In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 78th Cannes Film Festival kicks off today in France; see preview of the most anticipated films (More) | Limited series Madonna biopic in development at Netflix (More)

> "The Office" spinoff "The Paper" sets September premiere at Peacock (More) | "Wicked" stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to perform live at a special in November ahead of release of the film's sequel (More)

> The Dallas Mavericks win NBA Draft Lottery for first time, will get top pick in 2025 draft (More) | NBA legend Michael Jordan tapped as special contributor for NBC's NBA coverage starting this fall (More)


Science & Technology
> Weight loss drug Zepbound outperforms rival Wegovy in first head-to-head clinical trial, with Zepbound averaging about 20% drop in weight over 72 weeks compared to just under 14% with Wegovy (More) | How semaglutides work (More)

> Saudi Arabia launches government-backed AI firm Humain to provide a range of data infrastructure capabilities, including Arabic-based large language models; company to be funded from country's $925B Public Investment Fund (More)

> The parasite E. histolytica kills human cells, wearing their components on its outer membrane to avoid detection by the immune system; amoeba is responsible for 50 million infections and about 70,000 deaths per year (More)


Business & Markets
> Perplexity AI reportedly in talks to raise $500M at $14B valuation; AI search engine also plans to release own web browser, Comet, to compete with Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari (More) | Online education firm Chegg to lay off 22% of workforce as students turn to AI-powered tools for assistance (More)

> Treasury Department reports the US collected record $16.3B in customs duties in April, above $8.7B collected during March and more than double the $7.1B a year ago; comes after the US imposed 10% global tariffs on imports last month (More)

> Bitcoin mining company backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. set to go public on Nasdaq through all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining (More) | Coinbase shares rise in after-hours trading as crypto exchange set to join S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Nearly 60 white South Africans arrive at Virginia's Dulles International Airport on a private charter plane; group is the first to arrive in the US following federal directive to fast-track Afrikaners' refugee claims (More) | Who are the Afrikaners? (More)

> President Donald Trump signs executive order directing pharmaceutical companies to lower drug costs to prices in other high-income countries; companies have one month to comply with the order or risk incurring steep limits on earnings (More)

> Hamas releases American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, believed to be the last living US hostage in Gaza; release comes as Hamas pursues ceasefire deal with Israel, including resumption of humanitarian aid (More) | See latest updates (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Living in the South

My wife and I live in East TN between Greeneville and Knoxville.  We are 30-40 minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountains, an hour away from the Bristol Motor Speedway and Dollywood; just thirty more minutes to Gatlinburg.

I have lived in East TN since 1990, and my second wife has lived here since 1978.  We both love this area more than other places we've lived; she is from Virginia, I'm from North Carolina.

When I first got here, TN was considered a back water state and ten years behind the times.  However, Knoxville is the home to the University of TN and just a few miles up the road is OAK RIDGE and Oak Ridge National Labs which receives 80% of DOE's budget and is currently working on a miniature nuclear reactor that will power spaceships.

In addition to Oak Ridge, Gatlinburg, Dollywood, Great Smoky Mountains, U of TN, and NASCAR, TN is the home to country music and NASHVILLE about 3-4 hours away from where we live.

East TN, is a low cost of living area, plenty of land, laid back lifestyle, southern hospitality, minimal crime, low smog, outstanding annual climate and home to Cherokee and Douglas lakes and a multitude of picnic and camping areas, fishing, hiking, and RV parks to take care of all your needs.

People from the north move down to Florida for warmth and sunshine, find Florida not the ideal place to live, and move halfway back to where they started which puts them in East TN.  We call them HALFBACKS.

Check it out but don't move here as we like it just the way it is...   LOL

Somewhat Political

 

Physicists unveil controversial device that generates power from Earth's spin: 'Convincing and remarkable'

Physicists unveil controversial device that generates power from Earth's spin: 'Convincing and remarkable'

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways

Researchers have been on a long quest to harness carbon-free energy from natural processes, from tapping into tidal forces to mimicking the fusion reactions that occur in stars.

Now, a team of physicists is investigating whether the Earth's rotational energy could be a source of sustainable power, according to Futurism.

The concept of generating electricity through the Earth's magnetic field has been floated since at least 1832 when Michael Faraday tested the idea and got a negative result, as stated in a study on the topic.

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How curiosity rewires your brain for change

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Robert Reich

 Trump’s Huge Tariff Hoax

A big lie is at the heart of Trump’s tariffs



Friends,

On Sunday night, the U.S. announced that it is cutting tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent, for 90 days, and that China is dropping tariffs on U.S. goods from 125 percent to 10 percent, also for 90 days.

The stock market soared on the news. (Anyone with inside knowledge of the deal made a killing.)

But what’s the ultimate goal here? What will happen over the next 90 days?

It’s impossible to know what’s in Trump’s mind (other than an insatiable thirst for money and power), but Trump trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro says the “bigger picture is restoring the American manufacturing base.”

In 1970, more than a quarter of American workers held jobs in the manufacturing sector. Today, it’s only about 8%. The Trump regime says sweeping tariffs will reverse this decades-long decline.

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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

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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.

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

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