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Today, we have a YNH Exclusive on World Ocean Day! Contents: World Ocean Day: How to Help Our Oceans in a Time of Need Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day Happy World Ocean Day! As our oceans suffer from issues like pollution and coral bleaching worldwide, the importance of taking action and helping the environment continues to grow. To help our oceans this World Ocean Day, you can donate to one of these websites: The Coral Reef Alliance-- helps save the world's coral reefs from bleaching and destruction using the latest technology The Surfrider Foundation-- fights for the reduction of damaging plastics, ocean protection from challenges like habitat loss and pollution, access to beaches for everyone, protection of worldwide beaches and natural shorelines, and easy access to clean water The Plastic Pollution Coalition-- advocates to eliminate plastic pollution from the ocean and limit its harmful impact The Ocean Conservancy-- works to protect our oceans from threats like oil drilling, plastic pollution, and climate change Also, here are some habits that help our oceans that you can implement into your daily life: Try to stay away from salmon farmed in Canada, Chile, Norway, or Scotland, shrimp from Ecuador, Thailand, Myanmar, Honduras, and some areas of the US and Canada, and any tuna that has been imported using purse seines with FADs or is caught in the Indian Ocean. Try to stay away from bluefin tuna in general as well, as its population has severely declined in the past few decades due to serious overfishing. For context, purse seines are extremely large nets, and FADs are fish aggregating devices which lure the fish to the net. All of the fish from the areas listed above are fished using unsustainable practices, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, which harms the surrounding environment. Try and pick up trash wherever you see it, especially if it's on the beach. Trash on land can be blown into the oceans by wind, and beaches are hotspots for all sorts of junk to wash up. If we all take on this initiative, we could substantially decrease the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean! Avoid single-use plastics and make sure to check if your plastic is recyclable. Single-use plastics are extremely wasteful and make up a large portion of the trash across the ocean, so try to skip on using those whenever you can. Styrofoam (polystyrene) is also very harmful as it breaks up very easily and can spread almost anywhere, so skip that, too. Also, not every plastic is recyclable. There are numbers on the recycle symbol on each plastic, and each one means a different plastic. Recycle numbers 1 (PETE) and 2 (HDPE) for sure, as all plants will accept. You can check out your local recycling plant's details on what they recycle for more information, as numbers 4 (LDPE) and 5 (PP) are sometimes recycled depending on the plant. However, numbers 3 (PVC), 6 (PS), and 7 (other) are almost never recycled, so it is advised to reuse those plastics. Try to stay away from number 3, which is PVC, as it is extremely harmful to the hormonal system, and try not to buy number 6, polystyrene, in the first place-- it breaks down very easily and can barely be reused due to its fragility. Try to bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store, as many recycling plants do not accept grocery store bags due to the material they are made out of: number 4, low density polyethylene (LDPE). If you can, some grocery stores also offer paper bags upon request, and if you do end up bringing some plastic bags home, try to reuse them for other purposes-- for example, carrying shoes or acting as a trash bag! Also, some specific grocery stores do accept those bags for recycling, so you can also go to those locations if your local plant doesn't do it. Another thing you can do to help the oceans is select specific clothing made of environmentally-friendly fabrics. Polyester and nylon are both fabrics to avoid, as they are non-biodegradable, made from oil, use large amounts of water to produce, and release small microfibers with every wash. These microfibers can wash into the ocean and are ingested by marine life, causing a harmful buildup of it inside their bodies. However, this is not to be confused with recycled polyester, which is generally made of recycled plastic bottles and other single-use plastic items. Try to also stay away from acrylic fabrics, which are used in warm winter clothing. Despite their warmth, their production process harms workers and the environment due to its dangerous chemicals, it is non-biodegradable, and the chemicals in the fabric can even enter your body just by touching it! Finally, rayon is another material to avoid. Rayon is made from plants, but its production process releases dangerous chemicals that harm workers and the surrounding environment. Also, as it is made from plants, its production increases deforestation-- so it does more bad than good. When looking for a good go-to fabric that isn't detrimental to the environment, your best options will be organic/recycled cotton, organic hemp, lyocell, organic linen, or recycled polyester. Lastly, choose environmentally-friendly personal care products. Any face wash or soap with microbeads is harmful to the environment, as it washes into the ocean after you wash it off your body in the shower. Stay away from products that contain squalene, which can be found in various cosmetics and sunscreens. It is an oil found in shark livers, so try to find products with alternatives like vegan squalene or plant-based squalene to help save endangered sharks that are being killed for their squalene. Sunscreens containing oxybenzone, avobenzone, octocrylene, enzacamene, and homosalate are terrible for coral reefs, so try to use alternatives that contain another active ingredient like zinc oxide or titanium oxide. In addition, avoid triclosan (TCS), which is found in various cleaning and sanitizing products like hand sanitizer, hand soap, and antibacterial wipes. It is considered toxic and can accumulate in algae and lots of marine animals. Asbestos is also a harmful chemical that can still be found in many products despite being banned in 1989. You can find a guide to products with asbestos here. Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was actually a licensed bartender. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): When you get older, you realize it’s a lot less about your place in the world but your place in you. It’s not how everyone views you, but how you view yourself. (Natalie Portman) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Gossip (verb) - To gossip is to talk about the personal lives of other people. In a Sentence: The two siblings often gossip with each other about their neighbors via texting.

