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Monday, October 19, 2020
Fighting is breaking out in Asia between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both countries claimed freedom from the USSR in 1991, and they have long disputed a territory called Nagorno Karabakh. The area is within the borders of Azerbaijan, but it declared independence in 1991 and has ruled itself with the help of Armenia. In 1994, a fragile ceasefire was declared, but on September 27th, one of the countries fired a shot, reigniting fighting in Nagorno Karabakh. A week ago, the two countries agreed on another short-lived truce, and the government in Nagorno Karabakh says that more than 700 members of its military were killed in the fighting. Internationally, Armenia is backed by Russia, and Azerbaijan is backed by Turkey. The UN, EU, NATO, and the US are all afraid that a large scale conflict could force these two larger countries into a war, and are urging the two nations to end the fighting. Music can help heal the brain, and a CNN Hero is helping senior citizens with dementia to help them get through these challenging times. Listening to music can help people with memory loss connect the song to something they have heard in the past, and it momentarily brings them back to who they are and where they are. A bacon company has created a bacon-scented mask. It uses something similar to scratch and sniff stickers on the fibers, and it can be won through a raffle.
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
The US election is coming up in just a couple of weeks, but millions of people have already voted. Still, the biggest night for politicians is Election Day on November 3rd. President Trump and former Vice President Biden both held rallies over the weekend, and they're not the only ones who are campaigning. All 435 seats in the House are up for election, 35 seats in the Senate and a variety of state and local positions are all on the ballot. But Americans don't directly choose who gets to be the president. Instead, they vote for the electors who make up the Electoral College, who then cast their votes based on what the people voted for. The electors in each state are chosen by their political parties. However, the electors don't always vote in line with their party. Faithless electors vote against what the people voted for, but these are rare and don't influence the outcome of an election (to date). In some states, electors are forced, by law, to be faithful. To win the White House, a candidate must receive 270 electoral votes. In the case that there is a tie or no one gets to 270, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate the vice president. Across Europe and the United States, coronavirus positive rates are on the rise. Many European nations are considering new lockdowns and are already attempting to enforce new safety protocols. However, in countries like Britain and Germany, many people are protesting the restrictions. An asteroid called 2018VP1 has a 1/240 chance of hitting the Earth's atmosphere soon. It's very unlikely, but in the case that it does enter the atmosphere, it will burn up before it hits the ground. A NASA probe is making a mission to a different asteroid - its goal is to gather a sample from the surface and bring it back to Earth by 2023. If successful, it will be the first of its kind. Bell has gotten a contract from NASA to build a 4G Wifi network on the Moon. Why? NASA plans to build a space base there by 2028, and it figures the base will need a wireless network.
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
The US government has filed a lawsuit against Google. It says that Google has violated US antitrust laws, which prevent companies from gaining too much power in a field. In Google's case, the company is accused of preventing competitors from gaining a footing in the search engine business, which could prevent another big search company from coming up. Google says this is flawed because people use it by choice, not by force. Google isn't the only tech company under criticism; a US Congressional report said that Amazon mistreated third-party sellers, Apple suppressed competition in its app store, and Facebook bought companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to prevent future competition. All of these companies have denied wrongdoing. Fabien Cousteau is an underwater explorer with plans to build the largest ever underwater space station. There are currently 6 NASA missions to Mars, but 80% of the ocean is unexplored. Why is that? For starters, it's expensive. Experts estimate that it would be far more expensive to build an underwater base than to build one on the Moon. Second, exploration thus far has shown that the seafloor is barren except for a unique animal here and there. For Cousteau, the ocean is simply beautiful, and it also has enough energy to suit the world's current needs.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Vietnam is seeing heavy flooding, which is adding to its recent economic troubles. Most Vietnamese are farmers, and much of this year's crop has been washed away along with thousands of livestock. This is on top of the heavy blows the country has seen from coronavirus, which shut down its travel industry. To make matters worse, another storm system is on its way after passing the Philippines. During the second presidential debate tonight, the microphones of the candidates will have a mute function. During each candidate's initial two minutes to respond to a prompt, the other candidate's microphone will be turned off to prevent the bickering and interruption the viewers saw last time. They will be turned back on afterward to allow for argumentation. This was supposed to be the third debate, but the second one was canceled after Trump refused to have it held virtually after his positive coronavirus diagnosis. A company has found a new way to make biodegradable plastic. Plastic is an artificial polymer that takes hundreds of years to break down. AirCarbon plastic breaks down in just a year. It is made with natural organisms that consume greenhouse gases as a food source. They produce a white substance as a byproduct, and they are natural polymers that can be molded and shaped like plastic. Although it is currently very expensive, it has the potential to solve two problems at once - plastic and carbon emissions.
Friday, October 23, 2020
Before the final presidential debate last night, the Directors of National Intelligence and the FBI held a press conference to announce that Iran and Russia had taken steps to interfere in the upcoming US election. They warned Americans to be wary of news that they see online and for other types of disinformation. In terms of the actual debate, the topics included Fighting COVID-19, American Families, Race in America, Climate Change, National Security, and Leadership, and were chosen by NBC News anchor and correspondent Kristen Welker. In a record-breaking fire season on the West Coast, the August Complex Fire has officially become a gigafire - a fire that has burned more than a million acres. Surprisingly, this fire season has not burned the most total acreage - that happened in 2015 and 2017 when more than 10 million acres were burned.
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