The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The National Book Awards were established in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, abandoned during World War II, and re-established by three book industry organizations in 1950. Non-U.S. authors and publishers were eligible for the pre-war awards. Since then they are presented to U.S. authors for books published in the United States roughly during the award year. The nonprofit National Book Foundation was established in 1988 to administer and enhance the National Book Awards and "move beyond [them] into the fields of education and literacy", primarily by sponsoring public appearances by writers. Its mission is "to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture."In 2018, there were 1,637 books nominated for the five award categories, led by the Nonfiction category with 546 nominations. The 2018 ceremony was held...

The 2023 NBA playoffs is the ongoing postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2022–23 season. The playoffs began on April 15 and will end with the conclusion of the 2023 NBA Finals. Overview Updates to postseason appearances The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason for the seventh consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the NBA for the third time in the last five seasons. The Denver Nuggets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. The Nuggets also entered the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Boston Celtics entered the postseason for the ninth consecutive season, currently the longest such streak in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers entered the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. The Brooklyn Nets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. The Miami Heat entered the postseason...

This is a list of mass shootings that took place in the United States in 2023. Mass shootings are incidents in which several people are victims of firearm-related violence. Several different inclusion criteria are used; there is no generally-accepted definition. Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group that tracks shootings and their characteristics in the United States, defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people, excluding the perpetrator(s), are shot in one location at roughly the same time.The Congressional Research Service provides a definition of four or more killed. The Washington Post and Mother Jones use similar definitions, with the latter acknowledging that their definition "is a conservative measure of the problem", as many shootings with fewer fatalities occur. The crowdsourced Mass Shooting Tracker project applies the most expansive definition: four or more shot in any incident, including the perpetrator....

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical science laboratory programs that include nanoscale science and technology, engineering, information technology, neutron research, material measurement, and physical measurement. From 1901 to 1988, the agency was named the National Bureau of Standards. History Background The Articles of Confederation, ratified by the colonies in 1781, provided: The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states—fixing the standards of weights and measures throughout the United States. Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, granted these powers to the new Congress: "The Congress shall have power .....

Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are either sold in their wet form or are sun-dried and either cut into rectangular blocks or sold in bulk. It is an essential ingredient in many curries, sauces and sambal. Shrimp paste can be found in many meals in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is often an ingredient in dip for fish or vegetables. History Trasi, (Indonesian-Javanese fermented shrimp paste; alt. spelling: terasi), as mentioned in two ancient Sundanese scriptures, Carita Purwaka Caruban Nagari and Mertasinga, had been around in Java before sixth century. According to Carita Purwaka Caruban Nagari, Cirebon had angered the King of Galuh Kingdom after they stopped paying a tribute (in the forms of shrimp...