🐤 Gimme the light

☝️ Pointing the finger: From power slapping to rock-paper-scissors, there are many ways to engage in some serious competition using just your hand. And one of the most unique examples played out in Germany over the weekend. A national fingerhakeln championship crowned the winner after about 150 competitors between the ages of 15 and 70 locked their fingers with a rival and attempted to pull the other individual’s finger over a dividing line. Only one man could emerge on top, leaving many others with strained and dislocated digits.

🎾 Agony of defeat: Tennis great Novak Djokovic was clearly not playing up to his typical standards in the Italian Open, losing in straight sets to Alejandro Tabilo and chalking up nearly two dozen unforced errors. But there might be something else at play aside from just an off day. Djokovic was hit in the head by a spectator’s bottle just two days earlier, knocking him to the ground and causing him to experience “nausea, dizziness, blood, a lot of different things.” He’s expected to undergo additional medical testing following his poor performance.

🎥 Kingdom come: The latest film of the “Planet of the Apes” reboot scored a winning weekend at the box office following its premiere last week. According to early results, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” brought in nearly $57 million in its opening weekend, which exceeded forecasts and dominated all other films playing in theaters at the same time. Although it fell behind the strong opening of 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” it earned slightly more than both the 2011 and 2017 installments of the franchise.

💥 Setting it off: The clean-up job continues around the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Before construction on its replacement can begin, officials have devised a plan involving strategic explosions aimed at getting rid of some of the debris scattered across the scene. Taking this controlled action, coordinator David O’Connell explained, will “reduce risks to our personnel” so they “can safely and efficiently continue clearing the channel for the Port of Baltimore.” Only those within 2,000 yards will need hearing protection.

🏦 Markets: Will the widespread Wall Street gains of last week extend to the days ahead? That depends on a few factors, including forthcoming reports that will shed some light on the state of the inflation rate.

In addition to the producer and consumer price indexes set to drop this week, the market will be reacting to new earnings reports from companies including Walmart and Home Depot.

Free steak for a year sounds like a dream, right? With ButcherBox, it’s a reality! Join ButcherBox today and get your choice between 1lb of grass fed and finished steak tips, 2lbs of wild caught salmon, or 3lbs of organic chicken breast free in every box for a year!

With ButcherBox, you get full control over which premium meat and seafood get delivered straight to your door (for free, we might add), giving you the ultimate convenience of limitless meal options. Even better, our audience gets an exclusive offer of getting an additional $20 off your first box when you use EARLYCHIRP20 at checkout.

If you’ve been scrolling through countless photos of colorful skies recently, you’re not alone. A particularly powerful solar storm has extended the visibility of the Northern Lights, giving much more of the planet a view of the impressive auroras.

While it’s not visible everywhere, if you’re in one of the places within its range you probably still have time to catch the show.

What you should know

Mother's Day weekend was perhaps the best time to see the lights … but according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm causing this phenomenon is expected to continue for a while longer.

Early this morning, the colors could be seen across the U.S., but not always with the naked eye. Experts have some advice for those who want to capture the best images:

• The prime viewing hours are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
• Cellphone cameras pick up the light better than your eyes.
• Turning on the phone’s night mode yields the best results.

“Just go out your back door and take a picture with a newer cellphone and you’d be amazed at what you see in that picture versus what you see with your eyes,” explained the NOAA’s Brent Gordon.

More than a light show

It’s a cool thing to witness, but keep in mind that there’s a huge storm on the sun that is causing it. And that can lead to some potential problems.

Specifically, these solar flares (known as coronal mass ejections) can sometimes interfere with communications systems, navigation equipment, satellites, and even the power grid. Some of these disruptions have already been reported since the current storm began.

The activity hasn’t been this extreme in more than 20 years, but the activity should be calming down significantly by tomorrow.

For generations, common wisdom has led many high school graduates to pursue higher education in order to achieve success in the workforce. And while college still provides such a pathway for many folks, all degrees are not created equally.

The biggest bang for your buck

As most college graduates already understand, most degrees don’t come cheap. Even though there has been some effort to forgive student debt, many Americans remain mired in unpaid student loans even as they struggle to find a job in the field for which they spent those years studying.

But there’s a silver lining, at least for most of those who receive a bachelor’s degree. According to a study by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, more than 75% of those four-year degrees provide a positive return on investment, meaning that graduates can expect to earn enough additional income over non-graduates to offset the cost of the education.

The same cannot be said for lower- and higher-level degrees. Associate’s degrees and the more laborious master’s degrees were identified as particularly risky compared to bachelor’s programs.

Here’s what researchers factored in

So how did the experts arrive at their conclusion about which degrees are most advantageous? They started by studying the long-term cost and payoffs of 50,000 degrees earned at thousands of institutions nationwide.

Analysts considered how much graduates earned upon exiting college as well as their salaries a decade later. Additionally, they weighed the relative likelihood of students dropping out of specific programs.

While bachelor’s and doctorate programs had the highest return on investment, just over half (57%) of associate’s and master’s degrees achieved positive results.

But the college itself and the area of specialization also played a role. Bachelor’s degrees in engineering, computer science, and nursing were singled out as most financially rewarding.

Times are tough for millions of Americans and many millions more living in nations around the world. Making matters worse in a growing number of communities is a lack of affordable housing, which has forced too many individuals to make some very tough choices.

That brings us to the case of a 34-year-old Michigan woman.

Show me a sign

According to police in Midland, the woman was recently found by contractors working at the Family Fare grocery store after she had been living inside its rooftop sign for months.

“I personally have never encountered a situation like this, and neither have my colleagues,” explained Officer Brennon Warren.

Here’s what we know about the makeshift shelter she created in the triangular sign:

• The area was less than 15 feet long, about five feet wide, and eight feet tall at its apex.
• She took steps to make the place habitable, including with bedding and a floor.
• Police also found a coffee maker, computer, desk, and printer in the small space.

It was unclear how she gained access to the location, but authorities say she successfully evaded detection for about a year.

A broader problem

Upon being confronted by police, the woman reportedly acknowledged that she shouldn’t have been living there and agreed to leave. As of the latest updates available, she was not facing any criminal charges.

Family Fare staff said they’d ensure that she received all of her property.

But this case is just one example of the many individuals struggling to find long-term housing in the area and beyond. Saralyn Temple, who runs a local shelter and soup kitchen, said she has seen a significant increase in demand. After welcoming about 40 people daily last year, she said: “Now we’re seeing in the 50s every day for lunch.”