Topic Reading-Vol.5109-4/20/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Fast food consumption is soaring in the cradle of haute cuisine. Quelle horreur!

French gastronomy is a culinary tradition that emphasizes seasonal, regional diversity, typically in a multi-course meal, from butter-based northern dishes to olive oil-forward southern cooking, with various kinds of bread, pastry, cheese, and wine. First opened in 1972 in a suburb of Paris, the fast-food giant McDonald’s has adapted to French tastes, as it does in other markets, and now operates over 1,500 locations across the country. Generation Z, born between 1996 and 2012, is the first true digital natives, who have grown up fully immersed in technology, social media, and the Internet. They are big fans of fast food and street food, and are feared to erode the fine French dining scene. It is estimated that the annual revenues of commercial chain restaurants in France have increased 30% from 2019 to 2023, and reached 24 billion dollars in 2024, showing an increase of one billion from the previous year. Sandwiches, burgers, and pizza are the most popular take-out foods, but the hottest one is Crousty, or Krousty. It is a viral French street food featuring crispy fried chicken tenders served over white rice with creamy sweet-and-sour sauce with additions like fried onions, chopped chives, and sesame seeds. It went viral on TikTok and Instagram and is praised for its affordable pricing, often less than 10 euros, generous volume, and convenience. Even in France, the traditional knife-and-fork dining culture seems to be shifting to a smartphone-and-fork/hand eating style. What is today’s main dish, Beef Bourguignon or TikTok?

Read the article and learn about the changing dining culture in France.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/03/travel/fast-food-france-tasty-crousty

Topic Reading-Vol.5108-4/19/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Should’ve put a ring on it? Maybe! Marriage is linked to lower risk of cancer

In general, married people tend to live longer and healthier lives than those unmarried, divorced, or widowed. Indeed, they often encourage orderly lifestyles, eat healthier food, take regular health check-ups, and establish economic stability. Also, some studies suggest that husbands gain more benefits from marriage than wives because they are encouraged to live healthier, safer lives than they live alone. However, a recently published study in the USA finds cancer rates are 83% higher for women who have never married compared with 68% for men who have previously married or have been married. Indeed, endometrial or ovarian cancers are related to reproductive mechanisms, and women who have never given birth tend to have a higher risk of these cancers. We still do not have the answer, though, as to whether marriage makes people healthier or healthier people tend to get married.

Read the article and learn about the health benefits of heterosexual marriage.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/08/health/marriage-cancer-wellness

Topic Reading-Vol.5107-4/18/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The record-breaking trip of the USS Gerald Ford, the aircraft carrier at the center of Trump’s military ambitions

Commissioned in 2017, the USS Gerald Ford is the lead ship of a new class of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 12. Loaded with more than 4,500 crew members and over 75 aircraft, the 100,000-ton vessel is the world’s largest warship ever constructed. Departing the Norfolk naval base last June, the USS Ford sailed to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, North Sea, and then to the Caribbean. After helping capture then-Venezuelan President Maduro in January, she was diverted to the Mediterranean and then to the Red Sea to launch waves of aircraft to attack Iran. The carrier has already been deployed for over 11 months, the longest for an aircraft carrier, and has experienced considerable wear and tear. Also, keeping the morale of sailors and officers is another challenge for such a long deployment. Captain Sage, a female Labrador retriever therapy dog, has been on board the Ford since 2023, helping reduce stress and interrupting detrimental behaviors of the crew. Even though the ship is the most advanced and powerful in the world, such a long, uncertain deployment seems to be causing crew members and their families significant mental stress and burden.

