| THIS IS HIDDEN PRE-HEADER TEXT
|
|
|
Good morning and welcome to “Hump Day.” Many first encountered the term in this wayyyy overplayed commercial – but its origin dates back to the 1960s.
-
Rumor has it… a DuPont plant worker named Roy Mann coined the phrase in 1965 while standing around the water cooler.
-
Then, in 1975: JJ Cale wrote a song called “Friday,” containing the lyrics “Wednesday’s hump day, hump day’s Wednesday/Over the hump, the week’s half-gone/If I had my pay on Wednesday I’d hang out, the hump day’s gone.”
So the next time you hear the phrase… you know who to blame.
⏰🚀 Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter takes 3.95 minutes to read. With the 360 view: 8.90 minutes.
|
|
🍩 Daily Sprinkle
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
–Walt Whitman
|
|
🗣👂 Dose of Discussion
🦠 On the Origins of COVID
|
In December 2019, the world was first alerted to a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China, that would come to be called COVID-19.
-
Since then, scientists have made remarkable progress in understanding what causes the disease (the virus SARS-CoV-2), how it develops and transmits in humans, and how to mitigate its impact.
However…
What they haven’t been able to figure out is how exactly COVID-19 originated.
-
In a letter published last week in Science, an international group of 18 scientists criticized the findings of a joint WHO-China report on the pandemic’s origins released in March, calling for further, independent investigation into the matter.
🤿 A deeper dive…
The scientists request a more extensive evaluation of the two leading hypotheses:
-
Zoonotic spillover – The virus may have been transmitted from animals to humans, either directly or through an intermediate host. The WHO report deemed this option “possible to likely” (for direct spillover) or “likely to very likely” (for spillover via intermediate host).
-
Accidental release from a lab – Some scientists have raised the possibility the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where evidence from U.S. intelligence suggests ongoing research into bat viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2. The WHO report deemed this option “extremely unlikely.”
The WHO report also mentions a third option for the pandemic’s origin – that the virus was introduced through refrigerated or frozen foods, a theory it deemed “possible.”
-
Other scientists say this is “extremely, extremely unlikely,” citing a lack of direct evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for foodborne outbreaks.
⏭️ What’s Next?
Following the WHO’s report in March, the U.S. and 13 other countries, along with the EU, published two separate letters proclaiming the need for further work to study the origins of the pandemic.
|
|
|
📰 Quick Bits
|
|
🏛️📝 Capitol Commission Proposal
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy published a statement yesterday saying he won’t support a proposal to create an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
|
“Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation.”
|
The legislation to form a 20-member, fully bipartisan commission was introduced last Friday after the top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security struck a deal with the panel’s top Republican.
-
The measure requires a simple majority in the House - which is expected to vote later today - but needs 60 votes to advance in the 50-50 Senate.
Per the WSJ: “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Republicans in his chamber are undecided and “willing to listen” to arguments about whether a commission is needed.”
From the Right: NY Post
From the Left: USA Today
|
|
|
💰 The Power of the DarkSide
Image: Elliptic
DarkSide, the criminal ransomware group behind the Colonial Pipeline hack, received a total of $90M in bitcoin payments over the past nine months before shutting down, according to blockchain analytics company Elliptic.
-
In a blog post Tuesday, Elliptic identified 99 organizations infected with DarkSide malware - 47 of which ended up paying ransom - and provided details about the organization’s ‘ransomware as a service’ business model.
More: Elliptic was the first to identify the Bitcoin wallet used by the DarkSide ransomware group to receive a 75 Bitcoin ransom payment from Colonial Pipeline.
|
|
|
🌏 IEA Sets Global Emissions Goals
Image: IEA
The International Energy Agency laid out a number of key milestones needed to achieve global net-zero emissions by 2050 in a report published Tuesday. Some of the more than 400 goals include:
-
Ceasing all investments in new fossil fuel supply projects by the end of 2021.
-
Phasing out sales of new fossil fuel boilers by 2025.
