Playboy to no longer show nuditY–
On Monday, Oct. 12 Playboy Magazine announced that it will no longer publish fully nude photos. This is the first time in the history of Playboy, which Hugh Hefner founded in 1953, that no nudity will be shown in its magazine. Many see the move as ironic—Playboy was the first fully nude magazine that more or less introduced a sexual revolution. The magazine’s website already removed the nudity last year to relaunch its image as a Safe For Work website. The company seems sure of itself in becoming a credible news source—a title it once held when it interviewed the likes of MLK, Jimmy Carter and Steve Jobs.
NASA Outlines Plan to Get Humans on Mars–
After the recent announcement of water on Mars, NASA revealed their three-part plan to land humans on the planet by 2030 in a report released last week. The three major steps are titled; Earth Reliant, Proving Ground and Earth Independent. The first step deals with the logistics of how to get there by preparing humans for survival on the planet and improving technologies such as 3-D printing and life support systems. The next phase, Proving Ground, will have humans learn to adapt to new spaces, conditions and situations similar to those on Mars. The final step will have humans approach the planet, with its moons serving as waylay stations that allow humans to land on the surface of the planet.
“Mars is an achievable goal…There are challenges to pioneering Mars, but we know they are solvable. We are developing the capabilities necessary to get there, land there, and live there,” NASA said in the outline.
Nine New Cities Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day–
For the past 81 years, the second Monday of October has been officially designated as Columbus Day. But over the past 25 years, Americans have shifted the focus from the European explorer to Indigenous people. Last year, the Seattle City Council voted for the renaming of Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. This trend, which started in 1990 when South Dakota began celebrating Native American Day, has grown slowly over the years, with Berkeley, Calif. following shortly after in 1992 with the first ever Indigenous People’s Day. This year, nine new cities have made the change including Portland, Ore., Olympia, Wash., Albuquerque, N.M., and St. Paul, Minn.—the biggest increase ever in the history of the holiday.
Cecil the Lion’s Killer To Not Face Charges–
Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe this summer, will not face charges. The July 1 killing sparked outrage around the world and led to Palmer closing his office for several months. Palmer reportedly paid $50,000 to kill 13-year-old Cecil. Authorities in Zimbabwe claim that Cecil was lured off the protected land of Hwange National Park before being shot by Palmer.While it was Zimbabwean officials who cleared Palmer of the charges, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force still hopes to pursue more charges in U.S. Courts.
Democratic Debate–
The first Democratic Debate was held on Oct. 13 and featured candidates Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb. The debate covered a wide range of topics and lasted longer than two hours. The issues discussed included race relations, domestic surveillance, the 1 percent and upper class, Wall Street reform and college tuition affordability. Clinton held the longest talking time—according to The New York Times—at 31:05, with Sanders coming in shortly behind at 28:05. Chafee came in last with 9:11 minutes of speaking time. Multiple sources including The New York Times, CNBC and Forbes list Clinton as the overall winner of the debate, but social media polls told a different story. Sanders amassed some 35,000 followers on Facebook compared to Clinton’s 18,000, according to Time Magazine. The next debate will be held on Nov. 9 in Rock Hill, S.C.
