A local content creator has taken possession of Pittsburgh's iconic Phantom Menace vending machine, with the fire station's blessing, to fix its long-broken internals, but not before social media critics accused him of stealing a neighborhood landmark. The 1999-era Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace vending machine has stood outside Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire […] The post Pittsburgh's beloved Star Wars vending machine is coming back after restoration scare appeared first on American Almanac .
A local content creator has taken possession of Pittsburgh's iconic Phantom Menace vending machine, with the fire station's blessing, to fix its long-broken internals, but not before social media critics accused him of stealing a neighborhood landmark. The 1999-era Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace vending machine has stood outside Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Station 27 on Mount Washington for decades. It draws large crowds every May the Fourth for annual Star Wars celebrations. Recently, the machine vanished from its usual spot, and the internet lost its collective mind. Braeden Days, a Pittsburgh native and lifelong Star Wars fan who works as a content creator, removed the machine after getting permission from Fire Station 27. His…Open
A speeding motorcyclist in Colombia flew through the open doors of a public bus after apparently running a red light, landed on a passenger seat, apologized, and disappeared, leaving police still searching for him. The crash happened around noon on a Sunday at a busy intersection in Guadalajara de Buga, a city in central Colombia. […] The post Helmetless biker crashes through open bus doors in Colombia, walks away, and vanishes appeared first on American Almanac .
A speeding motorcyclist in Colombia flew through the open doors of a public bus after apparently running a red light, landed on a passenger seat, apologized, and disappeared, leaving police still searching for him. The crash happened around noon on a Sunday at a busy intersection in Guadalajara de Buga, a city in central Colombia. The unidentified rider, helmetless, sporting a Mohican-style haircut, slammed into the side of a route bus at high speed. His motorcycle struck the closed section of the door panel, but the open half of the bus doors gave his body a clear path inside. The impact catapulted him into the passenger compartment, where he landed on a seat. He got up, told stunned passengers he was fine, said he was sorry, and walked…Open
A Taiwanese man who used his robot vacuum's live camera feed to record his wife's affair won $17,000 in civil damages, then got sentenced to five months in prison for the very same footage. The case, first reported by the South China Morning Post, reads like a cautionary tale about smart-home surveillance and the legal […] The post Taiwanese husband jailed for catching wife's affair on robot vacuum camera appeared first on American Almanac .
A Taiwanese man who used his robot vacuum's live camera feed to record his wife's affair won $17,000 in civil damages, then got sentenced to five months in prison for the very same footage. The case, first reported by the South China Morning Post , reads like a cautionary tale about smart-home surveillance and the legal lines that even a wronged spouse cannot cross. The unnamed man married his wife in 2021. By September 2023, he had reason to suspect something was wrong. He found a used toothbrush at the couple's holiday home, one that didn't belong to either of them. He pulled security footage from the property's parking garage. It showed another man driving his wife home. That was enough to set the next step in motion. A robot vacuum…Open
Mark Sanchez, the former NFL quarterback turned Fox Sports analyst, will plead guilty to charges stemming from a late-night altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver outside an Indianapolis hotel, a case that cost him his broadcasting career and now carries up to six years in prison. Defense attorneys filed a motion in Marion County Superior […] The post Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez agrees to plead guilty in Indianapolis battery case appeared first on American Almanac .
Mark Sanchez, the former NFL quarterback turned Fox Sports analyst, will plead guilty to charges stemming from a late-night altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver outside an Indianapolis hotel, a case that cost him his broadcasting career and now carries up to six years in prison. Defense attorneys filed a motion in Marion County Superior Court on Thursday asking a judge to scrap the upcoming trial date and schedule a guilty plea and sentencing hearing instead, Breitbart reported . The move comes after the trial had been pushed back five times and was set to begin as soon as the following Tuesday. Sanchez faces a felony charge of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, punishable by one to six years, along with three misdemeanor…Open
The Deadpool star used his platform at a New York City premiere to lecture Americans about their fondness for the 1980s, calling the decade a "f***ing mess" that people have conveniently forgotten. Ryan Reynolds walked the carpet at the AMC Lincoln Square theater in New York on Tuesday for the premiere of his upcoming film […] The post Ryan Reynolds dismisses 1980s nostalgia as a 'brutal, brutal time' while promoting new film appeared first on American Almanac .
