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Jewish head coverings called kippot

Menora v. Illinois High School Association is a case heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which centered on two Jewish schools which sued the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) when the IHSA would not let them compete in a basketball tournament unless student-athletes removed their kippot (examples pictured) from their heads during play. The schools argued that their First Amendment right of freedom of religion was violated. The IHSA stated that banning the kippot was reasonable because they could fall off during play, risking player injury. The Seventh Circuit held that no conflict would exist if the schools designed a head covering that was not a safety risk. The case was settled in June 1983, allowing kippot to be worn with contour clips. Legal scholars criticized the Seventh Circuit's false conflict approach in the decision as unsupported by precedent. American Jewish communities largely took it as a win that the students were allowed to play with kippot on. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Keely Hodgkinson

... that Keely Hodgkinson (pictured) broke an athletics world record that had been set on the day that she was born?
... that the writer of "It Makes No Difference Now" sold the song for $300 before it became a hit that was covered by Ray Charles, the Supremes, and Merle Haggard?
... that South Hampstead Synagogue has been described as a "model of elegant simplicity in wood, glass and stone"?
... that Sundae Girl is a children's novel that deals with dementia and alcoholism?
... that some communities bake flatbread by covering it in sand?
... that an Arizona TV station running a marathon of Star Trek caused a buying frenzy of blank videotapes in the local area?
... that Amy Hart left her job as a cabin crew manager to appear on Love Island?
... that, when it came time to close Gaming Historian, its creator released a swath of court documents from Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.?
... that linguist Julian Granberry also hunted ghosts?

In the news

Yang Shuang-zi

In association football, Arsenal win the Premier League.
A gas explosion at a coal mine in Changzhi, Shanxi, China, leaves at least 82 people dead.
Author Yang Shuang-zi (pictured) and translator Lin King win the International Booker Prize for Taiwan Travelogue.
In golf, Aaron Rai wins the PGA Championship.

On this day

May 25: International Missing Children's Day; Memorial Day in the United States (2026); Africa Day (1963)

Oprah Winfrey

1644 – Ming–Qing transition: Ming general Wu Sangui allowed the invading Manchu to cross the Great Wall of China, enabling them to capture Beijing and establish the Qing dynasty.
1816 – The poems Kubla Khan and Christabel by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge were published.
1961 – A fire broke out at a squatter settlement in Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore, rendering approximately 16,000 people homeless.
2011 – The final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated daytime talk show in U.S. television history, hosted by Oprah Winfrey (pictured), was broadcast.

Panka Pelishek (b. 1899)
William Bowyer (b. 1926)
Cillian Murphy (b. 1976)
Chloé Lukasiak (b. 2001)

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Timberlake performing on his 20/20 Experience World Tour in 2014

American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake has embarked on seven concert tours during his solo career, five of which have been worldwide and two of which have been collaborative. His 2003 debut, The Justified World Tour, began with intimate gigs at clubs and theaters in the United States and Australia before expanding to arenas in Europe. In summer 2003, Timberlake and Christina Aguilera headlined The Justified & Stripped Tour. Later that year, he recorded the song "I'm Lovin' It", used by McDonald's as the theme to its "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. The deal with McDonald's earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million. A tour titled Justified and Lovin' It Live was included with the deal, following his initial Justified World Tour. For the release of his second album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, Timberlake embarked on his second worldwide tour, FutureSex/LoveShow, in 2007, which eventually became the third highest-grossing concert tour of the year. During the tour, he visited Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. (Full list...)

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The Kelpies are a pair of steel horse-head sculptures located between Falkirk and Grangemouth in Scotland. They stand next to the M9 motorway at the eastern gateway to the Forth and Clyde Canal. Designed by sculptor Andy Scott and completed in 2013, each structure stands 30 metres (98 ft) high and weighs around 300 tonnes. Inspired by the kelpies of Scottish folklore and Clydesdale horses, the sculptures celebrate the role of working horses in Scottish industry, agriculture and canal transport. They form part of a local parkland project known as The Helix. The structures were created based on miniature models created by Scott, which were then laser-scanned. Following their opening in 2014, the sculptures quickly became a major attraction, drawing almost one million visitors within their first year.

Sculpture credit: Andy Scott; photographed by Steven Straiton

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