Good morning. It's Thursday, April 9, and we're covering the bitcoin founder's possible identity, the 90th edition of a major golf championship, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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A former architect yesterday admitted to killing eight women from 1993 to 2011, burying their remains in remote areas, mostly along Long Island’s Gilgo Beach.
Rex Heuermann, now 62, is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in June on seven counts of murder. He also confessed to an eighth murder for which he was not charged. The lifelong Long Island resident was arrested in 2023, after a roughly 13-year investigation spurred by the discovery of human remains alongside a remote beach highway. Authorities ultimately used a witness description and cellphone data to zero in on Heuermann. Investigators later recovered discarded pizza crusts from his Manhattan workplace; DNA from the crust matched hair found on burlap used to restrain one of the victims. Dive deeper into how they cracked the case.
Public fascination with the murders has inspired several media adaptations, including a Peacock series released last year. Watch the trailer here. |
The anonymous inventor of bitcoin may have been unmasked as British cryptographer and computer scientist Adam Back, according to a New York Times report yesterday. The claim—which Back denied—was made by investigative journalist John Carreyrou, whose previous reporting led to the downfall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
Bitcoin launched in 2009 alongside a white paper authored under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto (see 1440’s overview on bitcoin); the identity of its creator (or creators) remains a mystery. More than 100 candidates have been suggested, including an Australian computer scientist convicted of fraud for attempting to claim to be Nakamoto. Carreyrou suspected Back based on an analysis of an email trove made public in the Australian case, along with Back’s identification with a digital anarchist movement known as cypherpunks.
Whoever Nakamoto is, they have gone to extensive lengths to hide their wealth—they’re believed to hold around $70B in bitcoin, making them one of the world’s 30 richest people. |
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The 2026 Masters Tournament begins today at Augusta National Golf Club. Two-time champion Scottie Scheffler enters as the favorite to become the first golfer to win three Masters in five years since Tiger Woods. Reigning winner Rory McIlroy looks to defend his title.
Founded in 1934 by golfer Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts, the Masters is one of the four major golf championships. The tournament, now in its 90th edition (skipped for three years during World War II), is held at the same course each year. It features cheap concessions (the famous pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches cost $1.50 each), the Champions Dinner, and the awarding of the green jacket—one of the sport's most recognizable symbols. This year's Masters is the first in 32 years without Woods or his rival Phil Mickelson.
Off the course, Augusta National has quietly built a roughly $500M real estate empire around its grounds, and its most coveted souvenir, a $50 lawn gnome introduced in 2016, now resells for hundreds. |
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In partnership with Frontieras |
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The Next $435B Energy Empire Is Being Minted |
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In today’s dollars, John D. Rockefeller would be worth $435 billion. But “oil money” is old news, and what’s next might surprise investors in 2026: a $2.1 trillion opportunity in “clean” coal.
Now is the “Rockefeller” moment for Frontieras North America as they reform coal into hydrogen, diesel, fertilizer and other valuable commodities (just like Rockefeller did with oil). With a White House that favors domestic energy, the Nasdaq ticker ‘FASF’ reserved, and the ground officially broken for their flagship coal reformation plant, Frontieras is positioned for potential valuation impact.
You have until tonight at 11:59 pm PT to invest in Frontieras at $7.77/share.* |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> "Ketamine Queen," who admitted to selling Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him, is sentenced to 15 years in prison; she is the third of five people to be sentenced after pleading guilty in connection with Perry's 2023 overdose (More) |
> Pittsburgh Pirates sign 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin to a nine-year, $140M contract less than one week after his MLB debut, marking the largest-ever deal for a baseball rookie (More) |
> "Saturday Night Live" reveals Olivia Rodrigo, Matt Damon, and Will Ferrell as the hosts for the final episodes of its 51st season, which concludes May 16 (More) |
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In partnership with Motley Fool Money |
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It’s Here: 0% Interest Now Into 2028 |
Here's a best-kept secret for managing credit card debt. This card offers 0% interest on a balance transfer into 2028. That’s almost two years to pay off your balance, sans interest.
During economic times like these, balance transfers can really make a difference. Simply by transferring your existing credit card balances to this card, you’ll give yourself 21 months(!) to pay it off, without accruing any interest at all.
Learn more and apply today. |
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> Meta launches Muse Spark, the first in a series of new AI models from the company's Superintelligence Labs, founded in July; the model is intended to compete with Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT (More) |
> Men and women who never marry found 70% and 85% more likely, respectively, to develop cancer than those who marry; researchers cite factors including greater support systems and economic stability (More) |
> Mummified reptile that died in Oklahoma roughly 289 million years ago allows scientists to reconstruct the complete breathing system of one of the first species to venture from water onto land (More, w/diagram) |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +2.5%, Dow +2.9%, Nasdaq +2.8%), oil falls below $95 per barrel on US-Iran two-week ceasefire (More) |
> Paramount President Jeff Shell steps down amid lawsuit accusing him of leaking confidential information about the company's business dealings (More) |
> Federal Reserve's March meeting minutes show officials still anticipate one rate cut this year but suggest lengthy Iran war could lead to hikes (More) | Read notes from the central bank's meeting (More) |
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> Israel launches heaviest wave of strikes yet on Lebanon, claiming ceasefire does not extend to its war against Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon (More) | Iran accuses the US of violating ceasefire, closes the Strait of Hormuz following Israel's attacks on Lebanon (More) |
> Justice Department says Pam Bondi will not comply with a House subpoena to testify on the Epstein files April 14, as she is no longer attorney general (More) |
> March 2026 deemed warmest March on record for contiguous US, was also the driest March since 2013 (More) |
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> The Road That Built America
AP News | Susan Montoya Bryan. A multimedia-rich tribute to Route 66 at 100 years old, tracing how a fading highway that once was a lifeline to Dust Bowl migrants became an enduring symbol of the American road trip. (Read) |
... plus, see photos of iconic stops along Route 66 here. |
> Sniffle Season
NY Times | Simar Bajaj, Jackson Gibbs. An illustrative explainer on why our bodies treat pollen like a parasite and what happens inside our immune system. (Read) |
... and explore a map of America's most allergy-prone cities here. |
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In partnership with Frontieras |
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Final Day to Lock in 'FASF' at $7.77/Share |
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1440 Topics: Civics Thursday |
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In celebration of America's 250th birthday, each week we're sharing what we've learned about key topics that help you stay informed and participate in the world around you.
> The Justice Department. The federal agency that prosecutes crime, enforces civil rights laws, and represents the US government in court—here's what we found on the Department of Justice.
> Watergate scandal. No event did more to reshape the relationship between the Justice Department and the presidency—explore the best resources we found on the Watergate scandal.
What is 1440 Topics? A continuously updated ecosystem where we curate the best evergreen resources we've found on thousands of topics for you to explore. Have feedback or a suggestion for our Civics section? Let us know here. |
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Historybook: Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War (1865); Actor and activist Paul Robeson born (1898); Architect Frank Lloyd Wright dies (1959); Golfer and LPGA cofounder Marilynn Smith dies (2019).
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*Please support our sponsors. |
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"I always said that if they have a golf course like this in heaven, I want to be the head pro. Every shot is within a fraction of disaster—that's what makes it so great." |
- Three-time Masters champion Gary Player |
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Behind the Name. In 1440, the printing press sparked a knowledge revolution. We carry that spirit forward, cutting through the noise and algorithm-driven feeds, to bring fact-driven knowledge to everyone.
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*Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Frontieras’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.frontieras.com/. Reservation of the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that we will be listed on the Nasdaq. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approval. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC. |
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