In The NEWS

Earthquake of 4.8 magnitude shakes New Jersey, New York City area.
The earthquake's epicenter hit near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, Friday morning, about 45 miles away from New York City (see map). Tremors were felt across the East Coast, including in Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. There have been no reports of significant damage or life-threatening casualties as of this writing.



South Carolina Gamecocks, Iowa Hawkeyes reach NCAA title game.
No. 1 South Carolina and No. 1 Iowa will face off in the NCAA women's championship game tomorrow (3 pm ET, ABC) after defeating No. 3 NC State and No. 3 Connecticut, respectively, last night. On the men's side, No. 1 Purdue takes on No. 11 NC State tonight (6 pm ET, TBS), followed by a face-off between No. 1 Connecticut and No. 4 Alabama (8:50 pm ET, TBS).



US employers add 303,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations.
The nonfarm payroll growth is up from February's downwardly revised growth of 270,000 jobs and beats economists' estimates of 200,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8% as expected, down from 3.9% in February. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month and 4.1% year-over-year. See all data here.



USC's Bronny James, son of LeBron James, declares for NBA draft.
The 19-year-old freshman basketball star also announced Friday he plans to retain his college eligibility and will enter the NCAA transfer portal. His announcement comes after playing one season for the University of Southern California, during which he suffered a cardiac arrest in July. The 6-foot-4 guard was found to have a congenital heart defect and was cleared to return in November.



New York to pay $17.5M for forced removal of hijabs for mug shots.
New York City agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by two Muslim American women who said their rights were violated after police forced them to remove their hijabs, or head coverings, before taking their arrest photos. The police department changed its policy in 2020 to allow people to wear head coverings for religious reasons as long as their faces were clearly visible.



Criminal networks are infiltrating legal businesses, EU says in report.
The European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, released a first-of-its-kind report, identifying 821 criminal networks and detailing how they are organized, how they operate, and what kinds of activities they engage in. According to the report (see here), 86% of the identified criminal networks rely on the legal economy to conceal their activities and launder their profits.



Apple to lay off 614 workers after nixing self-driving car project.
The job cuts affect employees from Apple's offices in California and mark the first major round of layoffs for the tech giant postpandemic. It is unclear what projects the employees were working on. The news comes after Apple canceled a decadelong initiative in February to develop autonomous electric vehicles, seeking to instead pivot to working on artificial intelligence.

SOURCE:  1440 News

New Drugs

 
Imbruvica, Calquence, and Brukinsa are three immunotherapy pills that I had been prescribed by my Oncologist to slow down the progression of my lymphoma.  Each of the pills averaged about $12-$15,000 per month and my copay was $1,000 per month.  However, I managed to get a grant from the Leukemia Foundation to pay for my out-of-pocket costs.

All in all, I took these pills over a three year period of time and at first the pills worked half way through the three years the Lymphoma started to grow aggressively and the pills no longer worked.

My Oncologist has now prescribed Venclexta which is in another family of immunotherapy drugs and is much more powerful which is what one hates to see happen.

There are several more types of treatments that can be used but eventually these options will point to a stem cell transplant if they continue not to work.  A stem cell transplant is not only expensive, but it is a very uncomfortable procedure to endure and requires staying in the hospital to 30-60 days.

Venclexta's price per month is about the same as the other pills I have been taking.

What is interesting here is that if Venclexta could be taken via an IV, there would no copayments.  For some reason, the copayments are assessed when one is taking pills.  Taking pills might be convenience but sometimes out-of-pocket expense are more inconvenient that having infusions.

My pills will be taken as follows:

• 20mg first week
• 50mg second week
• 100mg third week
• 200mg fourth week
• 400mg fifth week

I top out of 400mg and each new week, I have to visit with my Oncologist Monday/Tuesday to make sure my blood work is ok.  The first week, the FDA required that I stay in the hospital overnight.

Strangely too, my melanoma cancer which is far worse than lymphoma has shown minimal growth if any at all for over five years.

