At A Glance

The science of wrinkly finger patterns.

When does a kid become an adult?

How curiosity rewires your brain for change.

The rapid rise of "illegal" running shoes.

... plus, a comprehensive guide to lacing your shoes.

Breaking down middle-class income in every US state.

Stonehenge-like structure found in Lake Michigan.

Couple lets wedding guests vote on their new last name.

Clickbait: The universe may die sooner than expected.

5 HEALTHY BREAKFAST IDEAS | easy, high-protein recipes

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Mr. Bates vs the Post Office" and "Mr. Loverman" are top winners at 2025 BAFTAs, or British Academy Television Awards (More)

> Pro wrestling legend Terry "Sabu" Brunk dies at age 60 (More) | Johnny Rodriguez, pioneering Mexican American country artist, dies at age 73 (More)

> Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy continues today after delays in jury selection (More)


Science & Technology
> Archaeologists uncover trapped family who died in Pompeii during the first-century eruption of Mount Vesuvius (More) | The history of Pompeii (More)

> Soviet-era spacecraft, Kosmos 482, falls back to Earth after five decades in space, splashes down in the Indian Ocean (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Engineers develop AI-powered headphones capable of translating multiple speakers in different languages at once, recreating conversations while retaining qualities of speakers' voices (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed Friday (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq +0.0%) as investors wait for news of US-China tariff negotiations (More)

> OpenAI is reportedly working to renegotiate terms of its partnership with Microsoft, potentially paving the way for OpenAI to launch an initial public offering (More)

> Saudi Arabia's Aramco reports $26B in first-quarter net profit, beating estimates but down 4.6% from last year (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> US Treasury Secretary touts progress after two days of negotiations with China to end tit-for-tat tariffs; details of talks to be announced this morning (More) | Hamas says it will release last living American hostage in Gaza within the next 48 hours as group pursues ceasefire, resumption of aid (More)

> President Donald Trump says he will sign an executive order today ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to tie what Medicare pays for drugs to the lowest price paid in other countries (More) | The Trump administration is reportedly set to accept luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar known as the 'palace in the sky' (More)

> Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka (D) arrested for federal trespassing outside an immigration detention facility Friday while visiting with Democratic lawmakers amid a protest (More) | US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to reduce flights to Newark Liberty International Airport amid power outages, staffing shortages (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

An American POPE

 

I am not a student of Catholicism, but somehow it just does not seem right for an American to be Pope.  I know there are Cardinals from all over the world and that it is a Cardinal that is elected to be Pope...   but an American???

While this Pope was born in Chicago, IL all of his adult life after becoming a Priest was spent outside the USA.  So, while he is American born, he is not really American lived...  if that makes a difference.

So, my concerns may not be that valid...  however, I have never liked the way AMERICANS try to FORCE their WILLS on other countries, trying to turn their government from whatever form is presently is, to being a DEMOCRACY.  Our Democracy IS NOT FOR EVERYONE; to try and force that to happen is just plain wrong.

I don't like the way the Middle East treats their female citizens but if that is what they want to do, then why the hell should we try to change it?  We shouldn't try...  not even a little bit.

Consequently, when this American Pope tries to influence countries, will it be seen as coming from the church or coming from America?

Will the rest of the world PERCEIVE that President Trump will be convincing this Pope to see things his way?

Perceptions are easily manipulated...

I am probably WRONG, but I think it was a mistake to make an American Pope.

Somewhat Political

Scientists Find 3-Million-Year-Old Tools—But They Were Not Made by Our Ancestors

The discovery is challenging long-held beliefs about the origins of tool use and could alter our understanding of early human evolution.

TheNyayanga Site In South West Kenya. T.W. Plummer/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project | The Daily 

Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel


Archaeologists in southwestern Kenya have uncovered stone tools that are estimated to be up to 3 million years old. These tools, which may be the oldest of their kind ever discovered, were found near fossils of Paranthropus, a distant relative of modern humans.

A Surprising Discovery in Nyayanga
The tools were found at the Nyayanga archaeological site, located near Lake Victoria in southwestern Kenya. This site, excavated between 2014 and 2022, yielded over 300 stone tools made primarily from quartz and rhyolite.

