Friday, May 9
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Paris Saint-Germain tops Arsenal to advance to UEFA Champions League Final (May 31) where they'll face off against Inter Milan (More) | Utah's expansion NHL franchise announces "Mammoth" mascot name after yearlong process (More)
> Music legend Smokey Robinson accused in $50M lawsuit by four women of sexual assault over a number of years dating back to 2006 (More)
> Netflix to roll out major user interface overhaul beginning May 19, including vertical video previews and AI-incorporated search tools (More) | Everything you want to know about Netflix (More)
Science & Technology
> Amazon unveils "Vulcan," an AI-powered warehouse robot equipped with a sense of touch; company says it will operate alongside workers and can handle and sort 75% of the company's products (More)
> Neuroscientists reveal how brain circuitry rewires itself when learning new movements; findings may lead to new therapies for neuromotor disorders and spinal injuries (More)
> UK innovation agency to fund $75M in geoengineering research, supporting projects on modifying the Earth's environment and atmosphere to address climate change (More)
Business & Markets
> Alphabet shares close down 7.5% after Apple’s services chief says AI chatbots from OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic will replace search engines like Google; remarks came during testimony in DOJ's antitrust trial against Alphabet (More)
> Ford to raise prices on three models manufactured in Mexico, partly due to pressure from increased tariffs (More) | Trump administration to rescind and modify Biden-era regulations on the number of advanced AI chips individual countries can buy; rule was set to take effect May 15 (More)
> WeightWatchers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to shed roughly $1B in debt from its balance sheet, expects to emerge from bankruptcy process in 45 days and remain a publicly traded company (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Jury acquits three former Memphis police officers of all state charges, including second-degree murder, in the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> The first day of the papal conclave ends with black smoke as 133 cardinals fail to reach the two-thirds majority to elect a new pope in the first vote (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Pakistan says it downed five Indian fighter jets following Indian airstrikes that killed 31 people, wounded 57 others earlier this week; India has not yet commented on the claim, says Pakistani gunfire wounded 15 people in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Made in America
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Switzerland and Luxembourg have the highest labor wages in the world. The third highest country is the USA.
President Trump wants to bring manufacturing back to the USA in the hopes of making America wealthier and while that may happen, what will definitely happen is that the COST OF GOODS SOLD will increase because of labor costs.
Right now, many of our goods are manufactured outside of the USA in low wage jurisdictions which has the pleasant side effect of keeping our COST OF LIVING low. However, we still pay other countries to do this and they in turn use our money to build up their militaries so they can, one day, try to defeat us.
To some degree, you want to make in America so that you are not obligated to ONE COUNTRY for critical goods and services, but there needs to be a balance, otherwise, you increase your COST OF LIVING to the point that many people can no longer afford to live like they used to.
Normal growth rates hover around 3% for sustainable economic growth, but wages should also keep up with that 3% but oftentimes they do not because MANAGEMENT sees an opportunity to increase their profit margins.
The average American does not think more than 6-12, maybe 18 months out into the future. This short-term thinking is hurting us. We need to be thinking at least 20 years out into the future, maybe more.
For instance, if you save $2.50/day and at the end of the month deposit that money in a Mutual Fund, in 40 years you will have $500,000 and an income of about $400/month/$100,000 or $1,600.
This requires long term thinking (planning).
If you start this savings program at 18 (graduating from high school), you will have that money at age 58.
If a couple does this, they will have $1,000,000 at age 58... plus Social Security... plus any retirement or 401K that one's employer provides.
LONG TERM THINKING....
MADE IN AMERICA will hurt you attempt at trying to save money for the future.
China Fires Laser at the Moon in Broad Daylight—Achieves Unprecedented Deep-Space Targeting Breakthrough
In a major leap for lunar navigation, China has successfully bounced a laser off a Moon-orbiting satellite in full daylight—a feat previously thought impossible due to intense solar interference. The breakthrough, carried out by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) using the Tiandu-1 satellite, marks the world’s first Earth-Moon laser-ranging success under strong sunlight, according to a report by Interesting Engineering.
The two-day experiment, conducted on April 26–27, demonstrated the precision tracking and signal clarity needed to support continuous navigation between Earth and the Moon. Until now, glaring solar background noise has limited such laser measurements to nighttime windows. With this barrier overcome, China has significantly advanced its roadmap for sustained lunar operations and deep-space infrastructure.
Thursday, May 8
Robert Reich
A Mother’s Day truth about the “Fertilization President”
The White House’s avowed concern about the nation’s declining birth rate is a pretext for something else.
Friends,
With Mother’s Day this Sunday, I wanted to raise a real problem — but one that’s being grotesquely distorted by Trump and his lackeys.
Births in the United States increased by just 1 percent in 2024, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s nearly a record low.
It means ever-fewer workers supporting ever-more retirees. There are now about 3 workers for every retiree in America. That ratio is projected to drop to about 2 workers per retiree in just five years.