However, I will continue to take drugs for both of them for the rest of my life.

Venclexta has caused my anemia to worsen, my platelet count to worsen, and while my white blood count has skyrocketed, the Oncologist is hopeful that it will come back down to normal over the next several weeks.

Other side effects that are hard to live with right now is increased fatigue and melancholy and increase nausea.  I have pills for the nausea but there are no pills for fatigue.

Somewhat Political

 

Biden is Destroying America

By Victor Davis Hanson Fox News

11 ways Biden and his handlers are hell-bent on destroying America

The path to civilizational destruction should be very familiar by now

Published April 5, 2024 5:00am EDT

Why are those controlling President Biden using him to advance so much of a destructive agenda that it will likely end America as we know it?

If someone wished to destroy America, could he do anything more catastrophic than what we currently see and hear each day?

What would an existential enemy do that we have not already done to ourselves?

Here are 11 now familiar steps to civilizational destruction:
1. Wipe out a 2,000-mile border.
Allow 10 million foreign nationals to enter unlawfully. Have no audit of any; nullify all federal immigration laws. Let in toxic drugs that kill 100,000 Americans a year. Give free support to those millions who broke the law. Smear any objectors as racists and xenophobes.

2. Run up $35 trillion in national debt.
Keep adding $1 trillion to it each 100 days. Defame anyone wishing to cut wild spending as cruel and inhumane.

3. Appease or subsidize enemies like Iran and China.
Demonize allies like Israel. Allow terrorists to attack Americans without adequate response. See Islam as either similar or superior to Christianity. Make amends to leftist governments for supposedly past toxic American international behavior. Follow the lead of international agencies like the U.N., ICC and WHO to atone for past American neocolonial and imperialist behavior. Recede to second-tier international status, befitting American decline.   READ MORE...

Explained

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
In partnership with NativePath

> Kiss to sell entire music catalog and intellectual property rights to Swedish company Pophouse for over $300M (More) | Jay-Z's Made in America festival canceled for second straight year (More)

> Christopher Durang, Tony Award-winning playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist, dies at 75 (More)

> Oakland A's will temporarily relocate to Sacramento, California, after this season before final relocation to Las Vegas in 2028 (More)


Science & Technology
> NASA selects three companies to submit designs for moon buggies to be used by astronauts stationed at a lunar base planned as part of the Artemis mission (More) | Most precise measurement of universal expansion to date confirms current theory to within 1% (More)

> Amphibians emit high-pitched screams outside the frequency of human hearing to ward off predators, new study suggests (More)

> Genetic analysis of the sunflower family tree reveals flower symmetry evolved independently in different species of the plants (More) | What is convergent evolution? (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.2%, Dow -1.4%, Nasdaq -1.4%) as Federal Reserve official casts doubt on any interest rate cuts this year; oil prices continue climbing to highest levels since October (More) | US jobs report today expected to show 3.8% unemployment rate in March, down from 3.9% in February (More)

> Alphabet reportedly considering buying marketing software platform HubSpot, with a $35B market value, in what would be its largest purchase ever (More) | Google reportedly considering launching a paid subscription service for Google searches using AI (More)

> Disney Plus to crack down on password sharing in June, following example from Netflix, with plans to extend to all 150 million subscribers by September (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> President Joe Biden pushes for Gaza cease-fire during call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says US support is contingent on protecting civilians and aid workers (More) | Israel to open new border entrance in northern Gaza to expedite aid delivery (More) | World Central Kitchen calls for independent probe following Israeli strike that killed six aid workers and a translator (More)

> Judge orders US Border Patrol to provide indoor accommodations for thousands of migrant children who've not yet been formally processed; would classify them as "in Border Patrol custody" regardless of processing status (More)

> Nonpartisan group No Labels announces it will not run a third-party candidate in this year's presidential election following rejection from high-profile candidates (More) | See latest poll numbers (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

East Tennessee Spring

 In all large cities, there are suburban areas just outside the city, where there is a peacefulness existence -  well maintained homes and grasses, curbs and sidewalks, fenced in back yards with swimming pools, patios and grills, along with an overabundance of both cats and dogs.

