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Hurricane Melissa is inching towards Jamaica, with landfall expected today, bringing incredibly strong winds and intense rain to the island country. Melissa, now a Category 5 hurricane, is packing winds of over 175 mph, making it the strongest tropical system of the year. This also makes it the most powerful hurricane to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Widespread rain totals are projected to be around 15-30 inches, and some areas of the island could receive up to 40 inches of rain, sparking landslides across its mountainous terrain. At least three people have already been confirmed dead due to the storm, but the death toll is expected to rise over the next few days as Melissa moves past the island. Extensive destruction is sure to occur, especially in poorer areas of Jamaica with weaker infrastructure. However, Jamaican officials are doing their best to minimize deaths, with citizens already heading to storm shelters as landfall looms in the distance. The United Nations is also already preparing aid for Jamaica– they are ready to send food, water, shelter, cleaning kits, and more as soon as the storm has moved past. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has already approved the release of $4 million in anticipation of the aid needs of Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, and members of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are already planning trips to the islands later this week. The storm originally formed around a week ago in the Caribbean Sea, moving lazily until intensifying. Due to wind patterns, Melissa reversed course and turned back several times as the storm had slowed to a crawl. From there, the storm inched northwest, zigzagging across the Caribbean as it approached Jamaica and Hispaniola. After brushing Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Melissa underwent a process that meteorologists call "rapid intensification." This occurs when a hurricane's wind speed increases at least 35 mph in a 24-hour window. Melissa had been a tropical storm when passing Hispaniola, but it had become a Category 4 hurricane by the next day– almost doubling its wind speed. In fact, statistics show that Melissa is the fourth-fastest hurricane to ever reach Category 4 status from Category 1, intensifying in a mere 18 hours. It later strengthened to become the Category 5 that is already wreaking havoc on Jamaica. Yesterday, NOAA's storm chasers flew straight into the hurricane to take measurements, as usual, but they were amazed when they encountered the eye of the storm. The incredible video  showed a perfect eyewall around the peaceful center as it moved across the ocean. Satellite footage of Melissa has also displayed its extremely organized formation, with a perfectly circular eye and hundreds of miles of rain bands around it. After passing Jamaica, Melissa is expected to weaken slightly before hitting eastern Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane. However, its large storm bands will extend across the Greater Antilles, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to other island nations like the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos before it emerges into the Atlantic. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Polar bears often hunt walruses by simply charging at a group of them and eating the ones that were crushed or wounded in the mass panic to escape. Direct attacks on walruses are rare, as their tusks can easily kill a polar bear if they are forced to defend themselves. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The noble soul reveres itself. ( Friedrich Nietzche) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Acerbic (adj, uh-SER-bik) - Something described as acerbic is sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in temper, mood, or tone. In a Sentence: The comedian draws crowds that appreciate his acerbic wit. Image credit to NOAA

The culprits in last week's already-infamous Louvre heist have been arrested by French authorities after a massive manhunt, but they have not confirmed the return of the missing crown jewels. Over the past week, French officials conducted forensics on various items that the thieves used, allowing them to identify small pieces of evidence like fingerprints or fallen hair strands. They also used surveillance footage of the escape to track down their possible locations. Then, they were able to make two arrests over the weekend. One of the perpetrators was caught trying to exit the country on a flight to Algeria at Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, while the other was caught after his DNA was confirmed by forensics teams. However, French authorities have apologized for releasing the information so early, as it can hinder the ongoing operation to recover the jewels. The publicized arrests of groupmembers can often send the other members of a gang or robbery into hiding, making it tougher for officials to find them. Additionally, neither of the suspects arrested were carrying any of the crown jewels on them, meaning that the search for the precious items will continue. The arrests come just after a major heist on the Louvre last week. Four thieves were able to break into the Louvre in broad daylight, stealing various crown jewels from the famed museum's Apollo Gallery and escaping in just eight minutes. The robbers utilized a basket lift to get up to the second-floor gallery before cutting through the window and the glass cases of the items using power tools. The thieves escaped with eight jewels that were collectively worth around $102 million. The heist left French authorities stunned and exposed several major Louvre failures. While the alarms did go off, authorities did not have full surveillance of the exterior of the building, and the only camera on that side of the Louvre happened to be pointing in the opposite direction of the thieves. This slowed police down, as they were not able to pinpoint where the robbers were conducting the heist. However, a massive renovation of the museum will begin next year, with the French government spending around $93 million to include new command centers, more cameras across different facades, and a new badge system for more security. