Yet Another Crisis at the Border
More than two million migrants tried to cross into the United States during the 2022 fiscal year, according to data released this week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The number surpassed the previous record of 1.7 million set in 2021. The influx is fueled, in part, by dramatic increases in the number of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. And the issue of immigration has become once again a point of intense political division within the United States.
Fleeing authoritarianism
More than 25,000 immigrants from Venezuela tried to enter the U.S. in August. Many fled the dire economic conditions and harsh political policies imposed by their leader.
Migrants vs. refugees
There can be a lot of confusion about the terminology and what the difference is. The answer may surprise you, so read on.
The role of U.S. politics
This Florida governor, along with his Texas counterpart, Greg Abbott, has made headlines by sending immigrants to other jurisdictions. His move to fly asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts largely drew condemnation from Democrats and applause from Republicans.
Powerless in Puerto Rico
Just five years after being devastated by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is again struggling in the aftermath of a hurricane. Fiona, a category-one hurricane, made landfall on Sunday, with maximum sustained winds of 85-miles-per-hour. Unrelenting rainfall caused flash floods and landslides, and the storm knocked out the island’s electricity. Hurricane Fiona has since intensified as it continues to wreak havoc across the Caribbean.
What Happened During Hurricane Maria?
Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images
Watch How Hurricanes Form
© GSO Images—The Image Bank/Getty Images
How Are They Ranked and Named?
South Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team of the South Carolina National Guard
Popular on Britannica
features
- Why Is Charles I Buried with Henry VIII and Jane Seymour?
- What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
- Do We Really Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brain?
- How Did King George V Really Die?
- How Did the Sperm Whale Get Its Name?
- Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
- First Day of Fall
- What’s the Difference Between Monkeys and Apes?
- Is 27 an Especially Deadly Age for Musicians?
- Pro and Con: School Uniforms
lists
- 7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers
- New Seven Wonders of the World
- 7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World
- 9 Noteworthy Bog Bodies (And What They Tell Us)
- 9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders
- 7 Animals That Turn White in Winter
- 10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
- 8 Questions About the Moon Answered
- 5 Components of Information Systems
- 7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles
Symbols of Liberation
The Virgin of Guadalupe
In 1531 Mary was said to have appeared before an indigenous man in Mexico, and this Marian apparition became a symbol of empowerment. When Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for revolt against the Spanish, the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe offered inspiration for the people of Mexico.
“El Precursor” to Simón Bolívar
Francisco de Miranda—who fought for American independence under George Washington—led a revolutionary army in Venezuela in 1810. He was caught and imprisoned in 1812, but his attempt paved the way for Simón Bolívar years later.
The first animal domesticated by humans was the dog, possibly as early as 30,000 years ago.
See All Good FactsBrowse by Category
Entertainment & Pop Culture
Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.
Featured
-
choral music
vocal music
-
True or False: Walt Disney
Who was Walt Disney’s first cartoon? Who was the first...
-
Quick Quiz: 20th Century Monsters
What horror movie plagiarized Bram Stoker’s Dracula?...
Geography & Travel
Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.
Featured
-
Southeast Indian
people
-
5 Significant Buildings in Delhi
Know before you go.
-
5 Buildings to See in Istanbul
Know before you go.
Health & Medicine
The study of the human mind and body, how these function, and how they interact—not only with each other but also with their environment—has been of utmost importance in ensuring human well-being. Research on potential treatments and preventive medicine has expanded greatly with the development of modern medicine, and a network of disciplines, including such fields as genetics, psychology, and nutrition, aims to facilitate the betterment of our health.
Featured
-
SARS
pathology
-
Whose limb is it anyway? On the ethics of body-part disposal
Patients ought to be able to choose what happens after...
-
At what age are people usually happiest? New research offers surprising clues
Happiness comes to those who wait.
Lifestyles & Social Issues
It's easy enough to agree that human beings all around the world have certain basic requirements that must be fulfilled in order to ensure their individual and collective well-being. History has shown us, however, that it's not so easy to form societies or communities that fulfill these requirements for all members. The fight for human and civil rights has persisted for hundreds of years and remains alive today, both within the borders of nations and on an international scale. It has led to large-scale social movements and reforms concerning issues such as suffrage, slavery, women's rights, racism, environmentalism, gay rights, and much more.
Featured
- human rights
-
Cannibalism: Cultures, Cures, Cuisine, and Calories
A short history of one of society’s biggest taboos.
