Thursday, August 14
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Taylor Swift announces her 12th studio album "The Life of a Showgirl"; Swift will appear on the "New Heights" podcast, cohosted by her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, tonight at 7 pm ET to discuss the album (More) | The rise of Taylor Swift (1440 Topics)
> UFC CEO Dana White says a fight night will take place at the White House next year on the Fourth of July as part of the recent streaming deal with Paramount (More)
> Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent are accused in lawsuit of "sabotaging" $240M real estate project (More) | 2025 Little League World Series kicks off today; see complete bracket and schedule (More)
Science & Technology
> Elon Musk threatens lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company artificially boosts OpenAI's app in the App Store; Musk's xAI runs the Grok chatbot, a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT (More)
> Seventy-year-old Parkinson's drug shows effectiveness in boosting the body's immune system against tuberculosis; the world's deadliest infectious disease, TB kills an estimated 1.3 million people per year (More)
> Remains of Dennis Bell, an Antarctic researcher who disappeared in 1959, discovered by Polish team studying a receding glacier on King George Island (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.1%, Dow +1.1%, Nasdaq +1.4%), with S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching record highs (More)
> US consumer price index held steady at 2.7% in July from a year earlier; core inflation—excluding food and energy—rose 3.1% year over year, above forecast of 3% and June's 2.9% annual rise (More) | See breakdown (More)
> Spirit Airlines warns it might not be able to survive without more cash; comes five months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy (More) | How bankruptcy works (1440 Topics) | ... and Kodak warns the 133-year-old US film company may go out of business (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> DC National Guard troops arrest roughly two dozen people on first day of deployment to combat crime in the nation's capital; soldiers will not carry guns in most cases, per officials (More) | Mexico expels 26 high-ranking cartel figures wanted by US authorities in deal with Trump administration (More)
> Gunman who targeted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Friday died by suicide after shooting roughly 200 rounds at CDC buildings (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee is arrested on corruption charges, including bribery; her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is jailed on insurrection charges after briefly declaring martial law in December (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Must have a Hobby
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It is absolutely necessary for you to have a hobby or something else in mind for you to do, once you are retired. My definition of being retired is not working any hours for compensation.
When I first became retired in 2015, I was still teaching classes at night for college students... therefore, I did not consider myself retired.
Being a volunteer is not considered working for compensation, either is playing golf, or helping someone build a deck; but those activities are temporary and short lived, and not really a hobby.
Hobby Ideas
- Scrapbooking
- Beekeeping
- Blogging
- Reading
- Writing
- Gardening
- Woodworking
- Pottery
- Painting
- Making things
I maintain two blogs daily that occupy about two hours of my day. I could double or triple that time by surfing the internet, getting ideas and material to put on my two blogs and maybe someday that is what I will do.
When my blogs are prepared, the rest of my day is spent writing novels, doing research for those novels, and researching ways to self-publish like on Amazon.
I lack 2-3 chapters of completing 13 novels during the nine and a half years of my retirement. If I concentrate, I probably could finish another 4 that have been partially written, giving me 17 in ten years or 1.75 each year. Again, if I hustle, I could probably have 20 completed novels in 11 years of retirement, almost two a year.
My novel writing is my hobby and so far I have not grown bored with it, although there was a time where I did not want to write anything for 6-9 months. I am not sure if I was burned out or had written too much too quickly. But now I am back on track and write each day when I feel like it which might be anywhere from 1-6 hours a day.
The rest of my day is spent on social media and watching TV Series and watch for how writers have put words in their mouths or directed their actions, and describe the situations unfold around them.
If my writing hobby dies then my focus will turn to painting, oils and acrylics more than likely, experimenting with colors and different types of brushes.
At my age, I doubt I will need a third hobby.
China’s 2027 fusion ambition leaves U.S. in the dust
China’s latest fusion project promises to generate five times more power than it consumes, setting a blistering pace unmatched by its American rivals. If successful, this could rewrite the playbook on fusion energy and edge the world closer to a carbon-free future.
At the heart of this endeavor lies the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak—BEST for short—a doughnut-shaped vessel where hydrogen isotopes collide at temperatures hotter than the sun’s surface. I still recall the first time I learned that fusion mimics the processes powering stars; it felt like peeking behind the universe’s curtain.
Thanks to superconducting magnets and advanced cooling systems, the BEST reactor is engineered to sustain plasma long enough to achieve a genuine net energy gain, rather than simply breaking even.
Wednesday, August 13
Headlines
Illustration: Emily Parsons/Google
Perplexity offered to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion. The unsolicited offer from the AI upstart, which reportedly includes several other investors, is nearly double its own $18 billion valuation. Per the Wall Street Journal, Perplexity’s offer may not be a serious attempt to acquire Chrome, but rather a move to convince a federal judge to force Google to sell the web browser by showing that there would be interested parties. After ruling last year that Google operated an illegal search monopoly, the judge, Amit Mehta, is now deciding on an appropriate remedy, including the possibility of ordering that the tech giant break up its empire. Google has resisted calls to sell Chrome, which is believed to be worth between $20 billion and $50 billion.
Trump threatened to sue Powell over Fed building renovations. Trump v. Powell could soon go from a political beef to the literal name of a court case after the president said he is considering allowing a lawsuit against the Fed chair over what he called the “horrible, and grossly incompetent” renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC. After months of President Trump hurling insults at Jerome Powell for not raising interest rates, the two butted heads in person last month when Trump toured the Fed building under construction. Standing next to each other in hard hats, Powell corrected Trump when the president claimed that the cost of the renovation had ballooned to $3.1 billion.
