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From today's featured article
"White Horse" is a single by Taylor Swift (pictured) from her second studio album, Fearless. A country pop song, the ballad is driven by a finger-picked guitar and includes piano and cello accents. The lyrics incorporate fairy-tale imagery of princesses and white horses: a narrator is heartbroken that her boyfriend is not an ideal figure and leaves her town to find another partner. Big Machine Records released the track to US country radio on December 8, 2008. Music critics lauded "White Horse" for its somber production and portrayal of heartbreak, but some found the lyrics uncreative. In 2010, the song won Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. In the US, the single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It was also certified in the US, Australia and Canada. Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song for her album Fearless (Taylor's Version). (Full article...)
Did you know ...
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- ... that Fred J. Wiseman (pictured) delivered the world's first unofficial airmail flight by airplane?
- ... that a TV station in North Carolina changed its call letters in memory of its general sales manager, who was shot dead in an incident at its studios?
- ... that little has been known of the exact whereabouts of Iranian communist leader Ashraf Dehghani since she escaped prison in 1973?
- ... that the contestants on Jet Lag: The Game played a game of capture the flag that spanned the entirety of Japan?
- ... that Daniel McCaffery campaigned on protecting abortion rights in the 2023 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election, even though judicial candidates typically avoid commenting on specific issues?
- ... that the Chinese government began compiling an official history of the Qing dynasty in 2002, but as of 2023 a protracted political review is forestalling its publication?
- ... that a Nebraska radio station chartered an aircraft to search for motorists stranded after a blizzard?
- ... that the wrestler Brillante Jr. is the younger cousin of the wrestler Brillante Jr.?
In the news
- At least 17 people are killed as Cyclone Michaung (satellite image shown) makes landfall in India.
- Amidst a diplomatic crisis with Guyana, a referendum supports the Venezuelan government's claim to the disputed Guayana Esequiba region.
- A bombing at Mindanao State University in Marawi, Philippines, kills four people.
- Mount Marapi erupts on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, killing 23 hikers.
- Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger dies at the age of 100.
On this day
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Roman Rite Catholicism); Rōhatsu in Japan
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British commander-in-chief Sir William Howe withdrew his troops from the Battle of White Marsh to Philadelphia.
- 1963 – After being struck by lightning while in a holding pattern, Pan Am Flight 214 crashed near Elkton, Maryland, U.S., killing all 81 people on board.
- 1980 – English musician John Lennon was murdered at the entrance of the Dakota, his residence in New York City.
- 2009 – Bombings in Baghdad carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq killed at least 127 people and injured at least 448 others.
- 2010 – The Japanese experimental spacecraft IKAROS (model pictured) flew by Venus at a distance of 80,800 km (50,200 mi), completing its planned mission to demonstrate solar-sail technology.
- Adolph Menzel (b. 1815)
- Father Mathew (d. 1856)
- Nicki Minaj (b. 1982)
- Ann T. Bowling (d. 2000)
From today's featured list
Basshunter, a Swedish singer, record producer and DJ, has recorded more than 100 songs since 2004 for five studio albums and two compilation albums. His first album, The Bassmachine, was released in 2004, and his second studio album, LOL, was released in 2006. This was followed by the singles "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" and "Vifta med händerna", on which Basshunter collaborated with Patrik & Lillen. In 2008, he released a cover version of "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band and "All I Ever Wanted", followed by his third studio album, Now You're Gone. Basshunter's fourth studio album, Calling Time, was released in 2013. Its tracklisting included four songs that had been released as singles over the preceding three years: "Saturday", "Northern Light", "Dream on the Dancefloor" and "Fest i hela huset", a track that Basshunter had recorded with contestants on the fifth season of the reality television series Big Brother. (Full list...)
Today's featured picture
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Mount Api is a limestone mountain located in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is part of the same formation as Mount Benarat and Mount Buda. Mount Api is notable for its striking limestone karst formations, commonly known as "the pinnacles". The mountain hosts many caves, with passages linking to the massive Clearwater Cave system. It features a great diversity of pitcher plants, with at least eight different species recorded on the mountain. This 2019 photograph shows the karst pinnacles near the peak of Mount Api. Photograph credit: Nur Nafis Naim
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