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From today's featured article

Taylor Swift on the 1989 World Tour

1989 is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (pictured), released on October 27, 2014. Having been known as a country singer-songwriter, Swift conceived 1989 as a synth-pop record that shifted her sound and image to mainstream pop. She titled the album after her birth year as a symbolic rebirth of her image and artistry. The album's singles included three US Billboard Hot 100 number ones: "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood". Critics praised the songwriting for offering emotional engagement that they found uncommon in the mainstream pop scene. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and featured in Rolling Stone's 2020 update of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. A huge commercial success, 1989 spent 11 weeks atop the US Billboard 200 and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. (This article is part of a featured topic: 1989 (Taylor Swift album).)

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Did you know ...

Sojourner

... that the first successful Mars rover, Sojourner (pictured), was named after the Civil War era African-American abolitionist and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth?
... that the early Germanic priestess Ganna may have been named for her magic staff?
... that 125 years after the Seventh Circuit referred Graver v. Faurot to the Supreme Court to decide whether United States v. Throckmorton or Marshall v. Holmes controlled, the question is still open?
... that a Chinese corruption investigation into Gao Yan has been interpreted as a political move against Li Peng, then second-in-command of the Communist Party of China?
... that Givans Creek Woods was once used to dump construction fill?
... that a 1917 explosion broke the SS Fernebo in two, with one part drifting ashore carrying six survivors?
... that Facebook's outage on October 4, 2021, also cut off the company's internal communications, preventing employees from sending or receiving external emails or logging in to Zoom?
... that Jackie Collins likened nightclub owner Johnny Gold, not unkindly, to "an old whore"?

In the news

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

A military coup in Sudan, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (pictured), deposes the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Ahead of Barbados becoming a republic, Sandra Mason is elected as the country's first president.
Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny is awarded the Sakharov Prize.
PAICV candidate José Maria Neves is elected President of Cape Verde.

On this day

October 27

Memorial to the grounding of U137

1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The French Army of the Rhine under François Bazaine was forced to surrender after a nine-week siege of the fortifications of Metz.
1946 – Inter-religious riots in which Hindu mobs targeted Muslim families began in the Indian state of Bihar, resulting in anywhere between 2,000 and 30,000 deaths.
1981 – Cold War: The Soviet Whiskey-class submarine U137 ran aground near Sweden's Karlskrona naval base (monument pictured), sparking an international incident termed "Whiskey on the rocks".
2004 – The Boston Red Sox completed a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series, breaking the so-called "Curse of the Bambino".
2011 – Michael D. Higgins was elected President of Ireland with far more votes than any politician in the country's history.

Abulfeda (d. 1331)
William Gillies (b. 1868)
Jan Duursema (b. 1954)

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Today's featured picture

The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is a Russian Orthodox church situated at the confluence of the Nerl and the Klyazma in Bogolyubovo, Vladimir Oblast. It was commissioned by Andrey Bogolyubsky, a 12th-century Russian grand prince, and has been little altered since. The building is constructed in white stone, and has one dome and four columns in the interior. Its proportions are elongated on purpose to make its outline seem slenderer, although this architectural solution restricts its use in holding services. In 1992, the church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.

Photograph credit: Alexander Savin

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