It’s a real problem, but Trump’s vow to remedy it — he’s calling for a $5,000-per-birth “baby bonus” and says he wants to be known as the “fertilization president” — has nothing to do with solving it.
At A Glance
Rare snail filmed laying an egg from its neck.
This countertop robot will cook for you.
The high school juniors with $70K-per-year job offers.
The centuries-long history of the Panama Canal.
Pope Francis picked 80% of cardinals who'll elect his successor.
What if the Giving Tree said "no" to the boy?
Take an interactive internet road trip.
The most romantic places to get engaged.
Clickbait: A flesh-eating parasite returns to North America.
In The News
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposes $7.5B federal tax incentive for the film industry in response to President Donald Trump's announcement of possible tariffs on foreign-made films (More)
> Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will skip the Preakness Stakes (May 17) but will run at the Belmont Stakes (June 7), the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown (More)
> Inter Milan tops FC Barcelona to advance to UEFA Champions League final, will face off against the winner of Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain in the other semifinal matchup (More)
Science & Technology
> Engineers develop electronic "Band-Aid" capable of delivering drugs directly to internal organs; battery-free device may provide a platform for advanced health monitoring and therapies (More)
> Brain study reveals humans process faces from other races differently than their own, with less detail and differentiation; results confirm phenomenon known as the "other race effect" (More)
> Researchers demonstrate quantum communication network over a distance of 11 miles using single photons and conventional fiber optics, marking a step forward in realizing "unbreakable" quantum encryption (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.8%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq -0.9%) as investors resume caution over global trade and await conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting today (More) | This Thursday's 1440 Business & Finance newsletter unpacks annuities; join here for free (More)
> DoorDash to buy UK rival Deliveroo for $3.9B and US hospitality tech company SevenRooms for $1.2B; DoorDash is America's largest food delivery service ahead of Uber Eats (More) | Uber to buy 85% stake in Turkish food delivery platform Trendyol GO for $700M (More)
> EV-maker Rivian posts better-than-expected Q1 results, but slashes deliveries forecast for 2025 amid tariffs (More) | AMD tops earnings estimates, but says revenue will take $1.5B hit from US chip restrictions to China (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Germany’s parliament elects conservative leader Friedrich Merz in second round of voting; Merz becomes first chancellor in Germany’s postwar history to have lost a first-round ballot (More) | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with President Donald Trump, rejects suggestion of US acquisition of Canada (More)
> Supreme Court allows Trump administration to proceed with ban on transgender people serving in the military while litigation continues (More) | The order impacts at least 4,240 service members, roughly 0.2% of the military (More)
> President Donald Trump says the US will stop bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen after Oman confirms a ceasefire was reached with the militant group (More) | Israel says its airstrikes disabled Yemen's main airport in Sanaa following Houthi rebel attack on Tel Aviv's main airport (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Freedom
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Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no-no...
Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee... 1971
Being an American is a different kind of freedom that nobody but Americans can feel. Even as an legal immigrant becoming an American citizen is just not the same as being BORN HERE.
Freedom is not enjoyed nor is it appreciated as much by the wealthy as it is by those Americans who are not wealthy. Money will let you be free in communist countries and in some cases dictatorships as well... so, having MONEY is not the same thing as AMERICAN FREEDOMS.
However,
are Americans really free???
Freedom of Speech... yes, we have, but can we really say/print anything that we want?
- In your own home you can
- In public you cannot
- At work you cannot
- At school you cannot
- In church you cannot
- In the military you cannot
- To law enforcement you cannot
Freedom to own Firearms... yes, we have, but there are restrictions on person weapons ownership that are more restrictive in blue states than red states.
- In many red states you can carry sidearms in public
- In many blue states you cannot
- Shoot someone inside your home is one thing but shooting them on your land is another
- Owning firearms is good for hunters and collectors
- Owning firearms is not necessarily good for protection
Our American government is currently a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC which is a little different than just a Democracy... there are some that want to change our DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC into a SOCIALISTIC form of government which would then change our level of freedoms.
Having American Freedoms means that you can actually vote yourself out of having a Democratic Form of Government... that is how free we are... no other country in the world has that kind of freedom.
Once you vote yourself out of a Democracy, then it is damn difficult to vote yourself back in...
Our Founding Fathers were smart, but they were not that smart because they did not anticipate what our society would be like in 2025.
Figure steps closer to humanoid robots in workplace and home with F.02
California-based robotics outfit Figure has today announced its second-generation humanoid robot, which is initially being aimed at production lines in commercial settings, but the company is promising a bipedal butler in our homes in the near future.
Figure was founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Brett Adcock – of Vettery and Archer Aviation – with the aim of bringing a "commercially viable general purpose humanoid robot" to market. We caught up with Adcock last year, publishing a series of three interview pieces, and have followed the progress of its first robot from first steps to learning and performing tasks to joining BMW's workforce, and then gaining OpenAI chattiness.
Wednesday, May 7
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