Did you know that the thousands of little florets in the middle of a sunflower actually grow with the mathematical precision of a Fibonacci sequence? An evenly-growing spiral named after the Italian mathematician who described it, Fibonacci numbers form a sequence—often seen in nature—whereby each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. The […]
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2 shootings, 2 days: In Kenosha, a microcosm of US strife
A Black man, accosted by police on a domestic dispute call, is left with bullet wounds in his back that will likely keep him from ever walking again. A white 17-year-old, rifle in hand, strolls past authorities untouched amid cries that he just gunned down three people protesting the Black man’s shooting. Two moments of […]
Pandemic brings hard times for farmers, worsening hunger
The coronavirus pandemic has brought hard times for many farmers and has imperiled food security for many millions both in the cities and the countryside. United Nations experts are holding an online conference beginning Tuesday to brainstorm ways to help alleviate hunger and prevent the problems from worsening in the Asia-Pacific region — a challenge […]
75 years later, Japanese man recalls bitter internment in US
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the first thing Hidekazu Tamura, a Japanese American living in California, thought was, “I’ll be killed at the hands of my fellow Americans.” It wouldn’t be the last time he felt that way. At 99, amid commemorations of Wednesday’s 75th anniversary of the formal Sept. 2, 1945, surrender […]
Absent details, police shooting narratives seek to distract
A familiar narrative emerged in the days that followed Jacob Blake’s shooting by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one seen many times after a Black man or woman is killed or grievously wounded by police: That somehow Blake’s actions or his past can explain why an officer fired seven bullets into his back. Despite […]
Portland protesters target city’s mayor amid rising tensions
Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon, shifted their focus to the city’s mayor, and police declared a riot as people broke windows, vandalized a business and set a small fire inside the upscale apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler lives. The demonstration that began late Monday and extended into Tuesday fell on Wheeler’s 58th […]
Firefighter killed at scene of wildfire in California forest
A firefighter was killed and another injured Monday battling a wildfire in the Northern California forest, authorities said. The firefighter was killed in Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco, where a wildfire that started on Aug. 17 was 20% contained, according to a statement from the U.S. Forest Service. No other details were immediately […]