Wednesday, September 17
Headlines
Menahem Kahana/Getty Images
Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City. Following weeks of heavy bombardment and calls for civilians to evacuate, Israel began its ground incursion in Gaza’s most populous city, arguing it was necessary to stop Hamas from planning more attacks. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were photographed fleeing southward, clogging roadways. The operation, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted will take “several months” and could leave the country isolated from allies, was condemned by the UK, Germany, and other European nations. Axios reported that the US supports the operation, but prefers that it end quickly. When asked about the news yesterday, President Trump did not offer a view. “I have to see,” he said. “I don’t know too much about it.”
Robert Redford died at 89. The Oscar-winning director of Ordinary People and star of countless iconic films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men died at his home in Utah “surrounded by those he loved,” his publicist said. Widely considered one of history’s greatest actors and among the most influential people in Hollywood, Redford leveraged his stardom in the late 1970s to create the Sundance Institute and accompanying film festival to support independent cinema. “The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of,” he told the Associated Press in 2018. “But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance.’” He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2016.
Details emerge on the US’ TikTok deal with China. A day after the White House announced it had the “framework” of a deal with China to divest its US TikTok business, the Wall Street Journal reported some of the specifics. Per the WSJ, the app’s US business would be controlled by a consortium including cloud giant Oracle and private investment firms Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz. Users in the US would reportedly have to move over to a new app, which TikTok is already testing. A new board would comprise mostly Americans, one of whom would be appointed by the government. With a deal in the works, President Trump extended the deadline for China’s ByteDance to divest the app’s US operations or be shut down for the fourth time, to Dec. 16.—AE
Robert Reich
Three views
Friends,
Even before anyone knows what motivated Charlie Kirk’s killer, Trump and his lackeys are intensifying their attack on the “radical left,” by which they mean virtually all of their political opponents.
Trump says 95-year-old billionaire philanthropist George Soros “should be in jail” — baselessly accusing the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and founder of the nonprofit Open Society Foundation of funding protesters and demonstrations against the Trump administration.
Trump also asserts that the loosely aligned group of left-wing protesters known as “antifa” — a shortening of anti-fascist — should be designated a “terrorist organization.”
At A Glance
Streaming services are changing how we watch sports.
Kodak shrank the digital camera to a 1-ounce keychain.
Inside the life span of a dollar bill.
Chemists solve color mystery in Jackson Pollock painting.
"Friends" Central Perk coffeehouse coming to Times Square.
World's oldest known mummies were smoke-dried.
Transform food waste into a cupholder or vase with this 3D printer.
University of Michigan's "Wicked" halftime show. (w/video)
Clickbait: David Bowie's unfinished musical.
Historybook: US Constitution is signed (1787); Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery for the first time (1849); Actress Anne Bancroft born (1931); Camp David Accords signed providing framework for Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1978); Vanessa Williams becomes first Black woman crowned Miss America (1983).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Swedish American pole vaulter Armand Duplantis breaks world record for 14th time at 2025 World Track and Field Championships (More) | See latest schedule and results (More)
> Sunday's Primetime Emmy Awards haul in 7.4 million viewers, an 8% increase over last year and the most since 2021 (More)
> Pulitzer Prize finalist Arthur Sze tapped as the 25th US poet laureate (More) | Read a selection of Sze's poems (More)
Science & Technology
> Apple launches iOS 26 across software platforms, including "Liquid Glass" visual theme, AI-powered live translation, and messaging customizations (More)
> Scientists pinpoint neural circuit and cell type behind optical illusions; finding may inform treatments for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders (More)
> Researchers use machine learning to develop 3D system that enables more precise analyses of fetal development (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq +1.0%); investors await Federal Reserve policy decision tomorrow (More) | Alphabet becomes fourth company to surpass $3T market cap, joining Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple (More)
> Elon Musk purchases $1B worth of Tesla shares (More) | CoreWeave, Nvidia sign $6.3B cloud computing capacity deal (More)
> Ford Motor to relocate headquarters for first time in 70 years, 3 miles from current headquarters—dubbed "The Glass House"—in Dearborn, Michigan (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> President Donald Trump says the US military struck a boat allegedly ferrying drugs from Venezuela to the US yesterday, killing three people onboard; airstrike comes nearly two weeks after a first strike killed 11 people on a speedboat (More)
> Suspect in Charlie Kirk's murder is due to be charged today after allegedly confessing in private messages and on social media app Discord; the FBI says DNA tied him to the crime (More) | Vice President JD Vance hosts Kirk's show (More)
> Senate confirms White House economist Stephen Miran for a seat on the Federal Reserve’s governing board (More) | Appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to unseat Fed Governor Lisa Cook while his attempt to fire her is litigated in court (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Truth
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TRUTH IS ONLY THAT
WHICH CAN BE PROVEN
IN A COURT OF LAW
And, I would say that I wholeheartedly agree with that because I have seen the truth being disregarded by a supposedly jury of my peers.
