Good morning. It's Thursday, Feb. 26, and we're covering Dr. Casey Means' Senate confirmation hearing, how caterpillars infiltrate ant colonies, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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🇺🇸 Civics Thursday—America turns 250 this year, and we're marking the occasion with weekly drops on 1440 Topics to help you stay informed on the key topics that shape the world around you. This week: The Supreme Court. Scroll down for pages on Justice John Marshall, the case that created judicial review, and more! |
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Dr. Casey Means, a strategist behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda, urged tackling the root cause of chronic diseases yesterday during her confirmation hearing to become the nation's next surgeon general.
Lawmakers across the aisle repeatedly pressed Means on vaccines, which she suggested should be a discussion between individuals and their doctors. The Stanford-educated physician dropped out of her surgical residency program in 2018, citing a belief that the healthcare system is broken. She went on to open an alternative medicine practice, cofound a health-tracking app, and write a bestselling book. Critics, including two former surgeons general, question her credentials, citing that her medical license lapsed in 2024 and the hundreds of thousands of dollars she reportedly made promoting health and wellness products, sometimes without disclosing her business interests.
An October survey found roughly four in 10 parents openly align with the Make America Healthy Again movement. Of those parents, 58% do not trust US health agencies to ensure vaccine safety and effectiveness. |
The third round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations begins today in Geneva. Discussions come as the US has amassed its largest military force in the region in decades, with President Donald Trump threatening to strike by next week.
Trump reiterated this week that he would never allow Iran to have access to a nuclear weapon. Tehran maintains its nuclear ambitions are peaceful but has also enriched uranium to 60% purity, a threshold approaching the weapons-grade level of 90%. Satellite images show the country has fortified sites struck by the US last year, including by constructing a roof over part of the Natanz enrichment site. The US has meanwhile sent two aircraft carrier strike groups and dispatched F-22 fighter jets to Israel.
Military advisers reportedly believe it would be difficult to carry out a limited strike against Tehran. The negotiations do not cover Iran's ballistic missile program or crackdown on protests; those demonstrations have resumed in recent days. |
Scientists have discovered how certain baby caterpillars use rhythm to trick ants into caring for them until they mature into butterflies. Findings released yesterday suggest rhythm—long studied in primates—plays a key role in insect survival and may influence animal interactions more broadly than thought.
Caterpillar species dependent on ants (see overview) produce vibrational signals that mimic the ants' communication patterns—like a rhythmic "secret knock." The signals prompt ants to carry the caterpillars into their nests, where the caterpillars receive protection and food. In some cases, the caterpillars feed on the ants' young.
Both ants and the most ant-dependent caterpillars generate a steady beat called isochrony. The caterpillars and ants also produce a rarer rhythmic pattern known as double meter, alternating long and short beats, which has been observed mainly in a few primates. The closer a species' survival depends on ants, the more closely its rhythms match the colony's. Watch ants adopting a caterpillar here. |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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Exxon Has an Unlikely New Competitor |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Art historian Christophe Leribault named new director of the Louvre; the former head of the Palace of Versailles and Orsay Museum is tasked with overseeing a security overhaul and facilities renovation (More) |
> Phil Collins, Jeff Buckley, and Shakira are among 17 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (More, w/full list) |
> "Zootopia 2" surpasses "A Minecraft Movie" as the highest-grossing domestic release of 2025, with $424.2M after 13 straight weeks in the domestic top 10 (More) |
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> AI startup Anthropic faces evening deadline to allow unrestricted use of its platforms by the Defense Department or potentially be labeled a supply chain risk; contested points include use for mass surveillance, autonomous weapons (More) |
> The brains of super agers—those aged 80 or older who retain the mental clarity of people decades younger—produce new neurons at twice the rate of their peers (More) | Sign up for the weekly 1440 Health & Medicine newsletter (Join here) |
> Ketogenic diets help prevent seizures in some epilepsy patients via physical changes in the brain that dampen signals between cells; the diets are typically high in fat and low in carbohydrates (More) |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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You’re Already Too Late for SpaceX’s IPO |
SpaceX plans to IPO at a $1.5T valuation, the 10th-most-valuable public company by the time the average person can invest. The lesson? Like Uber delivering 490K% returns to First Round Capital, today’s biggest growth can come at the private stage.
A similar dynamic’s playing out in lithium, where EnergyX reached a $1B private valuation. Only now you can invest at the private stage, too. With prices rising and demand growing 5X by 2040, EnergyX can recover 3X more lithium than traditional methods.
Now EnergyX is preparing to unlock up to 9.8M tons in Chile. Invest for $11/share before midnight PT.* |
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> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.8%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +1.3%) led by gains in tech sector (More) |
> Prediction market Kalshi fines an editor for YouTuber MrBeast and a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in California for potential insider trading and market manipulation (More) |
> Nvidia reports record Q4 earnings and revenue, fueled by 75% year over year revenue growth from data center business (More) |
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> Cuba's government says it killed four people in a Florida-registered speedboat in Cuban waters, wounded six others after passengers opened fire on their soldiers; US was gathering intelligence as of this writing to learn about the incident (More) |
> Larry Summers resigns as Harvard University professor following revelations of frequent email exchanges with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (More) |
> Sinkhole in Omaha, Nebraska, intersection traps two cars, with drivers escaping safely (More, w/video) |
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> The Plot
Criminal | Phoebe Judge. The story of Mary Surratt, who became the first woman sentenced to death in the US after aiding John Wilkes Booth in his conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. (Listen) |
> Apple's Big Bet
Wall Street Journal | Rolfe Winkler. For decades, Asia has dominated the advanced chipmaking industry, now a crucial sector for future AI dominance. Take a look inside Apple's early effort to reestablish the supply chain in the US. (Read) |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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Lithium demand’s fueling a modern-day gold rush. Essential for EVs, robots, and AI, Elon Musk said it best: “Do you like minting money? Well, the lithium business is for you.”
Enter EnergyX. Their tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. They’ve got a strategic investment from General Motors, raised $150M, and earned a $5M DoE grant. Now, they’re preparing to commercially unlock up to 9.8M tons of Chilean lithium. Invest before EnergyX’s share price increases at midnight PT.* |
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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 secret room where nine unelected justices decide your rights. Here's what we learned about the US Supreme Court.
> Explore the case that gave the Supreme Court the ability to review and strike down laws with the best resources we found on Marbury v. Madison.
> Learn about the man who made the Supreme Court what it is today with our topic page on Chief Justice John Marshall.
> Listen to the "1440 Explores" podcast that goes inside the Supreme Court—how it works, how cases get there, and what happens behind those closed doors.
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 a suggestion for our Civics section? Let us know here. |
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Historybook: Fashion designer Levi Strauss born (1829); Grand Canyon National Park established (1919); Musician Johnny Cash born (1932); Musician Erykah Badu born (1971); World Trade Center bombing kills six, injures more than 1,000 (1993). |
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"All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate … I choose love." |
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*Disclosure: Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. (“EnergyX”) has engaged 1440 Media to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX’s ongoing Regulation A offering. 1440 Media has been paid in cash and may receive additional compensation. 1440 Media and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.
This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX’s offering materials. EnergyX’s Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/.
Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results.
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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