Why liminal spaces are your brain’s secret laboratory
Thursday, October 2
Headlines
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Famed primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91. Goodall, who published groundbreaking research on chimpanzees and became an advocate for the conservation of their habitat, died of natural causes while on a speaking tour in California, her institute announced yesterday. British-born Goodall was 26 when she first went to Tanzania to study chimps, and she took the unusual approach of immersing herself with the animals. During her decades of work, Goodall revolutionized her field by discovering that chimpanzees use tools, fight wars, and engage in other behaviors very similar to those of humans. She also used her renown to raise awareness for environmental causes to protect the chimps from extinction.
Lisa Cook can stay at the Fed for now, SCOTUS says. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in January about President Trump’s firing of the Federal Reserve governor. Until then, Cook will be allowed to stay in her job, the court said yesterday in a brief unsigned order. Trump had asked the justices to let him oust Cook immediately as he continues to pressure Jerome Powell and co. for more rate cuts. The high-profile case over Cook’s firing touches on the independence of the central bank, whose officials can only be axed for “cause.”
Trump admin freezes $18b in NYC infrastructure funding. The administration announced yesterday that it had put on hold federal funds that had been awarded to major projects in New York City, including the construction of a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, and the extension of the Second Avenue Subway. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the decision was made “to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later raising questions about the contracting process for the projects. The move may also be intended to get at Democratic congressional leaders amid the government shutdown, as Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries both represent New York.—AR
Robert Reich
Here’s what’s at stake, and why Dems must hold the line.
Friends,
I’ve been directly involved in government shutdowns, one when I was secretary of labor. It’s hard for me to describe the fear, frustration, and chaos that ensued. I recall spending the first day consoling employees — many in tears as they headed out the door.
In some ways, this shutdown is similar to others. Agencies and departments designed to protect consumers, workers, and investors are now officially closed, as are national parks and museums.
Most federal workers are not being paid — as many as 750,000 could be furloughed — including those who are required to remain on the job, like air-traffic controllers or members of the U.S. military.
So-called “mandatory” spending, including Social Security and Medicare payments, are continuing, although checks could be delayed. (Trump has made sure that construction of his new White House ballroom won’t be affected.)
At A Glance
The most popular Halloween costumes this year.
McDonald’s Monopoly game returns after 10 years.
Inside the hypercompetitive world of becoming a K-pop star. (w/video)
Ranking the longest MLB postseason home runs.
Stephen King tops list of banned authors in US schools.
Strawberries trace back to an 18th-century secret spy mission.
Imagining retirement for the cast of "Friends."
The best train rides in the US for fall foliage.
Clickbait: Crowning the fattest bear of all the bears.
Historybook: Mahatma Gandhi born (1869); Fashion designer Donna Karan born (1948); Thurgood Marshall sworn in as first Black Supreme Court justice (1967); Rock Hudson is first major US celebrity to die from AIDS-related complications (1985); Tom Petty dies (2017).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "KPop Demon Hunters" becomes first English-language film to make Netflix's Top 10 chart for 15 straight weeks (More) | "Reading Rainbow" to return to PBS after nearly 20 years; former librarian Mychal Threets is tapped to host (More)
> Prosecutors are seeking an 11-year prison sentence for Sean "Diddy" Combs over prostitution-related charges; Combs' sentencing is set for Friday (More)
> WNBA signs 11-year deal with new media company Versant to broadcast games on USA Network (More) | Minnesota Wild sign Kirill Kaprizov to an NHL-record eight-year, $136M contract extension (More)
Science & Technology
> OpenAI launches social media app for sharing AI-generated videos, positioning the company to compete with TikTok and YouTube Shorts (More) | OpenAI's revenue reaches $4.3B in the first half of 2025, 16% more than its total 2024 revenue (More)
> Scientists create early-stage human embryos by fertilizing modified DNA from skin cells with sperm; technique could help people overcome infertility or allow same-sex couples to have genetically related children (More) | Watch 1440 explainer (More)
> Archaeologists discover life-sized animal carvings etched into Arabian desert rocks between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, revealing human activity in the arid desert roughly 2,000 years earlier than previously thought (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%); S&P 500, Nasdaq cap off their best third quarter since 2020 while Dow hits new record (More)
