At A Glance

The dupe economy: why Gen Z and millennials love a cheap, fake luxury item.

Steffen boarding: the quickest way to board a plane.

Ten spots in the US where the water is sparkling blue.

... and why is some water turquoise?

Examples of the realistic, emotional shift in Hellenistic sculpture.

Earwax, also known as cerumen, is actually good for you.

Gene editing could help stop the next potato famine.

How Queen Elizabeth embraced "color-blocking" ensembles late in life.

Seven incredible discoveries of long-lost art.

How do cashews grow, and why are they so expensive?

Visualizing the $5.6T dollar pharmaceuticals industry.

A deeper look at what happened in 1992 at the standoff at Ruby Ridge.

Wild fan theories about the "Wizard of Oz."

Why is manufacturing so important to an economy?

The obsessive business philosophy of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Active shooter near Emory University dead, one officer killed.

A suspected gunman and a police officer are dead after police responded to an active shooter outside the headquarters of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and near Emory University in Atlanta on Friday. No civilians were reported injured, though bullets struck at least four CDC buildings. The shooter's motive is still under investigation as of this writing.



Justice Department subpoenas New York attorney general.

Attorney General Letitia James is under federal investigation for allegedly violating President Donald Trump's civil rights. The subpoenas filed Friday seek records related to two lawsuits James previously filed against Trump, one regarding the Trump Organization and another involving the National Rifle Association. James, a Democrat, has sued Trump and his administration dozens of times over his policies and private business dealings, moves Trump has argued are politically motivated.



Separately, Trump ordered an unspecified number of officers from 16 federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and FBI, to patrol Washington, DC's streets for a week beginning yesterday. Trump also removed IRS commissioner Billy Long less than two months after his confirmation; a reason for the dismissal hasn't been made public as of this writing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner.



Apollo 13 mission leader James A. Lovell Jr. dies at 97.

The former Navy test pilot and four-time space veteran, known for leading the near-disastrous Apollo 13 mission to the moon, died Thursday in Illinois. He orbited Earth twice and the moon once before leading Apollo 13, which was forced to abort its moon landing after an onboard explosion. The famous phrase “Houston, we have a problem,” popularized by Tom Hanks in a film, was based on Lovell’s call to NASA ground control. Lovell earned the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom for his leadership during the mission.



Germany halts military exports for use in Gaza.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indefinitely suspended military exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. The move came hours after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan Friday to occupy Gaza City (see previous write-up here). Merz said he supports Israel’s efforts to weaken Hamas and rescue hostages, but expressed concern over the necessity of increased military action. Germany—alongside the US and Italy—has been one of Israel’s top military equipment suppliers.



Biological sex influences disease risk and immunity.

Research shows genetic sex—biologically defined as the presence of XX chromosomes in females and XY chromosomes in males—affects susceptibility to certain diseases. Women are more prone to autoimmune diseases, while men face higher risks of infectious diseases, partly due to the influence of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone on immune cell behavior. Understanding sex-based immunity could help researchers develop tailored cancer immunotherapies.



LA brush fire forces thousands to evacuate.

A wildfire ignited Thursday afternoon in the mountains of Ventura County, north of Los Angeles. Within 10 hours, it grew to more than 7.6 square miles, forcing some 2,700 LA County residents to evacuate and placing another 14,000 Ventura County residents under evacuation warnings (see latest evacuation orders here). At least 400 personnel, supported by multiple aircraft, have been deployed to fight the blaze. Officials cite extreme heat and low humidity as key factors in its rapid spread.



Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches with brick and mortar in Nashville.

The bankrupt home goods chain is returning as Bed Bath & Beyond Home, with a storefront opening in Nashville yesterday. The original company filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, after which The Brand House Collective acquired its intellectual property. The new owners plan to open dozens more locations nationwide if the Nashville launch proves successful. In a nod to nostalgia, Bed Bath & Beyond Home will accept expired 20% off coupons, which the original stores were known for.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Kingdom Come

 

"My kingdom is not of this world..." said Jesus to Pontious Pilot.

So... 

what do you think that statement means?

Do you take it literally?

Was it spoken as if it were a metaphor?

We can say that world equals earth, so his kingdom is not here on earth.

OR,

does world mean universe?

If that was the case, then it would really have gigantic implications.

Let's stick with earth.

If it is not here on earth, then where is his kingdom?

Somewhere else in the universe...

The universe is damn near endless as far as our ability to travel as fast as the speed of light but even if we had that ability, we could not cover the entire universe in our lifetime.

