Here’s What’s New on Amazon Prime in June 2019
In case you haven't yet seen Captain Marvel since it premiered in March, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film is among dozens of movie and series options coming to Amazon Prime Video in June. Older movies like 2009's Law Abiding Citizen, the thriller starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, are also hitting the platform, in addition to all five Rocky films, from the 1976 o...
2m May 31, 2019
2m
Why Do People Build Walls? The Real Story of Jericho Offers a Surprising Answer
Be it in songs and sermons, or in bricks and mortar, walls are sui generis among the artifacts of human culture. If not quite a precondition of culture as such, they must count among its first fruits, as elemental (or nearly so) as the sharpened stone and the roaring fire. The minute a house’s wooden frame (or the fabric of a tent) is rendered sufficiently sturdy, that mem...
9m May 31, 2019
9m
Physician Burnout Costs the U.S. Billions of Dollars Each Year
Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion as well as feeling cynical, ineffective or unaccomplished at work, is bad for both employees and employers. For doctors and hospitals, though, the ramifications can be especially dire. Doctors in the U.S.
3m May 29, 2019
3m
Ex-Belgian King, 84, Finally Agrees to DNA Test in Decades-Old Paternity Case
(BRUSSELS) — A decades-old royal paternity scandal is setting Belgium abuzz again. Lawyers said Tuesday that Belgium's former King Albert II, 84, has finally agreed to a DNA test demanded by a woman who claims to be his daughter in what could be a decisive breakthrough in the long-running case. By the evening, news of the former king's acquiescence had already pushed...
3m May 29, 2019
3m
At the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Spellers Are Especially Nervous About One Particular Sound
(WASHINGTON) — The word that knocked runner-up Naysa Modi out of last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee was "Bewusstseinslage" — one of those flashy, impossible-sounding German-derived words that make the audience gasp when they are announced. Naysa believes the seemingly mundane word that knocked her out the year before was just as intimidating, if not more. ...
6m May 29, 2019
6m
Here Are the Best Commencement Speeches of 2019
Graduates at universities and colleges around the United States are wrapping up the academic year, preparing to face a new era of life. As part of that tradition, celebrities, politicians, athletes, CEOs and artists are offering a range of life advice in commencement addresses. Here are some of the best moments and words of wisdom from commencement speeches in 2019. Ro...
9m May 29, 2019
9m
President Trump’s Visit to Japan Was a Success — for Japan
President Trump's visit to Japan was a success for that country, but foreign policy experts say it was more of a wash for the United States. Facing upcoming parliamentary elections and an ongoing threat from North Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was able to showcase the strength of his country's alliance with the U.S. to both domestic and foreign rivals. ...
5m May 29, 2019
5m
Europe’s Greens Hope E.U. Election Triumph Will Be Turning Point for Climate Policy
Green Party politicians struggle to pinpoint the exact moment when it became clear they were making history in the European Union’s parliament elections. Hopes stirred when Irish exit polls showed the country had elected its first two Green representatives. Next the Greens came in a shock second place to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party in Germany.
7m May 29, 2019
7m
Missouri Could Become the First State Since Roe v. Wade With No Legal Access to Abortion
The last abortion provider in Missouri may lose its license this week, functionally leaving women in the state without access to safe abortions—even though they currently remain legal in Missouri and all other U.S. states. Planned Parenthood's license to provide abortion care at its St. Louis health center is not set to be renewed by the state health department before i...
3m May 29, 2019
3m
‘Gaming Disorder’ Is a Now an Official Medical Condition, According to the WHO
Nearly anywhere you go, it's easy to find children and adults alike transfixed by their phones, and while texting and social media certainly claim a big part of that attention, increasingly it’s gaming that’s drawing us in. At the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly on Saturday, member states officially recognized gaming addiction as a modern disease. ...
4m May 29, 2019
4m
Former Spokesman: Modi Has United India Like No Prime Minister in Decades
The largest democratic exercise in history, which saw more than 600 million Indians vote, may have ended in a landslide for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but this election was no formality. It followed perhaps the most abusive, abrasive and ill-tempered campaign in India’s history, in which opposition party Indian National Congress president ...
6m May 29, 2019
6m
The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 So Far
Many of the best nonfiction books of the year so far ask readers to make change. In Charged, Emily Bazelon presses us to stop giving prosecutors so much power in the courtroom. In The Uninhabitable Earth, David Wallace-Wells warns of the grim future we'll face if we don't step up to help protect the planet. In The Unwinding of the Miracle, Julie Yip-Williams urges us to ap...
8m May 29, 2019
8m
Netflix Becomes the First Major Hollywood Studio to Pledge to Fight Georgia’s Abortion Bill
Since Georgia passed a bill earlier this month that effectively bans abortion after six weeks, most major production companies with ties to the state have stayed quiet. Thanks in part to a generous tax incentive there, Georgia is home to a thriving film industry, which stands to be impacted significantly if major Hollywood players demonstrate their disapproval of the legis...
