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Having been chosen as a navigator to deliver the atomic bomb, Dutch Van Kirk recalls the precautions that were taken to ensure his aircraft would not be harmed by the blast. Comparing the differences between the B-17 aircraft he flew in over Europe and the B-29 he flew in delivering the first atomic bomb to Hiroshima, Dutch gives a detailed account of his mission on August 6, 1945. Dutch Van Kirk: Enola Gay Navigator Discusses Atomic Bomb Drop on Hiroshima | 14:36 Witness to War | 526,511 views | August 6, 2025 Last Surviving Crew Member Has 'No Regrets' About...

The rare blue octopus that surprised scientists has returned to the Galápagos Islands. The specimen, about the size of a golf ball, will be preserved at the Charles Darwin Research Station, which houses an extensive collection representing the archipelago’s extraordinary biodiversity. An expedition collected the first specimen of this species, distinguished by its small tentacles, in 2015 at a depth of more than 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) in the northern part of the Ecuadorian archipelago, known for its endemic flora and fauna. Only three specimens have been observed to date, but the other two were recorded only on video. The...

Preliminary research offers clues about what may shape your cravings for sweets.Key Pounts: New research indicates genetics may influence how strongly you perceive sweetness and how rewarding sweet foods feel, which can shape your food preferences and eating habits. A preliminary study of nearly 500,000 people found that those with a higher genetic predisposition to prefer sweets ate about 7 grams more of sweet foods each day. Dietitians suggest that choosing naturally sweet foods, pairing sweets with protein or fiber, and gradually reducing added sugar can help you manage a preference for sweets. The difference between happily skipping dessert and...

Iran is facing a potential economic disaster as the besieged Islamic Republic’s fuel reserves have dwindled to a paltry two-month supply, following months of punishing US bombing campaigns and a fresh wave of crippling economic sanctions. The US unleashed a barrage of secondary sanctions in recent weeks to choke off Iran’s supply of cash, restricting the rogue nation’s access to international financing networks and even blockading its oil exports. This is preventing Iran from doing everything from buying goods to securing foreign currency, and even forcing it to import gasoline because its refinery infrastructure has been decimated and there’s no...

An airline passenger was duct-taped and zip-tied by other travelers and crew after he hurled racist and homophobic slurs in an unhinged mid-flight meltdown — forcing the plane to divert on Thursday night, according to a report. The bigoted passenger was on American Airlines flight 618 from Dallas to Newark when he flew off the handle with a fire-and-brimstone-fueled diatribe at his seatmate around 10:15 p.m., prompting a black flight attendant and passengers to step in and restrain him. When the flight attendant intervened, the buffoon then hurled the n-word at him and spewed anti-gay slurs, according to TMZ. Footage...

Are drivers who never learn this skill getting the short end of the stick? Recent research shows that this once-ubiquitous ability is increasingly becoming a lost art. Only 18% of Americans know how to use a stick shift — with the number even lower among younger drivers. In a survey of US drivers, Extreme Terrain found more than a third of Gen Z drivers (35%) never learned to drive stick, compared with just 9% of baby boomers. Further, driving confidence is waning among younger drivers, with only half of those under 30 believing they could competently drive a manual. “People...

Explanation: Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, is the Hawaiian name given to this image of a pair of spiral galaxies locked in a mutual gravitational embrace. Some 200 million light-years distant toward the high flying constellation Pegasus their spectacular, galactic scale merger is captured in sharp detail in the image from the 8.1 meter Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawai‘i. The galaxy pair, known as NGC 7253 and Arp 278, was chosen as a target, researched, and given a Hawaiian name by high school students in the joint Gemini Observatory and University of Hawaiʻi Project Hōkūlani internship...

More than one-third of American households rely on natural gas stoves to prepare their meals.Burning natural gas generates carbon dioxide, which is the main driver of climate change. But cooking on gas stoves is also an under-recognized and important source of indoor air pollution. Combustion of natural gas creates nitrogen dioxide and other compounds that can irritate the lungs. People with preexisting respiratory conditions, such as the 28 million Americans with asthma, may be especially susceptible. An analysis of more than 40 studies found a correlation between nitrogen dioxide levels and asthma symptoms.I am a physician and medical researcher, and...

Strange Stones on the Acropolis, Explained | 7:00 ArgosNiko | 2.22K subscribers | 5,400 views | August 31, 2026

Three traditional midwives and an Amish family are suing several Pennsylvania state agencies, alleging that state officials effectively blocked traditional midwives from obtaining the certifications required to practice legally — and that lawmakers then repealed the nearly century-old law governing the profession after the lawsuit was filed. The midwives sued anonymously for fear of retaliation. The lawsuit centers on a striking sequence of events. The petitioners say Pennsylvania failed to comply with a 1929 law that required certification of traditional midwives. After they filed suit on July 2, 2026, ten days later the legislature passed the annual budget that included...

