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☆ ‘The fire moved faster than the cars:’ Residents in Athens suburbs describe destruction wrought by deadly wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Eleni Giokos | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Athens, Greece CNN —Where just hours ago there were thick rows of trees, now stumps protrude and smoke still rises from scorched soil. “At some point, the fire went faster than the cars,” Vasilis Xypolitas, mayor of Kifisia municipality on the outskirts of Athens, told CNN. Her car, like scores of others lining the roads that climb out of Athens, was burned. More than 700 firefighters, nearly 200 vehicles and 35 water-bombing aircraft were deployed to battle the blaze, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported. Once the winds and the worst of the blaze abated, residents in Chalandri returned to inspect the damage.

Persons: Greece CNN —, bedsheets –, Vasilis Xypolitas, ”, Sophia, Alexandros Avramidis, Xypolitas Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, “, ERT, Ministry, Protection Locations: Athens, Greece, Chalandri, Attica, “, Kifisia, Penteli, Varnavas, Grammatiko

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. In the border city of Alamo, Texas, colorful dancers have turned a local flea market into a global internet sensation. June 15, 2024The punishing heat of late spring does nothing to keep the crowds from descending on La Pulga de Alamo, one of the flea markets that are a center of both commerce and culture in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. For as long as anyone can remember, pulgas — Spanish for fleas — have been part of the fabric of El Valle, as the area is known to the large Spanish-speaking population in this part of Texas, a slice of Mexico just north of the border. This is never more true than on the weekend, when the market in Alamo transforms from a shopping mecca into a one-of-a-kind dance hall whose fame has spread across the country and beyond.

Persons: spiro, Virgin Organizations: Walmart Locations: Alamo , Texas, de, Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, Guadalupe, El Valle, Texas, Mexico, Alamo

☆ Rare Hermès Birkin Bags Are up for Auction and May Fetch Over $100,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewIf you're in the market for a Hermès bag that doubles as a doll house, you're in luck — as long as you have $100,000 or so to spare. A new Birkin bag starts at about $10,000 and can cost well into the six figures depending on material, size, and rarity. Since 2022, Hermès bags sold at Christie's auctions have gone for an average of 141% of the lowest estimated price, Christie's said. "Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags, especially the Faubourg bag, for example, are iconic symbols of luxury and status, coveted by collectors worldwide." Courtesy of Christie'sAs the auction demonstrates, luxury handbags — particularly those made by tightly controlled brands like Hermès — are increasingly worthy investments.

Persons: —, Christie's, Birkin —, handmake, Hitha Herzog, Hermès, Faubourg Birkin, Birkin, Nicole Pollard Bayme, Hermès Birkin, Kelly, Chanel, Alexis Clarbour, Louis Vuitton, Yayoi, Dior, Loewe, Roger Vivier Organizations: Service, Business, Rue du Faubourg Saint, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Madison Avenue Couture Locations: Birkins, Rue, Paris, retails

☆ Camels evolved from a cold-weather ancestor. We could learn from their remarkable transformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Bill Weir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“Gentoo penguins are big climate change winners in the Antarctic,” Heather Lynch told me. Conversely, the more flexible gentoo penguins keep moving farther and farther south, chasing new prey, and even abandoning nests to increase the odds of long-term survival. Julian Quinones/CNNThe gentoo population has exploded by as much as 30,000% in just a few years. Bill Weir/CNNHere lieth the lesson of the camel and the gentoo: Heat will move us, one way or another. I just know River won’t be satisfied without a magic plot twist that somehow saves all creatures great and small.

Persons: Bill Weir, —, “, ”, Bill, CNN's, Julian Quinones, Camels, CNN Bill, I’d, ” Heather Lynch, penguins, we’ve, it’s, Xiulin Ruan, CNN Julian Quinones, “ Don’t, Energy's Organizations: CNN, Brooklyn, Central Park Zoo, CNN Penguins, Stony Brook University, gentoo, Purdue, International Energy Agency, Global Locations: Canada, North America, dromedaries, Sudanese, Egypt, Southern Ocean, Antarctica, Manhattan, British Columbia, Yorkshire, England, Phoenix, Japan, Seville, Spain, Miami, Los Angeles, Angeles, Olivia, Colombia, CNN Seville, China, India, Maine

☆ Harry Truman once called the White House a 'glamorous prison.' Here's what presidents and their families have said about living there.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Erin Mcdowell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

President Harry S. Truman referred to the White House as a "glamorous prison," and was criticized for wanting to add a balcony. Harry S. Truman on the White House grounds. Getty ImagesTruman wanted to put his own touches on his own personal "prison," as he referred to it, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, some politicians criticized the move, calling it an expensive attempt to ruin the look of the White House. In the end, the cost of the renovation was taken out of the existing presidential household budget, according to the White House Historical Association.

Persons: Harry S, Truman Organizations: Getty, Los Angeles Times, White, Historical Association

☆ See inside the over $1.5 million luxury buses celebrities like Drake and Doja Cat live in while they tour around the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The company says it rents its 190 luxury tour buses to musicians like Drake, Doja Cat, and Olivia Rodrigo. You'll definitely recognize some of Dreamliner's clientsThe company's CEO says Doja Cat, Travis Scott, and Tool are currently on tour using Dreamliner's buses. In 2020, founder Rich Thomson purchased 12 tour buses from an individual who needed to get out of a personal guarantee. Dreamliner Luxury CoachesDreamliner's rendering shows a hotel room on wheels that looks just like a traditional bedroom. Dreamliner Luxury CoachesDreamliner's CEO says these post-conversion coaches are worth $1.5 million to $2 million each.