2m May 29, 2019
2m
Justice Clarence Thomas Likens Some Abortions to Eugenics in 20-Page Supreme Court Opinion
The Supreme Court confronted a restrictive Indiana abortion law on Tuesday by upholding one portion of it and punting another. The portion it upheld, which was previously barred by the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, requires fetal remains be buried or cremated. "This Court has already acknowledged that a State has a 'legitimate interest in proper disposa...
3m May 29, 2019
3m
A Change to the Tax Code Hurt Fallen Soldiers' Families. Now a Bipartisan Push Wants to Fix It
For many Americans, President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act resulted in lower income and corporate tax rates. But an unintended consequence of the 2017 overhaul was a significant tax hike for families whose loved ones lost their lives while serving as active-duty military members. [video id=5690658614001] Gold Star families, as they are commonly referred to, a...
4m May 28, 2019
4m
Remembering the Military Brothers Who Were Lost Together at Pearl Harbor
On Dec. 7, 1941, the battleship Arizona took the brunt of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Decimated by a horrific explosion, the ship lost 1,177 men in seconds. Among the dead were 63 brothers who had chosen to serve together. In a world at peace, there hadn’t seemed to be any particular danger to brothers serving together on warships. Family ties were jud...
4m May 28, 2019
4m
The College Board Is Rolling Out a New SAT ‘Adversity Score.’ Here’s How It Could Impact College Admissions
SAT scores will soon be measured by more than just a teenager's math and verbal skills — the College Board is rolling out a new "adversity score" program that is intended to give universities a chance to gain a fuller picture of the applicant's background. But as several elite universities are already facing lawsuits over affirmative action admissions practices, some wo...
7m May 17, 2019
7m
Switzerland Loves Guns. The E.U. Wants Reforms. Voters Will Decide
The hills of Switzerland will soon be alive with the sound of gunfire. The country’s largest annual shooting competition, the Feldschiessen, held between May 24 and 26, attracts an estimated 130,000 sharpshooters of all ages from all over Switzerland. It is not uncommon to see kids as young as 12 handling weapons with the steady-handed assurance of more experienced mark...
8m May 17, 2019
8m
How Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Got Everyone to Listen
All of the things you need to know now from the editors of TIME
13m May 17, 2019
13m
Alabama's Abortion Ban Isn't Only About Abortion. Opponents Are Afraid It May Drive Doctors Out of the State
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on May 15 signed into law the strictest abortion ban in the country, sparking fears not only about abortion access, but also about how the policy could worsen disparities that already endanger the health of women living in the south. The law, set to become enforceable in six months, bans nearly all abortions at all stages of pregnancy, with excepti...
6m May 17, 2019
6m
'Time for Us to Live for Him.' Hundreds Honor Student Slain in Colorado School Shooting
(HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.) — Nearly 2,000 people turned out Wednesday for a memorial service to honor the Colorado teenager who was killed while charging one of the two gunmen who opened fire inside a high school and shot nine people just days before graduation. A line of Jeeps and trucks stretched along a Highlands Ranch roadway ahead of the service for Kendrick Castillo...
6m May 17, 2019
6m
Here’s What Eating Processed Foods for Two Weeks Does to Your Body
Ultra-processed foods—the kinds made irresistible by sugar, fat and salt—are ubiquitous in the U.S., making up as much as 60% of the average American diet. But a small, intensive new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism shows that their low price and convenience comes at a cost to health.
3m May 17, 2019
3m
The Queen Is Hiring a Social Media Manager, So Get Those Résumés Royal-Ready
If you have royal fever and you're a social media pro, your dream job has arrived. Buckingham Palace is currently hiring a "digital communications officer" in charge of curating the Queen's social media presence. In other words, you'd be taking care of those pesky Instagram and Twitter updates for Queen Elizabeth II herself.
2m May 17, 2019
2m
Kyle MacLachlan’s Tribute to ‘Twin Peaks’ Co-Star Peggy Lipton
Peggy Lipton’s performance as Julie Barnes on The Mod Squad made a huge impact on my whole generation. The show was decidedly not meant for our parents, and Peggy, who died on May 11 at 72, was a revelation. She represented a type of person not seen on television before, the quintessential example of a new kind of woman, young and hip, with a resilience that complemented a...
1m May 17, 2019
1m
Alabama Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban Into Law
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama's Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. "To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God," G...
