Good morning. It's Tuesday, Feb. 11, and we're covering an order to end the creation of new pennies, research about Earth's changing inner core, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the high cost of production as wasteful government spending as part of the administration's broader effort to reduce federal expenditure. Each penny costs approximately 3.69 cents to produce. The US made nearly 3.2 billion pennies in FY2024, costing taxpayers $85.3M, excluding the value of the pennies themselves.
It remains uncertain whether Trump can unilaterally halt penny production or if congressional legislation is required. Congress has constitutional authority over coinage and currency regulation, though federal law allows the Treasury Secretary some discretion in minting coins.
Proponents say discontinuing the penny could save millions annually and reduce environmental waste, while critics warn of potential economic disruptions, such as price rounding and consumer losses. The nickel also costs more to produce than its value, costing nearly 14 cents to produce per coin—a loss of $17.7M last year.
See the history of the penny here and check out our overview of US currency. |
The superhot inner core of planet Earth is both changing shape and the speed at which it rotates, according to a new study. The results may shed light on Earth's magnetic field, how the inner core affects the length of a day, and more.
Earth consists of four layers: the crust (about 20 miles thick), the mantle (1,800 miles thick), a liquid metal outer core (1,400 miles thick), and the inner core (1,500 miles across). Made primarily of nickel and iron, the inner core was long thought to be solid due to the extreme pressure at the center of Earth.
The new findings—determined by measuring how Antarctic earthquakes traveled through the different layers—reveal the inner core is not entirely solid but has a soft, deformable outer layer. The study also confirmed previous results showing the inner core rotates at different speeds than the rest of the planet.
Scientists say the core's behavior may alter the length of a day by fractions of a second. |
China's Demographic Crisis |
Marriage registrations in China fell to a record low of 6.1 million couples last year, a nearly 21% decrease from 2023 and the lowest number since the government began tracking data in 1986.
Chinese officials are concerned declining marriages are contributing to falling birth rates due to social norms and regulations that have discouraged unmarried couples from having children. The declines pose a challenge for the world's second-largest economy, which faces a shrinking workforce and an aging population (w/graph) amid an economic slowdown. Those over 60 years old account for about 22% of China's overall population, and roughly 300 million people—close to the entire US population—are projected to enter retirement in the next decade.
The drop in marriages is part of a decadelong trend (with the exception of a rebound in 2023)—total marriages in 2024 were less than half of the roughly 13 million marriages recorded in 2013. Chinese authorities have tested various measures to increase marriages, including financial incentives and speed dating programs. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
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