Who is Megan Piphus Peace?
The well-known American children’s show Sesame Street has been a part of television history since 1969. It is broadcast in more than 150 countries. It has also won 142 Emmy awards–more than any other show in television history. Sesame Street has always prided itself on breaking down barriers during its more than fifty-year run, but […]
AFTER THE FACT: Charles Van Doren, Game Show Legend
Have you ever heard of Charles Van Doren? Born in 1926 in Manhattan, Van Doren was a veteran, a mathematician, and a Ph.D. in literature. He was also a legendary and controversial figure in the game show world of the 1950s. Van Doren passed away in April in Canaan, Connecticut, at the age of 93. […]
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International Cyberattack: What Happened? Almost 100 countries were affected last week by a worldwide cyberattack. Computer systems in Britain, Russia, the United States, Spain, Japan, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam were targeted, among others. Earlier this year, a group calling themselves the Shadow Brokers stole ransomware from the U.S. National Security Agency and leaked it […]
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White House Transition Regardless of who wins the upcoming general election, there will be a new occupant of the White House come January. Having a fully-functioning government at all times is crucial to our national security. This requires a “seamless transfer of power” from administration to administration. Made up of 4,000 senior executives, an annual […]
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Marriage Equality Vote in Ireland Beginning in 2012, Ireland’s government met regularly with 66 randomly selected citizens and members of representatives from Northern Ireland to discuss eight issues on which they would later debate in the Oireachtas (the Irish Free State’s equivalent to our U.S. Congress). One of those issues was a provision to legalize […]
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ISIS Continues Threat In March, btw brought you news of the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) engaging in “cultural vandalism.” The terrorist group continues its threat in Iraq and Syria, inching closer to the city of Palmyra, where the UNESCO World Heritage is located. Dating back to the 1st century, this site is considered one of the […]
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India Sends MOM to Mars Last month, btw brought you an update on the NASA’s Mars rover. Last week, India successfully orbited its own spacecraft, Mangalyaan, also called Mars Orbiter Mission (or MOM), around Mars. Launched in November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), it was the least expensive interplanetary mission in history […]
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Shooting at Fort Hood On April 2, Army Specialist Ivan Lopez opened fire on his colleagues at the Fort Hood military base located in central Texas. Three people were killed and sixteen others were wounded before the gunman killed himself. A 34-year-old veteran of the Iraq War , Lopez was said to have been distraught […]
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Mass Shooting at Navy Yard On September 16, a civilian named Aaron Alexis killed 12 people and injured 8 others at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) headquarters in Washington D.C. Because the facility is located just a few miles from the White House, part of the city was placed in lock-down. Alexis was working […]
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Aid for Hurricane Sandy Victims In the days following Hurricane Sandy, efforts began to rebuild areas that had been hit the hardest, mostly New Jersey. Hometown celebrities like Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi headlined benefit concerts. Victims filed insurance claims, while people all over the country dropped change into plastic tubs at gas stations […]