In The NEWS

Hamas partially agrees to ceasefire deal.

Hamas agreed Friday to some elements of a peace deal proposal President Donald Trump introduced earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Namely, the group said it would give up power in the Gaza Strip and release all remaining Israeli hostages. Hamas said it was ready to enter mediated negotiations on the other points. The announcement came hours after Trump warned Hamas to accept the deal by 6 pm ET tomorrow.




Sean 'Diddy' Combs sentenced to over 4 years in prison.

The hip-hop mogul will receive credit for the 12 months he's already spent in prison. Combs is also subject to a $500K fine—the most allowed by law—and five years of supervised release. The two prostitution-related charges he was convicted of in July carried maximum sentences of 10 years each. Combs was acquitted of more serious racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors had sought more than an 11-year prison sentence, while Combs' lawyers advocated for no more than 14 months.




Scientists make strides toward universal donor organs.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia successfully converted a kidney from blood type A to universal blood type O and transplanted it into a brain-dead recipient. The feat could expand access to donor organs by eliminating blood type as a barrier. Current methods for overcoming mismatched blood types require a living donor and the recipient to undergo an intensive immune suppression treatment.




Property management companies settle multimillion-dollar rental-pricing suit.

Real estate giant Greystar and 25 other companies will pay over $141M to resolve a class action lawsuit accusing landlords of using rent-setting algorithms to inflate housing costs. The implicated companies must also stop sharing nonpublic information with RealPage, the software company behind the algorithms. Plaintiffs are pursuing a separate case against RealPage, which contends high rents are driven by limited housing supply and its tools often encourage landlords to lower rents.




Supreme Court to hear challenge to Hawaii gun law.

The high court agreed yesterday to decide whether states can bar people from carrying guns on private property, including stores and hotels, without the property owner's explicit permission. Hawaii is one of five Democratic-led states that enacted restrictions on concealed carry after a 2022 Supreme Court ruling made it easier to obtain permits. A decision is expected by next summer.




Trump administration freezes $2.1B from Chicago transit projects.

Funding was withheld for intercity train line improvements in Chicago amid the administration's threats to cut resources to Democratic-run states and cities during the government shutdown. Earlier this week, the administration froze roughly $18B earmarked for New York City infrastructure projects and nearly $8B for clean energy projects in 16 Democratic-leaning states.




Apple and Google pull immigration enforcement reporting app.

The tech giants' app stores no longer carry ICEBlock and similar apps that let users monitor and report Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. Apple said the decision followed concerns from law enforcement, who noted the gunman who attacked an ICE facility in Dallas last week searched for ICE tracking apps. ICEBlock has been downloaded over 1 million times.

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Lessons Learned

 

There are a few lessons that I learned during my 45-year career, I would like to pass along, but I wonder if it will make any difference to the reader...  I wonder this because my father tried to pass along his lessons learned and I paid no attention to him, saying I want to learn on my own.

Learning on my own was brutal because I was terminated (not fired) ten times.  Ten times during a 45-year career is once every 4.5 years which sounds horrible.  But the essence of my terminations revolved around me not wanting to kiss anyone's ass.

My father worked for 40 years at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.  We lived in Alexandria, VA, four miles south next to the Potomac River.

Think about that a minute...

He worked for one company for 40 years and every 4 or 8 years, there was a new administration, either Democrat or Republican.

The only way that one can keep one's job for that long in a high-risk environment is to KISS ASS or keep a file of dirt on all high-ranking people.

So,

even if I had listened to my father, it would have made no difference because I had a difference personality.

My Lessons:

1. Arrive early - leave late
2. Learn as much as you can as quick as you can
3. Be careful what you volunteer for
4. Make sure you can outwork everyone around you
5. Put your family second if you need to
6. Change jobs every 3-5 years for more money
7. Change states for even more money
8. Eliminate all debt quickly
9. Have backup plans
10. Fake your loyalty
11. Constantly look for a better opportunity
12. Save what you can all the time
13. Have a career plan that is fluid
14. Have a retirement plan that is fluid
15. NEVER LOOK BACK

Somewhat Political

 

We Might Be Living Inside A 2 Billion Light-Year Void

In 1981, while conducting a redshift survey of the distribution of galaxies, astronomers spotted something (or nothing) that they weren't expecting.

"[W]e discovered that the redshift distributions in each of the three northern fields showed an identical 6,000 [kilometers per second] gap. Because these fields were separated by angles of ~35°, this suggested the existence of a large void in the galaxy distribution of at least comparable angular diameter," the team wrote in a paper in 1987, adding, "The low density of this region is of high statistical significance and does not appear easily reconcilable with any of the popular models for the growth structure in the universe."

