Mark Shiffer

New research suggests that apes can guess what others are thinking, a trait that has long been thought to only occur in human beings. In other words, apes have the ability to put themselves in another primate’s mindset, and this can lead to empathy and more complex thinking. They can see the world from another’s […]

A recent book, based out of Britain, presents evidence that Marie-Antoinette’s secret love affair with a Swedish aristocrat came undone towards the end of her life. The book is I Love You Madly-Marie-Antoinette and Count Fersen: The Secret Letters. The author is Historian Evelyn Farr. It will be available in the United States next month. […]

Comedic actor Ben Stiller has revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago. The 50-year-old thanked early detection of the disease for his survival, reports People. Ben Stiller says he was diagnosed with prostate cancer https://t.co/0jIwTY2rXR — TIME (@TIME) October 4, 2016 Stiller was interviewed on The Howard Stern Show, where he […]

The Carnegie Deli, the famous New York City landmark will soon be closing its doors for the final time. Open since 1937, the long running restaurant will be closing at the end of 2016. Current Carnegie restaurant owner Marian Harper Levine, 65, told her staff of 60 people the sad news. She talked about the […]

After suffering a stroke two weeks ago, Shimon Peres has died. As one of the architects of Israel’s rebirth as a sovereign nation, Peres served as prime minister for two terms and the ceremonial role of president for one term. Peres lived through the turbulent times of Israel’s reestablishment as a nation, and he was […]

Violent crime in the United States rose significantly in 2015. But there is also a silver lining to the latest statistics. Violence is still below peak levels from the 1970s through the 1990s. The rise in violent crimes was also more striking in several large cities rather than across the country. The latest figures were […]

American President Barack Obama officially opened the new Smithsonian African American museum on Saturday. The museum will examine in depth the history and culture of black Americans. Like all other Smithsonian institutions, this one will have free admission. The Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture will finally open this weekend in Washington. https://t.co/piCftuuqMa — […]

After 67 years, Vin Scully is going to retire from baseball. The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play announcer will call his last game on October 2 when the Dodgers play their rivals, the San Francisco Giants. Although Los Angeles will be going to the playoffs this year, Scully says he will not be doing any […]

The annual United Nations General Assembly is meeting to discuss pressing worldwide issues. Up to 193 member countries will be represented as delegates meet in New York City amid tightened security. Since several pipe bombs were set off in New York and New Jersey over the weekend, a suspect has been arrested. Despite tense security […]

Just days before the annual Primetime Emmy Awards, predictions are heating up as to who are the favorite Emmy nominations in 2016 to win their respective categories. The quality of TV shows has been getting better for years and there is, yet again, some excellent programming nominations to choose from. Game of Thrones, Veep, and […]

A newly discovered document has revealed further information on the life of Jane Haining, a Christian missionary from Scotland who risked her life to protect hundreds of Jewish school girls during the Holocaust. She was later sent to Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland, because of her efforts to save lives. Jane […]

Amelia Earhart, the aviation pioneer, likely died as a castaway on a tiny remote Pacific island. New evidence suggests Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, crash-landed on Nikumaroro Island, also known as Gardner Island. The site is between Australia and Hawaii. Amelia was intending to land at Howland Island, hundreds of miles away. The […]

The second of the two shipwrecked vessels from the doomed Franklin expedition was recently discovered by the Arctic Research Foundation, reports the Toronto Star. They are one of the groups that have been searching for the lost Franklin expedition ship over the last few years. The newly discovered vessel was the HMS Terror. The HMS […]

As colder weather slowly begins to creep back in, we can look forward to some of the upcoming movies for the fall of 2016. That is especially the case this fall after what most critics are saying was a mediocre summer regarding quality Hollywood movies or box-office hits. https://twitter.com/lgpremiere/status/774283022241636353 First up for the fall season […]

The World Cup of Hockey is getting ready to make its debut after a 12-year hiatus. The eight-team tournament schedule will begin on September 17 and continue until October 1, just before the start of the regular season of the National Hockey League. All games will take place in Toronto. The two-week hockey championship tournament […]

