On Wednesday, far-right insurrectionists stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. The mob forced lawmakers to flee for safety, smashed windows, vandalized offices and posed for photos in the House chambers. One woman died after being shot by law enforcement, an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police died from injuries sustained during the fighting,And while the attack on the Capitol shocked many, it was also predictable: Plans to invade the Capitol building have been for weeks, as Sheera Frenkel and Dan Barry report for...…On Wednesday, far-right insurrectionists stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. The mob forced lawmakers to flee for safety, smashed windows, vandalized offices and posed for photos in the House chambers. One woman died after being shot by law enforcement, an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police died from injuries sustained during the fighting,And while the attack on the Capitol shocked many, it was also predictable: Plans to invade the Capitol building have been for weeks, as Sheera Frenkel and Dan Barry report for...WW…

Last month, German divers scanning the Baltic seafloor for abandoned fishing nets happened upon a rare piece of history: a strange contraption with keys and a rotor, rusted and covered in algae but relatively intact.“A colleague swam up and said: [T]here’s a net there with an old typewriter in it,” lead diver Florian Huber tells the .Similar to a typewriter, the device was indeed used for sending messages—in this case, of a dangerous and clandestine variety. As reports, the group’s find is a rare used by Nazi Germany to transmit encrypted military communications during World War II.The...…Last month, German divers scanning the Baltic seafloor for abandoned fishing nets happened upon a rare piece of history: a strange contraption with keys and a rotor, rusted and covered in algae but relatively intact.“A colleague swam up and said: [T]here’s a net there with an old typewriter in it,” lead diver Florian Huber tells the .Similar to a typewriter, the device was indeed used for sending messages—in this case, of a dangerous and clandestine variety. As reports, the group’s find is a rare used by Nazi Germany to transmit encrypted military communications during World War II.The...WW…

Since , the has worked to digitize its sprawling collection of more than 80,000 manuscripts, making a trove of rare historical treasures freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection.But the tricky work of uploading the contents of the Roman Catholic Church’s historic library comes with new risks in the digital age. As Harriet Sherwood reports for the , the library recently hired cybersecurity firm to defend its digitized vault against attacks that could manipulate, delete or steal parts of the online collection.Founded by University of Cambridge mathematicians, Darktrace uses...…Since , the has worked to digitize its sprawling collection of more than 80,000 manuscripts, making a trove of rare historical treasures freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection.But the tricky work of uploading the contents of the Roman Catholic Church’s historic library comes with new risks in the digital age. As Harriet Sherwood reports for the , the library recently hired cybersecurity firm to defend its digitized vault against attacks that could manipulate, delete or steal parts of the online collection.Founded by University of Cambridge mathematicians, Darktrace uses...WW…

Public commemorative spaces in the United States tell a highly selective—and often explicitly racist—version of the nation’s history.As Rebecca Santana reports for the , less than 2 percent of historic sites on the relate to African American history. Fewer still represent the stories of Latino, Asian American or Native American people.Conversely, a conducted by the found that 1,747 Confederate symbols remained standing across the nation; many have since as protests against proliferate across the country.In the years to come, the landscape of public memorials in the United States may change...…Public commemorative spaces in the United States tell a highly selective—and often explicitly racist—version of the nation’s history.As Rebecca Santana reports for the , less than 2 percent of historic sites on the relate to African American history. Fewer still represent the stories of Latino, Asian American or Native American people.Conversely, a conducted by the found that 1,747 Confederate symbols remained standing across the nation; many have since as protests against proliferate across the country.In the years to come, the landscape of public memorials in the United States may change...WW…

For the most part, Earth and its single moon are locked in a two-body dance as our planet circles the sun. But every so often, a bit of space stuff—otherwise known as a mini-moon—will get caught up in Earth’s gravitational orbit and stick around for a while.The last mini-moon to visit Earth was , which circled Earth for a few months before it flew off to . Now, Deborah Byrd and Eddie Irizarry write for that scientists have identified another piece of space stuff that is expected to join Earth’s orbit, known as 2020 SO.Astronomers first spotted 2020 SO on September 17 with the in Hawaii,...…For the most part, Earth and its single moon are locked in a two-body dance as our planet circles the sun. But every so often, a bit of space stuff—otherwise known as a mini-moon—will get caught up in Earth’s gravitational orbit and stick around for a while.The last mini-moon to visit Earth was , which circled Earth for a few months before it flew off to . Now, Deborah Byrd and Eddie Irizarry write for that scientists have identified another piece of space stuff that is expected to join Earth’s orbit, known as 2020 SO.Astronomers first spotted 2020 SO on September 17 with the in Hawaii,...WW…

