6.6.2018

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.
 

Kate Spade Dead at 55.
Fashion icon Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment yesterday, in what officials said was an apparent suicide. Police at the scene were said to have recovered a note from Spade, which reportedly contained a message to her 13-year-old daughter. The 55-year-old Spade was best known for launching her eponymous line of designer handbags in 1993. Spade sold the entirety of her shares to the Neiman Marcus Group for an unknown amount, who in turn sold the brand to Liz Claiborne Inc. for $124M in 2006 - in May 2017, the fashion giant Coach purchased Kate Spade for $2.4 billion. The brand now operates 175 stores worldwide. 

Spade's sister said she suffered from mental illness, and her suicide was "not unexpected". 

David Koch Steps Down.
Billionaire industrialist and influential political backer David Koch announced yesterday he will step down as executive vice president of Koch Industries, as well as his position with Koch-affiliated political groups. Koch Industries is the second largest private US employer, with $115B in revenues and 120,000 employees. Though Koch and his brother Charles had been politically active for decades - David was the libertarian party's vice presidential candidate in 1980 - they emerged into public consciousness during the 2008 election cycle. In particular they founded and bankrolled Americans for Prosperity, which was widely credited with focusing the Tea Party into a political movement in 2009, helping Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives in 2010. More recently, the pair said their networks would deploy up to $400 million in the 2018 midterm elections. The 78-year-old Koch - who was diagnosed with prostate cancer more than two decades ago - cited ongoing health concerns for the decision.

Social Security Dips Into Trust Fund.
A new report says the US Social Security program's costs will exceed its income this year, requiring the program to dip into its $2.9T of reserve funds for the first time since 1982. Close to 62 million Americans receive some form of Social Security (see data) - a further 5.5 million receive what's known as Supplemental Security Income that is administered by the Social Security program but paid for by a separate fund. The program brings in close to $1T each year mostly through payroll taxes (see how it works), so as the retired population increases relative to the working-age population, costs begin to outweigh funding. For comparison, in 2016 the program brought in $958B, 95% of which went to beneficiaries and 3.7% of which went into the trust fund. 

With the growing number of older Americans, the trust fund is expected to be depleted in 2034 barring changes. 

Correction: Imagine if you misattributed one of the most well-known songs of all time? That's what we did yesterday when we shared 4th grader Adam Kornowski's amazing recital of John Legend's 'Imagine'. The song is of course by the Beatles legend John Lennon. 
 

> Modified type of immunotherapy, focusing on cancer cell mutations and not cancer type, leads to full regression in breast cancer patient in experimental trial (More)
> Ratio of maternal omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids found to influence infant obesity via the infant's microbiome (More)
> Report says Facebook has data-sharing partnerships with at least four Chinese device makers, including Huawei, who was flagged as a national security threat by US intelligence (More)
 

> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cancels most of August recess, citing need to vote on Presidential appointments; will keep in-cycle incumbents off campaign trail (More)
> Mexico hits US with 20% tariffs on pork imports in retaliation for aluminum and steel tariffs recently announced by US (More)
> Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), businessman John Cox (R) advance in California open primary for Governor's seat (More)
 

> Miss America will no longer feature a swimsuit competition (More)
> French Open: Novak Djokovic upset, loses in quarterfinal (More) | Americans Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens to face-off in women's Semifinals (More)
> National Museum of African American History and Culture to honor Oprah Winfrey with new exhibit (More)
 

> ZTE, China's second largest telecom equipment maker, signs agreement to lift US ban, to pay $1B fine and stay in business (More)
> Tech stocks push Nasdaq to second consecutive day of all-time high (More) | Twitter to join S&P500 index replacing Monsanto, shares up 5% (More)
> There are more US job openings than unemployed workers for first time since job openings were tracked in 2000 (More)

Seven in ten Americans feel worn out and can't keep up with the news (someone send them 1440...). 

Floyd Mayweather, Lionel Messi lead the annual list of the world's highest paid athletes.  

A scientific list of the Internet's most popular memes.

Study says Louisiana judges are giving out harsher sentences after unexpected LSU losses. 

Check these amazing pieces from American surrealist painter Greg Simkin's new exhibition The Escape Artist. 

Dennis Rodman will arrive in Singapore a day before the Trump-Kim summit on June 12 - will he play a role in negotiations?

Archaeologists find 4,000-year-old jar containing Italy's oldest olive oil. 

Try this Army-created algorithm to optimize your caffeine intake. 

Clickbait: Hammer-wielding suspect in Florida grocery store taken down by flying cans of beans.
 
Historybook: RIP Patrick Henry (1799); Securities and Exchange Commission established (1933); D-Day: Allies begin Normandy invasions (1944); Bobby Kennedy assassinated (1968); RIP Anne Bancroft (2005).
 

"I know of no way of judging the future but by the past."
- Patrick Henry
 

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