Persons: Drake, Doja, Olivia Rodrigo, —, you've, Dreamliner, Doja Cat, Travis Scott, Rich Thomson, Kenny Chesney, Chris Stapleton —, Jeremy Maul, he's, Maul, Taylor Swift's, Michael Jordan, Zach Bryans, Thomson, Taylor, Dreamliner's, Hemphill, there's, Justin Timberlake Organizations: Service, Jet, Greyhound, Coaches, NBA, NFL, Brothers Coach Company Locations: The Nashville , Tennessee, Dreamliner, Dreamliner's, Nashville, Fontana , California

☆ Russia has lost more than 2,200 tanks in Ukraine, and it may be reaching the limit of its ability to 'rebuild' older ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( David Hambling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russia has lost more than 2,200 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine in February last year. Russian storage depots are deep, but they don't have an unlimited supply of armor to throw into a new fight. In fact, Russia is rebuilding tanks rather than building them, and their capacity to do so may be reaching its limit. Russia has vast stockpiles of old tanks, from T-90s barely 20 years old to rusting T-62s from the 1960s. More importantly, Russia's supply of old tanks for rebuilding is showing signs of running down.

Persons: Alexander Zemlianichenko, Stalin, UVZ, Sergio Miller, Abrams, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Shoigu, Putin's, Dmitry Medvedev, OLGA MALTSEVA, Jakub Janovsky, Medvedev, Nobody, Putin, David Hambling Organizations: Service, Russia, Victory Day, AP, Stalin Ural Tank, British Army, Sierra Army, Omsk Transport Machine Factory, —, Getty, Defence, Moscow Times, Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Aviation, Forbes, The, New, Popular Mechanics, WIRED Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, AP Russia, Nizhny Tagil, Moscow, Stalin Ural, Doyle , California, Omsk, St Petersburg, Siberia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Russian, Rostov, Izyum, AFP, OmskTransMash, Laos, St . Petersburg, Buryatia, Mongolia, Urals, USSR, Germany, Kremlin, London

☆ Car companies like Honda, BMW, and Hyundai are banding together to build an EV-charging network bigger than Tesla's Supercharger empire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Seven automakers plan to build an electric-vehicle charging network to take on Tesla. Seven car companies are making their own charging network to take on Elon Musk's Tesla Superchargers. Tesla, by comparison, has spent over a decade building out a vast network of charging stations specifically for its owners. And that network, which historically only allowed Tesla owners to plug in, has been a huge driver of Tesla sales. It sounds like the planned charging network aims to mimic some of the things Tesla got right, and add some extra conveniences.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk's Tesla Organizations: Tesla, Elon, BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Benz, Fiat, Dodge, EV, Volkswagen, CCS Locations: North America, America, North, Superchargers

☆ 9 Ways to Stay Shaded on a Sweltering Day in New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With above-average temperatures predicted for this summer, New Yorkers are bracing for a scorcher. Air conditioning, for those fortunate enough to have it, drives up electricity bills and carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change, which is what is fueling the extreme heat to begin with. Shade in New York City, it must be said, is a hot commodity. For this reason, architects, urban planners, developers and environmentalists have been working on ways to temper heat and glare. Updated awningsAlthough window awnings took a hit with the advent of air conditioning in the 20th century, they are still prevalent in neighborhoods with one- and two-family homes.

Persons: awnings, Jay LoIacono Organizations: Air, Acme Locations: New York City, Bronx

☆ San Francisco is forcing couple to remove sidewalk 'obstruction' — or pay $1,400. It's a little free library.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A popular little free library in San Francisco was ordered to be removed, the Wall Street Journal reported. The order was prompted by a call to a city hotline used for complaints about regulatory violations. The library is part of a crackdown in San Francisco on unpermitted objects that interfere with public ways, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Meyers' library is still standing, the Journal reported, as the city sorts out new rules for the small box and many like it. In the end, Susan Meyers told the Journal the original hotline complaint may have been a catalyst for the city to rethink its regulations.

☆ How Budweiser Tackled a Beer-Free World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

In the end, the brewer found a way to navigate the World Cup beer-free and roll with the media attention that the alcohol ban generated. Soccer’s 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar ran from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18. World Cup sponsors Kia and Adidas similarly maintained their reputational scores, according to the Morning Consult data. Budweiser doesn’t pay a reported $75 million for the official beer sponsorship of the World Cup just to serve beer at stadiums. But the ban on alcoholic Budweiser undermined the impetus for being at the World Cup, Mr. Marcondes said.

☆ Britons gather in squares and parks to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People gather to watch the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth on a large screen in Holyrood Park Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Russell CheyneRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEDINBURGH/WINDSOR, England, Sept 19 (Reuters) - In airport lounges, parks, pubs and city squares, people gathered in front of screens across Britain on Monday to watch the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth. Some kept their heads bowed, others wiped away tears as Britain said goodbye to its longest serving monarch, who died on Sept. 8 aged 96. Gurminder Kaur got up early to drive from Essex in southeast England to Windsor, where the queen will be buried later on Monday. “The (London) queue had a festival atmosphere, and you just had the adrenaline keeping you going," Kaur said.

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