The second Monday in October has traditionally
been known as Columbus Day in honor of the Italian
explorer's "discovery" of the Americas on October
12, 1492. However, the US federal holiday, which
will be celebrated on October 11 this year, has
always been controversial due to the European
settlers' cruel treatment of the Native American pe......
Read news articleHawthorne, California-based SpaceX is known for
making history. It was the first private spaceflight
company to transport astronauts to the International
Space Station and the first to develop a reusable
rocket booster. On September 18, 2021, the
American aerospace company did it again by
completing the world's first-ever all-civilian mission......
Read news articleThe western false asphodel — an herb-like plant
found in abundance along North America's West
Coast — has been known to science since 1879. But
it is only recently that researchers from the
University of British Columbia discovered the
innocent-looking plant's penchant for insects. The
finding is particularly exciting given that this is the......
Read news articleThe 2021 US Open Women's Singles final between
18-year-old Emma Raducanu and 19-year-old Leylah
Fernandez was one of the most anticipated Grand
Slam tournaments in recent history. It was the first
all-teenage final since the 1999 US Open and the
first major final — men or women — since 1968 to
feature two unranked players....
Read news articleThe longest war in American history has ended. On
August 31, 2021, a US aircraft carrying the
remaining US officials in Afghanistan lifted off from
Kabul, ending the nation's almost 20-year presence
in the country. The chain of events leading to the
long, drawn-out war began early on September 11,
2001....
Read news articleThe 2021 Atlantic hurricane season began with a
bang for the residents of Louisiana. On August 29,
2021, the Gulf Coast state was battered by
Hurricane Ida, a powerful Category 4 storm that
officials believe was the strongest to hit the area in
165 years. To make matters worse, Ida arrived on
the sixteenth anniversary of the devastating Hurric......
Read news articleEven those that do not particularly care for math will
agree that pi, or “π," is fascinating. The numerical
constant — defined as the ratio of the circumference
of a circle to its diameter— is recognized by most as
3.14. However, Pi is an irrational number. This
means it can't be written as a fraction. Instead, it is
infinitely long and never forms a repeating pattern......
Read news articleOn August 8, 2021, the United Nations'
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
released its first assessment of climate science since
2013. The news was not good. The report stated
that this past decade was the hottest in 125,000
years and that the atmospheric carbon levels are the
highest in at least 2 million years. Glaciers are mel......
Read news articleOur seemingly calm Sun can have a nasty temper
that comes in the form of powerful explosions. The
star's unpredictable outbursts can disrupt satellites
in orbit and be dangerous for astronauts. Though
the flares are well-documented, researchers have
never been able to pinpoint the cause of the erratic
behavior. Now, the Sun's incredible multi-staged "t......
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