8.7.2024

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Good morning. It's Wednesday, Aug. 7, and we're covering Harris' pick for vice president, the evolution of an ancient human species, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.7 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know
 

Harris Taps Walz 

Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election yesterday. The choice is seen as a strategic move to boost Harris’ connection with rural voters in the Midwest, an important region for the upcoming election.

 

Walz, 60, a former high school teacher and National Guard veteran, served as a representative for Minnesota from 2007 to 2019 and as the state’s governor since 2019. He is known for policies such as removing abortion restrictions, legalizing recreational marijuana, and providing universal free school meals. Walz has also faced criticism for the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for the handling of the George Floyd protests in 2020. See an overview here.

 

For the first time since 2004, both major parties will feature military veterans on the ballot. Walz's and opponent JD Vance's service backgrounds could potentially resonate strongly among voters, as a recent study found nearly 90% of US adults express a favorable opinion of veterans.

 

EPA Bans Dacthal

The US Environmental Protection Agency yesterday issued an emergency ban on a common weed killing herbicide known as DCPA, the first such emergency order in four decades. The ban stems from a 2023 EPA assessment claiming the chemical can harm prenatal thyroid levels and lead to brain impairment and loss of motor skills.

 

Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as Dacthal, is an herbicide used to suppress grass and weed growth around commercial crops like broccoli and onions as well as on golf courses and private lawns. In use since the 1950s, the compound is a preemergent herbicide, attacking growth hormones in the weed's early stages. In its 2023 assessment, the EPA reported pregnant farmworkers handling the chemical are exposed to up to 20 times the safe level of the compound. The substance has been banned in Europe since 2009.

 

US-based agricultural corporation AMVAC, Dacthal's sole producer, stopped selling the chemical for use on turf in December. The company has yet to respond to the ban.

 

Hobbit Bone Discovery

Archaeologists have discovered a tiny arm bone on the Indonesian island of Flores belonging to the smallest ancient human species on record. The finding helps shed light on the evolution of the Homo floresiensis, an early relative to ancient humans.

 

The 700,000-year-old incomplete fossil measures 3.5 inches long and makes up the upper arm bone, known as the humerus. The Homo floresiensis (see overview), nicknamed the "hobbits" due to their diminutive size, stood at roughly 3.5 feet tall and coexisted with unique island fauna such as pygmy elephants, rabbit-sized rats, and Komodo dragons. 

 

The discovery of the bone and other fossils suggests Homo floresiensis underwent significant body size reduction in their evolutionary history due to the isolated environment and limited resources on Flores, a phenomenon known as island dwarfism. The findings also support the hypothesis that Homo floresiensis descended from Homo erectus (see overview), an ancient hominin species that arose in Asia and became stranded on Flores.

In partnership with LMNT

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> American Gabby Thomas wins gold in the women's 200-meter final, beating 100-meter champ Julien Alfred (More) | Team USA tops Brazil 122-87 to advance to men's basketball semifinals; Kevin Durant passes Lisa Leslie to become Team USA's all-time leading Olympic scorer (More) | See latest medal count (More

> Patti Yasutake, actress best known for roles on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Beef," dies at age 70 (More

> Disney announces price hikes for its Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ streaming platforms (More) | "Stranger Things" prequel stage play sets March 2025 opening on Broadway (More)

 

Science & Technology

> OpenAI cofounder John Schulman to depart company and join rival Anthropic; Schulman says move allows him to return to hands-on technical work (More

> New electronic sensor mimics the feeling of water droplets on the skin, may allow robots and advanced prosthetics to replicate the feeling of wetness (More)

> Researchers set record in imaging microchip features, using X-rays to capture structures with four nanometer—roughly one-billionth of a foot—resolution (More

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Turning Trash into Treasure

Around 15M tons of asphalt shingles are dumped in North America annually. Sky Quarry has developed a way to convert this potentially toxic waste into valuable resources.

 

They have a refinery which generated $50M in revenue in 2023. This will help them vertically integrate into the energy industry. In 2025, they plan to open a flagship extraction facility that can produce as many as 2,000 barrels of oil per day. They’ve even secured ‘SKYQ’ as their stock ticker.

 

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Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.8%, Nasdaq +1.0%) after S&P 500 experiences worst day in two years this week (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Uber shares close up 11% after reporting Q2 earnings and revenue beat Wall Street estimates (More) | Rivian posts mixed Q2 results after the bell (More) | Airbnb shares drop 16% in after-hours trading on news it missed Q2 earnings estimates, projects lower-than-expected Q3 revenue (More)

> Elon Musk sues advertisers, accusing them of violating antitrust laws last year when pausing promotions on X amid allegations of antisemitism (More

 

Politics & World Affairs

> Iranian-linked Pakistani citizen is arrested and charged in New York for alleged murder-for-hire plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other political figures (More)

> Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead Bangladesh's interim government after parliament dissolves, prime minister flees amid deadly anti-government protests; Yunus is known for pioneering microfinance (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Hamas names top Gaza official Yahya Sinwar—accused by Israel of orchestrating the Oct. 7 attack—as overall leader to replace Ismail Haniyeh (More) | UN probe finds nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency may have been involved in Oct. 7 attacks (More)

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Etcetera
 

Dolce & Gabbana introduces dog perfume.

 

Top 50 companies for people with a high school degree.

 

Mayonnaise may help scientists crack nuclear fusion.

 

... and a musical about the Higgs boson particle is coming to Broadway.

 

Couples are running their families like a corporation.

 

Pandas return to San Diego Zoo for the first time in five years.

 

Banksy unveils two animal-themed artworks in London.

 

Whale photobombs Olympic surfing competition.

 

Clickbait: Arizona Cardinals unveil cotton candy burrito.

 

Historybook: Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche born (1904); Operation Desert Shield preps the US to enter Gulf War (1990); US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed, killing 224 and wounding 4,500 (1998); Track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone born (1999); Journalist Peter Jennings dies (2005).

"There is no easy or quick or infallible approach to a secure peace. It is only by patient, persistent, undismayed effort, by trial and error, that peace can be won."

- Ralph Bunche

Why 1440? The printing press was invented around the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. More facts: In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. We’re here to make each one count.

 

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