Ruben Blades

Colman Domingo, Who Made History As 1st Afro-Latino Best Actor Oscar Nominee For ‘Rustin’ And 2nd Openly Gay Man Nominated For A Gay Role, Marks The Oscar’s 2nd Year Of Diverse Non-Denzel/Will Smith Black Best Actor Nods. Recognized For ‘The Color Purple,’ He Eyes Potential Wins At The 96th Oscars Hosted By Jimmy Kimmel On March 10, 2024.

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Scientists Discovered The Largest Known Deep-Sea Coral Reef, 68 Mi Wide At Some Points And Stretching 310 Miles From Florida To S. Carolina. Found At Depths Of 655 To 3,280 Ft, It Relies On Filtering Food Particles. The Reef, Nearly 3x The Size Of Yellowstone, Hints At More Hidden Deep-Sea Reefs. The Great Barrier Reef Is ~ 1,430 Mi Long.

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Turkey’s First Astronaut, Alper Gezeravci, Launched With A Swede And An Italian On A $55 Million Per Person Spacex Trip/Mission To The International Space Station. Organized By Axiom Space, Nasa, And Spacex, The Crew, Including A Retired Nasa Astronaut, Will Spend Two Weeks Conducting Experiments And Promoting Education Before Returning Home.

Scientists Unearthed The Earliest Direct Evidence Of Oxygen-Producing Photosynthesis (OPP) In A 1.75-Byr Old Bacteria Fossil In Australia & Canada, Pushing Back OPP Origin By 1.2 Byrs. The OPP Reshaped Earth’s Atmosphere, Potentially Aiding Complex Life Evolution, And Shedding Light On Photosynthesis Evolution & Earth’s History Impact.

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Germany Marks Its First Permanent Troop Deployment Since WWII After Germany And Lithuania Agreed On A Historic Deployment Of 4,800 German Troops To Lithuanian Cities Of Kaunas And Vilnius By 2027. The Plan, Motivated By Regional Security, Aims To Bolster NATO Defense, With Lithuania Committing Infrastructure And Funding.

HBO’s Longest Running Scripted Comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Created By Larry David Of Seinfeld Fame, Wraps Up Its 24-Year Run With Season 12. This Final Installment, Airing Feb 4 – Apr 7, 2024, On HBO Max, Concludes David’s Fictionalized Life Saga And Marks The End Of A Legendary Comedic Era On TV.

The World’s Biggest Iceberg, A23a, Stuck For 37 Years In The Weddell Sea, Is Now Moving From Antarctica. A23a Is More Than Twice The Size Of Greater London, 400m Thick, And Set Adrift Due To Natural Conditions. Its Journey May Disrupt Animal Habitats In South Georgia But Contributes Nutrients Upon Melting, Which Is Vital For Ocean Life.

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Nepal Saw Its First Same-Sex Marriage Between Maya Gurung, 35, And Surendra Pandey, 27, In The Lumjung District On Nov. 29, 2023. Following Nepal’s Supreme Court Order Allowing The Registration Of Such Marriage 5 Months Prior, This Marks A Significant Stride, With Taiwan Being The Sole Other Asian Region To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage.

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Geophysical Findings Reveal Deniliquin, A 520km-Wide Impact Structure Submerged Beneath NSW, Australia, Surpassing The Largest Known Impact Crater (IC), South Africa’s Vredefort Crater. Sediment Analysis Suggests An Impact 440-500 Myrs Ago. Rock Sample Recovery Is Crucial To Confirm Its Meteoritic Origin. Most IC Are Less Than 200 Myrs Old.

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Researchers Observed Aurora-Like Radio Waves For The First Time On The Sun, Lingering 25,000 Miles Above A Sunspot For A Week, Resembling The Northern Lights. While Solar Auroras Have Been Seen On Distant Stars, This Discovery Offers New Methods Of Studying The Sun’s Solar Activities With The Potential Of Finding Past Solar Auroras.

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Surgeons At NYU, In May 2023, Performed The World’s First Full Eye Transplant On Aaron James, 46, Post-Face Transplant Due To A High-Voltage Accident. Early Signs Show Success, But Vision’s Return Remains Unsure. The 21Hr Surgery, A Leap In Optic Nerve Healing, Offers Hope For Treating Blindness, Fueling Prospects For Breakthroughs.

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Missy Elliott Became The First Female Rapper Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Queen Latifah Introduced Her, Highlighting Her Impact On Music And Her Barrier-Breaking Role For Women In Hip-Hop. Afterward, Elliott Performed Iconic Hits Like “Get Ur Freak On,” & “Work It.” And Shared Her Gratitude & Reflections In Her Acceptance Speech.

Researchers Have Produced The Largest Human Brain Cell Map, Encompassing Over 3,000 Cell Types, Through Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Of 3 Million Brain Cells. This Groundbreaking Map Reveals Regional Variations And Gene Regulation Mechanisms, Aiding The Study Of Brain Disorders And Genetics And Providing Deep Insights Into Brain Complexity.

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Scientists, For The First Time, Thawed And Grew Mammalian, Frozen Mouse, Embryos Under ISS Microgravity Conditions For 4 Days, With No Significant Developmental Issues. This First-Ever Research Suggests Mammals Could Survive/Reproduce In Space, Impacting Future Space Missions And NASA’s Artemis Program For Lunar And Mars Exploration.

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Stella Terra, An SUV Created By TU/e Students, Is The World’s First Off-Road Solar Vehicle. The Solar Panels On Its Roof Charge The Battery, Enabling Long-Distance Travel Without Charging Stations, Up To 710 Km On Roads & 550 Km Off-Road In Sunny Conditions, With A Top Speed Of 145 Km/H. The Goal Is To Inspire Sustainable Vehicle Innovation.

A Massive Lithium Deposit Of 20-40 MMT, Found Along The Nevada-Oregon Border In The McDermitt Caldera, Is Potentially One Of The World’s Largest. This Find Could Greatly Impact The EV Industry, Affecting Lithium Prices, Supply, & Geopolitics. As EV Demand Outpaces Lithium Supply, Increased Production & Processing Capabilities Are Essential.

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Simone Biles, Aged 26 And A 19-Time World Champion, Made History As The First Woman To Nail A Highly Challenging Vault, Yurchenko Double Pike, With A 6.4 Difficulty Score At The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships In Antwerp, Belgium, Following A Two-Year Hiatus Due To Mental Health Concerns. Her Team Is Favored To Win The Women’s Team Final.

Harvard University Inaugurated Claudine Gay As Its First Black And Second Female President. Gay, The 30th President In Harvard’s History, Is A 1998 Distinguished Harvard Alum And Accomplished Political Scholar. Gay’s Tenure Follows Her Role As Dean Of The Faculty Of Arts And Sciences And Founding Chair Of The Inequality In America Initiative.

A Recent Study Suggests Earth’s Core May Be Enveloped By An Ancient Ocean Floor Hosting Mountains, 5x Taller Than Mt. Everest. This Find Comes From The Most Detailed Geological Map Of The Southern Hemisphere, Showing A Vast Ultra-Low Velocity Zone, Likely Containing Subducted Oceanic Materials, Influencing Heat Flow & Geological Activities.

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Released A Capsule 63,000 Miles From Earth. The Capsule, Containing The First Asteroid Sample Collected In Space By NASA, Landed In Utah, On 9/24/2023, After A 4-hr Journey. OSIRIS-REx Will Now Divert To The Asteroid Apophis, With The Same Mission To Better Understand Similar Asteroids From The Early Solar System.