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): The name of the dinosaur “velociraptor” comes from the Latin words “velox” which means swift, and “raptor,” which means robber. This means that the animal's name literally means "speedy robber." Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Those who do not move, do not notice their chains. ( Rosa Luxemburg) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Cognoscente (noun, kahn-yuh-SHEN-tee) - Cognoscente refers to a person with expert knowledge in a subject. It is usually encountered in its plural form, cognoscenti , and preceded by the . In a Sentence: The audience at the club, though small, was full of writers, musicians, and other noteworthy members of the jazz cognoscenti . Image credit to Woolf

US President Donald Trump has begun his trip across Asia, allowing him to make some major deals that could resolve conflicts, alleviate tariffs, and strengthen ties. Trump's trip will cross Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and China across the span of almost one week, the latter of which is likely to be the most crucial. One of the most important points on Trump's agenda will be to strengthen US ties with Southeast Asia, where China has been working to assert their dominance in recent years. This will be Trump's first visit to Southeast Asia since 2019, with the president visiting the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. His primary goals will be to sign a trade agreement with Malaysia, allowing them to avoid some of his reciprocal tariffs, and confirm a ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia, which experienced violent border skirmishes earlier this year . While Trump's only visit to Southeast Asia will be in Kuala Lumpur, the agreement he establishes with the Malaysian government will likely serve as a basis for his agreements with other countries in the region. He will also work against China's increasing influence in the area. The president's second destination will be Japan, where he will meet the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, for the first time. There, he will work to finalize a trade deal to lower tariffs on Japan, in exchange for significant investments into the US economy over the next few years. Takaichi shares a similar stance to Trump on military and China, though, allowing them to build their new relationship on some sort of common ground. Next, Trump will head to South Korea, where he signed a major trade deal several months ago . While the agreement was finalized, further negotiations over some of the more specific details of South Korea's investments were not fully established. Trump will work to clear up the uncertainty over the deal and further strengthen US-South Korea ties. Finally, he will close out his tour with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the South Korean city of Busan, where they will negotiate over several topics. China desires for the United States to decrease tariffs and reduce their export restrictions on technology, which have hindered American tech firms like Nvidia. Meanwhile, Trump has told Xi that he wishes for more Chinese investment into the US economy. However, China maintains an all-powerful bargaining chip– access to critical minerals. China contains around 60-70% of the world's rare earth minerals and around 90% of the factories used to process them, giving them a tight grip over the critical minerals market. These minerals are used in every technology-related sector, ranging from electronics to big tech to AI to automobiles, and China possesses the ability to cut off the world's supply at any time. While the US is attempting to circumvent this by striking deals with other nations , maintaining strong ties with China is crucial to keeping the American economy running, and this will be one of Trump's most important goals when he meets Xi later this week. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): When you exercise, the burned fat metabolizes to become carbon dioxide, water, and energy. This means that you actually exhale the fat that you lose. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): You are the one thing in this world, above all other things, that you must never give up on. ( Lili Reinhart) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Wreak (verb, REEK) - Wreak means “to cause something very harmful or damaging.” It is often used with on or upon . In a Sentence: The virus wreaked havoc on my laptop. Image credit to The New York Times

Tropical Storm Melissa is already wreaking havoc across the Caribbean, and it is expected to rapidly intensify over the next few days. Melissa formed around four days ago in the Caribbean Sea, slowly strengthening over time. Winds initially began pushing the storm at extremely fast speeds, frightening nearby islands who believed they would have no time to prepare. However, winds began reversing, and several Caribbean islands could now be at extreme risk because of the exact opposite. Due to wind patterns, Melissa reversed course before turning back once again, and the storm had slowed to a crawl. From there, the storm has inched northwest, zigzagging across the Caribbean as it approaches Jamaica and Hispaniola. Melissa's rain bands have expanded in recent days and are already impacting Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, the latter of which experienced three deaths yesterday. Two people were killed in a landslide in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, while a third person was killed earlier in the week after a tree fell on him. One person was also killed and another remains missing in the Dominican Republic. Haiti remains one of the Caribbean