Saturday, December 21
Friday, December 20
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Disney becomes only studio to top $2B at the 2024 domestic box office, including three of the top five grossing films (More) | Academy Awards release shortlist of top contenders in 10 categories (More)
> UK court rules police can seize $3.4M from social media influencer Andrew Tate amid dispute over alleged unpaid taxes on $26.5M in revenue from Tate's businesses (More)
> Milwaukee Bucks top Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 to win the second annual NBA Cup, the NBA's new mid-season tournament; Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo named tournament MVP (More)
Science & Technology
> OpenAI launches free phone service (1-800-CHATGPT), allowing anyone in the US to call and talk to its ChatGPT chatbot for up to 15 minutes at no cost (More)
> Popular 2020 paper suggesting the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could treat COVID-19 retracted more than four years after publishing; work is the second most-cited paper ever to be withdrawn (More)
> Lithocholic acid, a type of bile acid produced in the liver, has been found to have anti-aging effects similar to caloric restriction (More)
Business & Markets
> Grubhub to pay $25M to settle Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over allegedly misleading customers about delivery costs and drivers about their earnings (More)
> Merck signs $2B licensing deal to develop weight loss pill with Chinese drugmaker Hansoh Pharma in bid to compete with other obesity drugs on the market (More)
> Cloud AI startup Vultr raises $333M, with chip giant AMD and hedge fund LuminArx Capital Management leading the round; Vultr now valued at $3.5B (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> House Ethics Committee votes in secret to release report on its investigation into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1); release expected in the coming days (More) | Senate passes $895B defense bill raising pay for Congress members and junior enlisted service members, cutting transgender care for children of service members (More)
> President-elect Donald Trump selects former Senate candidate and NFL star Herschel Walker as US ambassador to the Bahamas (More)
> Russia says it has detained a 29-year-old Uzbek man in relation to the killing of Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's biological and chemical weapons defense program (More) | See previous write-up (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Killing
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When, if ever, is killing justified?
- in a time of war
- revenge
- act of insanity
- assisted suicide
- while on illegal drugs
- accidental
- involuntarily
- never
When our President send soldiers into a war zone, it is obvious that some will die. However, we don't think about killing when we are driving on the highway or undergoing a serious surgery. Nor do we think about killing when an insurance company denies a claim, and the client who made the claim dies.
If and when someone dies in the operating room during surgery, physicians usually take out malpractice insurance to protect them.
Nor do we ever assign blame when a homeless person dies on the street for whatever reason. We just assume it was because he was homeless and never feel any shame because we had done nothing to help them.
Can a physician refuse to save another person's life because the patient has different political views or believes in a different form of religion?
Our country is changing, and it is becoming a country that many of us are not going to recognize.
Only Has Mass When It's Moving
For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that's massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction.
The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS.
The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to the researchers. READ MORE...
Thursday, December 19
In the NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Dirty Dancing" and "Beverly Hills Cop" are among 25 movies added to Library of Congress National Film Registry (More) | See complete list of 900 “culturally, historically, or aesthetically” significant films on the registry (More)
> Children's television series "Bluey" to get feature film in 2027 produced by BBC and Disney (More) | Diane Delano, actress known for roles on "Northern Exposure" and "Popular," dies at 67 (More)
> Vermont tops Marshall 2-1 to win their first-ever NCAA men's soccer national championship (More) | The European Super League relaunches as the Unify League, will feature 96 soccer clubs across Europe (More)
Science & Technology
> Alabama woman receives gene-edited pig kidney, becomes the fifth person to undergo animal-to-human gene-edited organ surgery (More) | What is xenotransplantation? (More)
> Study suggests brain cells mature faster in microgravity environments like space compared to Earth; research used organoids—lab-grown organ-like structures—to study the effects (More)
> Archaeologists discover evidence of systematic cannibalism in a Bronze Age burial site near Bristol, England (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.4%, Dow -0.6%, Nasdaq -0.3%); Dow falls for ninth straight day, its longest losing streak since 1978 (More)
> Grammarly, maker of AI-powered writing assistant, acquires productivity startup Coda; financial terms of the deal not disclosed (More) | Databricks raises $10B in financing, valuing the data analytics company at $62B (More)
> Japan's Honda and Nissan reportedly to begin merger talks; automakers are considering operating under a single holding company and eventually bringing in Mitsubishi (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is indicted in New York on 11 counts, including first-degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism (More) | Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann is charged with another murder, bringing number of alleged victims to seven (More)
> Federal Trade Commission announces rule banning junk fees—hidden charges—on hotel and event ticket prices (More) | Biden administration finalizes rule clarifying who can apply for H-1B work visas, including expanding definitions of specialty occupation positions (More)
> President-elect Donald Trump sues The Des Moines Register for a poll in the lead-up to Election Day showing him trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in Iowa by 3%; Trump ultimately won the state by 14% (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Christmas is Soon
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Christmas 2024 is only 5 days away, 4 days if you don't count today.
Are you ready?
What I mean to ask is:
- Are your decorations up, inside and outside?
- Is your tree up?
- Are all your presents purchased, cooked, or made?
- Are your Christmas card emails sent?
- Everything purchased for your Christmas meals.
