If you’ve ever visited the fossil gallery of a natural history museum — or its gift shop, for that matter — you’ve probably seen the armoured body remains (or exoskeletons) of an extinct group of animals called trilobites. These ancient marine arthropods lived in the world’s oceans from 521 million to 252 million years ago. A typical trilobite fossil, showing the well-preserved hard exoskeleton, but no soft parts. John Paterson We know a great deal about the diversity, lifestyles and evolution of these iconic invertebrate fossils. More than 22,000 species of trilobite have been named. This is largely because the…
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Within minutes of the conclusion of this week’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it became clear to many that the 81-year-old Biden may not be capable of winning the general election in November. His inability to clearly communicate during the 90-minute debate earned harsh criticism from across the US political spectrum, most notably among Democrats. Van Jones, a former official in the Obama administration and CNN analyst, said about Biden: He had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence in the country and of the base, and he failed to do that. We’re still far from…
Ireland captain Rory Best retired after the 2019 World Cup, concluding a remarkable career during which he led Ireland to a Grand Slam, two victories over the All Blacks, and numerous other titles. The Ulsterman is celebrated as one of Ireland’s greatest and most successful captains, though his Northern Irish heritage has occasionally made him a target for criticism. While it’s understandable why Best doesn’t sing “Amhrán na bhFiann” before Ireland’s home matches, the 36-year-old has faced criticism for not singing “Ireland’s Call” – a song created to represent the entire island of Ireland in rugby internationals – especially given…
Amid a major increase in renewable energy development across the country, some projects are facing resistance from local residents. In addition, there’s been a rise in the number of local regulations aimed at restricting or preventing renewable energy projects. The Pew Research Center survey explores how Americans would feel about a wind or solar power development in their own community. On balance, more think wind or solar development would help rather than hurt their local economy. But large shares think it would make no difference or are not sure. Respondents were asked to consider the prospect of wind and solar…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor welcomed former Secretary of Labor and current White House Senior Advisor Tom Perez, other federal officials, state paid leave administrators, researchers and other stakeholders to the department’s Washington headquarters on June 26, 2024, to discuss the latest research on paid family and medical leave and how these programs can be implemented equitably.Organized by the department’s Women’s Bureau, the “Paid Leave: Equity in Implementation” conference had an in-person and online audience of approximately 200. In conjunction with the conference, the Women’s Bureau released their latest paid leave issue brief of 2024.“Having a paid leave law on the books…
Then there’s the fact that “Judeo-Christian” as a definition is also problematic for the religion it leaves out: Islam. Muslims are as native to Europe as Christians and have been an influential force across the Continent for centuries. In Iberia, Muslims developed a syncretic culture where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in relative harmony. They introduced oranges, lemons, cotton and rice — the key ingredient in paella. But when the Christians took control of the peninsula, millions of Muslim Europeans were either killed, expelled or forced to convert. Still, even after their expulsion, Muslims left a profound influence on Spanish…
As has often been the case, Americans see myriad international threats affecting the well-being of the United States. Around seven-in-ten U.S. adults describe cyberattacks from other countries (71%) and the spread of misinformation online (70%) as major threats. And more than six-in-ten say the same about China’s power and influence (67%), Russia’s power and influence (64%) and the condition of the global economy (63%), according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Since March 2020, however, there have been some notable shifts in the issues that Americans see as major threats, according to the survey, which was conducted March 21-27,…
Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable A religious service is held outside St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Burwood, Australia, to comply with COVID-19 social distancing rules in March 2020. (Jenny Evans/Getty Images) For the latest data on government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion, read our report “Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down” and visit the interactive “Religious restrictions around the world.” In 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic took hold…
Government funding for science is usually immune from political gridlock and polarization in Congress. But, federal funding for science is slated to drop for 2025. Science research dollars are considered to be discretionary, which means the funding has to be approved by Congress every year. But it’s in a budget category with larger entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security that are generally considered untouchable by politicians of both parties. Federal investment in scientific research encompasses everything from large telescopes supported by the National Science Foundation to NASA satellites studying climate change, programs studying the use and governance of artificial…
Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, ministers, delegates – friends. I am glad to join you today. The UK places huge value on our relationships across the Americas. Indeed, we are working closely together on the great global issues, including security, climate change and sustainable development. With so many areas of shared interest and endeavour, this Assembly is an opportunity to forge even stronger ties. When it comes to Argentina in particular, the Foreign Secretary and President Milei enjoyed a warm and cordial meeting at Davos earlier this year. They set out their support for a more constructive relationship between our…