countries that is most at risk during hurricanes, because gang violence is quite prevalent and has caused chaos within the island country. Rampant gang violence has taken over the country, forcing people out of their homes and killing hundreds. Due to this, many Haitians are still living in shelters with poor infrastructure that can be easily flooded, sparking major concern as Melissa approaches. Over the next few days, the tropical storm is expected to undergo rapid intensification but remain at the same speed, spelling danger for islands in its path. By tomorrow, experts predict that the storm will already be a Category 4 hurricane, and it is expected to make landfall on Jamaica on Tuesday. The storm will bring strong winds of over 145 mph, but the storm's incredibly slow speed will drop a massive amount of rain across Jamaica and Haiti as it moves through. Meteorologists expect Melissa to drop around 25 inches of rain across Jamaica and up to 35 inches on Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula– not accounting for storm surge, which will give Jamaica an additional few feet of flooding. After moving through Jamaica, the storm will move forward and drop around 12 inches of rain across eastern Cuba as it crosses through before emerging into the open Atlantic. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Santa Claus was issued a pilot’s license by the U.S. government in 1927. They also gave him airway maps and promised to keep the runway lights on. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. ( Olin Miller) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Rancid (adj, RAN-zid) - Rancid usually describes something edible that has a strong and unpleasant smell or taste because it is no longer fresh. In figurative use, rancid describes things that are very distasteful or offensive. In a Sentence: The corpse flower, which is the largest known individual flower of any plant species, stays open five to seven days and emits a rancid odor. Image credit to NOAA

Over 30 people have been indicted after a massive insider trading scandal involving gambling in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yesterday, dozens of people were arrested across different parts of the country after the FBI busted two gambling schemes in the NBA. These people involve citizens from various walks of life, including basketball players, coaches, and managers and Mafia members. The investigations uncovered an insider sports-betting scandal and a scheme to rig illegal poker games, with the FBI alleging that the crimes were also associated with several alleged gambling rings. Over 30 people have been indicted for various charges, including conspiring to commit fraud, money laundering, illegal gambling, and extortion. Among the people arrested, several notable ones include Terry Rozier, a point guard for the Miami Heat, Chauncey Billups, the coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, and Damon Jones, a former player and coach. Jones is one of three people that were involved in both schemes, according to the federal government. The first scandal alleges that Rozier and five others used insider information from the NBA to place illegal bets between December 2022 and March 2024, allowing them to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. Proof of this was shown with an example on March 23, 2023, when Rozier was on the Charlotte Hornets. In a game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Rozier tipped off his close friend Deniro Laster, who arranged for the group to bet hundreds of thousands of dollars predicting for a poor performance from him. Using information from Rozier and Jones, they were able to continuously make illegal bets on games and players' performances using online betting apps. The scheme even involved NBA star LeBron James, though he was indirectly brought into the situation by Jones and did not participate in any illegal activities. The FBI found that Jones, who was a former teammate and close friend of James, had been serving as an unofficial assistant coach in February 2023, allowing him to tip off the group that James would not be playing that night. The other scandal found Billups to be a participant in illegal poker games, which took place in Manhattan, Las Vegas, and the Hamptons. These poker games were run by Mafia members who used the money to track down people who were indebted to them. The games were discreetly advertised to innocent victims, who were drawn to join due to the prospect of meeting big stars like Jones and Billups. However, the two had rigged the game using an automated shuffler that informed them of the cards in the deck and special sunglasses that allowed them to read the backs of each player's card, allowing them to defraud participants. According to authorities, one victim lost as much as $1.8 million in one game, and these profits were split between Jones, Billups, and other people involved in the scandal like Mafia members. Both schemes are a huge loss to the NBA, which is now experiencing its worst scandal since 2007, when a referee was found to be participating in illegal betting, and authorities have suggested that even more people could be indicted as the investigation goes on. Lawyers for both Rozier and Billups have argued that both players did nothing wrong, and they will be fighting their case in court. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): There is a specific Scottish plaid design made for Mars exploration. It was officially registered in 2016 to be worn during Mars science, exploration, and outreach activities. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It is the same life whether we spend it crying or laughing. ( Japanese Proverb) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Litany (noun, LIT-uh-nee) - Litany usually refers to a long list of complaints, problems, etc. It can also refer to a sizable series or set, a lengthy recitation, a repetitive chant, or a particular kind of call-and-response prayer. In a Sentence: Among the television critic’s litany of complaints about the new series is the anachronistic costume design. Image credit to Getty Images

