Good morning. It's Tuesday, Oct. 22, and we're covering a New York City subway manslaughter trial, a lengthy blackout for an island nation, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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Jury selection began yesterday for the trial of Daniel Penny, the former Marine charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train in May 2023.
Prosecutors allege then-24-year-old Penny "recklessly caused the death" of 30-year-old Neely, who was reportedly shouting and acting erratically before Penny, along with two passengers, placed Neely in a chokehold for about six minutes (see footage, warning—sensitive content). Police officers said they felt a faint pulse and administered the opioid-overdose medication Narcan before performing CPR. Neely died later at the hospital.
Prosecutors say Penny's use of force was unjustifiable and reckless. The defense argues Penny acted to protect other passengers and only intended to hold Neely until police arrived, not to kill him. Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of second-degree manslaughter and up to four years for negligent homicide.
Separately, opening statements began in the retrial of former Louisville, Kentucky, officer Brett Hankison over charges related to the 2020 police raid that led to Breonna Taylor's death. |
Cuba is experiencing its longest blackout in decades, with the island under its fourth day without power yesterday. The grid’s collapse—predicted for years—came as the island’s 10 million residents were also hit by a hurricane. Schools are closed through at least tomorrow.
Cuba’s 50-year-old electrical grid has been blamed partly for the crisis, along with its reliance on dwindling oil imports. Cuba’s grid (including eight power plants) runs on crude oil, with the island relying on most of its imports from allies like Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico to cover its energy deficit. As the US temporarily eased sanctions on Venezuela this year, the country prioritized exports to US companies. Meanwhile, Mexico’s oil production fell to its lowest level in 45 years, exacerbating Cuba’s energy deficit.
As some Cubans have turned out to protest, the government has warned against civil disobedience; the last major energy crisis in Cuba, in 2021, led to a wave of historic protests and the emigration of roughly half a million Cubans to the US. |
The 2024-25 NBA season gets into full swing tonight. The action begins with the New York Knicks traveling to the reigning champion, the Boston Celtics (7:30 pm ET, TNT), followed by the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves (10 pm ET, TNT).
Top storylines entering the season include whether the Celtics will defend their title and secure a 19th championship; if Nikola Jokić will win a fourth MVP in five years; how father-and-son duo LeBron and Bronny James will fare; and how offseason moves, like four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson signing with the Dallas Mavericks, will shape the league landscape. See all the storylines here.
This season will also feature the second annual in-season tournament—a monthlong round-robin competition, which includes all 30 teams and counts toward teams' regular season records. Games begin Nov. 12, culminating with the NBA Cup awarded Dec. 17 in Las Vegas. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
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> Sean "Diddy" Combs faces seven new civil lawsuits, which include allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl; Combs is currently in jail in New York on racketeering and sex trafficking charges (More) |
> Producer of "Blade Runner 2049" sues Elon Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery for using images of the film without permission during Tesla's Cybercab promo event (More) |
> Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's upstart tech-infused golf league TGL sets Jan. 7 launch date with the first team match broadcast on ESPN (More) |
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> Wall Street Journal, NY Post, and others sue AI platform Perplexity, claiming its chatbot violates copyright law (More) | Microsoft to unveil tools to build customizable AI agents—bots designed for specific tasks—in its Copilot Studio (More) |
> Paleontologists discover smallest fossilized dinosaur eggs found to date; 80-million-year-old specimens likely laid by an undiscovered type of dinosaur (More) |
> Deep brain stimulation may be effective at treating depression, new clinical study suggests; test uses a wearable cap to deliver gentle electrical voltages at home (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq +0.3%) (More) | Shares of Kenvue—the maker of Tylenol and Listerine—close up 5% after activist investor Starboard Value reportedly takes large stake (More) |
> The Walt Disney Co. to appoint outgoing CEO Bob Iger's successor in early 2026, taps Morgan Stanley veteran James Gorman as chair (More) |
> Payments giant Stripe acquires stablecoin payments company Bridge for $1.1B (More) | Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies tied to the value of a traditional currency; see overview (More) |
📈 Venture capital, bankruptcy, taxes, oh my: Sign up for 1440's new Business & Finance newsletter, launching Oct. 31. Sign up here for free! |
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> Biden administration proposes rule to expand access to contraceptive products, including requiring health insurance companies to cover recommended over-the-counter birth control (More) | Student loan repayments paused for six additional months for 8 million borrowers under the SAVE plan (More) |
> Moldovans vote in favor of the country joining the European Union by thin margin, with 99% of the votes counted and 50.46% voting "yes" to the referendum; Moldova, once part of the Soviet Union, lies between Ukraine and Romania (More) |
> Fethullah Gülen, a US-based Turkish cleric accused of orchestrating 2016 coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, dies at age 83 (More) | US activist Thelma Mothershed-Wair, member of Little Rock Nine, dies at age 83 (More) |
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> "Not Today": A Miracle in Palm Beach
The Sunday Long Read | Joe Sexton. In 2022, the pilot of a small plane fell unconscious at 10,000 feet, turning off autopilot and sending the plane into a nosedive. Two passengers—neither with any flying experience—were left to land a plane in Palm Beach, Florida. (Read)
> Writing in Pictures
The Yale Review | Chris Ware. On the 50th anniversary of Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go," a fan revisits one of history's bestselling children's authors—and the logic driving his world of anthropomorphic animals. (Read) |
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