Aaron Rodgers injury, 9/11 memorials, and the best resorts.

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Business & Economy

Daily stock market update

US stock markets closed higher on Monday (S&P +0.67%, Nasdaq +1.14%, Dow +0.25%) ~ Walt Disney helped the Dow rise and Tesla’s 10% pop fueled the Nasdaq gains. (More)

Smucker agrees to buy Twinkies maker Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion

Jelly maker J.M. Smucker is buying Twinkies owner Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion, or $34.25 a share. Hostess saw demand for its Twinkies and Ding Dongs fall after raising prices to offset higher raw ingredient costs, which sparked takeover interest from larger rivals. The deal is expected to close in January. (More)

Instacart is in free fall as its valuation plunges

Grocery delivery service Instacart is seeking a valuation between $8.6 billion and $9.3 billion in its initial public offering. The targeted valuation is a huge drop from the company’s $39 billion value in 2021, when COVID was raging and doorstep delivery boomed. It’s not all bad news for Instacart, though as the company recently began generating a profit. In the first half of 2023 it brought in $242 million in profit compared with a $74 million loss for the same time period a year ago. (More)

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US News, Politics, & Government

The US marks 22 years since 9/11 ~ Post 9/11 first responder deaths now nearly equal to attack causalities 

Yesterday marked the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that claimed the lives of 2,977 people. Commemoratory services were held at the three attack sites — New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA. (More) ~ The number of first responders that have died from Ground-Zero related health complications is now nearly equal to the number of first responders who died during the attacks. Three hundred and forty-one FDNY members have died from rare cancers and diseases caused by the toxic dust at Ground Zero in the 22 years since since 9/11. Three hundred and forty-three died on September 11, 2001. (More)

American researcher has been rescued from deep Turkish cave more than a week after he fell ill

Rescuers pulled American researcher Mark Dickey out of a Turkish cave early Tuesday, more than week after he became seriously sick 3,000 feet below ground. Dickey was too weak to climb out himself, so rescuers carried him on a stretcher, making frequent stops along the way. Around 190 experts helped with the rescue, teams of a doctor and three to four others took turns staying by his side at all times during the three day ascent. (More)

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts for the third time this year

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island began erupting on Sunday afternoon for the third time this year. Currently, lava flows are confined to the surrounding crater floor. The US Geological Survey has raised the volcanic alert level from “watch” to “warning.” Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and it destroyed more than 700 homes in 2018. (More)

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World

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio sets record for longest US space mission

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio just set a new record for the longest US spaceflight mission. Rubio, who’s the first person of Salvadoran descent to go to space, surpassed the previous record of 355 consecutive days in space. The mission began in September 2022 and he is set to return to Earth on Sept. 27. (More)

Libyan city hit by ‘catastrophic’ storm floods

At least 2,000 people may have been drowned after a powerful storm flooded the Libyan city of Derna. Two aging dams collapsed, which released a river that washed away at least one neighborhood. Reports of 5,000 to 6,000 missing people have surfaced but the precise number is hard to gauge due to communications being down and administration being impeded by a decade-long battle for power between two rival governments. (More)

Red fire ant colonies found in Italy and could spread across Europe

An invasive non-native ant species has established itself in Italy and could rapidly spread across Europe. The red fire ant is one of the world’s most destructive invasive species and can quickly destroy native plants, and out compete native ants, insects, and herbivores for food. They can cause an estimated $6 billion in damage each year. (More)

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Sports & Entertainment

Disney and Charter reach deal to end cable blackout in time for “Monday Night Football”

Hours before “Monday Night Football,” Disney and Charter Communications reached a deal that will allow millions of Charter cable customers to watch the game on Disney-owned ESPN. In the deal, Disney will give Charter’s customers access to Disney+ and ESPN+ in exchange for an increase in the subscriber fees it receives from Charter. (More)

Aaron Rodgers hurt, carted off minutes into Jets debut vs. Bills

Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury on his opening drive with the Jets in their game against the Buffalo Bills last night. He was sacked in the first quarter, helped off the field, and eventually carted off for further evaluation. The Jets ruled him out halfway through the game but no further information on the injury was released. (More)

Rockets G Kevin Porter Jr. reportedly arrested, charged with assaulting his girlfriend

Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested and charged with assault and strangulation of his girlfriend in NYC. According to the report, his girlfriend locked him out of a hotel room because he returned late. Once he gained access, he assaulted her. The woman was hospitalized after the incident and Porter remains in police custody. (More)

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Science, Health, & Tech

What's at stake in Google's antitrust trial

The Department of Justice kicks off its trial against Google today in what is the biggest tech monopoly case since Microsoft in 1998. The key focus of the trial will be on the agreements Google has made with other companies that make it the default search browser on phones and other devices. The DOJ says the contracts are an illegal abuse of monopolistic power by Google to squeeze out its competitors. Google maintains that its deals with the other tech companies are not anti-competitive because users aren’t blocked from switching to another default browser, even though it’s difficult to do so. (More)

Scientists grow human kidneys inside developing pig embryos

Scientists have successfully grown a kidney inside another animal for the first time by inserting human stem cells into genetically tweaked pig embryos. These were then implanted into a surrogate pig mother and the embryos developed early-stage human kidneys within about 28 days. The research is still in its early stages but this technology could one day help relieve the shortage of human organs needed for transplantation. (More)

US approval of fall boosters comes amid uptick in COVID-19 cases

The FDA approved two updated COVID-19 booster shots. The new shots are being recommended by public health officials amid an uptick in cases and hospitalizations, but the increase is still nowhere near pandemic levels. Some doctors believe an annual booster is beneficial, while others say that protection from memory cells is sufficient to protect against severe disease for most healthy Americans. These memory cells form in people who have had three doses or have had the infection and received two doses of vaccines. (More)

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Bonus Material

Visualizing what electricity sources power the world.

The Brady Bunch house just sold for a cool $3.2 million.

How strange objects end up in our packaged food.

The 16 best all-inclusive resorts in the US.