How politics is weakening America’s weather service
Tuesday, August 26
Headlines
SAUL LOEB / AFP
Trump fires Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Escalating his pressure on the independence of the central bank, President Trump yesterday posted a letter on Truth Social saying he was firing the Fed board member, citing allegations that she had lied on mortgage loan documents. The president can only remove Fed officials for cause, and Trump’s letter said the allegations against Cook—which were raised by his ally Bill Pulte, the leader of the Federal Housing Finance Agency—provided that cause. It was not immediately known whether Cook, who previously said she would not be “bullied” out of her role, would sue over the president’s decision, but if she does, it would likely ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court. Trump, who wants the Fed to lower interest rates, has also threatened in the past to fire Chair Jerome Powell.
Judge blocks deportation of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia for now. A Maryland federal judge ruled yesterday that the US is “absolutely forbidden” from removing Ábrego Garcia—whose case became a flashpoint in debates over the Trump administration’s immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador—from the country until she hears further legal arguments. Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national whom the US charged with human smuggling and accused of being a gang member after bringing him back to the States, faces possible deportation to Uganda after being detained by ICE days after a judge ordered his release from jail.
Beleaguered property giant China Evergrande delisted from HK exchange. Capping off its fall from grace, the developer—which was once valued at $51 billion and helped fuel an economic boom in China—was removed yesterday from the exchange, where its shares had been suspended since January 2024 after it was placed in liquidation. Evergrande had been China’s largest developer by sales, but it also racked up more than $300 billion in debt. It quickly contracted when the government cracked down on lending and property sales slumped, and its collapse rippled through China’s economy.—AR
Robert Reich
Fascist capitalism will do him in
Friends,
I’m old enough to remember when American politics was divided between those who wanted less government (they were called “conservatives,” or the Right) and those who wanted more social safety nets (called “progressives,” or the Left).
It’s hard to find Right or Left these days. Instead we have something no one has ever seen in America — a personal takeover of nearly all the institutions of government and, increasingly, the private sector, by a would-be dictator.
Trump is on the way to occupying Democratic-led cities with the Army, National Guard, and ICE — in what appears to be a dress rehearsal for the 2026 midterms.
He is telling Republican states to super-gerrymander in order to squeeze out more Republican seats in Congress, to help retain Republican control of the House after the 2026 midterm elections.
At A Glance
Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte returns today.
... and Spain's "Tomatina" street fight turns 80 tomorrow.
A woman tried to get an AI chatbot to break up with her.
After the kiss cam scandal, Coldplay aids a proposal. (w/video)
NFL calls are about to get more precise.
These features could be coming to your iPhone soon.
Welcome to America's most expensive house.
Netflix recommends shows based on your zodiac sign.
Clickbait: That's how bald eagles really sound? (w/audio)
Historybook: Mother Teresa born (1910); 19th Amendment, granting US women right to vote, takes effect (1920); First televised Major League Baseball game (1939); 13 US military personnel, more than 169 Afghans killed during suicide bombing at Kabul airport (2021); Television host Bob Barker dies (2023).
A woman tried to get an AI chatbot to break up with her.
After the kiss cam scandal, Coldplay aids a proposal. (w/video)
NFL calls are about to get more precise.
These features could be coming to your iPhone soon.
Welcome to America's most expensive house.
Netflix recommends shows based on your zodiac sign.
Clickbait: That's how bald eagles really sound? (w/audio)
Historybook: Mother Teresa born (1910); 19th Amendment, granting US women right to vote, takes effect (1920); First televised Major League Baseball game (1939); 13 US military personnel, more than 169 Afghans killed during suicide bombing at Kabul airport (2021); Television host Bob Barker dies (2023).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Tommy Fleetwood wins 2025 PGA Tour Championship to take FedEx Cup title and $10M top prize (More)
> Jerry Adler, actor best known for starring role in "The Sopranos," dies at age 96 (More)
> Chinese Taipei tops Nevada 7-0 to win first Little League World Series title since 2017 (More)
Science & Technology
> Meta to partner with AI startup Midjourney to license the company's image and video generation technology (More) | What is generative AI good for? (1440 Topics)
> Researchers discover deep sea microbes that collaborate via electrical signals to consume methane seeping from the ocean floor; neither of the two microbe species can break down the molecule on their own (More)
> New study reveals random and inherited genetic mutations can interact to raise the risk of developing blood cancers; findings may lead to new early detection methods (More) | The difference between healthy and cancerous cells (1440 Topics)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher Friday (S&P 500 +1.5%, Dow +1.9%, Nasdaq +1.9%), with Dow closing at record high following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments seeming to signal lower interest rates (More) | How raising rates can help fight inflation (1440 Topics)
> European and Asian postal services suspend service to the US ahead of the expiration of "de minimis" this Friday; the tariff exemption for packages valued below $800 allowed 1.4 billion packages to enter the US duty-free last year (More) | The early 20th century era of tariffs (1440 Topics)
> Waymo gets approval to test self-driving vehicles in New York City, with trained safety officer in the front seat; won't pick up passengers yet (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> US immigration officials plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda if he rejects plea deal on human smuggling charges, refuses deportation to Costa Rica (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Russia accuses Ukraine of launching a drone that causes a fire at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant; Russia launched over 70 drones, one ballistic missile at Ukraine as the country celebrated its 34th Independence Day (More)
> More than 30 million people in the US have been under extreme weather and heat alerts over the weekend, including in California, Oregon, and Washington (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
AI/Robots & Job Replacement
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By 2030 (just a little over 4 years from now), 92 million jobs will be lost due to AI and robots... However, 170 million jobs COULD BE created by AI and robots. When AI is asked what's the probability that those 170 million new jobs could be filled by robots as well....
