An American hero has died and Russians are attempting to misguide, but first: a cartoon about shopping convenience.
Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less.
Want to receive this two-minute roundup as an email every weekday? Sign up here!
Today’s News
Katherine Johnson dies at 101
Former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson has died at 101 years old. Johnson was part of a small group of African-American women mathematicians who did crucial work at NASA to put Americans into space, into orbit, and, eventually, on the moon. It was Johnson herself who calculated the precise trajectories that would allow Neil Armstrong and his team to land on the moon in 1969 and return to Earth safely. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and celebrated in the movie Hidden Figures in 2016.
Russia doesn’t want Bernie Sanders. It wants chaos
Just before the weekend, news broke that US officials had informed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders of a Russian attempt “to help” his presidential campaign. Reports also detailed a Russian attempt to help the campaign of US President Donald Trump. But make no mistake: this shouldn’t read as any kind of endorsement for Senator Sanders. “All of this is part of Russia’s much broader effort to cast democracies as feckless, ineffective, and corrupt,” says Jessica Brandt, head of policy and research for the Alliance for Securing Democracy. “In other words, to dent democracy’s appeal.”
Fast Fact: 80 Years
That’s how long researchers predicted it would be before Australia endured bushfires likes the ones it experienced this year. A new report in Nature Climate Change outlines what happened in Australia, why scientists weren’t able to predict it, and what these failed predictions could mean for the future.
WIRED Recommends: Best Travel Mugs
Keep your coffee piping hot or your beer ice cold in one of these—the best travel mugs you can find on the internet.
News You Can Use
Here’s how to share your online accounts with your friends and family safely.
This daily roundup is available as a newsletter. You can sign up right here to make sure you get the news delivered fresh to your inbox every weekday!
