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

Topic Reading-Vol.5102-4/13/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Businesses scramble to get noticed by AI search

Search behavior is rapidly changing. Instead of searching for information on search engines like Google, people are asking questions to AI like ChatGPT to get answers and recommendations. As smartphones have become the primary device for accessing the Internet, AI chatbots are more time-saving and convenient. While search engines are looking for keywords, AI engines are using large language models (LLMs) to understand, process, and generate human-like text by analyzing massive datasets. Accordingly, in addition to keywords that are caught by search engine optimization (SEO), businesses are now trying to improve answer engine optimization (AEO) to be ranked higher on such AI tools. For example, instead of eye-catching keywords or images to catch human eyes, summaries, lists of information, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are shown on the top page to grab AI’s attention. This is critical for businesses that depend on web traffic because, unlike search engine visitors who may still be searching and comparing information, AI visitors have already been guided by AI, thus more prospective. Businesses must adapt to changes in devices and technologies to survive. 

Read the article and learn about the behavioral change from searching to asking.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70n2rjgxeyo

Topic Reading-Vol.5101-4/12/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How India plans to count 1.4 billion people

A census is an official count of a population conducted periodically by the government to record demographic, economic, and social data. It is essential to plan social infrastructure, allocate budget, and ensure political representation. This month, India, the world’s most populous country, started its 16^th census to enumerate more than 1.4 billion people. In the first six months, government officials and school teachers will visit each household to collect details of their living and economic conditions, such as homeownership, essential amenities like drinking water and sanitation, home appliances, and vehicles. In the second phase scheduled next year, they will gather data on demographics, income, education, migration, and fertility. Also, for the first time in nearly 100 years, caste will be counted to ensure representation in politics, allocation in government jobs, and admissions to schools from lower castes. A total of 33 questions will be asked by humans in nearly 640,000 villages and 10,000 towns across the country over a year-long period. How will the next census be conducted a decade later?

Read the article and learn about India’s massive census project.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/07/india/india-census-population-explainer-intl-hnk