🏦 Markets: There’s new optimism that both sides of the debt debate will reach a deal before the nation defaults. Combined with stock gains for major companies including Tesla and Target, the news was enough to send all three major indexes more than a full percent higher on Wednesday.

In yesterday’s newsletter, we explained how new technology has allowed archaologists in Naples, Italy, to view a buried ancient civilization without actually digging into the ground.

Today, let’s take a look at the role that tech has played in providing stunning new details about what is arguably the most famous shipwreck of all time.

First of its kind

A mission by the deep-sea mapping company Magellan Ltd. began last year by collecting digital scans of the Titanic’s wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, more than a century since the cruise ship sank, researchers have the first full-sized scan of the entire scene.

While the prevailing story involves crashing into an iceberg, there are some nagging questions about why the supposedly unsinkable ship went down in such a spectacular — and deadly — fashion.

Scientists hope these latest images will provide some long-awaited answers.

What they discovered

The scan revealed a trove of personal belongings and a close look at the ship’s ornate decorations. Here’s an overview of the process:

• Remote-controlled boats spent hundreds of hours exploring the wreckage
• The project resulted in more than 700,000 separate images
• It all combined to provide enough information to create a 3-D recreation of the ship

Just in time

The wreckage of the Titanic has been slowly disintegrating since it sank in the early 20th century, but there appears to be enough remaining to gather some important information about the final moments of its doomed maiden voyage.

Atlantic Production CEO Anthony Geffen noted that if the scan had come much later, some crucial elements might have been lost forever, adding: "What we now have for the historical record is, before it falls apart, literally a record of everything to do with the wreck of the Titanic, which will be around forever.”

Someone stole my broken calculator, but I don't know why.
It just doesn't add up.

An age-old pickup line at the bar involves asking a stranger: “What’s your sign?” But nowadays, it might be your travel agent who wants to know. That’s because astrology has recently become a factor in how many people decide when and where to go on vacation.

When the stars align

Take Norma Kamali, for example. She’s made her mark as a successful fashion designer, but when it comes to choosing a destination for her annual birthday trip, she turns to her astrologer.

“I’ve learned to trust what she said,” she explained. “She offers me a perspective my accountant and my lawyer can’t.”

Depending on your personal opinion about astrology, you might be skeptical — but Kamali says she’s made some unforgettable memories on the trips that have been arranged by a study of her so-called “solar return” chart.

She’s been to Brazil, India, England, and even Cincinnati, Ohio … each of which earned positive reviews.

Why use astrology?

The connection between planetary alignment and vacation planning seems to be especially relevant in today’s society for a few reasons:

• Downtime is a rarity, so we want to make the most of it.
• Other types of advice, from coaches to influencers, are already commonplace.
• In the age of remote work, visiting new places doesn’t have to be daunting.

Making a comeback

Belief in astrology has ebbed and flowed throughout history, but Big Tech has given people easier access to the fundamentals.

There are apps like Co-Star that aim to make interpreting the zodiac a more democratic process. And the concept is catching on, as evidenced by the more than 20 million downloads that one app has already recorded.

So even if you don’t have a personal astrologer, you can get your feet wet without even leaving the couch.

👱‍♀️ Going away: Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of fraud in connection with her blood-testing company Theranos, hoped to continue filing her appeals from outside of prison — but a court ruled that she must start her 11-year sentence at the end of this month. Holmes has two young children and a judge allowed for a two-week reprieve allowing her to make “medical and child-care arrangements” before she’s locked up.

🚘 Close call: In a scene that evoked comparisons to the crash that cost his mother, Princess Diana, her life more than a quarter of a century ago, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were reportedly in a harrowing car chase that involved paparazzi. The incident occurred on Tuesday in New York and, although there were no serious injuries reported, the couple’s spokesperson said that it could have had a “catastrophic” ending.

💉 Supply issues: The U.S. has been dealing with a shortage of various medications for a while now, but the problem is reportedly getting worse for many patients. Even individuals battling serious diseases including cancer have found it difficult to find the drugs they need. Medical facilities across the country are doing their best to track down medicine and provide appropriate treatments, but hundreds of drugs are currently either being rationed or are in short supply.

🎙️ Cutting it short: If you’re showing up to a Lil Wayne concert, you better make some noise … even if he’s three hours late. That’s what disappointed fans said after he reportedly canceled the remainder of a show in Los Angeles this week. He complained that the crowd wasn’t enthusiastic enough and walked off stage after keeping the audience waiting for hours and only performing for about a half hour, according to social media accounts of the event.

We’ve been hearing about the problem of plastic waste in the world’s oceans for years, and the situation only seems to be getting worse.

But there’s one innovation that’s gaining steam around the world … and it might actually work.

Coming to terms with the issue

The equivalent of roughly a garbage truck full of plastic trash is dumped into the ocean every minute. Most of it makes its way through polluted rivers.

Not only does this create environmental problems and harm to marine life, but there’s increasing evidence that some of this plastic waste makes its way into the food stream and ends up in us.

So there’s no doubt that something needs to be done, and more than a decade ago one teen had an idea.

Here’s the good news: Boyan Slat’s ambitious project appears to be working, albeit not as quickly as he hoped way back in 2012.

Get to know The Ocean Cleanup

Slat is now the CEO of the organization he created, which is appropriately known as The Ocean Cleanup. So far, it has removed about 200 metric tons of plastic waste.

But somewhere along the line, he realized that it would be more effective to clean up the water closer to the source. So instead of focusing on the so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” the unique trash barriers Slat helped create began operating along bodies of flowing water — primarily rivers — that feed into the ocean.

Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

• A long arm from the interceptor allows the current to send water through while it collects the floating debris.
• From there, the garbage (and anything else it snags) is redirected back to the machine.
• Conveyor belts take the waste to multiple on-board dumpsters that can fill up in just a few days.