10.6.2017

Nobels.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons for their work on fighting nuclear proliferation, capping a week of prize announcements. Monday began with the Nobel Prize for Medicine being awarded to three Americans for work on the circadian clock - or how our bodies naturally keep track of the time. Tuesday's Prize in physics went to the detection of gravitational waves - which are literally ripples in space-time (better than science fiction). On Wednesday the Prize in chemistry was awarded to a trio who developed the ability to film microscopic biological process, and on Thursday, Kazuo Ishiguro - author of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go - won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Want to impress at the water cooler today? Remind folks that four different committees select and award the five different prizes - and don't forget about the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - also known as the Nobel Prize in Economics - awarded next Monday.

Iran.
President Trump is expected to decertify the Iran nuclear deal next week, dealing a blow to an Obama-era foreign policy and opening the door for Congress to resume sanctions against the country. Facing an Facing an October 15th deadline to report to Congress, Trump is expected to say that the deal - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - is not in the national interest. The deal, which is an agreement between Iran and six others (US, China, France, Russia, UK, and Germany), requires Iran to greatly reduce or eliminate its various stockpiles of uranium - material key to the development of both nuclear weapons and nuclear power (see 101). If Trump does decertify the deal - plans may change, as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said recently that remaining in the deal was in the country's national security interest - Congress has 60 days to reimpose sanctions (withdraw from the deal) or not (remain). 

NSA Hack.
Russian hackers gained access to highly classified information after a National Security Agency contractor took files to his home computer, according to reports. The leak took place in 2015 but wasn't realized until spring 2016, and was publicly reported only yesterday. Officials say the contractor used Kaspersky Anti-Virus software on their home computer - a program operated by a multinational cybersecurity firm based in Moscow, who was was recently barred from government contracts over fears of Russian government influence. Hackers accessed the files, which included info on how the US attacks vulnerabilities in other country's cyber defenses, as the software scanned files for viral threats. It is unclear whether Kaspersky was aware of the hack as it occurred. The NSA appears to have issues with its contractor employees - this is the fourth high profile leak in as many years.
 

> Netlfix raises subscription fee for both new and existing customers; first price hike in 2 years (More)
> Bon Jovi, Nina Simone, Radiohead among nominees for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (More)
> Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein takes leave of absence following sexual harassment allegations (More)
 

> Controversial pesticides found in honey samples from 6 continents, may play role in bee decline (More)
> Quantum phenomena helps explain how ocean waves drive global weather (More)
> Phone-controlled "smart" bandage heals wounds 3x quicker than normal (More)
 

> Boeing to acquire autonomous flight (self-flying) biz Aurora Flight Sciences (More)
> Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues regulation to require payday loan lenders to determine if borrowers can repay their debts (More)
> Jessica Alba's natural home products biz Honest Company loses unicorn status; raises $75M (More)
 

> NRA to support regulations on "bump stocks", semi-auto to auto conversion used by Vegas shooter (More)
> Marsha Blackburn (R, TN-7) officially enters Senate race to replace retiring Bob Corker (More)
> Reports say Vegas shooter scoped out other venues including Lollapalooza, Boston venues (More)

New Yorker | Amanda Fortini. A powerful narrative of first person accounts of the Las Vegas shooting, capturing a visceral sense of the chaos that concert-goers felt as they heard what they first thought were firecrackers or a helicopter - only to quickly realize what was happening. (Read)
 

ESPN | Anthony Olivieri. An awesome visual presentation laying out the troll history of current NBA patriarch LaVar Ball. When read in order it almost seems that Ball's constant needling is (hmm...) strategic and intentional. (Read)
 

The Quest To Design A Smarter Road. 

Rural Hospitals Are Dying and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price. 

What's the Endpoint: The partisan divide continues to grow (new data from Pew). 

Howard Stern ($90M) leads World's highest-paid radio hosts in 2017. 

Too Much Tech: For people hard of hearing, phone calls can now be streamed straight into the cochlear nerve.

Giant pythons keep attacking people in Indonesia (w/ blurry photo). 

From the Vault: Data on how many wanted to insert "under God" to the oath - back in 1953.

See 49 US restaurants worth travelling for.

America's child poverty rate has hit a record low.

Robots: Honda debuts a rain-proof disaster robot that can climb ladders.

Share of female partners in the venture capital industry is increasing.

Clickbait: Santa is dead, archaeologists say (sorry to break it to you. We'll be off for Columbus Day - see you Tuesday). 

Historybook: HBD Fannie Lou Hamer (1917); Curse of the billy goat begins (1945); Kennedy tells Americans to build bomb shelters (1961); Yom Kippur War begins (1973); Pope John Paul II is 1st Pope to visit White House (1979); Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt assassinated (1981).

"NOBODY'S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY'S FREE."
-Fannie Lou Hamer
 

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