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☆ Opinion: Russia can lose this war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Timothy Snyder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And far too many of us, during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, have believed that. Of its three most consequential foreign wars, the Red Army lost two. And the Russian army of today is not the Red Army. It was disproportionately Ukrainians who fought their war to Berlin in the uniform of the Red Army. Russia can lose this war, and should, for the sake of Russians themselves.

Persons: Timothy Snyder, Richard C, Levin, “, ”, Read, Leonid Brezhnev, Putin, Alexander Nemenov, Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Robert Nickelsberg Organizations: Global Affairs, Yale University, CNN, Russia, Getty, Red, Red Army, Soviet, Lease, Russian Empire, Russo, Fascism Locations: Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Poland, Afghanistan, USSR, Soviet Ukraine, Berlin, United States, Russian, Crimean, Japanese, Europe, Pacific, Kabul, Soviet Union, Crimea, Japan, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ The ‘Star Wars’ timeline is confusing. Here’s when ‘The Acolyte,’ ‘Ahsoka’ and more take place
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Worry not, padawans: CNN has laid out a comprehensive timeline of the “Star Wars” canon so you can follow all of the franchise’s time-jumps without getting lost in space. These details are pulled from the official “Star Wars” resources “Ultimate Star Wars” and “Star Wars Character Encyclopedia,” as well as a chart of the eras explored throughout the franchise. ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (animated series)Ahsoka is Anakin's padawan in "The Clone Wars," and he lovingly calls her "Snips." ‘Star Wars Rebels’Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren take on the Empire in "Star Wars Rebels." ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’Heroes attempt to find the plans to blow up the Death Star in "Rogue One."

Persons: we’ve, Rey Skywalker, Jin, Anakin Skywalker, Wan, Anakin, who’s, Anakin’s, Darth Maul, Palpatine, Darth Sidious, Obi, “, Padmé, ”, Count Dooku, Warner, Ahsoka Tano, Sidious, Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, Vader, ‘, Han, Chewie, Jonathan Olley, scoundrel Han, Thrillist, frenemy, Lando Calrissian, ‘ Obi, Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, ‘ Andor, Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso, Jyn, ’ Luke, —, Yoda, batty, Lando, Yikes, Jabba, redeems, VI, VII, Grogu, Mando, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, flitted, Boba, Din, ” It’s, Ahsoka, Jabba the, Suzanne Tenner, Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, Thrawn, Rey, Kylo Ren, ” Rey, stormtrooper Finn, Kylo, ’ Finn, Phasma, Ren, Snoke, MacGuffin, Poe, Emperor Palpatine, she’s, Jude, Kerry Condon, Lee Jung, jae, Amandla, Leslye Headland, James Mangold, Indiana Jones, Dave Filoni, Daisy Ridley Organizations: CNN, “, “ Star, Lucasfilm, Everett, Lucasfilm Ltd, USA, ‘, Warner Bros, Fox, Empire, Tech, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, ‘ Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Rebels, AV, Pictures, Rebel, Rebels, Galaxy, imperials, Rotten, “ Star Wars Rebels, Force, Rey, C3PO, Jude Law, Variety Locations: Yavin, “, Republic, Hunter, Luke’s, ”, USA, carbonite, New Republic, Endor

☆ Star Wars was the first Lego license — 25 years later, it's stronger than ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Star Wars Lego models are seen at the Bricks & Figs museum in Krakow, Poland, on April 15, 2023. A design director at the Denmark-based Lego company, he has spent the past 25 years creating Lego Star Wars sets. Now, Lego Star Wars has become a blueprint for the company's other brand deals — think Harry Potter, Batman and Marvel's Avengers. The Lego Star Wars collaboration came at a time of financial turmoil for Lego. Lego Icons, Lego Technic, Lego City and Lego Harry Potter also performed well.

Persons: Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, Frederiksen, Darth Vader, Harry Potter, Jill Wilfert, Wilfert, It's, Paul Southern, Shirlaine Forrest, " Frederiksen, we're, Southern, We've Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Star, CNBC, Disney, Epic Games, Lego Star, Lego, Force, Manchester Central, Imperial, Star Wars, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Company, Lego Star Wars, Warner Bros, Games Locations: Krakow, Poland, Denmark, Lego, Manchester, England

☆ Kenya floods: Anger mounts as people left homeless and searching for loved ones swept away in floods
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Larry Madowo | Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mai Mahiu, Kenya CNN —When Julia Wanjiku put her son Isaac to bed last Sunday after a day celebrating his third birthday, she didn’t realize she was also saying goodbye. She was among the survivors gathering at Ngeya Girls High School in Mai Mahiu on Tuesday. A damaged car buried in mud in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, on April 29. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople removing mud and water from their house in Mai Mahiu, Kenya, on April 29. Rescuers carry the body of a young man recovered in the debris following flooding, in Mai Mahiu, Kenya.

