Metal detectorist unearths rare 1,000-year-old golden pendant in field near Downton Abbey location
Nick Berry dug up a rare 1,000-year-old Anglo-Saxon golden pendant on farmland in the village of Ashmansworth, a few miles from Highclere Castle in Hampshire
Flydubai hijacker called for women to be 'stomped on' in religious rants while studying at British university
Hamam al-Hammami, 29, severely wounded captain Smit Machchhar using the onboard crash axe as he tried to take control of the Flydubai plane on its way to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Radio Broadcasters Support America's 'AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act'
Last month, the U.S. House passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. They call it "a bipartisan effort to require AM radio in new vehicles," adding that the bill now "awaits action in the Senate, where a companion measure has already garnered support, according to public records."
Broadcasters said AM radio remains a critical source of information, offering news and weather alerts, particularly when cell networks and internet service are disrupted or unreliable... "AM radio — all radio — has always been about connection, and in Chicago, especially, the connection is incredibly strong," Mary Sandberg Boyle, vice president and general manager of WGN-AM 720, said. "You don't need a subscription. You don't need a data plan or an app. You turn on the radio, and it's there..." Boyle said the accessibility of radio becomes especially important during severe weather and breaking news situations. "That's when local radio is really more important because we have the ability to stay live, pivot our content and what we're covering, and we can access a large amount of audience members very quickly and keep everybody safe," she said. Boyle also serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters, which has argued that preserving AM radio access is an access issue rather than a matter of nostalgia.
The legislation emerged after several automakers removed AM radio from certain electric vehicle models, citing interference from electric power systems. Companies including Tesla, Rivian, Volvo and others have either eliminated or limited AM radio in some EVs. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers, has opposed the requirement. In congressional testimony last year, President and CEO John Bozzella argued that "analog AM radio does not contribute to motor vehicle safety" and requiring it as standard equipment "is not necessary to ensure public safety."
Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Transportation would be required to develop regulations ensuring AM radio remains available in new vehicles sold in the U.S. The measure would also bar automakers from charging consumers separately for AM radio access... While public discussion around the legislation has largely focused on emergency alerts and news access, some scholars say preserving AM radio also has implications for media diversity... "I think the media landscape is really overwhelmingly homogenized right now, and AM radio is important in many markets," [said Zachary McDowell, associate professor of communications at the University of Illinois Chicago]. "It's a space that still allows for all sorts of different voices that is still open and accessible."
The article also includes this quote from Rodney Gibbs, executive director of Heartland Signal, which operates a local talk radio station. "Despite the kind of shiny objects that digital media is, AM radio still has a viable and durable audience. It's a daily, unscripted, authentic conversation between the host and the listeners. You don't get that from broadcast television. You don't get that from digital media."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Labour hits highest poll rating since 2024 after Burnham's conference speech... as snap election fever rages
Labour support was up two points to 30 per cent in the latest Opinium research, the highest level the firm has detected since 2024.
Happy retirement, PD Harley! Police dog hangs up his collar after eight years 'on the frontline catching criminals'
Over the course of nearly a decade, Police Dog Harley of Cleveland Police has hunted heartless thugs and callous crooks, often 'putting himself between [his handler] and danger'.
Olivia Attwood shares a passionate kiss with boyfriend Pete Wicks in new loved-up snaps from her River Island collection launch party after he opened up about their 'unexpected' romance
The presenter, 35, celebrated her latest collection with the designer at a glitzy event at the MAINE in Mayfair.
Police appeal to find missing boy, 15, who hasn't been seen for three days
South Wales Police said Connor, 15, was last seen in Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on Thursday around 9am.
Disney/Marvel's 'Avengers: Endgame' Beats 'Avatar' as Top-Grossing Film, 'Coyote vs Acme' #1 on Apple TV
James Cameron's Avatar is no longer the highest-grossing movie in box office history. That honor now goes to the Disney/Marvel Studios film Avengers: Endgame. Variety explains:
"Avatar" spent a decade as the biggest release ever until "Avengers: Endgame" overtook the record in 2019 during its initial run on the big screen. "Endgame" dropped to No. 2 on all-time charts in 2021 when "Avatar" returned to theaters in advance of 2021's "Avatar: The Way of Water." Five years later, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes have triumphed over the Na'vi again.
Disney is popping Champagne no matter which big-screen behemoth claims the No. 1 spot. "Avatar" was released by 20th Century Fox, which Disney now owns after the companies merged in 2019... [Last week's] re-release of "Endgame" has generated more than $126 million worldwide.
Together the 38 Marvel Studios movies "have generated more than $35 billion worldwide," notes an announcement on Disney's web site, "making the Marvel Cinematic Universe the most successful film franchise in history."
Their announcement adds that Disney "is responsible for seven of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time." That list also includes James Cameron's Titantic and his first two Avatar movies, but also this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Dayand the earlier film Spider-Man: No Way Home, plus Marvel's 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War. Also among the top-10-of-all-time are Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) at #7 and last year's Zootopia 2.
