Wednesday, December 17
Headlines
Kyle Mazza/Getty Images
The Brown University shooter is still at large. Four days after a gunman killed two students and injured nine others in a lecture hall at the Ivy League school, the suspect remains at large, according to police. Yesterday, the FBI released new, enhanced video of a masked person of interest and asked for it to be shared widely, offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. Providence Police Chief Oscar L. Perez Jr. said the department has received hundreds of tips. He also directed the public to study the person of interest’s posture and body movements in order to identify him. Officials had detained a man in connection with the shooting and later cleared and released him, but not before his name leaked to the press.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles gave a very candid interview. In a series of conversations with Vanity Fair, Wiles sounded off on President Trump and his inner circle. She reportedly said that Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality,” labeled Vice President JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist,” and called Elon Musk an “avowed” ketamine user (Musk has previously denied using ketamine). Wiles later called the Vanity Fair story “a disingenuously framed hit piece” and said “significant context was disregarded,” but did not deny making any of the statements. In a separate interview with the New York Times, Wiles said she did not make the claim about Musk’s alleged drug use, but the NYT reported that she could be heard saying it on a tape played by the Vanity Fair piece’s author. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House remains “united fully behind her.”
FTC alleged that Pepsi tried to raise prices to help Walmart. The soda giant allegedly attempted to hike prices at Walmart’s rivals, while giving Walmart promotions, to ensure the big-box retailer had lower prices than competitors, according to a newly unsealed FTC lawsuit that was filed by the Biden administration but dismissed earlier this year by the Trump administration. A PepsiCo spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the lawsuit “includes inaccuracies and unsubstantiated allegations.” Prioritizing business with retail giants like Walmart is common practice for consumer goods companies, but critics argue it can lead to higher prices for shoppers who spend elsewhere.—AE
Robert Reich
Friends,
On Monday night, the U.S. military attacked three more boats alleged to have been smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people and bringing the total of known killings to 95.
Why? “We have thousands of troops and our largest aircraft carrier in the Caribbean — but zero, zero explanation for what Trump is trying to accomplish,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday.
Trump threatens land strikes will soon follow the boat attacks. “By land is a lot easier, and that’s going to start happening,” he told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.
This would represent a major escalation of Trump’s trumped-up war. He’s not ruling out attacks on Latin American countries beyond Venezuela. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be in Venezuela,” Trump added.
At A Glance
Last US pennies sell for $16.8M.
See the latest electric air taxi.
How to protect digital photos from disappearing.
Dinosaur tracks discovered in the Italian Alps.
Survey finds 45% of Gen Z wants cryptocurrency for the holidays.
Should your mom run your dating profile?
Man wins lottery twice but won't quit his delivery job.
Twenty-five cultural moments that defined 2025.
In partnership: Audiologists tested 17 hearing aids. One redefines clarity.*
Clickbait: Meet the grandma stand.
... and want to see something cool? Surprise me.
Historybook: Wright brothers make first successful airplane flight (1903); Pope Francis born (1936); "The Simpsons" series makes television debut (1989); American actress Jennifer Jones dies (2009); North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il dies (2011).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Scottie Scheffler named PGA Tour Player of the Year, becoming the first golfer to receive the honor at least four consecutive years since Tiger Woods, who holds a record five-year streak (More)
> Mariah Carey to sing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony (Feb. 6); she is the first international star named to perform (More)
> Anthony Geary, best known for playing Luke Spencer in the daytime drama "General Hospital," dies at age 78 (More)
Science & Technology
> Trump administration seeks roughly 1,000 early career technology specialists to modernize government systems and accelerate AI adoption—an initiative called the "US Tech Force" (More)
> Researchers build robots the size of single-celled organisms that can make decisions and act independently; devices could facilitate advances in biological research and medical diagnostics (More)
> Medical researchers discover how the human gut produces antibodies that kill pathogens; the approach could inspire new vaccines against intestinal and respiratory pathogens, such as norovirus and the flu (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.6%) as investors wait for today's release of November jobs report (More)
> Roomba maker iRobot files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with Chinese supplier taking the 35-year-old company private; iRobot shares closed down nearly 73% (More) | Ford to record more than $19B hit to profits as it scales back EV plans; figure is one of the largest impairments taken by a company (More)
> Spain fines Airbnb $75M for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals as the country grapples with a housing affordability issue (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Search continues for Brown University shooter who killed two people, wounded nine others Saturday; police release video of the alleged suspect, identify shooting victims as freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, sophomore Ella Cook (More)
> The US agrees to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in exchange for reaching a peace deal to end the war with Russia (More) | President Donald Trump sues BBC for total of $10B in damages, accusing the broadcaster of defamation (More)
> Three Seattle suburbs forced to evacuate after a levee fails following a week of heavy rain (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
What's Best for Whom?
