George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh consisted of two concerts held in August 1971 at New York's Madison Square Garden, featuring Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and Eric Clapton. The shows were a pioneering charity event, in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and set the model for future multi-artist rock benefits such as Live Aid (1985) and the Concert for New York City (2001). We were able to view some footage of this event in class.

Today we looked at the latest news on the weather in California, where parts of the state are under severe weather warning after persistent flooding and power loss. We saw that in France there was a protest of over 1 million people against the government's plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. We then explored the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom whose mission is preventing animal extinction through conservation.

Today we looked at news from the Federal Reserve, breaking down inflation, interest rates, and government spending. Why do all of these issues matter for American households? Allergies are also in the news. More than 24 million people in the U.S. have allergies from pollen, but this year seems to be worse for many Americans. Finally, this weekend, clocks will be springing forward in the practice known as Daylight Saving Time. Many people, including the majority of our Congress want to end adjusting time 2x a year.

Kaitlin was fascinated to learn today that Charlie Watts, the late drummer for the Rolling Stones and his wife of 57 years were passionate about horses. So much so that they bred some of the finest Arabian horses in Europe at their estate in England. Interestingly, some of the world's finest Arabian horses are from Poland. Charlie Watts and his wife bred Polish Arabian horses and were involved in the equestrian world for decades. When we looked at the number of horses that were on his estate, Halsdon Farm, in Dalton, England, Kaitlin was very impressed. She also found it interesting to learn that Polish Arabian horses are the result of the spoils of war dating all the way back to the 16th century! Geographically, it makes sense as Poland has always been a geographic crossroad between Europe and "Arabia."

Today we looked at how changing weather patterns are impacting the more temperate U.S. west coast. We looked at the winter storms in California and the unusually cold weather there this winter. In CA, driveways are blocked and cars are buried under piles of snow in a state known for its beaches and sunny skies. Then, we looked at and discussed a bipartisan bill unveiled this week in Congress that could mean an end to the Tik Tok app as it is now known.

Today we learned about Teresa Gray of Mobile Medics International, a 501(C)3 non-profit, volunteer organization that provides medical care to victims of natural disaster and humanitarian crises. It was founded to provide basic healthcare to those who may not be able to access medical facilities in a disaster or those who are medically under served. As the name implies, they are a mobile team that specializes in reaching patients in remote areas. From weather-related catastrophes to refugee crises worldwide, their volunteers are ready to respond and help those affected. They achieve this goal by bringing together highly qualified medical personnel from all over the world. Unfortunately, Ms. Gray and this organization are incredibly busy in Turkey now as they assist people and try to help the country in the aftermath of last month's powerful earthquake that killed approximately 40,000 people.

Today's class focused on current events. We viewed a U.S. government diving/retrieval team going deep down to the bottom of a Great Lake (Huron), where a cargo ship was discovered after more than 120 years underwater. We learned about the technology that allowed researchers to locate the ship in preserved condition. We then viewed reports and updates on what is happening in Turkey over three weeks after an earthquake that killed 40,000 people! It will take Turkey a very long time to recover from this natural disaster.

The Beatle's songs, albums, and covers inspired people to discover their creativity in art. They also influenced society by simply being themselves. The Beatles brought a new trend and helped bridge the cultural gap between young people and adults by making music that appealed to both age groups They led the way in production and album-oriented rock. In the late 1960s, they visited India and ushered in a new interest in non-Western religions and culture. Kaitlin was introduced to world-renowned Indian musician Ravi Shankar and his influence on the Beatle's later music. She saw and heard the sounds of the Indian sitar on its own and listened to how it was incorporated into the Beatle's and much of George Harrison's music.

After the Beatles first came to America in 1964, they became international stars. Many cultural movements of the 1960s were inspired by the Beatles. The Beatles rise to international prominence signaled the many youth-driven changes in postwar societies with respect to social mobility, teenagers' commercial influence, and informality. The Beatles spearheaded the shift from American artists' global dominance of rock and roll to British acts (known in the US as the British Invasion) and inspired many young people to pursue music careers. From 1964 to 1970, the group had the top-selling US single one out of every six weeks, and the top-selling US album one out of every three weeks.

After the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Americans were shocked and bereft. One of the events that helped America and the world deal with their sorrow was the landing of the Beatles just over 2 months later in NYC. The Beatles first appeared on American television in Feb., 1964. We watched a brief clip of this. We will continue to examine how the Beatles change with the times and how they change the times. We will see that music and musical movements may often have a tremendous impact on history.