Good morning. It's Thursday, Oct. 30, and we're covering President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a spooky sponge discovery, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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👻 Episode 3 of our podcast "1440 Explores" is out now. This time, we’re diving into the science behind ghosts: why we see something that isn’t there, and what that reveals about the human mind. Listen on: Apple | Spotify | YouTube |
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President Donald Trump instructed the Defense Department to resume nuclear weapons testing minutes before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. The meeting was ongoing as of this writing; see live updates here.
Trump had projected optimism going into today’s meetup—the leaders’ first face-to-face encounter in six years. In advance, the US previewed a framework trade agreement that could see China delay its rare earth export controls, expand US soybean purchases, and crack down on fentanyl-related exports. In exchange, the US could lower tariffs on Chinese imports, settle a deal on TikTok ownership, and reduce export controls on semiconductor chips. Barring a deal, Trump has pledged 100% tariffs on Chinese goods beginning Saturday, Nov. 1.
The meeting comes after Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung yesterday. While they did not sign a new trade deal, South Korea pledged to invest $200B in the US, in apparent exchange for keeping tariffs at 15%. |
Nvidia yesterday became the first company to surpass $5T in market value, fueled by the artificial intelligence industry’s surging demand for its processing chips. The milestone came three months after Nvidia became the first $4T company and less than two years after it reached $3T.
The California-based company began creating graphics processing units for video games in the late 1990s. Capable of performing thousands of calculations simultaneously, these chips have become the backbone of cloud computing and, more recently, AI systems. Today, Nvidia controls roughly 80% of the market for GPUs used by AI models, eclipsing rivals Advanced Micro Devices, Google, Amazon, and Huawei. Nvidia's stock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the S&P 500 Index’s 17% growth so far this year.
Nvidia's $5T market capitalization followed news of a $1B investment in Nokia to develop AI-centric cellular networks and a partnership with Uber to build a fleet of 100,000 autonomous vehicles. |
Scientists have discovered 30 new deep-sea species, including a predatory creature they are calling a “death ball” sponge.
The findings come from two expeditions, including one in the Southern Ocean, where researchers explored seafloor habitats around Montagu and Saunders islands and the South Sandwich Trench (learn about the remote region here, w/video). The sponge, named Chondrocladia sp. nov., was discovered at nearly 12,000 feet deep, east of Montagu Island. With white ping-pong-like spheres and tiny hooks, the sponge actively captures and consumes its prey, whereas other sea sponges are typically passive filter feeders. Researchers also discovered glowing blue sea worms as well as new species of sea stars and crustaceans.
In all, researchers collected almost 2,000 specimens, of which they have analyzed under 30%. They expect to confirm more discoveries, potentially including new types of sea pens and black corals. See photos here; see video footage here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Toronto Blue Jays lead World Series 3-2 after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers last night, teeing up potential for title-clinching win in Game 6 tomorrow at 8 pm ET (More) |
> Paramount to lay off roughly 2,000 employees—about 10% of workforce—as it targets $2B in cost cuts following acquisition by Skydance in August (More) |
> Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola auctions seven watches—including one valued at roughly $1M—after $120M film "Megalopolis" grosses $14.4M in box office (More) |
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> Startup Character.AI to ban minors from engaging in open-ended chats with its chatbots next month after lawsuits from families over child safety (More) |
> Researchers determine attention lapses caused by sleep deprivation coincide with fluid flushing from the brain, a process that typically occurs during sleep (More) |
> Scientists discover age-related changes in T cells can trigger weaker vaccine responses in adults around age 65, suggesting older adults may need tailored vaccine formulations and treatment schedules (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.6%) after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signals Fed may not cut rates again this year (More) | Fed lowers interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75%-4% (More) |
> Starbucks reports same-store sales growth in September for first time in nearly two years (More) | Alphabet tops $100B quarterly revenue for first time (More) |
> General Motors to permanently lay off 1,750 workers in Michigan and Ohio and temporarily lay off 1,550 in Ohio and Tennessee amid slowing EV demand (More) |
Angel investing 101: This morning's 1440 Business & Finance newsletter explores how the earliest stage of startup funding works. Click here to subscribe! |
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In partnership with Motley Fool Money |
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> Hurricane Melissa weakens to a Category 1 storm en route to the Bahamas after killing at least 30 people across Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic (More) | See live updates (More) |
> Sudanese rebel group Rapid Support Forces kills 460 patients at a hospital in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur; the group, allegedly backed by the UAE, has reportedly killed over 2,000 people in the three days since capturing the city (More) |
> Brazilian police raid on a drug gang in Rio de Janeiro Tuesday kills at least 119 people—the city's deadliest raid on record (More) |
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> What the Dead Leave Behind
The Sunday Long Read | Kiki Dy. One woman dives into her dead uncle's unlocked phone to examine what his digital afterlife says about addiction, grief, and how we handle the data of the deceased. (Read) |
> Same Car, Deadlier Abroad
Dynamo | Dan Bobkoff. How automakers quietly strip safety features and lower crash standards overseas—proving not all "global" cars are created equal. (Watch) |
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In partnership with EnergyX |
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Lithium demand is fueling a modern-day gold rush. Essential for EVs, robots, and AI, Elon Musk said it best: “Do you like minting money? Well, the lithium business is for you.”
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Clickbait: A Spanish town banning black cat adoptions for Halloween.
Historybook: President John Adams born (1735); Orson Welles broadcasts "The War of the Worlds" radio hoax, causing mass panic in US (1938); Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman in historic Rumble in the Jungle (1974); Ivanka Trump born (1981). |
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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/. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC. |
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