1440 Daily Digest: Be the smartest person in the room on February 6, 2018

SpaceX Set to Make History.
Elon Musk's space services company is set to make history today with the launch of its Falcon Heavy cargo ship. The reusable rocket is a bulked up version of the company's go-to Falcon 9 series - in fact, it's basically three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together. The company has flown 45 Falcon 9 flights (with three failures) - this will be the first full-go flight for the Heavy. Each Falcon 9 has nine engines, giving the behemoth Falcon Heavy a total of 27 engines capable of 5 million pounds of thrust and able to launch up to 140,000 pounds of cargo into space (see a video of a static test launch from last month). The increased payload is expected to open new business avenues for SpaceX, but the Heavy, which has been under development for about 8 years, is envisioned to carry passengers to the Moon and even Mars. The launch window is set for between 1:30-4:00pm ET and you can watch live here.

Markets See (Massive) Correction.
US stock markets took a plunge yesterday, with the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 both dropping more than 4%. The Dow saw its biggest intraday drop in history, falling more than 1600 points before recovering slightly to finish down 1175 points (see ticker). While the drop continued the downward movement from last week - which saw the worst weekly losses in more than two years - many analysts view the fall as a correction (albeit sudden) to what was a red hot January, with markets rising nearly 7% in the first month of 2018. As with last week, a tighter labor market (i.e. higher labor costs) and inflation (i.e. higher borrowing costs) continue to play a role in the adjustment. Despite the recent volatility US economic data remains strong, and while the drop was large, it didn't rank in the Top 20 of all time when measured by percentage. 

House Panel Approves Rebuttal Memo.
A US House Intelligence panel voted to release a memo that reportedly rebuts a memo released last week alleging bias in the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The original memo, written by GOP committee staff, accused the FBI of using unverified information to obtain a FISA warrant, allowing them to spy on an American citizen (in this case, a Trump campaign adviser). After blocking the competing memo last week, the panel - which is controlled by Republicans - voted unanimously to approve the rebuttal memo, penned by Democrat staff. President Trump now has five days to make a final decision on whether to make the document public - if he declines, the House could potentially hold a full, closed-door vote to override him. 
 

> Paul Simon announces he'll retire from touring following upcoming Homeward Bound tour (More)
> Former Patriots Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia is named Head Coach of Detroit Lions (More) | New England will reportedly replace him with Greg Schiano (More)
> John Mahoney, best known for his role on Frasier, dies at 77 (More)
 

> Intel debuts new Vaunt smart glasses that project display onto user's retina (More)
> Working in dim light may be bad for your brain, studies show 30% reduction in hippocampus (area responsible for learning and memory) in lab rats kept in low light environments (More)
> 100-million-year-old part spider, part scorpion specimens trapped in amber shed light on spider evolution (More)
 

> Lululemon CEO abruptly resigns citing he had fallen short of “standards of conduct” (More)
> Uber vs Waymo (Google self-driving unit) trade secrets trial kicks off - "we’re bringing this case because Uber is cheating" (More)
> Semiconductor giant Broadcom makes $121B “best and final offer” to acquire Qualcomm; would be largest technology acquisition ever (More)
 

> Supreme Court won't intervene in Pennsylvania's decision to redraw congressional districts ahead of 2018 midterms, deadline for new draft map is Friday (More)
> US to reduce troop level in Iraq by up to 60% after 2017 victories over ISIS (More)
> 2015 letter casts doubt on Pope Francis' "zero tolerance" stance towards abuse (More)

The Stranger | Eli Sanders. For every high-profile public scandal, there are a bunch of staffers who had been working faithfully believing in the integrity of their boss up to the moment the news breaks. Go inside the six-month-long downfall of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, who was accused of - and eventually resigned over - allegations of child sex abuse.
 

The Times-Picayune | Ted Jackson. In the summer of 1990, photojournalist Ted Jackson scoured the streets of New Orleans looking for information on a story. Instead he found Jackie “The Headhunter” Wallace a former New Orleans football legend and three time Super Bowl veteran, now sleeping on cardboard with a plastic sheet for a blanket. Jackie’s story is not a simple one - read how crack cocaine and alcohol took him from the pinnacle of sports to the streets. 

CBInsights analyzes the top 20 reasons startups fail.

A survey of US bartenders reveals what they actually think about you.

The destructive joy of Philadelphia Eagles fans, in photos.  

The greatest rapper alive - from each year between 1979 and now (via Complex).

Find out where your town's air pollution comes from.  

A record-breaking seventeen inches of snow covers Moscow in 24 hours (w/ photos).

College football player awarded community service award for completing 240 hours of service...that was court-ordered in a plea deal.

The Berlin Wall has now been gone for as long as it stood  - check out then and now photos. 

Clickbait: Chemical in McDonald's fries may hold key to curing baldness.

Historybook: HBD Babe Ruth (1895); HBD Ronald Reagan (1911); HBD Bob Marley (1945); King George VI dies, Elizabeth II becomes Queen (1952); HBD Rick Astley (1966); RIP Arthur Ashe (1993).

"SUCCESS IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION. THE DOING IS OFTEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OUTCOME."
-Arthur Ashe
 

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