At this point, we can conclude the Kingdom of Jesus is not on earth and it is somewhere in this vast universe, but we don't know where because no other coordinates were given.

However...

we can also conclude, to some degree, that Jesus, based upon his statement, is an EXTRATERRESTRIAL...

This is all based upon his kingdom statement which we must also conclude is a true statement otherwise why is it in red in most Bibles?

Is God too an extraterrestrial since HIS ONLY SON is an extraterrestrial?

What does that make us, since we were created in his image?

How do you explain the different colors of skin since Jesus obviously WAS NOT CAUCASIAN? 

He was middle eastern, probably born with curly black hair.

Yet...

all the photographs in American churches have Jesus being white.

I mean he is white as white can be...  with his long straight hair and beard.

Why was it so important for American Churches to portray Jesus as white rather than his true nationality as MIDDLE EASTERN?

This is the BIGGEST LIE OF ALL...

Somewhat Political

 

A walking expert says these exercises will help you build up strength

Health and fitness titles like ours often offer advice about increasing step count, hitting a certain number every day and clocking up double-digit mileage for the week.


But what happens when you’ve taken time off from your regular amount of walking? Maybe an illness, an injury or some other misfortune has gotten in the way of getting your steps in. You can end up losing a lot of the basic attributes you need for walking safely, such as balance, strength and stamina.


Milica McDowell, a doctor of physical therapy, exercise physiologist, and VP of operations for Gait Happens, explains what you need to be doing to build up the foundational walking components that will make your return to walking easier.

READ MORE...

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Child | Live at The Capitol Theatre (1985)

Blue Cove

 

Lara Trump

 

Watch

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

Russell Brand

 

Lighthouse

 

The Amber May Show

 

The White House

 

Shade

 

The Big MIG

 

TimcastIRL

 

Table for Two

 

Brookings Brief

How the Texas gerrymandering battle could impact the midterms

Headlines

Roberto Schmidt/Contributor/Getty Images




Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska on Friday to talk Ukraine ceasefire. President Trump announced the meeting yesterday amid the approach of the deadline he had set for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end his country’s invasion of Ukraine or face the imposition of steep “secondary tariffs” on its trading partners. The announcement came as Bloomberg reported that the US and Russia were working to hammer out an agreement that would stop the war but would allow Russia to keep territory it seized in the invasion. However, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have already rejected the idea, saying in a video address early this morning, “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” per the New York Times.

The IRS head is out. Being in charge of the nation’s tax agency doesn’t come with a lot of job security these days: Yesterday, President Trump removed former Rep. Billy Long from the Internal Revenue Service’s top post less than two months after he took it up (his term was set to expire in 2027). Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent will replace Long—who was the sixth IRS commissioner this year—on an interim basis. The shakeup comes after the IRS had shed staff amid Trump’s government worker layoffs and the recently passed legislation Trump supported that made big changes to the tax code. Long said on X that Trump would be appointing him as ambassador to Iceland.

Trump wants a $1b settlement from UCLA. The university is looking for a deal after the Trump administration accused it of civil rights violations related to antisemitism and affirmative action, and both sides told news outlets that the president is seeking $1 billion from the school—a figure UCLA’s president strongly opposed. It’s the first public university to face a funding freeze over such allegations, and the amount sought far exceeds the $221 million deal the administration made with Columbia and the $50 million deal it made with Brown. Meanwhile, the fight between President Trump and Harvard continues to escalate (despite the university reportedly being willing to spend $500 million on a settlement), with Trump threatening to take over Harvard’s patents, per the WSJ.—AR

READ MORE...

At A Glance

Bookkeeping
> $325M: The estimated value of Amadea, a Russian superyacht up for auction after being seized in 2022 by the US.
> 9,000 miles: How far three Scottish brothers are rowing across the Pacific—from Lima, Peru, to Sydney, Australia—to raise money for clean water in Madagascar.

Browse
> Ranking the best cities for a "workation."
> Scientists may have found Australia's heaviest insect.
> Real-time tracking of Bluesky's dictionary coverage.
> How color perception changes as we age.

Listen
> The science of hurricanes and cyclones, also known as tempestology.
> How the economy has been influencing summer travel.

Watch
> The 300-year quest to create lab-grown diamonds.
> Meet the sneaker that took New Balance 43 years to design.
> Inside an LA greenhouse full of the world's rarest plants.

Long Read
> The mostly true story of America's first Black private investigator.
> A truck driver, hotelier, and art conservator revive a Banksy mural.
> Air conditioning as a mechanism of temperature and political control.