Iceland reported the presence of mosquitoes in the country for the first time in recorded history this week, showing signs of our warming world. Iceland has long been known for its volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs, and waterfalls, but it was also known by many people as the only country in the world without mosquitoes. Due to Iceland's position in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and the cold climate, mosquitoes could never live in Iceland. However, now, they can. A farmer living north of Reykjavík discovered three living Culiseta annulata mosquitoes in Iceland this week, proving that temperatures have warmed enough for them to live there. Researchers deduced that the insects were likely carried to Iceland on some sort of ship, like other mosquitoes that had previously arrived on the island, but no mosquito species had been able to survive in Iceland's barren, harsh climate until now. This leaves Antarctica as the last place on Earth without mosquitoes– a pesky insect that many human beings wish only existed in Antarctica. The sighting is yet another piece of evidence that our world is warming at a rapid pace, with emissions from human activities releasing more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Additionally, the Arctic is warming over twice as fast as the rest of the world, leading to a paradoxical albedo effect. The Sun warms the ice at the poles, creating melting. Because of this melting, the white ice, which previously reflected sunlight, gives way to the darker ocean waters below. These darker waters absorb more sunlight, which warms the area further and melts more ice. The finding also comes just after the release of a report that proves that humans are not doing enough to stop climate change. The Paris Agreement, established in 2015 to stop warming of 1.5°C before 2030, outlined 45 key indicators that would determine if humans were doing enough to decrease the world's warming. The new report found that not a single one of the 45 key indicators is on track to meet 2030 goals, with some even traveling in the opposite direction. According to the study, six of them are "off track," 29 are "well off-track," five are going in the wrong direction, and five were left undetermined due to a lack of sufficient data. Solutions that were working before have slowed down– EV manufacturing was growing at a rapid rate across the world, but new policies from the United States and European countries have slowed that growth back down. Meanwhile, financing for climate projects from both the private sector and the public has increased, but not enough to stop global warming. The study found that there were numerous parameters needed to reach the Paris Agreement's goals, and many of them already seem out of reach. Coal must decline over 10 times faster than today's rate, deforestation must decrease nine times faster, alternative transit services must grow five times faster, and climate financing must grow by almost $1.1 trillion annually– as a comparison, current climate financing is growing at a rate of around $81 billion per year. While these statistics may make these goals seem unattainable, preventing the worst scenario of global warming is still possible. Climate change will have effects on our environment, but with swift action, the world can still limit those changes for a better world in the future. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Walt Disney was struck with the inspiration to create Disneyland w hile watching a Merry-Go-Round from a bench in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think. ( Benjamin Disraeli) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Frolic (verb, FRAH-lik) - To frolic is to play and move about happily. In a Sentence: We watched the seals as they frolicked in the harbor. Image credit to Getty Images

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to split the company in two, and various companies, including Paramount Skydance, have taken interest in buying one or more of the two future corporations. In June, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) made a huge move by announcing that the company would split, dividing the company's assets into two independent corporations. Currently, Warner Bros. Discovery has hundreds of subsidiaries in the TV and news market, including HBO Max, Discovery+, CNN, Cartoon Network, HGTV, and Food Network. The plan, outlined in their announcement, will see the company divided into Warner Bros. and Discovery Global. Warner Bros. will encompass all of their live entertainment and cable channels, ranging from sports to news. Meanwhile, Discovery Global will retain their entire production capability and include other streaming services like HBO and HBO Max. This would allow both companies to be more highly valued and increase their individual financial stability and flexibility. However, that split may not go through, as other corporations have already taken interest in acquiring WBD's assets. Last week, Paramount Skydance handed them a generous offer of $24 a share (around $60 billion in total) for the entire company– around $5-6 more than the company was worth at that time. The WBD board, though, rejected the offer, saying their valuation of the conglomerate was too low. According to several reports, Comcast and Netflix have also taken interest in the streaming and studios portion of the company, as both corporations would be eager to take control of WBD's popular production lineup. This idea is also in greater alignment with WBD's idea of what will happen with the corporation. Now, WBD has several options with what to do with the company, but it will take time before they can confirm a final decision. A split is now unlikely due to the incredible interest in WBD's assets, meaning that they are likely to sell