We have some huge news for our readers! On the first anniversary of our switch to Your News Hub from The Weekly News, which is July 16, we will be launching a new and improved Travel page! Instead of just recommendations for vacations, we will now include articles about all things travel! Gear up for some awesome, interesting articles coming on Tuesday, July 16! Contents: Nepal PM Dahal Ousted After No-Confidence Vote; Communists Still In Power Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day The Nepalese prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was ousted after a parliamentary no-confidence vote. His communist government was replaced by another government led by fellow communist leader Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli on Saturday. Nepal has had political unrest since 2008, when it abolished its 239-year-old absolute monarchy. Oli's new government is the 14th one so far. In his term so far, Dahal has seeked a vote of confidence 5 times, and has won all of them. The lawmakers weren't so easy to please this time. Dahal needed at least 138 votes to remain prime minister. However, he only received 63 votes. The subsequent election resulted in K.P. Sharma Oli taking office, and made Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress (center-left) the dominant party in the Nepali parliament. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible) is a musical piece by John Cage that has been playing since 2001 at the St. Burchardi church in Germany. As Slow As Possible is scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, set to end in 2640. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you’d like to act. (Bob Dylan) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Bilk (verb) - Bilk is typically applied in contexts relating to fraud and deceit. It can mean "to cheat out of something valuable," or "to evade payment of or to," or "to obtain something by defrauding someone." In a Sentence: Prosecutors contend that the defendant bilked hundreds of investors out of their life savings.

Contents: Over 1.3 Million People Still Out of Power in Texas After Hurricane Beryl Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day The situation in Texas after Hurricane Beryl is becoming worse and worse, as heat is scorching the area amidst an ongoing power outage. Beryl made landfall on July 8 as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of around 80 mph, killing 11 people across Texas and Louisiana, and wiped out power to over 2.7 million people. Since then, power has been restored to over half of that number, but over 1.3 million people still have absolutely no electricity at all. As temperatures heat up to over 90˚F (32.2˚C), with an Extreme UV Index and a Heat Index of over 100˚F (37.7˚C), over 1.3 million citizens of the Houston area are suffering without any air conditioning. Heat is the leading cause of death in the United States, and recent studies show that the number of heat-related deaths only counts heatstroke instead of also including extreme heat related to heart attacks and numerous other dangerous diseases and conditions. Since citizens have no AC, they are resorting to other options, like using gas-powered generators. Unfortunately, two people have already died in Houston's main county due to carbon monoxide poisoning from the exhaust, and local officials stated that in 24 hours, they have already received over 200 calls for cabon monoxide poisoning. People are starting to become annoyed with CenterPoint Energy, the company that supplies power to most of Houston, as it has been five days since Beryl hit and over 1 million of their customers still have no electricity. They stated that they hope to restore power to 400,000 people today and 350,000 more people tomorrow. However, CenterPoint said that around 500,000 people will still not get electricity back until next week, as numerous areas have been severely affected-- trees have taken down entire power grids and hundreds of power lines are down. Crews now need to replace each pole, which is painstaking work for CenterPoint. The shortage of electricity is causing other problems, too. One woman died after her oxygen-supplying machine ran out of battery and her generator stopped working. In addition, nine different fire stations across Houston had to temporarily shut down because they did not have generators. Aggravated citizens without power are having more heated arguments with each other, and there have been multiple reports of people getting extremely angry with CenterPoint utility workers for not fixing the electricity fast enough. All of this is due to climate change-- most of Texas' power grid was built over 40 to 50 years ago, meaning that it wasn't built to withstand such extreme weather events. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Dolphins give each other names, made up of different clicks and whistles. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight- it’s the size of the fight in the dog. (Dwight D. Eisenhower) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Fountainhead (noun) - Fountainhead is a word usually encountered in literary contexts that refers to the origin or source of something. In a Sentence: Ragtime, popularized by such performers as Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake, is considered one of the musical fountainheads of jazz..

