1. Major News: NASA discovered 1,284 new planets, including nine that are "potentially habitable."
These planets beyond our solar system – exoplanets — were discovered with the help of NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, which launched in 2009. Nine of them orbit in their star's "Goldilocks Zone" — the region around a star that's not too hot or too cold for liquid water — and maybe even life. (NPR)2. World News: A 70-year-old Indian woman gave birth for the first time — with help from IVF.
Although the doctors at the National Fertility And Test Tube Baby Centre in Haryana, India weren't totally on board at first, tests showed that Kaur was capable of carrying the baby to term. The couple, who have been married for 46 years, say they were never fazed by their ages. (Read More)AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
3. Tech Talk: Amazon is coming for YouTube with its new, easy-to-monetize portal, Video Direct.
When you create a free account and share your first video, you can make it available for free, or you can earn royalties on views. This is determined by the number of hours streamed — but you have to limit your video's access to Prime subscribers, renters, or other payment-based options. (Read More)4. Geek Out: A 15-year-old in Canada discovered an ancient Mayan city using star maps.
William Gadoury found the city, hidden in Mexico, by matching stars with the locations of various known temples on Earth, The Telegraph reports. He studied more than 20 constellations and concluded that the star maps aligned with 117 Mayan cities. (Read More)5. Noms: McDonald's is testing garlic fries at four California stores — but they're already sold out.
Unfortunately, the popularity of the fries has also led to a temporary shortage of supplies at the four locations after less than two weeks. In a statement released this past Sunday, the Bay Area restaurants apologized for the shortage. (Read More)6. #StarringJohnCho: How do you fight Hollywood whitewashing? By recasting John Cho in every movie EVER.
"The goal of #StarringJohnCho has always been to spark the conversation and try and alter one's perception of how Asian-Americans are viewed both in Hollywood and in our society," William Yu (who happens to be the brother of R29 staffer Samantha Yu), told Refinery29 via email. (Read More)7. Feminism FTW: Emma Watson is calling on London's new mayor to put up a suffragette statue.
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To combat underrepresentation of women and celebrate the approaching 100-year anniversary of women's suffrage in England, a petition was started. The petition, addressed to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, currently has 69,446 signatures, including ones from Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling. (Read More)
8. On The Trail: Bernie Sanders won in West Virginia last night.
The Vermont senator continued his uphill battle toward the Democratic nomination with a decisive win against Hillary Clinton, whose remarks about the coal industry damaged her chances in the state. However, Clinton did come up with a win in Nebraska. (Read More)AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT