I am excited to announce the long-awaited and highly anticipated release of the MyHeritgage new DNA ethnicity model: Ethnicity Estimate v2.5. The new model provides higher-resolution results compared to the previous model, v0.95, and nearly doubles the number of ethnicities identified by MyHeritage, from 42 to 79. Here is the announcement from MyHeritage: First, an honest confession: We know that many of our DNA users have been looking forward to this update for a long time. We initially released the intended model, v2, in June 2024 to a relatively small subset of thousands of users and ran surveys to gather feedback. The feedback was okay, but this wasn’t good enough for us; we wanted it to be great. Several flaws were raised in the survey. So, we decided not to roll out v2 to all users, and our team went back to work to improve the model further. We apologize for this delay, but we put quality above all else. In that time, we developed a better algorithm, overcoming shortcomings in the v2 model, and released the new model, v2.5, to the same subset of users, plus thousands of others. Again, we surveyed these users, and this time, the feedback was significantly better. Users reported being happier with the new model compared to both the original ethnicity model (v0.95) that we’ve been using for years, and compared to v2. Today we’re delighted to release Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 to everyone. New MyHeritage DNA users will receive Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 results from day one. As for existing MyHeritage DNA users who have received v0.95 ethnicity results before: we want everyone to be comfortable with their results, so we’re giving them the choice: Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 is opt-in, and is not automatically activated for our existing DNA users, so it will not override the previous ethnicity results. It’s up to you to decide if you want to see the new results, or if you prefer to stick with the original ones. If you decide to receive your updated results, you’ll be able to switch back and forth between the models at any time using a simple dropdown on the results page. Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 is free for all users. Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 Overview The Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 model is based on advanced new algorithms developed by the MyHeritage Science Team from the ground up following two years of extensive research and fine tuning. The new ethnicity breakdown provides better resolution; for example, individuals whose DNA results previously showed Scandinavian ethnicity will now receive results specifying what percentage of their ethnic makeup is Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish. Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 Highlights Identifies 24 percentage-based European ethnicities. Quite a few of the new percentage-based ethnicities, such as Armenian, are unique to MyHeritage and not identified by other tests. Distinguishes between 15 different Jewish ethnicities, more than most other DNA tests on the market. Learn more in our blog post about Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 and please see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CffkVq74joo. Please share this news far and wide, and please share your new ethnicity results, too! People love to see these videos with the spinning globe animation and they tend to go viral — this one for example has 846K likes and 57.1K shares. To download the video of your ethnicity results, open your Ethnicity Estimate on the MyHeritage website, and click the download button on the upper right corner of the map (from desktop) or tap the video icon and select “Download video” (from mobile web). You can find more detailed instructions here.

Today is the first day of the month. That is a good time to back up your genealogy files. Then test your backups!

Your backups aren't worth much unless you make a quick test by restoring a small file or two after the backup is completed.

Actually, you can make backups at any time. However, it is easier and safer if you have a specific schedule. The first day of the month is easy to remember, so I would suggest you back up your genealogy files at least on the first day of every month, if not more often. (My computers automatically make off-site backups of all new files every few minutes.)

Given the events of the past few months with genealogy websites laying off employees and cutting back on services, you now need backup copies of everything more than ever. What happens if the company that holds your online data either goes off line or simply deletes the service where your data is held? If you have copies of everything stored either in your own computer, what happens if you have a hard drive crash or other disaster? If you have one or more recent backup copies, such a loss would be inconvenient but not a disaster.

Of course, you might want to back up more than your genealogy files. Family photographs, your checkbook register, all sorts of word processing documents, email messages, and much more need to be backed up regularly. Why not do that on the first day of each month? or even more often?

Since 2016, Microsoft Word users have had access to Smart Lookup, a nifty feature that lets you right-click on a word or phrase and bring up definitions, synonyms, and relevant links to sites like Wikipedia.

Now, however, Windows Latest reports that Microsoft has decided to retire the Smart Lookup feature. If you check out the Smart Lookup support page, Microsoft has added a notice at the top:

“Important: Smart Lookup will be retired starting on January 1, 2025.”

