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| All your news in a single email. We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below. |
| Need To Know. |
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| Shutdown Ends (For Now). |
| The longest federal government shutdown in US history ended late Friday evening after President Trump and congressional leaders agreed to a short-term funding bill. Talks to end the 35-day-long stalemate quickly accelerated after a shortage in air traffic controllers and supporting staff caused major delays at airports around the US, including a ground halt at New York's La Guardia airport. The plan, which funds operations through February 15th, provides time for continued talks on border security - a White House request for $5.7B to expand a border wall at the center of the standoff was not funded in the short-term bill. The deal included back pay for the nearly 800,000 federal workers affected by the shutdown, many of whom missed their second consecutive paycheck on Friday. |
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| Brazil Dam Collapse. |
At least 58 people are dead and nearly 300 missing after a dam at an iron ore mining site collapsed in southeast Brazil. The dam was owned by Vale, a multinational metals and mining company and the world's largest producer of iron ore and nickel. Unlike typical dams built for water management, the failed structure was a tailings dam, which is meant to hold sludge-like mixtures of mining byproducts. A number of such dams are among the largest engineered structures in the world. Vale was also involved in a 2015 dam collapse in the same region that killed 19 and resulted in one of the worst environmental disasters in Brazil's history. The break, which released an estimated 12 million cubic meters of waste, is newly-elected President Jair Bolsonaro's first crisis.
Check out drone footage of the devastation here. |
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| Polar Vortex. |
The temperature in International Falls, MN, hit 49 degrees F below zero on Sunday, passing the day's record of 36 degrees F below zero as a deep freeze set in across the upper Midwest. The frigid conditions will continue throughout the week from Minneapolis to Detroit while moving towards the East Coast on Tuesday. The cold air is driven by changes to what is known as the polar vortex - a pocket of low-pressure, cold air that rotates counter-clockwise above both of the Earth's polar regions (see 101). When the air masses have strong rotation, the cold tends to sit near the poles. When the rotation weakens, the cold air masses can be dislodged by pockets of warmer air, pushing an arctic blast southward.
The chill is expected to last at least through the end of the week. |
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| In The Know. |
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| Sports, Entertainment & Culture. |
| > Naomi Osaka wins Australian Open, becomes Japan's first world #1 tennis player (More) | Novak Djokovic easily defeats Rafael Nadal to win a record 7th Australian Open (More) |
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| > Black Panther wins top prize at Screen Actors Guild Awards (More) | See complete list of SAG Awards winners (More) |
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| > Michel Legrand, multi Oscar-winning composer, dies at 86 (More) |
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| Science & Technology. |
| > In world first, Japan grants approval for stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries; critics say decision was premature and studies were not well-designed (More) |
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| > Germany to phase out coal power by 2038 and move to renewables; 84 power plants provide 40% of country's current power supply (More) |
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| > NASA releases detailed image of Ultima Thule, the most-distant object ever explored; New Horizons spacecraft flew by the object located 4.1 billion miles away from Earth on New Year's Eve (More) |
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| Business & Markets. |
| > Tech giants - Apple, Amazon, Facebook, among others - to announce earnings this week after Dow Index sees 5th straight week of gains (More) |
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| > Facebook to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp & Instagram messaging services (More) |
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| > Amazon unveils private-label beauty products line in effort to take on the $400B+ beauty industry (More) |
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| Politics & World Affairs. |
| > Trump associate Roger Stone indicted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe on charges of false testimony and obstruction; Mueller says Stone misled congressional investigators about his communications with the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks (More) |
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| > Man arrested in Virginia after killing 5 in Louisiana, including parents; father identified son as shooter before passing away (More) |
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| > At least 20 people dead, 111 injured in twin bombings at Catholic churches in southern Philippines (More) |
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| Etcetera. |
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| How a team of engineers tried to stop the Challenger disaster 32 years ago today. |
| Economy, health care lead the public's 2019 policy priorities. |
Jason Witten breaks Pro Bowl trophy during presentation ceremony.
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| Cancer patients can now explore (and understand) their own tumors using virtual reality. |
| In Good News: Orphaned bear cub severely burned in Colorado fire released back into the wild. |
| Mapping every state's favorite Valentines Day candy. |
| Child calls 911 after having a bad day, dispatcher helps with math homework. |
| Google's DeepMind AI program is dominating pro video gamers. |
| Melbourne Zoo creates first reptile gym to fight snake obesity. |
| Clickbait: North Carolina alligators chill out with their heads frozen through an icy pond (w/ video). |
| Historybook: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is published (1813); HBD painter Jackson Pollock (1912); Modern US Coast Guard is founded (1915); HBD Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim (1940); Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all 7 astronauts on board (1986). |
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- Christa McAuliffe, teacher and astronaut killed during Challenger explosion. |
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