Lying in the vicinity of the Boötes constellation, it became known as the Boötes Void, or sometimes the Great Nothing. For a long time, it was the largest known void in the universe, spanning 330 million light-years across. To put that in context, that's about 0.35 percent of the diameter of the entire observable universe.

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Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song (Live 1972) (Official Video)

Wonderings

 

Most of my 78 years has been spent wandering around either INSIDE MY HEAD or around the US and Europe.  My accomplishments to some, have been minor, while to others have been great.  Life is relative is all its aspects, while most measure accomplishments in term of financial prowess or buildings and streets named after you.  I could have added by holding elected office but here recently, those who hold/held office are not held in high esteem.

Wonderings of the Mind

These wonderings can been seen simply as a search to answer one question with two parts:

Why am I here and What is my purpose?

When doing this type of search, one must first look at:

• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Mythology
• Ancestry
• Country
• Geographic Location

All of this (and more) have an influence on who one is and one's purpose.

The first stop for me was identifying my personality and I did this through the Myers-Briggs Questionnaire which indicated that my type was INTJ.

Once you understand what type of personality you have, you have a really good understanding of who you are and especially WHY you act the way you do.

You are a byproduct of philosophy, psychology (personality), ancestors, mythology (includes religion), ancestry, and most importantly the country in which you live as well as the geographical location.

Example - being raised in the southern US is different from being raised in the northern US.

My next wonderings article will discuss our purpose....

Tiny

 

VINCE

 

Sea Creature

 

Lara Trump

 

Dinesh D'Souza

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

Roses

 

Sarah Westall

 

Bongino Report

 

Diamond & Silk

 

Viola

 

The Alex Jones Show

 

The White House

 

The Big MIG

 

Jellies

 

Brookings Brief

New data show no AI jobs apocalypse—for now

Headlines

Gaza City yesterday. Saeed M. M. T. Jaras
Anadolu via Getty Images



Hamas partially agrees to Trump’s Gaza plan, but wants to negotiate. Hamas said yesterday it would agree to release all remaining hostages and give up power over the Gaza Strip, but that it wanted to negotiate further details of the 20-point peace plan President Trump unveiled this week alongside Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier in the day, Trump had given the group an ultimatum to accept the plan by Sunday, but following Hamas’s statement, Trump said, “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” and called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!” Netanyahu’s government then said it was preparing to implement the “first stage” of the plan.—AR

Sean “Diddy” Combs sentenced to more than four years. The hip-hop mogul got 50 months in prison yesterday after being convicted in July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. That’s shorter than the 11-year sentence that federal prosecutors were seeking, but more than what his lawyers requested, which was the 14 months he’s already served. It’s also much shorter than the life sentence Combs was potentially facing before being acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Still, the judge said a significant sentence was needed to show “exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.” A lawyer for Combs vowed to appeal the sentence, telling ABC the judge had improperly acted as a “13th juror.”—BC

Trump admin halts $2.1b for Chicago transit as shutdown continues. Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, said yesterday that the administration is withholding the money pegged for extending Chicago’s Red Line L train, making it the latest freeze on funds to a Democrat-led city since the federal government shut down. The administration has now frozen at least $28 billion in funding for Democratic cities and states, Reuters reports, as Trump seeks to target his opponents’ priorities during the shutdown. He has also threatened to fire federal workers. The shutdown is likely to last at least through the weekend after Democrats, who are demanding funding for Obamacare subsidies, rejected a Republican-backed bill to fund the government yesterday.—AR

READ MORE...

At A Glance

Bookkeeping
> $336K to $403K: How much an original print of David Bowie’s "Aladdin Sane" cover is expected to go for at auction, breaking the record for most expensive album art.
> 310 dB: The volume of an 1883 eruption on the volcanic island of Krakatoa; ruptured eardrums 40 miles away and remains the loudest sound ever recorded.

Browse
> Golden retriever gives koala piggyback ride. (w/photos)
> Twenty-one rules for throwing a good party.
> How your income is distributed across tax brackets. (w/interactive)
> Why we click with certain people, according to a neuroscientist.

Listen
> Computer science students were handed an empty promise.
> Can humans talk to whales?

Watch
> Is it really bad to eat raw cookie dough?
> Inside the parlor that covers hateful tattoos for free.
> Potential loophole to survive the end of the universe.