As of this writing, if you right-click on a word or phrase and select Search “[word/phrase]” in the context menu, it’ll open up the Search pane like usual, but you won’t get any search results. It’ll get stuck loading before eventually saying: “Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again.”

Smart Lookup was long powered by Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, and it actually worked quite well. So why remove it? The only reasonable answer is that Microsoft wants to push users toward Copilot. If you want to look up stuff — not just definitions and synonyms but anything else — then you’ll have to start relying on Copilot.

Not only has Smart Lookup been removed from Microsoft Word, but it’s also been removed from the standalone Office 2024 suite… an unusual move because Copilot can’t be used there at all.

(Image courtesy of U.S. Mint)

The U.S. Mint’s 2025 Native American $1 Coin features Native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui.

Pukui was an author, hula dancer, composer, educator, archivist and keeper of Native Hawaiian knowledge. She died in 1986 at age 91. 

In 2021, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, sent a letter then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the U.S. Mint to honor three prominent women from Hawaii in the American Women Quarters Program. Edith Kanakaole was featured on a quarter in 2022, Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink was featured on a quarter in 2023, and now Mary Kawena Pukui is on the $1 coin.

“Mary Kawena Pukui’s work, from her translations to compositions, have sustained Hawaiian language and culture for generations,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono in a statement. “She was a prominent Native Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, and dancer dedicated to strengthening and preserving Hawaiian culture. I am glad to see the Mint honoring Mary Kawena Pukui on this year’s Native American $1 Coin design, and hope that people across the country will learn more about her valuable contributions to uplift Native Hawaiian language, history, and culture.”

Launched in 2009, the Native American $1 Coin program honors and recognizes the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans, according to the U.S. Mint. 

The coin’s “heads” side includes a portrait of Sacagawea carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste, while the “tails” side features Mary Kawena Pukui wearing a hibiscus flower, a kukui nut lei, and a muʻumuʻu. In the background, there are stylized depictions of water and the saying “Nānā I Ke Kumu,” which translates to “Look to the Source.” 

Nānā I Ke Kumu is the title of a series of books that Pukui helped produce with the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Center. According to the U.S. Mint, the phrase is evocative of Pukui’s life, work, and legacy, as she was someone who was consulted for her expertise on various aspects of Hawaiian knowledge.

The Department of Justice’s removal of a database detailing criminal charges and convictions related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol from its website appears to be illegal. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to the Archivist of the United States and the Inspector General of the Department of Justice urging them to take action and investigate the likely violation of federal law. 

On January 20, 2025, President Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people charged for crimes related to their conduct in and around the January 6th attack on the Capitol, including many who violently assaulted police officers. Following the pardons, the DOJ removed a database that included information on all related cases prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Deleting the database appears to violate 44 U.S.C. § 3106 which requires that agencies notify the archivist upon the removal or deletion of federal records. There is no indication that the DOJ reported the deletion to the National Archives and Records Administration. 

The DOJ’s removal of this database is squarely in line with President Trump’s ongoing efforts to rewrite or erase the insurrection and likely violates federal law. CREW urges NARA and the DOJ IG to investigate and take appropriate action including instructing the agency to issue a report in accordance with federal requirements. 

Read the letter here

You can find an interesting article by Malea Hargett at: https://arkansas-catholic.org/2025/01/30/family-tree-building-hobby/. 

Discover and experience your personal family history, explore your origins, your ancestors, and how your family has evolved over the course of time. MacFamilyTree 11 offers you a wide range of options to capture and visualize your family history. Search the free FamilySearch archive, which contains billions of genealogical entries, and continue your research on the go, using MobileFamilyTree (available separately) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

No matter how you want to document your findings, MacFamilyTree 11 is the perfect genealogy companion for you. Display your relationships in reports, visually appealing charts, the innovative Virtual Tree 3D view, or invite other users to contribute to your family tree in real time by using the free "CloudTree Sync&Share" feature. You, your relatives, and your ancestors deserve to be remembered!

Also available for iOS & iPadOS: MobileFamilyTree 11

You can read a lot more about the new release at: https://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree.

