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1897 Invasion of Benin City by British Expeditionary Force; the city is burned and looted, ending the Nigerian Kingdom of Benin formed in the 11th century

Image 02/09/2025 Nativegrl77

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Cold weather – Advisory

02/09/2025 Nativegrl77

from Mon, Feb 10, 6:00 PM PST to Wed, Feb 12, 10:00 AM PST

What

Very cold wind chills as low as 10 to 20 degrees.

Where

Bellevue and Vicinity, Bremerton and Vicinity, Everett and Vicinity, Seattle and Vicinity, and Tacoma Area.

When

From 6 PM Monday to 10 AM PST Wednesday.

Impacts

Very cold temperatures can lead to hypothermia with prolonged exposure and will impact vulnerable populations such as the homeless, pets, and those without adequate access to heating.

Summary

Keep pets indoors as much as possible. Make frequent checks on older family, friends, and neighbors. Ensure portable heaters are used correctly. Do not use generators or grills inside.

Issued By

NWS Seattle WA

Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Slavery – Understand the Scale of Modern Slavery

02/09/2025 Nativegrl77

Modern slavery is hidden in plain sight and is deeply intertwined with life in every corner of the world.

Each day, people are tricked, coerced, or forced into exploitative situations that they cannot refuse or leave. Each day, we buy the products or use the services they have been forced to make or offer without realising the hidden human cost.

An estimated 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021, an increase of 10 million people since 2016.

Walk Free’s flagship report, the Global Slavery Index (GSI) provides national estimates of modern slavery for 160 countries. Our estimates draw on thousands of interviews with survivors collected through nationally representative household surveys across 75 countries and our assessment of national-level vulnerability.

With the exception of contributions from external authors, the Global Slavery Index is produced by Walk Free. We are solely responsible for the contents of this report.

Each day, people are tricked, coerced, or forced into exploitative situations that they cannot refuse or leave. Each day, we buy the products or use the services they have been forced to make or offer without realising the hidden human cost.

An estimated 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021, an increase of 10 million people since 2016.

With the exception of contributions from external authors, the Global Slavery Index is produced by Walk Free. We are solely responsible for the contents of this report.

walkfree.org

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1995 – Bernard Harris becomes the first Black Man to Walk in Space

02/09/2025 Nativegrl77

NASA astronaut

Born	Bernard Anthony Harris Jr. June 26, 1956 (age 67) Temple, Texas, U.S.
Education	University of Houston (BS, MBA) Texas Tech University (MD) University of Texas, Galveston (MS)
Space career
Time in space	18d 6h 8m
Selection	NASA Group 13 (1990)
Total EVAs	1
Total EVA time	4h 39m
Missions	STS-55 STS-63
Mission insignia

NASA astronaut Bernard Harris becomes the first Black man to walk in space. His mission contributes to a burgeoning collaboration between the United States and Russia in space exploration.

The Space Race

Bernard Harris stepped out of the space shuttle Discovery in orbit on February 9, 1995. He first embarked on the unlikely journey toward his historic spacewalk as a child, inspired by stargazing in his home state of Texas. Harris described his determination to become an astronaut as a “big leap of faith” at a time when the Apollo 11 moon landing shared headlines with the struggle for civil rights. “The main challenge was the color of my skin.”

Harris earned his medical degree and completed a residency at the Mayo Clinic before joining NASA as a flight surgeon. As an M.D. at NASA, Harris researched how human bone reacts to space flight, and he designed medical devices to help astronauts’ bodies adapt. In 1990, NASA selected him as part of its 13th astronaut class. In his career as an astronaut, Harris spent 18 days in space—and about five hours on his historic spacewalk. He recalled the awe of floating in space, seeing “this blue and white planet…against this backdrop of stars that I initially saw from Earth, and now see in space… Everything had its place. I have a greater sense of belonging, of the connectedness of all of us.” Throughout his NASA career, he traveled more than 7.2 million miles in space.

For the complete article: history.com