Today, we have a YNH Exclusive on the latest French elections-- here's a deep dive into it by Mihir Gupta and Armaan Dhawan. Contents: Emmanuel Macron Calls Snap French Parliamentary Election, Turns Out to be a Dramatic Shock Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day The finishing touches of the elections for the lower house of the French parliament took place this Sunday, and it was something-- a huge surprise for most of the world. Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron proved very unpopular as his coalition, the centrist Ensemble, did much worse than they hoped, receiving only 159 seats. This is compared with the 289 seats to form a majority government. In last month's European parliamentary elections, the National Rally (Marine Le-Pen's far-right party) crushed his party, motivating Macron to call a surprise parliamentary election three years ahead of the actual election in 2027. He said this was to show the people who were in the lead and clear up any confusion, but it ended up doing the opposite. You might see two election dates in the news: June 30 and July 7. This is because France has an unusual two-round election system. The first one is sort of an elimination round. Candidates who receive at least 12.5% of the vote proceed to the second round, where the final decision is made. In essence, this election system is quite like an instant runoff system, though France officially has a first-past-the-post/plurality system. This system gives candidates seats in the first and second rounds and then adds them up. In the first round, the RN took the lead, marking a massive surprise for the population. With Macron's centrist party all the way down in third and France's leftist party, the New Popular Front (NFP), in second, worries erupted for Macron-- the far-right party was extremely close to a win. They were expected to take the election, and if not the majority, then more seats than the other groups. However, in the second round, the NFP took the lead, and Macron came in second. Out of 577 seats, the NFP won the most, with 182, while Macron's coalition came in second with 163 and the RN party, despite being the initial favorites, came in third with 143. However, all three coalitions fell short of the 289-seat requirement to take a majority, throwing the parliament into chaos. Now, the NFP, a group that didn't even exist one month ago, is now in the lead, and they will choose the next Prime Minister. The whole point of forming the organization was to stop far-right coalitions, and they succeeded this year. However, they may not stay united for long. The NFP is actually a bloc made up of multiple different parties with similar leftist views, and they tend to disagree on many major issues. This could possibly result in the bloc disbanding in the near future if they are forced to make big decisions. In addition, in order to pass laws, the NFP will need to alliance with Macron's Ensemble, and the two have very different views. The next step will be to elect a new prime minister, as the incumbent PM, Gabriel Attal, has resigned. He is staying in office until the next one is elected, but it will be a confusing decision. Macron will need to elect a new prime minister from the coalition with the most votes, which is the NFP. The issue is that France does not know which of the various parties within the NFP that they will pick a prime minister from. Now you know why the media is churning out articles with headlines like "Why the French election result was such a surprise" (The Washington Post) and "French election: What the [heck] is going on?" (Politico). This election was shocking, and it will be interesting to see what comes next for the French government and what policies it will exhibit. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Cows have best friends, and they tend to experience lower stress levels when they are together. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change. (Madeline Albright) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Ungainly (adj) - Ungainly usually describes someone or something moving in an awkward or clumsy way, or the awkward, clumsy movements themselves. It can also describe an object that is difficult to handle (especially because of being large or heavy), or someone or something that has an awkward appearance. In a Sentence: While seals are ungainly on land, they are beautifully agile swimmers.

