American singer and songwriter Pharrell Williams is known for his upbeat nature and colorful style. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the “Happy” artist has decided to pay tribute to Holi, the Hindu festival of colors with the release of the Hu Holi “Powder dye” collection. Created in collaboration with Adidas, it includes five sneakers, four apparel styles, and a towel — all of which sport a beautiful mix of colors. While the stunning footwear and clothing, which range in price from $80 to $250, will be released worldwide on March 16, they will be available in India on March 2 to coincide with the celebration of Holi....

After mesmerizing sports fans worldwide for 16 days, the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics drew to a close on February 25 with a spectacular light show, featuring 300 Intel drones and K-Pop music. While Team USA, which had the fourth highest medal count with 23 in total, saw virtuosic performances from all its 241 athletes, it was female competitors like 17-year-old snowboarder Chloe Kim that shone the brightest. For the first time in 20 years, American women, who won five of the nine gold medals and thirteen overall, secured more medals than their male counterparts....

Deep funding cuts to public school programs is forcing districts around the US to reduce or even eliminate arts education. The Philadelphia school system is no exception. Its once robust music program has been struggling because a large number of the instruments are damaged, with no funds to repair them. Now, thanks to “Symphony for a Broken Orchestra,” an initiative spearheaded by Temple Contemporary, some of the wounded cellos, violins, and trumpets are getting a new lease on life....

With over 3,500 exoplanets confirmed as of January 2018 and more being observed on a regular basis, the discoveries have become almost routine. However, all the planets found thus far have been within the Milky Way, the galaxy that contains our solar system. Now, scientists from the University of Oklahoma believe they may have found evidence of trillions of planets beyond our galaxy....

In mid-January, Cape Town officials announced that the world-class South African city of four million residents would run out of water on April 12. The date, nicknamed “Day Zero,” has since been postponed multiple times, thanks to the intense conservation efforts by locals, a sharp reduction in agricultural water usage, and a 10 billion-liter donation from the private reservoirs of the Groenland Farmers Association. The city now has enough water to sustain the current level of usage until July 9, giving residents hope that the rainy season, which begins in June, will be more normal than has been the case lately....

Though animals are continually evolving to adapt to their environment, it is hard to observe the process real time in the wild. Now, some international scientists have stumbled upon a unique group of West African dwarf crocodiles that may be in the midst of mutating into a new species....

February 14, 2018, began like any other school day for the over 3,000 kids that attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Classmates exchanged Valentine’s Day cards and carnations, grumbled through the mandatory fire evacuation drill, and eagerly waited for the last bell to ring at 2:40 pm. Little did they know that at 2:19 pm, their school would become the scene of one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history — one that would claim the lives of 14 students and three educators....

On February 13, 17-year-old Chloe Kim made history at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, when she became the youngest woman to medal in the halfpipe. What made the win even more special for the first-generation Korean American snowboarder was the presence of her 75-year-old grandmother who resides in Seoul and had never seen her compete live....

A 14-year-old with a vocabulary comprising four or five rudimentary words may not sound impressive. However, it sure is when the speaker happens to be an orca, or killer, whale! The amazing discovery along with the recording of the vocalization was unveiled in a January 31 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B....

The joyous and colorful 2018 Chinese New Year celebrations will commence on Friday, February 16. Also known as Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, the fifteen-day event, which will end with the Lantern Festival on March 2, is the longest and most anticipated of all of China’s festivals. Associated with customs meant to ensure auspicious beginnings, it is also observed in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam....

If you were among the millions of people that watched NBC’s replay of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea on Friday, February 9, you might have seen an airborne snowboarder, a bird flapping its wings, and the iconic Olympic Rings, light up the skies. While they may have appeared to be digital fireworks, the mesmerizing show was the result of thousands of tiny drones preprogrammed to follow complicated flight paths to form the shape-shifting images....

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is known to be a crafty and fierce predator that devours anything it can snare. However, given that the reptile lacks salt glands, scientists had always believed that its diet was restricted to the fish and crustaceans that dwell in its freshwater habitat. Now, a new study suggests that the opportunistic beasts also gobble down saltwater inhabitants like crabs, sea turtles, stingrays, and even sharks....

