In 2001, scientists released 880 tiny weevils against a weed choking Texas waterways; by 2003, giant salvinia had almost disappeared | World News

A thick green carpet can make a pond or reservoir appear almost solid, but giant salvinia is a floating fern, spreading across the water rather than growing from the bottom. In Texas and Louisiana, the plant had become difficult to manage, forming dense mats that blocked sunlight, reduced oxygen and interfered with waterways. According to…

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Hikers heard ‘howling’ from a California water tank; rescuers found a mother bear and her cubs trapped inside and spent hours freeing them

Photo credit: California Department of Fish and Wildlife On a late-August afternoon in the San Gabriel Mountains, a group of hikers near La Verne, California, heard an unsettling sound: what they described as “howling” coming from a large water tank along a trail. When they investigated, they discovered a mother black bear and her two…

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In 1985, a Florida couple moved into a 1908 house and spent 41 years preserving it; it has now become Manatee County’s first local historic landmark

The Manatee County Commission approved the property as the county’s first locally designated historic landmark (Image Credit: Facebook/ @Manatee County, Florida Government) The walls of this Florida house have witnessed more than a century of history, including 41 years with the same couple who refused to let its past disappear. After moving into the 1908…

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A Los Angeles theatre opened in 1932, then spent 15 years being rebuilt; its nearly $40 million restoration has finally brought the 729-seat landmark back

In 1932 a brand new theater opened in South Los Angeles showing movies and live shows to a growing neighborhood. Decades later, after years of decline and closure, that same building sat dark and deteriorating, its ornate interior hidden behind boards and dust. In 2011, the city of Los Angeles committed to saving it, launching…

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Built in 1881 and closed in 2004 over structural problems, a Smithsonian building restored for $55 million has finally been chosen for a permanent new life

The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building in 2021. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) The Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents has officially chosen the historic Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall as the permanent home of the National Museum of the American Latino. The decision ends a long debate over the museum’s location and removes…

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In 1905, a Bohemian prince released five muskrats into his estate ponds as a fur venture. Within a decade, around 2 million were in Bohemia | World News

A small group of muskrats arrived in Bohemia in 1905, carried across the Atlantic as curiosities from a hunting trip in North America. Five animals were released into ponds at Prince Colloredo-Mannsfeld’s estate near Dobříš, where they were expected to remain little more than a private collection and perhaps a source of valuable fur. They…

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More than 40 Tennessee tiny-home owners are seeking $5 million in a ‘zombie HOA’ lawsuit, alleging nearly 80% of the HOA budget went to a lawn care company owned by the developer

Residents of the Retreat at Deer Lick Falls sued Hayes over alleged HOA control and fund mismanagement. (Realtor.com photos) More than 40 homeowners in three tiny-home communities in Tennessee are taking legal action against developer Claude ‘Chip’ Hayes III, accusing him of retaining control of their homeowners associations (HOAs) and mismanaging association funds. They are…

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80,000-year-old stone points in Uzbekistan resemble weapons used in France 25,000 years later, raising questions about how humans reached Europe | World News

Micropoints and bladelets from Obi-Rakhmat, PC: Plisson et al., PLOS One At the Obi-Rakhmat rock shelter in northeastern Uzbekistan, researchers have identified tiny triangular stone points in the site’s oldest occupation layers, dating to around 80,000 years ago. The unretouched micropoints average less than 2 centimetres in width and weigh only a few grams, with…

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A 19-year-old was taking a Boston train for the first time when his girlfriend fell onto the tracks; he jumped down to save her and died after hitting the electrified third rail

Family of man killed after falling on tracks at Forest Hills T stop speaks to 7NEWS A 19-year-old man on his first trip on Boston’s public transit system died after jumping onto the tracks to save his girlfriend at Forest Hills station. Frankey Wright Jr, of Lowell, Massachusetts, died on Saturday afternoon after landing on…

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This Nebraska town once had 150 residents, shops and a school. Today, one 84-year-old woman serves as mayor and runs it alone | World News

Five miles from the South Dakota border, a dirt road winds through the Nebraska prairie towards a town that has almost vanished. Monowi still has its street signs, a few battered buildings and three lampposts, but there is only one person left to see them each morning. Elsie Eiler, 84, lives in a trailer beside…

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