> Nvidia's market cap tops $4.5T following string of AI infrastructure deals; chipmaker's stock is up roughly 35% for the year (More) | CoreWeave shares rise above 11% after signing $14.2B AI cloud infrastructure deal with Meta (More)
> Spotify founder Daniel Ek steps down as CEO to become executive chairman; chief business officer and chief product and technology officer to become co-CEOs (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speak to gathering of high-ranking generals and admirals; call for higher standards for physical fitness and grooming, crackdown on US cities (More) | See full speeches (More, w/video)
> The US deports at least 120 Iranians accused of entering the country illegally in rare coordinated action announced by Iran; the US has not commented as of this writing (More)
> President Donald Trump says he has reached a deal with Harvard University to reinstate $2.4B in federal funding (More) | Federal judge rules deportations of pro-Palestinian noncitizen students violated their First Amendment rights (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Violence in AMERICA
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It seems that every time I turn around (metaphorically speaking there has been another shooting and one or more people have been killed and/or one or more people have been wounded. The shooter is then killed by police or shoots himself. However, there are exceptions to the shooter dying at the scene or afterwards.
Why seems to be the problem?
Why are so many Americans shooting other innocent Americans?
Is this being done because:
- we have easy access to weapons
- Americans cannot control their aggressive nature
- the shooter is mentally disturbed
- the bible teaches revenge
- liberals are turning violent
- other
There seems to be political overtones surrounding many of these shootings because half the population does not like what Trump is doing...
and,
because the liberal think that Trump is destroying democracy so shooting people will somehow bring back the correct democracy...
Yes, we have two political parties and yes when one party is in power, the other party does not like it, and will do everything in their power to keep them from being successful... but it has never resulted in violence until Trump became president.
If that is the reason, then we have a mental illness in this country that is getting worse instead of better.
American HATRED focuses on:
- Liberals versus Conservatives
- Religious versus Atheists
- Christians versus Muslims
It was really simply when our hate was just between the WEATHLY and the POOR.
James Webb Spots Intense Auroras on Nearby Rogue Planet
What can auroras on a rogue planet teach astronomers about planetary formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the atmospheric composition of a nearby rogue planet, including its atmospheric temperature and auroras.
This study has the potential to help astronomers better understand rogue planets, along with additional planetary atmospheric formation and evolutionary traits.
For the study, the researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to examine SIMP-0136, which is a rogue planet located approximately 20 light-years from Earth while being approximately 12.7 times the mass and approximately 1.2 times the radius of Jupiter.
For the study, the researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to examine SIMP-0136, which is a rogue planet located approximately 20 light-years from Earth while being approximately 12.7 times the mass and approximately 1.2 times the radius of Jupiter.
Additionally, SIMP-0136 only has a rotational period of 2.4 hours, enabling the researchers to observe all aspects of the rogue planet. Additionally, the researchers used a series of computer models to better understand their observations.
Wednesday, October 1
Headlines
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Pfizer exempt from Trump’s tariffs, agrees to lower drug prices. President Trump announced an arrangement with Pfizer yesterday in which the drugmaker will lower prices on some drugs in the US and invest $70 billion in domestic drug manufacturing. As part of the deal, Pfizer will earn a three-year reprieve from Trump’s tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. The company will sell the discounted medications on a direct-to-consumer website called TrumpRx. The president posted on social media last week that he plans to impose a 100% tariff on pharma companies starting today, unless they build manufacturing plants in the US. Pfizer’s stock climbed ~7% after news of the deal.
The FTC sued to block the Zillow-Redfin partnership. The agency alleged that Redfin agreed to end contracts with existing advertising customers, stop competing in the ad market for multifamily properties for nine years, and exclusively syndicate Zillow’s listings in exchange for a $100 million payment from Zillow. “Paying off a competitor to stop competing against you is a violation of federal antitrust laws,” the FTC said in a statement. A Zillow spokesperson said the company remained confident in the partnership and argued it is “pro-competitive and pro-consumer by connecting property managers to more high-intent renters.”