at least a portion of the corporation to a buyer. The most likely scenario is that a large streaming service or other media conglomerate purchases Warner Bros., while Discovery Global would be spun off to shareholders. Other possibilities include the sale of the entire company, like the proposal from Paramount Skydance, or individual sales for Warner Bros. and Discovery Global after the split. Of the potential buyers that have been disclosed, Paramount Skydance is the most likely to acquire the corporation. Netflix is unlikely to make a move for Warner Bros., considering its smaller status as a streaming service. Meanwhile, if Comcast were to buy Warner Bros., it would merge with their NBCUniversal division, creating antitrust issues with the federal government. Paramount Skydance, on the other hand, is a newly merged company with an ambitious CEO, David Ellison. Ellison is also the son of Larry Ellison, founder of cloud infrastructure giant Oracle, giving him the financial capability to raise his offer for WBD if he desires. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Between North and South Korea lies 155 miles of no man’s land, known as the demilitarized zone (DMZ). However, what most people don't know is that the lack of human activity in the DMZ has allowed nature to thrive, and thousands of rare and endangered animal species have been allowed to flourish in the de facto wildlife refuge. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. ( Franklin D. Roosevelt) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Sedentary (adj, SED-un-tair-ee) - Something described as sedentary does or involves a lot of sitting. Sedentary can also mean "not physically active" (as in "a sedentary lifestyle") or "not migratory" (as in "sedentary birds" or "a sedentary civilization"). In a Sentence: Editing the dictionary is a sedentary job. Image credit to Getty Images

Australia and the United States just agreed on a major, $8.5 billion deal that will diversify America's supply of critical minerals and rare earths while benefiting the Australian economy. The deal was confirmed on Monday after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. While the deal seemingly involves just these two countries, the bigger picture is much more complex. The agreement is a framework for the United States to make investments into Australian rare earths projects, specifically into certain companies like Alcoa. One of the projects also involves Japan, with the three countries working together to ramp up Australia's critical mineral and rare earth exports. Rare earths are specific elements on the periodic table like scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides, located below the table. However, due to their usage in technology, defense, magnets, and the rapidly growing renewable energy industry, they have become increasingly valuable. Contrary to their name, "rare earth elements" are not actually rare, but they are found in extremely small deposits and are therefore very costly to extract and purify. Due to this, the term has also grown to encompass other critical minerals that have similar traits and uses, like gallium and germanium. One of the largest new projects will be the creation of a massive gallium refinery in western Australia, which will have an export capacity of around 100 metric tons per year. Albanese stated that the deal would foster around $1 billion in investments over the next 6 months, but the official report released by the White House bumped this number up to $3 billion. The move comes as the Western world attempts to move away from China's supply of critical minerals and rare earths– an industry that they continue to maintain a tight grip over. China contains around 60-70% of the world's total critical mineral and rare earth supply, including almost every element used in electronics and technology, but they also have around 90% of the world's rare earth refining and processing capacity. Because of this, the US is highly dependent on China for its rare earths and critical minerals, an industry that it cannot afford to lose. When China announced that they were implementing export controls on rare earths earlier this month, it drew the ire of Trump, leading to the announcement of 100% tariffs on China by November 1 if they refuse to rescind the controls. The move has sparked fear among Americans of another trade war, but Trump does not plan to be unreasonable. He is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in several weeks to discuss the matter. Nevertheless, Australia is one of the few countries on Earth other than China that contains a significant supply of critical minerals and rare earths, and Trump is trying to diversify the industry's sources to move away from his dependence on China's goods. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Bees actually have knees– one of the rare examples where a saying ("the bee's knees") is actually factually correct. These knees are similar to those of a human, but they are considered to be ball-and-socket leg joints because they lack a kneecap. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): They’re on our right, they’re on our left, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us; they can’t get away from us this time. ( Chesty Puller) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Etymology (noun, eh-tuh-MAH-luh-jee) - An etymology is an explanation of a word’s history—that is, where the word came from and how it developed. In a Sentence: As a word nerd, I’m always eager to learn a word’s etymology and trace it back to its earliest known origins. Image credit to Getty Images

