Friday, May 16
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2025 NFL regular season schedule announced, highlighted by seven international games across five countries (More) | NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round Two continues; see latest bracket and schedule (More) | ... and see latest NBA playoff bracket (More)
> Warner Bros. Discovery to revert its streaming service Max to its original name, HBO Max, beginning this summer (More) | Netflix's ad-supported tier tops 94 million active monthly users, up from 70 million in November (More)
> The 2025 PGA Championship tees off today (12 pm ET, ESPN) from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina; see first round schedule and tee times (More)
Science & Technology
> Google's DeepMind unveils AlphaEvolve, an AI-powered model capable of developing algorithms to solve general-purpose problems and reduce hallucinations by chatbots (More) | Generative AI 101 (More)
> Investigation uncovers "rogue" communication devices inside Chinese-made solar panel power inverters; source of threat not fully determined, experts say devices could allow outside control of the systems (More)
> Engineers develop gel to help speed up coral reef recovery times; the substance accelerated new coral seeding by up to 20 times in lab tests (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.7%), with Nvidia shares continuing to drive up the Nasdaq following US-Saudi investment summit earlier this week (More)
> Stock and cryptocurrency trading app eToro shares jump more than 30% in Nasdaq debut; public trading values the company at around $5.6B, above $4.2B initial public offering valuation (More) | Tesla stock closes up on news Tesla is exploring a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk (More)
> Burberry says it will cut 20% of its global workforce, an estimated 1,700 jobs, by 2027; shares jump 18% on the news (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Direct Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks begin today in Turkey, reportedly without Russian President Vladimir Putin (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) unveils $322B state spending plan for 2025 fiscal year; he reveals $12B state budget deficit, blames higher-than-expected Medicaid costs, and says he plans to end undocumented immigrants' access to state's healthcare program (More)
> Dozens of people reported killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza this week, including in hospitals; Israel says it notified civilians of impending strike, targeted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants (More) | See war updates (More)
Three Cats
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My wife and I have three male cats that are all 12 years old, within months of each other. Two yellow cats and one Siamese.
All three of these cats have completely different personalities.
Tippy is one of the yellow cats who is the youngest but tries to be the bully of the three and usually gets his way. He is overweight because of the steroids we have to give him for a medical condition. He is also the most adventurist and the one who listens best to commands.
Chazy is the other yellow cat and if the records are correct, is the oldest of the three. He is a very skinny cat but eats all the time and drinks a ton of water each day. He was the shyest of the three but is the only one that comes out of hiding when strangers are in the house.
Piper is the Siamese and is the oddest of the three - sometimes, we get the impression he is bipolar based upon his behavior. We also believe that he was not socialized as a kitten and is the most apprehensive. He had a cancer removed on his tail 8-10 years ago and it appears not to have returned.
Chazy and Piper are best buddies, and they are all the time sleeping together, but here recently all three of them sleep together especially in the winter so they can share heat.
Chazy is the noise maker to let us know when it is time for their morning and afternoon snack, but Piper has the loudest voice when it comes time to letting everyone know that he has entered the room or is looking for Chazy.
Their age is of concern to us especially since they have been such an important aspect of our lives. We have revolved our entire lives around their needs.
Quantum Code Cracked: Scientists Solve 20-Year Puzzle Behind Entanglement Purity
Scientists have achieved a major leap in quantum technology by deriving an exact mathematical expression crucial for refining noisy quantum entanglement into the pure states needed for advanced quantum computing and communication.
Their work revisits and corrects flawed theories from two decades ago, pushing the theoretical frontier far ahead of experimental capabilities and setting the stage for future breakthroughs once technology catches up.
Breakthrough in Quantum Technology Modeling
A RIKEN mathematical physicist, together with a collaborator, has derived an exact mathematical expression for a process that plays a critical role in many quantum technologies. This theoretical breakthrough could help accelerate progress in fields like quantum computing and quantum communication.
Thursday, May 15
Robert Reich
And how to stop him
Friends,
People keep asking: How can Trump do this?
It’s not just a legal question about how Congress and the courts can allow his outright corruption, open use of the Justice Department to target perceived enemies, explicit threats to universities and law firms if they don’t cede their independence to the regime, direct attacks on media that criticize him, and defiant trampling on constitutional rights.
It’s also a question about how a president of the United States can be so utterly and uninhibitedly greedy, vindictive, and desirous of monarchic power at the expense of America’s democratic institutions.
At A Glance
New Zealand's unofficial national fruit is not, in fact, a kiwi.
The longest words in the English language.
A look back at "Final Destination," 25 years later.
Welcome to the golden age of the fried chicken sandwich.
Is the Southern accent fixin’ to disappear?
The surprising benefits of video games.
How certain colors affect our taste in food.
Working long hours can alter brain, new study finds.
Clickbait: "Fowl" play suspected in case of speeding duck.