Home From Space!
Last year, btw brought you news of the launch of the longest-ever consecutive space mission. The two-man mission was made up of Russian Cosmonaut, Mikhail Komiyenko and American Scott Kelly. They were gone for nearly a year (340 days), traveled a total of 143,846,525 miles (circling the earth 5,440 times), and return-landed via parachute in […]
Gravitational Wave Discovery: 100 Years in the Making
Perhaps you’ve heard news about the discovery of “gravitational waves?” About how a team of scientists discovered the sound of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away, and how that discovery confirmed renowned physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity? In case you don’t know what any of this means, this post is going to give you […]
Black History is American History
For the first time in history, more than half of children born in America (according to the 2012 US Census Bureau) are minorities. As the “collective minority” becomes the majority, we will surely see a shift in how we view our history. The History of “Black History” Carter Woodson was a black historian who earned […]
Remembering the Space Shuttle Challenger
On January 28, 1986, NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven who were on-board, including the first civilian into space. Amid the wave of tributes in recent weeks, btw remembers this tragedy and points out some lessons. Background In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced the development of NASA’s space shuttle program. Unlike previous missions, the new […]
Obama’s Executive Action on Gun Control
In his first weekly address of the New Year, President Obama announced that he would pursue Executive Action as a way to implement gun control legislation. It is a controversial measure because it is a controversial subject and also because he is going forward without the consent of Congress. What is an Executive Order? As btw […]
Obamacare: Two Years In
You have heard it called “Obamacare.” Ever since its official passage, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often shortened to the Affordable Care Act, or ACA), has had staunch supporters and harsh critics. The ACA’s supporters call the law a success because more Americans are insured than ever before. Opponents call it a failure because of high […]
Students Force Change at University of Missouri
It’s been more than a year since the shooting death of Michael Brown flared racial tensions in Ferguson, Missouri and led to massive protests. Earlier this month, protestors nearly 120 miles away at the the University of Missouri banded together to raise awareness of many ongoing incidents of racism at the school, as well as growing […]
Another Episode of Gun Violence
On October 1, a shooter opened fire on a classroom of students at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Ten people died (nine students and a teacher) and seven others were wounded before the shooter turned the gun on himself. The gunman spared the life of one student, to whom he gave an envelope […]
Meet Homo Naledi
Earlier this month, paleoanthropologists in South Africa announced that they have discovered a new species of hominid. Hominid is the name of the biological family that includes both primates and humans. This discovery has the scientific community reevaluating our understanding of human evolution. The Discovery The project began when an amateur caver found a unique […]
Remembering Hurricane Katrina Ten Years Later
You’ve likely heard a number of tenth anniversary stories regarding Katrina, the hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005. Here is a story looking back on the storm and the effects it has on the Gulf Coast region and the people that made it through the storm. (And make sure you click on the […]