Contents: 43 Dead, 200 Injured After Latest Russian Strikes-- Missile Hits Major Children's Hospital Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day At least 43 people were killed and another 200 were injured after multiple Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday, including the capital, Kyiv. The missiles struck the cities of Kyiv, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Kryvyi Rih, and Dnipro in the middle of day, during the morning rush hour, killing 33 people in Kyiv alone. It could have been much worse, though: Ukraine actually shot down 30 of the incoming missiles, but eight others slipped through their defense systems. One of the strikes destroyed over half of the country's largest children's hospital, the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, located in the capital. The hospital is one of Ukraine's largest centers for treating cancer and other diseases, making it extremely important. Two floors were completely destroyed, and multiple other areas around the building were also damaged. The strikes destroyed the toxicology ward, intensive care units (ICU), and most of the area where crucial surgeries are done. Debris immediately coated the area, and rescue crews are still searching through the rubble of the disaster to find any survivors or bodies. Some children were in the middle of procedures during the attack, while others were injured by shrapnel or suffered from smoke inhalation. No one is being let into the building in fears that it could collapse, but all of the children and medical staff have been evacuated. All of the patients on life-support machines are being kept alive with portable machines, while urgent procedures have been taking place in the streets around the hospital. US President Joe Biden condemned the attack, and many other people joined him in other countries and online. However, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia maintained that they had launched the strikes without targeting the hospital specifically. He stated that if the attack were from Russia, everyone would have been killed, not just some of the patients, and instead blamed the strike on a misfired Ukrainian missile without any proof. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a Ukrainian hospital has been struck by Russian missiles. According to the World Health Organization, medical facilities in Ukraine have been struck over 1,600 times, killing a total of 141 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging countries across Europe and North America to supply more aid and defense systems to help protect the country from Russia's persistent attacks, but the thing he wants the most is full NATO membership. Both of these issues will be addressed at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington D.C., which begins today. They are expected to supply more military aid, including major defense systems to help fend off against Russian missiles, but NATO plans to reject Ukraine's bid to join the alliance. If they accepted the bid, a massive war would break out, as member countries are compelled to participate in any ongoing war against another member countries. This would force the United States and most of Europe to join the war against Russia, which must be avoided at all costs. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Gentoo penguins propose to their mates with a pebble. If the female accepts the proposal, she will use the pebble as a foundation for her nest. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you. (Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Respite (noun) - Respite refers to a short period of time when someone is able to stop doing something that is difficult or unpleasant, or when something difficult or unpleasant stops or is delayed. In a Sentence: The long weekend provided a nice respite from the pressures of her job.

Contents: Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall in Texas, Bringing Heavy Rain, Strong Winds, Storm Surge Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day Hurricane Beryl is continuing on its tear through the United States after making landfall in Texas yesterday, killing at least eight people. Beryl made landfall in Matagorda, Texas, early on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph and storm surge of over 6-7 feet. Heavy rain came with the storm as well, bringing flash flooding to the entire Houston area. A couple of isolated tornadoes were also reported, knocking out power to thousands of people. Over 2.7 million people lost power across Texas, and over 2.2 million still have no electricity. Most of those people were supplied power by Texas-based CenterPoint Energy, but the company promised that at least 1 million customers would get their power back by Wednesday. However, as Galveston is a relatively isolated island, CenterPoint has stated that it could take anywhere from three days to two weeks to restore power to some parts of the area. Four people have died in Texas' Harris County, which includes the city of Houston, while three others are dead in Montgomery County, north of Houston, and another woman died in Louisiana after a tree fell on her home. Two of the four killed in Harris County and one man in Montgomery County were also killed by falling trees, while another man in Harris County died in a fire caused by lightning. It roared through the Houston area as a hurricane, pounding the city with 75 mph winds and 4 inches of rain before weakening to a tropical storm as it passed through the southeastern portion of the state, including Dallas. It is now a tropical depression with winds of 30 mph as it crosses Arkansas, but flood watches are still in place across its path, as rain of 2-3 inches and flash flooding is expected. From there, forecasts show the storm moving through the Ohio Valley, pass over the Great Lakes, and batter southern Canada with more rain. Unfortunately, there will not be any relief for Houston, either. Just after this devastating storm, temperatures will soar to 94˚F (34.4˚C), with the heat index at a blistering 105˚F (40.5˚C). Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Crows are as smart as a 7-year-old child. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. (Morrie Schwartz) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Dicker (verb) - To dicker is to talk or argue with someone about the conditions of a purchase, agreement, or contract. In a Sentence: My favorite thing about flea markets is dickering over prices.