The answer is, that's the real question, isn't it. Adding, these numbers are being generated by leaders in the AI/Robot industry...
So, what that tells me is that these leaders DO NOT WANT TO GENERAL PUBLIC TO PANIC UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE...
These same industry leaders told us back in 2020 that 92 million jobs would not be lost until 2040 or later...
WTF???
Did they LIE?
Did they INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD?
What are some of the unintended consequences of AI/Robots replacing job?
- A strain on unemployment insurance
- Who pays after the unemployment insurance runs out
- Who finances the debt that cannot be paid off
- Who buys the products that robots make
- What are the costs of retraining
- What happens to those who cannot be retrained
- Will the idle mind create more crime
- What will happen to the drug industry
- Will there be a guaranteed annual income
- Who foots the bill for a guaranteed annual income
- What will happen to military recruitment
- Will wars be fought by robot soldiers
Obviously, the powers that be, and the industry leaders, have not THOUGHT THROUGH all the unintended consequences that AI/Robots replacing human workers will generate.
I'm just glad I'm retired!!!!!
Forget materialism, a simple life is happier, research shows
In an age where billionaires and conspicuous consumption are increasingly on display, new Otago-led research shows a simple life really is a happier life.
The study led by the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka Department of Marketing researchers has been published in the Journal of Macromarketing.
After setting out to understand the relationship between consumption and well-being, the researchers found people are happier and more satisfied when adopting sustainable lifestyles and resisting the temptations of consumerism.
Monday, August 25
Headlines
Vanderwolf-Images/Getty Images
De minimis exemption to end Aug. 29 for many countries, prompting confusion. Germany’s Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany, France’s La Poste, and Spain’s Correos postal services have announced they are temporarily suspending at least some shipments of merchandise from businesses to US customers. The news comes as the de minimis exemption for low-value parcels shipped from international destinations to US consumers goes away for all nations this week—China and Hong Kong were already barred from using it in May. While the move will raise costs for imports, the bigger issue for parcel companies is the increased paperwork, which they will be using the pause on shipments to figure out.
Keurig Dr Pepper close to buying Peet’s, WSJ says. In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal reported that the American beverage conglomerate wants to slurp up Amsterdam-based JDE Peet’s, which calls itself the “world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company,” for $18 billion. While the outlet’s sources said the discussions “could always fall apart,” they also said that the combined entity would split out its coffee unit from its beverage unit—all but prognosticating that the world will never get a Dr Pepper Blackberry Coffee K-Cup.
And the weekend’s box-office winner was...K-pop. A streaming company walked an original film into movie theaters and won the top prize at the box office. That’s how the weekend went for Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters, a sing-along version of the animated film musical by the same name that took over the streaming platform this summer. No. 2 at the box office went to the horror movie Weapons, and the Jamie Lee Curtis-Lindsay Lohan reunion Freakier Friday came in at No. 3. Industry watchers note that Netflix broke its own rule of eschewing wide theatrical releases with this offering. The version on the streamer is currently its second-most-watched movie ever.—HVL
Keurig Dr Pepper close to buying Peet’s, WSJ says. In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal reported that the American beverage conglomerate wants to slurp up Amsterdam-based JDE Peet’s, which calls itself the “world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company,” for $18 billion. While the outlet’s sources said the discussions “could always fall apart,” they also said that the combined entity would split out its coffee unit from its beverage unit—all but prognosticating that the world will never get a Dr Pepper Blackberry Coffee K-Cup. And the weekend’s box-office winner was...K-pop. A streaming company walked an original film into movie theaters and won the top prize at the box office. That’s how the weekend went for Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters, a sing-along version of the animated film musical by the same name that took over the streaming platform this summer. No. 2 at the box office went to the horror movie Weapons, and the Jamie Lee Curtis-Lindsay Lohan reunion Freakier Friday came in at No. 3. Industry watchers note that Netflix broke its own rule of eschewing wide theatrical releases with this offering. The version on the streamer is currently its second-most-watched movie ever.—HVL
Robert Reich
Life in the Shadow of the American Dream
Voices of Americans
Friends,
From time to time I come across a personal story about life in Trump’s America that’s so powerful that I want to share it with you. Here’s one, from Andrew Tait. It was originally published in the Daily Yonder on August 1, 2025. (For more rural reporting and small-town stories, visit dailyyonder.com.)
