Senate report on the Secret Service,

Good morning. It's Thursday, Sept. 26, and we're covering a Senate report on the Secret Service, the world's oldest intact piece of cheese, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.9 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know

 

Breaking news: New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has been indicted on federal criminal charges. Details of the sealed charges are expected to be made public today. Read more here.

Senate's Assassination Report

A bipartisan Senate committee report surfaced more revelations about Secret Service failures amid the July 13 assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump. The report comes a day after the Senate passed a bill requiring an equal standard of Secret Service protection for presidents and major party candidates. 

 

The report highlighted the agency's failure to request a surveillance team for the Butler, Pennsylvania, event. The agency's antidrone operator was also found to be inexperienced and unable to deploy the system for hours, preventing notice of the shooter's drone. Two minutes before the gunman fired, Secret Service officials knew he was on the roof. See a summary of the report's findings here.

 

The committee also recommended an increase in budget. The report coincided with Congress including $230M in emergency funding for the agency in its latest stopgap bill. Read an overview of the the Secret Service here. 

 

World's Oldest Cheese

The world's oldest cheese has been discovered in Xinjiang, China. A mix of cow and goat cheese, the sample dates back 3,600 years to the Bronze Age, predating a 3,200-year-old sample buried alongside an ancient Egyptian mayor. 

 

Decades ago, researchers noticed a white substance scattered on the necks of three mummies in a Xiaohe cemetery in western China. Now, after isolating various DNA samples, paleogeneticists confirmed the substance includes goat and cow DNA as well as bacterial and fungal species used in modern-day kefir grains. Like kefir, the cheese was likely soft and tangy at the time, and its burial could suggest how valuable it was. The bacterial strains also tell us more about the history of kefir, suggesting it originated not only in Russia but in Tibet.

 

Learn about the genetically isolated Xiaohe people, a group tied to survivors of the last ice age, here. 

 

Los Angeles Bus Hijacking

A gunman is in custody after carrying out a Metro bus hijacking in Los Angeles, California, killing one person. Officers have not yet named the suspect or identified a motive.

 

Yesterday at 12:45 am local time, police responded to reports of a bus hijacking in South Los Angeles. Officials say the bus driver pressed a panic button after the suspect began pointing his gun at passengers. The button triggered a sign on the bus's exterior flashing "Emergency" and "911 Call Police." A subsequent police car chase lasted over an hour, with the driver held at gunpoint and officers using spike strips to stop the bus in downtown LA. The suspect was arrested after a standoff. See video of the chase here.

 

The hijacking comes after LA approved more than $5M in emergency funding this year to add safety barriers protecting bus drivers from passengers, citing an uptick in assaults.

In partnership with EnergyX

Why GM Backed This 'Unlisted' Lithium Stock

 

For General Motors to meet its EV transition target by 2035, they’ll need up to 414,469 tons of lithium per year. That’s why the automaking behemoth led a $50M investment round for lithium extraction startup EnergyX. 

 

Their patented tech extracts lithium 300% more efficiently than conventional methods. Plus, where modern methods take 12+ months, EnergyX needs just two days. That’s why EnergyX has been entrusted with the rights to 100,000+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land and a $5M DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant.

 

It’s not just cars that need batteries, either. The entire $546B energy storage market will depend on securing reliable sources of lithium. EnergyX’s plan to produce 65,000 tons per year will help them lead the charge. However, EnergyX is only accepting shareholders until Oct. 3.*

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In The Know

 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Julie Chrisley, star of reality series "Chrisley Knows Best," resentenced to seven years in prison on tax evasion and bank fraud charges (More) 

> Netflix to produce docuseries on Sean "Diddy" Combs' sexual assault allegations spanning decades; 50 Cent-produced project first announced in December (More) 

> Federal Emergency Management Agency and NFL announce agreement to allow NFL stadiums to double as disaster shelters during emergencies (More) 

In partnership with The Ascent

Cash Back Too Good To Gatekeep

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This card recommended by The Ascent offers 0% intro APR until nearly 2026, and up to 5% cash back in popular spending categories. The card also packs in a lucrative sign-up bonus. All this for an annual fee of $0. That’s right—and you can apply in minutes.

 

Apply today while benefits last.

 

 

Science & Technology

> Large-scale chatbot study reveals advanced AI models have improved in accuracy, but are more likely to return false information instead of saying an answer couldn't be generated (More) | OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati to depart role, citing desire to pursue new ventures (More)

> Fossil discovery reveals the lower jaw joint in mammals—one of the few features making mammals unique among vertebrates—evolved independently in an extinct group of animals known as cynodonts (More) 

> Engineers demonstrate 3D-printed human brain blood vessels, which will allow for lab testing of new brain tumor treatments; advance would replace the need for invasive study of live patients (More) 

 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.7%, Nasdaq +0.0%) (More) | Weekly mortgage applications for US home purchases up 11% last week, reaching highest level since July 2022; uptick driven primarily by 20% week-over-week rise in homeowners seeking to refinance loans due to declines in interest rates (More)

> Google files antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the European Union, accusing the rival tech giant of using unfair licensing terms to lock customers into using its Azure cloud computing platform (More)

> Southwest Airlines to reduce service to and staffing in Atlanta next year as part of cost-cutting measures; comes amid pressure from Elliott Investment Management for the airline to make changes (More)

 

Politics & World Affairs

> Hurricane Helene, a Category 1 storm as of this writing, is set to make landfall, possibly on Florida's Panhandle today as a Category 3 or 4 storm (More) | See live updates (More)

> Israel's military prepares for possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fires at intelligence headquarters in Tel Aviv; Israel said it intercepted the strike, leaving no casualties or damage (More) | See war updates (More)

> Congress passes short-term bill to fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20 in bid to avoid next week's shutdown deadline; President Joe Biden to sign (More) 

 

In-Depth

> Why the World’s First Pet Cemetery Was Revolutionary

Smithsonian | Rachel Nuwer. The story of the world's first pet cemetery—dating back to London in 1881—and what it reveals about companionship and the modern relationship between humans and pets. (Read)

 

> Slow Ride, Take It Easy

Behavioral Scientist | Rory Sutherland. The case for a longer commute, mulling things over, and taking the slow, scenic route through life. (Read)

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 Oct. 3.*

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Etcetera

 

Widow of Black D-Day medic receives heroism medal.

 

Vote for the best college football tradition.

 

Coca-Cola discontinues "spiced" flavor 6 months after debut. 

 

Caitlin Clark trading card sells for $84K.

 

The best US cities for vegans and vegetarians.

 

Cat memes predating the internet by a century.

 

World jigsaw champ wins in 37 minutes. (w/video)

 

Can taking a cold medication help with fertility?

 

Clickbait: Polish prime minister declares war on beavers.

 

Historybook: Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first US secretary of state (1789); Albert Einstein publishes paper on the special theory of relativity (1905); Last recorded album by The Beatles, "Abbey Road," is released (1969); Serena Williams born (1981); Actor Paul Newman dies (2008).

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