In accordance with standard journal procedures, the Editorial Office and Editorial Board conducted an investigation that confirmed serious methodological flaws and statistical errors that were deemed to undermine the scientific conclusions of the article. As a result, the Editorial Board has decided to retract this paper as per MDPI's retraction policy.This retraction was approved by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Remote Sensing.The authors have been informed of this retraction and have indicated their disagreement with this decision.

The New Species of Demon-Named Flower Feeds on Fungi Instead of SunlightIn A Nutshell Researchers in Thailand discovered a new flower species, Thismia daemona, named for its dark, horn-like, demon-inspired appearance. The plant has no chlorophyll and never needs sunlight, instead pulling nutrients from underground fungi. Fewer than 50 known individuals exist, all in a single patch of forest inside a national park popular with tourists. Scientists have preliminarily assessed the species as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria. High in the mountain forests of western Thailand, researchers stumbled on a flower that looks like it belongs in a horror movie....

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is popping up across the US to stump for candidates in battleground states — but many see her support as more of a curse than a gift. As Harris looks to strengthen her national profile ahead of a potential 2028 run for the White House, candidates in competitive races from Alaska to Wisconsin have signaled they don’t need or want the California Democrat campaigning for them, Politico reported. In Kansas, Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton said it doesn’t make sense for someone with a Golden State of mind to hit America’s heartland. “Having somebody from...

Explanation: How do animals react to a total solar eclipse? The featured image shows a stork roosting on her nest in Poland at a partial phase of the recent total solar eclipse. If you are lucky enough to experience a total eclipse somewhere quiet and close to nature, you may be able to notice unusual daytime animal behaviors. During totality, you may hear nighttime sounds like crickets and frogs and see fireflies. In the dark, most birds are quiet. Thinking that it is time to go to bed, ducks and other waterfowl prepare to sleep on one leg, with their...

The 19th is sharing the story of Tina (no last name given), a married mother of one daughter who "desperately" wanted another baby. But shockingly, when she finally became pregnant with a "healthy" child, she chose to have an abortion almost immediately. Key Takeaways: * Tina desperately wanted a baby and turned to IVF and surrogacy. * While her sister-in-law was carrying Tina's baby as a surrogate, Tina was surprised to learn that she, too, was pregnant. The babies would be eight months apart. * The day after Tina took the positive test, she ordered the abortion pill. * She...

The funeral for a Florida teen who died in a shooting devolved into violent mayhem over the weekend when mourners allegedly attempted a street takeover and cops fired mace balls at them. Loved ones grieving the death earlier this month of Nigel Beckford, 19, in Boynton Beach claimed that officers unfairly attacked them after they had buried the teen and left the gravesite Saturday. Five men were arrested, and sheriff’s deputies found four stolen firearms when the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office gang unit broke up the unruly situation, WPBF reported. “We’re just coming from the graveyard!” Beckford’s aunt Shanna Burks...

Explanation: Pretend you have never heard of a solar eclipse. The Sun’s behavior has been predictable your whole life. One day, you witness the sky transform as it does in today’s spliced image spanning two hours of the August 12, 2026 solar eclipse. The Sun disappears, leaving behind a bright, empty ring. What would you think had happened? Humans have interpreted eclipses in countless ways throughout history, embedding beliefs about connection, rebirth, or danger into culture. “Eclipse” comes from the Greek word “ékleipsis” meaning “abandonment”. In ancient Greece, the solar eclipse marked the anger of the gods and the Sun...

Visiting this monument on a boggy marsh at the very edge of England, I found myself wondering if it's even possible to go anywhere in this mad country where nothing happened. We're at Burgh by Sands, a tiny village in remote coastal country, but it has a big past. Once home to a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, centuries after that had slid out of view, the countrymen here found themselves at the centre of events, when the King of England went and croaked his last here. England is Nuts: Bonkers Monument in Middle of Nowhere | 13:41 WC21 (UK)...

The Norse lived in Greenland for five centuries before mysteriously vanishing, leaving behind the ruins of a medieval society. Today, archaeologists are still trying to uncover what happened to the Vikings who once thrived there. The medieval mystery of Greenland's vanished Vikings | BBC Global | 7:25 BBC Global | 792K subscribers | 390,471 views | August 27, 2026

NASA's new flagship astronomical observatory was launched into space from Florida on August 30 on a mission to probe some of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics and cosmology. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a roughly $4 billion project, was carried aloft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The telescope is designed to investigate cosmic enigmas such as dark energy and dark matter, while also testing gravity at vast scales and searching for exoplanets. Roman will travel through space toward an orbital location called Lagrange Point 2, situated about a million miles (1.6 million km)...