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☆ ‘Great enigma’: Amateur archaeologists unearth mysterious Roman object
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Emily Blumenthal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Amateur archaeologists in England have unearthed one of the largest Roman dodecahedrons ever found, but mystery surrounds what it was actually used for. The 12-sided object is one of just 33 known to exist in Roman Britain, and one of approximately 130 in the world. It is considered “one of archaeology’s great enigmas,” according to the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, an amateur group based in the English region of Lincolnshire where it was found in June. “It is completely unique,” said Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, adding that no similar objects have ever been found. Norton Disney History and Archaeology GroupParker told CNN there are no descriptions of the dodecahedron in Roman literature, and they have not been depicted pictorially in mosaics.

Persons: “, ” Andrea Martin, ”, Richard Parker, It’s, ” Parker, Parker, we’re Organizations: CNN — Amateur, Roman, Norton Disney, Archaeology Group, Lincoln Museum, Lincolnshire County, Lincoln Festival, CNN Locations: England, Roman Britain, Lincolnshire

☆ A millennial shared how her family is pursuing their American dream after moving from Scotland to Florida. She's enjoying the beaches and weather but finds Florida can be expensive.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Now her family is living their American dream in South Florida. Peacock's family is just one example of people pursuing the American dream, which can mean different things to different people, like achieving homeownership. Some Gen Zers see the American dream has changed from how older peers may have seen it. For us, the American dream is also the weather and the beach lifestyle, and we have that." "We're legally entitled to do the last stage from within the country, but it's a very complicated and lengthy process," Peacock said.

Persons: Amber Peacock, Peacock, we'd, didn't, Zers, She's, We've, we've, America Peacock, they're, We're, Brit Peacock, Aunty Bubs, they've, It's Organizations: Service, Business, Sunshine State, YouTube Locations: England, Scotland, South Florida, America, New York, Florida, Edinburgh, Lincolnshire, Memphis , Tennessee, Tennessee, Memphis, Nashville, Nashville , Tennessee, Texas, Chicago, West, East

☆ British zoo has new plan to rehabilitate its potty-mouthed parrots
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —A British wildlife park has hatched a new plan to rehabilitate its potty-mouthed parrots after they unleashed a tide of expletives. Back in 2020, five foul-mouthed African gray parrots, donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England, were isolated from the flock in an attempt to improve their language. “We’ve put eight really, really offensive, swearing parrots with 92 non-swearing ones,” he said. If the new strategy works, the eight parrots could learn “all the nice noises like microwaves and vehicles reversing” that the other parrots in the flock favor, Nichols added. In fact, historically, “we did hear a lot more customers swearing at parrots than we did parrots swearing at customers,” Nichols said.

Persons: London CNN —, Eric, Sheila –, Steve Nichols, “ We’ve, ”, Nichols, “ it’s, they’re, ” Nichols, hasn’t, “ I’ve, “ I’m, they’ll Organizations: London CNN, CNN, grays, African grays Locations: British, Lincolnshire, England

☆ I process major lottery wins — I've seen everything from winning tickets in the laundry to people who almost claimed too late. Also, a giant snake.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andy Carter, who advises lottery winners for Camelot, the operator of the UK's National Lottery. We try to make sure that lottery winners have great support, great access to advice, and that it should be a pleasant experience — because actually people are in shock at this point. He'd been tidying his room and had found the ticket, worth a couple of hundred thousand pounds. Big lottery wins send the team 'buzzing'Whenever we have a really big winner, the machine sort of slips into play. And that's the thing with this job — you have to take it as if they're your first lottery winner.

Persons: —, Andy Carter, there's, we'd, you've, I've, Sid, Bert, would've, He'd, he'd, wouldn't Organizations: Service, Camelot, National Lottery, Business, Boston, Big Locations: Lincolnshire, England, Boston

☆ Phillips 66's refining operations come under activist radar
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REFINERIES:WOOD RIVER, Roxana, Illinois, refining capacity: 356,000 barrels per day (bpd)Largest Phillips 66 refinery by operating capacity. LOS ANGELES: Carson and Wilmington, California, capacity: 139,000 bpdTwo sites linked by pipeline, producing California Air Resources Board-grade gasoline and fuel-grade petroleum coke. *SAN FRANCISCO: Santa Maria, Wilmington, California and Rodeo, Rodeo, California, capacity: 120,200 bpdPhillips 66's San Francisco operations consisted of two sites: Santa Maria refinery in Wilmington, California and Rodeo refinery in Rodeo, California. INTERNATIONAL REFINERIES:HUMBER, North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, total throughput: 245,000 bpdProduces transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil and petroleum coke. MiRO, Karlsruhe, Germany, total throughput: 61,000 bpdProduces transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil, bitumen, and petroleum coke.

