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From today's featured article

Gaga performing "Bad Romance"

"Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga (pictured) from her third extended play, The Fame Monster (2009). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. It is an electropop and dance-pop song with a spoken bridge. The lyrics, which describe Gaga's attraction to unhealthy romantic relationships, were drawn from the paranoia she experienced while on tour. "Bad Romance" topped charts in more than 20 countries and sold 12 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. It won two Grammy Awards and was named one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Its music video received critical praise, won various accolades (including seven MTV Video Music Awards) and was briefly the most-viewed video on YouTube in 2010. Gaga has performed "Bad Romance" on multiple occasions, including at the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Karađorđeva šnicla with accompaniments

... that Karađorđeva šnicla (pictured) was accidentally created as an improvisation of chicken Kiev?
... that activist Joan McIntyre left Friends of the Earth to start her own organization focused on stopping Japanese and Russian whaling?
... that Sandra Ng wore her own clothes while filming Love Lies to help the production crew save on the budget?
... that the world's largest video game studio is headquartered in a former textile factory?
... that Renaissance-era weapons designer Abramo Colorni performed magical illusions and card tricks for his patrons?
... that Ogeretsu Tanaka was inspired to create the manga series Happy of the End after taking a morning walk in Shinjuku?
... that in 1825 the Suquamish leader Kitsap led an alliance of tribes stretching from the Columbia River to Puget Sound to stop the Cowichan slave raids wreaking havoc on the Sound?
... that a judge is threatening to shut down Wikipedia in India over a defamation lawsuit?
... that a South Dakota radio station went from a university to "Guns, Gold & Rock 'n' Roll"?

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 19

Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky by Benjamin West (c. 1816)

1579 – A ceremony was held in Edinburgh marking the coming of age of James VI of Scotland as an adult ruler.
1752 – The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment (depicted) to determine the electrical nature of lightning.
1914 – First World War: Allied forces began engaging German troops at the First Battle of Ypres.
1944 – The Guatemalan Revolution began with a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launching a coup against dictator Jorge Ubico.

John Rolph (d. 1870)
Demetrios Christodoulou (b. 1951)
Josef Hoop (d. 1959)
Ali Treki (d. 2015)

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Today's featured picture

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory under construction. Part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) agency, it is located on top of Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The project was proposed in 2011 with construction beginning in 2017. Completion and first light is anticipated to take place in 2028. The ELT's design consists of a reflecting telescope with a 39.3-metre-diameter (130-foot) segmented primary mirror and a 4.2 m (14 ft) diameter secondary mirror. When completed, it will be the world's largest optical telescope. This picture shows a schematic view of the ELT, released by the ESO in 2012.

Design credit: European Southern Observatory

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