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From today's featured article

Meghan Trainor

Takin' It Back is the fifth major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. Epic Records released it on October 21, 2022. Trainor worked with producers including Federico Vindver and Gian Stone and featured artists like Teddy Swims and Natti Natasha. Inspired by the sound of her album Title (2015) after its title track went viral on TikTok, Takin' It Back is a doo-wop and bubblegum-pop album about motherhood and self-acceptance. Trainor promoted the latter with televised performances and two singles, "Bad for Me" and "Made You Look". The latter peaked at number 11 in the US and reached the top 10 in several other countries. Reviewers thought Takin' It Back showcased Trainor's maturity, growth, and musicality, but they were divided on whether it was a progression from her earlier work. The album debuted at number 16 on the US Billboard 200. Its deluxe edition was supported by the single "Mother". (This article is part of two featured topics: Takin' It Back and Meghan Trainor albums.)

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Did you know ...

1934 US$10,000 bill

... that the US$10,000 bill (example pictured) is the highest denomination of US currency that has been used by the public?
... that Americans received nearly 15 billion political text messages in 2022?
... that novelist Sue Monk Kidd spent fourteen months researching New Testament–era Egypt and the Levant for The Book of Longings?
... that following the success of Jools Lebron's "demure" videos, she stated that she was able to use the proceeds to pay for her gender transition?
... that, when preparing the statue of John Stockton, its sculptor repositioned the model about 20 times by using a wrench to adjust ball-and-socket joints on steel rods?
... that the writings of José Rizal, a prominent contributor to liberalism in the Philippines, were adopted by both Philippine independence fighters and American colonial authorities?
... that Will Wood conducted a Bulgarian choir via Zoom for "White Noise"?
... that Xiphophorus signum is the only swordtail not known to hybridise with other species?
... that Mr. Bronx was not from the Bronx?

In the news

Yahya Sinwar

Yahya Sinwar (pictured), the leader of Hamas, is killed in a firefight with Israeli forces in Gaza.
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson for their comparative studies of prosperity between nations.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft is launched to investigate Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter.
Kenyan Ruth Chepng'etich breaks the women's marathon world record at the Chicago Marathon.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo.

On this day

October 21

Aftermath of the Seongsu Bridge disaster

1096 – First Crusade: At the Battle of Civetot, the Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan destroyed the army of the People's Crusade as it marched toward Nicaea.
1867 – The first and second of three treaties were signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the United States federal government and several Native American tribes in the Great Plains, requiring them to relocate to areas in present-day western Oklahoma.
1941 – World War II: German soldiers massacred nearly 2,800 Serbs in Kragujevac in reprisal for insurgent attacks in the district of Gornji Milanovac.
1968 – At the height of the Japanese university protests, protesters occupied Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and clashed violently with police.
1994 – In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people were killed and 17 others injured when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapsed (pictured).

Birger Jarl (d. 1266)
Will Carleton (b. 1845)
Steph Davies (b. 1987)
May'n (b. 1989)

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From today's featured list

Michael Giacchino

The 2017 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film Coco won 63 awards from 81 nominations. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film got particular recognition for its score, composed by Michael Giacchino (pictured). At the 90th Academy Awards, Coco won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. The film garnered two nominations at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Animated Feature Film. Coco also won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for both Best Animated Feature and Best Song. It was named one of the ten best films of 2017 by the National Board of Review. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

X-rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, with wavelengths shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays – roughly in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometres. X-rays were discovered by German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895, who named them X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation. X-rays can penetrate many solid substances such as construction materials and living tissue, and X-ray radiography is widely used in medical diagnostics. This medical significance was noticed by Röntgen shortly after he discovered X-rays; this print, titled Hand mit Ringen (Hand with Rings), is a print of his first medical X-ray, taken of his wife Anna Bertha Ludwig's hand in December 1895.

Print credit: Wilhelm Röntgen; restored by Yann Forget

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