Monday, December 16
Sunday, December 15
In The NEWS
Centrist François Bayrou named France's new prime minister.
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Bayrou roughly a week after Michel Barnier was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote triggered by budget disputes in the National Assembly. Barnier's government was the shortest-serving in the modern French republic's history. Bayrou, 73, is the leader of the Democratic Movement and is expected to form his government in the coming days.
South Korean president faces second impeachment vote.
The National Assembly will hold the impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol Saturday late afternoon local time. The vote comes a week after the conservative president survived the first impeachment vote over his short-lived declaration of martial law (see how it unfolded). At least 200 votes from the National Assembly's 300 members are needed to impeach Yoon.
Initial public offering launches for stegosaurus skeleton.
Rally, a company that sells shares in a wide range of items, announced an initial public offering (see 1440's overview) for a nearly complete stegosaurus fossil nicknamed "Steg." The offering values the fossil—still being unearthed in Wyoming—at almost $14M, with 200,000 shares available at $68.75 each. Trading is set to begin Dec. 20 on Rally's app and website. Shareholders are expected to receive a payout in a year once the fossil is sold privately or auctioned to the highest bidder.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-11) hospitalized after injury on overseas trip.
The former House speaker is being evaluated after falling during an event in Luxembourg. The 84-year-old was traveling with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of a World War II battle. Earlier in the week, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell also suffered an injury after falling at the US Capitol. The 82-year-old sprained his wrist, cut his face, and is experiencing leg stiffness.
New Jersey governor seeks federal resources in drone probe.
Gov. Phil Murphy (D) requested more resources from the Biden administration to investigate drone sightings reported in New Jersey and nearby states. Residents first reported the sightings last month; up to 180 aircraft have been reported since Nov. 18. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have jointly said the sightings appear to be aircraft operating lawfully and don't pose national security risks or safety threats. See their statement here.
Pull a Luigi
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By now, everyone has become aware of the killing of the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson and his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione... if you are not aware, then you must not want access to the news.
Luigi was captured in Pennsylvania at a McDonalds where a guest spotted him and reported the sighting to a worker who subsequently called 911.
There are many people who believe that Luigi was JUSTIFIED in killing this CEO because "he" or "his company" rejected the claims of individuals who later died as a result of those rejected claims.
Since the CEO killed hundreds or more, it was acceptable for Luigi to kill the CEO in return.
To my limited knowledge, I don't believe this is how the justice system in the USA works.
Now, here is an interesting thought. When Luigi finally goes to trial, will a jury of his peers find him not guilty or guilty?
Can the judge and more importantly, will the judge override the non-guilty verdict?
There are certain circumstances where a non-guilty verdict can be over-ruled or appealed... will this case be one of those?
Particle Research: Why We're Here
Physicists soon will be closer than ever to answering fundamental questions about the origins of the universe by learning more about its tiniest particles.
University of Cincinnati Professor Alexandre Sousa in a new paper outlined the next 10 years of global research into the behavior of neutrinos, particles so tiny that they pass through virtually everything by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.
Neutrinos are the most abundant particles with mass in the universe, so scientists want to know more about them.
They are created by nuclear fusion reactions in the sun, radioactive decay in nuclear reactors or the Earth's crust or in particle accelerator labs. As they travel, they can transition between one of three types or "flavors" of neutrinos and back.
But unexpected experimental results made physicists suspect there might be another neutrino flavor, called a sterile neutrino because it appears immune to three of the four known "forces." READ MORE...