I have also heard that the people who win the wars write the history books... and I believe that as well... because America's history has always been slanted to favor Caucasian Society.
However, the truth that I still cannot figure out is why Christian Churches in the USA have framed photos of Jesus being portrayed as Caucasian when that is clearly NOT THE TRUTH.
When I was living with my parents, truth was whatever they said it was. When I was in the military, truth was whatever a superior said it was. When I was in college, truth was whatever the professor said it was. When I was in the workforce, truth was whatever my boss or supervisor said it was. When I was married, truth was whatever my wives said it was.
It appears that the Arabs have a different truth than do the Jews. Americans have a different truth than the Chinese or Russians. Africans have a different truth than Europeans.
Mormons believe that having multiple wives is the only truthful way to live... and while that truth has some obvious advantages, I would say it has some obvious disadvantages as well.
However, there are some truths that cannot be denied:
- Each day has 24 hours
- We have one sunrise/sunset each day
- There is gravity on earth
- Each hour has 60 minutes
- Human beings are born and they die
- We must have air to breathe, food, water, and sleep to live
- Only women can get pregnant
Truth is one's perception of reality and we have made the assumption that the reality in which we live is in and of itself a truth.
Understanding the Hilbert Curve
3D Hilbert curve with 4 bits per axis traversing 4096 points (Image by author)
Space-filling curves (SFC) are fascinating mathematical constructs with many practical applications in data science and data engineering. While they may sound abstract, they’re often hiding in plain sight—behind terms like Z-ordering or Liquid Clustering (used, for example, in platforms like Databricks). If you’ve worked with large-scale data platforms, chances are you’ve already used SFCs without realizing it.
Despite its relevance in modern systems, information on this topic is often fragmented, making it difficult to bridge theory and practice. This article aims to bridge that gap, while focusing on the Hilbert curve.
Tuesday, September 16
Headlines
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Elon Musk buys $1b worth of Tesla shares. The Tesla CEO is putting his money where his electric cars are, buying 2.57 million shares, in a show of confidence in the company as its shareholders prepare to vote on a pay package that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Investors and analysts cheered his first purchase of the stock in the open market since February 2020, sending the share price up 3.26% yesterday—putting it up 85% from its April low to erase its losses for the year. But Musk’s big potential payday also gained a notable detractor: Pope Leo criticized the disparity between worker and CEO salaries, specifically referencing Musk’s potential package and saying, “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
China says Nvidia violated its antitrust laws. While there may be signs of a thawing over TikTok (see above), there were still some frosty signals as the US and China continued trade talks yesterday. Chinese regulators said that California-based Nvidia ran afoul of its antimonopoly rules during its 2020 purchase of Israeli networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies. China did not say what remedies it might seek from Nvidia, but this isn’t the chipmaker’s first time being caught between Washington and Beijing, since it has also had its sales to China curtailed by US export controls. Nvidia said it was in compliance with the law and would continue to cooperate with government agencies “as they evaluate the impact of export controls on competition in the commercial markets.” US announces deadly strike on another alleged drug boat. President Trump said on Truth Social that the military had killed three “male terrorists” in a strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela in international waters. Tensions were already running high between the US and Venezuela after a previous strike two weeks ago killed 11 people on a boat that the US said was transporting drugs, allegedly with a connection to the Tren de Aragua gang. Venezuela and some scholars in the US had raised questions over whether that strike was legal, but with the second strike, the administration appeared to be doubling down on the aggressive strategy.—AR
Robert Reich
And if so, why?
Friends.
In the wake of last week’s murder of Charlie Kirk, the phrase “civil war” has spiked on social media and in Google searches. Trump has blamed the left for what he says was “savage rhetoric” leading to Kirk’s death and has vowed to go after “those who contributed to this atrocity.”
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have lashed out at each other and are ever more fearful for their own safety. People who castigated Kirk and his views have been targeted and exposed by right-wing influencers.
One historian told me that our current political moment parallels the 1850s, in the lead-up to the Civil War — including the deployment of troops to American cities, widespread disillusionment with the Supreme Court, and spasms of political violence, especially from disaffected young men.
At A Glance
How US currency has evolved over 250 years.
Dive deep with a marine scientist leading his first expedition.
How chronic stress alters the brain.
Ranking America's hidden-gem housing markets.
Japan yet again sets the record for most centenarians.
Wailing infants give adults hot flushes.
Why most windmills have three blades. (w/video)
These are the most-searched pumpkin spice recipes.
Clickbait: Mahiri the giraffe uses an inhaler.
Historybook: Pilgrims depart from England on the Mayflower (1620); Actress Lauren Bacall born (1924); American musician BB King born (1925); Historian and author Henry Louis Gates Jr. born (1950); Golfer Bryson DeChambeau born (1993).
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