The Wildest Animal News From 2020
These are the stories about birds, bugs, fish and mammals that surprised and delighted readers the most this year.
Credit.Lily Benson
Dec. 23, 2020
It was a rough year for Homo sapiens. The coronavirus pandemic highlighted our vulnerabilities in a natural world that is constantly changing. Many were pushed to find new levels of resolve and creativity to survive.
While humans quarantined, birds, bugs, fish and mammals put their own ingenuity on display. The year 2020 was when murder hornets appeared in the United States, scientists introduced us to an octopus as cute as the emoji and researchers discovered that platypuses glow under a black light.
Cheriss May/Getty Images
toggle caption Cheriss May/Getty Images
Lawmakers passed a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill on Monday after months of impasse. Negotiations came down to the wire as 12 million people were set to lose unemployment benefits the day after Christmas. Cheriss May/Getty Images
After seven months since the last coronavirus relief bill, Congress finally passed a new one on Monday. Neither Democrats or Republicans are completely happy with the $900 billion package, but it does provide some relief.
Included in the newest bill are extended unemployment benefits and $600 direct deposit payments to most Americans. But for many people who previously lost their jobs and livelihoods, this relief comes too late. NPR s Lauren Hodges reports on the millions of people who are have been in financial limbo since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
My Bank Account Has $4 : Pandemic Has Left Millions Of Livelihoods In Limbo
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More than 10 million people in the U.S. are out of jobs, and the hardest-hit industries are also some of the lowest paying, including retail, leisure, hospitality and tourism.
Sarah Gonzales for NPR
By the end of last year, the door to a dream had begun to crack open for Lilli Rayne.
She d spent about five years building her dog-walking and pet-sitting business into a profitable venture in Asheville, N.C. My whole life had been entirely where I wanted it to be at that point, she recalls.
Leibniz Prizes 2021: DFG awards four female and six male researchers
The latest recipients of the most prestigious research funding prize in Germany have been announced: the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) today awarded the 2021 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize to four female and six male researchers. They had previously been selected from 131 nominees by the selection committee responsible. Of the ten prizewinners, there are two each from the humanities and social sciences, the natural sciences and the engineering sciences, and four from the life sciences. Each will receive prize money of €2.5 million. They are entitled to use these funds for their research work in any way they wish, without bureaucratic obstacles, for up to seven years.. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Joint Committee met by video conference. The Leibniz Prizes 2021 will be awarded virtually on 15 March.
New Board Members Join LongHouse Reserve 1 Photo
Caroline Baumann, Dr. Derick T. George, Ayse Manyas and Kenmore Fitzhugh Karol have joined the board of LongHouse Reserve.
Caroline Baumann, Dr. Derick T. George, Ayse Manyas and Kenmore Fitzhugh Karol have joined the board of LongHouse Reserve.
Staff Writer on Dec 22, 2020
LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton has added four new members to its board of trustees.
“Through COVID-19, LongHouse is still thriving and we’re grateful to be able to grow our capacity as an organization, continue our commitment to diversity, and propel the globetrotting, multicultural vision of Jack Lenor Larsen into a bright future,” said Dianne Benson, the board’s president. “We’re thrilled to welcome these four trustees who refresh us with their new perspectives: a museum professional to ease our transition from garden to institution, a man of medicine to help guide us through this pandemic, a seasoned political and human-rights activist, a