Wednesday, June 25
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Dolly Parton sets six-concert mini-residency in Las Vegas Dec. 4-13; Parton's last full concert series was in 2016 (More) | Maroon 5 announces new album and 23-date US arena tour (More)
> Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic seek five-year prison sentence for Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco, who is on trial for sexual abuse of a minor; a verdict is expected Thursday (More)
> Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tore an Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, could miss entire 2025-26 season (More) | New York Jets owner Woody Johnson buys 43% stake in English Premier League's Crystal Palace for $254M (More)
Science & Technology
> Study reveals rare genetic mutation that delays the onset of Alzheimer's works by tamping down inflammation in the brain; findings may lead to new treatments for the disease (More) | Alzheimer's explained (1440 Topics)
> Engineered E. coli bacteria turns plastic waste into acetaminophen, the key ingredient in painkillers like Tylenol; molecule is currently made from fossil fuels via chemical reaction discovered in 1872 (More)
> The physical structure of food, including whether cells are intact or have been broken apart, influences what types of hormones are released in the gut; study sheds light on natural production of insulin, GLP-1, and more (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq +1.0%) as oil prices drop over 7% amid US entry into Israel-Iran conflict (More) | Compass sues Zillow for allegedly violating federal antitrust laws to maintain dominance over digital home listings (More) | US existing home sales rise 0.8% month over month in May; median home price of $422,800 is up 1.3% from a year ago (More)
> Tesla shares rise 8% a day after launching autonomous robotaxis in Austin (More) | Hims & Hers Health shares drop nearly 35% after Novo Nordisk ends partnership over telehealth provider’s sales of Wegovy copycats (More) | … and Novo Nordisk shares drop over 5% following disappointing weight-loss trial results (More)
> Legal AI startup Harvey raises $300M at $5B valuation (More) | FTC greenlights Omnicom's $13.5B acquisition of rival Interpublic but bars ad boycotts based on political content; decision enables creation of world’s largest ad agency (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Supreme Court ruling allows Homeland Security to deport migrants with criminal convictions to countries where they have no previous connection, putting a hold on lower court ruling after eight migrants were deported to South Sudan in May (More)
> New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) directs state's public electric authority to build first major zero-emissions nuclear power plant in the US in over 15 years (More)
> French police detain 12 suspects after 145 people—many of them young women—report being jabbed with needles at country's annual music festival (More)
Summertime
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Summertime, school free time, was between Memorial Day and Labor Day and the only time that we lost part of June was, if and when, our snow days did not cover the number of days we were out of school due to snow.
Summertime for me was growing tomatoes and cucumbers in an 7X10 foot garden out behind the house and then walking around the community with a basket trying to sell what I grew for money. Most of the time, I sold everything to neighbors who were just trying to be nice.
Summertime for me was also mowing lawns of neighbors close by who wanted to help out. I charged more money if I had to use my mower and my gasoline as opposed to their mower and their gasoline.
Summertime was when my mother bought me my only pair of tennis shoes that I had to wear for the next year, even if they were falling apart several months later. I got one pair of tennis shoes and that was it. Knowing that did not stop me from wearing those shoes into the ground.
Summertime meant there was no school and no homework, but my mother put a word on the refrigerator and by dinnertime, my sister and I had to know how to spell that word and use it correctly in a sentence.
Summertime meant that there were daily chores and weekly chores that needed to be done before I could leave the house to play, regardless of who came over wanting me to go somewhere. My parents, especially my mother was not to be bribed by their early presence.
Summertime in 2025 is not the same as summertime in 1955 or even 1960. It was a different time back then... a time that it, seems to me, favored children.
NASA Detects Massive Earth Anomaly Expanding Rapidly and Threatening the Entire Continental United States
The recent discoveries by NASA regarding the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) have captured the attention of scientists worldwide. This anomaly, located in the South Atlantic Ocean and parts of South America, is characterized by an expanding magnetic field disturbance.
Tuesday, June 24
Robert Reich
With students and friends a half-century younger
Friends,
I’m 79 years old today.
I’m spending most of my time with people 50 years younger — my graduate students, my colleagues at Inequality Media Civic Action, and young people to whom I give lectures and seminars.
We communicate over a vast chasm of half a century. They have no direct memories of Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt, the Vietnam War, or when JFK was killed. They barely remember 9/11. They find it hard to believe that I grew up before the internet. That I was born before television. When I tell them I once worked for Gerald Ford, they look at me like I’m a fossil.
I am a fossil.
A few days ago several of them sat around a big oak table in my house and asked me questions.
At A Glance
A physicist explains how atoms form.
Zoom in to explore the tree of life. (best on desktop)
What happens if you toss trash into a volcano? (via YouTube)
Utility workers find 1,000-year-old mummy in Peru.
Salmon-hat-wearing orcas give each other kelp massages.
London's secret tunnels to become spy museum and bar.
The quest for Labubu dolls pushes fans to extremes.
A 1943 three-wheeled car that fit through a doorway.
Clickbait: Man gets stuck in chimney trying to rescue dog.