Persons: Mai Mahiu, Kenya CNN —, Julia Wanjiku, Isaac, Wanjiku, — Isaac, “, ” Wanjiku, Isaac’s, Mai Mahui, It’s, Luis Tato, El, William Ruto, Kithure Kindiki, Isaac Mwaura, ” Ruto, Mark Laichena, ”, Simon Maina, Mwaura, Nyagoah Tut, James Wakibia, Joyce Kimutai, herder, Makau, “ I’m, ” Larry Madowo, Laura Paddison, CNN’s Louis Mian, Allison Chinchar, Mary Gilbert Organizations: Kenya CNN, CNN, Girls High School, Getty, Getty Images, “, Kenyan, Space Agency European Space Agency, European Space Agency, Isaac Mwaura ., Communities, United Arab Emirates, Rights Watch, Kenya Meteorological Department, Human Rights Watch, Rescuers, Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute Locations: Kenya, Mai, Kenya’s, Nairobi, Mai Mahiu, Kamuchiri, AFP, Getty Images Kenya, Garissa, Tanzania, Tana, Mathare, New York, El, Nyagoah Tut Pur, Africa, East Africa, London

California Coast Credit Union is currently offering a 5-month CD with a rate of 9.50% annual percentage yield (APY). For a limited time, the California Coast Credit Union is offering 9.50% APY on its 5-month "Celebration Certificate" CD in honor of its 95th anniversary. While some credit unions offer membership to anyone in the nation, California Coast Credit Union isn't one of them. You also can't have previously opened a Celebration Certificate CD, as it's limited to one per social security number. You can't withdraw your money early or add any additional money to the CD after you've funded it.

Persons: it's, you'll Organizations: California Coast Credit Union, San Diego Riverside Orange, San Diego Riverside Orange Los Angeles Ventura Locations: California, Southern California, San Diego Riverside Orange Los, San Diego Riverside Orange Los Angeles Ventura Imperial San Bernardino

☆ Opinion | What Students Read Before They Protest
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When I was a college undergraduate 25 years ago, the fancy school that I attended offered what it styled as a “core curriculum” that was really nothing of the sort. Instead of giving students a set of foundational courses and assignments, a shared base of important ideas and arguments, our core assembled a grab bag of courses from different disciplines and invited us to pick among them. The idea was that we were experiencing a variety of “approaches to knowledge” and it didn’t matter what specific knowledge we picked up. Against the belief that multiculturalism required dismantling the canon, Columbia insisted that it was still obligatory to expose students to some version of the best that has been thought and said. That approach survives today: The Columbia that has become the primary stage for political drama in America still requires its students to encounter what it calls “cornerstone ideas and theories from across literature, philosophy, history, science and the arts.”

Persons: Helen Vendler’s, ” Organizations: Women Writers, ”, Columbia University Locations: Imperial China, Columbia, America

☆ Biden’s controversial ‘cannibalism’ remarks meet pushback in Papua New Guinea
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” Marape said. While cannibalism was documented among remote tribes in the region in the mid-20th century, Papua New Guinea has struggled to shed stereotypes in more recent decades, and Biden’s comments were met with criticism inside the country. “These apparent untrue remarks by the sitting President is a low point in our bilateral relations,” Tkatchenko said. “He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time. When asked about the remarks, the White House did not repeat Biden’s assertions about cannibals or his uncle’s plane being shot down.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, Ambrose Finnegan’s, James Marape, Biden’s, ” Marape, ”, Justin Tkatchenko, Washington, ” Tkatchenko, Marape, “, Ambrose Finnegan, ” “, Finnegan “ Organizations: CNN, Papua New Guinea, Allied, Australian, Embassy, Moresby, Defense POW, Agency Locations: Papua New Guinea, Pacific, New Guinea, Papua New, Port Moresby, Beijing, United States, ”, U.S, Pennsylvania

☆ The Venice Biennale and the Art of Turning Backward
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jason Farago | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is a sour tendency in cultural politics today — a growing gap between speaking about the world and acting in it. In the domain of rhetoric, everyone has grown gifted at pulling back the curtain. We are losing faith with so many institutions of culture and society — the museum, the market, and, especially this week, the university — but cannot imagine an exit from them. I’ve just spent a week tramping across Venice, a city of more than 250 churches, and where did I encounter the most doctrinaire catechism? It was in the galleries of the 2024 Venice Biennale, still the world’s principal appointment to discover new art, whose current edition is at best a missed opportunity, and at worst something like a tragedy.