Amazon refreshed its lineup of devices. At an event in New York yesterday, Amazon unveiled a slew of new hardware, including updated Kindles, Fire TV sticks, and the Ring home security camera. But the pièce de résistance was the new AI-enabled Echo smart speaker—well, four of them, actually. The company announced the Echo Dot Max ($100), Echo Studio ($220), and two versions of the Echo Show, which comes with a screen. The products, which integrate Amazon’s Alexa+ AI subscription service, are among the first under new devices chief Panos Panay, a former Microsoft exec “known for his premium design sensibility,” Bloomberg reported.—AE
Robert Reich
What happens next and why?
Friends,
As of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time today, the United States government is closed. Crucial government services aren’t delivered. Federal employees are furloughed without pay (apart from workers who are deemed “essential”).
Republicans had tried to push a temporary funding bill — a Continuing Resolution, or CR. But the CR had within it all the terrible parts of Trump’s big beautiful (Ugly!) bill, including major cuts in health care, nutrition assistance, and environmental protection, all to fund a huge tax cut mainly for the wealthy.
The only reason the big ugly passed the Senate in early July was a special procedure that required only 51 senators. Republicans bragged at the time that they didn’t need any Democrats (JD Vance was the tiebreaker).
At A Glance
Windowless plane could be the private jet of the future.
Being organized and active may lead to a longer life.
The biggest controversies in NFL history.
How ostriches and emus became flightless birds.
China just opened the world's highest bridge.
Polar bears find refuge in an abandoned village. (w/photos)
How Americans take their coffee.
Meet eight creatures lurking in the deep sea. (w/video)
Clickbait: The ancient tree named "Jolene."
Historybook: Yosemite National Park is established (1890); Bonnie Parker, half of the infamous crime duo Bonnie and Clyde, born (1910); President Jimmy Carter born (1924); Actress Dame Julie Andrews born (1935); Walt Disney World opens (1971); 58 killed, 869 injured in mass shooting in Las Vegas (2017).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Bad Bunny tapped to headline the Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8) halftime show; the Puerto Rican artist is a three-time Grammy winner with multiple Billboard No. 1 albums (More)
> President Donald Trump announces a 100% tariff on films produced outside the US (More) | "The Simpsons" theatrical film set for 2027 release (More)
> WNBA semifinal between the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces (9:30 pm ET, ESPN2) to decide who faces the Phoenix Mercury in the finals (More) | MLB playoffs wild card series kicks off tonight; see complete schedule (More)
Science & Technology
> OpenAI introduces parental controls to ChatGPT following lawsuit linking teenager's death by suicide to the chatbot (More) | Anthropic releases latest Claude Sonnet 4.5 model designed to excel at coding and meet business needs (More)
> High-resolution images and biochemical experiments show for the first time how polymyxin antibiotics infiltrate E. coli cells to treat deadly bacterial infections; finding reveals why antibiotics are ineffective against dormant E. coli (More, w/photos)
> Geochemists unearth over 541-million-year-old chemical fossils suggesting ancestors of modern-day sea sponges were among the first animals on Earth (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.5%) (More) | YouTube to pay $24.5M to settle President Donald Trump's lawsuit over his account suspension following the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol (More)
> Charlie Javice sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan Chase, which bought her financial aid startup, Frank, for $175M in 2021 after she inflated user numbers by millions (More)
> German airline Lufthansa to cut 4,000 jobs—nearly 4% of workforce—by 2030 amid declining profits; cites plans to automate administrative work with AI (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorses President Donald Trump's 20-point postwar Gaza plan, requiring Hamas to surrender, and for Israel to eventually cede control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority under certain conditions (More) | Read proposal (More)
> Taliban severs fiber optic connections across Afghanistan in its first nationwide internet shutdown amid morality crackdown (More)
> Supreme Court considers whether to take up an appeal by convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, former partner of Jeffrey Epstein; the high court's next term begins Oct. 6 (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
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