-
Where Did the Word Hippie Come From?
Peace, man.
Literature
With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.
Featured
- South Asian arts
-
Name that Mark
What languages use the tilde? What is a "tittle"? Test...
-
Literary Devices
Do you know synecdoche from metonymy? Test your knowledge...
Philosophy & Religion
Humans have long pondered not only how we came to be but also why we came to be. The earliest Greek philosophers focused their attention upon the origin and nature of the physical world; later philosophers have theorized about the nature of knowledge, truth, good and evil, love, friendship, and much more. Philosophy involves a methodical assessment of any and all aspects of human existence and experience. The realms of philosophy and religion have sometimes intersected in conducting such inquiries as these. As with philosophy, the study of religion underscores how humankind has long speculated about its origins. The possibility of a higher being (or beings) to which livings things owe their existence has long captived human thought. Many religions also offer their own views on the nature of good and evil, and they may prescribe guidelines and judgment on different kinds of human behavior.
Featured
- historiography
-
Pope Francis apologized for the harm done to First Nations peoples, but what does a pope’s apology mean?
A Catholic theologian observes how papal apologies...
-
Penance and plague: How the Black Death changed one of Christianity’s most important rituals
A medieval historian explains how the Black Death changed...
Politics, Law & Government
The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.
Featured
- military aircraft
-
What Is the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law?
Who initiates, standards of proof, and the case of...
-
What’s the Difference Between a Migrant and a Refugee?
Everyone is looking for somewhere to belong.
Science
How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.
Featured
-
meta-analysis
statistics
-
Periodic Table of the Elements
Test your bond with the periodic table of elements...
-
Ins and Outs of Chemistry
You may know that elements make up the air we breathe...
Sports & Recreation
Physical contests and recreational games have long played a part in human society. In both team and solo sports, the human body has been pushed to its limits in the name of improving athletic performance and in order to break record upon record. The ancient Olympic Games are an early example of the contests in which humans have engaged to showcase physical prowess. In modern times, sports and games have evolved into a lucrative and competitive industry, while other leisure activities, such as card and video games, can be competitive or just serve as a way to unwind or socialize.
Featured
-
snowboarding
sport
-
Quick Quiz: On The Ice
We won’t give away the contents of this quick quiz...
-
Quick Quiz: Card Games and Games of Chance
Where did the 52-card playing deck come from? What...
Technology
Humankind has long striven to improve its living conditions through the development of tools, instruments, and transportation and communications systems, all with the goal of making our lives easier, more productive and—why not?—more fun, too. Thanks to human curiosity and technological research, many significant inventions have been made throughout history that in turn made a difference in our daily lives.
Featured
-
energy conversion
technology
-
True or False: Video Games Through the Ages
From Pong to World of Warcraft, from...
-
Everyday Stuff Developed by NASA
How much of your stuff could be used in space?
Visual Arts
These are the arts that meet the eye and evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination. They include the most ancient forms, such as painting and drawing, and the arts that were born thanks to the development of technology, like sculpture, printmaking, photography, and installation art. Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, different eras in art history have had their own principles to define beauty, from the richly ornamented taste of the Baroque to the simple utilitarian style of the Prairie School.
Featured
- outsider art
-
Can You Guess If These Famous Paintings Are In New York City Or Not?
Can you see Washington Crossing the Delaware...
-
How Much Do You Know About Art and Architecture in Sweden?
You don’t want to be unprepared for your next trip...
World History
Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages.
Featured
-
Byzantine Empire
historical empire, Eurasia
-
Exploring Russia: Fact or Fiction?
Although it is the largest country in the world, how...
-
Africa at Random: Fact or Fiction?
You may be familiar with the West African stories of...
More From Britannica
ProCon.org
Award-winning ProCon.org promotes critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the pro and con arguments to controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.
Britannica Reviews
Our team at Reviews by Britannica helps you shop better and smarter – with expert advice on products in Home, Learning, Wellness, and Tech.
Advocacy for Animals
Presenting Advocacy for Animals, a blog focused primarily on animal rights, wildlife conservation, environmental health and safety, and the legal and cultural issues related to these topics. This blog is a source of information and a call to action. It is meant to be a provocation and a stimulus to thought regarding humanity’s relationship with nonhuman animals.
Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain has been writing a weekly interview column for the Italian newspaper La Stampa since 1989. His interviews celebrate some of the best known and successful personalities of the present day.

