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Looking Forward To The January Thaw

The January thaw is coming. The term describes unusually warm weather for the time of year–and many people in Canada and the United States should experience it around the end of this month.

Many cities in Canada and the U.S. have been hit with blizzards and extremely cold temperatures, as well as high winds and lots of snow.

Many cities in Canada had snow and temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) or colder. With the “wind chill factor,” -20 degrees Celsius feels like -35 degrees Celsius.

News

Youthquake, Feminism: Words Of The Year

“Youthquake” is the word that the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen as its word of the year.
Every year, many dictionaries choose their “word of the year.” They may choose it because it had a special meaning for the year, or because it was suddenly being used much more than before.
“Youthquake” was used five times more this year than last year, according to the Oxford dictionary website.
Oxford defines youthquake as “a significant cultural, political or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.”

News

California Wildfires

Many people in southern California (on the west coast of the United States) have had to leave their homes.

For more than a week, wildfires have been burning in the “Golden State.”

The fires started after a period with very little rain dried out the grasses on the hillsides. CBC News reports that “hardly any measurable rain has fallen in the region over the past six months.” The new conditions may be due to climate change.

Californians were warned about the fires so they could leave in time. A variety of methods were used to warn residents, including texts sent to their cell phones.

The timely warnings have saved lives, giving tens of thousands of residents time to evacuate their homes. 

Entertainment News

Harry’s Gettin’ Hitched

Britain’s Prince Harry is going to tie the knot.
He recently proposed to American actress Meghan Markle, and she said “yes.”
They announced their engagement on Nov. 27, appearing together before the media.
Harry, 33, is Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and he’s fifth in line to the throne. His mother is the late Princess Diana and his father is Prince Charles.

News Sports

Argonauts Win 105th Grey Cup

On Sunday, November 26, The Calgary Stampeders battled The Toronto Argonauts for the CFL’s most coveted trophy, The Grey Cup. It was the 105th time the championship game has been played. The game boasted all of the excitement and drama that you would expect and was tightly contested by both teams. The Grey Cup was played in snowy conditions in our nation’s capital, Ottawa.

News Politics

Zimbabwe Leadership Uncertain

Robert Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since 1987.
Anyone younger than 37 years old in the African country has never had another leader.
Now, many people in Zimbabwe, as well as the military, want him to step down–to leave the job so they can choose a new president.
There have been demonstrations in the country, as tens of thousands gathered in Zimbabwe’s cities to make it clear that they wanted Mugabe to leave his job. The military placed Mugabe under house arrest.
However, he may try to hold onto power.

News Politics

US Democratic “Election Wave” In Virginia

Last week, some elections were held in the U.S. state of Virginia, to choose a new governor and other leaders.

There were some surprising results in that election; some key Republicans lost their positions to Democrats.

The new governor, Ralph Northam, was elected on Nov. 7. He is a Democrat.

Republicans are currently in power in the United States; the president, Donald Trump, most of the leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and most U.S. governors are Republican. The Democrats are the other major political party in the United States.

News Sports

Houston Astros Win Their First World Series

The Houston Astros won the World Series, the biggest achievement in baseball each year, for the first time in their team’s history.
They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to three.
The Astros won the seventh game of the World Series 5 to 1 over the Dodgers on Nov. 1.
It was a hard-fought battle. The two teams were evenly matched. The fact that the World Series even went to seven games means that neither team ran away with the championship.
The Astros won game seven early. They got five points in the first two innings, putting them ahead of the Dodgers right from the start.

News Science

Cave On The Moon Could Be Base For Astronauts

Scientists from JAXA, the Japanese space agency, say they have discovered an enormous underground cave on the moon.

The discovery is exciting because the cave could provide a safe place for astronauts to live and work on future missions to the moon.

In 2009, a lunar probe launched by JAXA sent back images of the cave’s entrance. The probe used radar to determine the underground structures below the entrance and sent the information back to JAXA to be analyzed.

In October, JAXA announced that there appears to be a cavern about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and 100 metres (328 feet) wide leading from the opening.

Scientists say the cave could make an ideal base for astronauts. It would protect the astronauts and their equipment from the extreme heat and cold on the moon’s surface. It would also help keep them safe from micrometeorites (tiny particles of space dust) that land on the moon, and from the harmful rays of the sun.