Learners Live

Apple Just Gave This Rare-Earth Company $500m

 It’s been a long time since an expensive magnet has been able to sport a “Made in America” sticker, but recent massive investments in one private company could change all that. Apple announced yesterday that it would commit to a $500 million deal with the only US-based rare-earth producer, MP Materials.  The company was founded in 2017 to bring production back to Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in Southeast California, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada, which is the second largest rare-earth mine in the world—and the only one operational in the US.  MP Materials’ stock has skyrocketed almost 500% since going public in 2020. Morning Brew crew@morningbrew.com

Wyoming’s First New Coal Mine in Decades to Extract Rare Earths

The developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades is launching a potentially half-billion-dollar effort to extract rare earth metals from the fossil fuel that is crucial for tech products and military hardware. The only operating U.S. rare earths mine is at Mountain Pass in California. Nearly all of the nation’s supply comes from China, the source of nearly 90% of the world’s supply. Wyoming’s First New Coal Mine in Decades to Extract Rare Earths – electrifiED

Here’s a little-known fact about the MLB World Series

First, let me congratulate the Milwaukee Brewers on their first World Series Championship. Well played the entire 2026 season, 103 wins was the best.… My new team in the NL!

The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series, and the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5 games to 3. Do you believe it………….a team from Boston actually won the first World Series…….  The surprising twist: The World Series wasn’t played at all in 1904! The NY Giants refused to participate because their owner, John T. Brush, considered the championship unnecessary. The Series returned in 1905, when those NY Giants won. So, baseball’s biggest annual event actually skipped its second year! The team from Boston (Americans, then Red Sox) have a World Series record of 9 wins and 4 losses in championship appearances, for a 69.2% championship success rate. Their nine championships came in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018. Sad fact: The team from Bean Town waited 86 years between championships, from 1918 until its dramatic victory in 2004 over the St. Louis Cardinals (4-0), when the Red Sox ended the famous Curse of the Bambino……just sayin!