Reloading a page I was viewing last night, and a 5px black bar has appeared site-wide on HackerNews. A search provided no one else asking the question, so I'm asking it.
The black bar is how HN pays its respects as a community to people who have left an impact on this world with their passing.
This old Ask HN touches on the same question you are asking, as a black bar appeared on the Brussels event date and Andy Grove's death. I hope it clarifies that this black bar is not connected to an anniversary of an event.
Would it not be possible to add a tooltip to the top bar on hover when it has this styling? Or maybe a link to the relevant discussion thread? It's awkward to see this in the morning and then have to go search recent HN posts for "has died".
For anyone else confused, today is the first anniversary of the Charlottesville incident, where violence occurred between the "Unite the right" group, and a counter protest. A car was also driven into protesters, killing 1.
Today a state of emergency was put in place by the state, to give specific state powers to the police, to keep the peace.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17716098