Barrel of US crude drops below $40

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/barrel-us-crude-drops-below-40-182227336–finance.html

NEW YORK (AP) — A barrel of U.S. crude oil fell below $40 per barrel for the first time since the end of the global economic crisis.

Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes

Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes

http://gu.com/p/4byz9?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Yemen’s ‘humanitarian catastrophe’

Yemen’s ‘humanitarian catastrophe’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34011187

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Christians appeal on W Bank barrier

Christians appeal on W Bank barrier

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34020724
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IS ‘deputy’ killed in air strike – US

IS ‘deputy’ killed in air strike – US

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34022583

Migrants rush Macedonian border

Migrants rush Macedonian border

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34014353

Carbon fibres made from air

Carbon fibres made from air http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33998697

July Earth’s hottest month on record

July Earth’s hottest month on record http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34009289

Mars rover takes low-angle ‘selfie’

Mars rover takes low-angle ‘selfie’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34006653

Rare wolf pack spotted in California

Rare wolf pack spotted in California http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34020774

10 things we didn’t know last week

10 things we didn’t know last week http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-34015507

An intellectually challenging game of loop

An intellectually challenging game of loop http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34015430

Saint of the Day for Friday, August 21st, 2015: St. Pius X

Saint of the Day for Friday, August 21st, 2015

St. Pius X

On June 2, 1835, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto saw the light of earth at Riesi, Province of Treviso, in Venice; on August 20, 1914, he saw the light of heaven; and on May 29, 1954, he who had become the … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

St. Pius X St. Abraham of Smolensk St. Anastasius Cornicularius St. Apollinaris Sidonius St. Avitus I of Clermont St. Bassa and Companions St. Cyriaca

St. Euprepius of Verona St. Hardulph St. Joseph Nien Vien St. Leontius the Elder St. Luxorius St. Paternus St. Quadratus

today’s holiday: Great American Duck Race

Great American Duck Race

This uniquely American event started in 1980 in Deming, New Mexico. Up to 80 live ducks race for cash prizes in an eight-lane chute. There are races that include politicians’ heats and a media heat. Other features include a parade, dances, hot-air balloons, an arts and crafts exhibit, a pageant of people dressed like ducks, and a duck contest in which ducks are dressed like people. Race participants come from several states; spectators now number about 20,000, almost double the population of Deming. More… Discuss

quotation: Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakably meant for his ear.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Discuss

today’s birthday: William “Count” Basie (1904)

William “Count” Basie (1904)

Basie was an American jazz pianist and composer who became one of the premier swing bandleaders of his time. After working in dance halls and vaudeville in New York City, Basie moved to Kansas City, a major jazz center, where he formed his own band. Under his leadership, they broadcast from the Reno Club in Kansas City, where a radio announcer dubbed him “Count.” According to one story, the band came up with what signature song while improvising to fill time on the radio show? More… Discuss

this day in the yesteryear: Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion Begins (1831)

Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion Begins (1831)

Turner, born into slavery and sold three times as a child, led a slave uprising in Virginia that resulted in the deaths of about 55 white people. A deeply religious man, he experienced visions he interpreted as divine in nature and which convinced him that his mission in life was to lead slaves out of bondage. He and many of his followers were caught and hanged, and many more blacks were killed in retaliation. What celestial event did Turner interpret as a sign to begin preparing for rebellion? More… Discuss

Papyrus of the Nile Delta

Papyrus was an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, a wetland sedge that once flourished in the Nile Delta. Though its earliest use has been traced to Ancient Egypt, it was also widely used throughout the Mediterranean region, inland parts of Europe, and southwest Asia. Making a sheet of papyrus involves a complex process of layering the inner piths of the stems, then hammering, drying, and polishing them. What unlikely article of clothing was made from papyrus? More… Discuss

word: pastille

pastille

Definition:	(noun) A medicated lozenge used to soothe the throat.
Synonyms:	troche, cough drop
Usage:	She believed that pastilles and lozenges were no better for a sore throat than regular hard candy. Discuss.