Politics:
- Trying to educate America’s future generation, Rhonda Fink Whitman is urging the government to mandate Holocaust education in public schools. Whitman interviewed college students regarding very basic facts, not only about the Holocaust but about World War Two, and found that they knew little. Holocaust education has already been made mandatory in California, New York, New Jersey, Florida and Illinois. Why not Pennsylvania?
- This year every seat in the United States House of Representatives will be up for reelection.
Science:
- NASA is sending a new spacecraft, the Orion, to the moon, the asteroid belt and Mars.
- Also involving space: celebrities, including Katy Perry, will be launched into space sometime this year.
- In Shanghai, China, construction of an underground hotel is underway. It will eventually be the “world’s lowest hotel.” This five-star hotel will go seventeen stories below ground level. If everything goes according to plan, the hotel’s first guest should check in by the end of 2014.
Entertainment:
- The Oscars are coming up on Sunday, March 2. If you watch ABC, you have likely seen the recent commercials involving a music video featuring Ellen Degeneres.
- If you’re a theatre buff, you will certainly enjoy the Tonys.
- (Given that this article is focusing on the entire year, keep in mind that the Emmys are upon us. Tune in on Monday, August 25.)
- The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, for someone who cannot stand regular sports during the regular year, can be very entertaining. The Winter Olympics ended on February 23.
- For a great followup to this short summary of events pertaining to entertainment in 2014, check out The Phoenix Inquirer‘s “2014 Movie Previews” article.