The owner of Mentmore Towers, the English mansion that doubled as Wayne Manor in the Batman films, is publicly challenging Buckinghamshire Council's demand for urgent repairs, calling the council's own enforcement actions counterproductive to preserving the historic estate. Simon Halabi, the 68-year-old Syrian-British property tycoon who bought the Grade I-listed mansion in 1999, pushed back […] The post Owner of Batman's Wayne Manor fires back at council as bat survey dispute escalates appeared first on American Almanac .
The owner of Mentmore Towers, the English mansion that doubled as Wayne Manor in the Batman films, is publicly challenging Buckinghamshire Council's demand for urgent repairs, calling the council's own enforcement actions counterproductive to preserving the historic estate. Simon Halabi, the 68-year-old Syrian-British property tycoon who bought the Grade I-listed mansion in 1999, pushed back through a spokesman after the council served a listed-building repairs notice ordering bat surveys and masonry work. The spokesman called the suggestion that nothing was being done at the property "false," insisting that ecological investigations and preparatory work were already underway. The dispute centers on one of England's most recognizable…Open
Whoopi Goldberg used a commercial break during "The View" Season 30 premiere to tell the studio audience that "Sister Act 3" remains mired in development, and then told USA TODAY she still cannot understand why studios refuse to greenlight a franchise that earned nearly $140 million domestically. The update came during the Sept. 8, 2026, […] The post Whoopi Goldberg says 'Sister Act 3' is still stuck in Hollywood limbo despite decades of fan demand appeared first on American Almanac .
Whoopi Goldberg used a commercial break during "The View" Season 30 premiere to tell the studio audience that "Sister Act 3" remains mired in development, and then told USA TODAY she still cannot understand why studios refuse to greenlight a franchise that earned nearly $140 million domestically. The update came during the Sept. 8, 2026, taping, when Goldberg stepped away from the show's on-air topics to address the audience directly about the long-delayed sequel. She told the crowd that new writers had been brought on board and that the project's story had been pitched repeatedly to studio decision-makers, with little to show for it. Goldberg, who has co-hosted "The View" for 20 of its 30 seasons, framed the holdup as a case of…Open
A Polish intercity train carrying roughly 300 passengers slammed into a truck stuck on a level crossing near Gdansk after the driver allegedly ignored warning signals, a collision captured on CCTV that railway officials released as a blunt safety warning. The crash unfolded around 12:30 p.m. on September 3 at a crossing near Gdansk Lipce […] The post Passenger train plows into truck at Polish crossing after driver allegedly ignores signals appeared first on American Almanac .
A Polish intercity train carrying roughly 300 passengers slammed into a truck stuck on a level crossing near Gdansk after the driver allegedly ignored warning signals, a collision captured on CCTV that railway officials released as a blunt safety warning. The crash unfolded around 12:30 p.m. on September 3 at a crossing near Gdansk Lipce station, where a PKP Intercity passenger train traveling from Gdynia to Zielona Góra struck an orange heavy-goods vehicle that had become wedged between the crossing barriers. Footage shows the truck driver attempting to move forward and backward to clear the tracks. He failed. The train hit at full approach speed, obliterating the truck's cargo section, scattering debris across the rail line, and…Open
A leopard struck by a vehicle on a busy motorway in southwest India turned on the Forest Department official sent to save it, knocking the man to the ground before a sedative finally took hold. The incident unfolded near Anagodu, a town in southwest India, after the leopard was hit by a vehicle on a […] The post Leopard attacks rescue worker on Indian motorway after vehicle collision appeared first on American Almanac .
A leopard struck by a vehicle on a busy motorway in southwest India turned on the Forest Department official sent to save it, knocking the man to the ground before a sedative finally took hold. The incident unfolded near Anagodu, a town in southwest India, after the leopard was hit by a vehicle on a motorway around 11 p.m. The injured animal wound up stranded in a roadside drain, where members of the public spotted it and called the Forest Department for help. What followed was a rescue operation that went sideways fast. The Forest Department dispatched a team to the scene, and workers administered a heavy sedative to the leopard in an effort to subdue it for medical transport. But the drug had not fully taken effect when the animal…Open
Prince William joined 30 royals and 17 heads of state in Oslo for the state funeral of Norway's King Harald V, representing King Charles III under a longstanding protocol that keeps the British monarch from attending funerals of fellow sovereigns. The Prince of Wales and Princess Anne walked among a vast international delegation at Oslo […] The post Prince William represents King Charles at Norway's King Harald V state funeral in Oslo appeared first on American Almanac .
