Every year on the second Sunday in May, Americans shower their mothers with lavish gifts and treats. This year's celebration on May 12, 2024, will be no exception. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey indicates that the 84 percent of US adults who plan to celebrate Mother's Day will each spend an average of $254. This adds up to a staggering total of $33.5 billion. It is just shy of the record $35.7 billion spent in 2023. It is no wonder that retailers look forward to the holiday almost as much as mothers....
Read news articleSixteen US states, stretching from Maryland to Oklahoma and Illinois to Alabama, are bracing for the arrival of trillions of noisy cicadas. What makes the event especially rare is that two broods are emerging simultaneously. Brood XIX, comprising four species that surfaces every 13 years, and Brood XIII, consisting of three species that appears every 17 years. This unusual coincidence last occurred 221 years ago, in 1803, and won't happen again until 2245....
Read news articleCole Brauer has made history as the first American woman to sail alone around the world without stopping. The Long Island, New York, resident completed the tough 30,000-mile (48,280-km) Global Solo Challenge on March 7, 2024, in just 130 days. Brauer placed second among 16 sailors and was one of only seven participants who made it to the finish line....
Read news articleCelebrated every April 22, Earth Day is an annual reminder of the urgent need to protect our planet. The global movement began on April 22, 1970, when US lawmaker Gaylord Nelson mobilized more than 20 million people to demonstrate support for environmental protection....
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