Persons: Bing Guan, refiner Phillips, Phillips, Santa, Santa Maria, Shariq Khan, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Phillips, Los, Los Angeles Refinery, REUTERS, Investment Management, Energy, Exports, California Air Resources, INTERNATIONAL, MiRO, . Energy, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, Carson , California, U.S, Wood, Borger, Roxana , Illinois, Midcontinent, BORGER, Borger , Texas, West Texas, New Mexico , Colorado, SWEENY, Old Ocean , Texas, United States, America, LAKE CHARLES, Westlake , Louisiana, Europe, Linden , New Jersey, York, Bayway, East Coast . PONCA CITY, Ponca City , Oklahoma, ANGELES, Carson, Wilmington , California, California, California , Nevada, Arizona, FERNDALE, Ferndale , Washington, BILLINGS, Billings , Montana, Montana , Wyoming , Idaho , Utah, Colorado, Washington, Santa Maria, Rodeo , California, Francisco, HUMBER, North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, Karlsruhe, Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Zebra Technologies beats quarterly profit expectations, sees soft demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Barcode scanner maker Zebra Technologies Corp (ZBRA.O) beat third-quarter profit and revenue estimates on Tuesday but forecast a bigger-than-expected drop in the fourth-quarter net sales due to slowing tech spending in a tough economy. With inflation and weak consumer spending still weighing on the company's operations, it expects free cash flow to remain negative this year. Zebra Technologies initiated several cost-cutting measures in the second quarter, such as slowing hiring and downsizing its offices, to combat the impact of soft demand across its end-markets. Its third-quarter revenue of $956 million beat expectations of $926.3 million, while adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share came above estimates of 81 cents per share. The company said it now expects annual cost savings to be about $100 million, up from $85 million, from its cost initiatives.

Persons: Bill Burns, Yamini, Saumyadeb Organizations: Zebra Technologies, . Postal Service, Walgreens Boots Alliance, The Lincolnshire ,, Thomson Locations: The Lincolnshire, The Lincolnshire , Illinois, Bengaluru

☆ ‘Tree of the Year’: Ancient and iconic trees are competing for UK title
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Nadia Leigh-Hewitson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. “Ancient trees in towns and cities are vital for the health of nature, people and planet,” Naomi Tilley, lead campaigner at the Woodland Trust, said in a press release. “They give thousands of urban wildlife species essential life support, boost the UK’s biodiversity and bring countless health and wellbeing benefits to communities.”According to a 2020 study, ancient trees are in global decline. Despite their demonstrated resilience across centuries, ancient trees might struggle to adapt to the rapid environmental and climatic shifts anticipated in the years ahead. “Most ancient trees aren’t protected by law,” continued Tilley.

Persons: CNN —, ” Naomi Tilley, “, ”, Tilley Organizations: CNN, Woodland Trust, Sheffield City Council Locations: Lincolnshire, England, ”, “

☆ Fact Check-Met Office says UK temperature data shows increase in last two decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The average temperature has increased over the last two decades, the Met Office said, countering misleading claims circulating online. According to the Met Office, however, its data show a long-term trend of rising temperatures, including an increase in UK temperature over the last two decades. “The Met Office’s preferred smoothing pattern for the UK temperature series clearly shows warming over the last two decades,” he said. In comparison to the 30-year period 1961-1990, the average UK temperature increased by 0.8°C between 1991 and 2020 (here). The average temperature has increased over the last two decades in the UK, according to the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service.

Persons: “, Grahame Madge, ”, Madge, ” Will Jones, Read Organizations: Met Office, Daily, Reuters, UK Met Office Locations: Lincolnshire

☆ A mortgage broker spent 3 months turning an abandoned shed in his backyard into a cozy traditional pub. See how he did it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Davey Pearson, a mortgage broker, turned an old, empty shed in his backyard into a cozy pub. Davey Pearson"The most expensive part of it was getting the electrician in to run power to the building," Pearson said. Have you got any old pub stuff you don't need anymore?'" So when they come and visit, obviously we make a big deal about spending the time here in the pub," Pearson said. Davey Pearson inside his backyard pub with his father.

Persons: Davey Pearson, Pearson, I've, Pearson doesn't, haven't, it's, We've, we've Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Sussex, England, Lincolnshire, plasterboard

☆ The uber-rich are spending hundreds of thousands to hire pop stars like Flo Rida to perform at their kid's bar mitzvahs and birthdays
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The wealthy are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on 30-minute performances from music artists. These private shows, like bar mitzvahs or birthdays, can draw in big names like Flo Rida and Drake. As artists make less money from their music, the idea of "selling out" is changing, New Yorker reports. To get Flo Rida at your private event however, it will run you between $150,000 and $300,000, with international shows extending that fee up to around $1 million, the New Yorker reported. A lawyer for Flo Rida confirmed to Insider that fee range was accurate and said his client "loves weddings, birthday parties and bar/bat mitzvahs."