In October 2001, the remains of an unidentified individual were discovered in Detroit, Michigan. The partially-skeletonized remains were found by workers who were removing debris from a vacant dwelling. It was determined that the remains were that of a Black male who was between the ages of 35 and 50 years. The man was estimated to be 5’10” tall and had black hair with kinky curls. It was estimated that the man had died months prior to the discovery of his remains. The man could not be identified and details of the cases were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP8239.

In April 2023, the Detroit Police Department teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy could help generate new leads and assist with identifying the unknown man. Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the forensic evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used this profile to conduct genealogy research, ultimately providing new investigative leads to law enforcement.

Using these new leads, a follow-up investigation was launched leading to potential family members of the unidentified man. The follow-up investigation led to a potential relative of the man, who provided a reference DNA sample. The potential relative's DNA profile was compared to the DNA profile developed for the unknown man using KinsSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the identification of the man as Viktor Dickson, who was born in December of 1956.

The identification of Viktor Dickson represents the 14th case in the State of Michigan where officials have publicly announced the identification of an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit DNASolves to learn about other Michigan cases.

The Israel State Archives released a searchable digital collection on Monday of 380,000 pages from the 1961 Jerusalem trial of SS officer and Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann.

The Israeli government is making the documents available to the public to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The pages uploaded to an advanced search engine include testimony, lists, photographs, court files, and correspondence between the State Attorney’s Office and then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

Israel Police compiled the “Bureau 06” materials for the 1961 trial. Bureau 06 was a team formed to investigate and prepare the State of Israel’s charges against Eichmann.

Among the materials is the testimony of Holocaust survivor Yehiel De-Nur (Ka-Tsetnik), who collapsed during the trial and could not testify in court but recounted the horrors of Auschwitz and his chilling encounter with Eichmann to the police.

De-Nur described his horrific transport to the Nazi concentration camp in Poland, the deadly selections, and his haunting encounter with Eichmann, whose gaze he described as “hypnotic and terrifying,” comparing it to looking through “the eyeholes of the death’s-head [symbol] on his cap.”

The collection is accessible online via the Israel State Archive website, along with a video link to De-Nur’s courtroom collapse.

Florida authorities are looking to connect with the family of a woman whose body was found more than 40 years ago in Brevard County, hoping to learn her identity.

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office connected with the DNA Doe Project in 2019 to help build a DNA profile for the woman.

Who is Jane Doe?

The backstory:

The woman's body was found in October 1980 in Brevard County, according to the DNA Doe Project. Officials said her case is being investigated as a homicide, though the woman's identity has been a mystery for more than 40 years.

Officials said the woman had previously been arrested in Pinellas County, though she reportedly gave a fake name, date of birth, and social security number. She was later found dead in Brevard County. Officials said she had been shot.

In 2019, her remains were given to the DNA Doe Project, who established a DNA profile for her.

According to the DNA Doe Project, the woman was 5' 6" tall, weighed 120 pounds, and was estimated to be between 21 and 30 years old at the time of her death.

The DNA Doe Project is encouraging anyone who recognizes this woman to contact them at case-tips@dnadoeproject.org.

Our news partners at FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that the woman may have lived in Clearwater, Florida, in the 1970s.

Finding Jane Doe's family tree

What we know:

Teams at DNA Doe Project are using the woman's DNA to try and find her family tree and where her relatives may live. They've traced a branch to Anson, North Carolina, which is southeast of Charlotte – and nearly 8 hours from Orlando, Florida.

From there, they need the public's help. 

They've asked anyone who may have lived in Anson, North Carolina in the 70s and recognized the woman to contact DNA Doe Project via email, case-tips@dnadoeproject.org. 

"African Americans are underrepresented in the DNA databases we use, so it's been slow going," said Jenny Lecus, co-lead on the woman's case, in a prepared statement.

They're encouraging people who've taken DNA tests, through sites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe.com, to upload them to databases they use: GEDmatch.com or FamilyTreeDNA.com.

 "We really need more members of the public to upload to help us fill in the gaps and connect the dots between her genetic relatives and our Jane Doe," Lecus said in a statement.

What is the DNA Doe Project?

The DNA Doe Project is a volunteer organization that seeks to identify John Does and Jane Does – and return their remains to their families, a news release said.

They use DNA and genealogy to identify unknown persons by looking into their biological relatives.

The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and the DNA Doe Project.