Read the article and learn about the behind-the-scenes of the long-deployed mighty US aircraft carrier.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/12/politics/uss-gerald-ford-iran-venezuela-navy-trump

Topic Reading-Vol.5106-4/17/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Djibouti's president wins unprecedented sixth term with 97.8% of vote

Surrounded by Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Red Sea, the Republic of Djibouti is a small country in the Horn of Africa with a population of around one million. It became independent from French rule in 1977. Since 1999, the Islamic country has been ruled by the same president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, who was just reelected this month after the previous reelections in 2005, 2011, 2016, and 2021. The election saw over 80% turnout, with 98% voting for the incumbent president, who scrapped term limits in the 2010 constitutional reform. Last year, the parliament passed a bill lifting age limits for the presidency, allowing Guelleh to run for his sixth term at the age of 78. He isn’t the only leader who was democratically elected with an overwhelming majority. Russian President Vladimir Putin received 87% ovtes in the 2024 election, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote in 2020, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad won 95% in his last election in 2021, and several other leaders in African and Central Asian countries won over 90% votes. Were their challengers so unpopular or removed?

Read the article and learn about another overwhelming victory of Djibouti’s 2nd president.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj0wg423n6o

Topic Reading-Vol.5105-4/16/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

TV for dogs booms but are they watching?

Recently, videos for dogs have become popular among dog owners who worry about leaving their dogs home alone. Such videos show what humans assume is entertaining to dogs, such as puppies playing with other animals, humans, or toys. There are many such dog-friendly videos available, which are entirely created or partly assisted by AI. You may wonder if dogs are colorblind, but they see colors just differently from humans. They can distinguish between variations of blues and yellows quite well, but not so well between red and green like humans. Producers of dog-entertainment videos believe their color-enriched videos do entertain dogs when they are left unattended, but the question remains whether dogs actually like seeing non-interactive videos on a two-dimensional TV screen in the first place. However, some studies found that such videos indeed draw dogs’ attention and provide a meaningful experience to some extent. Since dogs and humans are emotionally more connected than ever before, we ought to learn more about how we can improve their well-being, especially when we leave them at home. Then what about smartphones?

Read the article and learn about dog-entertainment videos when they are home alone.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq59leg3gp5o

Topic Reading-Vol.5104-4/15/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

These two iconic polar species have been driven to endangered status by a warming planet

Established in 1964, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. More than 170,000 species have been assessed for the list to inform and catalyze action for biodiversity conservation and policy change. Its new assessment has moved two iconic Antarctic species, the emperor penguin and the Antarctic fur seal, to “Endangered” (EN) status, a very high risk of extinction. The emperor penguin has lost its population mainly due to early breakup and losses of sea ice caused by global warming. Since emperor penguins live and breed on sea ice connected to the coastline, their habitat has been lost as sea ice decreases. The population of the Antarctic fur seal has decreased by more than 50% in the last 25 years as krill availability declines, their main food source. As surface water temperatures increase near Antarctica, krill have moved farther offshore and into deeper waters, which has made it harder for land-based seals to capture them. Since both species have no alternative place or food to live on, their future depends on the environment, which is heavily affected by humans.

Read the article and learn about two Antarctic species whose future is endangered.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/09/climate/emperor-penguins-fur-seals-antarctic-endangered

Topic Reading-Vol.5103-4/14/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Automatic military draft registration takes effect in December. Here’s how it would work

The USA has a draft system for emergency conscription. All male U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and immigrants are required to register in most states, but starting in December this year, men ages 18 to 25 in all states will be automatically registered for the military draft pool. Once approved by Congress and signed by the President, the military draft is activated, and a lottery is conducted to determine the order in which men are called based on birthdays. In the past, nearly three million in World War I, 10 million in World War II, 1.5 million in the Korean War, and almost two million young men in the Vietnam War were conscripted. Driven by Russian aggression and a deteriorating security environment, several countries in Europe have recently reintroduced or expanded military conscription, including Germany, Denmark, and the Baltic countries. While unmanned vehicles and autonomous weapons are taking major roles in battlefields, the need for manpower still seems prevalent in the military. Will housework robots also be recruited and converted to serve in the military?

Read the article and learn about the recent update of the US’s conscription service.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/09/politics/us-military-draft-registration-2026