WestJet Airlines' annual "Christmas Miracle" videos, which capture employees providing much-needed holiday cheer to those in need, are legendary. Past "miracles" include flying in gifts and snow to the Dominican Republic and hosting a holiday party for a town devastated by a forest fire. In 2020, WestJet employees delivered 12,000 care packages with essentials and gifts to families hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the company wants to reunite families for the holidays....

A rare manuscript co-authored by German-American physicist Albert Einstein and Swiss-Italian engineer Michele Besso just became the most expensive autographed scientific paper ever sold. The final price — which added up to more than 13.3 million euros ($15 million) with fees — far exceeded the 3.5 million Euros ($3.9 million) expected by Christie's Auction House Paris office, which hosted the sale....

Kamo'oalewa) (also known as 2016-H03), a small asteroid that orbits the Sun alongside Earth has been known to science since 2016. However, the rock's origins have always remained a mystery to researchers. Now, new observations by University of Arizona (UA) astronomers indicate that the Ferris-wheel-sized space rock may be a piece of our Moon that broke off almost 500 million years ago!...

Winter, the prosthetic-tailed dolphin whose story inspired a book and two heartwarming movies, died on November 12, 2021. The 16-year-old had been suffering from an intestinal blockage since November 1, 2021. The doctors at Florida's Clearwater Marine Aquarium tried several life-saving efforts but were unable to help the beloved mammal....

After months of negotiations, US lawmakers finally reached an agreement to allocate $1.2 trillion to much-needed public works projects. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021, includes $550 billion in new spending. The rest will be reallocated from already existing projects and funds. Here are some of the many infrastructure improvements that can be expected across the country over the next five years....

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are all designed to motivate consumers to spend money on holiday gifts for their loved ones. However, Giving Tuesday, which will be observed on November 30, 2021, has a more altruistic purpose. "The Global Day of Giving" encourages people to "give their voice, time, money, goods, and advocacy to support communities and causes."...

Hanukkah is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. The eight-day-long winter festival begins on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Jewish calendar. This year, the celebrations will extend from November 28th, 2021, to December 6th, 2021. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah celebrates the victory of good over evil and is a happy occasion with many fun traditions....

H.J. Heinz has been dominating the ketchup market on Earth for almost 150 years. Now, the American food company wants to ensure future space travelers also have access to the tasty condiment. On November 9, 2021, the company unveiled its "Marz Edition" ketchup. The unique recipe contains tomatoes grown under conditions similar to those on the Red Planet....

On November 13, 2021, diplomats from nearly 200 countries vowed to step up their efforts to slow global warming. The Glasgow Climate Pact, signed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, was not as far-reaching as many had hoped. However, there was a clear consensus about the urgency to take action to prevent a catastrophic rise in global temperatures....

Partial lunar eclipses are typically not considered as newsworthy as total lunar eclipses. However, the one taking place overnight on November 18 and 19, 2021, is definitely worthy of a mention. It is the year's final partial lunar eclipse — and the longest one in 1000 years. With 97 percent of the Moon slipping into Earth's shadow, the celestial event also promises to be spectacular. The eclipse will be visible to a large area of the globe. Some of the best views will be reserved for North American residents....

Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, as is the case here, they even have tails! On Oct 11, 2021, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) honored Bear, an Australian Koolie, with the "Animal of the Year" Award. The six-year-old pooch helped save over 100 koalas from the devastating bushfires that swept across New South Wales (NSW), Australia, from June 2019 to May 2020....

Sarah Park has known about the impact of music on the brain since a young age. The 13-year-old, who has been playing violin since she was 4, says she noticed its positive effect on those around her, especially her grandmother, who suffered from a mental health illness....

Walt Disney World's 18-month-long party to celebrate its 50th birthday began amid much fanfare on October 1, 2021. "The World's Most Magical Celebration" — extended across all four theme parks — is being marked with many special events and experiences. Here is a sampling of the many exciting things in store for visitors to the Orlando, Florida, resort....

Tardigrades, or water bears, are virtually indestructible. The eight-legged microscopic animals can withstand extreme temperatures, survive without food for decades, and even exist in a vacuum in space. But, despite being around for over 500 million years, they rarely appear on the fossil record. Their miniature size and lack of hard tissue make it hard for them to fossilize. Even when they do get preserved, the tiny creatures are hard to spot and often get overlooked. Over the years, only two tardigrade fossils have been found. Now, a third specimen — one of a new tardigrade species — has joined this exclusive group....

Those of you still recovering from last weekend's Halloween festivities will be pleased to know that Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends on November 7, 2021. On Sunday, most North Americans will move their clocks back by an hour, ensuring them an extra hour of sleep. The simple act will also afford them an extra hour of daylight during the shorter winter days....

Every October, families rush to pumpkin patches to pick out the perfect gourds. Some use them to carve spooky jack-o'-lanterns, while others place them outside their homes as decor. Unfortunately, the fascination with the colorful fruit fades once Halloween ends, and most pumpkins end up in the trash....

Few Indian festivals are as anticipated, or as widely celebrated, as Diwali. Also called Deepavali, or Festival of Lights, the five-day event, which starts on November 2, 2021, is observed by over a billion people worldwide. The ancient tradition dates back over 2,500 years and is one of the major holidays celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists....

Thanks to the hard work of companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin, space tourism is well on its way to becoming a reality. Now, California-based Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) envisions a chance for galactic visitors to extend their "out-of-the-world" experience by checking into a luxurious hotel in low Earth orbit....

Few countries celebrate Halloween with as much fervor and excitement as the US. Children and adults alike observe the occasion by dressing in creative costumes, gorging on candy, and decorating homes and front yards with spooky skeletons and jack-o’-lanterns. Meanwhile, enterprising entrepreneurs cash in on the holiday with creative haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides. So, how did all the fun customs come about? Read on:...

Ludwig van Beethoven is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians that ever lived. The German composer and pianist completed 722 musical works— including nine symphonies — despite being completely deaf during the last decade of his life. Unfortunately, the maestro died while still working on his 10th Symphony. Now, a team of musicians and scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to complete the artist's final masterpiece....

Halloween may be a few weeks away, but Ruth Hamilton has already been subjected to a spooky "trick." On October 3, 2021, the Golden, British Columbia, resident was in deep slumber when she heard a massive explosion. Shortly after, Hamilton felt some debris on her face. She jumped off the bed and turned on the light only to find a melon-sized boulder on the pillow and a huge hole in her ceiling....

The infamous Salem witch trials, which took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, were a dark period in America's legal history. More than 200 people were wrongfully accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed. In the 328 years since, most of the accused have been cleared of any crimes. However, for reasons unknown, Elizabeth Johnson Jr., who was just 22 at the time, was never pardoned. Now, thanks to the hard work of an eighth-grade class from North Andover Middle School, MA, her name may finally be cleared....

Space-related films have come a long way since A Trip to the Moon — a silent movie with no camera movement or close-ups — was released in 1902. Filmmakers now use the extensive technology at their disposal to immersively transport fans to alien worlds. However, no one has attempted to shoot a feature film in space — until now! On October 5, 2021, astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) welcomed their first fiction film crew — Russian actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko....

A ruptured undersea oil pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach, CA, has leaked thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, threatening fish and wildlife and causing numerous beach closures. The spill, caused by a 13-inch tear in a pipeline that transports crude oil from an offshore drilling platform to a pump station in Long Beach, CA, was first reported by locals on October 1, 2021. Experts are still trying to determine the amount of oil leaked before the pipeline was shut down on October 3, 2021. The estimates range anywhere from 25,000 gallons to 136,000 gallons....