Friday, December 13
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> 2025's Academy Awards ceremony will be livestreamed on Hulu alongside ABC broadcast (More) | Sundance Film Festival (Jan. 23 to Feb. 2) announces its lineup of 87 feature films (More) | Michael Cole, actor known for starring role in "The Mod Squad," dies at 84 (More)
> Berlin tapped to host its first regular season NFL game in 2025 (More) | NCAA looking to expand March Madness tournaments to 72 or 76 teams in near future (More) | Rocky Colavito, nine-time MLB All-Star, dies at 91 (More)
> Six-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick, who stepped down as coach of the New England Patriots in 2023 after 24 seasons, hired as next head coach at the University of North Carolina (More)
Science & Technology
> James Webb Space Telescope detects and estimates the mass of a galaxy that existed just 600 million years after the Big Bang; "Firefly Sparkle" expected to shed light on how the Milky Way developed (More) | See the 1440 Topics page on the James Webb (More)
> Researchers discover a new type of magnetism; altermagnetism phenomenon may lead to faster and more efficient digital memory devices (More)
> Engineers develop microscopic robots for delivering drugs to specific locations inside the body; demonstration project successfully treated bladder tumors in mice (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +1.8%); Nasdaq tops 20,000 for first time, lifted by Alphabet, Tesla, Amazon, and Meta, which all closed at record highs (More)
> Consumer price index rose 2.7% year-over-year in November and 0.3% month-over-month; both figures are in line with expectations but higher than the 2.6% and 0.2% growth rates in October (More)
> SpaceX valuation rises to $350B as the company and its investors agree to buy back stock from insiders (More) | Stock buyback 101 (More) | Macy's misses analyst estimates, cuts earnings outlook after concluding investigation into employee who hid $151M accounting error (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month; the announcement by Wray, who Trump appointed in 2017, comes after Trump named Kash Patel as his intended FBI director (More)
> House of Representatives pass $895B defense bill for 2025 fiscal year, a 1% increase from 2024; the bill, which the Senate is expected to approve next week, would give 14.5% raise to junior enlisted service members (More)
> Federal judge rejects satirical site The Onion's $1.8M bid to purchase Alex Jones' Infowars site as part of bankruptcy auction proceedings, citing problems with the auction process; sale now turns to trustee to manage (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th symbolizes a day of bad luck and superstition for many people across the world. According to history.com, this belief combines two elements of misfortune: the day Friday, historically seen as unlucky in various cultures, and the number 13, which has long been viewed as an ill-fated number in both Western and Eastern traditions. Together, they create a day feared by some for potential mishaps.
What happens when it's Friday the 13th?
On Friday the 13th, people often approach the day with caution, avoiding significant decisions or events. Superstitions around this day may include avoiding travel, delaying surgeries or steering clear of major financial decisions. Airlines have even reported a drop in bookings on this date, and some buildings omit the 13th floor entirely.
What is the true story behind Friday the 13th?
The superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th seem to be a mix of religious beliefs, folklore and historical events. The most famous historical event tied to this date is the arrest of the Knights Templar, but there is no single, definitive "true story" behind Friday the 13th.
The Ultra-Compact Engine
Is there still room for newly developed internal combustion engines?
The Avadi MA-250 engine may spark controversy in the current era focused on renewable energy, as it represents a step away from electrification toward improving internal combustion technology. However, it highlights the need for more efficient combustion engines as a bridge to a future with cleaner, renewable energy sources. A more sustainable transition requires refining current technologies while building the infrastructure and scaling renewable alternatives, and the MA-250’s efficiency may play a crucial role in that process.
The Avadi MA-250 could redefine internal combustion engine technology with its innovative design. Developed since 2015, the compact rotary engine features a unique piston mechanism that eliminates the crankshaft, offering improved efficiency and reduced emissions. This breakthrough could give combustion engines a new role in the automotive world, providing a more efficient alternative in an era dominated by electric vehicles. By enhancing ICE technology, the MA-250 could serve as a key transitional step toward a greener, more sustainable future.
READ MORE...
