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Tonight the U.S. Congress gathers to hear a speech in a tradition as old as the country itself.
Tonight U.S. Pres. Donald Trump delivers a joint address to Congress in an annual political tradition that began with George Washington on January 8, 1790. Technically, tonight’s speech is a “joint address” rather than a State of the Union address—a title reserved for the second, third and fourth years of a president’s term. And although the U.S. Constitution requires the president to “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,” the practice wasn’t always done in person. The country’s first two presidents did make annual addresses, but third president Thomas Jefferson instead provided a written report to Congress. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the practice of delivering a speech in person became firmly rooted. In 1913 Woodrow Wilson revived the personal address and shifted its focus, changing it from a simple recapitulation of the executive branch’s recent activities to a road map of the president’s legislative agenda for the upcoming year.
Coffee prices have been on the rise worldwide due to a shortfall in supply, as farmers struggle to maintain production amid the higher temperatures of climate change. But a rarely used—and drought-resistant—type of coffee called excelsa may hold the answer to a better balance between supply and demand. Excelsa is native to parts of Africa and is farmed in several Asian countries, but currently comprises a fraction of the global coffee market.
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This Chinese AI company rose to international fame in January following the release of its chatbot and large language model.
The largest known arachnid by mass, this South American tarantula has an appetite that extends beyond insects and earthworms.
Here’s a look at the history of DEI programs, which aim to address historical and systemic disparities, in the United States.