While we often hear of humans losing their jobs, a robot being fired for incompetence is almost unheard of. However, that is exactly what a Scottish grocery store was forced to do after its newly-employed humanoid robot proved woefully inept at performing the assigned tasks....

Last year, the over 110 million football fans who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl witnessed the New England Patriots make history — once again! After trailing 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter, the Patriots made a nail-biting comeback ending the game with a 34-28 win in overtime. This was not only the first game in the fifty-one-year history of the Super Bowl to go to overtime but also the first to feature a comeback of more than ten points. On Sunday February 4, the New England team, along with their star quarterback Tom Brady, hope to continue their winning streak, and shatter more records, as they face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52!...

Since 2012, Canada’s WestJet Airlines has been delighting unsuspecting customers with well-deserved Christmas cheer. The gifts, usually restricted to the passengers of two or three late night flights, have ranged from iPods to fulfilling even the most exorbitant gift requests....

On January 31, millions of stargazers around the globe will witness what promises to be a spectacular total lunar eclipse. While the celestial event is always special, what makes Wednesday’s particularly noteworthy is that it coincides with both a blue moon and a supermoon. Hence the moniker “super blue blood moon.” According to NASA, the lunar trifecta is the first of its kind in 35 years and will not occur again until 2037....

First-time shoppers at Seattle-based Amazon Go may feel as though they are stealing. That’s because the 1,800 square-foot grocery store, which opened its doors to the public on January 22, has no cashiers or even checkout counters. Instead, as the name indicates, customers merely grab what they need and go! But before you start celebrating, the goods are not free — the cost of the purchase(s) is/are calculated electronically using Amazon Inc.’s proprietary “Just Walk Out” technology....

If Michael Strano has his way, homes and streets of the future will be lit up with “green” energy — literally — from glowing plants and trees. While that may sound like a lofty goal, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor of chemical engineering and his team are well on their way to realizing the dream with a luminescent plant, which they hope will someday replace your bedside or table lamp!...

This past Saturday marked the first anniversary of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, before the celebration could begin, came news that lawmakers had failed to garner the 60 votes needed to pass a short-term budget bill to fund government operations until February 16. As a result, at 12:01 am on January 20, the US government officially shut down! How did we get here and what happens next? Read on . . ....

On January 4, the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), a group of volunteers who use freely available software to search for Mersenne prime numbers, announced the discovery of a new “largest known prime number.” For those that need a refresher a prime number is a positive integer that can only be divided by itself and 1. Since they follow no set pattern, the numbers are hard to discover, which is probably why mathematicians are continually challenging themselves to find the next big one....

If you live on the US East Coast, you have probably already enjoyed several “snow days” due to this year’s extreme winter weather. Unfortunately, children in the remote Oymyakon village in Siberia, Russia are not as lucky. They do after all reside in the “coldest inhabited place on Earth,” where the town's sole school closes only when temperatures drop below -61.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-52 degrees Celsius)....

The December 26 announcement that the Thomas Fire, the largest wildfire in California history, was 89 percent contained brought much-needed cheer to Santa Barbara residents. However, the comfort was short-lived. On January 9, the coastal community suffered another major setback after a storm that dumped almost five inches of rain in less than three hours caused widespread flooding and massive mudslides....

For the past 50 years, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been impressing Americans with innovative products created to enhance their lives. This year’s show, held in Las Vegas from January 8 to 12, was no different. Over 180,000 people flocked to view and test the thousands of gadgets that consumers can look forward to purchasing in the near future. Here are a few that grabbed our attention....

With fewer than 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild, the addition of even a single cub is hailed as a victory. Hence, you can only imagine the excitement caused by the January 3, 2018 announcement of the birth of eight cheetahs at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) which manages 12 cheetah conservation facilities — including the one at the St. Louis Zoo — this is the first time such a large, healthy litter has been born. Previously recorded births have averaged between three to four cubs....