Of the estimated 458 wildlife encounters that prove fatal for Americans each year, 440 of them are with deer. This map, based on crash data from State Farm, shows where Americans are most likely to have a auto claim involving an animal, with drivers in West Virginia, Montana, and Michigan being the most likely to collide with an animal.  According to State Farm, about 70% of animal-related auto claims nationally are due to collisions with deer specifically. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/20/deer-car-collisions/.)

As this map shows, thus far, the winter has proved warmer than usual in most of Europe, which has allowed natural gas and other energy prices to fall back to more normal levels. But a colder-than-usual winter in parts of Asia is creating natural gas shortages and heating problems in China, in particular.   (Map from www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/business/china-natural-gas-shortages.html.)

Cursory. Misnomer. Squall. Abjure. Those are recent words featured as the New York Times Learning Network's word of the day.  During the school year, the site offers a new word each day (M-F) along with examples of the word's usage from The New York Times.  www.nytimes.com/spotlight/learning-quizzes-crosswords

Megacities are generally defined as metropolitan areas of at least 10 million people. There are currently 33-35 megacities, depending on who is counting and who is being counted. This map looks at cities expected to reach megacity status by 2050: bucket.mlcdn.com/a/2764/2764870/images/0d7ca37bc55b1c8101a1a5e77cb243aae75162b2.jpeg

As this article from Foreign Policy makes clear, FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried were not based in the Bahamas just because of the pleasant weather.  Instead, the Bahamas was chosen for its crypto-friendly regulatory framework, the most recent banking initiative of an island nation that has frequently found ways to take advantage of interstices in the global economy. foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/15/the-hidden-history-of-the-worlds-top-offshore-cryptocurrency-tourist-trap

This article from The Washington Post provides a fascinating look at cutting-edge techniques for exploring remote places -- including the use of diving robots and sensors on animals -- as well as the significance of the Denman Glacier in East Antarctica.  www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/18/climate-change-glacier-antarctica/

A new ban on high-capacity magazines and assault-style weapons came into effect in Illinois earlier this month, resulting in this map of states that have laws on the books for these: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/18924.jpeg

When can a promise be changed in the face of altered circumstances? That is the crux of the issue behind major strikes in France this week over the government's proposal to raise the retirement age by 2 years, from 62 to 64, in 2030.  According to Stanford's Center for Longevity, half of today's 5-year-olds can expect to live to age 100 -- and, according to the Center for Longevity, we are not ready. Economic impacts are among the most obvious, from personal savings to growth-centric economic models to pension policies. For example, when the forerunner of France's pension system was established in the 1940s, life expectancy in France was less than 60; today French life expectancy is 82, and government spending on pensions comes to slightly more than 14% of GDP. But our attitudes towards aging, purpose, caregiving, the elderly, promise-keeping, even longevity itself may all be revisited in the years ahead.

January 25 is Robert Burns Night, a worldwide celebration of the Scottish poet. If you are looking to learn more about Robert Burns or Burns Night, check out https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night. If you would like to find a local Burns Night celebration, Google "Burns Night event near me" -- you may be surprised how many options turn up.

This graphic from Statista, based on data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows the changing composition of undocumented migrants apprehended at the southern U.S. border over the last 20+ years, from largely Mexican citizens to largely people from countries other than Mexico. Over the last year, more than two-thirds of the non-Mexican migrants were NOT from Central America.  www.statista.com/chart/20326/mexicans-non-mexcians-apprehended-at-southern-us-border

Scientists continue to try to draw attention to Utah's Great Salt Lake, which is rapidly disappearing due to drought and water use policy. Without intervention, the Great Salt Lake may be entirely gone within 5 years! The issues are similar to Central Asia's Aral Sea: the diversion of water from the rivers that feed the lake leaving behind an expanse of toxic dust, threatening both wildlife and human health. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/06/great-salt-lake-utah-drying-up/

The ranges of three types of fungi that cause serious lung infections (histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, and blastomycosis) are expanding in the U.S., as the series of maps based on Medicare data in this article show: www.sciencenews.org/article/fungi-cause-serious-lung-infections-found

This article explores the ethics of organ sales and invites readers to consider the extent to which humans are just sophisticated machines and, like other sophisticated machines -- say, your car -- occasionally require replacement parts that, perhaps, the marketplace should supply. Iran's organ-matching nonprofit is a case study.  www.wired.com/story/kidney-donor-compensation-market

The U.S. Department of State and Google Maps are now on board with Turkey's request to spell the name of the country "Türkiye." (To make the necessary ü in Word, use control-: and then the u.)

The University of Maryland is now accepting registrations for its summer Terp Young Scholars program for smart, motivated high school students. This is a three-week program for college credit, with options to participate in person (as a commuter student) or online. (Unfortunately, there is no residential option this year.) oes.umd.edu/pre-college-programs/terp-young-scholars

A handful of acres in Jerusalem contain some of the holiest sites of both Islam and Judaism, as this map suggests. The accompanying article from The Washington Post explains why the area is a religious and political flashpoint and why it may be in the news more often with Israel's current government: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/05/temple-mount-al-aqsa-ben-gvir-israel/

Not all global issues or leadership choices are political. Many are economic. This podcast from Foreign Policy's economics columnist highlights global economic issues to keep an eye on in 2023: foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/ones-and-tooze/three-economic-stories-to-watch-in-2023/

This interactive map from the Census Bureau shows which U.S. states have the largest proportions of senior citizens (the greener the state, the larger the proportion of the population age 65 or older): www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/population-65-and-older-2021.html

The University of Texas at Austin's Center for Media Engagement houses a substantial collection of case studies in media ethics that might make for interesting discussion or co-op use:  mediaengagement.org/vertical/media-ethics/

This geo-graphic from Statista looks at "land grabs" in the developing world, defined as "the buying, leasing or concession land use for commercial purposes by companies from abroad, affecting land that had previously been used communally, by small-scale shareholders or was natural environment." (Until 2019, the country experiencing the most land grabs was Peru, but Peru is not on this list because it has been reclassified as an upper-middle income country.) cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/19044.jpeg

This article from Foreign Policy profiles 14 elections to watch in 2023, from Turkey and Nigeria to Argentina and Finland: foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/01/top-global-elections-2023-nigeria-thailand-turkey-pakistan-argentina-poland-bangladesh

For more than 7 years, Egypt has been planning and building a new capital city 40 miles east of Cairo. New Administrative Capital, as the city is called, is not yet complete, but civil servants are being asked to move to the new capital beginning this month, in the hope that other Egyptians will follow: www.wsj.com/articles/egypt-is-spending-billions-on-a-new-capital-that-egyptians-may-not-visit-11671838772

It's been about 70 years since gold was actively mined in Virginia, but with industrial gold use rising -- including in computer chips, printed circuit boards, medical applications, and as a catalyst -- Virginia is exploring the health and environmental impacts of a resumption of mining. This map shows former and potential mining locations in the state: tinyurl.com/546ndhps (Map from www.bayjournal.com/news/pollution/report-virginia-ill-equipped-to-deal-with-the-revival-of-gold-mine-industry/article_fcff4ae4-69da-11ed-8cfb-e7dbe084e37c.html.)