Spirit Airlines doubts it can stay in business much longer. The ultra-low-cost airline known for its bright yellow planes and barebones flying experience has “substantial doubt” it can continue to operate over the next 12 months, it told investors yesterday. Weak domestic demand for travel, in part caused by tariffs, has worsened Spirit’s losses—and unlike larger carriers, Spirit can’t offset them with luxury travel. The airline has tried adding more premium options, but that hasn’t been enough to stop the bleeding. It lost $246 million last quarter, up from a $193 million loss the year before.—AE
Robert Reich
The Senate mustn’t confirm him
Friends,
Sorry to intrude on your inbox again today, but I wanted to alert you to something. Trump’s political hack nominee to become the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the most important source of information about jobs, wages, and the economy — has already begun to f*ck around with the data, and he’s not even confirmed yet.
E.J. Antoni — who’s the chief economist of the Heritage Foundation and was a contributor to its Project 2025 (should tell you all you need to know) — says the BLS should stop issuing a monthly jobs report and instead publish jobs data every three months. He told Fox Business News:
“Until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly job reports but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely, quarterly data. Major decision-makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers, and a lack of confidence in the data has far-reaching consequences.”
At A Glance
California police recover $30K of stolen Labubu collectibles.
... and a man was caught smuggling some 850 turtles, worth over $1M.
Do people really look younger than they used to? (via YouTube)
The best-paying job for every Myers-Briggs personality type.
Lithuania will teach schoolchildren how to build and pilot drones.
Nationwide search for the next golden retriever movie star.
Worst opening lines to use on dating apps—and what to say instead.
... and are engagement proposals losing their serendipity?
Clickbait: This drug can turn your blood into mosquito poison.
Historybook: Sharpshooter Annie Oakley born (1860); Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, dies (1910); Fidel Castro born (1926); Construction of the Berlin Wall begins (1961); Baseball great Mickey Mantle dies (1995); Celebrity chef Julia Child dies (2004).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Paramount purchases UFC streaming rights for all US fights in seven-year, $7.7B deal that begins in 2026 (More)
> Netflix extends creative partnership with Archewell Productions, the media company owned by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (More) | How Netflix changed TV (1440 Topics)
> Texas tops preseason college football AP Poll for first time; Penn State and Ohio State round out the top three (More) | ESPN and Fox to bundle their upcoming streaming services at $39.99/month (More)
Science & Technology
> Amazon launches 24 Kuiper satellites, bringing the total in its space-based internet network to more than 100; satellites were deployed via competitor SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, company's Starlink has more than 8,000 in orbit (More)
> Ford unveils "universal" electric vehicle manufacturing platform, aiming to streamline production across different model types; company to release a four-door electric pickup for $30K in 2027 (More) | The surprisingly long history of electric cars (1440 Topics)
> Study suggests oxytocin, also referred to as the "love hormone," plays a role in the selectivity of social connections; oxytocin-deficient rodents took up to a week to form bonds, compared to 24 hours for control group (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.3%) as investors await key inflation reports this week; consumer price index due today and producer price index expected Thursday (More) | Wall Street's architecture explained (1440 Topics)
> President Donald Trump signs executive order extending the US tariff truce with China for another 90 days (More) | Trump administration cancels tariff talks with Brazil as nation faces 50% levies (More) | Trump to nominate EJ Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics (More)
> Lithium stocks surge amid concerns over tightening supply after top EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology announces suspension of major Chinese mine; company cites expiring permit, says it's working to renew (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Israeli airstrike kills five Al Jazeera journalists and cameramen in Gaza Sunday, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif; Israel says al-Sharif led a Hamas cell, has not publicly provided evidence as of this writing (More)
> Federal judge denies Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury materials in the case of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell; cites “rule of secrecy” in grand juries and says information contained is largely public knowledge (More) | Read the ruling (More)
> Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay dies two months after being shot at a political rally (More) | See previous write-up (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Vacations on the Outer Banks
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I remember going on vacations as a boy with my older sister and younger brother. Most of the time, we would spend two weeks on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at Kitty Hawk, just south of where highway 158 dead ends at the ocean highway.
There are two highways that connect the mainland with the Outer Banks, 158 is the northern road and 64 at Manteo is the southern road.
My parents would rent a pink cottage that was a quarter mile west of the beach road. At the time we were there, it was the only cottage in the area, since the Outer Banks were not bothered by many tourists at that time. There was a small lake to the south of the cottage that had an island in the center. A rowboat was moored at the edge of the lake nearest to the cottage that we sometimes used to get out to the island.
In the mornings, we would pack what we needed to spend a day at the beach - everyone had to carry something - my dad carried the most but shared carrying a cooler with our mother. We had to stop and rest a couple of times before we arrived. We would have an umbrella, towels, toys, and something to eat and drink but no chairs. We sat on blankets or on the sand itself.
Two weeks is a long time to spend at the beach and while our parents were very careful about the children spending too much time in the sun, but the second week, that is all we did and after two weeks, there was not much white skin left.
All of our meals were either eaten in the pink cottage or on the beach (usually lunch) and not once did we got out for dinner or breakfast at a restaurant. We went out for groceries or to shop if it was raining or to see the production of THE LOST COLONY. Once we experienced the outdoor drama we never went back.
The pink cottage had a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and four small bedrooms of which we used three. There was no heat, and no air conditioning units attached to the house, but each room had a portable fan. I remember that some nights it was difficult to get to sleep even when there was a breeze.
After my parents sold their houses on the Outer Banks; on was on the beach front and purchased from the previous owner; the other was built by my parents right across the street, we never as a family or sibling returned either collectively or by ourselves.
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