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Star Spaghettification Black Hole - This animation depicts a star experiencing spaghettification as it’s sucked in by a black hole during a ‘tidal disruption event’. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser Scientists hope to improve their understanding of the growth of supermassive black holes in massive galaxies by studying intermediate-mass black holes. After lurking undetected in a dwarf galaxy, an intermediate-mass black hole revealed itself to astronomers when it gobbled up an unlucky star that strayed too close. Known as a “tidal disruption event” or TDE, the violent shredding of the star produced a flare of radiation that briefly outshone the combined stellar...

A high school in Michigan has reversed course after initially telling a graduating senior that references to her Christian beliefs were "not appropriate" for her upcoming valedictory speech, her lawyers say. After receiving a demand letter from the First Liberty Institute, officials at Hillsdale High School relented after pressuring student Elizabeth Turner to alter the valedictory speech for her June 6 graduation ceremony. "I’m grateful I will be able to share my faith with my classmates, and I pray that God uses this situation to advance His kingdom," Turner said in a statement Thursday shared by First Liberty Institute, a...