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Happening in the World: A group of astronomers at Princeton have used artificial intelligence to reprocess the 2019 image of the M87 black hole, vastly improving the quality of the photograph. The new image will help astronomers understand how well the black hole fits with Einstein’s theory of relativity. (NYT)

Happening in the US: The US Appeals Court has temporarily blocked a decision by a Texas judge which would halt the Government’s approval of a common abortion drug, Mifepristone. The ruling will generally maintain access to the drug but will require a doctor’s visit to obtain it and will limit its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy from the current 10. (BBC)

Happening in NYC: The New York City Council has officially passed a bill to ban the sale of guinea pigs across all five boroughs. Guinea pig sales spiked during COVID and so did unintentional guinea pig breeding, causing an excess of small rodents to overflow onto the streets. In the midst of a rat crisis, New York City is taking bigger steps to protect its streets. (Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: As part of their “black poesis/radical composition” speaker series, the Columbia Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender will host Canadian poet Dionne Brand. The event will feature a reading followed by a small seminar led by Professor Saidiya Hartman exploring themes of sonic production, visual culture, critical thought, and textual assemblage. The reading will occur at 4:00 pm followed by the seminar at 5:45 pm. Registration is required.

Guinea pig via Wikimedia Commons