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From today's featured article

Chris Pratt (born 1979) is an American actor. Born in Minnesota, he gained recognition by playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2009 to 2015. Pratt achieved international stardom as Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise (2014–2023), a role he reprises across multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Pratt's popularity grew with his lead role as Owen Grady in the Jurassic World franchise (2015–2022). He has ventured into voice acting, voicing Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)—the highest-grossing film based on a video game in history—and Emmet Brickowski in the Lego Movie franchise (2014–2019). Known for repeatedly portraying similar characters across multiple films, which some critics have taken issue with, Pratt is one of the most commercially successful actors in Hollywood. From 2015 to 2017, he ranked among the world's highest-paid film stars and was included in the Time 100 (2015) and Forbes Celebrity 100 (2016). (Full article...)

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Ángel Salas Larrazábal

... that flying ace Ángel Salas Larrazábal (pictured) was a co-leader of Spain for two days between the death of Francisco Franco and the ascension of King Juan Carlos I?
... that the architect of Chicago's 860–880 Lake Shore Drive nearly quit the project after his original floor plans were rejected?
... that author Jilly Cooper used Sue Macartney-Snape's illustrations to create the satirical novel Araminta's Wedding?
... that the process of lysine malonylation has been linked to diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes?
... that Ana Aguayo has won gold medals for Mexico in basketball and flag football?
... that political philosophers focus on desirable norms, while political scientists concentrate on empirical descriptions?
... that King Baldwin III was 13 or 14 when he won his first military success—after which his mother took steps to prevent a second?
... that a hoard of valuable artwork was hidden within the Morozova Mansion in 1917?
... that ten dancers dressed as furry monkeys featured in the television premiere of Through the Crystal Ball?

In the news

Michel Devoret

The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret (pictured), and John M. Martinis for their work on macroscopic quantum phenomena.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their work on peripheral immune tolerance.
The ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš, wins the most seats in the Czech parliamentary election.
Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.

On this day

October 9: Leif Erikson Day in the United States and parts of Canada, Independence Day (1962) in Uganda

Massacre of Chinese Indonesians

1708 – Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border, in present-day Belarus.
1740 – European soldiers and Javanese collaborators started massacring Chinese Indonesians (depicted) in the port city of Batavia, modern-day Jakarta: at least 10,000 people were killed.
1793 – French Revolution: After a month-long siege, the leaders of Lyon surrendered, ending their revolt against the National Convention.
1912 – Following a reduction in pay, textile workers in Little Falls, New York, walked out of their mill, starting a three-month strike.
1952 – A footman shot and killed two colleagues and wounded the lady of the house at Knowsley Hall, England.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (d. 705)
Nadezhda Stasova (d. 1895)
Yuri Tsunematsu (b. 1998)
Ben Shelton (b. 2002)

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Today's featured picture

Aluterus scriptus, commonly known as the scrawled filefish, is a marine fish in the filefish family, Monacanthidae. It has a circumtropical distribution, being found in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. It inhabits lagoons, coral and rocky reefs, seaweed fields, pinnacles, wrecks and also open water. Aluterus scriptus grows up to 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in) in length and has an elongated elliptical body shape. Its coloration is olive-brown or grey depending on its surrounding environment, with irregular blue lines and spots distributed on the body mixed with some black spots mainly on the head. The species is omnivorous with a diet including small crustaceans, algae, gorgonians, sea anemones, tunicates, fire coral, seagrasses and hydrozoans. This A. scriptus fish was photographed in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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