Contents: Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall in Texas, Bringing Heavy Rain, Strong Winds, Storm Surge Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day Hurricane Beryl is currently pounding southeastern Texas after making landfall near Galveston, and it has the potential to do more damage in the coming days. Beryl rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane before smashing into the Windward Islands earlier in the week, killing at least 11 people. It briefly strengthened further into a Category 5 hurricane, but weakened to a Category 4 as it devastated Jamaica and battered the Cayman Islands as a Category 3. Next, it struck Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane and emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm. It has just made landfall in southeastern Texas with hurricane-force winds and deadly storm surge, which will deliver serious damage to the entire Houston area. A hurricane warning is in place from Corpus Christi to Galveston, and the whole region in between those two cities is low-lying and extremely susceptible to flooding, as shown by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Meanwhile, tropical storm warnings have been put into place around the area under hurricane warnings, east of Galveston and south of Corpus Christi. Storm surge warnings are also in place along the coast, as storm surge of up to 7 feet will be propelled onshore by the hurricane's strong winds and current high tides. Power has already been knocked out to much of the area, and flooding is already happening. Local officials are also watching the nearby Lake Livingston Dam, which was damaged by flooding earlier this year. Crews rushed to complete the repairs this week as Houston was slowly brought into Beryl's forecast, and they reported that the repairs were complete as of yesterday afternoon. The dam borders Lake Livingston, which along with the Trinity River, supplies most of Houston's drinking water. To prepare, locals boarded up windows of homes and offices, and voluntary evacuations took place across Galveston. However, mandatory evacuations were only put into place in Nueces County, near Corpus Christi, for visitors only. Unfortunately, Beryl's impacts will not be limited to the Houston area. Forecasts show the hurricane weakening to a tropical storm as it moves north through Texas, becoming a tropical depression as it moves northeast into Arkansas, and eventually fizzling out into an unorganized storm that will move across the Ohio Valley and into New England with some heavy rain. Flood watches are in place from Galveston all the way up to Texas' northern border, reaching into northwestern Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas as well. However, the strongest impacts will be throughout eastern Texas, as Beryl is expected to bring likely flash flooding and strong winds to the whole region. We'll make sure to keep you informed on the latest with Beryl in future daily updates. This is a developing story, so make sure to check back in future articles to view the latest updates on damage and deaths. Upcoming Events: International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica (Thursday, July 11) World Population Day (Thursday, July 11) International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms (Friday, July 12) Copa América Finals (Saturday, July 13) Euro 2024 Finals (Sunday, July 14) Wimbledon Finals (Sunday, July 14) Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Sea otters hold hands while they sleep to avoid drifting away from each other. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Don’t cling to things because everything is impermanent. (Morrie Schwartz) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Swole (adj) - Someone described as swole is extremely muscular. In other words, they have a physique enhanced by bodybuilding exercises. In a Sentence: Her New Year’s resolution was to get swole, so she signed up with a personal trainer and committed to working out every day.

