Good morning. It's Tuesday, Feb. 17, and we're covering the father of an alleged school shooter on trial, the history of Fat Tuesday, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.6 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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Opening statements began yesterday in the trial of Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray. The elder Gray has pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
In September 2024, then-14-year-old Colt allegedly killed four people and wounded nine others at his high school in Winder, Georgia. Colt’s father had purchased the AR-15-style rifle for Colt as a Christmas gift and had also purchased a larger magazine for extra rounds. The gift came despite a visit from police over threats Colt allegedly made to carry out a school shooting (no charges were filed; see video). Colt had also allegedly kept a shrine to a school shooter in his bedroom. Prosecutors say the elder Gray’s actions indicate “criminal negligence.”
The trial follows a relatively new approach by prosecutors to charge parents of school shooters. The first instance came in 2021, with charges against the Crumbley parents, whose son killed four students in Oxford, Michigan. |
Cities around the world celebrate Mardi Gras today, the final day before the Christian fasting and religious observance period of Lent begins. French for "Fat Tuesday," Mardi Gras caps Carnival, which starts annually Jan. 6—the 12th day after Christmas—and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. Celebrations include weeks of parades, masked balls, and king cake-filled gatherings.
New Orleans is considered the US epicenter for festivities, drawing roughly 1 million visitors and generating around $900M in economic impact (although Mobile, Alabama, claims the first American Mardi Gras in 1703). Social clubs known as krewes, like Rex and Zulu, roll through the city in elaborate floats, tossing beads and doubloons. Roughly 2.5 million pounds of trash are produced each year, including nearly 100,000 pounds of beads, prompting the development of new biodegradable throws.
Mardi Gras evolved from ancient Roman festivals into a global event, from Rio de Janeiro's samba parades to Venice's masked balls. See photos here and here. |
Researchers have found the Lac La Belle, a luxury passenger ship that sank in Lake Michigan more than 150 years ago. The 217-foot steamer was discovered 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin. See images of the ship, including stereoviews, here.
The Lac La Belle was built in Cleveland in 1864. The ship sank twice—the first time in 1866 after a collision on the St. Clair River. After being restored in 1869, the ship was purchased by a Milwaukee-based company. On Oct. 13, 1872, the ship left the city with 53 passengers and crew, as well as goods, including barley, flour, pork, and whiskey. After two hours, it began leaking uncontrollably and encountered a storm, forcing passengers to escape by lifeboat. Eight people died.
Eighty-year-old shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn discovered the hull via sonar in October 2022 and waited to announce its discovery until he created a 3D model of the ship. Learn more about shipwrecks via 1440 Topics here. |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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The Lithium Boom is Heating Up |
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Thanks to growing demand, lithium stock prices grew 2X+ from June 2025 to January 2026. $ALB climbed as high as 227%. $LAC hit 151%. $SQM, 159%.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall dies at age 95 after decadeslong film career, including roles in "The Godfather" franchise, "Apocalypse Now," and "Lonesome Dove," among others (More) |
> US women's ice hockey team advances to gold medal game after 5-0 win over Sweden, will play Canada Thursday (More) | Japan wins pairs figure skating champion; US pairs come in seventh and ninth (More) |
> Anthony Edwards named NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player after Team USA Stars win championship game in new USA vs. World format (More) |
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> OpenAI hires Peter Steinberger, creator of the AI agent social network OpenClaw, to focus on development of personalized agents (More) | What is OpenClaw? (More) |
> Martian soil analysis suggests the planet was warm and wet during its Noachian era, roughly 4 billion years ago; findings provide support for scenario countering the theory early Mars was icy and cold (More) | Mars 101 (1440 Topics) |
> Researchers develop "liquid battery" that stores energy from the sun for later use; light causes the substance's molecular structure to change, releasing energy as heat (More) |
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In partnership with hear.com |
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This Is The Tiny Hearing Device Experts Trust |
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> Anthropic reports 11% boost in daily active users following Super Bowl commercial criticizing OpenAI for integrating ads into ChatGPT (More) | Defense officials consider cutting ties with Anthropic over its terms of use banning monitoring of Americans and autonomous weaponry (More) |
> Tom Pritzker, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels, resigns from position over ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (More) |
> Early IRS data suggests the average tax refund is nearly $2,300, up almost 11% from last year; filing deadline is April 15 (More) | Everything we've learned about income taxes (More) |
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> Second round of US-Iran nuclear talks begins today in Geneva after Iran launches second round of naval drills, the US deploys second aircraft carrier to the region (More) |
> The US and Hungary sign agreement to cooperate on civilian nuclear energy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signals support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the lead-up to April election (More) |
> Minnesota authorities say FBI will not share information with state authorities on the agency's investigation into the death of protester Alex Pretti (More) |
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> Double Dutch and the Rhythm of Joy
Niche to Meet You | Leslie Eiler Thompson. A sound-rich story about the girls and women who carried Double Dutch forward—and how its rhythms helped shape early hip-hop, even as its originators were written out. (Listen) |
> The Science of Love and Obsession
Lit Hub | Tom Bellamy. Desire, whether fleeting or obsessive longing, is rooted in brain reward systems that make us want things sometimes far more powerfully than we like them, even twisting yearning into addiction-like obsession. (Read) |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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Exxon Has an Unlikely New Competitor |
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In partnership: Americans over 55 are ditching hearing aids for this new device.*
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Historybook: US House of Representatives breaks an Electoral College tie to elect Thomas Jefferson president (1801); Vanguard 2 launched as first weather satellite (1959); Michael Jordan born (1963); Volkswagen Beetle passes Ford Model T to become world’s bestselling car (1972); Golf great Mickey Wright dies (2020).
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