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Tuesday, August 12
Headlines
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President Trump ordered takeover of Washington, DC, police dept. and activated National Guard. In a press conference yesterday, Trump announced he was declaring a state of emergency in DC to remove homeless encampments and “take our capital back.” Because said capital is a federal district in addition to being a city, Trump has the latitude to enact the plan, which included declaring a “crime emergency” in Washington, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under the control of Attorney General Pam Bondi, and directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate 800 members of the National Guard. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said she would follow the law, but characterized the situation as a “so-called emergency,” and noted that violent crime in the city has fallen since 2023, which the Justice Department confirmed in January of this year.
Two people died in an explosion at a US Steel Plant. The incident occurred at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Clairton, PA, just before 11am ET yesterday. Two people were found dead, and 10 others were injured. Many of the injuries were non-life-threatening, according to Allegheny County Emergency Services. The explosion occurred inside a battery operating area of the plant and triggered several secondary explosions, according to officials. The cause of the incident is still under investigation. About 1,300 employees work at the Clairton site.
Trump signed order extending tariff truce with China for 90 days. The executive order came down just hours before a key deadline, which is now November 9, and was expected following a third round of talks between US and Chinese officials in Stockholm in July. The two countries first reached a 90-day truce in May, at which time the US lowered its tariffs on China to 30% and China lowered its tariffs on the US to 10%, while also resuming exports of rare earth metals. This latest delay gives Trump a chance to meet with Putin, which he’s scheduled to do this Friday, before taking action on China regarding its purchase of Russian oil. It also means the trade detente will be in place when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the same international meeting in South Korea in October.—HVL
Robert Reich
It would be communism under any other dictator
Friends,
If “state capitalism” were proposed by Democrats or progressives, it would be considered socialism or communism. Done by a neofascist president — as chronicled by the The Wall Street Journal — it’s simply considered inefficient (as the Journal concludes).
But Trump’s state capitalism is already large and growing, and it’s profoundly altering what we once thought of as the private sector. Consider what Trump has done in recent weeks:
- Allowed Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to license artificial intelligence chips to China on condition they pay the United States 15 percent of the money they make.
- Demanded that Intel’s CEO resign (the CEO met with Trump yesterday to plead his case).
- Proposed that the Defense Department take a 15 percent stake in MP Materials, which mines critical minerals.
- Allowed Nippon Steel to take over U.S. Steel on condition that Nippon pay a “golden share” of the proceeds to Washington.
- Reserved the right to personally direct some $1.5 trillion of promised investment from America’s trading partners into the United States.
At A Glance
Remember over 421,000 fallen American World War II heroes.
The history of Disappointment Island. (via YouTube)
AOL is pulling the plug on dial-up internet.
Drones reveal major nesting site of endangered Amazon turtles.
Every continent's most turbulent flight route.
... and what flying has looked like through the decades.
Best bars across Europe, according to locals.
McDonald's drops its adult Happy Meal today.
Clickbait: The first artificial tongue that can taste like a human's.
Historybook: Egyptian queen Cleopatra dies by suicide (30 BCE, estimated); James Bond creator Ian Fleming dies (1964); IBM personal computer is released (1981); Sue, largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, discovered (1990); Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall dies (2014).
The history of Disappointment Island. (via YouTube)
AOL is pulling the plug on dial-up internet.
Drones reveal major nesting site of endangered Amazon turtles.
Every continent's most turbulent flight route.
... and what flying has looked like through the decades.
Best bars across Europe, according to locals.
McDonald's drops its adult Happy Meal today.
Clickbait: The first artificial tongue that can taste like a human's.