These tools are classified as Oldowan, the earliest known stone tool technology, previously thought to be linked exclusively to the genus Homo.

READ MORE...

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love/Sweet Home Chicago | The Blues Brothers...

Good Morning

 

Good Evening

 

Flowers

 

Fruit

 

Iris

 

VINCE

 

Sarah Westall

 

Orbits

 

Boxes

 

Colorful

 

Decision

 

NewsVariable

 

TimecastIRL

 

Robert Reich

The Grift That Keeps on Grifting
Trump just can’t resist bribes






Friends,

Trump is overplaying his hand.

Not just by usurping the powers of Congress and ignoring Supreme Court rulings. Not just abducting people who are legally in the United States but have put their name to opinion pieces Trump doesn’t like and trucking them off to “detention” facilities. Not just using the Justice Department for personal vengeance. Not just unilaterally deciding how much tariff tax American consumers will have to pay on almost everything they buy.

Polls show all these are tanking Trump’s popularity.

But one thing almost all Americans are firmly against — even many loyal Trumpers — us bribery. And Trump is taking bigger and bigger bribes.

Yesterday it was reported that he’s accepting a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane worth at least $400 million from the Qatari royal family, for use during his presidency and for his personal use afterward.

READ MORE...

At A Glance

Doctor gives science-backed advice for aging.

Time appears to slow when exercising.

Study finds 44% of Americans trust all or most neighbors.

How millennials, boomers, and Gen Xers travel.

Elizabeth Holmes' partner launches medical test startup.

New AI company creates Lego structures from text prompts.

Liam and Olivia top list of 2024 baby names in the US.

See still life series of frozen flowers.

Clickbait: A professional cuddler.

Imagine your Healthy Body

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

How does the Federal Reserve work?
Known casually as “the Fed,” the century-old independent central bank sets the interest rates determining how much ordinary people pay for mortgages, car loans, and more, all to achieve its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment (read 101).

After the panic of 1907, major US financiers and lawmakers worked to draft a uniquely American plan for a so-called Federal Reserve system. To avoid public backlash, these efforts were shrouded in secrecy, and in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

The Fed is technically an independent, quasi-governmental agency, meaning it operates without requiring government approval. Its board of governors, led by a chair, must report to Congress.

... Read our full deep dive on the Fed here.

Also check out...
> Ranking all 16 Fed chairs by stock market performance. (More)
> Six ways the Fed impacts your money. (More)
> The life span of a dollar bill. (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Health Update

 

Recently, I had a PET scan, my last PET scan was 2023; however, I've been receiving CT scans every 3-4 months instead, so I was due for one.  The PET scan was set up to detect both Melanoma and Lymphoma.

The results indicated that there was not metabolic activity relative to Melanoma but that my Lymphoma had increased in size.    My Oncologist was not too worried about that until I shared with him that I had been having night sweats almost every   night.

He increased the dosage of the daily pills I take and is considering trying a different medication or adding a previous med (infusion) for a short term or even doing a biopsy and sending it off to a lab that develops targeted treatment protocols.

Needless to say, I am a little concerned by his "I'm not too worried" approach yet his approach had kept me alive for the last 16 years, and there was a time during those 16 years that he was concerned that everything he was trying was not working.

While you need to take responsibility for the management of your healthcare, there comes a point-in-time where one just has to trust the doctor.

Somewhat Political

Scientists have been wrong for 200 years: Viking ships at the bottom of the sea turned out to be something else entirely

 

Archaeologists from the Stockholm Shipwreck Museum hope to secure funding for further research and excavation of the relatively well-preserved ship, found 20 km off the coast and with several masts still attached, which they now doubt may have been a Viking ship.

“This ship represents a fascinating transition from medieval to modern shipbuilding.” Viking Age ships (and all other ships from the Nordic countries before that) were built with clinker, long planks of the hull overlapping each other; but in hand-built ships, they lie side by side.

READ MORE...

Joan Baez - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Live Norway 78)