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Patrick Stewart brought gravitas and complexity to the screen, from Star Trek to X-Men
From Jean-Luc Picard to Charles Xavier, the actor's Shakespearean training – and that sonorous voice – made him a unique charismatic force in HollywoodPatrick Stewart dies age 86His life in picturesO Captain, our Captain: on Star Trek, Patrick Stewart could make anyone feel hopeful for humanity'He stood for the best of us': William Shatner and more pay tributeNo actor showed the commercial potential of blue-chip British classical training like Patrick Stewart. With style, technique and the most minutely self-aware, almost vaudevillian sense of mimicry, Shakespearean thesps can turn their hand to American movies and high-end American television and show the American method actors how it's done – sometimes, even, at the beginning of their screen careers, at a competitively low wage.Stewart was one of the thoroughbreds of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1970s stage generation who had also had classy small screen roles, such as his intimidating Sejanus in I, Claudius opposite Derek Jacobi. But he effected a warp-speed leap to pop culture stardom by getting the role of Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, in TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation, the hugely successful reboot of Star Trek that ran from 1987 to 1994, spawning four separate feature films and then another series, Star Trek: Picard. Continue reading...
Wall Street drops to its worst day since June after sell-off for tech stocks deepens
A sell-off for tech stocks got even worse Friday on worries that Wall Street's frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology sent prices too high.The S&P 500 tumbled 1.8% for its worst day since June, and it closed out a third straight losing week. The weakness for technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite down a market-leading 2.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572 points, or 1.1%.The U.S. stock market remains only 3.1% below its all-time high, which has boosted the value of workers' 401(k) accounts, but it's become increasingly shaky as Tuesday's midterm elections in the United States approach. Worries about AI in general have already become a concern for voters across political parties, and President Donald Trump has historically used the stock market's performance as a measure of his own success.Intel's stock led the way lower and plunged 28.6% for its worst drop since 1974. The chipmaker gave a forecast for profit in the final three months of this year that fell short of analysts' expectations, as CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the personal-computer industry continues to feel pressure. The drop came even though Intel reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.Amazon fell 1.4% after reporting a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected. Potentially more concerning for investors was Amazon's reporting that it burned through $42.4 billion of cash over the prior 12 months, according to a measure called free cash flow. It spent $94.8 billion on property and equipment, primarily through investments in artificial-intelligence technology.A day earlier, Alphabet's stock dropped more than 12% to its worst day on record and dragged the S&P 500 down after telling investors it burned through more cash during the summer than the spring. The company behind Google and YouTube cited similar, mammoth investments in AI.Worries are rising about whether all the hundreds of billions of dollars will produce enough profit and productivity to make the investment worth it. At the same time, stocks of computer chip companies and other winners from the frenzy to build AI data centers have come under pressure on concerns that high interest rates may slow the further build out of data centers."We're moving out of the hopes and dreams phase of the AI trade and into the 'show me' phase," said Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Equity Armor Investments, in a note to investors.A drop of 4.2% for Nvidia, the chip company that became the poster child of the AI frenzy, was the heaviest force pulling the S&P 500 downward, outweighing even Intel.In the cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, stocks tumbled following a hack on the world's biggest crypto exchange. The price of bitcoin fell below $77,000 from more than $86,000 earlier this month, and a U.S.-based blockchain intelligence firm said a North Korean unit was likely behind the attack that impacted more than $6 billion worth of crypto at Binance.Coinbase Global fell 10.6% even though it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Strategy, which says it owns about 4% of the total supply of bitcoin, fell 7.8%. It also reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, while saying its chief financial officer will resign next week for personal reasons.Outside of tech, stocks were more resilient as many rallied after reporting stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected. Nearly as many stocks rose within the S&P 500 index rose as fell.ExxonMobil climbed 2.2%, and Chevron added 1.8% after the oil giants reported stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected.Mondelez International rose 3.9% after the company behind Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers reported stronger-than-expected growth.Colgate-Palmolive climbed 2.3% after higher prices for its products around much of the world helped it deliver better revenue and profit than analysts expected.Expectations are high for U.S. companies' ability to make bigger profits, even though people around the world are feeling discouraged about high inflation and high fuel prices. Such expectations are what drove the S&P 500 to its record earlier this month.All told, the S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572.25 to 51,770.31, and the Nasdaq composite sank 747.73 to 25,437.00.In the bond market, Treasury yields eased in a signal that investors were buying U.S. government bonds in search of something safer to own. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 4.98% late Thursday and from more than 5.30% earlier in the month.Treasury yields fell even though oil prices bounced higher, something that usually drives yields upward because it worsens inflation. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 2.4% to $113.43. It's near the high end of its range since the war with Iran sent oil prices and inflation higher.In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following sharper swings in Asia.South Korea's Kospi dropped 3.5% as worries about AI hit its tech-heavy market, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1.5%.Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.1% after the Bank of Japan decided to keep interest rates steady, echoing moves made earlier in the week by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen: A friendship that surpassed the stage and screen
To many, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen represent a formidable mutant rivalry in the "X-Men" films or two of theater's pre-eminent Shakespearean actors, but behind the curtain the pair shared something even more enduring: a friendship that spanned decades.Stewart died Wednesday at age 86 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. McKellen, Stewart's artistic brother-in-arms, remembered him Thursday as "the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic.""He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love," McKellen said in a statement on social media. The pair — about a year apart in age — met at England's esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company, with Stewart joining in 1966 and McKellen in 1974. "We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren't in the same productions," McKellen, 87, said Thursday. They starred in Tom Stoppard's play "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" in 1977 in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company but weren't close at the time."I had admired him from the start of his career," Stewart told The Guardian in 2019. "When he joined the RSC, I was frankly intimidated."Still, Stewart later sought McKellen's advice about taking on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in a role that he later billed as life-changing. McKellen advised him against it."My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek,'" McKellen said in the statement. "'But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk — getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?'" he recalled. In Memoriam 20 hours ago Hugh Jackman, William Shatner and George Takei among those paying tribute to Patrick Stewart In Memoriam Oct 29 Patrick Stewart, legendary actor of 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men' fame, dies at 86 In a 2014 SAG-AFTRA Foundation conversation with the two actors, Stewart joked, "The only person who advised me not to do it is sitting to my left," to the laughter of the crowd. "That … changed my life. Every single corner of it has not been unaffected by that," he added. McKellen said in his tribute that he was grateful Stewart took the role, nonetheless. "Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London's West End and on Broadway," McKellen said. "X-Men" left a mark on both of their Hollywood careers.It started with the first "X-Men" blockbuster in 2000, with Stewart playing the powerful mutant telepath Professor Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, and McKellen portraying the antihero Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, or Magneto, with the daunting power to manipulate metal and magnetic fields.The subsequent franchise films highlighted the complex bond between the characters, ideologically at odds over how to protect mutantkind.On screen they sparred, but off set they bonded."We have to thank 'X-Men' for the two of us really getting to know one another, because every day on an 'X-Men' movie you spend far more time sitting in your trailer than you do on the set doing a drop of work — and those trailers are extremely luxurious. And we had adjoining ones, so we sat around and talked and reminisced," Stewart said on the 2014 panel. "And I discovered a lot about this chap and he about me, and we found that there were many, many overlaps in our careers and many areas where we had little in common."The rest is history. The two shared a friendship adored by fans, often seen greeting each other with an affectionate kiss on the lips whether on TV programs or on the red carpet.Stewart told The Guardian that McKellen is "very close" to his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, and that she was the one who suggested McKellen officiate their wedding. In 2013, he did just that.Stewart was also a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and praised activists like McKellen, who is