Long Read
> Will classic snacks look the same without artificial dyes?
> Enduring intrigue of Amelia Earhart's disappearance.
> What it's like to retire after 75.
> Life and death of the American foodie.

Most Clicked This Week: What was going on the day you were born?

Historybook: Rembrandt dies (1669); Orient Express makes first run from Paris to Romania (1883); Hollywood legend Charlton Heston born (1923); Sputnik 1 is first artificial satellite to orbit Earth (1957); Rocker Janis Joplin dies (1970).

Tofu Stir Fry, my latest weeknight obsession

Quick Clips

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Sean "Diddy" Combs to be sentenced today in New York for his July conviction on prostitution-related charges; prosecutors are seeking an 11-year prison sentence (More)

> Department of Homeland Security plans to send ICE agents to patrol Super Bowl LX following announcement that Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny was selected to perform at the halftime show (More)

> The 2025 WNBA Finals begin tonight (8:30 pm ET, ESPN) with the Las Vegas Aces taking on the Phoenix Mercury in a best-of-seven series (More)


Science & Technology
> Perplexity AI launches artificial intelligence-powered web browser, Comet, for free worldwide; startup initially offered browser to select users for $200 monthly (More)

> Paleontologists revise evolutionary timeline for freshwater fish after analysis of 67-million-year-old ear bone fossil suggests they inherited their powerful hearing from marine ancestors (More)

> Researchers determine costly, deadly wildfires have increased more than fourfold from 1980 to 2023; 43% of the most damaging fires occurred between 2013 and 2023, including 43 wildfires that each caused over $1B in damage (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.4%) (More) | OpenAI raises valuation to record $500B after completing $6.6B secondary share sale, surpassing SpaceX as the world's most valuable startup (More)

> Tesla reports record 497,099 deliveries in Q3, a 7.4% rise from a year ago; sales data comes as a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles expired (More)

> Berkshire Hathaway to pay $9.7B for Occidental Petroleum's chemical unit; deal is Berkshire's largest since 2022 when it paid $11.6B for insurer Alleghany (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> White House asks nine colleges to agree to "compact" banning race and gender in admissions, freezing tuition, and capping international enrollment in exchange for federal funds (More) | President Donald Trump says the US is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels (More)

> Eiffel Tower closes as thousands of people strike across France to demand higher taxes on the rich and denounce budget cuts and a hike in the retirement age (More)

> Israel to deport hundreds of activists, including Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela's grandson, who were detained after Israeli navy intercepted 40 vessels attempting to deliver aid to Gaza (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Perils of Marriage

 

Living together is not easy whether a couple is married or not.  It seems to be, my opinion, if you're married, because at best you split your assets 50/50 (providing there are no children), or you are in your 60s-70s-80s and it is not that easy living solo, especially if there are medical issues.

Therefore, couples stay together simply for the finances and companionship and the care that might needed to be given.

For instance, I am 78, my wife is 73, we are both in poor physical health...  I might be slightly worse because I am fighting two kinds of cancers...  and, we do not get along at all...  which I find strange because our commonalities is what brought us together in the first place.

It would appear that we lied about what we had in common because we could not be more opposite.

We don't trust each other; we don't respect each other; we don't love each other, although being together for over thirty years creates some kind of mutual caring...  We have just enough money (collectively) to take care of us until we're both 95 (assuming we live that long) and divorce would be financially disastrous for both of us.

SO...  we remain together...  we are married but it would not make any difference if we were not...  We lived together for five years before we agreed to marry a second time.

YET...

there are married couples with and without children who will divorce each year at the first sign of incompatibility.

WHY...

Is living with another person because of an initial love SO FRIGGING DIFFICULT???

Somewhat Political

 

A 50,000-Year-Old Fossil Reveals Neanderthals Had a Far Richer Diet Than Scientists Once Believed

New evidence from fossilized dental plaque, coastal excavation sites and ancient feces is upending long-held assumptions about Neanderthal diets. Far from being brutish carnivores who hunted woolly mammoths and gnawed on raw meat, Neanderthals appear to have been remarkably adaptable eaters — with menus that included cooked crabs, medicinal plants, and even legumes.

Findings from multiple peer-reviewed studies, including a seminal paper published in Nature, reveal significant regional variation in Neanderthal diets across Europe. In northern sites like Spy Cave in Belgium, stable isotope analysis confirms a meat-heavy intake — primarily woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep. But in Spain’s El Sidrón cave, researchers found almost no trace of meat. Instead, genetic sequencing of calcified dental plaque uncovered remnants of mushrooms, pine nuts, moss, and tree bark.

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