Contents: UK PM Rishi Sunak and Conservative Party Defeated By Opposition Labour Party Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day On Thursday, the UK's House of Commons (part of the Parliament) held an election. The ruling Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, lost heavily to Keir Starmer's Labour Party. There are many possible reasons for the defeat. One is that voters were unhappy with the decision to slash funding to the National Health Service, the U.K.'s free healthcare service. In a poll conducted by IPSOS Issues Index, voters said this issue was more important to them than a lot of other things, like the economy and immigration. Speaking about economy, it has slowed over the past few decades. From 2007 to 2023, the GDP per capita rose only 4.3%, compared to the 46% growth from 16 years prior to 2007. This means income ceased to really grow. The country's national debt is also pretty high at £2.7 trillion, making it higher than any point since the 1960s. These two factors combined with many more things, caused the Conservative Party to be severely beaten by the Labour Party, with the former getting 121 seats in the House of Commons and the latter receiving 411. As his final act as PM, Sunak gave a speech in front of the Downing Street home, saying the people had spoken, but he had done many things right. The new PM is Sir Keir Starmer. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): Taumatawhakatangihanga-koauauotamateaturipukakapikimaung-ahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, New Zealand is officially has the longest place name at 85 letters long. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. (Dr. Seuss) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Mogul (noun) - A mogul is a powerful and influential person. In a Sentence: The music mogul's latest album has been nominated for several awards.

Contents: Tropical Storm Beryl Passes Over Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day Hurricane Beryl passed over the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, while it killed at least 10 people across the Windward Islands on Sunday and Monday and Jamaica on Wednesday, and passed near the Cayman Islands on Thursday. The storm was forecasted to dump 4-6 in (10-15 cm) of rain on the archipelago, and it sustained winds to a maximum of 65 mph (105 kph) after passing Tulum, a significant drop from the attack on the Caymans. It did not cause any casualties, however many areas lost power, like 40% of Tulum. This is due to the storm having been a Category 2, not strong enough to really cause casualties, but strong enough to damage property. (For information on the hurricane scale we are using, click this link.) After striking Tulum, Beryl weakened to a tropical storm. It will first go over the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall a second time, potentially stronger, on the Mexico-Texas border. This is a developing story, so make sure to check back in future articles to view the latest updates on damage and deaths. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): In Building 87 of Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington lies the quietest room in the world. With a record-breaking background noise of -20.35 dBA, this room is 20 decibels below the minimum of human hearing. It is so silent that if you stay in it for long enough, you’ll start to hear your heartbeat, a deafening ringing in your ears, and the grinding of your bones. To achieve absolute silence, the room was constructed with an onion-like structure made of six layers of concrete and steel. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The decisions that you make each day can actually catapult you to that next level of achievement. (Robert G. Allen) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Castigate (verb) - Castigate is a formal word that means "to criticize harshly." In a Sentence: He was widely castigated for earning millions of dollars in bonuses as the company he was leading slid into insolvency.

Contents: Hurricane Beryl En Route To Mexico, Passed Over Cayman Islands Fact of the Day Quote of the Day Word of the Day Hurricane Beryl passed over the Cayman Islands, while it killed at least 10 people across the Windward Islands on Sunday and Monday and Jamaica on Wednesday. Fortunately, the center of the hurricane was located about 135 mi (217 km) away from Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands. The storm dumped 4-6 in (10-15 cm) of rain on the archipelago and sustained winds to a maximum of 110 mph (177 kph), but it doesn't appear to have caused much damage or any casualties. This is likely also due to the storm having been weakened to a Category 2. Hurricane Beryl will next make landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, specifically near the popular tourist destinations of Tulum, Cozumel, and Cancún. Earlier on Thursday, Cancún International Airport was flocked by tourists wanting to catch the last flights out before the storm hit. However, around 100 flights have been canceled, so many people will not be able to get out of the area. This is a developing story, so make sure to check back in future articles to view the latest updates on damage and deaths. Fact of the Day (Facts.net): The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is 155 miles of untouched land that separates North and South Korea. In these heavily fortified fences, several endangered animal and plant species thrive. Ecologists identified around 2,900 plant species, 70 mammal species, and 320 bird species in this narrow buffer zone. Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. (Aristotle) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Patriot (noun) - Patriot refers to a person who loves and strongly supports or fights for their country. In a Sentence: Addy enjoyed looking at old photographs of her grandmother, a patriot who served in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II, in uniform.