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Today in History

On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions. The explosions (which could be heard 3,000 miles away) and resulting tsunamis in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra. Also on this date: In 1894, Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which contained a provision for a graduated income tax that was later struck down by the Supreme Court. In 1964, the film “Mary Poppins” had its world premiere in Los Angeles, California. In 1979, British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten and three other ...

Tim Curry, iconic character actor and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ star, dies at 80

Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the smug concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” has died. He was 80. Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed. Known for his arch humor, a puttylike face and gift with voices, Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My ...

Photo of the Day: Holm with auditioning geese

AP Photo/Ed Ford Actor Celeste Holm sticks her neck out to examine three geese who showed up at the Malin Studios in New York City, Aug. 26, 1951, in answer to a newspaper ad which read: “Wanted, Talented Goose for Top Television Show.” One of the birds was selected for a part in Miss ...

Earth is simmering in its hottest water temps on record, and that’s bad for fish and us

The world’s oceans simmered to their hottest temperatures on record over the weekend and are likely to warm even further in the next few months, putting stress on life in the water and on land too, the European climate service Copernicus announced Monday. Spurred by a still growing but already supersized natural El Nino and human-caused climate change, the world’s ocean temperatures hit 21.1 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday and Saturday, narrowly edging out the average daily record set in March 2024, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead for ...

Unusual dragonfly swarms sweep across California after warm spring rains

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Californians are spotting swarms of dragonflies flitting around parks, chasing mosquitoes in ponds and hunting flies on farms, a phenomenon experts say was likely fueled by unusually warm spring rains. Peter Veilleux, who owns a nursery in Oakland, said he started noticing the dragonflies — at one point spotting about 100 flying together — while walking his dog at a park near his house and around the city’s Lake Merritt. “It’s been amazing to see them,” Veilleux said, adding that he started seeing big groups of dragonflies in July. He was so awed ...