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For those who find electric cars a bit boring, Toyota engineers are working on a realistic-feeling fake manual transmission as a possible feature. To be clear, a manual transmission on an electric car would serve absolutely no purpose. It would be just for fun, an add-on for people who like shifting gears in their gasoline-powered cars.

John Wayne is a name synonymous with the Western genre, partly due to his fruitful cinematic partnership with John Ford and partly simply due to his own personal charisma and the way that he so naturally embodied the iconic image of grit, determination, and endurance that became the hallmarks of the protagonists of the Western genre. His acting persona was in many ways a testament to the actions of his personal life, as well. After a swimming accident derailed a promising college football career at USC, he shifted gears, turned to acting, and ended up becoming one of the most influential and recognizable actors of the 20th century. He ultimately became so emblematic of the American way of life, in fact, that none other than Joseph Stalin himself tried to get Wayne assassinated. Full John Wayne Article and movies list

President Biden and former President Trump are tied in a new poll of voters in swing state Michigan, with 44 percent saying they would vote for Biden and the same percentage opting for Trump. Twelve percent of voters in Michigan said they were still undecided between the two options, according to the EPIC-MRA poll released Friday. Trump won Michigan in 2016 and Biden took the state in 2020. The poll on Friday also found that 52 percent of Michigan voters have an unfavorable view of Biden and 57 percent have an unfavorable view of Trump. Meanwhile, only 29 percent gave Biden a positive job approval rating.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teacher’s union in the country, endorsed President Biden and Vice President Harris for reelection Friday in another show of organized labor strength for the president. The AFT offered its endorsement of Biden on the same day the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of unions in the country, did the same, reflecting a broader strategy to show support for Biden among organized labor.

Tyler Rake was clinically dead when we last saw him at the end of “Extraction,” tumbling over a bridge in Bangladesh with a fatal, burbling bullet wound to his neck. But death is no match for Netflix. Chris Hemsworth returns as the sad-sack, gun-for-hire Rake in “Extraction 2” and you’ll thank the giant streamer for such a nifty bit of resurrection because this franchise is pure cinematic adrenalin. The new movie comes two years after a surprisingly good first installment, which saw Rake intervene in a feud between two rival drug dealers, survive numerous double-crosses, ask things like “How many hostiles onsite?” and lob an inexhaustible number of grenades. Full article

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance is being investigated by French authorities, according to media reports in France. The investigation is focused on its anti-money laundering procedures. It follows the announcement of the company's departure from the Netherlands after it failed to obtain a licence from the Dutch central bank. In a statement Binance confirmed French authorities visited its offices last week and will comply accordingly. "We had an on-site visit last week by the relevant authorities. Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly. We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to uphold high standards," a company spokesperson said. Cryptocurrencies have become a popular trading asset-class in recent years for both retail and institutional investors. However questions have been raised about the risks associated with crypto because of their prices can experience huge swings in value. Regulators around the world have looked to ramp up pressure on crypto exchanges in a bid to make them more transparent. Full source article

Can Ukraine's counteroffensive prevail without combat air cover, and will the West come to regret not providing Ukraine with such battle-winning capability? Although the West has provided a wealth of financial and military support to Ukraine to help combat the illegal invasion of Russian forces, it has been reluctant to provide the modern Western air power that President Zelenskyy clearly needs. For much of the war in Ukraine, the Russian Air Force has been conspicuous by its absence. Ukraine war latest: Hypersonic missiles 'downed' over Kyiv Primarily used to launch long-range missiles at targets all over Ukraine, the Russian fighter jets have found the airspace over Ukraine particularly dangerous, and reports suggest they have lost 10% of their assets in the war to date. FULL ARTICLE AND VIDEOS

When Spotify signed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with an exclusive deal reportedly worth about $20m (£15.6m) in 2020, the royal couple were taking their first steps into the commercial world and podcasts were positively booming. How times have changed. These days, Prince Harry and Meghan's brand has waned in the eyes of some and Spotify is reducing its reliance on the big celebrity signings and expensive original content that have weighed on its bottom line. Meghan's podcast became one of the most high-profile casualties this week when Spotify and the duke and duchess's Archewell Audio announced they would be parting ways in a mutual decision. It came after Spotify's deal with Barack and Michelle Obama's production company ended last year. Spotify has let go hundreds of staff since that time, hitting the expansive podcasting division, a hotchpotch of podcasting companies it spent more than $400m acquiring just a few years ago. FULL STORY

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German archaeologists are thrilled to have dug up a Bronze Age sword more than 3,000 years old which is extraordinarily well preserved. The bronze sword with an octagonal hilt was found in a grave in the southern town of Nördlingen. It is thought to be from the late 14th Century BC. Its condition is so good "it almost still shines", Bavaria's State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD) says. The grave contains the bones of a man, woman and boy, and other bronze items. The archaeologists are not sure whether the three were related, and the rarity of the find raises questions about the sword's origin. The BLfD says manufacturing such a sword was complicated, as the hilt was cast on to the blade. The Nördlingen sword does not appear to have been used in anger, but it is believed to have been a real weapon, not just ornamental. Full Article and more images !

Footage released by US Coast Guard shows a crew member swimming through rough seas to rescue a dog trapped on a beach The German Shepherd was injured after falling about 300ft (90m) down a cliff, and ended up trapped on an inaccessible beach in Oregon’s Ecola State Park. The dog was airlifted from the beach and returned to her owner, who after a visit to the emergency vet told the Coast Guard that she is “doing just fine." Full Story

Albums from John Mellencamp and Killer Mike, as well as the return of Chris Hemsworth’s gun-for-hire anti-hero in Netflix’s “Extraction 2” are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are season two of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” and the season seven premiere of “Outlander” that continues the story of its time-crossed lovers Jamie and Claire Fraser.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal appeals court has sided with commercial fishermen who say proposed restrictions aimed at saving a vanishing species of whale could put them out of business. The fishermen harvest lobsters and crabs off New England and oppose tough new restrictions on the way they fish that are intended to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whale numbers only about 340 in the world and it’s vulnerable to lethal entanglement in fishing gear. The fishermen and the state of Maine appealed their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after losing in a lower court. The appeals court said Friday it disagreed with the lower court’s ruling.

Years before he said he was running for president to “defeat the cult of gender ideology,” Donald Trump welcomed and praised the inclusion of transgender women in the Miss Universe pageant. In since unreported radio and television interviews from spring and summer 2012, Trump celebrated the interest in a 23-year-old transgender woman named Jenna Talackova participating in a Canadian pageant. He then later effusively praised the winner of the Miss USA pageant, Olivia Culpo, for saying that transgender women should be allowed to compete.

Some of the stories now emerging from the boat disaster off Greece on Wednesday morning create a picture of unthinkably horrific conditions onboard. Up to 500 people are missing after an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations has said. Authorities rescued 104 people and recovered 78 bodies in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, but nothing has been found since. Witness accounts suggested 400-700 people had packed the 20-30m-long trawler, which capsized and sank about 50 miles from the southern coastal town of Pylos as it was travelling from Libya to Italy.