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Ethiopia: Some 65,000 Ethiopian Jews from different groups have moved to Israel since 1974. Israel’s chief rabbis believe they are descended from the lost tribe of Dan. Others say they are descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Many Ethiopians were so isolated they thought all Jews were black. They did not know of the standardization of Jewish law, the Talmud, or Hanukkah. Mexico: As reported in the Wall Street Journal, a tribe of Indians living 100 miles north of Mexico City claims to be descended from clandestine Jewish soldiers from Spain who arrived with Hernán Cortés in 1519....

Chimney sweeps: Small children, 6 to 8 years old, crawled up chimneys and loosened the soot with a broom. They often worked 12-hour days. Gillie boys: These boys helped fishermen. They baited hooks, pulled nets, and prepared food. Loblollies: These boys were surgeons’ assistants and worked on military ships. Office boys: Young boys worked in offices sharpening pencils, stuffing envelopes, sweeping floors, and running errands. Powder monkeys: These boys worked on warships and at forts, carrying gunpowder to the cannons during battle....

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Buffalo Bills Went to four Super Bowls, lost all of them More from Package Feature

Tiktaalik joins several other significant transitional fossils—the most famous of which is Archaeopteryx, the part-bird, part-reptile considered the “missing link” between birds and dinosaurs, which was discovered in 1860, just two years after Darwin published The Origin of Species. The transformation of aquatic creatures into land animals took place during the Devonian period, about 410 to 356 million years ago. But before the discovery of the 375-million-year-old Tiktaalik fossils, there had been no actual fossil evidence to illustrate this crucial evolutionary moment....

A Brooklyn, N.Y., native and student at St. John’s University, Smart will be competing in the men’s sabre competition. He will also be joined by his younger sister Erin, who qualified in the women’s team foil competition. Before he left for Australia, Keeth explained to Infoplease Editor John Gettings what it takes to be a good fencer and to compete in front of the world. The biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in; people from all over the world; a lot of fun and hopefully, some friendly competition....

Related Links Minority Oscar Winners SlideshowMovie TimelineMore Movie Awards Person with most Oscar wins:Walt Disney won 26 awards. Most were in short subject categories. Most Best Actor awards:Daniel Day-Lewis (3) Most Best Actress awards:Katharine Hepburn (4) Most Nominated Performer:As of 2015, Meryl Streep has a record 19 Oscar nominations, 15 as Best Actress (also a record), and 4 as Best Supporting Actress. So far, she has won three Oscars. She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Kramer vs....

Stardust captured the comet particles from Comet Wild-2 (pronounced Vilt) when the spacecraft flew within 149 miles of it on Jan. 2, 2004, roughly in the vicinity of Jupiter. The spacecraft’s collector swept up particles left in the comet’s wake, preserving them in a silicon material called aerogel, which cushioned and protected the particles on their long journey to Earth. The Stardust samples offer a time capsule to our primordial past....

Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of the Federal District Court for the Southern District, issued a preliminary injunction in February 2015, temporarily blocking the provisions of the executive order that would give deportation deferrals to parents of U.S. citizens or legal residents who have been in the U.S. for more than five years and expand a 2012 program to allow people under age 31 who were brought to the U.S. as children to apply for two-year deportation deferrals and work permits....

The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous. Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion’s skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo....

Top Ten Unusual Animals A few of the unsung wonders of the animal world

Meanwhile, protesters throughout Europe have come out strongly against it with demonstrators blocking drilling sites in several countries. Fracking has been banned in Bulgaria and France. What exactly is fracking? Does scientific research back up the bad rap fracking has received? What is Fracking Exactly? Fracking is the shortened version of the term hydraulic fracturing. It is a process used to open and widen rocks below the earth’s surface by injecting a mixture of liquids and chemicals at a high level of pressure....

Belt: tongue, punch holes, keeperBroom: neck (where stick is attached to broom)Clothespin: grinning hole, claw endComb: spine, teethDoor: lintel, jamb, thresholdEyeglasses: eye wires (surround glass), budge (bridges the nose), temples (hook over the ears)Hair dryer: barrel, air ventsHat: brim, crownHot dog roll: hingeHot dog string: linker twineNail: shank, headPadlock: shackle (movable arched bar)Pail: ears (where handle attaches to pail)Paper clips: legs (straight), bends (rounded)Safety pin: shaftScissors: blades, pivot, bow handle (large), ring handle (small)Shoe: aglet (tip of shoelace), welt (between upper and sole), counter (back panel)Sock: toe, gore (back)Stairs: tread, riser, railing, banister, newel postStaple: crown, legsToothbrush: block handle, block head (where bristles are inserted)Window: lintel, sill, panes, sashZipper: pull tab, slide, teeth