***
My Family Lives in the Shadow of the American Dream
By Andrew Tait
I live in Shenandoah County, Virginia. I’m a factory worker, a farmer, and a father of two girls, one still in diapers. I get up before the sun, and most days I don’t sit down until after it’s gone.
My partner Hannah and I raise our girls on a small farm in the Valley. She works full-time too—though nobody calls it that. She’s a caregiver, a homemaker, a livestock handler, and a mother. She doesn’t get a paycheck. She doesn’t get a break. She doesn’t get counted.
Voices of Americans
 |
| (Andrew Tait and his family, Shenandoah County, Virginia) |
Friends,
From time to time I come across a personal story about life in Trump’s America that’s so powerful that I want to share it with you. Here’s one, from Andrew Tait. It was originally published in the Daily Yonder on August 1, 2025. (For more rural reporting and small-town stories, visit dailyyonder.com.)
***
My Family Lives in the Shadow of the American Dream
By Andrew Tait
I live in Shenandoah County, Virginia. I’m a factory worker, a farmer, and a father of two girls, one still in diapers. I get up before the sun, and most days I don’t sit down until after it’s gone.
My partner Hannah and I raise our girls on a small farm in the Valley. She works full-time too—though nobody calls it that. She’s a caregiver, a homemaker, a livestock handler, and a mother. She doesn’t get a paycheck. She doesn’t get a break. She doesn’t get counted.
At A Glance
TSA announces new luggage rules related to curling irons.
Timelapse of a girl over 20 years.
Burning Man's Black Rock City is America's most unusual town.
Ranking of America's 25 best pizzerias.
Diver finds 30,000 ancient Roman-era bronze and copper coins.
Dozens of teams participate in Lithuania's corgi race.
Meet the world's best air hockey player.
The origins of the term "nerd."
Clickbait: How flies sleep.
Historybook: Matthew Webb becomes first person to swim across English Channel (1875); Singer Aaliyah dies in plane crash (2001); Voyager 1 becomes first human-made object to enter interstellar space (2012); Astronaut Neil Armstrong dies (2012); Sen. John McCain dies (2018).
In The NEWS
Bits of Plastic
Microplastics, explained
Microplastics, or MPs, are tiny plastic particles less than five millimeters long and have become one of Earth's most widespread pollutants. Like synthetic plastics, MPs are mostly made of long chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms, formed by linking byproducts of refining crude oil and natural gas (watch explainer). Other chemical additives may be incorporated to modify the final product’s properties.
Primary MPs, such as microbeads commonly found in exfoliating cosmetic products, are intentionally manufactured to be small. Secondary MPs, like those released while washing synthetic textiles, form from the breakdown of larger plastics and make up the bulk of MPs in the environment (learn why plastic doesn't biodegrade).
As of 2024, the FDA claims there is insufficient evidence that MPs pose any human health risk, though initial biochemical studies have linked them to inflammation and hormone disruption.
... Read our full explainer on microplastics here.
Also, check out ...
> Microplastics are everywhere on Earth—even Mount Everest. (More)
> Locating where microplastics are concentrated in the human body. (More)
> The plastic designed to dissolve in saltwater. (More)
Risks and Returns
Venture Capital, 101
Venture capital is a form of investment that firms use to invest in startups and other emerging organizations with high growth potential. In other words, VC firms bet on companies with hopes that they’ll grow into larger corporate powerhouses.
Venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins are best known for helping fund some of the buzziest business movements of our time, from the cryptocurrency boom to the current AI craze. In 2023, US VC investments totaled roughly $170B, falling significantly from the roughly $242B invested in 2022 (how VCs decide to invest).
These investments are considered highly risky. Roughly 75% of VC-backed companies will fail. That means the other portfolio companies need to provide significant returns to make up for all the companies that don’t yield returns (how these numbers work).
... Read our full overview on VC here.
Also, check out ...
> One VC firm honors the successful companies it missed. (More)
> The annual list of the world's top 100 venture capitalists. (More)
> Explaining venture capital using Lego bricks. (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Illegal Immigrants
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Yes, it is true... our country's strength is because of those illegal immigrants as well as those legal immigrants who entered after LAWS WERE PASSED.
My concern about ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS is NOT because they are immigrants but because they are ILLEGAL.
Yes, it is true... not all illegal immigrants commit additional crimes after breaking the law to enter this country... BUT several of them do.
Their crimes are:
- RAPE
- MURDER
- DOMESTIC ABUSE
- SEX TRAFFICKING
- SELLING DRUGS
- THEFT
Yes, it is true... that many of these illegal immigrants perform the tasks and jobs that Americans REFUSE to do because they are dirty and arduous.
Yes, it is true... that Americans have grown fat, dumb, and happy because of all the privileges they have enjoyed over the years.
Yes, it is true... that Americans take their freedoms for granted as well as their lifestyles and quality of life.
MY OPINION:
We should remove all illegal immigrants and give them an opportunity to enter our country legally, providing they have not committed additional crimes since being in the country illegally.
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