-
Ending sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035.
The agency said that climate pledges by governments so far - even if fully achieved - would fall well short of reaching net-zero emissions by the middle of this century.
From the Left: CNBC
From the Right: WSJ
|
|
|
DONUT Holes...
-
⚖️ Prosecutors said the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. last month by sheriff’s deputies in Elizabeth City, NC, was “justified” and declined to press any charges. (From the Left | From the Right)
-
📝 Rapper T.I. is under investigation by the LAPD following accusations that he and his wife Tameka "Tiny" Harris drugged and sexually assaulted nearly a dozen people, the LAPD confirmed yesterday. They did not say if Tameka Harris was also being investigated.
-
🏦 Bank of America will raise its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 by 2025. | JPMorgan names Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak heads of consumer banking division, two female executives are considered top candidates to replace CEO Jamie Dimon in the coming years.
-
🚫🌉 An Arkansas bridge inspector was fired for failing to discover a crack in the I-40 bridge spanning the Mississippi River near Memphis over the past two years.
-
🏛️ The House passed an anti-Asian hate crime bill in a 364-62 vote after the Senate approved it 94-1 last month, sending it to President Biden's desk for final approval. (From the Left | From the Right)
-
🩺 An independent U.S. task force lowered the recommended age to start screening for colon and rectal cancers from 50 to 45; cases among adults between 40 and 49 years increased by almost 15% from 2000-2002 to 2014-2016.
|
|
|
📸 Pic of the Day
|
Images: Alamy; Facebook |
Around 11:20 am local time yesterday, the famed rock structure known as Darwin’s Arch in the Galapagos Islands collapsed in front of a boat of tourists. The site is considered one of the best places on the planet to dive and observe schools of sharks and other species.
More: The site is less than a mile away from Darwin Island, also named after Charles Darwin, the famous British scientist who developed his theory on evolution and natural selection after visiting the islands in 1835.
|
|
|
🤗 Daily Dose of Positive
☀️Spread the Kindness
|
Images: Facebook
“I can normally handle [the meltdowns]... but today was too much for him and me.”
Natalie Fernando and her son Rudy were enjoying a nice stroll on the beach when the five-year-old suddenly began having a meltdown – something not unusual for the youngster living with autism.
-
As Rudy quickly began to spiral, their new hero stepped in.
A stranger named Ian immediately laid on the ground and began to calmly engage Rudy, defusing the meltdown and bringing him back to reality.
“We’re all walking our own path and navigating the journey the best we can, sometimes it takes a moment of kindness from a complete stranger to completely change your day.”
Read more.
|
|
|
🛸🌄📲 Calling from the Future…
|
📺 If You Could See Me Now…
Image/GIF: YouTube
Tired of endless Zoom calls? Google is working on an experimental video calling booth called “Project Starline,” which uses a mirror-like display to create realistic, life-size images of participants on each side of a call.
-
Employing a system of hidden 3D cameras and sensors, the video call apparatus captures users from multiple angles to determine their exact shape and environment, then compresses and transmits the visual information to a companion device in real-time.
Not only would Google’s new setup liven up those late afternoon conference calls, it looks straight out of The Avengers. 😎
Keep reading.
|
|
|
💡 Dose of Knowledge
🛍️ Preliminary Purchase
|
What was the first item ever sold on eBay?
A) A Beatles record
B) Baseball cards
C) Toilet paper
D) A broken laser pointer
|
(keep scrolling for the answer) |
|
|
🍩 Share the DONUT
|
Exclusive rewards are within reach... all you have to do is spread fun, objective news.
1. Copy your unique referral link. 👇
2. Post said link on social media, drop it in the group chat, announce it over the PA system of your nearest Target, etc.
3. Watch the rewards roll in.
|
|
|
|
Ambassador Rewards and Progress → |
|
💡 Dose of Knowledge Answer
|
|
D) A broken laser pointer
The first item ever purchased on eBay was a broken laser pointer, which sold for $14.83 in 1995.
|
|
|
|