Best of the Week: The wild origins of the word "dude."

Historybook: The US drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing over 40,000 (1945); Singer Whitney Houston born (1963); Actress Sharon Tate, four others murdered by Manson Family (1969); Gerald Ford becomes US president as Richard Nixon resigns (1974); Musician Jerry Garcia dies (1995).

The Cheap And Easy LENTIL Dish I Could Eat Every Week

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> NFL preseason kicks off in earnest, with all 32 teams playing through the weekend; see complete preseason Week 1 preview (More)

> Eddie Palmieri, eight-time Grammy-winning Latin music legend, dies at 88; his 1965 hit "Azúcar Pa’ Ti" was inducted into the US Library of Congress (More)

> Paramount and Skydance close on $8.4B merger, more than a year after initial announcement; new company is named "Paramount, a Skydance Corporation" (More)


Science & Technology
> OpenAI releases GPT-5, the latest version of its flagship large language model, to free and paying subscribers; new model is heavily focused on advanced reasoning and carrying out tasks for users (More) | LLM explained quickly (1440 Topics)

> Astronomers find evidence for a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A; at about 4.4 light years away, the Alpha Centauri system is the closet sun-like star to Earth (More) | How we capture images from space (More, w/video)

> Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is losing thickness via melting at about 18 feet per year, up from about a foot per year between 2000 and 2019, and may be in irreversible decline; site draws 700,000 visitors per year (More) | Climatology 101 (1440 Topics)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq +0.4%) (More) | President Donald Trump to nominate top economic aide Stephen Miran to Federal Reserve board to temporarily fill vacancy (More)

> President Donald Trump signs executive order allowing alternative assets like cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate into 401(k) plans and other defined-contribution retirement savings plans (More) | Primer on 401(k) plans (1440 Topics)

> US continuing jobless claims rise to 1.97 million in the week ending July 26, the highest level since November 2021 (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> New US import tariffs kick in for more than 60 countries and the EU, ranging from 10% to 50%, as trading partners attempt to negotiate better deals (More) | See full list of imposed tariffs (More)

> Texas Senate committee votes 6-1 to advance Republican-friendly House map; Republicans say the FBI has agreed to help locate Texas Democrats who left the state to block the quorum needed to pass legislation (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Federal judge temporarily blocks further construction at "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in Florida (More) | See previous write-up (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Greed and Power

 

As a veteran, an American, a retiree, and a southerner, I have supported this country for 77 years, although it was not until I was 18 that I became aware of politics and its implications, so I guess it is really 55 years or for over half a century.

America is NOT PERFECT and will never BE PERFECT, but this country is one hell of a lot better to live in than any other country in the world.  Other countries may have better healthcare systems, working conditions, retirement programs, and other social programs...   BUT NO OTHER COUNTRY has the ability to help out the rest of the world like we do.

AND no other country has the freedoms that we have in this country...  Why do so many people try to illegally enter the USA if this was such a bad place to live and work?

The main problem in the USA has two spearheads that are intertwined.  Those spears are:

GREED 

POWER

Think about it.  Why are parents pushing you to go to college?

So, you can make more money...

The more money you make the more powerful you become.

Right now, our politics is based upon power and the greed for more power.  As President, Trump has the power and the Democrats, states, district attorneys, and judges want to take away his power.

Right now, Trump is trying to get other countries to invest in the USA...  why?

To generate more revenue that will make the USA more powerful and wealthier.

GREED

POWER

The board game MONOPOLY teaches you to win through greed and power.  The more property you own, the wealthier you become.  That wealth gives you more power over the other players.

GREED and POWER is engrained into our thoughts and behavior.  We have to really work at not wanting to become someone with greed and power.

Somewhat Political

 

Neuroscience says 5 simple steps significantly boost memory, learning, and cognition

Since no one ever does anything worthwhile on their own, who you know is important. But what you know — and what you do with what you know — is crucial. Learning, memory, and cognitive skills are a competitive advantage.

Here are five neuroscience-based ways to learn more quickly, and even more importantly, better retain what you learn. Best of all, each takes a couple of minutes at most, and one requires no effort at all.

Say it out loud.
We took the grandkids to surf lessons. They wanted to go back for another session, the instructor was great, so I asked him his name. Problem is, I’m terrible at remembering names.

READ MORE...

Joan Jett - Crimson & Clover / I Hate Myself ( Live )

African Skies

 

VINCE