Locations: Venice

☆ Russia says deeper U.S. hybrid war using Ukraine will end in Vietnam-style humiliation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russia said on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers' approval of $60.84 billion more in support for Ukraine showed that Washington was wading deeper into a hybrid war with Russia that would end in a humiliation on a par with Vietnam or Afghanistan. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that it was clear that the United States wanted Ukraine "to fight to the last Ukrainian" including with attacks on Russian sovereign territory and civilians. "Washington's deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into such a loud and humiliating fiasco for United States as Vietnam and Afghanistan," Zakharova said. She said that ordinary Ukrainians were being "forcibly driven to slaughter as 'cannon fodder'" but that the United States was now no longer betting on a Ukrainian victory against Russia. The leaders of the West and Ukraine have cast the war in Ukraine as an imperial-style land-grab which shows that post-Soviet Russia is one of the top two biggest nation-state threats to global stability, alongside China.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Putin's, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Putin Organizations: Sputnik, country's Labour, Social Protection, Ukraine, Cuban Missile, U.S . House, Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia, West Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Washington, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Ukraine, U.S, Israel, Taiwan, United States, Ukrainian, Soviet Russia, China

☆ On ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ Taylor Swift Could Use an Editor
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Lindsay Zoladz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

If there has been a common thread — an invisible string, if you will — connecting the last few years of Taylor Swift’s output, it has been abundance. Her last LP, “Midnights” from 2022, rolled out in multiple editions, each with its own extra songs and collectible covers. What Swift reveals on her sprawling and often self-indulgent 11th LP, “The Tortured Poets Department,” is that this stretch of productivity and commercial success was also a tumultuous time for her, emotionally. — there was a second “volume” of the album, “The Anthology,” featuring 15 additional, though largely superfluous, tracks. Gone are the character studies and fictionalized narratives of Swift’s 2020 folk-pop albums “Folklore” and “Evermore.” The feverish “Tortured Poets Department” is a full-throated return to her specialty: autobiographical and sometimes spiteful tales of heartbreak, full of detailed, referential lyrics that her fans will delight in decoding.

Persons: Taylor, Swift, ‘, ’ ” Swift, Department ” Organizations: Poets Department, Department

☆ Cloud seeding probably didn't cause Dubai's floods. The UAE has been trying to control its weather for years, and the US does it too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Photos show how the UAE, United States, and other countries have been seeding clouds for decades. Historic floods in Dubai didn't come from cloud seeding, but humans' climate impacts are playing a role. Related storiesAccording to several scientists, cloud seeding isn't the driving force behind Dubai's historic floods. Packets of salt are pictured during a cloud seeding operation at a military airbase in Subang, Malaysia. The real threat behind Dubai's floodsMany atmospheric scientists have dismissed the idea that cloud seeding was behind Dubai's floods.

Persons: GIUSEPPE CACACE, Getty, Prometheus, Frankenstein —, Thomas Peipert, Al Hayer, Amr Alfiky, Andrea DiCenzo, Lim Huey Teng, there'd, Friederike Otto, John Marsham, Jeff Big Jeff, Gary Coronado, Marsham, Fred Greaves, Otto Organizations: Dubai didn't, Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, UAE, Reuters, National Center of Meteorology, United, UAE's National, of Meteorology, Militia, Imperial College London, Science Media, SMC, University of Leeds, Los Angeles Times, Getty, UAE isn't, National Park Service, AP Locations: UAE, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rocky, Lyons , Colorado, China, Australia, Al Ain, Utah, Dongkou county, Shaoyang, Hunan province, Subang, Malaysia, Bannon, Sacramento, , California, California's Sacramento County

☆ US-Russia collaboration has long endured in space. The Ukraine war could ruin it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Tom Porter | Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The International Space Station has long been a symbol of international cooperation. AdvertisementSince the end of the Cold War, the International Space Station (ISS) has been a symbol of international cooperation. By 1988, 15 nations had agreed to participate in the project, then known as Space Station Freedom. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe Soviets had long-standing expertise in aerospace technology, having launched the world's first space station, "Salyut," in 1971. China has completed several unmanned Moon landings, has its own space station, and has developed a sophisticated commercial and military satellite program.