Persons: Flo Rida, Drake, Flo Rida's, Flo, Beyonce, Rod Stewart, Steely Dan, Ryan Schinman, Ariana Grande —, Travis Scott Organizations: Morning, New Yorker, Billboard, Citigroup, McDonalds Locations: Miami, Lincolnshire, Chicago, New, Italy, Dubai, Sardinia

☆ 130 Regal, Eastgate, and other movie theaters could close in the US — see the list of those already shuttering
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Travis Clark | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cineworld has sought to exit its leases for 130 theaters in the US. A bankruptcy court in Texas has already approved its plan to walk away from 47 of those locations. Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. So far, the Texas bankruptcy court overseeing the proceedings has approved the company's plan to exit 47 leases, according to court filings. The North American box office hit $7.4 billion in 2022, according to Comscore, down from over $11 billion in 2019 and 2018.

The contracted use of hotels was envisioned as a temporary measure, but adds strain to the asylum accommodation system. The cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels has increased over the past year, now exceeding £6 million ($7.4 million) a day, the Home Office told CNN in a statement. On Tuesday, the UK Home Office also said Afghans who have been living in temporary UK accommodation for 18 months will be given three months’ notice to move out of so-called bridging hotels. There are currently around 8,000 Afghans living in 59 bridging hotels in the UK, according to the Home Office. But campaigners also warned that the plan could exacerbate the trauma experienced by people displaced by political strife and conflict in Afghanistan.

☆ UK's Crown Estate to lease seabed sites for six offshore wind projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Crown Estate will lease sites for six offshore wind projects capable of generating enough green electricity to power more than seven million homes by 2030 under agreements announced on Thursday. The Crown Estate, which oversees the British monarch's public holdings, manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland and awards seabed rights for the development of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) said it was one of the companies that had signed a lease agreement with the Crown Estate. Gus Jaspert, managing director in charge of marine at the Crown Estate, said the deal "marks a significant milestone for the UK on the road to net zero". The offshore wind market has grown to become the largest source of renewable electricity in the UK, the Crown Estate said, currently able to power approximately 40% of UK homes.

☆ Passengers on a cruise liner's first voyage say Christmas Day was an 'absolute disaster', with some waiting until 11 p.m. to have dinner, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Passengers on a cruise liner's first voyage said their Christmas Day was "an absolute disaster." They told The Times they'd booked a table for Christmas dinner, but the reservation was lost. The Wheatleys booked a table for Christmas dinner last month, but were told on Christmas Day that their reservation could not be found. "On Christmas Day we were quite lucky. A P&O spokesperson told The Times that IT and connectivity problems "caused dining issues and restaurant delays for a proportion of guests on Christmas Day.

☆ See insider the creepy nuclear bunker that has been sold at auction as a unique off-grid vacation home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Cold-War era nuclear bunker built in 1959 has sold at auction in Lincolnshire, England. The bunker was built as part of a civil defense group's nuclear plan and is accessible via a 14-foot ladder. The bunker went on sale with SDL Property Auctions and sold for £31,000, or about $38,092, according to the auctioneers' website. SCL AuctionsThe bunker also comes with a caravan that can be used for an above-ground holiday home, but the buyer plans to replace it, Insider has been told. The former owner said he was selling the unique property because he had not visited it for years and added, "I'd like some cash to go on holiday."

☆ Keadby 3 becomes first UK carbon capture power station to win planning permission
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Expert Analysis | Reuters Professional | Calls Grow For Companies To Disclose Impacts On Nature In Bid To Plug Finance Gap | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Sse Plc FollowEquinor ASA FollowLONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Keadby 3 Carbon Capture Power Station in northern England has become the UK's first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to receive planning permission. The project is backed by Britain's SSE Thermal, part of SSE (SSE.L), and Norwegian energy company Equinor (EQNR.OL). The power station could be operational as early as 2027. SSE Thermal and Equinor are also collaborating on building Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station in the northeast of Scotland. They are also developing Keadby Hydrogen Power Station and Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage.

☆ UK trial will inject hydrogen into a gas-fired, grid-connected power station
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesHydrogen will be injected into a gas-fired, grid-connected power station during a trial project set to last 12 months, in the latest example of how major companies are looking to integrate the energy carrier into their operations and existing infrastructure. In a statement earlier this week, London-listed Centrica said the hydrogen would be injected by Centrica Business Solutions into a gas-peaking plant in Lincolnshire, east England. "It's anticipated that during the trial, getting underway in Q3 2023, no more than three per cent of the gas mix could be hydrogen, increasing to 20% incrementally after the project," Centrica said. "Longer term, the vision is to move towards 100% hydrogen and to deploy similar technology across all gas-fired peaking plant[s]." If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it "green" or "renewable" hydrogen.

☆ A Second World War sea fort off the English coast was sold for about $580,000 at an auction. Take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-16 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A seat fort from the Second World War sold for more than $580,000 at an auction in July. The fort has three floors and a lookout tower but can only be accessed by boat or helicopter. Bull Sand Fort, off the Lincolnshire coast in northern England, was built to accommodate 200 troops and can only be accessed by boat or helicopter. The fort was listed with real estate firm Savills and went under auction on July 19. The fort is in need of a little love in the form of refurbishment, Morish says, but has potential for alternative uses if permitted.

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