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Editor's note
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Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not the biggest shopping days of the year, globally speaking. Those days have retail sales less than one-tenth the amount consumers spend on Nov. 11. For 15 years, that day, 11/11, has been known as “Singles Day,” a holiday that began in China as a time for people to celebrate being single – much as Valentine’s Day is for celebrating couplehood. Online retail scholar Venkatesh Shankar at Texas A&M explains how this increasingly international marketing event shows the rising power of China’s consumer economy.
Next year, the U.S. Congress will include at least 123 women – a record high. These newcomers will make waves in Washington, and not just because female lawmakers often bring greater attention to issues like sexual harassment, the wage gap and child care. Because women are typically more collaborative and inclusive decision-makers, their influence could actually get an extremely polarized Congress working again, write Wendy K. Smith
and Terry Babcock-Lumish.
Climate change is warming the Arctic and reducing its sea ice cover. Less sea ice means more ships moving through the region in warmer months – and that could have a big impact on marine mammals. Research from the University of Alaska and University of Washington shows that narwhals and walruses could be most vulnerable, and highlights the need for regulations to protect these unique animals.
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Jeff Inglis
Science + Technology Editor
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Top stories
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A mascot for Alibaba’s online shopping site Tmall urges customers to buy on Singles Day.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Venkatesh Shankar, Texas A&M University
Chinese customers spend billions on Nov. 11. Why, and what does it mean for the global retail marketplace?
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Currently, there are 84 women in the U.S. House of Representatives. That number is about to rise to at least 100.
Office of Nancy Pelosi
Wendy K. Smith, University of Delaware; Terry Babcock-Lumish, University of Delaware
Research shows that women work more collaboratively than men in groups and create more inclusive solutions to thorny problems. More women in Washington could bridge America's yawning partisan divide.
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A pod of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in central Baffin Bay. Narwhals are the most vulnerable animals to increased ship traffic in the Arctic Ocean.
Kristin Laidre/University of Washington
Donna Hauser, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Harry Stern, University of Washington; Kristin Laidre, University of Washington
Climate change is shrinking Arctic sea ice and opening the region to ship traffic. Whales, seals and other marine mammals could be at risk unless nations adopt rules to protect them.
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Arts + Culture
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Elizabeth Heineman, University of Iowa
Physician Magnus Hirschfeld advocated for those he called 'sexual intermediaries.' His activism began before World War I - and ended only when the Nazis came to power.
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Alexey W. Root, University of Texas at Dallas
With the World Chess Championship set to begin Nov. 9 in London, Alexey Root, who teaches online courses about chess in education, tackles some myths and unknowns about the royal game.
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Politics + Society
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Richie Zweigenhaft, Guilford College
In the next Congress, white men will make up 60 percent of the House and 71 percent of the Senate – a historic low.
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Mary Alice Haddad, Wesleyan University
Big city mayors with serious commitments to limiting greenhouse gases did well at the polls on Tuesday.
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Steven Mulroy, University of Memphis
He was a champion for 'law and order' policies at the highest level.
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From our international editions
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Adam Brumm, Griffith University; Maxime Aubert, Griffith University; Pindi Setiawan, Institut Teknologi Bandung
The cave paintings in Borneo show people and animals and are now thought to be the world's oldest example of figurative art.
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Karen Fontijn, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Gezahegn Yirgu, Addis Ababa University
To be better prepared for future eruptions there's a need to understand and monitor poorly known volcanoes, even in remote places.
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Brett Carter, RMIT University
When dozens of US mines planted in waters off the Vietnam coast detonated almost simultaneously in 1972, all eyes turned to the Sun for an explanation.
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