Persons: —, Peggy Whitson, Vladimir Putin, Jill Stuart, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov, Marco Tacca, Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, Sergey Korsakov, Virts, Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Alexander Grebenkin, Jeanette Epps, Stuart, Verts, Musk Organizations: Astronauts, Service, Space, Veteran, ISS, Imperial College London, Politics, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, Inter, Soyuz, Keystone, Hulton, Roscosmos, Reuters, Anadolu, Getty, Imperial College, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Elon Musk's SpaceX, The Independent, CNBC Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe, China, Japan, loggerheads, Hollywood, Canada, Soviet Union, Milan, Italy, Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic, Russian, Baikonur, Kazakhstan, The, Soviet Russia

☆ Why Scotland’s ‘ghost’ whisky distilleries are coming back to life
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Angus Mackinnon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Courtesy Port Ellen DistilleryAcross the courtyard, the new still room resembles a vast industrial greenhouse with four shiny new copper stills as its exotic plants. “It is important that we recreate that classic Port Ellen character that people love, but we also want to be doing things we’ve not done before,” says McDonald. Courtesy Port Ellen DistilleryA glimpse into that past comes in the musky surroundings of warehouse number two with a dram drawn straight from a cask filled in 1979. Port Ellen is hoping to attract upscale whisky fans to sample a by-appointment-only Atlas of Smoke Experience. “At the moment, Port Ellen is expensive because it is so old and so rare.

Persons: Carol Ann Duffy’s, ” “, Ellen, ”, attar, Port Ellen, Roy Duff, Dramface.com, Ardbeg, Hijiri, Alexander McDonald, McDonald, Port, Port Ellen Gemini, Ellens, There’s, Dramface’s Duff, ” Emily Burnham, “ Organizations: Scotland CNN, Port, Ellen, Diageo, North America —, Smoke Locations: Islay, Scotland, Isle of Islay, Wuyi, Port, Scottish, —, Highland, Brora, Falkirk, Scotland’s, Hong Kong, Kilnaughton Bay, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Mull, Kintyre, North, America, United States

☆ China concerns bring new unity to once-turbulent US-Japan-Philippines relationship ahead of major White House summit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Both the Philippines and Japan are US defense treaty allies, and the US military retains permanent bases in Japan and has base rights in the Philippines. That threat is manifested in three key areas – Taiwan, the South China Sea and the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, analysts say. Here's why 03:27 - Source: CNNJapan and Philippines both have separate territorial disputes with China, in the former’s case the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and in the latter’s areas of the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China claims the shoal, which is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, as its sovereign territory, as it does much of the South China Sea, in defiance of an international arbitration ruling. “Alliance building is the most practical way to deal with China’s moves” in the South China Sea, he said.

Persons: ”, James D.J, Brown, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Xi Jinping, Biden, Micah Jeiel Perez, Marcos, Kishida, ” Marcos, Shinzo Abe, Ricardo Jose, ” Jose, Thomas, CNN Marcos, Shoal, China –, Masaharu Homma, –, Perez, Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos Jr’s, Duterte, Thomas Shoal, Veejay Villafranca, Robert Ward, BRP Antonio Luna, you’ve, Donald, Trump, ” Brown, “, Ward Organizations: South Korea CNN, White, Temple University, Japanese, Taiwan –, Communist Party, Taiwan Relations, University of, Nikkei Asia, University of the, “, CNN, East China, Philippine, China Coast Guard, US, US State Department, Gen, “ Alliance, Clark Air Base, Naval, Bloomberg, Getty, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Cooperative, Philippine Navy, BRP, Royal Australian Navy, Self, Defense Forces, JS Akebono, US Navy, USS, Multilateral Maritime Cooperative, Armed Forces, AP Analysts Locations: Seoul, South Korea, United States, Japan, Philippines, China, Tokyo, Philippine, Taiwan, Washington, South, Senkaku, East China, University of the Philippines, CNN Japan, East, South China, Palawan, China – Washington, Beijing, Spain, Spanish, Imperial Japan, New Orleans, Bataan, Subic, Manila, US, Australia, India, Vietnam, Warramunga, IISS

