Alabama Runoff.
GOP voters in Alabama head to the polls today to choose the Republican candidate in the race to replace now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the US Senate. As of this morning, poll averages have Roy Moore, a former Alabama Chief Justice - who pulled a pistol out on stage last night to emphasize his support for the second amendment - leading incumbent Luther Strange by over 10 points. The race is seen as pitting the influence of President Trump, who campaigned for Strange, against that of ex-adviser Steve Bannon, whose Breitbart News has pulled hard for Moore. Trump went as far as calling into local radio show 'Rick and Bubba'. The winner of the runoff will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones in the full special election on December 12th.
Awake (Sort of).
In a medical breakthrough, scientists restored signs of consciousness in a 35-year-old French man who has been in a coma for 15 years. Researchers used an approach known as vagus nerve stimulation - where electrical shocks are applied to a long nerve that runs from the abdomen to the brain (see paper). While the man did not fully regain consciousness he was able to track objects with his eyes, express surprise, and respond to simple requests. Brain imaging revealed increased activity after 4 weeks of stimulation, exhibiting strong signals of a type of brain activity known as theta waves - which are typically associated with a subconscious state like dreaming, but absent in a vegetative state (brain waves breakdown). While expectations should be tempered, the results offer a new path to investigate whether patients may one day recover from long-term comas.
Graham-Cassidy.
The latest iteration of a GOP replacement plan for Obamacare appears to be stalled after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Sens. McCain (R-AZ), Paul (R-KY), and Cruz (R-TX) in coming out against the bill. Led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), proponents fell short with last minute changes designed to win over holdouts. The GOP had been looking to use so-called budget reconciliation to pass the bill - which would require only 51 votes, avoiding a Democratic filibuster. That option expires on September 30th, when fiscal year 2017 comes to an end - meaning that any legislation after that will likely need Democratic support in order to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. While health care will probably return at some point, Republicans are likely to move on to tax reform.
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Sports, Entertainment & Culture.
Rapper Cardi B nudges Taylor Swift off top spot in Billboard 100; first female rapper at #1 since Lauryn Hill in 1998 ( More)
Sunday Night Football ratings down 11% from last year amid player protests ( More) | Cowboys, Owner Jerry Jones kneel on Monday Night Football ( More)
'It' officially gets sequel, September 2019 release date ( More)
Science & Technology.
National Institutes of Health look to enlist 1M people in massive precision medicine study ( More) | What is precision medicine? ( More)
NASA dedicates new facility to Katherine Johnson, pioneer mathematician from 'Hidden Figures' ( More)
Australia to establish its own space agency ( More)
Business & Markets.
New AIG CEO to restructure biz into 3 units - insurance, retirement, technology ( More)
Nets - Copenhagen-based provider of digital payments - to be purchased by US private equity firm for $5.3B ( More)
London-based food delivery startup Deliveroo raises $385MM at $2B+ valuation ( More) | Meet the International Unicorns - private companies worth $1B+ ( More)
Politics & World Affairs.
North Korea says US 'declared war', may shoot down US bombers ( More)
Bali volcano on verge of erupting, over 50,000 people relocated ( More)
Former NY Congressman Anthony Wiener sentenced to 21 months for sexting 15-year-old ( More) |
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The American Fix.
The Verge | Ben Popper. By now, many Americans are aware of the opioid crisis ripping through the country - but for startup employee, Elizabeth Zeinner, the crisis was much more close to home. Zeinner, while working 24-hour shifts as a paramedic, would normally see two overdoses a day. Now Zeinner and a startup called Groups thinks it can tackle the crisis - while profiting as well.
Children Under Fire.
Washington Post | John Woodrow Cox. Nearly two dozen kids are shot each day - some intentionally, some accidentally. In a moving piece, Cox zooms in on a particular case in Cleveland, where 4-year-old Carter Hill was hit directly in the forehead by a stray bullet during an extreme road rage incident - and miraculously survived.
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The most famous Vietnam photo now has video.
Maps: US Prosperity is concentrated in elite zip codes, but economic stability outside of those communities is rapidly deteriorating.
The best college towns in the US for people who aren't in college.
Murders up 8% in 2016, 20% of the increase in Chicago.
Move: 150 minutes of exercise per week drops premature death chances by 28%, heart disease by 20%.
Wharton tops Forbes 2017 list of America's best business schools.
Jabbacado Toast: avocado toast shaped like Jabba the Hutt.
Speaking Of: A Venn diagram of what to feed millennials.
Google and Levi’s partner on connected jacket that lets you answer calls, use maps.
Historybook: Francis Drake circumnavigates globe (1580); Thomas Jefferson appointed 1st Secretary of State (1789); West Side Story premieres on Broadway (1957); 1st Kennedy-Nixon debate (1960); HBD Serena Williams (1981); Ferry sinks off Gambian coast, nearly 1000 die (2002); RIP Paul Newman (2008) |
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"A CHAMPION IS DEFINED NOT BY THEIR WINS BUT BY HOW THEY CAN RECOVER WHEN THEY FALL."
-Serena Williams
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