All posts tagged: records

Boeing faces new FAA probe over 787 Dreamliner inspections, falsified records

Boeing faces new FAA probe over 787 Dreamliner inspections, falsified records

US air safety authorities are investigating whether Boeing completed required plane inspections on the 787 and whether employees falsified aircraft records, officials said Monday. Issued on: 07/05/2024 – 01:20 2 min The issue centers on whether Boeing undertook required inspections to “confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in an email. The FAA said it opened the investigation after Boeing notified it that the company may not have completed required inspections, which are needed to ensure a safe and functional electrical flow between aircraft components. “The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records,” the agency said. “At the same time, Boeing is reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet.” The issue surfaced after a Boeing employee observed an “irregularity” and raised the issue with a supervisor who elevated it further. “We quickly reviewed the matter and learned that …

Gaze at the gregarious sea lions setting records in San Francisco

Gaze at the gregarious sea lions setting records in San Francisco

Nothing prepares you for mating like a seafood buffet. Well, at least if you’re a sea lion. A massive school of anchovy in the San Francisco Bay has lured approximately 1,700 sea lions to Pier 39 near the city’s Fisherman’s Wharf district. Not since the early 1990s has the area seen this many sea lions, Sheila Candor, Harbormaster at Pier 39, told the Associated Press. In recent decades, less than a thousand sea lions flopped onto the pier each spring. Pier 39 is a sea lion rest stop of sorts, a place to fill up on anchovies and herring before heading south to the Channel Islands for mating season. The pier docks use three times the floatation support as normal docks to support the weight of the blubbery sea beasts. If you’re planning to visit this year’s herd of sea lions, prepare for a chorus of loud barking and frequent displays of sun-basked lounging and fin-slap bickering. And if you can’t make it to San Francisco, enjoy these photos we collected. There’s no better time …

Sierra Nevada records snowiest day of the season from brief but potent storm

Sierra Nevada records snowiest day of the season from brief but potent storm

In this photo provided by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, a snowboarder rides in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Sunday, May 5, 2024. Peter Morning/AP hide caption toggle caption Peter Morning/AP In this photo provided by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, a snowboarder rides in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Sunday, May 5, 2024. Peter Morning/AP TRUCKEE, Calif. — A weekend spring storm that drenched the San Francisco Bay area and closed Northern California mountain highways also set a single-day snowfall record for the season on Sunday in the Sierra Nevada. The wet weather system had mostly moved out of the state by Sunday morning, but officials warned that roads would remain slick after around two feet (60 centimeters) of snow fell in some areas of the Sierra. “Did anyone have the snowiest day of the 2023/2024 season being in May on their winter bingo card?” the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab asked on the social platform X. The 26.4 inches (67 centimeters) of snowfall on Sunday beat the second snowiest day of the season — March 3rd …

The ‘Harry Potter’ original book cover art is expected to break auction records

The ‘Harry Potter’ original book cover art is expected to break auction records

Thomas Taylor’s original cover illustration for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) is expected to break auction records at Sotheby’s on June 26. Sotheby’s hide caption toggle caption Sotheby’s Thomas Taylor’s original cover illustration for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) is expected to break auction records at Sotheby’s on June 26. Sotheby’s The book cover art that introduced readers across the world to Harry Potter is expected to break auction records next month. This past week, Sotheby’s announced the auction scheduled for June 26 in New York of Thomas Taylor’s original watercolor illustration for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Published by Bloomsbury in 1997, the title kicked off the famous seven-book series. In a statement shared with NPR, the auction house said the artwork is expected to sell for $400,000 to $600,000 — a record estimate for any Harry Potter-related material ever offered at auction. With over 500 million copies sold worldwide across 80 languages, the Harry Potter series has become a global phenomenon. Taylor’s illustration — …

