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On Oct. 12, a sign in Tel Aviv says in Hebrew, 'No more words,' near candles lit both in memory of those killed in the Hamas massacres and for the hostages taken to the Gaza Strip. Amir Levy/Getty Images Many observers have referred to the massacre of Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, as […]

Some approaches to translation are more true to the aims of the text than others. arthobbit/iStock via Getty Images Plus Imagine your mother has cancer. You just heard about a promising new experimental treatment and want to enroll her in the study. However, your mother immigrated to the U.S. as an adult and speaks limited […]

Disinformation campaigns use emotional and rhetorical tricks to try to get you to share propaganda and falsehoods. hobo_018/E+ via Getty Images Information warfare abounds, and everyone online has been drafted whether they know it or not. Disinformation is deliberately generated misleading content disseminated for selfish or malicious purposes. Unlike misinformation, which may be shared unwittingly […]

People living in larger bodies face constant discrimination and negative messages about their body weight. smartboy10/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images Weight-inclusive health care means a focus on better health with no weight loss required. This includes practices such as eating for overall well-being rather than for the number of calories. It may also include prioritizing […]

Birders participate in the Christmas Bird Count on Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2017. Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images This winter, tens of thousands of birders will survey winter bird populations for the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, part of an international bird census, powered by volunteers, that […]

Louisa May Alcott took part in a 19th-century literary culture of anonymity and guessing games. Universal Images Group/Getty Images Before Louisa May Alcott published the bestselling “Little Women” in two volumes – the first in 1868, the second in 1869 – she wrote melodramatic thrillers, selling these short stories to magazines to bring in cash […]

People gather for Pagan sunrise celebrations in Ireland, on the morning of the winter solstice. Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images Yule will be celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice. For Pagans, the shortest day of the year marks the end […]

A California teacher takes part in a demonstration in September 2023 to support the rights of transgender people. Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register via Getty Images In 2023, 24 states had laws or regulations in place prohibiting transgender students from participating on public school athletic teams consistent with their gender identity. These bans mean that a […]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, meets with his security cabinet on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attack. Haim Zach (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images After the surprise Hamas terrorist attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, many observers were puzzled about how Israel could have […]

Scientists still debate the origins of Earth's life-sustaining elements. BlackJack3D/E+ via Getty Images For many years, scientists have predicted that many of the elements that are crucial ingredients for life, like sulfur and nitrogen, first came to Earth when asteroid-type objects carrying them crashed into our planet’s surface. But new research published by our team […]

Peace, joy and profit margins: Retailers sell Christmas trees at a markup of up to 500%. Iuliia Bondar/Getty Images Plus Christmas today is a big business, and one part of that is the multibillion-dollar business of selling Christmas trees. The U.S. Christmas tree industry is so large, it even has two dueling trade groups: one […]

Shortly after the opening ceremony of the 2023 United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, delegates of nations around the world rose in a standing ovation to celebrate a long-awaited agreement to launch a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries recover from climate-related disasters. But the applause might not yet be warranted. The deal […]