☆ Japan’s New Royal Instagram Page Forgoes Flash for Formality
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Kiuko Notoya | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anyone expecting the Japanese royal family’s new Instagram account to generate memes or showcase a new side of the world’s oldest continuous monarchy should lower their expectations. Just some royals politely posing for pictures in their usual, formal way. The new Instagram page for Japan’s Imperial Household Agency — its first on any social media platform — posted its first image early Monday morning. By Tuesday evening, it had uploaded 19 more and collected nearly half a million followers. The page mostly shows Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and sometimes their daughter, Princess Aiko, standing up, sitting down or bowing at formal events over the past three months.

Persons: Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Princess Aiko Organizations: Imperial Household Agency —, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Locations: Tokyo, Kenya, Brunei

☆ Rome’s Future Is a Walk Through Its Past
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Conscious of the weight of its illustrious history, Rome has managed to preserve an impressive number of archaeological monuments in its city center. The Colosseum, the Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum and Imperial Fora are just a few of the sites clustered in the city’s heart. As Rome, which will celebrate its 2,777th birthday on April 21, moves toward its third millennium, city leaders are promoting a new vision of this area as a giant, pedestrian-friendly public space that supporters say will promote Rome’s ancient past. Normally, the area is also crawling with tourists and those who cater to them, including tour guides, street vendors and street artists. Some streets in the area are already closed to traffic besides buses and cabs, but others are busy thoroughfares that link various neighborhoods with the downtown or with the road that winds alongside the Tiber River.

Persons: Maximus, ”, Roberto Gualtieri Organizations: Roman, Imperial Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ Meet the woman who engineered Russia's wartime economy and helped secure another term for Putin
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina has played a key role in stabilizing Russia's sanctions-hit economy. It's also aimed at the woman behind him: Elvira Nabiullina, the country's central bank governor, who plays a chief role in keeping Russia's wartime economy ticking. At the time, she was the first woman to lead a Group of Eight, or G8, central bank. In 2015, Euromoney, a finance trade publication, named Nabiullina Central Bank Governor of the Year. In December, she issued a warning that Russia's economy was at risk of overheating.

Persons: Elvira Nabiullina, —, Putin, It's, Nabiullina, Daniel McDowell, McDowell, wined, Christine Lagarde, Nabiullina —, Richard Portes, Portes —, Portes, Anders Åslund, Åslund, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Yaroslav Kuzminov, Kuzminov, Nabiullina's, Alan Harvey, Herman Gref —, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Maxim Shemetov, Michel Camdessus, she's, isn't, Sergei Aleksashenko, Alexei Makarkin, Vladimir Pesnya, Nabiulina, let's Organizations: Ukraine, Service, Russian, KGB, Syracuse University, Kremlin, International Monetary Fund, US, London Business School, Moscow Times, Bloomberg, Higher School of Economics, —, Moscow State University, SNS, USSR, Industrial Union Board, Gref, Central Bank Governor, Nabiullina Central Bank Governor, Banker, Central Banker, IMF, Monetary Fund, Financial Times, Government, Political Technologies, Wall Street Journal, RBC, Politico Europe Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Brussels, Nabiullina, Swedish, Moscow, Ufa, Central Russia, Tatars, Crimea, Euromoney, Europe, steadying

☆ Dazzling selection of the world’s biggest, finest and most unusual gems unite in a single exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Julia Carmel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“It’s really personal.”It’s easy to understand why: As the curator of mineral sciences for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Celestian oversees the Gem & Mineral Hall. The 125-carat "Jonker I" diamond, one of the most storied gems of its kind in history. “The story goes: It was raining one day… and then because all the rain just washed away the sediment, they found a 726-carat rough diamond,” Celestian said. Courtesy the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles CountyA view inside the Hixon Gem Vault, featuring highlights from the "100 Carats" exhibition. Though nothing else is quite as rare, the other gems in this exhibition are unique, vividly colored, and mostly unseen.

