A smorgasbord of tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news.
Is There More to Know?
There may be nothing new to learn, but Donald Trump has signed an executive order to declassify documents about the killings of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. - to the delight of cynics and conspiracy theorists who, for years, have stoked rumours about the notorious assassinations. The order means that the "final secret files" are coming out on three key events "that shattered the 60s", said CNN. The US Congress had already passed a law, in 1992, setting a release date in 2017 for most of the documents relating to the JFK assassination. But there had been "no congressional acts forcing the release of records" related to the assassinations of RFK and MLK Jr., said Forbes.
Record Breaking
Soccer star Naomi Girma made an announcement that’s major in more ways than one: The Olympic gold medalist is not only leaving the San Diego Wave to play overseas in England, but she’s also the first female footballer to land a transfer fee that breaks the $1 million mark, NBC News reports. The 24-year-old California native - known as one of the best defenders in the world - secured $1.1 million to head over to the Chelsea Women Football Club, where she’ll play for four and a half years.
Clearer Understanding
It’s been known for decades that Huntington’s disease is caused by an inherited gene mutation in which a DNA sequence is repeated about 40 times. But now, scientists have some answers regarding how this mutation harms cells and why it develops in middle age - and the study results offer both a clearer picture of the disease and new windows of understanding about how to postpone or potentially prevent the onset of Huntington’s.
'Moana 2' Passes $1bn
Disney's box office domination continued over the holiday weekend. Moana 2 topped $1 billion during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, becoming the studio’s third 2024 release to reach the coveted benchmark after Marvel Studios’ Deadpool and Wolverine and Pixar’s Inside Out 2. No other Hollywood studio had a film cross $1 billion last year. Disney says that, so far, Moana 2 has snared $442.8 million at the domestic box office and $567.1 million in international markets. It is the fourth film from the Walt Disney Animation arm to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales alongside Frozen, Frozen II and Zootopia.
Alliance Defies Trump
A bipartisan coalition of 24 U.S. governors pledged to continue the country’s work toward achieving Paris Agreement goals. Representing nearly 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the nation’s population, the Climate Alliance members pledged to reduce collective greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, a target it is on track to achieve.
Star Watch
This week we can observe four of the five naked-eye planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not Mercury) with the added bonus of a young moon, too. In doing so, we will be able to discern the ecliptic: the plane of the solar system, which defines the path in the sky that the sun, moon and planets all follow. Joining these celestial objects with an imaginary line reveals the ecliptic path, which passes through the zodiacal constellations.
"The most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid." JD Salinger's De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period
On This Day
29 January 1964: The British film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a landmark Cold War farce directed by Stanley Kubrick, was released in theatres.
Today's Articles
Health Tips: The New York Times asked a selection of experts: What is the one health tip you learned in your work that you swear by?
Pomegranates: Apart from their delicious flavour, pomegranates are good for your brain health, plus other powerful benefits.
Mood Boosting Video
Hilarious: Ancient canon and an inquisitive tourist. What could go wrong?