Meanwhile Coyote vs. Acme was released for rent or purchase on streaming platforms Tuesday, and became the No. 1 most-watched movie in the Apple TV store for America and Canada, according to CBR. (Citing a report from FlixPatrol ) "On Rotten Tomatoes, Coyote vs. Acme has a near-perfect 96% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score based on critics' reviews, and a similar 94% Verified Hot Popcornmeter score based on audience reviews... Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter called it "one of the best live-action/animation films ever."
Preorders have just opened for its DVD and 4K disks, and Coyote vs. Acme is also coming to Blu-ray writes IGN, "along with some hilarious outtakes that he described as 'not PG-rated.'"
Celebrating the film's $100 million box office take last week, the movie's distributors posted a very Coyote-like koan on social media. "It's only over when you stop trying."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood reveals Labour ministers constantly lobby her to give out more visas for migrant workers, with requests 'at least once every week or two'
Shabana Mahmood expressed frustration about the 'sheer number' of pleas she gets from her colleagues in other Government departments for work visas.
Mysterious stranger is dropping cash on unsuspecting Americans from the sky... and it's all caught on camera
By day, a Wilmington native works in IT. By night (and lunch break), he has made it his personal mission to spread joy by dropping money on random people.
Collapse in school nurses risks creating a generation of sick children with a lifelong dependence on the NHS, report warns
New analysis by The King's Fund think tank reveals the workforce has been 'hollowed out' in recent years, with remaining staff 'stretched thinner and thinner'.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard launches petition to end cyberbullying following shock death of ex-fiance Ken Urker at 34
Blanchard, 35, proposed new legislation she called 'Kenan's Law' in honor of her former partner and father of her 16-month-old daughter, Aurora.
Kemi Badenoch vows to keep pension triple lock - as new analysis warns Labour's plans to ditch it could cost some workers £38,000 in retirement
The Tory leader has ended speculation she could follow Andy Burnham in ditching the mechanism which has helped protect the value of the basic state pension for years.
Brits to be able to use their face as their passport as new technology means they won't have to scan documents flying back into the UK
These new 'contactless borders' are being introduced at Birmingham and East Midlands airports in the coming weeks and are expected to cut wait times.
Former Premier League boss Jesse Marsch claims 'EVERYONE knew' about Man City's cheating - and calls for club to be relegated after guilty verdict
Marsch has claimed Man City should be relegated from the top flight as a result of the verdict. Man City confirmed on Friday that they have lodged an appeal to overturn the decision.
Particle Collider Experiment Recreates the Big Bang's Primordial Soup - and Finds Unexpected Pattern
"Physicists smashed gold nuclei together at nearly the speed of light and found an unexpected pattern in the particles..." writes Live Science.
"If confirmed, that pattern could help reveal how the hot soup of quarks and gluons that filled the universe in the first few microseconds after the Big Bang cooled and condensed into the protons and neutrons that make up ordinary matter today."
In every collision, particles are flung out sideways; how hard they are flung, on average, varies slightly from one collision to the next. Physicists expected the size of these variations to change smoothly as they adjusted the collision energy. Instead, the variations dipped, shrinking and then growing again. This dip could be a sign of a long-sought "critical point," a special set of conditions at which nuclear matter changes the way it transforms from one form to another.
The signal, detected by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, is strong enough that it is very unlikely to be a statistical accident. However, the researchers cautioned that the dip is a tantalizing hint, not proof of the long-sought transition. They published their findings Sept. 22 in the journal Physical Review Letters...
The team analyzed roughly 1 billion collisions, measuring how hard charged particles were flung sideways out of the fireball, according to the article.
The dip "does point to a set of conditions where the behavior of nuclear matter changes, and it gives theorists a new, precise measurement to test their calculations against," study co-author Rutik Manikandhan, told Live Science.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Manchester council gave Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi firm 'sweetheart' first offers on development land under controversial 2015 deal
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour's company was given preferential access to building land by council bosses in a 'sweetheart deal', it has emerged.
England's Euros rivals will be running scared after seven-goal Croatia demolition, claims new star Alex Scott - as Rico Lewis earns first call-up in two years
IAN LADYMAN: The Bournemouth player made his first England start alongside his friend Elliot Anderson as Thomas Tuchel's team tore the Croats apart in the Nations League.
Grief-stricken mom was told her son was dead for three days before hospital admitted he was in fact alive, lawsuit says
The mother has alleged that the hospital and its staff negligently inflicted emotional distress after she spent days 'unable to get out of bed' before she learned her son was actually still alive.
Penny Mordaunt allowed to stand for Conservatives at next election despite reports ex-defence secretary had been blocked
The former cabinet minister, who lost her seat in 2024, said she had been approved by the Tory candidates committee and would 'love to be back on the squad'.