4m May 16, 2019
4m
A Toddler Detained at the U.S. Border Has Died After Weeks in the Hospital, Report Says
A 2-year-old boy detained at the U.S.-Mexico border died Tuesday after several weeks in the hospital in El Paso, Texas, becoming the fourth Guatemalan minor to die in in U.S. custody since December, the Washington Post reports. The unidentified boy appears to have been sick with a form pneumonia, but his death is under investigation, according to the Post.
2m May 16, 2019
2m
Gucci Criticized for Cultural Appropriation Over $800 ‘Indy Turban’
Gucci has come under fire for retailing a nearly $800 turban that had previously stoked criticism when it debuted in a runway show. Critics on Wednesday called out the Italian fashion house for selling the headdress as a high-end accessory divested of its religious significance. "The Sikh turban is not just a fashion accessory, but it’s also a sacred religious articl...
1m May 16, 2019
1m
White House Abstains From Global ‘Christchurch Call’ Pledge to Stop Spread of Online Hate
(PARIS) — The White House is not endorsing a global pledge to step up efforts to keep internet platforms from being used to spread hate, organize extremist groups and broadcast attacks, citing respect for "freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
7m May 16, 2019
7m
Cannes Review: The Dead Don’t Die Brings Jim Jarmusch’s Intimate Touch to the World of Zombies
Jim Jarmusch’s deadpan zombie-invasion haiku tone poem The Dead Don’t Die opened the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, and it’s hard to say if it was a daring choice for an opener or a “We can’t really find anything else that will work” shrug.
8m May 16, 2019
8m
Are Onions and Garlic Healthy? Here’s What Experts Say
Garlic and onions are staples for many home cooks. But do these plants actually add any health benefits to your dishes? Or are they purely for flavor? People who try to eat colorful fruits and vegetables in order to get a wide range of vitamins and minerals may think that pale foods like onions and garlic don't offer many nutrients. But although they may not look like n...
4m May 16, 2019
4m
These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote
As Democratic presidential hopefuls unroll their platforms for the 2020 presidential election, some of the hot-button issues they're discussing, such as immigration and healthcare, will sound familiar from past presidential races. But one idea that has popped up in the campaigns of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Beto O'Rourke and o...
12m May 16, 2019
12m
Carbon Dioxide Concentration in the Earth’s Atmosphere Has Hit Levels Unseen for 3 Million Years
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has reached levels not seen for 3 million years, scientists at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii said Monday – offering a dire warning about the impact of human activity on the planet. The observatory's sensors registered carbon dioxide levels of 415 parts per million (ppm) on Saturday, meaning CO2 made up 415 ...
2m May 16, 2019
2m
A Low-Fat Diet May Lower the Risk of Dying from Breast Cancer
Breast cancer treatments have come a long way in recent decades, but understanding how to prevent tumors from forming in the first place has been a major challenge. In a new study being presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago next month, researchers report intriguing evidence that a low-fat diet, similar to the kind doctors recom...
5m May 16, 2019
5m
Popular British Talk Show The Jeremy Kyle Show Canceled After Death of Guest
(LONDON) — British broadcaster ITV on Wednesday canceled a popular, long-running daytime reality show after the death of a guest who failed a lie-detector test during a recording. ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said The Jeremy Kyle Show was being scrapped "given the gravity of recent events." The case has renewed debate about the ethics of tabloid television, and sp...
3m May 16, 2019
3m
Wikipedia Is Now Banned in China in All Languages
China has expanded its ban on Wikipedia to block the community-edited online encyclopedia in all available languages, the BBC reports. An earlier enforced ban barred Internet users from viewing the Chinese version, as well as the pages for sensitive search terms such as Dalai Lama and the Tiananmen massacre. According to Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI...
1m May 16, 2019
1m
Here’s What People Are Betting Will Happen on the Game of Thrones Finale
With just one episode of Game of Thrones left in the show's eighth and final season, fans are making their final predictions on who lives, who dies and who will sit on the Seven Kingdoms' hotly contested Iron Throne — and they're putting their money down quite literally. (Let's hope it's a better investment than Cersei's decision to shell out for the Golden Company.) Pa...
2m May 15, 2019
2m
Violence Against Women in El Salvador Is Driving Them to Suicide — Or to the U.S. Border
The reporting for this project was supported by the Pulitzer Center It’s hard to grasp the scale of El Salvador’s problem with gender violence. In the Central American country of just six million people, one woman was the victim of a femicide — a man murdering of a woman or girl because of her gender — every 24 hours in 2018. That's one of the worst rates of femicide in...
9m May 15, 2019
9m
Trump's Trade War With China Could Cost the Average Family Up to $2,300 a Year, Report Estimates
President Donald Trump's trade war with China could cost the average American family of four up to $2,300 a year, according to a report on the effect of tariffs on the U.S. economy and workers. The study, by the economic consulting firm Trade Partnership Worldwide, assesses how tariffs will affect American consumers and the economy.
