Social Media

Reported post removed.

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.

A gunman accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 has been found guilty by a jury in the US state of Pennsylvania. The federal trial of Robert Bowers, 50, now moves to the sentencing phase, with the court poised to decide whether he should be given the death penalty. The 27 October assault inside the Tree of Life synagogue was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. Bowers pleaded not guilty to all 63 charges against him. The jury convicted him on all counts after less than a full day of deliberations. During the three-week trial, prosecutors called 60 witnesses as they tried to prove the gunman carried out his attack because of a hatred for Jews.

Millions of Mormon crickets have invaded the town of Elko, Nevada as they enter their migratory phase. The insects, which technically aren't crickets, are members of the katydid family and don't sting or bite. But they can cause widespread damage to crops and other vegetation. Their name comes from their invasion of the crops of Mormon settlers in Utah in the 1800s.

Tell me more, tell me more: It has been 45 years since "Grease" was released in theaters, making John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John household names. The movie, which was released on June 13, 1978, followed Sandy Olsson (Newton-John) and Danny Zuko (Travolta) as they struggled to make their relationship work due to the fact that they come from two completely different worlds. Danny is a greaser and Sandy is a good-girl cheerleader. Their love story quickly captured the hearts of America, becoming such a hit it inspired the sequel, "Grease 2," starring Michelle Pfeiffer as the female lead, Stephanie, in her breakthrough role.

Ukraine war: Village recounts '28 days in hell' when they were held hostage and tortured in a basement by Russian soldiers The villagers of Yahidne in northern Ukraine are still suffering a collective trauma from what many describe as their 28 days in hell when they were held hostage by Russians soldiers. They're now about to be the star witnesses of Ukraine's biggest war crime trials to date.

Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic says it will launch its first commercial flight before the end of this month. The firm is targeting a launch window for the flight, which is called Galactic 01, from 27 June to 30 June. After the announcement to investors, Virgin Galactic shares jumped more than 40% in extended New York trading. In May, Virgin Orbit - a separate space firm owned by the UK billionaire - shut down, months after a mission failed. Virgin Galactic said the first flight will be a scientific research mission, carrying three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy to conduct microgravity research. The company said its second commercial spaceflight will follow in early August, and it expects to operate monthly spaceflights from then on.