gay."I think this is where the theater is such an appealing world, because it embraces everything and always has. So there was never a moment where I made an intellectual choice that I would be a supporter of gay civil rights. It was always a natural and uncomplicated choice," he told The Advocate in 2015. "Then later in life, as I got to know well-known activists like Ian McKellen, I was only too happy to join campaigns, march, and support in whatever way I could because it always seemed to me to be something that much too much fuss was being made about."Both men built separate and successful legacies in cinema — McKellen as the beloved wizard Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films and Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the long-running "Star Trek" franchise. They were also both honored with knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II — McKellen in 1991 and Stewart in 2010. Through it all, they remained devoted to their first love of theater and co-starred in two productions, to much acclaim.In Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot," Stewart was the optimistic Vladimir and McKellen the weary Estragon. Their performances — at London's West End in 2009 and on New York's Broadway in 2013-14 — were praised for their humor and comedy.They also starred in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" in 2013 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and on Broadway and again in 2016 in the West End. Stewart played Hirst and McKellen Spooner.Speaking to The Guardian about their friendship and onstage charisma, Stewart said, "Sometimes I feel we're enjoying it too much and the audience don't quite understand why we're having so much fun." During the SAG-AFTRA Foundation panel, Stewart spoke about his theater career success and the joy of sharing the stage with McKellen. "And that I get to spend six nights a week and three afternoons on stage with this chap is still …," he said before stopping, overcome with emotion. McKellen, next to him, held his hand. "Because I was a fan!" Stewart said, gesturing to McKellen.This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Judge warns DOJ he'd be 'extremely frustrated' if it raids James Comey's home
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on Friday warned the Justice Department about taking law enforcement action targeting former FBI Director James Comey after the Trump administration brought a third criminal case against the longtime Trump target using a rare charging mechanism."I will be extremely frustrated if there is some sort of predawn raid or black pajamas" outside Comey's home, McFadden said.The federal prosecutor on the case, Dustin Farahnak, tried to allay his concerns."We're not going to do anything that will offend the court," he said.Comey attorney Ephraim McDowell said that the FBI was outside his client's home. The former director who has long been a target of Donald Trump's since the president fired him nearly a decade ago, is facing a case involving two alleged crimes that date back to 2016. His attorneys contend there's no valid case against him: The government didn't secure an indictment from a grand jury before the statute of limitations of 10 years expired.The latest case centers on the allegation that Comey, while FBI director in October 2016, authorized his staff to speak to a New York Times reporter to correct the record about another report that dealt with classified information.The case was brought under seal Oct. 5, exactly 10 years after a story ran in the Times that discussed how Yahoo had been complying with a secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that led to the systematic scanning of email traffic from users of its email service. Department of Justice Oct 26 James Comey charged for a third time by the Trump administration Trump Administration Oct 26 Judge orders DOJ to reinstate former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI director It was not the result of a grand jury indictment or a criminal complaint evaluated by a judge, but rather through a criminal information filed directly by the government, with no judge sign-off. Comey's team believed that the government intended to secure an arrest warrant and execute an after-hours arrest on the Friday before Columbus Day weekend to ensure Comey sat in jail over a long holiday weekend.The judge did not ban the government from trying to bring the most recent case before a federal grand jury, saying that was the government's choice. D.C. grand jurors have been skeptical of politically-tainted cases against Trump's professed enemies.Earlier this week, the Trump administration failed to secure an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a star witness for the Jan. 6 committee. The Trump administration also failed to indict six sitting members of Congress earlier this year over a social media video Trump disfavored.Comey's lawyers had asked the judge to dismiss the case entirely. If the grand jury rejects a case against Comey, McDowell said, the government could keep going back to try to seek an indictment. "All this time, Mr. Comey would be sitting here."Referencing the string of no bills, McFadden said that grand juries can do surprising things, but that if the grand jury refused to indict him, all of these proceedings will have been an exercise in futility."Ham sandwiches are harder to indict these days," McFadden joked, to laughter in the courtroom.It was the third case against Comey