5m May 15, 2019
5m
Want to Stay Healthy as You Age? Let Go of Anger
Though emotions are often fleeting, they can have a lasting impact on your health. Stress, for example, may heighten the risk of both chronic and acute health conditions, while happiness can improve wellbeing. Now, a small new study published in the journal Psychology and Aging suggests that anger, far more than sadness, is linked to negative health effects in older peo...
4m May 15, 2019
4m
WhatsApp Discovered Malware That Infects Phones With a Missed Call
Spyware crafted by an "advanced cyber actor" infected multiple targeted mobile phones through the popular WhatsApp communications program without any user intervention through in-app voice calls, the company said. The Financial Times identified the actor as Israel's NSO Group, and a WhatsApp spokesman later said "we're certainly not refuting any of the coverage you've s...
3m May 14, 2019
3m
Activists Occupying the Venezuelan Embassy Have Been Served an Eviction Notice
(WASHINGTON) — Authorities served an eviction notice Monday to activists who have stayed for more than a month inside the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington and asked them to leave immediately. The activists have been inside the embassy because they consider Nicolas Maduro the legitimate president of Venezuela. The U.S. and 50 other countries say Maduro's reelection was f...
1m May 14, 2019
1m
Monsanto Ordered to Pay $2 Billion in Case Tying Weed Killer to Cancer
(SAN FRANCISCO) — A jury on Monday ordered agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. to pay a combined $2.055 billion to a couple claiming that the company's popular weed killer Roundup Ready caused their cancers. The jury's verdict is the third such courtroom loss for Monsanto in California since August, but a San Francisco law professor said it's likely a trial judge or appella...
4m May 14, 2019
4m
How That Explosive Game of Thrones Episode Could Set Up a Tragic Ending for Jon and Daenerys
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8. As Daenerys set Drogon loose on King's Landing and its civilians in "The Bells," the fifth episode of Game of Thrones' eighth season, it became pretty clear that she has officially turned into the Mad Queen she long feared becoming. But amidst the bursts of dragonfire, there were also explosions of green...
4m May 14, 2019
4m
A True Constitutional Crisis Is Rare in U.S. History. Here's Why
Constitutional crisis is a term that's been thrown around a lot lately in American politics: House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler argued in early May that the withholding of the unredacted Mueller report is setting one up, leading President Donald Trump to argue on Sunday that the existence of the investigation is itself the crisis. https://twitter.
8m May 14, 2019
8m
How Daenerys Finally Turned Into the Mad Queen on Game of Thrones
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8. Daenerys has officially turned into the Mad Queen on Game of Thrones. Even after Cersei's army rang the bells of surrender during the siege on King's Landing, Daenerys decided to fly towards the Red Keep and burn not just Cersei but also the civilians throughout the whole city. Just like her father, A...
5m May 14, 2019
5m
Connecticut Mosque Fire Now Being Investigated as Arson: Fire Chief
(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — A weekend fire at a Connecticut mosque is being investigated as arson. New Haven Fire Chief John Alston said Monday investigators found evidence showing the fire at the Diyanet Mosque was intentionally set and a criminal investigation involving state and federal authorities has begun. Police and fire officials declined to disclose the nature of t...
2m May 14, 2019
2m
Facebook Plans to Raise Pay for Contractors Who Screen Violent, Questionable Material
(SAN FRANCISCO) — Facebook is raising how much it pays U.S. contractors who do some of its most taxing work, including watching violent and other objectionable material for possible removal. Facebook will pay at least $18 an hour for these jobs. Those in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay area will get $22 per hour due to a higher cost of living....
2m May 14, 2019
2m
Actor Felicity Huffman Pleads Guilty to Paying $15,000 Bribe to Raise Daughter’s SAT Score
(BOSTON) — "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty Monday in the college admissions bribery scheme, the biggest name to do so in a scandal that has exposed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into top universities.
5m May 14, 2019
5m
President Trump’s Trade War With China Wiped $1 Trillion Off Global Markets in a Single Day
The flare-up in trade tensions sent global equities to the steepest losses of the year, wiping more than $1 trillion from stock values around the world Monday. The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 2% as of 12:55 p.m. in New York, headed for the worst day since early December. Selling was heaviest in the U.S., where the S&P 500 Index plunged 2.5% and the Nasdaq Composit...
1m May 14, 2019
1m
Start Your Binge Watch Now, Because The Office May Be Leaving Netflix
(Bloomberg) — The Office, one of the most popular shows on Netflix, looks like it will be heading to NBCUniversal’s new streaming TV service. At a presentation Monday, NBC suggested that the comedy about office workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, will probably be part of an ad-supported online channel that’s slated to debut next year. But it’s unclear if the show will ap...
2m May 14, 2019
2m