Prince William joined 30 royals and 17 heads of state in Oslo for the state funeral of Norway's King Harald V, representing King Charles III under a longstanding protocol that keeps the British monarch from attending funerals of fellow sovereigns. The Prince of Wales and Princess Anne walked among a vast international delegation at Oslo Cathedral on September 9, as thousands of Norwegians lined the procession route from the Royal Palace to bid farewell to the man who sat on their throne for 35 years. A 21-gun salute marked the start of the procession , which moved east through the capital's streets before reaching the cathedral where Harald had married Queen Sonja in 1968. Harald V died on August 28 at the age of 89. He had been Europe's…Open
Sandra Bullock called the fallout from her ex-husband Jesse James' 2010 cheating scandal "a really dark time", and revealed she once hid her newborn son inside a hockey bag to escape the press swarm outside her home. The Oscar-winning actress made the comments in a wide-ranging conversation with Jennifer Aniston for Interview magazine, published Tuesday […] The post Sandra Bullock opens up about Jesse James cheating scandal, recalls smuggling newborn son past paparazzi appeared first on American Almanac .
Sandra Bullock called the fallout from her ex-husband Jesse James' 2010 cheating scandal "a really dark time", and revealed she once hid her newborn son inside a hockey bag to escape the press swarm outside her home. The Oscar-winning actress made the comments in a wide-ranging conversation with Jennifer Aniston for Interview magazine, published Tuesday by Page Six . Bullock, who rarely discusses her personal life publicly, reflected on the 2010 scandal, the loss of her longtime partner Bryan Randall, and her fears about her children growing up and leaving home. Bullock married James, the host of "Monster Garage," in July 2005 after about a year of dating. She adopted her son Louis in late 2009. Months later, James' infidelity became…Open
George Lucas spent five decades collecting art and memorabilia, and now his massive, spaceship-shaped museum in Los Angeles is scheduled to open its doors on September 22, more than 16 years after the project began. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will sprawl across 28,000 square meters, roughly 300,000 square feet, with five floors, 30 […] The post George Lucas's $1 billion museum in Los Angeles finally set to open after 16 years appeared first on American Almanac .
George Lucas spent five decades collecting art and memorabilia, and now his massive, spaceship-shaped museum in Los Angeles is scheduled to open its doors on September 22, more than 16 years after the project began. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will sprawl across 28,000 square meters, roughly 300,000 square feet, with five floors, 30 galleries, and more than 1,300 objects on display. The building itself, with its curved white walls, looks like something pulled from a science-fiction set. Two cinematic theaters sit inside. More than 200 trees surround the grounds outside. The Sun reported the project carries a price tag of roughly £740 million, north of $900 million at current exchange rates. For a filmmaker who built an empire on…Open
An Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, crashed through the perimeter fence, and plowed into vehicles on the ground, killing five people and leaving a pilot shaken enough to tell his wife his flying days were done. The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air under contract with Amazon Prime Air, had […] The post Amazon cargo jet pilot told his wife 'my career is over' moments after deadly Miami airport crash appeared first on American Almanac .
An Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, crashed through the perimeter fence, and plowed into vehicles on the ground, killing five people and leaving a pilot shaken enough to tell his wife his flying days were done. The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air under contract with Amazon Prime Air, had flown in from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday when it failed to stop on the runway, barreling at least 1,300 feet past the paved surface before smashing through the airport boundary and slamming into a 2012 white Ford Econoline van carrying passengers and a Toyota Corolla Cross LE. Five people inside those vehicles died. Five others were injured, including both pilots, who were later treated at a hospital and…Open
A West Virginia couple represented by Alliance Defending Freedom has petitioned the Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court ruling that forces their daughter to receive vaccinations to attend a fully virtual school, a mandate the family says violates their religious beliefs and ignores recent high court precedent. Krystle and Anthony Perry want their […] The post West Virginia family asks Supreme Court to stop lower courts from defying its parental rights rulings appeared first on American Almanac .
A West Virginia couple represented by Alliance Defending Freedom has petitioned the Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court ruling that forces their daughter to receive vaccinations to attend a fully virtual school, a mandate the family says violates their religious beliefs and ignores recent high court precedent. Krystle and Anthony Perry want their daughter enrolled in the West Virginia Virtual Academy, where every lesson takes place at home. West Virginia requires students at the academy to be "fully vaccinated" as a condition of attendance. The Perrys object on religious grounds, specifically to vaccines developed using aborted fetal cell lines. In their view, receiving the vaccine "is permanent and is itself a sin" because it…Open
The attorney general's remarks came toward the end of the first night of the convention, which will conclude with a keynote address from the president. Vice President JD Vance will deliver the keynote address on Thursday.