since September 2025, when a Trump-aligned attorney convinced a federal grand jury to return an indictment against the former FBI director in the Eastern District of Virginia. That case was later tossed because the attorney, Lindsey Halligan, was found to have been unlawfully acting as a federal prosecutor.Then came the seashells case: A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted Comey over an Instagram photo he posted with seashells arranged to spell out "8647," which prosecutors contended was a threat against the president. Comey's team has moved to dismiss that case on several grounds and says the picture was clearly not intended as a threat. The term "86" is widely known in the restaurant world to mean the kitchen is out of a dish. A federal judge has not yet ruled and knocked back the trial until 2027.Legal experts questioned the mechanism that government attorneys used to bring the most recent case."They brought the case in such a way that undermines their complaint in the first place," former federal prosecutor Sarah Krissoff said. "If they had a case, then they should have written out the charges in a complaint and gotten a judge to sign it, or they could have presented it to a grand jury."She called the Justice Department's handling of the situation "disturbing.""Somebody is dictating this process, saying, 'Bring the case,'" Krissoff said. "The case is going to go nowhere."McFadden ordered the case unsealed Monday and set a hearing for Friday on Comey's motion to dismiss.The Comey hearing came at the end of a week focused on political cases in federal court in Washington, where a federal grand jury rejected the Hutchinson case. Separately, a federal magistrate judge held days of hearings to examine the validity of charges brought by criminal complaint against two former FBI employees who had been targeted by Trump allies on Capitol Hill."We have grand juries that are holding tight to the rule of law and actually asking questions most likely and requiring real evidence to be presented to them," Krissoff said. "As a citizen, I'm sitting here saying, 'Thank goodness for the federal judiciary,' because they're holding our country together, in my view."Farahnak, is a special U.S. attorney working under acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, both Trump appointees. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, headed by Jeanine Pirro, is not involved in the latest Comey prosecution. Decision 2026 22 hours ago DOJ issues subpoenas in Alaska Senate race as governor launches separate investigation Texas 4 hours ago An ICE officer has been charged after striking a man with a car in Houston Gary Grumbach contributed.
North Korea is likely culprit behind $6.3bn crypto hack, 'largest heist in history'
Binance exchange says it will cover customer losses as it scrambles to freeze affected assets, with about $3bn located so far Q&A: How big a deal is the $6.3bn crypto heist?Tell us: have you been affected by the Binance hack?Business live – latest updatesThe world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack described as the biggest heist in history, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit.Binance said it would cover all customer losses as it froze $3bn of the affected assets. Continue reading...
Christa Pike says she's in constant pain and blames 'incompetence' for her failed execution
Christa Pike said Friday that she remains in constant pain and struggles to speak a month after surviving a lethal injection in Tennessee, a failure she blames on "incompetence."In her first public statement since the failed execution, Pike said she never contemplated a life beyond her execution date and was prepared to die in peace, but woke up alone and confused in a hospital bed."There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul," Pike said.Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state tried to execute her on Sept. 30 for the 1995 stabbing death of 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed Slemmer, becoming one of the youngest women to be sentenced to death. "I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position," she said. "I continue to think about my victim's family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured." Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called for an investigation into what happened during the failed execution and postponed the state's other lethal injection scheduled this year.Pike said she’s thankful for the medical workers who saved her life and the people who showed her kindness."I don't know why I survived that night. I don't know what comes next. Some days, finding hope is harder than others. For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time. And I am holding on to the love and kindness of so many people who have reminded me that I am not alone," she said.Pike's attorneys have urged the governor to reduce her sentence to life imprisonment. Lee told reporters this week that, "I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts."Friday’s statement was dictated to Pike’s legal team from the infirmary at the prison where she is housed. Pike was hospitalized in the immediate aftermath of the failed execution and then moved back to prison at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. Tennessee Oct 10 Christa Pike is discharged from hospital after surviving execution attempt, attorney says Death Penalty Oct 7 Christa Pike survived 2 doses of an execution drug. How is that possible?
Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor Maya Gebala released from hospital: ‘IT’S BEEN 262 DAYS’
The 13-year-old girl has been in hospital for nine months, after she was shot inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Feb. 10
Spain's latest deadly train crash puts human error and systemic failure under scrutiny
Was Spain’s second major train collision this year caused by human error or failures in its once touted high-speed rail network?It depends on whom you ask.Spain's transport minister was quick to lay most of the blame on a traffic controller's poor judgment for Wednesday’s collision in Toledo province, which killed 69 people. But railway unions are pushing back. They point instead to what they describe as deteriorating working conditions — fewer traffic controllers with more work than ever — that have made it increasingly difficult to ensure the safety of 45 million passengers annually.A judge and a special government commission are conducting separate investigations into the deadly crash, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged to get to the bottom of it.Police with sniffer dogs were still sifting through the wreckage on Friday morning.Investigators from a special committee for rail accidents removed the trains’ black boxes late on Thursday and handed them over to the Civil Guard for inspection."This investigation must determine how and why this catastrophe happened," Spain's King Felipe VI said on Thursday after visiting injured passengers in a Toledo hospital. "We will have to take measures so this never happens again."It was the second major crash on the Madrid-Seville line this year. In January, over two hours farther south, one train jumped the track and hit another going in the opposite direction, killing 46 people.Spain’s high-speed rail network has been considered a success of state industrial policy. It is the world's second-largest, after China's. Until this year, it had not experienced a deadly crash since coming into service over three decades ago.The timeline of the catastrophe given by the governmentThe chain of events that ended in disaster started at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, when the communication system key to the functioning of the line's security system went down. The system, called LZB, monitors the position of trains and can automatically apply their brakes to prevent a collision.That malfunction meant that traffic controllers based at a control post in Madrid took over full responsibility for monitoring the positions and safety of the trains on a stretch of 63 kilometers (39 miles) between Madrid and Seville. At that time authorities believe there were six trains on the affected stretch of track.At 8:36, a controller told one train, belonging to state-owned RENFE, that it could start running again at normal speed. The other train, operated by privately owned IRYO and located 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) down the line, also tried to restart, but the engineer was unable to override the automatic stop and informed the controller.At 8:53 the collision occurred, derailing carriages and shredding parts of the trains to bits.The independent investigators said their initial findings indicated that the RENFE train was moving at between 160 and 200 kph (100-125 mph) when it struck the IRYO train.What the transportation minister saysTransport Minister Óscar Puente, who is under pressure to resign, called the controller’s decision to let one train restart at full speed while the other remained stationary "inexplicable" and "erroneous."Puente said that the RENFE train should never have been told to start moving again since there was still a stop signal active on that line."An order is given for the train to restart, an erroneous decision," Puente told reporters. The decision "was taken in inexplicable circumstances given that a train was stopped and with a red light,” he said.What the unions sayUnions, however, argue that the context matters.Raquel Ayllón, spokesperson for SCF, Spain's railway traffic controllers union, told The Associated Press that the workload is regularly too much for the current staff to safely handle. She said that traffic controllers have been asking for more personnel for years, while the safety systems keep failing."We believe (the minister) is blaming a mere worker who was working under increasingly poor conditions," she said. "Human error isn’t incomprehensible. What is incomprehensible is that the safety system is regularly failing."Spain’s union for train engineers, SEMAF, said that this was not the first time the 3-decade-old LZB train security system, which is still in use on the Madrid-Seville line while being phased out, had gone offline and left human operators to fend for themselves."The LZB system should have been replaced some time ago," said Diego Martín, spokesperson of the SEMAF. "It failed us yesterday (Wednesday) and it has gone offline on repeated occasions in the past."Train workers went on strike Thursday in a previously planned action to demand the government fulfill its commitments to improve safety conditions after the January crash.Representatives from several unions also criticized what they called the "irresponsible" leak of audio clips of conversations between the control room and the train engineers to Spanish media. Those recordings contain snippets of apparently hectic conversations between the engineers on the trains and the traffic controllers in Madrid in the minutes before the accident.Could privatization have overloaded the rail system?Spain's railways only serviced state-owned trains until it opened its high-speed rail to private operators in 2021.Both of this year's collisions involved a train operated by RENFE and one operated by IRYO.Rail traffic increased after the market was opened to competition. Between Madrid and Barcelona, for instance, the average number of daily trips increased from 56 to 89 between 2019 and 2024, according to the SCF union.A spokesperson for Spain's train workers' union, Joan Rodríguez, said increased traffic brought by privatization has put extra strain on railways."We are not convinced that the liberalization of the high-speed passenger rail service was matched by the necessary upkeep of the lines," Rodríguez told TVE on Wednesday. "I am not saying it was a determining factor (in the crashes), but yes, the increase in use of the network is a factor to keep in mind."