It is not out of the ordinary, to have the residents of these suburban areas outside walking around the neighborhood at 10pm without the slightest bit of fear in their hearts at all.   It is not out of the ordinary to have the children of these residents outside playing with one another without the slightest bit of fear in their hearts at all.

BUT...  if you leave these quiet suburban areas, the environment changes as crime and violence is taking place all around them and illegal immigrants are sleeping on the sidewalks because they have no money or jobs.

The entirety of East Tennessee is like these suburban areas which makes this area a special place to live and visit.

Yes, we have crimes, theft, burglary, and murder but it is the exception not the general rule.

East Tennessee is blessed with a network of rivers and lakes that afford its residents huge recreational opportunities that include:  camping, boating, hiking, and picnicking.  Perfect for family outings.

As we enter the month of April, warm weather comes to the Tennessee Valley and people like flowers are beginning to pop up outside everywhere.  The smell of grilling is in the air as is the sounds of children playing. 

We have no problems with ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS yet as the Tennessee Valley is not a popular destination for them.  Besides, the State of TN allows carry permits so I doubt too many of them will want to come to this area.  Democratic States will bear the brunt of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

Somewhat Political

 

Having a Thoughtful Life

Svend Brinkmann’s Think is a book in praise of the thoughtful life and an easygoing exploration of the role of thinking in our lives today.

The book is essentially in two parts. The first is descriptive. It explores questions like “what do we mean by thinking?”, “why has it become difficult to think in today’s world?” and “where does thinking come from?”

The second part is prescriptive. Brinkmann provides some quick and relatively simple strategies for bringing more thoughtfulness into our everyday lives.

Think: In Defence of a Thoughtful Life – Svend Brinkmann (Polity)      READ MORE... 

Fixing a Hole

 

TIme

 

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First AI Flight Attendant

Would you fly AI?


Qatar Airways is adding virtual flight attendants as “digital human cabin crew” to assist customers at airports and onboard planes.

Named Sama 2.0, the female faux staffer was rolled out at this week’s massive ITB Berlin trade show. The airline demonstrated that a customer can speak into one’s phone with Sama answering on a large kiosk-like screen, video shows.

The airline claims that the virtual cabin crew member — also accessible through its metaverse, called the Qverse, and the Qatar app — is the first AI-powered customer assistance of its kind.    READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> NCAA Women's Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and LSU hauled in 12.3 million viewers, the most ever for a women's college basketball game and the biggest basketball audience for ESPN since 2012 (More) | LSU star Angel Reese declares for WNBA Draft (More) | Iowa's Caitlin Clark wins Naismith Player of the Year for second straight season (More)

> Buffalo Bills trade four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans for 2025 second-round draft pick (More)

> James Beard Foundation announces 2024 James Beard Award finalists for America's best restaurants and chefs (More)



Science & Technology
In partnership with Eli Electric Vehicles

> Pig kidney transplant recipient discharged from hospital two weeks after procedure; success is a key advance in the field of cross-species transplants (More) | New mRNA drug shows success in early clinical trials in treating propionic acidaemia, a rare genetic disease affecting metabolic function (More)

> AI researchers find method to trick leading chatbots into violating ethics guidelines by repeatedly asking slightly different forms of the same question (More) | Read overview of the "many-shot jailbreak" approach (More)

> Microsoft and startup Quantinuum devise method to reduce the error rate for quantum computers by a factor of 800; marks a key step toward widespread adoption of the technology (More) | Quantum computing 101 (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +0.2%); US private payrolls rise more than expected in March, while the Federal Reserve signals timing of interest rate cuts is uncertain (More)

> The Walt Disney Co. and Bob Iger defeat challenge from activist investor Nelson Peltz and his hedge fund as shareholders vote to reelect full board (More) | Former President Donald Trump sues two cofounders of Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, for allegedly mismanaging the company (More) | Two men plead guilty to $22M insider-trading scheme tied to Trump Media (More)

