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Anna's Daybreak News

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Thursday, 5:12 AM

January 30, 2025

Good morning news friend! Stay on top of the stories shaping today and influencing what comes next. 📰🌟

Passenger Jet and Army Helicopter Crash Near D.C.

A passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport. The American Airlines regional jet carried 64 people, including 60 passengers and four crew members. The US Army helicopter had three soldiers on board.

At least 18 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, with the search for survivors ongoing. The incident occurred at 9 p.m. EST during the jet's final approach to the airport's Runway 33.

The FAA confirmed that the aircraft crash-landed into the river after the midair collision. All flights at Reagan National were halted immediately as rescuers responded.

The passenger jet was a Bombardier CRJ700. The helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Sources: APNews, Reuters, Bloomberg, NYTimes, WallStreetJournal

Gold Rush Hits New York

Traders have moved 393 metric tonnes of gold to New York since November’s election, pushing Comex exchange inventories up 75% to 926 tonnes—the highest since August 2022.

This surge has caused a gold shortage in London. The wait time to withdraw gold from the Bank of England has jumped from a few days to eight weeks.

The rush stems from fears that President Trump may impose tariffs on raw materials, including gold. Traders have stockpiled nearly $82 billion in gold at New York vaults.

Traders are also taking advantage of an arbitrage opportunity in gold Futures markets. Futures contracts in New York have traded at a premium of $60 per ounce over London prices, though the gap has now fallen to $10.

Sources: FinancialTimes, Reuters, NYPost, LiveMint, IndexBox

Earnings Roundup: Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta 

Tesla's Q4 earnings per share reached 73 cents, below the 76 cents expected. Revenue was $25.71 billion, missing the $27.26 billion forecast. Automotive revenue dropped 8% to $19.8 billion. Net income fell 71% to $2.32 billion. Deliveries in Q4 were 495,570, this was Tesla's first annual decline at 1.8 million.

Microsoft’s revenue reached $69.63 billion, up 12.3% year-over-year. Earnings per share were $3.23, exceeding the $3.11 estimate. Still, Azure growth slowed to 31%, below the expected 32%. Microsoft forecasts revenue of $67.7 billion to $68.7 billion for the next quarter, falling short of consensus estimates.

Meta reported $48.39 billion in revenue, 21% higher year-over-year, and earnings per share of $8.02, surpassing the $6.75 forecast. Despite robust growth, Meta's first-quarter revenue projection of $39.5 billion to $41.8 billion fell short of analysts' estimates.

Sources: CNBC, NYTimes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, CNBC, TheGuardian, CNBC, Investors.com

US Trade Deficit Hits Record High in December

In December, the US goods trade deficit reached an all-time high of $122.1 billion, surging 18.0% from November. Imports rose by $10.8 billion, up 3.9%, reaching $289.6 billion. Exports fell by $7.8 billion, a decline of 4.5%, down to $167.5 billion.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve cut its GDP growth estimate from 3.2% to 2.3%. Wholesale inventories fell by 0.5%, while retail stocks declined by 0.3%.

Analysts believe companies are importing supplies in anticipation of tariffs from President Donald Trump on products from China, Canada, and Mexico. The tariffs are scheduled to begin by February 1.

Sources: Reuters, Investopedia, Bloomberg, BreakingTheNews, ForexFactory

Building Blocks of Life

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned 122 grams (4.3 ounces) of samples from asteroid Bennu.

Scientists discovered sodium-rich minerals and salts, indicating that an ancient brine existed on Bennu’s parent body. This brine contained traces of water and organic compounds, including 14 amino acids and all five nucleobases essential for DNA and RNA.

Ammonia was detected at 230 parts per million, exceeding natural soil levels on Earth. The samples suggest that Bennu’s parent body formed beyond the solar system's snow line, with liquid water present in pockets beneath the surface.

The findings support theories that asteroids like Bennu contributed the building blocks of life to early Earth.

Sources: APNews, Nature, Time, NYTimes, ScientificAmerican, PopSci

Babies Start Learning Language at Four Months

Research revealed that babies begin learning language as early as four months old. By their first birthday, babies refine their hearing, focusing on their native language. However, before six months, they can differentiate sounds from unfamiliar languages.

In a study involving 34 babies aged four to six months, researchers conducted a "match-the-pattern" game. Babies associated sounds from two mini-languages with images.

Babies looked longer at videos that matched the sounds they had learned, proving they actively grasped language rules. Four-month-olds are not just listening; they connect sound with sight.

With this knowledge, interventions for speech or language delays could begin much sooner.

Sources: ScienceAlert

“We ask ‘why is he rich (or poor)?’ not ‘why isn’t he richer (or poorer)?’ ; ‘why is the crisis so deep?’ not ‘why isn’t it deeper?‘”

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Natural Is planning to list on the Nasdaq

Natural solutions are already better for the environment. Med-X is taking it a step further: their natural pesticides outperform various chemical alternatives. Better yet, they’re taking on private investors as they plan their Nasdaq listing (ticker: MXRX). And you now have a limited time to invest before it happens. Med-X has had 200% revenue growth in five years. And with the pesticide market expected to grow 3X by the end of the decade, now is the perfect time to join them.

Invest Before Their Nasdaq Plans

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Baked with love,

Anna Eisenberg ❤️