Pope Leo votes in US midterms in first known political ballot for any pontiff
US citizen Leo, who has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, submits his vote by post in ChicagoPope Leo has voted in the US midterm elections – the first time a sitting pontiff is known to have cast a ballot in any political election at any time in history.Leo, who has clashed with the US president, Donald Trump, over several issues, submitted his vote by post in Chicago, where he was born, the Vatican said on Friday. Leo became the first American leader of the Catholic church last year after the death of Pope Francis. Continue reading...
Banks Must Pay Digital Fraud Victims If Due-Diligence Failure Is Found: Supreme Court
The bench suggested that financial institutions could classify accounts according to their nature and transaction patterns and deploy technology, including artificial intelligence, to identify deviations that may indicate coercion or fraud.
On TV
Outlander: Blood of My Blood — 2x7: "Heart of the Highlands" (STARZ)
Henry ventures off to procure gemstones. Julia finds a way to get back in Lovat's good graces. Brian returns to Leathers to settle a score with his father.
New Music

Nickelback — "Everything Under the Sun" ([no label])

In theaters
Wild Horse Nine (117 minutes)
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Amongst the Island's iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Launching today

Nothing launching today. Every rocket is staying grounded and behaving.

Useless Fact

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

The loonie
CAD → USD
0.7163
▲ 0.0013
CAD → EUR
0.6418
▲ 0.0008
Today In History
2018 — Whitey Bulger, Boston Mob Boss, Beaten to Death in Prison
American crime boss Whitey Bulger, who led the Boston-area Winter Hill Gang as a major organized crime figure from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, was beaten to death by fellow inmates while imprisoned.
2003 — LeBron James Makes NBA Debut with Cavaliers
American basketball player Le Bron James, who was drafted directly out of high school, made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers. At just 18 years old, James began his illustrious NBA career that would make him one of the greatest players of all time.
1995 — Quebec Narrowly Votes Down Sovereignty Referendum
Voters in Quebec narrowly defeated a referendum that proposed sovereignty for the province within a new economic and political partnership with the rest of Canada
1974 — Muhammad Ali Regains Heavyweight Boxing Title in "Rumble in the Jungle"
Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle," regaining the world heavyweight boxing title
1961 — Soviet Detonation of Tsar Bomba, Largest Nuclear Weapon
The Soviets detonated Tsar Bomb a over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Ocean; the largest nuclear weapon ever set off, it produced the most powerful human-made explosion ever recorded
1938 — Welles's "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast causes panic
Orson Welles's dramatization of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds" was broadcast on radio in 1938, causing panic among some listeners who mistook it for a real Martian invasion.
1905 — Emperor Nicholas II Enacts October Manifesto
Emperor Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto, ending unlimited autocracy in Russia and ushering in a constitutional monarchy.
1895 — Gerhard Domagk's Discovery of Prontosil
German bacteriologist and pathologist Gerhard Domagk, recipient of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery (announced in 1932) of the antibacterial effects of Prontosil, was born
1485 — Henry Tudor crowned king of England
Henry Tudor, who was crowned Henry VII on this day in 1485, founded the Tudor dynasty, ended the Wars of the Roses, used his children's marriages to build alliances, and signed treaties that increased England's power
1340 — Castilian-Portuguese Victory over Marinids at Río Salado
An allied force of Castilian and Portuguese Christians defeated the Muslim Marīnids of North Africa at the Battle of Río Salado
130 — Hadrian Founds Antinoöpolis in Egypt
The Roman emperor Hadrian officially founded the city of Antinoöpolis in ancient Egypt. How much do you know about the Roman Empire? Marc Waelkens/Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.