Stuff YOU Should Know
Death of ISIS Leader Raises Questions You might not have heard of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before he was killed at the end of October in Syria, but now his death is making headlines across the world. Baghdadi has spent much of his rule in hiding. But Trump announced that Baghdadi was killed by […]
Happy Anniversary, Moon Landing!
Fifty years ago this week, three American astronauts traveled 238,000 miles to become the first people to walk on the moon. On July 20, 1969, American Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon’s surface and uttered the now-famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” So how is the […]
To the Moon by 2024?
Fifty years after NASA first landed astronauts on the Moon, they are gearing up to do it again. The president and vice president have stated that the United States will return to the Moon by 2024: just five years from now. And NASA says it can make that happen. Here, btw takes a closer look. […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
New Gene Therapy Trials Underway Do you think scientists should be allowed to modify the genetic material of human beings? What if you had a serious or life-threatening disease that could possibly be helped if scientists could modify your genes? You may have heard of CRISPR last year, when a Chinese scientist used this gene-editing […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Medical Fraud Scam Unveiled You’ve probably already heard about the recent college admissions scandal that rocked U.S. higher education. But last week, 24 people also were arrested in connection with another scandal that was far more lucrative (though decidedly less glamorous): medical braces. Here’s what happened: call centers in Latin America and the Philippines called […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Border Security: A National Emergency? The federal government shutdown is now the longest in our nation’s history. The government has shut down because the president is demanding $5.7 billion from Congress in order to build a wall along the U.S. southern border and Congressional Democrats are refusing to sign off on it. So now, to end […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Kavanaugh Update Recently, btw brought you a closer look at Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, and the challenges he faced as he began his week of Senate confirmation hearings. Now that those hearings are finished, however, Congress, as well as the American public, are more divided than ever over Kavanaugh’s nomination. Related […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
A Bridge of Love in Northern Africa In a world where it often seems like everyone is at war, the neighboring North African countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea have finally made peace. Once upon a time, these two countries were actually the same nation. But twenty years ago, Eritrea declared its independence from Ethiopia. Soon […]
YOU DECIDE: Space Mission to the Moon
In December, President Trump announced his administration’s plans to send American astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The directive, called Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1), was signed on the 45th anniversary of Apollo 17’s landing on the moon on December 13, 1972. In his speech, Trump said that the goal […]
Year in Review: Science and Technology
Space and Discovery One of this year’s most exciting events was the “Great American Eclipse,” which took place on Monday, August 21. Eclipse mania gripped the nation as thousands of Americans traveled to visit the path of totality. Meanwhile, after 20 years in space, and 13 years orbiting Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft’s mission ended dramatically […]