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At least 7 Russian officials have turned up dead since November

Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, died suddenly in New York earlier this week, apparently of cardiac arrest.

Churkin, Russia’s envoy to the U.N. since 2006, reportedly became ill at his Russian Mission office in Manhattan on Monday and died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He was to turn 65 the next day.

The New York City medical examiner said more study is required into the cause and manner of Churkin’s death, though federal law enforcement has said it does not believe there was any foul play.

Still, because Russia is no stranger to political murders, the sudden death of a Russian official automatically raises suspicion. 

In cities around America, thousands of construction companies, restaurants, and other businesses are bracing for “A Day Without Immigrants,” a combination boycott/strike that highlights the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and culture.

The movement is a response to President Trump’s immigration agenda, which includes a pledge to seal the U.S. border with Mexico, and a travel ban on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries (which is now on hold).

Some businesses are closing for the day; others are staying open and pledging to contribute a share of the day’s proceeds to non-profits that aid Latino communities. In a number of cases, business owners are abiding by their staffs’ wishes, after holding votes to decide whether to open.

‘A Day Without Immigrants’ Promises A National Strike Thursday

Students have been studying slavery in the U.S. for decades, so how do we keep getting it so horribly wrong? Grappling with massive, institutionalized cruelty is no easy task, especially for kids, but we owe it to American students to tell them the truth. We’ll never be able to reckon with our shared national history if we insist on sugarcoating it. Read more

EVERYBODY STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WATCH THIS.

This is one of the short films made as part of the Legendy Polskie cycle (”Polish Legends”). Directed and designed by a CGI artist acclaimed worldwide, Tomasz Bagiński, the cycle aims to present Polish folklore in a new manner, and to prove that fantasy films can be done well (or better!) outside of Hollywood.

The goal is to combine modern, world-class filmmaking with… some of the more typical aspects of Polish-ness, not only where legends are concerned.

This installment in the series does not require knowing any particular legend, the English subs are passable (though it’s less funny, some of this stuff is not very translate-able), so it’s pretty accessible to general public.

Also, really cool.

For explanations of some things that may perplex foreigners, see below.