Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024. The former American leader, who turned 100 on October 1, 2024, was the longest-living president in US history. Mr. Carter will be laid to rest at the family's residence on January 9, 2025. He will be buried alongside his wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023 at age 96. In his honor, President Joe Biden has declared January 9 a federal holiday.
Read news articleKasanka National Park in Zambia, Africa, is home to an unlikely natural phenomenon — the world’s largest mammal migration. Each year, from October to December, millions of straw-colored fruit bats from across Africa converge on this evergreen swamp forest. These nocturnal mammals spend their nights feasting on wild fruits in the surrounding farmlands and their days resting in the forest. This cycle continues daily until January when the bats disperse and return to their respective habitats across the continent.
Read news articleOn September 21, 2024, Tara Dower set a new speed record on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in the Eastern United States. The 31-year-old American ultrarunner completed the 2,189-mile (3,522 km) trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine, in an incredible 40 days, 18 hours, and 5 minutes. Before Dower’s trek, the record was held by Karel Sabbe. It took the Belgian runner 41 days, 7 hours, and 38 minutes, or about 13 hours more, to finish the trail in 2018.
Read news articleOn November 1, 2024, Aron Fowler and his friends were at Ocean Beach, just south of Denmark in Western Australia, when they saw an emperor penguin walking toward them. This aquatic flightless bird had swum over 2,000 miles (3,218 km) from its usual habitat in the icy waters off the Antarctic coast. It was the first recorded sighting of an emperor penguin in Australia.
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