Good morning. It's Friday, Sept. 6, and we're covering an abandoned spacecraft's return to Earth, the start of NFL season, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.8 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here. |
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Hunter Biden pleaded guilty yesterday to tax fraud charges, switching his plea as jury selection in California was due to begin. Biden now faces up to 17 years in prison and fines of up to $1.3M. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Biden was charged last year on nine counts related to tax evasion, with prosecutors alleging over $1M in owed federal taxes. Prosecutors say he counted strip club visits, rent, and children’s tuition as business expenses, among other items (see more). This case is separate from Biden’s conviction on gun-related felony charges, for which sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Separately, former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty through his lawyer to renewed charges of 2020 election interference yesterday. The indictment was revised to focus on actions he took as a private citizen following the Supreme Court decision finding US presidents have some immunity over criminal charges. |
Vacant Starliner to Return |
Boeing's faulty Starliner vehicle is scheduled to depart from the International Space Station this evening and return to Earth without its two-person crew, 73 days later than intended. Weather permitting, the small bus-sized module will parachute six hours later in New Mexico to the White Sands Space Harbor.
The vehicle's inaugural crewed mission launched June 5 with astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in tow for a planned eight-day trip to the ISS. Shortly before docking, five of the service module's 28 thrusters misfired (see breakdown). On-Earth tests point to a possible overheated, swollen Teflon seal blocking the flow of propellant. Later analysis revealed a separate helium leak in the propulsion system.
The issues have forced engineers to delay the astronauts' homecoming out of caution. After over two months of deliberation, officials opted to return a crewless Starliner to Earth and transport the two astronauts in February aboard SpaceX's regularly scheduled Crew Dragon spacecraft. See how the stranded pair have passed the time here. |
The 2024-25 NFL season got underway last night with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of last season's AFC championship. Star Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and one touchdown en route to a 27-20 victory.
The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles face off tonight (8:15 pm ET, Peacock) in Brazil, one of five international games this season. The rest of the league gets underway beginning Sunday (see schedule), with the return of veteran QB Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets after a season-ending injury last year against the San Francisco 49ers (Monday, 8:20 pm ET, ESPN) leading the list of notable games.
See top storylines—from top-draft pick Caleb Williams taking over QB for the Chicago Bears, to whether the Dallas Cowboys can rebound from an early playoff exit—for the season here. |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
The One Resource China’s Gone All-In On |
China nearly won the most important race. Modern society was built on fossil fuels, but the future will be led by one critical resource: lithium, the key component in batteries for EVs, smartphones, and more.
China spent $60B+ on lithium infrastructure in the past decade. It possesses 7.9% of the world’s supply, but it processes over 70%. Now, the US is taking the lithium race seriously, which is why the DOE awarded EnergyX multi-million dollar grants to help bolster the domestic lithium supply. Their patented tech extracts lithium 300% more efficiently than conventional methods, and needs just two days, compared to 18+ months.
That’s why GM and others invested $100M+ combined. Now, EnergyX is working on projects in North and South America targeting 65,000 total tons/year of lithium. Join GM as an EnergyX investor by October 3.* |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
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> 2024 Paris Paralympics wrap up this weekend with closing ceremony Sunday (2:30 pm ET, CNBC); see latest medal count (More) | American soccer great Alex Morgan announces retirement (More) |
> UK court drops charges of indecent assault against Harvey Weinstein related to alleged incidents from the mid-1990s (More) |
> Rebecca Cheptegei, Ugandan Olympic marathoner, dies at 33 after arson attack by her ex-boyfriend (More) | Rich Homie Quan, rapper best known for "Type of Way," dies at 34 (More) |
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> Scientists develop method to temporarily turn mouse tissue transparent, allowing researchers to study organs and how they function under various conditions in live animals (More) |
> China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission finds evidence of active volcanism on the moon as recently as 125 million years ago; previous theories held volcanic activity ended on the moon at least 1 billion years ago (More) |
> Serotonin—a brain chemical involved in mood regulation, maintaining the body's internal clock, and much more—found to play a key role in emotional resilience during traumatic events (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq +0.3%) ahead of latest monthly jobs report data to be released today (More) | Hiring for private US companies falls in August to lowest level since January 2021, per ADP report (More) |
> Verizon Communications agrees to acquire Frontier Communications in all-cash deal worth $20B, including debt; acquisition allows Verizon to recapture some fiber optic lines it sold to Frontier nearly a decade ago (More) |
> Department of Transportation launches probe into whether rewards programs offered by Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are unfair to customers (More) |
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In partnership with The Ascent |
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> Police arrest father of 14-year-old shooter who killed four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia; father faces charges including involuntary manslaughter for allegedly allowing his son to possess a weapon (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
> North Carolina to begin sending out mail-in ballots today, first state to do so for Nov. 5 elections (More) | Former President Donald Trump unveils proposals if reelected, including creating a sovereign wealth fund and tapping Elon Musk to head new commission auditing economic efficiency of US agencies (More) |
> French President Emmanuel Macron appoints Michel Barnier—European Union's former Brexit negotiator and part of France's conservative Les Républicains party—as new prime minister, tasked with forming a government (More) | See duties of the French prime minister (More) |
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> Defrauding Widows
Bloomberg | Staff. A chilling, visual-rich dive into a sophisticated financial scam that drained 85-year-old widow Annette Manes of her entire $1.4M nest egg. (Read)
> Swimming to Asia
Thrillist | Eric Beyer. Follow along with the tight-knit "Conquerors," a group of Turkish swimmers who commute every morning from continent to continent across the Bosphorus Strait near Istanbul. (Read) |
> The Hollywood Hack
The Ringer | Brian Raftery. Revisiting North Korea's 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and threats to its employees amid the studio's release of a controversial comedy depicting an assassination of Kim Jong Un (warning: crude language). (Listen)
> How Landfills Work
Practical Engineering | Grady Hillhouse. An absorbing look at how landfills have advanced over the last century to make room for that seemingly unavoidable aspect of contemporary human life: trash. (Watch) |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
Meeting the Projected 20X Lithium Demand |
Each EV battery needs ~70 kg of lithium – 10,000x the amount of a smartphone. With more than 1 billion EVs projected on roads by 2050, current lithium production can’t meet soaring demand.
Enter EnergyX. Their tech can extract up to 300% more lithium than traditional methods, earning them $100M+ of investments from GM and others. They also just announced Project Lonestar, a US lithium plant supported by a $5M DOE grant. Join EnergyX as a shareholder before their raise ends October 3.* |
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Tiny treadmills push fruit flies to record speed.
Over 2,000-year-old battering ram found off the coast of Sicily.
See photos of the US' last remaining old-growth forests.
... and winners of the iPhone Photography Awards.
Ranking the 100 best TV episodes of all time.
... and more than 2,000 "Game of Thrones" items up for auction.
Watch a mushroom dance with robot appendages.
Why dogs stick their heads out of car windows.
Clickbait: Mystery of Stonehenge altar stone deepens.
Historybook: Magellan’s ship Victoria completes circumnavigation of the globe (1522); Social work pioneer Jane Addams born (1860); Munich massacre takes place at Munich Olympic Games; 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by terrorist group (1972); Idris Elba born (1972); Actor Burt Reynolds dies (2018). |
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"Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men." |
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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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