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Fingerspelling of BASL

Black American Sign Language (BASL) is a dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) used most commonly by deaf Black Americans in the United States. The divergence from ASL was influenced by the segregation of schools in the American South based on race, creating a language community among Black deaf signers at black schools. As of the mid-2010s, BASL is used by signers in the South despite public schools having been desegregated since 1954. BASL differs from other varieties of ASL in its phonology, syntax, and vocabulary. BASL tends to have a larger signing space, and some signs are produced further away from the body than in other dialects. Signers of BASL also tend to prefer two-handed variants of signs, and some signs differ from other dialects because they borrow from African-American English. Younger signers are more likely to have a positive perception of the dialect, as they are less likely to be influenced by perceptions that segregated schools imprinted upon the dialects. ( Full article... )

Abra aequalis held on a finger

• ... that the tiny Abra aequalis (pictured) is a major food source for a species of large starfish?
• ... that Justin Timberlake's 2013 comeback single was promoted by relaunching Myspace?
• ... that George Brandt chose to have a song from the soundtrack of Pinocchio at his own funeral?
• ... that two tropical cyclones in the 1996 Pacific hurricane season made the unusual move of crossing over from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific?
• ... that the black-rumped magpie was made a full species in 2018?
• ... that after an international ice hockey career, Leszek Laszkiewicz was given an honorary citizenship of his hometown?
• ... that at Hagemeister Park , the Green Bay Packers' first stadium, fans would line the field or sit in their parked cars to watch games?
• ... that VTuber Sakamata Chloe used crowdsourcing for Christmas tree decorations?
• ... that the mating display of Servaea incana includes a "zigzag dance" in which a male moves in ever-narrowing arcs towards a female?

Kenneth Walker III

• Shootings at a residence and a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, leave nine people dead.
• In American football, the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl (MVP Kenneth Walker III pictured).
• In the Thai general election , the Bhumjaithai Party, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, wins the most seats in the House of Representatives.
• The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, wins a landslide victory in the Japanese general election .

February 12 : Lincoln's Birthday in some parts of the United States; Red Hand Day

Depiction of the Café Terminus attack

• 1894 – Ère des attentats : In one of the first acts of modern terrorism, Émile Henry threw a bomb into Café Terminus (depicted) in Paris, France, killing one and injuring 17.
• 1935 – The USS Macon , one of the largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sank.
• 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger was led away from New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, England, and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, who became the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history.
• 2001 – The NASA space probe NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
• 2016 – In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International Airport in Cuba.