January 16, 2015
Hollywood dominated the news this week with the announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominations. Check out the full list of this year’s contenders below, along with some other stories that caught our attention:
- Oscar Buzz: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its 2015 list of Oscar nominees this week. “Birdman” leads the race with 9 nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Michael Keaton. Oscar favorite Meryl Streep also snagged her record 19th nomination for her portrayal of The Witch in “Into the Woods.”
- Vive la France!: The first edition of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to be published since the attack on its office sold out within minutes of hitting newsstands. The controversial cover of the “Survivor’s Issue” featured an image of the Prophet Muhammad with a tear rolling down his cheek and holding a placard that says “Je Suis Charlie.” The saying has swept France and the world, with the irreverent newspaper being embraced as a symbol of freedom of speech.
- Flu Fright: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that this year’s influenza vaccines are less effective than usual because the viruses used to make them aren’t a good match for the viruses now spreading across the country. According to the report, flu vaccines are only 23% effective this season – bad news in a particularly harsh year for the virus.
- Off Target: Target Corp. announced this week that it will close up shop in Canada. In his first major move since taking the helm of the retail giant last August, CEO Brian Cornell has decided to shut down all 133 stores across Canada due to lack of profitability.
- Hair Out There: An international panel of scientists at Stanford University released a report this week speculating that any extraterrestrials that exist may have hair entirely different from that of humans. Researchers used computer simulations to predict how hair might develop in a variety of extreme planetary conditions. Among their findings was the hair-raising revelation that, in addition to brown, black, blond and red tones, alien hair colors could fall anywhere along the visual spectrum – or even be completely translucent. Mystery solved!