Saturday, December 14
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> College football bowl season kicks off tomorrow; see schedule and preview of all 36 matchups (More) | Eighteen-year-old Indian Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest-ever World Chess Champion (More)
> Sean "Diddy" Combs accused of rape by three men in separate lawsuits; Combs is currently awaiting trial on felony charges of racketeering and sex trafficking (More) | "Wicked" and "Conclave" lead nominations for the 2025 Critics Choice Awards with 11 apiece (More)
> BuzzFeed to sell "First We Feast," the studio behind popular "Hot Ones" YouTube show, for $82.5M (More) | YouTube TV to raise monthly subscription fee by $10 to $82.99 (More)
Science & Technology
> Google unveils Android XR, a mixed reality operating system for smart glasses and headsets integrating its AI platform Gemini (More) | ... and announces Gemini 2.0, built to support AI agents carrying out tasks for users (More)
> Neanderthals and humans in Eurasia interbred for a window of about 7,000 years beginning roughly 50,000 years ago, genetic analysis suggests; between 1% to 2% of modern Eurasian genes are inherited from Neanderthals (More)
> New study estimates superflares—bursts of radiation from stars equal to trillions of hydrogen bombs—may occur roughly once per 100 years; previous studies suggested events occurred every 1,000 to 10,000 years (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.7%), weighed down by better-than-expected inflation report a day earlier (More) | ServiceTitan raises roughly $625M in Nasdaq debut, valuing cloud software firm at nearly $9B (More) | Heard about IPOs, but don't know how they work? Sign up for 1440 Business & Finance (Join here)
> Warner Bros. Discovery shares close up over 15% after announcing it will split its TV business from its streaming studios (More) | Adobe shares close down over 13% in biggest drop since September 2022 after downbeat revenue forecast (More)
> Federal Trade Commission sues Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, accusing the largest US alcohol distributor of offering discounts to large chain buyers like Costco and Kroger while charging higher prices to small businesses (More) | Stanley recalls 2.6 million mugs after 38 people suffer burns from faulty lids (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> President-elect Donald Trump is named Time magazine's Person of the Year, rings the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell; magazine cites Trump's historic comeback and impact on news cycle (More) | Read the interview (More)
> Justice Department internal watchdog report on Jan. 6, 2021, storming of US Capitol finds FBI anticipated potential for violence, failed to canvass informants from field offices or dispatch undercover agents; four informants entered Capitol premises without FBI authorization (More) | Read the report (More)
> UK's health secretary permanently bans puberty blockers for children under 18, extending a temporary ban in place since May; decision follows a review this year finding a lack of evidence to date supporting the treatment, with transgender advocates calling the decision discriminatory (More)
Weekends
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When I was working, I used to look forward to the weekends, but ever since I retired (almost 10 years ago), the weekends just don't appear to be important to me anymore.
When I was married (first time) and living in North Carolina, most of our weekends were spent doing something around the house, either inside or out.
Oftentimes, my employment would have me working on the weekends which at first bothered me but later, I accepted it something that had to be done and rolled with the flow.
When I moved to Tennessee, my wife refused to join me, and we got divorced. Five years later, I married again, and my second wife and I always went somewhere most every weekend. Of course, there would be weekends where duties around the house and yard would prevail, but we traveled more than we stayed at home.
In 2015, we both retired, and we traveled every other month until COVID hit then we stayed at home. Once we were free and clear of COVID, we had lost our desire and interest in traveling.
Now, we complain when we have to get cleaned up to go to the doctor as we simply prefer staying at home. It not just being around people we don't want to be around, but the traffic bothers us as well.
Consequently, the days merge together, and I don't really know if it is a weekday or the weekend.
Air Engine Created
Why do countries launch so many rockets into space? It’s not just for exploration or for taking pictures of the moon and stars. You rely on satellites that orbit the Earth for almost every aspect of your daily life. You get directions from GPS signals that ping from satellites, and your cellphone sends and receives messages that way too. By launching a rocket with an engine fueled by methane and oxygen, China will be able to send rockets into Earth’s orbit at 18,000 miles per hour without refueling.
A new type of rocket fuel could launch China farther into space, beating its competition by a million miles
China has announced the successful launch of ZQ-2 Y2, the nickname of the country’s first liquid methane and liquid oxygen-fueled spacecraft. American scientists are worried about catching up to this breakthrough in aerospace engineering. Chinese companies and government organizations work hard to be at the forefront of technological innovation, and this event proves that their efforts pay off. Using this ne, ZQ-2w fuel, China could save millions of dollars and reduce some of the emissions created when launching rockets.
Liquid methane and liquid oxygen are not easy to create. To turn these gases into liquids, scientists have to force them through metal tubes submerged in super-cold liquid nitrogen. The freezing temperature slows down the gas particles, turning the substance into a liquid. Liquid methane and liquid oxygen burn much cleaner than traditional rocket fuel, which is made from petroleum. READ MORE...
