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Good morning, it's Saturday, July 25. A 16-person team is heading to the remote Pacific in search of Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: LeBron James makes a big career decision (Quick Hits), a man reaches the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on his 90th birthday (Humankind), how parents decide what to name their children (Etc.), and much more.
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One Big Headline
Hunt for Earhart’s Plane
An expedition to find the plane Amelia Earhart disappeared in is set to begin this October. The news was announced yesterday, on what would have been Earhart’s 129th birthday.
A 16-person team of archaeologists, filmmakers, and other experts will travel by boat on Oct. 7 to a remote island in the central Pacific nation of Kiribati. The expedition believes Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, got stranded there while trying to circumnavigate the globe in 1937. Radio signals, human bones, and 1930s-era artifacts—including anti-freckle cream—all suggest Earhart and Noonan may have died on an unplanned stop at the uninhabited island. Shortly after a strong tropical storm in 2015, satellite imagery also captured a visual anomaly the expedition team believes could be the wreckage of Earhart's long-lost Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft. Other experts say it's likely a downed coconut tree. See the satellite image here.
Before her fatal 1937 mission, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, a college professor, and a fashion designer.
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Quick Hits
LeBron James to play record-extending 24th NBA season with the 76ers.
The legendary 41-year-old forward said yesterday that he signed a two-year, $8M deal. James joins the Philadelphia-based team vying to win his fifth league championship and break the 76ers' 43-year championship drought. He broke a 52-year drought for the city of Cleveland in 2016, after beginning his NBA career with the team in 2003, directly out of high school. (More, w/X announcement posts)
Trump attends rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
President Donald Trump and members of the media gathered in Washington, DC's Waldorf Astoria hotel for the annual gala, which was rescheduled after a shooter opened fire at the original event in April. The association honored the Secret Service officer who was shot in a protective vest, as well as the Washington Hilton staff who worked that night. Mentalist Oz Pearlman also returned as yesterday evening’s entertainer. (More)
Measles cases reach a 35-year high, surpassing last year's total.
Federal officials yesterday reported 2,318 confirmed measles cases across 43 states and Washington, DC, so far this year. Roughly 93% of the cases are among unvaccinated people, and nearly 69% are among those under age 20. No deaths have been reported. Last year saw 2,289 confirmed cases, with three deaths. A panel of international experts is set to meet in November to discuss whether the US can keep its designation as a country that officially eliminated the disease. (More)
Learn how measles attacks the body here (w/video).
Wildfires in Spain and France force over 200,000 people to evacuate.
Spain declared its first-ever wildfire-related state of emergency yesterday, while France ordered a total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, with some residents fleeing by boat. Both nations have asked fellow European Union members for help, as high winds and a heat wave make it more difficult to contain the blazes. (More)
How did fire—once humans' most powerful tool—become such a dangerous threat? 1440’s Sony Kassam explains (w/audio).
Singer Chris Brown pleads guilty in London nightclub altercation case.
The Grammy-winning singer reached a plea deal yesterday in a case stemming from a 2023 altercation in a London nightclub with a music producer. Brown pleaded guilty to affray in exchange for more serious assault and weapons charges being dropped. The 37-year-old was freed on bail and will be sentenced Oct. 26; the affray charge carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. (More)
... separately, disgraced music executive Sean "Diddy" Combs is reportedly in solitary confinement after being involved in a fight with a fellow inmate. (More)
Ugandan park rangers relocate endangered giraffes to escape oil drilling.
Rangers this week began relocating 12 critically endangered Nubian giraffes from Uganda's largest national park, which also holds roughly 40% of the country's oil deposits. A French company began drilling in 2023, and activity has increased in recent months. The giraffes were transported about 65 miles by truck to the Ajai Wildlife Reserve, which is trying to rebuild its wildlife population after poaching and political instability nearly wiped out the population. (More, w/video)
Linguists say they've discovered the "golden age" of languages.
Humans spoke tens of thousands of languages between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago, according to a study published this week. This so-called golden age ended with the rise of large states and empires, such as the Roman Empire, which compelled people to adopt their languages. The study challenges the long-held theory that language extinction began 500 years ago with European colonialism. (More, w/linguistic map)
Humankind
Retired OB-GYN becomes the oldest person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro on his 90th birthday. (More)
Texas boy, 10, who went viral sharing his cancer journey, is now cancer-free. (More)
Oakland public sports center lets residents check out soccer balls, jump ropes, and board games, just like a library lets one check out books. (More)
Dad sells rare Pokémon cards for $1.5K to pay for his 6-year-old son's stem cell treatment. (More)
Live concert and lecture series designed for those with neurocognitive disorders is found to improve emotional, social, and intellectual well-being. (More)
In partnership with Frontieras
The “Rockefeller Moment” For Coal
In the 1800s, John D. Rockefeller refined oil into the world's most valuable fuel. Now, another innovator is creating its own “Rockefeller Moment" with one of America’s most abundant energy resources: coal.
Frontieras’ patented tech can reform coal into high-value commodities like hydrogen without burning it. They just broke ground at their new $850M coal reformation facility in West Virginia.
Their “FASF” Nasdaq ticker reservation and a perfect storm of market shifts have the potential to directly impact their valuation. Lock in the current $9.01 share price by 8/6.*
Humankind(ness)
Today, we're sharing a story from reader Bennett L. in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
"My wife had to be rushed to the emergency room. I pulled up and was struggling with the hospital door, all the while trying to manage my wife, who was close to being comatose. Out of nowhere, someone who was on his break rushed to lend a hand. He not only did that, but also stayed with us during registration, told me where to park my car, and waited until I came back to escort me to where the doctor was doing the examination. This wasn't his job; I don't even think he worked in the department. Just someone who saw someone in desperate need and pitched in where needed without hesitation."
Humankind(ness) is a reader-built corner of joy. So, what act(s) of kindness did you experience this week? Tell us here. And if this story made you smile—share our email (copy URL here).
Etcetera
United Arab Emirates has the most powerful passport; see full ranking.
Movie theaters find a $100M business in collectible popcorn buckets.
Queen Elizabeth II had an ice cream button for Prince William.
Why dollar stores keep the stuff you actually need at the back.
How many people would the Earth need to repopulate? (w/video)
Polish man covers his naked body in snow for over two hours.
Is it possible to eat too many gummy vitamins?
Woman makes the first known sweet tea recipe. (w/video)
Lake Tahoe is being overrun by black bear burglars. (w/photos)
Can Major League Soccer ride off the World Cup hype?
The hidden forces guiding what parents name their babies. (w/audio)
... and parents coincidentally name their triplets after a sandwich.
How astronaut food has evolved over time. (w/video)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomes two rare "twin" puggles. (w/photos)
Most Clicked This Week: The purpose of those tiny dots on your oven door.
Historybook: DNA scientist Rosalind Franklin born (1920); Football great Walter Payton born (1953 or 1954); First baby born via in vitro fertilization (1978); Rock Hudson is first major celebrity to announce AIDS diagnosis (1985); Concorde Air France crash kills 113 (2000).
"When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you."
- Walter Payton
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