The Deadpool star used his platform at a New York City premiere to lecture Americans about their fondness for the 1980s, calling the decade a "f***ing mess" that people have conveniently forgotten. Ryan Reynolds walked the carpet at the AMC Lincoln Square theater in New York on Tuesday for the premiere of his upcoming film Mayday, set to land on Apple TV on September 4. But instead of sticking to the usual promotional script, Reynolds used his time with Variety to deliver a history lesson, one that said more about Hollywood's reflexive disdain for mainstream American sentiment than it did about any actual decade. Reynolds, born in 1977, was thirteen years old when the 1980s ended. He spent most of the decade as a child in Vancouver. That…Open
Cathy Engelbert is retiring as WNBA commissioner at the end of the year, leaving behind a league that grew dramatically in value but never resolved the controversies that dogged her final seasons. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the decision on Friday, praising Engelbert's record in measured terms. Engelbert herself told the Associated Press in a […] The post WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert steps down after seven turbulent years at the helm appeared first on American Almanac .
Cathy Engelbert is retiring as WNBA commissioner at the end of the year, leaving behind a league that grew dramatically in value but never resolved the controversies that dogged her final seasons. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the decision on Friday, praising Engelbert's record in measured terms. Engelbert herself told the Associated Press in a phone interview that she had been weighing the move for months, and that the timing felt right after closing out a new collective bargaining agreement, a long-term media rights deal, and an expansion plan that will bring the league to 18 teams by the end of the decade. She framed her exit as a mission completed. But multiple WNBA players have framed it differently, as a leadership gap…Open
A bride and groom in the Philippines pushed through their wedding inside a Catholic church submerged in waist-deep floodwater, choosing love over logistics while deadly monsoon rains battered the region. Leian Lieza Galang waded down the aisle of Saint John the Baptist Church in Hagonoy, Philippines, on a Tuesday late morning in August, her white […] The post Filipino couple weds in waist-deep floodwater after refusing to postpone ceremony appeared first on American Almanac .
A bride and groom in the Philippines pushed through their wedding inside a Catholic church submerged in waist-deep floodwater, choosing love over logistics while deadly monsoon rains battered the region. Leian Lieza Galang waded down the aisle of Saint John the Baptist Church in Hagonoy, Philippines, on a Tuesday late morning in August, her white wedding gown dragging through murky brown water that reached her waist. Groom Gilbert Chico waited at the altar. A young boy carried their wedding rings through the flood. Fewer than 15 people attended. The parish priest declared them husband and wife in an abbreviated ceremony, and the whole thing was posted to the parish's Facebook page the same day. The church had been partially submerged for…Open
A Tennessee county commissioner told a Flock Safety representative that the company's CEO deserves to be "hanged publicly for treason", and the remark went viral as governors in Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania move to shut the cameras down. Kingsport Commissioner Joe Carr made the statement at an August 13 work session in the east Tennessee […] The post Tennessee commissioner calls for Flock Safety CEO to face treason charges as states move to ban surveillance cameras appeared first on American Almanac .
A Tennessee county commissioner told a Flock Safety representative that the company's CEO deserves to be "hanged publicly for treason", and the remark went viral as governors in Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania move to shut the cameras down. Kingsport Commissioner Joe Carr made the statement at an August 13 work session in the east Tennessee city, addressing a Flock Safety representative directly while the company faces a nationwide revolt over its network of automated license plate reader cameras. The meeting's leader cut Carr off immediately, telling him, "Mr. Carr, we are not going to threaten violence to anybody." But the clip spread fast, and Carr told Fox News Digital he stands behind the substance of what he said, if not the…Open
Sen. Mitch McConnell's staff is aiming for the 84-year-old former Republican majority leader to return to the Senate when it reconvenes on Sept. 14, ending a nearly three-month absence that has cost the GOP a critical vote and drawn bipartisan calls for answers. Rep. James Comer, a fellow Kentucky Republican, told reporters on Sept. 3 […] The post McConnell's staff targets Sept. 14 Senate return after three-month health absence appeared first on American Almanac .
Sen. Mitch McConnell's staff is aiming for the 84-year-old former Republican majority leader to return to the Senate when it reconvenes on Sept. 14, ending a nearly three-month absence that has cost the GOP a critical vote and drawn bipartisan calls for answers. Rep. James Comer, a fellow Kentucky Republican, told reporters on Sept. 3 that McConnell's team has set the return date as a goal, though Comer acknowledged he has not spoken directly with the senator. The update, USA TODAY reported , came without any public confirmation from McConnell himself, and without a clear medical assessment of his fitness to serve. McConnell has not appeared in the Senate since June. He was hospitalized on June 14 after falling at his Capitol Hill…Open
The Trump administration is working on a post-war strategy focused on a regional effort to contain Iran and expand normalization of relations between Israel and its neighbors, according to two U.S. officials and two other sources with knowledge of the issue. Why it matters: While the plan is still in the early stages of drafting, it's intended to guide the U.S. approach in the Middle East after the Iran war ends and in the final two years of Trump's term. Two other big events loom over the planning: the Oct. 27 elections in Israel and the U.S. midterm elections in November. Behind the scenes: The initial work on the strategy is taking place both at the senior political level of the Trump administration and at the working level across…