Iranian military vessels harassed an American ship in the latest incident between the rival nations. It was the fourth close encounter in the last month. The incident began when seven Iranian military boats approached the USS Firebolt, which was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in central Arabian Gulf waters. The area is an important and […]

A Florida State football player quietly did a good deed. Travis Rudolph was visiting Montford middle school in Tallahassee Florida with some teammates when he noticed a boy eating lunch all alone. Rudolph came over with his own pizza and sat with the kid, eating and talking to him. The boy’s name is Bo Paske. […]

North Korea has executed top officials using an anti-aircraft gun, sources told a South Korean newspaper. According to the same source, two government officials were killed, one from the agricultural ministry and the other from education. They were specifically ordered to be violently executed by dictator Kim Jong Un. S. Korea: N. Korea executes top […]

Facebook has removed human editors from decision making and the result has been fake news trending. As of Friday, humans no longer had input into deciding on trending topics on the popular social media site. But three days later, automated computer algorithms had chosen a fake story, reports the Washington Post. The trending item revolved […]

In a stunning new discovery, scientists have found a potentially habitable new planet orbiting the Sun’s closest neighboring star. The planet, named Proxima b, orbits the star Proxima Centauri. Proxima b is 1.3 times larger than Earth and is only four light-years away, which is extremely close in astronomical distances. Still, it is 25 trillion […]

Major League baseball postseason dates were announced, and the schedule is now set for the October playoffs. The biggest news is that if the World Series goes a full seven games, a few will take place in November. The 2016 season started on April 3. The final games of the regular season will take place […]

A North Korean version of a Netflix-like service has been unveiled in the isolated country. Known as “Manbang,” meaning “everywhere” in Korean, it is a video-on-demand internet streaming product. The new feature was unveiled by state broadcaster KCTV, according to BBC News. KCTV said the demand was high for Manbang. The reality though is that […]

Israeli athletes participating in the 2016 Olympics have faced different types of hostility from competitors from other countries. The Olympics are advertised as an event where political differences are set aside in favor of pure competition. However, over the last few weeks, Israelis have been blocked from entering a bus, had matches against them forfeited, […]

Amy Schumer has had incredible success as a stand-up comedian as well as an actor in movies and on TV. Now the 35-year-old is venturing into publishing with the launch of her new book The Girl with the Lower Back Tatoo. Amy Schumer’s 314-page book is mostly about her own personal story. The star of […]

Louisiana flooding threats are far from over. While the torrential rains have eased, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the water in many areas is expected to rise further, according to NBC News. More than 24 inches of rain have fallen in some parts of the state already. At least six people are reported dead, […]

It’s a an event that the rest of the world notices every four years. Much attention is particularly focused on women’s Olympic beach volleyball, including what they wear or more specifically what they don’t wear. While the standard court volleyball outfit is a shirt and shorts, in this sandy version it turns into sporty bikinis. […]

As a depleted Team Russia prepared to depart for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, President Vladimir Putin was in Moscow to cheer them on and suggest the ban on athletes was based on discrimination. He was referring to the recent controversy surrounding allegations that all Russian athletes are under suspicion for using banned […]

The San Diego Padres have traded outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. to the Toronto Blue Jays. In return, the Padres get Class A pitcher Hansel Rodriquez. The deal was made with less than a week for the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline. Previous rumors had Upton going to the Baltimore Orioles. The change in teams […]

Questions and complaints are mounting as Brazil prepares to host the Summer Olympics in August. There have been concerns raised about infrastructure, safety, health, and Brazil’s economic and political crisis. The latest controversy has come from the Australian Olympic team. The team’s leader, Kitty Chiller, has decided to keep her group from the Athletes Village […]

A report says that Russian athletes were given government support and assistance to cheat. The World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, has called for Russia to be banned from the upcoming Summer Olympics in Brazil. Doping allegations have been made against both summer and winter athletes across most sports Russia competes in. According to the Associated Press, […]

American Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the statement to send 560 U.S. troops during an unannounced visit to Iraq. The Qayara air base is about 40 miles south of the city of Mosul. The new troops are there to aid Iraqi forces prepare and execute an offensive to retake the city from Islamic State militants, […]