Persons: CNN — Aaron Celestian isn’t, ”, they’re, It’s, Celestian, Robert Procop, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, Harry Winston, Winston, Lazare Kaplan —, King Farouk of, ” Celestian, Shirley Temple, hasn’t, Procop, Angelina Jolie, “, ” Procop, Lori Bettison, Varga, — Organizations: CNN, of Los, Gem, Mineral, American Museum of, “ Locations: of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, South Africa, New York City, King Farouk of Egypt, Egypt, ”, Los Angeles County, New York, Tanzania, Myanmar, Colombia

☆ Opinion: This Easter, reflect on how your Bible came into being
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Opinion Candida Moss | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —The version of Easter you’re likely familiar with probably starts with how the Bible tells the story. As I show in my book, “God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Marking of the Bible,” ancient dictation was bare bones and idiosyncratic. Someone might respond that while enslaved and formerly enslaved secretaries and copyists were present, they were still not authors. What we know is that Paul and Tertius wrote the Letter to the Romans together and that collaboration moves us into the realm of speculation. Saying that Paul “wrote Romans” when Romans itself claims that it was written by Tertius isn’t just speculative, it’s wrong.

Persons: Candida Moss, Edward Cadbury, John, Pontius Pilate, Jesus, Candida Moss Brian McConkey, Pilate, ” Pilate, It’s, Paul, Tertius, “, Mark, Peter’s “, Peter, ’, Roman enslavers, Varro, Martial, Roman, papyrologists Roger Bagnall, Raffaella, Douglas Sacha, ”, copyists, ” John Calvin, William Barclay, Tertius “, Barclay, Paul “, Tertius isn’t, Lord Jesus Christ, — Organizations: University of Birmingham, Notre Dame, CNN, Jewish, “ Institutes Locations: Judea

☆ Why Ireland is the most pro-Palestinian nation in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Eoin Mcsweeney | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

“But like Palestine, (Ireland) had direct and sustained experience of imperialism,” she said. Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians wait to receive food at a refugee camp in Rafah on January 27. AFP/Getty Images Palestinian boy Ahmed Qannan, suffering from malnutrition, receives treatment at a health-care center in Rafah on March 4. Yasser Qudih/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images People in a crowd struggle to buy bread from a bakery in Rafah on February 18.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Micheál Martin, Israel, “, Zoë Lawlor, ”, Jane Ohlmeyer, Leo Varadkar, ” Varadkar, Abdalmajid, Volker Turk, Ohlmeyer, Clodagh Kilcoyne, Ronald Storrs, Seán Gannon, Simon Harris, ” Israel, Amihai Eliyahu, Netanyahu, Dana Erlich, Emily Hand, Varadkar’s, Eli Cohen, Varadkar, Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, ” Matt Carthy, Sinn, ” Lawlor, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, Lawlor, Carthy Organizations: CNN —, Israel, International Court of Justice, Irish, Irish Palestine Solidarity, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, “, CNN, Irish Free State, Republic of Ireland, Hamas, United Nations, Jewish, Republican Irish, European Union, West Bank, Newstalk, Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, AFP, UN, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Amnesty, Irish Times, State Locations: CNN — Ireland, Ireland, Gaza, Israel, Gaza “, South Africa, Irish Palestine, Palestinian, Irish, Palestine, London, St, dispossession, Ulster, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Republic of, Dublin, Jerusalem, Jewish Ulster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland Ireland, Limerick, Rafah, Mousa Salem, Gaza City, AFP, Jordanian, Februrary

☆ The collapsed Baltimore bridge didn't stand a chance against such a huge cargo ship, engineers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Experts sought to explain how the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed. AdvertisementThe Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore stood no chance against the huge impact from a cargo ship Tuesday morning, experts told Business Insider Tuesday. Advertisement"There's a heavy impact from a cargo ship into one of the piers," he said in a call with BI. Advertisement"All bridge piers will be designed to resist impact from a vessel. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in 1977.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, —, Dali, Leroy Gardner, Gardner, Ian Firth, Barbara Rossi Organizations: Service, Engineering, Imperial College London, Engineers, Nimitz, US Navy, BBC, Engineering Science, University of Oxford Locations: Baltimore

☆ The genius Roman creations that still amaze us today
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Guy Kesteven | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

That’s because Roman passions for outrageous, oversized architecture went hand in hand with detailed record-keeping and relentless imperial PR. We should warn you that the lines to get in now are likely even longer than the Roman ones though. While it was forgotten for over 1,000 years, this UNESCO World Heritage site now gets over 2,500,000 visitors a year. Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat: Spectacularly preserved Roman portWhere: Libyan coastWhoa: Seeing is still not believingThe undoubted winner of the “most incredible Roman site you’ve never heard of” award is Lepcis Magna. That’s made this dramatic structure a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and well worth a visit on any Roman road trip across Europe.

