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☆ Here's what Niagara Falls looked like when it was turned off for the first time in 12,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

In 1969, the US Army Corps of Engineers dumped 27,000 tons of rock to dam the Niagara River and stop the American Falls. They were assessing a growing pile of boulders at the bottom out of concern the falls could become rapids. But in the end, engineers found the boulders were necessary to prop up the face of the falls. Engineers had blocked it off so they could examine the boulders at the base of the falls and see whether they could be removed. Here's why, after 12,000 years, the famous falls were "turned off."

☆ Assassinations, plane crashes, and a botched lobotomy: How the Kennedys' numerous tragedies fueled the idea of a 'cursed family'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

After Robert and John F. Kennedy were assassinated, an idea formed that the family could be cursed. Their history has been marred with tragedy, including four plane crashes, a skiing accident, and a lobotomy. In 1969, Ted Kennedy even publicly referred to the curse when he apologized for fleeing a car crash. But their family also has had to deal with countless tragedies: two assassinations, two overdoses, four plane crashes, a skiing accident, and even a botched lobotomy. Here are the tragedies that have struck the Kennedy family.

☆ Here's how the polarizing M16 or AR-15 rifle went from a symbol of America's lost war in Vietnam to being owned by about 16 million Americans in 70 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The M16 or AR-15 rifle is one of the US's most divisive symbolsTo gun enthusiasts, it is an effective, lightweight weapon. To anti-gun advocates, it's a symbol of mass shootings. Experts estimate approximately 16 million adults in the US now own at least one of these rifles. Since 2012, 10 out of 17 of the deadliest shootings in the country featured an AR-15 rifle, the Independent reported. As of 2023, about 16 million adults in the US own at least one, according to polling conducted by The Washington Post and Ipsos.

☆ Photos show how rising sea levels are washing away a small seaside town in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A town on North Carolina's Outer Banks made headlines last year when three homes collapsed into the sea. Rodanthe has become a symbol of the devastating impact of rising seas. Some residents are now moving their houses back from the sea, but it's a temporary solution. As the sea rises, owners of beachfront homes in Rodanthe, North Carolina, are watching as their neighbors are washed away — and they're waiting to see if it happens to them, too. Here's why Rodanthe has become a symbol of how rising seas can impact real people.

☆ An oil spill off the Philippine coast has coated some of the world's most beautiful beaches in sludge: 'Our white sand is now black'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

On February 28, a tanker carrying more than 200,000 gallons of oil sank in the Philippines. Since then it has been steadily leaking oil into the sea, killing wildlife and impacting the lives of locals. In 2006, another tanker leaked about 109,000 gallons of oil off the Philippine coast in the worst spill in the country's history to date. The spill has now reached Palawan, one of the world's top beach destinations — and it shows no sign of slowing down. Oil spills are notoriously difficult to clean up, and the technology to do so hasn't developed much since the 1960s.

☆ Vintage photos show what life was like in the White House during John F. Kennedy's iconic presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

President John F. Kennedy lived with his family in the White House for less than three years. His kids enjoyed making the most of the expansive White House grounds, while his wife famously restored the residence. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe Kennedys' time in the White House was brief but iconic. For less than three years, President John F. Kennedy, his wife Jackie and their two children, Caroline and John Jr., lived in the White House. Here's how the Kennedys' life in the White House left such a lasting impression.

☆ From pigeon-mounted cameras to dragonfly drones, here's how aerial surveillance has evolved to spy on people over the past 200 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Chinese spy balloon in the US is the latest in a long history of governments spying on each other from the sky. Aerial surveillance dates back to the French Revolution to UFO rumors to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's gone from hot air balloons to CIA gadgets to sophisticated live-streaming drones. Loading Something is loading. Here's how surveillance from the sky has developed over the years.

☆ Eerie photos show the Great Smog of London in 1952, which killed 12,000 people and changed the way the world saw air pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

In 1952, London was blanketed under a dark cloud of human-made air pollution known as the Great Smog. The smog killed about 12,000 people, along with a dozen cattle who choked on the poisonous air. The Great Smog of 1952 killed 12,000 people. But the impact of those five days prompted a change in how the world saw air pollution. It led to the creation of the Clean Air Act of 1956, the world's first nationwide legislation regulating pollution.