When small stars the size of our sun die, they go out with a bang. As the star runs out of hydrogen fuel, it cools and expands to become a gargantuan red giant. After ejecting up to 80 percent of its mass in a protracted explosion, the star will collapse in on itself, leaving behind a small core that slowly continues to cool.The death of a star tends to incinerate its surroundings—for instance, scientists predict that when our own sun dies in about 5 billion years, it will destroy Mercury, Venus, and likely Earth, Jackson Ryan reports for .However, in a major find, NASA researchers...…When small stars the size of our sun die, they go out with a bang. As the star runs out of hydrogen fuel, it cools and expands to become a gargantuan red giant. After ejecting up to 80 percent of its mass in a protracted explosion, the star will collapse in on itself, leaving behind a small core that slowly continues to cool.The death of a star tends to incinerate its surroundings—for instance, scientists predict that when our own sun dies in about 5 billion years, it will destroy Mercury, Venus, and likely Earth, Jackson Ryan reports for .However, in a major find, NASA researchers...WW…

In 2017, a group of organized criminals from Romania pulled off a not unlike the plot of a movie.As Archie Bland recounts for the , on the night of January 29, two men broke into a London postal transit warehouse by cutting holes in its roof and rappelling down through the ceiling to avoid security sensors. Over the next five hours, the thieves carefully extracted 16 bags filled with rare books set to be shipped to Las Vegas for a specialist book auction. Precious cargo in tow, the pair made their escape around 2:15 a.m., fleeing in a car driven by a third accomplice.According to a...…In 2017, a group of organized criminals from Romania pulled off a not unlike the plot of a movie.As Archie Bland recounts for the , on the night of January 29, two men broke into a London postal transit warehouse by cutting holes in its roof and rappelling down through the ceiling to avoid security sensors. Over the next five hours, the thieves carefully extracted 16 bags filled with rare books set to be shipped to Las Vegas for a specialist book auction. Precious cargo in tow, the pair made their escape around 2:15 a.m., fleeing in a car driven by a third accomplice.According to a...WW…

Two major reports released this month paint a grim portrait of the future for our planet’s wildlife. First, the from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), published last week, found that in half a century, human activity has decimated global wildlife populations by an average of 68 percent.The study analyzed population sizes of 4,392 monitored species of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians from 1970 to 2016, reports Karin Brulliard for the . It found that populations in Latin America and the Caribbean fared the worst, with a staggering 94 percent decline in population. All told, the...…Two major reports released this month paint a grim portrait of the future for our planet’s wildlife. First, the from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), published last week, found that in half a century, human activity has decimated global wildlife populations by an average of 68 percent.The study analyzed population sizes of 4,392 monitored species of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians from 1970 to 2016, reports Karin Brulliard for the . It found that populations in Latin America and the Caribbean fared the worst, with a staggering 94 percent decline in population. All told, the...WW…

Just 1,300 light years away from Earth, three young stars are locked in a rare gravitational dance. Two stars are orbitting one another, while a third star zooms around the pair at a distance of hundreds of millions of miles away.This unusual triple-star system is known to scientists as (GW Ori), and it’s one of the most oddly shaped interstellar arrangements that astronomers have witnessed, reports Brandon Specktor for . (For comparison, in our own solar system, planets orbit a lone star: our sun.) A large cloud of gases and dust, leftover from the sun’s birth, swirls around the star in a...…Just 1,300 light years away from Earth, three young stars are locked in a rare gravitational dance. Two stars are orbitting one another, while a third star zooms around the pair at a distance of hundreds of millions of miles away.This unusual triple-star system is known to scientists as (GW Ori), and it’s one of the most oddly shaped interstellar arrangements that astronomers have witnessed, reports Brandon Specktor for . (For comparison, in our own solar system, planets orbit a lone star: our sun.) A large cloud of gases and dust, leftover from the sun’s birth, swirls around the star in a...WW…

Last Wednesday, a mob of far-right insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol, forcing lawmakers to flee for safety and temporarily delaying Congress’ certification of November’s election, which will put Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in the White House.Over of chaos, the insurrectionists assaulted , ransacked offices, stole objects, smashed windows and smeared across a bust of President Zachary Taylor. Rioters also erected near the Capitol Reflecting Pool; footage captured at the scene showed some members of the crowd , “Hang Mike Pence!” In total, the attack...…Last Wednesday, a mob of far-right insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol, forcing lawmakers to flee for safety and temporarily delaying Congress’ certification of November’s election, which will put Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in the White House.Over of chaos, the insurrectionists assaulted , ransacked offices, stole objects, smashed windows and smeared across a bust of President Zachary Taylor. Rioters also erected near the Capitol Reflecting Pool; footage captured at the scene showed some members of the crowd , “Hang Mike Pence!” In total, the attack...WW…