Thursday, December 12
In The NEWS
> Time magazine taps WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark as its 2024 Athlete of the Year (More) | North Carolina tops Wake Forest 1-0 to win 2024 NCAA women's soccer national championship (More)
> Two more hotel workers charged in Argentina in a case related to the death of One Direction's Liam Payne (More) | Former cycling world champion Rohan Dennis pleads guilty to charge related to the death of his wife, Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins (More)
> Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas," which debuted in 1994, tops Billboard Hot 100; the song extends its record with six distinct runs atop the chart (More)
Science & Technology
> Construction uncovers a 1,375-year-old pyramid along the site of a future highway in central Mexico; structure dates to the pre-Hispanic Metztitlán kingdom (More)
> James Webb Space Telescope measurements confirm gap in cosmological model, suggests additional factor needed to explain why the universe is expanding at a faster rate than its early stages (More) | What do scientists know about the Big Bang? (More)
> New cancer treatment eliminates bladder and lung tumors in mice without side effects by combining targeting drugs and engineered radioactive antibodies (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq -0.3%); investors await new inflation data from November, set to be released today (More)
> Federal judge temporarily halts supermarket chain Kroger's proposed $25B acquisition of rival Albertsons pending Federal Trade Commission proceedings; Washington judge then permanently bars merger from the state, citing competition concerns (More)
> Walgreens shares close up nearly 18% on reports of potential sale to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, marking the highest one-day jump in shares in the pharmacy chain's history (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Franklin Fire near Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, burns over 2,800 acres as of this writing, places 12,500 people under evacuation orders (More) | See live updates (More)
> Suspect in fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears in Pennsylvania court for extradition hearing to New York (More) | See profile on the suspect (More)
> Polygamous sect leader—who worked to start an offshoot of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—has been sentenced to 50 years in prison this week in Arizona for child sex abuse (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Generations
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Every so often, we must understand and accept the fact that it is time for the younger generation to take responsibility for managing our country.
All to often, it is easy for us to accept the fact that it is easier to trust 80-year-old politicians than it is to trust 50-year-old politicians.
There is wisdom in age, I agree, but there is also a blind acceptance of this is how we used to do things rather than being open to trying something new.
The other issue that we never seem to wrestle with, even though it bothers many of us, is the fact that politicians seem to be more interested in re-election than they are in doing the right things for their constituent because they do not seem to mind.
We should have TERM LIMITS for all FEDERAL OFFICES including all Justices even in the Supreme Court.
ROTATING OFFICIALS would ensure that we do not become blinded by affiliation to the party versus serving the people.
YOUNGER PEOPLE
TERM LIMITS
Humanity Reaching SINGULARITY
By one unique metric, we could approach technological singularity by the end of this decade, if not sooner.
A translation company developed a metric, Time to Edit (TTE), to calculate the time it takes for professional human editors to fix AI-generated translations compared to human ones. This may help quantify the speed toward singularity.
An AI that can translate speech as well as a human could change society.
In the world of artificial intelligence, the idea of “singularity” looms large. This slippery concept describes the moment AI exceeds beyond human control and rapidly transforms society.
The tricky thing about AI singularity (and why it borrows terminology from black hole physics) is that it’s enormously difficult to predict where it begins and nearly impossible to know what’s beyond this technological “event horizon.”
However, some AI researchers are on the hunt for signs of reaching singularity measured by AI progress approaching the skills and ability comparable to a human. READ MORE...
However, some AI researchers are on the hunt for signs of reaching singularity measured by AI progress approaching the skills and ability comparable to a human. READ MORE...
Wednesday, December 11
Freedom of Speech
I am a believer in free speech that includes both sides of the argument not just one. Let me hear both sides so that I can make up my own mind. I dislike someone telling me how I should think.
If I think one way and that way is later discovered to be wrong, then sobeit... it is wrong... and we move forward onto the next concept.
I have listened to the rhetoric of both the liberals and conservatives and have discovered that both sides are obviously biased, but it seems that the conservatives as less biased than the liberals.
Not only less biased, but they are far LESS LIKELY to pass along misinformation or disinformation aimed at discrediting the opposing side.
Unfortunately, I know many people who are absolutely confident that the misinformation that they heard is correct and it matters not what I say, I will never be able to change their minds.
I have stopped trying and just accept whatever it is that they want to believe... and let it go at that.
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