Persons: Genghis, Marco Cantile, Volcanically, Pliny, hadn’t, That’s, Pont du, Pont, it’s, Mahmud Turkia, you’ve, Magna, Septimus Severus, “, Emperor Augustus, Tiberius, Domitian, Nero, Maximus, Don’t, Augustus, Vindolanda, Hadrian, Antonine, Aphrodisia, Caracalla, Caracalla aren’t, Diocletian, Guy Kesteven, Sarah, Freya Organizations: CNN, Scottish Borders, UNESCO, Heritage, Lepcis Magna, Getty, Coliseum, YouTube, Royal Holloway University Locations: Rome, Africa, Scottish, Italy, Herculaneum, Naples, Mount, Gardon, France, AFP, Libyan, Libya, Palatine Hill, Trier, Germany, Europe, England, Roman, Scotland, Anatolia, Turkey, Aphrodisia, Caracalla

☆ An MIT professor devised a 'Fortress Ukraine' plan in 1994 that proved remarkably right about the Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An MIT professor envisioned a defensive strategy in 1994 for Ukraine to survive a Russian attack. AdvertisementIn 1994, an American professor came up with a plan for Ukraine to defend against Russian invasion. Rather than seizing all of eastern Ukraine, Russia currently occupies about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the southeast and along the Black Sea coast. AdvertisementA member of 120th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine takes part in training exercises on March 16. "The Ukrainian force can cover about 60 percent of the front with no reserves.

Persons: Barry Posen, —, Posen's, Posen, Vladimir Putin, Gian Marco Benedetto, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, envelopments, didn't, Ukraine hadn't, George Barros, Barros, Michael Peck Organizations: MIT, Service, Russia —, NATO, Ukraine —, 120th Independent Brigade, Territorial Defense Forces, Russia, Mechanized, Russian, Institute for, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, American, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Dnipro, Posen, Soviet Union, Soviet, Moscow, America, Britain, Crimea, Donetsk, Nazi Germany, Washington ,, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Forbes

☆ Lloyd Austin says US support for Ukraine remains resolute even as security aid remains stalled in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ramstein Air Base, Germany CNN —US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized Tuesday that the US “will not let Ukraine fail,” as Congress continues to delay critical funding for Ukraine aid. “So, our message today is clear: The United States will not let Ukraine fail. This coalition will not let Ukraine fail. And the free world will not let Ukraine fail.”The trip is Austin’s first official trip abroad since his prostate cancer procedure in December. “And Ukraine continues to down Russian warplanes.”The future of supplemental aid in Congress remains unclear.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ”, Austin, Rustem Umerov, “, Russia “, ” Austin, Mike Johnson, Sen, Markwayne Mullin, Johnson, Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan Organizations: Ramstein Air Base, Germany CNN — US, Ukraine Defense Contact, Ukrainian Defense, CNN, Russia, Russian Navy, Republican, ”, Pentagon, Army Locations: Germany, Ukraine, United States, Russia, Europe, “, Oklahoma

☆ A French Castle Filled With a Collector’s Treasures
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Aimee Farrell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the French gallerist Yves Gastou bought the Ermitage de Douce-amie — or refuge of a sweet friend — a follylike crenelated castle on the outskirts of Biarritz in southwest France, in 1990, it had the air of a place frozen in time. Hidden within a forest of bamboo and pine, bay and oak trees, the 5,380-square-foot house was built in 1900 as a retirement home for a member of the imperial court of Napoleon III, or so Gastou believed. The house had changed hands only a few times since: The woman from whom he purchased it was among the last ladies in Biarritz to travel by horse and cart. The hermitage was his summer hideaway, a place for monthslong vacations with family and friends. And if his Paris home was an expression of his appetite for modernity — it epitomized his eclectic tastes, with Cubist midcentury furniture by the French sculptor Philippe Hiquily and acrylic 1980s-era pieces by the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata — the castle offered a retreat into the past.

Persons: Yves Gastou, Douce, amie —, —, Napoleon III, Gastou, Philippe Hiquily, Shiro Kuramata Locations: Biarritz, France, Carcassonne, Limoux, Paris, French

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