Wednesday, August 13
How China created super steel for nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion reactors rely on powerful superconducting magnets that must function under intense magnetic fields and at temperatures approaching absolute zero. These extreme conditions place extraordinary demands on the structural materials used, which must remain strong and stable despite the cold and stress.
Finding a material that can withstand both has challenged scientists for decades. Now, researchers in China have introduced CHSN01—China high-strength low-temperature steel No 1—a specially engineered alloy designed to meet these demands.
Tuesday, August 12
Headlines
Alex Wong/Getty Images
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.
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