10.4.2017

The Economy.
All three major stock indices - the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq - achieved a second straight day of record highs yesterday. Positive signs are spreading beyond the tech sector, which has dominated in recent years. US manufacturers are more active - making and selling more goods - than anytime since 2004, and are well into an expansion of the sector that accounts for 12% of US GDP. Automakers posted their strongest sales month of the year in September - led by General Motors whose stock closed at an all-time high after announcing a plan for 20 all-electric models by 2023. Even US airline stocks were up big as Delta announced its passenger unit revenue (revenue per seat per mile) is expected to increase 2% in Q3. Delta stock was up almost 7% and the news rippled through the airline industry, with shares up between 4-7%. In what may be the best sign, 54% of investors believe a correction is coming, but 61% would invest anyways. 

Cuba.
The US expelled 15 diplomats from the Cuban Embassy in Washington yesterday, the next step in a tit-for-tat over mysterious attacks on US diplomatic staff headquartered in Havana. At least 21 US officials have experienced a range of symptoms including hearing loss, nausea, cognitive issues, and other problems - often, but not always, after hearing a high-pitch or metallic sound. In one case, the attack was so targeted that a staff member could only hear the noise while in bed (the science of how it may work). Cuba has denied responsibility, and the source and method remains unknown (though theories abound). The move is in part meant to equalize staff between the two countries - the real escalation came last Friday when the US ordered 60% of its embassy staff to return from Havana.

Why?
Officials picked through the personal and financial history of Stephen Paddock - the 64-year-old Las Vegas attacker - uncovering many details but no clear motivation. Reports say the shooting was meticulously planned, with multiple cameras set up to film Paddock as he shot, as well as monitoring the hall for police. Officials confirmed that a cheap accessory was used to convert a semi-automatic weapon to fully automatic (what is a 'bump stock'?). In the run up to the shooting, Paddock also reportedly sent over $100,000 to the Philippines - from which his live-in girlfriend Marilou Danley (see photos) is returning for questioning by federal investigators. Media is also beginning to leak out - an audio recording of the moment when police breached the hotel room on the 32nd floor went public, and alleged photos of a partial crime scene were obtained via a German tabloid. 
 

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New Data: Changing trends in which degrees college students are choosing to pursue. 

View from Space: Lake Erie's algae bloom is back - 700 square miles wide. 

Georgia city will rename itself 'Amazon' if it wins Amazon's HQ bid. 

Obamas looking at $10M NYC apartment on Upper East Side.

See the most popular wedding songs by state (via Spotify).

Snacks: Prehistoric squid was last meal for a newborn ichthyosaur 200 million years ago.

Actualize your Reality: with the new corporate gibberish generator. 

13 CEOs share the books that changed their lives 

Photos: Impressions of India from the dawn of photography to the 21st century. 

US Women's soccer star Alex Morgan gets belligerent at Epcot Center. 

Clickbait: Move to Hawaii, become less racist. 

Historybook: RIP Rembrandt (1669); Battle of Germantown (1777); HBD Rutherford B. Hayes (1822); HBD Charlton Heston (1923); Work begins on Mount Rushmore (1927); Sputnik launched (1957); Janis Joplin dies of drug overdose (1970); Televangelist Jim Bakker indicted on federal charges (1988);  “Baby Doc” dies (2014).

"Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got."
-Janis Joplin
 

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