Best retro-style turntables to play vinyl records in 2024

Best retro-style turntables to play vinyl records in 2024

The form and style of older cultural artefacts, be they telephones, turntables or televisions, is defined by key names and brands. Just as it is near-impossible to talk telephones without talking GPO, or talk early hi-fi without talking RCA, it is near-impossible to acknowledge the early days of vinyl records without mention of the Victor Talking Machine Company. This was an American phonograph company and early record label, which led the charge in proliferating records at the turn of the 20th century. It also shared a logo and trademark with similarly iconic British outlet HMV – ‘His Master’s Voice’, the famed 19th Century painting of a dog and his gramophone. The Victor Talking Machine Company produced records and phonographs for generations, first independently then as a merged entity with music industry behemoth RCA. Today, an ancestor lives on in the form of Victrola; a much newer enterprise, but one that stays true to the form and style of its forefather.  Most suitcase record players take their cues from the early 20th Century, but this Victrola …

Vietnam temperature records tumble as heatwave scorches South and Southeast Asia

Vietnam temperature records tumble as heatwave scorches South and Southeast Asia

HANOI: More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April, according to official data, as a deadly heatwave scorches South and Southeast Asia. Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain. Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and intense heatwaves. Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in April, according to data published on Friday (May 3) by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with the mercury peaking at 44 degrees Celsius in two towns earlier this week. The mark is only slightly below the highest temperature ever recorded in Vietnam – 44.2 degrees Celsius on May 7 last year. In all, 102 weather stations saw record highs in April, as northern and central Vietnam bore the brunt of the heatwave, with temperatures on average 2 to 4 degrees Celsius higher than during the same period last year. Seven stations recorded temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius, all on Tuesday. The most …

Vacheron Constantin, Piaget & IWC Schaffhausen set new world records

Vacheron Constantin, Piaget & IWC Schaffhausen set new world records

To achieve this, the team ingeniously devised three mechanical “brains”, in which each drives one of the calendar’s components: The lunar cycle, solar cycle, and the Metonic cycle – all of which are programmed to function flawlessly until the year 2200. In addition to displaying the complexities of the Chinese calendar, the watch showcases another world-first: A disc that accurately indicates the variable date of the Chinese New Year. On display at the fair, it was incredible to see the Chinese perpetual calendar’s intricate details displayed in Chinese characters on the front of the watch. The phases of the moon and the agricultural year’s 24 solar periods are featured on the back, along with a second-time zone display that highlights the earth’s global sunshine duration from a geographical perspective. Visible on both sides of the watch, the Calibre 3752 is a technological marvel that incorporates a split-seconds chronograph, alarm, and other astronomical indications, such as a sky chart that displays the stars and constellations as seen from Shanghai in real time, as well as an …

All the Records Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Has Broken (So Far)

All the Records Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Has Broken (So Far)

Taylor Swift is back to her record-breaking business. The 34-year-old songstress has shattered a number of records since releasing her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, and its lead single, “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, on April 19.  On Sunday, Billboard announced that TTPD had made a historic debut atop its Billboard 200 albums chart with 2.61 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S. for its opening week. The album sold more than 1.9 million copies across traditional formats, including digital downloads, CDs, vinyl, and cassettes, and generated more than 891 million on-demand streams.  The outlet notes that, with 859,000 copies of the album sold on vinyl, it is the largest sales week for an album in that format in the modern era. Swift has now earned her 14th chart topper, extending her own record for the most No. 1 albums for a female artist and tying Jay-Z’s record for the most No. 1s by a solo artist. When it comes to all-time No. 1s, The Beatles still hold that record with a whopping 19.  …

Taylor Swift ‘overwhelmed’ as The Tortured Poets Department tops Billboard charts and breaks records

Taylor Swift ‘overwhelmed’ as The Tortured Poets Department tops Billboard charts and breaks records

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department has debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 2.61 million units, the highest for any album since Adele’s 25 in 2015. The singer reacted to the news by posting a carousel of polaroids from the recording of the album on social media: “My mind is blown. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album.” “2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed.” “I was already so fired up to get back to the tour but you doing THIS?? May 9th can’t come soon enough,” she added, referring to the resumption of her Eras Tour concerts in Paris on 9 May. Billboard said traditional album sales, which include digital downloads, CDs, vinyl LPs and cassettes accounted for 1.914 million of the 2.61 million …