occupy the White House — a petty, hollow, squalid, ogre-in-chief.
Every day that goes by seems to bring uglier vindictiveness, bigger lies, wilder boasts, and worse policies.
At A Glance
Handel's 1741 "Messiah" saved the music star from financial ruin.
The eerie, "liminal" vibes generated by touring abandoned malls.
The CEO of retail trading platform Robinhood is a cult hero among risky traders.
Explore the 186,000 miles of ancient Roman roads.
How eight distinct cultures mark the winter solstice.
Oil prices have been volatile for decades.
The case for preserving Britain's "Coalhenge," monumental cooling towers.
An interactive map of more than 7,000 global languages.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in three days, then burned it.
The "Book of Judith" is a noncanonical Hanukkah story of deliverance.
Explore all the particles that make up the Standard Model of physics.
It takes an average of 14 days of work to afford a monthly mortgage in the US.
Revisiting why readers (and viewers) love Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth.
Eighty artists on their favorite Bob Dylan songs.
In The NEWS
US strikes Islamic State infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US launched the large-scale strike yesterday in response to an attack last week in Syria that killed two US Army soldiers and a civilian US interpreter. US officials said the operation hit roughly 70 targets across central Syria where the Islamic State is situated and that more strikes should be expected. Information about casualties was not immediately available.
Trump suspends visa program used by Brown University, MIT shooting suspect.
Trump paused the diversity visa program shortly after the suspected gunman was identified as a Portuguese national who used it to enter the US in 2017. Accounting for up to 50,000 green cards available annually, the program is a random lottery that prioritizes citizens of countries with low immigration to the US. It’s unclear whether Trump has the power to suspend the lottery, since it was created by Congress.
European Union commits to lending roughly $105B to Ukraine's war effort.
The International Monetary Fund estimates the interest-free loan will cover two-thirds of Ukraine's military and economic needs through 2027. After much debate about how to finance the loan, EU leaders decided to borrow money on capital markets. Some leaders had pushed to use frozen Russian assets, an unprecedented scheme that others deemed legally risky.
Famine averted in Gaza but crisis-level hunger persists, per expert panel.
A United Nations- and World Health Organization-backed report says the Gaza Strip is no longer facing famine. The expert panel, which had declared famine in the Gaza City region in August, credited the improvement to expanded food access following the Oct. 10 ceasefire. However, the report says over three-quarters of the population—or 1.6 million people—are still facing acute hunger and malnutrition.
Living mates may influence each other's gut microbiome.
A new study on rats reveals that their gut microbiomes are shaped by the genes of the other rats they live with. While genes don’t transfer between hosts, gut bacteria shaped by one rat’s genetics can spread to other rats through close social contact. Researchers suspect the same is true for humans, which could deepen our understanding of microbiome-linked diseases such as obesity and Alzheimer’s.
Explore the best resources we've found on the gut microbiome here.
Sony buys majority stake in "Peanuts" comics.
The Japanese conglomerate will pay $457M to roughly double its stake in Peanuts Holdings to 80%. The family of "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz will hold the remaining 20%. Sony first became involved with Peanuts in 2010, over six decades after Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and their friends first appeared in American newspaper comic strips in 1947 as "Li'l Folks." The "Peanuts" name was introduced in 1950.
Wiz Khalifa handed 9 month Romanian jail sentence on drug possession charge.
The American rapper allegedly had over 18 grams of cannabis at a Romanian music festival he headlined in 2024, some of which he smoked on stage. A lower court issued an $830 fine in April, but prosecutors appealed, seeking a harsher penalty. As of this writing, it is unclear whether Romanian authorities will try to extradite Wiz Khalifa from the US. Romania has some of the strictest drug laws in Europe.
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Lessons Learned
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What have I learned during my SEVENTY-EIGHT (78) years of life?
Well... there is definitely a different life lived by the wealthy and by the non-wealthy and by the non-wealthy and the poor and by the military and the rest of us. I can say this because I have lived in all four areas.
Life is different in the county or rural areas than it is in the cities, and the quality of life is different in smaller cities than it is in larger cities as seen in the areas of healthcare, the economy, and education.
Speaking of education, during the 45 years that I worked not one employer, including community colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities ever asked to see my GRADES before hiring me. Nor did they ever visit my classes to see what kind of teaching I was doing.
It is apparent to me that being DEBT FREE as a family is a hugely overlooked area of responsibility that most Americans for some reason have no desire to observe.
I have also noticed that no financial awareness classes are being taught in high school and if they just taught the RULE OF 72, most high school graduates, if they used that information could be financially well off by the time they retired. This is based upon saving $2.50/day for 40 years. How much is $2.50?
