Understanding the News

Let’s take a look at some of the context behind recent headlines, for a deeper comprehension of the news.
Lebanon’s Currency
The Lebanese government has devalued its official currency exchange rate by 90 percent, in an effort to get a handle on the nation’s economic turmoil, which has seen a run on banks due to insolvency.
College Board Changes Course
After criticism by conservatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board has revised its African American Studies AP course, eliminating the topic of critical race theory and making subjects like Black Lives Matter optional. So, what is the College Board and how does it set a curriculum?
34 Years Later
England’s police forces have collectively apologized for their “profound failings” at the 1989 Hillsborough disaster that saw 97 people die in stampedes at a soccer match.
Stalingrad Surrender
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at Stalingrad, which many consider the turning point of World War II in Europe in favor of the Allies.

澳洲幸运5历史开奖结果号码 How the Groundhog Became a Meteorologist

Every February 2 since 1887, all eyes turn to Punxsutawney, Penn., to watch a 开奖结果官方手机版 groundhog emerge from hibernation. If it sees its shadow and retreats, the legend goes, there will be six more weeks of winter. Groundhog Day can be traced back to northern Europe, where farmers watched for the emergence of hibernating animals—like badgers or hedgehogs—to signal the coming of spring, which told them when to plant crops. The tradition was brought to America by Germans who migrated to Pennsylvania, where they found groundhogs in abundance.

2023澳洲幸运5开奖记录手机版 Beyond the Game: Black Pioneers in Sports

Trending Quizzes

See All Quizzes
Sunflowers growing in a field
Name That Flower!
Can you tell the difference between a lilac and a hyacinth?
The famous Tunnel View at Yosemite
Name That U.S. National Park Quiz
Can you tell Yellowstone from Yosemite?
Martin Luther King, Jr. (left of centre) and Malcolm X (right) waiting for a press conference, 1964.
American Civil Rights Movement Quiz
Test your knowledge of Americans’ tumultuous fight to end racial segregation and discrimination.
High school student frowns and feeling stressed after reading question about SAT test examination in a classroom (testing, education, teenager)
Challenging Standardized Test Words Quiz: Vol. 1
Here are 20 terms to help you score 1600. Find the answer that best describes the italicized standardized test word.
Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, Florida tourism
Disney Quiz
 Not your average Mickey Mouse quiz
Battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862, lithograph by Kurz and Allison, circa 1888.
Guess That Historical Event! Quiz
From plagues to revolutions, can you name these pivotal events?
Publicity still of the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and one of the Flying Monkeys (Winged Monkeys) from the motion picture film "The Wizard of Oz" (1939); directed by Victor Fleming (there were a number of uncredited directors). (cinema, movies)
Iconic Pop Culture Villains Quiz
Do you know what famous villain’s costume was inspired by samurai? What bad guy’s middle name is Marvolo? Test your knowledge...
Donuts, muffins, and cookies
Snack Time Quiz
It’s cheat day, so dig into these 12 questions about snacks.
Name that Thing - Nature, composite image: carnation, dewclaw, fjords, lynx
Name That Thing: Nature
Get acquainted with the great outdoors
(From left): First Ladies Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Pat Nixon, and Lady Bird Johnson at the Dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California; November 4, 1991. (first lady)
First Ladies of the United States Quiz
They have been hostesses, helpers, advisers, gatekeepers, guardians, confidantes, and sometimes formidable powers behind...
Encyclopedia Britannica ONE GOOD FACT

The first animal domesticated by humans was the dog, possibly as early as 30,000 years ago.

See All Good Facts

澳洲幸运5历史开奖记录查询 Browse by Category

Entertainment & Pop Culture Entertainment & Pop Culture
Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.
Featured
Geography & Travel Geography & Travel
Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.
Featured
Health & Medicine Health & Medicine
The study of the human mind and body, how these function, and how they interact—not only with each other but also with their environment—has been of utmost importance in ensuring human well-being. Research on potential treatments and preventive medicine has expanded greatly with the development of modern medicine, and a network of disciplines, including such fields as genetics, psychology, and nutrition, aims to facilitate the betterment of our health.
Featured
Lifestyles & Social Issues Lifestyles & Social Issues
It's easy enough to agree that human beings all around the world have certain basic requirements that must be fulfilled in order to ensure their individual and collective well-being. History has shown us, however, that it's not so easy to form societies or communities that fulfill these requirements for all members. The fight for human and civil rights has persisted for hundreds of years and remains alive today, both within the borders of nations and on an international scale. It has led to large-scale social movements and reforms concerning issues such as suffrage, slavery, women's rights, racism, environmentalism, gay rights, and much more.
Featured
Literature Literature
With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.
Featured
Philosophy & Religion Philosophy & Religion
Humans have long pondered not only how we came to be but also why we came to be. The earliest Greek philosophers focused their attention upon the origin and nature of the physical world; later philosophers have theorized about the nature of knowledge, truth, good and evil, love, friendship, and much more. Philosophy involves a methodical assessment of any and all aspects of human existence and experience. The realms of philosophy and religion have sometimes intersected in conducting such inquiries as these. As with philosophy, the study of religion underscores how humankind has long speculated about its origins. The possibility of a higher being (or beings) to which livings things owe their existence has long captived human thought. Many religions also offer their own views on the nature of good and evil, and they may prescribe guidelines and judgment on different kinds of human behavior.
Featured
Politics, Law & Government Politics, Law & Government
The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.
Featured
Science Science
How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.
Featured
Sports & Recreation Sports & Recreation
Physical contests and recreational games have long played a part in human society. In both team and solo sports, the human body has been pushed to its limits in the name of improving athletic performance and in order to break record upon record. The ancient Olympic Games are an early example of the contests in which humans have engaged to showcase physical prowess. In modern times, sports and games have evolved into a lucrative and competitive industry, while other leisure activities, such as card and video games, can be competitive or just serve as a way to unwind or socialize.
Featured
Technology Technology
Humankind has long striven to improve its living conditions through the development of tools, instruments, and transportation and communications systems, all with the goal of making our lives easier, more productive and—why not?—more fun, too. Thanks to human curiosity and technological research, many significant inventions have been made throughout history that in turn made a difference in our daily lives.
Featured
Visual Arts Visual Arts
These are the arts that meet the eye and evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination. They include the most ancient forms, such as painting and drawing, and the arts that were born thanks to the development of technology, like sculpture, printmaking, photography, and installation art. Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, different eras in art history have had their own principles to define beauty, from the richly ornamented taste of the Baroque to the simple utilitarian style of the Prairie School.
Featured
World History World History
Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages.
Featured

More From Britannica

ProCon.org
Award-winning ProCon.org promotes critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the pro and con arguments to controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.
Britannica Money
Discover all you need to know about retirement, investing, and household finance, without the jargon or agenda. Get reliable guidance, insight, and easy-to-understand explanations, written, edited, and verified to Britannica’s exacting standards.
Advocacy for Animals
Presenting Advocacy for Animals, a blog focused primarily on animal rights, wildlife conservation, environmental health and safety, and the legal and cultural issues related to these topics. This blog is a source of information and a call to action. It is meant to be a provocation and a stimulus to thought regarding humanity’s relationship with nonhuman animals.
Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain has been writing a weekly interview column for the Italian newspaper La Stampa since 1989. His interviews celebrate some of the best known and successful personalities of the present day.