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I don't belong to any political party and when I vote for that person who I believe is going to help this country more than the party to which they belong.
FOR EXAMPLE, I am
- for low taxes
- for a balanced budget
- against a high national debt
- against illegal immigration
- for abortion
- for term limits
- for small government
- for economic growth
- for technology
- against lobbyists
- against robots replacing jobs
If there is someone out there who supports these items, then I will vote for them in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, very few politicians are going to support a bill/law that sets term limits for senators and representatives. They are cutting their own throat if they do, even if it is what's best for the country.
I am also against debt especially a national debt that is as high as our debt currently is and growing. It is easy to spend money when it is borrowed from someone else. Most of us, but not all of us, are careful with how we spend our money.
I have been debt free for twenty years and I remember vividly how we had to struggle to get there but we got there and I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China.,
Shaping quantum light unlocks new possibilities for future technologies
Researchers from Wits University and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona show how controlling the structure of photons in space and time enables tailored quantum states for next-generation communication, sensing and imaging. Credit: Wits University
Researchers from the School of Physics at Wits University, working with collaborators from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, have demonstrated how quantum light can be engineered in space and time to create high-dimensional and multidimensional quantum states. Their work highlights how structured photons—light whose spatial, temporal or spectral properties are deliberately shaped—offer new pathways for high-capacity quantum communication and advanced quantum technologies.
Published as a review article in Nature Photonics, the study surveys rapid progress in techniques capable of creating, manipulating and detecting quantum structured light. These include on-chip integrated photonics, nonlinear optics, and multiplane light conversion, which now form a modern and increasingly powerful toolkit. Together, these advances are bringing structured quantum states closer to real-world applications in imaging, sensing, and quantum networks.
Tuesday, December 16
Headlines
Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic
Rob Reiner’s son Nick arrested on suspicion of murder in his parents’ deaths. After legendary Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found fatally stabbed in their home on Sunday, police arrested the couple’s son Nick Reiner, 32, and the Los Angeles chief of police said yesterday that he had been “booked for murder.” As of yesterday, he was being held without bail. Nick Reiner co-wrote the 2015 film Being Charlie, which his father directed, about his struggle with drug addiction. Correction: Yesterday’s newsletter mistakenly referred to Rob Reiner by his father’s name, Carl, on first reference. Carl Reiner died of natural causes in 2020. We regret the error.
Ford expects a $19.5 billion hit from pulling back on EVs. The automaker said yesterday that its strategy shift away from electric vehicles and toward hybrids will reduce its profit in the near-term. The decision to put its EV plans into reverse means Ford will stop producing an all-electric version of its signature F-150 Lightning pickup truck and will instead offer it as an extended-range EV that will include a gas-powered generator capable of recharging its battery. Ford CEO Jim Farley said the move away from EVs would ultimately “create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford.” Its EV business had already cost Ford $13 billion since 2023, per the Wall Street Journal. The retreat from EVs puts US automakers out of step with Chinese competitors that are shaking up the industry by selling cheap electric models.
Zillow may be getting an Alphabet-sized competitor. There are few areas of online search that Google doesn’t dominate, but real estate listings is one of them…for now. The search giant appears to be testing displaying its own real estate listings at the top of search results, and that news sent Zillow’s stock down more than 9% yesterday, like the price of a house where they’ve just discovered cracks in the foundation. Still, analysts were quick to point out that a little (massive) competition might not be so bad for Zillow, which isn’t very dependent on organic search traffic for its pageviews.—AR
Robert Reich
A view from our neighbor
Friends,
Some of the most useful insights into what’s happening to America are coming from political analysts outside the United States. Here’s a particularly lucid essay by Andrew Coyne that appeared in the December 5 edition of Canada’s The Globe and Mail.
***
Donald Trump — and American democracy — is getting exponentially worse
Andrew Coyne
I wish I could say I told you so. A point I have tried to make over the last year or so is that Donald Trump can only get worse: that however corrupt or incompetent or dictatorial or treasonous or insane he may appear at any given moment, it will inevitably come to be seen as a relative golden age beside what is to come.
At A Glance
"Slop" is the latest word of the year.... and a glossary of the last century of slang.
Next year's baby name predictions.
Countries that drink the most wine per capita.
The "Home Alone" house is undergoing a major renovation.
... and 23 behind-the-scenes facts about the holiday classic.
ill a fish disco prevent murder on the seafloor?
Chemistry says these are the best chocolate chip cookies.
Clickbait: Scientists found Little Foot.
... and want to see something cool? Surprise me.
Historybook: Ludwig van Beethoven born (1770); Boston Tea Party occurs (1773); Author Jane Austen born (1775); Anthropologist Margaret Mead born (1901); World War II’s Battle of the Bulge begins (1944).
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