☆ Photos show the eerie parallels between the Ohio train derailment and a Netflix movie which was filmed in the state the year before
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

In real life, the Ratner family was one of the families that evacuated from East Palestine. What was eerie about their story is that several Ratner family members had actually worked as extras on "White Noise." A still from the film version of "White Noise." Ben Ratner told CNN: "The first half of the movie is all almost exactly what's going on here." He said he recently tried to watch the movie but failed to finish it since it was now too close to home.

☆ How Clarence Thomas went from a left-wing Black radical to one of the Supreme Court's most conservative judges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Thomas spent a year training to become a priest, but after the prejudice he encountered, he changed his mind. Clarence Thomas is seen looking at a textbook with another student in a high school yearbook photo, circa 1959. He protested against the Vietnam War and segregation. In a speech he made in 1993, he said he was told he wasn't "really Black" if he didn't have an Afro. Sources: Esquire, New Yorker , New Yorker, ABC

☆ Here's how JD Vance twisted and turned his way from humble Rust Belt beginnings into becoming a Yale-educated, best-selling author, and senator at 38
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

JD Vance may be best-known for his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," which was adapted into a movie for Netflix. Vance is a venture capitalist who formally entered politics in 2021, but he's had a national presence since 2016. In November 2022, he was elected as a US Senator of Ohio at the age of 38. In a short period of time, Vance went from the Marines to Yale Law School to working as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley to becoming the best-selling author of "Hillbilly Elegy." Vance has written a memoir about his life and beliefs, but has been criticized for changing his political views when it best serves him.

☆ Some of the widest highways in the US have more than 20 lanes — but widening them won't solve traffic congestion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The federal government is providing states with $350 billion to spend on highways to alleviate traffic congestion. The US has some of the widest highways in the world, but some states are planning on expanding them. Last year, the federal government enacted an infrastructure law, providing states with $350 billion for highways. Even though more lanes often just means more traffic, a number of states, including New York, Texas, Oregon, and Maryland, are considering highway widening projects to ease congestion. Here are some of the widest highways in America — and why widening them won't solve the problem.

The Monterey Park shooting is now one of the 30 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. Twenty-one of the 30 deadliest shootings occurred in the 21st century. The deadly shooting bears the unfortunate — but increasingly familiar — distinction of joining the ranks of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US, counted at least 647 mass shootings in 2022. These are the details of 30 of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history.

MexicoMembers of a small community in Mexico defend their town against gang criminals with guns. Although Mexicans have a right to buy a gun, bureaucratic hurdles, long delays, and narrow restrictions make it extremely difficult to do so. Article 10 of the 1857 Mexican Constitution guaranteed that "every man has the right to keep and to carry arms for his security and legitimate defense." During the rewriting of the constitution, the government placed more severe restrictions on the right to buy guns. In 2012, The New York Times reported that only members of the police or military can buy the largest weapons in Mexico, such as semiautomatic rifles.

☆ 46 landmark Supreme Court cases that changed American life as we knew it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( James Pasley | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The US Supreme Court was formed in 1789. It makes fewer than 100 decisions every year, but its choices have had a huge impact on the country. The US Supreme Court, the court of last resort, has undeniably changed the country. It makes fewer than 100 decisions every year that have sweeping effects on American life. Here are 45 of the most important cases the Supreme Court has ever decided.

☆ The life of Jared Kushner: How a rich kid from New Jersey went from buying buildings with his dad and owning a newspaper to advising the president of the United States
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-22 | by ( Michal Kranz | James Pasley | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jared Kushner this week broke his silence about the FBI raid at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. After studying at Harvard, Kushner made a name for himself as a publisher and young real estate mogul. But just like Trump, he comes from a wealthy and influential New York family that made its money in real estate. After studying at Harvard and New York University, Kushner made a name for himself as young real estate magnate and a publisher of the New York Observer. The former first-son-in-law this weekend broke his silence on the FBI raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month.

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