Several crown jewels from Napoleon's time were stolen from the famed Louvre yesterday, leaving officials stunned after the thieves waltzed into the museum in broad daylight. The heist lasted just a few minutes as the thieves entered the building, grabbed the jewels, and escaped, successfully executing one of the most – if not the most – notorious heists in France's history. Meanwhile, the jewels were priceless and have immense historical value, as they belong to Napoleon's time. The heist began at around 9:30 am local time and was complete just a few minutes later, involving four perpetrators. They arrived on the scene in ski masks, assembling on the side of the museum that faces the Seine River. Construction work had already been going on in this area, allowing the robbers to utilize a basket lift to bring themselves up to a second-floor balcony. From here, two of the thieves entered directly into the Apollo Gallery, home to France's crown jewels, after using an angle grinder and several other power tools to slice through the glass. Once inside, the thieves threatened the guards in the exhibit, who quickly moved away from the area, before smashing the glass display cases surrounding the jewels using a disc cutter. This triggered alarms across the museum, but the two robbers quickly made it out of the gallery and climbed down the ladder of the basket lift, where the other two were waiting. All four thieves successfully escaped on motorcycles, only dropping one item throughout the process. The entire heist was extremely professional, planned, and clean, with no violence or injuries throughout the process. Nevertheless, the loss of the jewels is a huge loss to France. In total, after an assessment of the situation, authorities determined that the thieves had stolen a total of nine jewels from the museum. One jewel, the Crown of Empress Eugenie, was dropped in the process, with police discovering the damaged item outside of the museum. According to one expert, the crown alone was likely worth tens of millions of dollars, and there were other items of greater importance in the collection, hinting at the incredible value of the items stolen by the robbers. Officials have launched an intense investigation into the heist, hoping to recover the jewels within several days. Forensics teams, analysis teams, and dozens of others are currently sweeping the area for any evidence as to where the thieves could have gone, but they have not released their findings yet. However, France's greatest fear is that the thieves will melt the jewels down– this would fail to preserve their true value, but ensures that the robbers are not caught for their actions. If this happens, it would be a huge loss for France as a nation, as that process of melting them down is irreversible. Because of this, authorities are working to find the items as soon as possible, before they could be lost for eternity. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): While shedding, geckos will eat their skin in order to prevent predators from finding and eating them more easily. This also allows them to regain proteins and minerals that are lost with the shed skin. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Your life does not get better by chance , it gets better by change . ( Jim Rohn) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Veritable (adj, VAIR-uh-tuh-bul) - Veritable is a formal adjective that means “being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary.” It is often used to stress the aptness of a metaphorical description. In a Sentence: The island is a veritable paradise. Image credit to Getty Images

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire after conducting negotiations in Qatar's capital city of Doha. The two countries had been experiencing border clashes for over a week, leading to the deaths of dozens of citizens. Read more into the initial stages of the conflict here . Pakistan believed that the Taliban in Afghanistan were harboring members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, also known as the TTP or Pakistani Taliban, which aim to destabilize the Pakistani government. The TTP believes that their ways of strict, Sharia Law-focused Islamic law are the only ways that will further the development of Pakistan, but they are considered to be a terrorist organization due to their violent actions against the Pakistani government. These violent actions include suicide bombings, missile barrages, and kidnappings of innocent workers, giving them this label. The Afghani Taliban, on the other hand, strongly denied these claims, arguing that the Pakistani allegations were completely baseless and that the Taliban have absolutely no affiliation with the TTP. Nevertheless, Pakistan launched several strikes on Afghanistan, targeting TTP members in a similar fashion of how Israel targeted members of Hamas. The Taliban were then forced to respond, triggering a wider border conflict. Multiple intermittent agreements and ceasefires were made for the short term, but none of them were able to put a permanent end to the battles. However, Pakistan's defense minister confirmed on social media yesterday that both sides have accepted an official ceasefire meant to end the fighting. The ceasefire was the product of several days of intense negotiations in the Qatari capital of Doha, with mediators from both Qatar and Turkey participating in the process. They did add, though, that both sides will meet in Istanbul on October 25 to work out several final details, suggesting that the ceasefire is still fragile. Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Samsung means “three stars” in Korean. This was chosen by the founder because he wanted the company to be powerful and everlasting, like stars in the sky. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Be willing to share your blessings. The only riches that last are the ones that are given away. ( David Khalil) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Muse (verb, MYOOZ) - When muse is used to mean "to think about something carefully or thoroughly," it is usually followed by about , on , over , or upon . The word can also mean "to become absorbed in thought," or "to think or say something in a thoughtful way." In a Sentence: He mused on the possibility of pursuing a master's degree. Image credit to Al Jazeera