Historybook: Egyptian queen Cleopatra dies by suicide (30 BCE, estimated); James Bond creator Ian Fleming dies (1964); IBM personal computer is released (1981); Sue, largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, discovered (1990); Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall dies (2014).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Seventeen-year-old Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera wins US women's gymnastics all-around championship (More) | ... and Asher Hong wins his second US men's title by a record margin (More)
> Bobby Whitlock, keyboardist and cofounder of Derek and the Dominos, dies of cancer at age 77 (More) | Two Japanese boxers die of brain injuries at same boxing event, but separate fights, in Tokyo (More)
> Pennsylvania tops Indiana 1-0 to win the 2025 Little League Softball World Series (More)
Science & Technology
> Health official Vinay Prasad reinstated as top vaccine regulator for the Food and Drug Administration; reversal comes two weeks after being dismissed from the role following criticism from right-wing activist Laura Loomer (More)
> SpaceX's Crew-10 astronauts return to Earth after five months aboard the International Space Station; mission was NASA's first Pacific Ocean splashdown in 50 years (More) | The evolution of SpaceX rockets (1440 Topics)
> Scientists develop platform allowing proteins to evolve thousands of times faster than in nature; approach expected to accelerate new drug discovery for a wide variety of diseases (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher Friday (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.0%), with Nasdaq closing at a record high (More) | How stock markets work (1440 Topics)
> Trump administration weighs public offering of government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac later this year; aims to sell 5% to 15% of shares, raising upward of $30B (More) | A history of US homeownership (1440 Topics)
> HeartFlow, AI-driven company focused on diagnosing coronary artery disease, closes first day of trading up 51.3% Friday, raising $316.7M (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> California's Gifford Fire along the central coast becomes state's largest wildfire in 2025, consuming over 114,000 acres; is roughly 20% contained as of this writing (More)
> President Donald Trump nominates State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as deputy representative of the United States to the United Nations (More)
> William H. Webster, former head of the CIA and FBI, dies at age 101; Webster is the only person to spearhead both US agencies, leading the FBI for most of the 1980s before heading to the CIA for four years (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Labor Costs
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The US has a high standard of living and a relatively low cost of living...
Why do you think that is?
Costs of Goods Sold include:
- Labor costs
- Raw materials cost
- Overhead costs
- Taxes
Labor costs are cheaper in the southern US than they are in the northern US.
Labor costs are cheaper outside the US than inside the US
ISSUE:
Right now, our cost of living is lower because we use foreign labor to produce the items we purchase. If we made those same products at home, we would be paying much more for our items.
EXAMPLE:
California raised the minimum wage to $20/hour which impacted the fast food industry more than anything else, causing many of those companies to shut down and relocate.
What you don't want is for AMERICANS to make stuff because of the wages they demand.
Not only do Americans want higher wages but they want more vacation days and more health benefits than workers from other countries.
Understand this...
We have a lower cost of living because we ship our good in from overseas and NOT BECAUSE we use American labor...
Somewhat of a CATCH 22 is it not???
Theories on dark matter's origins point to 'mirror world' and universe's edge
Science has produced overwhelming evidence that the mysterious substance, which accounts for 80% of all matter in the universe, exists. Dark matter's presence explains what binds galaxies together and makes them rotate.
Findings such as the large-scale structure of the universe and measurements of the cosmic microwave background also prove that something as-yet undetermined permeates all that darkness.
Monday, August 11
Headlines
Andy Manis/Getty Images
Milwaukee hit with flash floods as Midwest experiences major storms. The flash flooding on Saturday led to the city receiving 5.74 inches of rain within hours, prompting it to declare a state of emergency and forcing the Wisconsin State Fair to shut down a day and a half early. The chief of the Milwaukee fire department said dozens of people had been rescued from cars. Significant power outages and property damage were reported. Last night, the National Weather Service warned of “repeated rounds of heavy rain” across the Midwest, Central Plains, and Southwest throughout the day today.
Netanyahu said new military offensive will be wider than first announced. Yesterday, the Israeli prime minister clarified that his security Cabinet authorized attacking “central camps,” which the UN says are housing 500,000 displaced people, and Muwasi, in addition to Gaza City, which was announced last week. He defended the action as necessary to “finish the job.” Also yesterday, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, including reporters Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and three cameramen, who were in a tent for journalists near the hospital’s main gate when it was struck. The Israel Defense Forces said it had targeted al-Sharif, whom it described as “the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas,” allegations that al-Sharif and Al Jazeera previously denied.
Automakers are mostly footing tariff costs. President Trump’s new trade policies have had almost no impact on the price of new cars to date, the New York Times reported, but industry players and analysts are preparing for that to change. Lenny LaRoca, a partner at accounting firm KPMG, said that he believes carmakers will try to focus on cost-cutting for as long as possible, but that he expects prices will start to rise early next year. Tariffs affecting autos and auto parts have already led to losses of $12 billion for the global auto market, the worst since Covid. In response to the global pressure, Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, said earlier this year that he believed that the manufacturing of cars would become “a bit more regionalized.”—HVL
Robert Reich
An important way to fight Trump fascism.
You can organize it.
Friends,
Many of you responded to my “What You Can Do Now” post last Thursday with additional initiatives and ideas.
Here’s a particularly important one.
