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Senators began their August recess over the weekend without a deal to confirm nominees to dozens of government positions. Republicans said they will pursue rule changes in September, enabling them to speed up the process.
At issue was the approach to confirming lower-level appointees like assistant secretaries. Democrats this year required roll call votes on almost all nominees, a process that can take days—and the first known time a minority party has refused to fast-track any confirmations. The decision continues a yearslong trend; confirmations took an average of 192 days in the Biden administration, up from 69 days in the Reagan administration.
Democrats had agreed to fast-track some confirmations in exchange for restoring foreign aid and science research funding, but the deal fell through. Before breaking for recess, the Senate confirmed several nominees, including former New York judge and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro for US attorney for DC. Track confirmations here. |
Electric vehicle maker Tesla is liable for $243M in damages after a jury found Friday that the company's driver assistance technology was partly responsible for a fatal 2019 crash. Legal experts say the judgment, likely to be appealed, may set a significant precedent in cases involving self-driving technology.
In the accident in question, a Tesla Model S struck and killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and injured her boyfriend after running through a stop sign in Key Largo, Florida, at night. The driver said he had Tesla's Autopilot—a slimmed-down version of its full self-driving software, typically used on highways—engaged when he dropped his cellphone. The plaintiffs argued Tesla's claims about the feature's capabilities encouraged inattentive driving and that the company allows it to be used in areas the system is not designed for, such as rural roads.
See a video breakdown with dashcam footage of recent issues with Autopilot (via 1440 Topics). |
The Presidential Fitness Test is returning to schools after a 12-year hiatus, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order to restore and revamp the program late last week.
The test has its roots in the 1950s, when the so-called "father of sports medicine," Dr. Hans Kraus, coauthored a study finding American kids were 49.2% weaker than European counterparts on a series of physical fitness tests. For decades, public school students were regularly tested on drills like a timed mile run, pushups, pullups, and situps. Top scorers received the Presidential Physical Fitness Award.
Then-President Barack Obama phased out the system in the 2012-13 academic year, replacing it with a less competitive, opt-in system testing a student’s fitness over time. Trump says he will reinstate the standardized approach following a May report highlighting concerns about children’s physical inactivity. See a history of the Presidential Fitness Test here. |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
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7 Mistakes When Choosing A Financial Advisor |
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Working with a financial advisor can be a crucial part of any healthy retirement plan.
Research suggests that people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.* But choosing the wrong one could wreak havoc. Avoiding these 7 mistakes people make when hiring an advisor could potentially help reduce financial stress.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> US track and field star Sha'Carri Richardson arrested for allegedly assaulting boyfriend and fellow Olympian Christian Coleman (More) | USA Track and Field Championships wrap up; see full results (More) |
> Flaco Jiménez, six-time Grammy-winning Tejano music legend, dies at age 86 (More) | Jeannie Seely, Grammy-winning country musician, dies at age 85 (More) |
> The 2025 World Swimming Championships wrap with Team USA leading all countries with 29 medals (More) | WNBA's Connecticut Sun reportedly to be sold for $325M; would be highest price ever for a professional women's sports franchise (More) |
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In partnership with Happy Head |
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> Google unveils Gemini Deep Think AI, a reasoning platform the company says can process multiple ideas at once (More) | Anthropic revokes OpenAI's license to the Claude large language model, claiming OpenAI engineers were using its coding tools to develop its next product (More) |
> Sugar molecules used by cancer cells to evade the immune system may provide new treatment for type 1 diabetes; coating helps insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells evade autoimmune responses (More) | Type 1 diabetes explained (1440 Topics) |
> Scientists build digital library of pollen from more than 18,000 plant species; archive will allow quick identification of pollen species, a task that typically takes hundreds of hours (More) | The evolution of flowers and bees (1440 Topics) |
Climatology: Tomorrow's Science & Technology newsletter breaks down how we measure and study the Earth's climate. Sign up here to receive! |
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> US stock markets close lower Friday (S&P 500 -1.6%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -2.2%) amid weaker-than-expected jobs report and downward revisions to past months' data, new tariff announcements (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
> OPEC+ countries agree to raise oil production by over 547,000 barrels per day next month (More) | Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings drop 4% in Q2 to $11.2B; holds $344B in cash (More) | Warren Buffett 101 (More) |
> Delta tells lawmakers it will not use AI and customers' personalized data to set custom airfare (More) |
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> Special counsel's office launches investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith over alleged violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees' political activity; Smith led investigations into President Donald Trump's handling of the 2020 election, classified documents (More) | Hatch Act 101 (More, w/video) |
> Dozens of Texas Democrats leave the state to block Republican-led redistricting effort (More) | Search continues for 45-year-old suspected gunman who killed four people at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, Friday (More) |
> Israel's national security minister prays on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, on Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, violating decades-old arrangement with Jordanian religious foundation (More) | Hamas releases video of hostage Evyatar David saying he is digging his own grave (More) |
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How to Set Up a Family Trust |
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*Disclosure: "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study. |
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