10.1.2024

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Good morning. It's Tuesday, Oct. 1, and we're covering a potential disruption to the US supply chain, the passing of two legends in baseball and basketball, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.9 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know
 

US Dockworkers Strike

At least 45,000 dockworkers across 36 East and Gulf Coast ports began striking after their contract expired early this morning, the first such strike in the US since 1977. The work stoppage could disrupt supply chains and cause delays; see what's at stake here.

 

The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, failed to reach an agreement after negotiations stalled in June. The union seeks higher wages and less automation, while the alliance pushes for increased technology use to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The union is allegedly requesting a $5 an hour raise each year for six years, while the alliance has reportedly offered $2.50 annually. Union members with six or more years of experience currently earn up to $39 an hour.

 

East and Gulf Coast ports handle more than 68% of containerized exports and more than 56% of containerized imports (see map). Analysts estimate losses to the US economy could be up to $5B per day. President Joe Biden has said he is not planning to invoke a nearly 80-year-old act to order the strikers back to work.

 

MLB, NBA Legends Die

Seventeen-time MLB All-Star Pete Rose, who topped the league's all-time hit list with 4,256 over a 24-season career and was later banned for gambling, died yesterday at age 83. No cause of death was given.

 

Rose, who primarily played with the Cincinnati Reds and was a three-time World Series champion, holds the major league record for games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890) as well as the National League record for the longest hitting streak (44). Rose became ineligible in 1989 for gambling on the sport, including on Reds games, while he was the team's player and manager. He admitted to betting on baseball in 2004.

 

In related news, NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo died yesterday from brain cancer at age 58. The eight-time All-Star blocked 3,289 shots during his 18-season career—the second-most shots blocked in league history behind Hakeem Olajuwon.

 

Mutombo was named Defensive Player of the Year four times, averaging 4.5 blocks per game at the height of his career. The 7-foot-2 star was known for his signature finger wag (see montage), used to chastise players attempting to get shots past him. He was also the NBA’s first global ambassador, having worked with humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF and the Special Olympics. 

 

100 Years of Surrealism

Today officially marks 100 years of surrealism—the art and literary movement behind Salvador Dalí's iconic melting clocks and Frida Kahlo's self-portrait as a wounded deer (though Kahlo rejected the surrealist label for her art). First emerging in the late 1910s and early 1920s, surrealism revolutionized the art world by exploring the deeper layers of reality and imagination.

 

Surrealism formally began after French writer and poet André Breton published the "Surrealist Manifesto" in October 1924 (read it here). It was inspired by Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico, who founded the style of metaphysical painting (see overview). Since then, surrealist artists like Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst have created art featuring striking visual contradictions, blending the familiar with the bizarre. Their artwork often included warped figures, unexpected objects in unusual settings, and dreamlike scenes that challenged conventional logic and reason.

 

Learn about the history of surrealism here. Browse famous surrealist paintings here.

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> MLB postseason kicks off today with the Wild Card Series; see playoff preview and predictions (More) | ... and WNBA playoff semifinals are underway; see latest playoff bracket and schedule (More)

> Gavin Creel, Tony-, Grammy-, and Olivier-winning stage actor, dies of cancer at age 48; Creel was known for roles in "Hello, Dolly!," "Hair," and "The Book of Mormon" (More

> Oasis announces North American concert dates for their reunion tour; the band announced in August they would be touring again after a 15-year hiatus (More

 

Science & Technology

> Last operating coal power plant in the UK shutters; country has no coal-fired power for the first time since 1882, completing shift to a mix of natural gas, renewables, and nuclear (More

> New analysis suggests Viking cultures traveled thousands of miles to the Arctic to hunt walrus, with the resulting ivory transported through medieval trade networks as far as the Middle East (More

> Engineers develop headset to noninvasively predict the risk of stroke; device uses lasers to measure blood flow in the brain (More

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Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.0%, Nasdaq +0.4%) after Federal Chair Jerome Powell signals further, smaller rate cuts (More) | Chinese stocks rise in biggest single-day rally in 16 years after Beijing last week unveiled sweeping economic package (More)

> DirecTV buys Dish TV, Sling TV from EchoStar for nominal fee of $1 plus the assumption of $9.75B of debt to create largest US pay-TV provider with 20 million subscribers total; AT&T sells its stake in DirecTV to private equity firm TPG (More) | Explaining nominal fees, plus other $1 deals (More)

> AI chip startup Cerebras Systems files for initial public offering in bid to take on Nvidia; Cerebras last valued at roughly $4B in 2021 (More) | What are IPOs? (More

 

Politics & World Affairs

> Vice presidential candidates Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R) to debate tonight (9 pm ET, CBS) in New York City (More) | Former President Jimmy Carter (D) turns 100 today; he is the longest-living former president in US history (More, w/photos) 

> Israel begins limited ground raids against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants near the border in Lebanon ahead of its imminent ground invasion (More) | See updates on the Middle East conflict (More

> Georgia judge strikes down state's 2022 six-week abortion ban (More) | Biden administration tightens asylum restrictions from June, says border crossing seven-day average must be under 1,500 per day for 28 days before restrictions can be lifted, rather than a week (More)

 

In-Depth

> To the Moon and Back

NPR | Staff. A year from now, four astronauts will partake in the first human flight to the moon in over 50 years, traveling around it and back—the farthest distance humans have ever gone from Earth. Here’s how they’re preparing. (Read)

 

Ultrarunning’s GOAT

The Guardian | Andy Cochrane. Last year, 38-year-old Courtney Dauwalter became the first person to win the so-called Triple Crown of ultrarunning, a set of three 100-mile races. With no formal diet, training plan, or coach, the former teacher defies all stereotypes for runners. (Read)

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Etcetera
 

New shovel-shaped shark discovered.

 

California bans legacy admissions at private colleges.

 

How a royal wedding became the world's biggest beer festival. (via YouTube)

 

Estate where Magna Carta was signed is on sale for $6M

 

... and Prince's "Purple Rain" house debuts on Airbnb

 

Switzerland and Italy redraw parts of their border.

 

Ranking America's best foodie cities.

 

What Burning Man looks like from space.

 

Clickbait: Mount Everest is having a growth spurt.

 

Historybook: Yosemite National Park is established (1890); Bonnie Parker, half of the infamous crime duo Bonnie and Clyde, born (1910); President Jimmy Carter born (1924); Actress Dame Julie Andrews born (1935); Walt Disney World opens (1971); 58 killed, 869 injured from mass shooting in Las Vegas (2017).

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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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