Regrettably, it also appears that the youth of today, for whatever reason(s) are moving in the area of SOCIALISM without fully understanding the pros and cons of socialism versus the pros and cons of capitalism. While it is regrettable to me, it is inevitable that this will happen, especially when one takes into consideration the probability of robots and/or robots replacing 80% of the available jobs.
All Life on Earth Comes From One Single Ancestor
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
- All life on Earth can be traced back to a Last Universal Common Ancestor, or LUCA.
- A study suggests that this organism likely lived on Earth only 400 million years after its formation.
- Further analysis also shows that this life form likely sported an early immune system, which means it was probably fighting off viruses.
Saturday, December 20
Headlines
Charges against Jeffrey Epstein being announced in 2019. Stephanie
Keith/Getty Images
Justice Department releases first batch of Epstein files. The DOJ released tens of thousands of documents yesterday from its investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because Congress passed a law last month requiring the public disclosure of all related files within 30 days. The newly released materials include photographs of celebrities, including former President Bill Clinton. According to news outlets, President Trump does not feature much in the documents. However, many documents are heavily redacted, and the DOJ has said there were too many to process, so it will continue releasing materials over the next few weeks. Democratic lawmakers have criticized that delay as illegal.—AR
Elon Musk’s massive 2018 pay package got reinstated. Yesterday, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that barred Elon Musk from receiving a performance-contingent stock pay package—now worth a whopping $140 billion—that Tesla’s board gave him in 2018. Previously, the Delaware Chancery Court sided with a minority Tesla shareholder who sued the EV-maker alleging that its board was improperly influenced by Musk when awarding him the compensation package, which was unfair to investors. Yesterday’s unanimous ruling lets Musk have his bag because blocking the pay package left him “uncompensated for his time and efforts” as Tesla CEO. The decision ends a seven-year legal battle that prompted Musk to yank Tesla out of corporate America’s favorite state to incorporate in and call on others to do the same.—SK
A Reddit post helped police find the Brown University shooting suspect. While they’re certainly dedicated, Reddit sleuths aren’t always Sherlock-level detectives—but court documents show that a poster helped lead investigators to the suspect in the Brown University shooting that killed two students. “He blew this case right open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. The Reddit user, called only “John” in court papers, posted that he’d seen a “grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental” near the crime scene. Fellow Redditors urged him to contact the FBI, which he did, telling investigators of his strange encounters with the suspected shooter. His tip ultimately led authorities to connect the suspect to the car, and to the murder of an MIT professor they had previously believed to be unrelated. Authorities said the suspect was found dead from a self-inflicted wound on Thursday night.—AR
Justice Department releases first batch of Epstein files. The DOJ released tens of thousands of documents yesterday from its investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because Congress passed a law last month requiring the public disclosure of all related files within 30 days. The newly released materials include photographs of celebrities, including former President Bill Clinton. According to news outlets, President Trump does not feature much in the documents. However, many documents are heavily redacted, and the DOJ has said there were too many to process, so it will continue releasing materials over the next few weeks. Democratic lawmakers have criticized that delay as illegal.—AR Elon Musk’s massive 2018 pay package got reinstated. Yesterday, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that barred Elon Musk from receiving a performance-contingent stock pay package—now worth a whopping $140 billion—that Tesla’s board gave him in 2018. Previously, the Delaware Chancery Court sided with a minority Tesla shareholder who sued the EV-maker alleging that its board was improperly influenced by Musk when awarding him the compensation package, which was unfair to investors. Yesterday’s unanimous ruling lets Musk have his bag because blocking the pay package left him “uncompensated for his time and efforts” as Tesla CEO. The decision ends a seven-year legal battle that prompted Musk to yank Tesla out of corporate America’s favorite state to incorporate in and call on others to do the same.—SK A Reddit post helped police find the Brown University shooting suspect. While they’re certainly dedicated, Reddit sleuths aren’t always Sherlock-level detectives—but court documents show that a poster helped lead investigators to the suspect in the Brown University shooting that killed two students. “He blew this case right open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. The Reddit user, called only “John” in court papers, posted that he’d seen a “grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental” near the crime scene. Fellow Redditors urged him to contact the FBI, which he did, telling investigators of his strange encounters with the suspected shooter. His tip ultimately led authorities to connect the suspect to the car, and to the murder of an MIT professor they had previously believed to be unrelated. Authorities said the suspect was found dead from a self-inflicted wound on Thursday night.—AR
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