> Private equity firm Silver Lake to take entertainment company Endeavor private for $27.50 per share, valuing the company at $13B (More) | Autism Impact Fund, a venture capital firm focused on autism, raises $60M (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Ukraine signs law lowering military draft age from 27 to 25 to replenish its depleted army amid war with Russia (More) | See war updates (More) | Uganda's constitutional court largely upholds the country's anti-LGBTQ law, which allows the death penalty for certain same-sex acts (More)

> Finnish police identify bullying as motive behind school shooting outside of Helsinki that killed one student and wounded two others (More) | See our previous write-up (More)

> Midwest, Northeast brace for snowstorm and blizzard conditions through today; parts of New England to see more than 2 feet of snow (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

On Being a Racist

Both my parents were racists and never tried to deny it and more than likely their parents were racists as well.

I grew up in an all white neighborhood and did not really experience people of color until high school.  However, I attended high school in Cairo, Egypt and the concept of racism never entered our minds nor was it ever discussed in any of our conversations.

Only after I graduated from high school, was I confronted with racism and began to become aware of people of color.

Most of the people of color, I came across in the 1960s were uneducated and as a result I formed conclusions and opinions that most black people were uneducated.

I also began to see that my blacks were not good workers, and most whites were not good athletes and again, opinions and conclusions were formed.

Unlike the blacks, I was never afraid of the police unless I was doing something wrong.  I had no idea that their fear, and rightly so, went much deeper than that simply because they were black.

In public I will not share my feelings and opinions of blacks out of respect for the people around me but have no problems sharing my feelings in other media outlets.

I will say this and my feelings are strong about it, the more that blacks DEMAND that something be done for them because they were born with the disadvantage of color, the more my resentment towards them grows.

There are numerous examples of people who were born in poverty who went on to become wealthy and respectable people...  and if, the blacks were willing to work to get there, they could do anything they wanted...

Determination and Discipline are the two keys to success along with persistence which is a part of being determined.

So, in closing one might refer to me as a racist because I don't bend over and kiss the ass of the blacks, and turn a deaf ear when they claim I am a white supremacist.  

Until the black population is increased, we will always have more whites in power than blacks. 

 

Big Tongue

 

The Wealth of the ONE PERCENT (1%)

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. 


The wealth of the top 1% hit a record $44.6 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter, as an end-of-year stock rally lifted their portfolios, according to new data from the Federal Reserve.


The total net worth of the top 1%, defined by the Fed as those with wealth over $11 million, increased by $2 trillion in the fourth quarter. All of the gains came from their stock holdings. The value of corporate equities and mutual fund shares held by the top 1% surged to $19.7 trillion from $17.65 trillion the previous quarter.

While their real estate values went up slightly, the value of their privately held businesses declined, essentially canceling out all other gains outside of stocks.

The quarterly gain marked the latest addition to an unprecedented wealth boom that began in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic market surge. Since 2020, the wealth of the top 1% has increased by nearly $15 trillion, or 49%. Middle-class Americans have also seen a rising wealth tide, with the middle 50% to 90% of Americans seeing their wealth increase 50%.  READ MORE...

A-10 Warthog

 

Free

 

Russia's Nuclear Influence Expands

Russia is continuing to build its nuclear arsenal as a deterrence method against potential adversaries, according to U.S. intelligence.

In its annual threat assessment released to the public on Monday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) stated that Moscow still holds "the largest and most diverse nuclear weapons stockpile" and that Russia views its atomic weapons as "necessary for maintaining deterrence and achieving its goals in a potential conflict against the United States and NATO."


The report comes as tensions between the West and Russia continue to rise amid the war in Ukraine, and as concerns swirl over Moscow's potential to use nuclear weapons against Kyiv or its neighboring NATO member states. Russia President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukraine's allies risk starting a nuclear conflict if they expand their involvement in the Russian-Ukraine war.  READ MORE...