Learn Spanish (Latin America): Según el mensaje, el líder del proyecto va a renunciar. - According to the message, the project leader is going to resign.

Según means "according to." It is a very common way to report information from a source, which is why it appears in this lesson! However, unlike a reporting verb like dice (says), según is followed directly by a noun (el mensaje), not by the word que. If you wanted to use a reporting verb instead, you would say: El mensaje dice que el líder...

Renunciar looks a lot like the English word "renounce." Is that what it means here?

While it can translate to "renounce" in some contexts, it is a slight "false friend." When talking about a job, a role, or a project, renunciar is the standard Spanish word for "to resign" or "to quit."

I see el líder used for "the leader." Does the word change if the leader is a woman?

The noun líder itself doesn't change, but the "the" before it does! It becomes la líder for a female leader. Because this sentence uses el líder, we know this specific project leader is male.

Just as a refresher, why does the sentence use del proyecto instead of de el proyecto?