As you’re painfully aware, Trump’s ICE is rapidly morphing into a national police-state — targeting legal immigrants as well as the undocumented, some of them awaiting their asylum hearings, others working with approved green cards. Many have been hardworking members of their communities for decades.
Soon, 10,000 more ICE agents will join the ranks of this federal police force — covering their faces with masks, wearing no identification badges, and driving unmarked cars — taking people from their homes and jobs and sending them to crowded and unsanitary prison camps like Florida’s new “Alligator Alcatraz” or to prisons in other countries.
At A Glance
Petunia is crowned world's ugliest dog.
Meteorite that crashed into Georgia is older than Earth.
Helsinki goes one year without traffic deaths.
Coral-shaped rock, billions of years old, discovered on Mars.
Humans' connection to nature is down 60% since 1800.
Thieves steal $7K in Labubu dolls from Los Angeles store.
Top Secret D-Day maps bought for $10.
Indiana man grows over 30-foot-tall sunflower.
Do animals get drunk?
Clickbait: Santa's elves begin cycling.
Historybook: Author and historian Alex Haley born (1921); Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak born (1950); Actress Viola Davis born (1965); Final US ground combat troops leave South Vietnam during Vietnam War (1972); Robin Williams dies by suicide (2014).
In The NEWS
Taxing Trade
What are tariffs?
A tariff—a word derived from the Arabic "arafa," meaning “to make known”—is a tax imposed by a government on goods that are imported or exported.
Economically, tariffs aim to protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and influence trade policy. Tariffs can be specific (a fixed fee per unit) or ad valorem (a percentage of the item's value).
Historically, tariffs have served as a primary source of revenue and a means to protect domestic industries, as they make foreign products more expensive—encouraging consumers to purchase locally produced goods. The tools have a checkered history, famously bolstering US textiles, German steel, Japanese cars, South Korean technology, and more, while arguably contributing to major economic downturns like the Great Depression.
... Read our full explainer on tariffs here.
Also, check out ...
> The role of tariffs in ancient Rome. (More)
> Worldwide use of tariffs has trended downward for decades. (More)
> One of America's first acts implemented tariffs. (More)
Frigid Confections
Ice Cream, 101
Whether it’s in a sundae, a cone, or blended into a shake, ice cream is one of the United States’ favorite indulgences—97% of Americans say they like or love the chilly treat. US ice cream production hit 1.31 billion gallons in 2024, with the average American eating a whopping 19 pounds.
Ice cream is the final result of a complex process that blends several ingredients. As it’s being made, the ingredients change significantly throughout the production process, ultimately giving the dish its signature “scoopable” texture.
Ice cream’s celebratory nature brings people together, especially in the days before widespread home refrigeration. In the late 1600s, Paris’s Café Procope first began serving the sweet treat to the public; the trend quickly spread, particularly in Italy, where some parlors have been open since the 1700s.
... Read our full overview on ice cream here.
Also, check out ...
> America's ice cream obsession began under Prohibition. (More)
> George Washington spent thousands on ice cream one summer. (More)
> Visualizing Ben & Jerry's legendary flavors. (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
It's Just the South
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I have always been a southern boy, born and bred and spent my working career down here as well. Not much money to be made when working in the south but the location offers other advantages, such as:
- low cost of living
- low cost of housing
- less traffic-congestion
- less smog-farmland
- recreational parks and lakes
- less crime and violence
The home that I purchased here for $200K would cost me twice that up north or even in certain places in Georgia or North Carolina and Florida.
But, it is the rural south... suburbia... not farms or farmland that is the ideal place to live. Large lots with enough space to plant a row of fence trees for privacy. Close enough to be neighbors but far enough away to where one cannot hear their voices.
We have crime in the south but only in large cities and I suppose that is the same for all states to a certain degree, but crime seems to be more prevalent up north than in the south.
I remember visiting NYC back in the 70s, left the bus station that brought me to town from the airport, and asked a passer by the time, his response (never forgotten) was: What the fuck do l look like a clock!?"
Politeness is what the south has over the north or what some call SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY. It is true, but that too is changing as more and more northerners move down here to escape crime and high taxes.
8 simple ways to live a happy life
We live in a world obsessed with opinions, validation, and the relentless pressure to care—about everything. From social media likes to career status, from family expectations to self-imposed perfection, the weight of “caring too much” can quietly suffocate our happiness.
But here’s the secret: happiness isn’t about doing more, achieving more, or caring more. It’s often about letting go. Letting go of what doesn’t serve you. Letting go of the noise. Letting go of trying to control the uncontrollable.
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