Hanukkah (also spelled “Chanukah”) is an eight-day Jewish festival which begins this evening at sundown. The festival commemorates events that took place in Judea more than 2,000 years ago, when the Syrian king Antiochus ordered the Jews to abandon the Torah and publicly worship the […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems) is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio, it was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Stephen Laurel “tWitch” Boss (September 29, 1982 – December 13, 2022) was an American freestyle hip hop dancer, choreographer, actor, television producer, and television personality. In 2008, he was the runner-up on the American version of So You Think You Can Dance. From 2014 to the show’s conclusion in 2022, […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride similar to the Waltzer in Europe, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals, in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Larson International of Plainview, Texas. DESCRIPTION The ride consists of seven freely-spinning cars that hold three or four riders […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Eleazar Wheelock (April 22, 1711 – April 24, 1779) was an American Congregational minister, orator, and educator in Lebanon, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had tutored Samson Occom, a Mohegan who became a Presbyterian minister and the first Native American to publish […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS George Franklin Grant (September 15, 1846 – August 21, 1910) was the first African-American professor at Harvard. He was also a Boston dentist, and an inventor of a wooden golf tee. BIOGRAPHY Grant was born on September 15, 1846, in Oswego, New York, to Phillis Pitt and Tudor Elandor Grant. […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Joseph Paul DiMaggio[a] (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed “Joltin’ Joe“, “The Yankee Clipper” and “Joe D.“, was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Born to Sicilian immigrants in California, he is widely considered one […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The Nobel Prizes (/noʊˈbɛl/ noh-BEL; Swedish: Nobelpriset [nʊˈbɛ̂lːˌpriːsɛt]; Norwegian: Nobelprisen [nʊˈbɛ̀lːˌpriːsn̩]) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel’s will of 1895, are awarded to “those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite. He died […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. His No. 7 jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Rams in 1952. He […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS 2022 ARREST IN RUSSIA On February 17, 2022, Griner was arrested on smuggling charges in Russia. She was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after the Federal Customs Service found she was carrying vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil; in Arizona she had been prescribed medicinal […]

Via Teleconference 9:20 A.M. EST MODERATOR:  Good morning, everyone.  Thanks so much for joining us on this background briefing.  We’re going to share some additional information about the United States’ successful efforts to secure the release of Brittney Griner.  Just to start with some ground […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual support and disappointed in the Knights […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Christmas seals are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. They have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare. Christmas seals are regarded as a form of cinderella stamp in contrast with Christmas stamps used for postage. […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom Cheers (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 to 2000, she starred as the lead in the sitcom Veronica’s Closet, […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own radio show, The […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, musician, and children’s author best known for playing original human character Bob Johnson on the long running educational television series Sesame Street. CAREER McGrath worked with Mitch Miller and was the featured tenor on […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) is a naturist organization based in the United States. The AANR is the largest, longest-established organization of its kind in North America. It was founded in 1931 and went under its previous name American Sunbathing Association. Approximately 200 nudist resorts, clubs, […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Commander in chief (1775–1783) Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and Samuel and John Adams nominated Washington to become its commander-in-chief. Washington was chosen over John Hancock because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was considered an incisive leader […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS George Gershwin (/ˈɡɜːrʃ.wɪn/; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs “Swanee” (1919) […]