- Are you ready for all the parties you will be asked to attend?
Being retired, there is not much for my wife and I to do. My family is out of state and don't want to visit and we are either too poor to fly or too old to drive.
My daughter is in Iceland and my wife's son is nearby and will visit us with his girlfriend. Our decorations are up, and all cards have been sent or delivered.
We stopped buying each other presents, so nowadays we just buy something for the house. This year, we are putting new windows in our sunroom.
Usually, my wife wants to put everything away, the day after Christmas instead of leaving it all up until after New Year's Eve. It does not matter to me at all, I have learned to just following instructions during these types of holidays.
China's Powerhouse Robot Factory
Chinese robotic startup MagicLab has introduced a fleet of collaborative humanoids at a factory for job training.
The humanoids also demonstrate small-scale collaborative operations, showcasing their ability to work efficiently together.
In January, MagicLab unveiled its third-generation humanoid robot, MagicBot, designed to rival Boston Dynamics’ Atlas. By February, a video update showcased the robot roasting marshmallows, performing magic tricks, and dancing.
The firm joins a growing wave of companies deploying robots in industrial settings as China aims to mass-produce humanoids by 2025 and dominate the market by 2027. READ MORE...
Wednesday, December 18
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Wicked" sequel gets official title "Wicked: For Good" with film set for November 2025 release date (More) | Lionel Messi-inspired animated series tapped for Disney Channel and Disney+ (More)
> Jill Jacobson, actress known for roles on "Falcon Crest" and "Star Trek," dies at 70 (More) | Dick Van Arsdale, three-time NBA All-Star, dies at 81 (More)
> Documentary in the works by filmmaker Alex Gibney about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson (More) | Jamie Lee Curtis in talks to play lead role in upcoming "Murder, She Wrote" film (More)
Science & Technology
> Google's DeepMind reveals Veo 2, the latest update to its AI-generated video platform; product is meant to compete with OpenAI's Sora (More) | Generative AI 101, from how it works to why it hallucinates (1440 Topics)
> James Webb Space Telescope confirms two-decade-old mystery, finds evidence planets bigger than Jupiter formed around stars much earlier in the universe than predicted by theory (More) | Explaining the JWST in four minutes (More, w/video)
> Researchers discover closest known relative to Psilocybe cubensis, also known as magic mushrooms; fungi potentially reached North America as much as a million years earlier than believed (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq +1.2%); Nasdaq notches record ahead of Federal Reserve's interest rate decision tomorrow (More) | Nvidia closes in correction territory, down roughly 11% from record close last month (More) | Bitcoin hits new record midday, briefly surpassing $107K (More)
> TikTok asks Supreme Court to block the US' divest-or-ban law pending an appeal of a lower-court ruling to uphold the law taking effect Jan. 19 (More) | Ken Leech, former co-chief investment officer at Western Asset Management Co., pleads not guilty to federal charges over improperly allocating trades to favored clients (More)
> Honeywell considers spin-off of lucrative aerospace business—a move backed by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which took a $5B stake in the conglomerate last month (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Japanese tech giant SoftBank pledges to invest $100B into US companies over next four years and create 100,000 jobs; SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who met with President-elect Donald Trump yesterday, made a similar pledge in 2016 (More)
> Former FBI informant pleads guilty to fabricating claim that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes from a Ukrainian energy company; false claim was used as part of evidence in GOP-led efforts to investigate Biden family (More)
> Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns following dispute with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over tax policy and the country's response to Trump's tariff threats (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Education
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I heard this morning that the auto industry is in need of 35,000 auto mechanics (automotive technician). It takes no college at all to become an automotive technician.
The average college tuition is $30-$50,000/year or $120-$200,000 for a complete 4-year education. However, since there are so many 4-year degree graduates out there, employers are recommending that if you want to advance, you need a master's degree - another 2 years.
To save money, one could go to a Community College for the first two years and then transfer to a college or university, but do you want to spend all that money on education when you will spend the majority of your career paying off that educational loan.
One should seriously consider going to a Community College and pursue a TECHNICAL degree in something like:
- auto mechanics
- heavy duty mechanics
- computers
- electronics
- electricity
- carpentry
- plumbing
- heating & air conditioning
- programming
- criminal justice
- construction
- physical therapy
- massage therapy
- nursing
- paralegal
- etc.
Another idea is to apply for a job in retailing, hospitality, restaurants, manufacturing, real estate, life insurance, and/or maintenance.
No matter what career that you pursue, you are going to have to PAY YOUR DUES anywhere from 10-20 years before you move up through the ranks and attain one of those few high paying management jobs.
ALL CAREER LEVELS HAVE THEM... it just takes time to get there.
Webb Telescope Confirms: Universe is Expanding
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Fresh corroboration of the perplexing observation that the universe is expanding more rapidly than expected has scientists pondering the cause - perhaps some unknown factor involving the mysterious cosmic components dark energy and dark matter.
Two years of data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have now validated the Hubble Space Telescope's earlier finding that the rate of the universe's expansion is faster - by about 8% - than would be expected based on what astrophysicists know of the initial conditions in the cosmos and its evolution over billions of years. The discrepancy is called the Hubble Tension. READ MORE...
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