Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Bald eagle officially declared US national bird after 250 years
The bald eagle is now officially the national bird of the US, after President Joe Biden signed a law on Christmas Eve bestowing the honour upon the white-headed and yellow-beaked bird of prey. The bird has been a national emblem in the US for years, appearing on the Great Seal of the US – used…
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Boy, 7, injured by falling drone during holiday show
The incident happened after several small drones, which were part of a holiday show, collided and fell into the crowd on Saturday 21 December, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. In a statement, Sky Elements Drones said that it’s working with the FAA and the city of Orlando, Florida, officials to “determine the cause and…
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Zelensky condemns “inhumane” Russia Christmas Day attack
Reuters Many Kyiv residents sheltered in metro stations Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia made a “conscious choice” by launching a major attack on his country’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day. Ukraine’s air force said it had detected 184 missiles and drones, but many were shot down or missed their targets. It said there were…
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ISS crew sends Christmas greetings from space
This is the moment astronauts on the International Space Station sent a festive message from orbit, some 250 miles (400km) above Earth. Two of the astronauts – Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore – have been stranded on the space station for more than six months, having only originally expected to stay for a week. Source…
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Owner and architect of collapsed hotel jailed
A court in Turkey has sentenced the owner and architect of a hotel which collapsed in an earthquake in 2023, killing 72 people, to jail. The owner of the Isias Grand, Ahmet Bozkurt, and architect Erdem Yilmaz, were each given 18 years and five months, the official Anadolu news agency reported. Bozkurt’s son, Mehmet Fatih,…
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Israel probe says army actions had ‘influence’ on killing of six hostages by Hamas
An investigation by the Israeli military has found that the actions of their forces on the ground likely influenced the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August by Hamas. It said the “ground activities in the area, although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence on the terrorists’ decision to murder the six hostages”.…
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Dozens die in Azerbaijan Airlines accident
Dozens of people have died after a passenger plane crashed with 67 people on board in Kazakhstan, local officials say. The country’s emergency ministry said there were at least 25 survivors. The plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, caught fire as it attempted to make an emergency landing near the city of Aktau. Azerbaijan Airlines flight…
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Indians angry at concert facilities
X/diljitdosanjh Crowds at Diljit Dosanjh’s recent concert in Chandigarh complained of poor facilities When Amrita Kaur decided to attend Punjabi pop star Diljit Dosanjh’s concert in India this month, she was prepared to experience some discomfort. Having attended several concerts in the past, Ms Kaur was sort of looking forward to the “exhilarating chaos” that…
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Why did Trump float takeovers of Greenland and the Panama Canal?
President-elect Donald Trump ran on a platform of isolating the US from foreign conflicts like the Ukraine war, increasing tariffs on foreign trade partners, and rebuilding domestic manufacturing. But in recent days he has suggested a more outwardly aggressive approach for his foreign policy. At first, he joked about Canada being an additional US state.…
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Palestinian Christians struggle to find hope at Christmas
Reuters A baby Jesus figure was placed on top of a pile of rubble in Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, with sermons focusing on the Gaza war The little town of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank has good reason to consider itself the capital of Christmas but this year it does not feel like it.…
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