9.25.2024

Facts, without motives.
 

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Good morning. It's Wednesday, Sept. 25, and we're covering disturbances in the Atlantic and Pacific, a health diagnosis for an NFL legend, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.9 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know
 

Florida Braces for Helene

Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast late tomorrow as a potential Category 3 storm, prompting a state of emergency in 61 of the state's 67 counties. As of this writing, Helene is poised to strengthen into the Atlantic's fifth hurricane today after it passes through the Yucatan channel near Cancun. Helene is the Atlantic's eighth named storm of the year.

 

A hurricane watch is in effect from Tallahassee in Florida's northwestern panhandle to Tampa along the state's western coast (see tracker). Many school systems and universities will close through Friday amid warnings of storm surges as high as 15 feet and sustained winds over 115 mph. Several counties have also ordered evacuation notices. Last month, meteorologists reaffirmed this year's Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to Nov. 30) would have a 90% chance of above-normal activity, with 17 to 24 named storms likely.

 

In the Pacific, at least two people are dead after Category 3 Hurricane John made landfall Monday night on Mexico's southwestern coast. 

 

FTX Deputy Sentenced

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced in New York yesterday to two years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $11B for her role in the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The sentencing was stiffer than what prosecutors had sought. Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to seven criminal charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.

 

The 29-year-old was a key figure in the $8B fraud scheme orchestrated by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Ellison admitted to conspiring with Bankman-Fried by lying to investors, stealing FTX customer funds, and using those funds to create misleading financial statements. Ellison testified against Bankman-Fried, her former colleague and romantic partner, in his trial last year. He was found guilty in November and sentenced to 25 years in prison. See timeline of events here.

 

Two other former senior FTX executives, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced Oct. 30 and Nov. 20, respectively.

 

Brett Favre Diagnosis

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre revealed yesterday he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The disclosure from the 54-year-old, who primarily played with the Green Bay Packers during his 20-season NFL career, came during congressional testimony on the misuse of welfare funds.

 

Parkinson's is the world's second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting roughly 10 million people globally. It stems from the premature decay of dopamine-producing neurons in the midbrain (watch overview). The average age for a Parkinson's diagnosis is 60 years old, making Favre's diagnosis slightly earlier than usual. Treatments typically involve mimicking dopamine in the relevant neural region, though the efficacy of such treatments declines over time. 

 

Favre was testifying over his involvement in a Mississippi welfare fund misuse scandal. He was found to have received $1.1M in speaking fees (for speeches he never gave) from welfare funds and was linked to the use of $5M in welfare funds to pay for a volleyball facility at his alma mater. Favre hasn't been criminally charged and has repaid the speaking fees.

In partnership with Incogni

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Sean "Diddy" Combs sued for sexual assault and distribution of a video of the alleged assault (More) | Combs' music has seen an 18% increase in streams since his arrest last week on sex trafficking charges (More)

> MLB regular season set to wrap this weekend; see latest playoff picture (More) | ... and see latest WNBA playoff bracket (More)

> Paramount Global begins second round of layoffs that will impact 15% of its US workforce; CBS News among networks most impacted by layoffs (More

 

Science & Technology

> Researchers use AI algorithm to identify more than 300 new geoglyphs—large-scale designs on landscapes—in Peru's Nazca desert; find nearly doubles number of known etchings made by the pre-Inca civilization (More) | Nazca lines 101 (More)

> Neuroscientists find the human brain categorizes zero as numerical value instead of the abstract concept of "nothing"; answer to long-standing question sheds light on how the brain processes quantitative information (More

> Human heart tissue shows signs of accelerated aging after just one month in space, new study reveals (More

In partnership with EnergyX

General Motors Bets Big on This Lithium Stock

414,469 tons. That’s how much lithium GM will need per year to meet its 2035 EV target, which is why they led a $50M investment round in EnergyX. Their patented tech extracts lithium 300% more efficiently than conventional methods. Plus, where those methods take 12+ months, EnergyX needs just two days

 

They have rights to 100,000+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land and earned a $5M DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant. Now they’re aiming to produce 65,000 tons of lithium/yr for the $546B energy storage market. 

 

Invest in EnergyX by 10/3.*

 
 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.6%), with S&P 500, Dow closing at record highs (More) | China's central bank unveils biggest stimulus package since 2020 amid predictions the country will miss this year's 5% annual growth target; Chinese stocks jump on news (More)

> Justice Department sues Visa on antitrust grounds, accuses world's biggest payment network of monopolizing debit card market by penalizing businesses and banks forgoing its payment processing tech (More) | CrowdStrike executive apologizes before House subcommittee over multibillion-dollar outage in July (More

> Southwest Airlines investor Elliott Investment Management calls for shareholder meeting as soon as next week in ongoing bid to shake up airline's board (More)

 

Politics & World Affairs

> Thousands of people evacuate Lebanon as death toll from two days of Israeli strikes passes 560 people; Israel says it killed head of Hezbollah's rocket program (More) | See war updates (More) | War discussions dominate opening day of 79th annual UN General Assembly (More)

> Swiss police arrest multiple people behind first-of-its-kind "suicide pod"—which releases nitrogen gas inside enclosed chamber—following inaugural use by US woman; Swiss law allows assisted suicide but without external assistance (More

> Man discovered weeks ago with rifle near golf course owned by former President Donald Trump charged with assassination attempt (More) | Missouri executes Marcellus Williams, convicted in the 1998 murder of a former newspaper journalist, amid ongoing disputes over evidence in the case (More)

In partnership with Incogni

Your Personal Info Is Floating Around the Web

 

And it’s not just scammers who might be after it. Data brokers will sell your sensitive information to anyone willing to pay.

 

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Etcetera
 

Princeton University tops this year's coveted college rankings.

 

See the winners of Nikon's light microscope competition.

 

... and a glowing frog on a glowing mushroom. (w/photo)

 

The history of Wall Street, from a colonial wall to the world's financial capital. (via YouTube)

 

Scientists grow 1,000-year-old seed into Biblical tree.

 

Lost cat travels hundreds of miles toward home.

 

Paranormal activity on Ring camera could yield $100K award.

 

... and speaking of ghosts, new "ghost shark" is discovered.

 

Clickbait: Hotel soaps are not what they appear to be.

 

Historybook: US Congress passes the Bill of Rights (1789); "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve born (1952); The Little Rock Nine integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957); Catherine Zeta-Jones born (1969); Golfer Arnold Palmer dies (2016). 

"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

- Christopher Reeve

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*Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX's Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.energyx.com/.

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