Good morning. It's Wednesday, Oct. 29, and we're covering Hurricane Melissa's historic landfall, Texas suing the makers of Tylenol, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica’s southwest coast yesterday with 185 mph winds. The Category 5 storm is among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes and the most powerful to hit Jamaica since record-keeping began 174 years ago.
The storm caused widespread power outages and road closures, making it difficult to immediately ascertain damage and possible casualties. Prime Minister Andrew Holness had warned that Jamaica’s infrastructure was not built to withstand the storm, whose winds doubled from 70 to 140 mph over the weekend. Melissa is the fourth of this season’s five Atlantic hurricanes to undergo rapid intensification—a speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours. Scientists say warmer waters fuel the phenomenon. The Caribbean waters Melissa traveled over were 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average for this time of year.
Melissa is forecast to move across southeastern Cuba today and into the Bahamas by this evening, as of this writing. Monitor live tracker here, and see photos of the storm's impact here. |
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit yesterday against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, alleging the companies marketed Tylenol as safe for pregnant women without disclosing possible links between neurodevelopmental disorders and acetaminophen use. The lawsuit claims the companies violated consumer protection laws and cites recent public statements from President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The suit centers on claims that prenatal acetaminophen use may be associated with autism and ADHD, referencing a Harvard and Mount Sinai review that found correlations but did not establish causation. Health experts and leading medical groups have disputed those conclusions, saying current evidence does not support a causal link.
Johnson & Johnson, which transferred its consumer health business to Kenvue in 2023, has said it retains no liability for Tylenol following the divestiture. The lawsuit alleges the move was intended to shield assets unlawfully. Kenvue maintains that Tylenol remains safe for use during pregnancy. |
OpenAI announced yesterday it has completed its reorganization—a multibillion-dollar effort allowing it to operate more like a traditional for-profit company. The new structure will enable OpenAI to more easily raise funds and may pave the way for an initial public offering.
Under the new arrangement, the company will operate as a for-profit public benefit corporation—an industry standard adopted by competitors including Anthropic and xAI. The nonprofit arm dedicated to health and AI resilience—called the OpenAI Foundation—will hold a 26% stake in OpenAI Group PBC. Valued at $130B, the stake makes the OpenAI Foundation the US' most valuable nonprofit, outpacing the Gates Foundation’s $86B. Microsoft will retain a 27% stake in the for-profit with some changes to its current relationship (see details).
The restructuring allowed OpenAI to secure $40B in promised funding from SoftBank and other investors. It also ends an experimental structure, which saw OpenAI's nonprofit arm controlling business operations. See a timeline here.
Plus—See the best resources we've found on OpenAI and IPOs. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Toronto Blue Jays defeat Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4, tying World Series 2-2 ahead of Game 5 tonight at 8 pm ET (More) |
> Seven-foundation coalition launches $50M literary arts fund, citing chronic underfunding of independent publishers and creative writing initiatives (More) | ABC releases 2026 midseason schedule, revealing "Scrubs" series reboot Feb. 25 (More) |
> Prunella Scales, British actress who played Sybil Fawlty in 1970s television sitcom "Fawlty Towers," dies at age 93 (More) |
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> US startup Substrate, backed by investor Peter Thiel, raises over $100M for technology aimed at revamping microchip production within three years (More) |
> New observations of colliding black holes suggest black holes formed in dense regions where they repeatedly merge (More) | All the best resources we've found on black holes (1440 Topics) |
> Biologists find nutritional value of marine prey can vary greatly within single species, complicating estimations of predators' daily food requirements (More) |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq +0.8%) ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut decision today (More) | Nokia shares rise nearly 23% after Nvidia takes $1B stake in the company (More) |
> Amazon lays off 14,000 corporate workers (More) | UPS regulatory filings show package deliverer cut 48,000 jobs since last year as part of turnaround (More) |
> Trump Media partners with Crypto.com to add prediction markets to Truth Social, enabling users to bet on elections, sports games, and other events (More) |
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In partnership with RAD Intel |
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In 1999, $1K in Nvidia’s IPO would be worth $2.5M today. Now another early-stage AI tech startup is breaking through—and it’s still early.
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Just opened at $0.81/share, allocations are limited.* |
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> US military strikes four alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean in three separate attacks, killing 14 people with one survivor (More) |
> Democratic-led states sue the Agriculture Department, alleging it is obligated to continue food stamp benefits amid the federal government shutdown (More) |
> Israeli military strikes Gaza, killing at least seven people, after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement and failing to return hostage remains (More) |
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1440 Topics pairs staff-written overviews with the best resources we've found, curated in a single place for you to explore. We've added: |
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Clickbait: Lessons from a toilet camera.
Historybook: Sir Walter Raleigh is executed (1618); "Joy of Painting" host Bob Ross born (1942); Actress Winona Ryder born (1971); Actress Gabrielle Union born (1972); Astronaut John Glenn becomes the oldest NASA astronaut in space at age 77 (1998).
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*Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for RAD Intel made pursuant to Regulation A+ offering and involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The valuation is set by the Company and there is currently no public market for the Company's Common Stock. Nasdaq ticker “RADI” has been reserved by RAD Intel and any potential listing is subject to future regulatory approval and market conditions. Brand references reflect factual platform use, not endorsement. Investor references reflect factual individual or institutional participation and do not imply endorsement or sponsorship by the referenced companies. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.radintel.ai. |
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