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Christian Bale, who played Batman

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. It is based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, played by Christian Bale (pictured), and is the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy and the sequel to Batman Begins (2005). In the film, Batman, police lieutenant Jim Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent ally to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. They are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind played by Heath Ledger. Ledger's posthumous awards included Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor. The ensemble cast also included Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. The film was the fourth-highest-grossing film ever at the time. It has been assessed as one of the best films ever made. The Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry in 2020. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded the trilogy in 2012. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Schloemer automobile

... that the Schloemer automobile (pictured), once described by The Milwaukee Journal as "America's first practical horseless carriage", is now considered to just have been the first car running in Milwaukee?
... that Nazi Party member Adalbert Baumann created Oiropa'pitshn, a language based on Yiddish?
... that Domingo Germán was booed off the pitcher's mound in the game prior to his perfect game?
... that the history of philosophy in India is characterized by its combined interest in the nature of reality, the ways of arriving at knowledge, and the spiritual question of how to reach enlightenment?
... that a misreport led to Francis Slater Rebow being recorded in the wrong military rank for three years?
... that Robin Roberts, later of ESPN and Good Morning America, worked as a reporter for the radio station at Southeastern Louisiana University while a student there?
... that Tatsuya Takahashi worked with Red Bull Music Academy to create an online game about synthesisers?
... that even though syndicated talk show Karamo generally replaced Maury, its host promised it would feature "no baby mama stuff"?

In the news

Fran Drescher

In the United States, actors in the SAG-AFTRA trade union (president Fran Drescher pictured) go on strike, joining writers in the Writers Guild of America strike.
In the Netherlands, the governing coalition collapses and Prime Minister Mark Rutte announces his upcoming resignation.
In Brazil, the Superior Electoral Court bars former president Jair Bolsonaro from running for political office until 2030 for abuse of power before the 2022 general election.
Riots break out across France after a 17-year-old is fatally shot by police in Paris.

On this day

July 14: Bastille Day in France (1789); Festino di Santa Rosalia begins in Palermo, Italy

Attack on Joseph Priestley's home

1791 – The Priestley Riots (depicted), targeting religious dissenters such as Joseph Priestley, began in Birmingham, England.
1902 – The medieval St Mark's Campanile in Venice collapsed, also demolishing the Loggetta del Sansovino.
1950 – Early in the Korean War, North Korean troops began attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in Taejon, South Korea.
1987 – More than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour period in parts of Montreal, causing severe flooding.
2016 – A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France, resulting in 86 deaths.

Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester (d. 1262)
Estella Hijmans-Hertzveld (b. 1837)
Mihran Kassabian (d. 1910)
Maryam Mirzakhani (d. 2017)

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From today's featured list

Developers at Naughty Dog accepting Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

2013 action-adventure game The Last of Us garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its story, sound and music, graphical and artistic design, and the performances. Players assume control of Joel (Troy Baker), escorting the young Ellie (Ashley Johnson) across a post-apocalyptic United States. At the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards, The Last of Us received ten nominations and went on to win five awards: Best Game, Action & Adventure, Audio Achievement, Performer, and Story. The game led the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards with thirteen nominations and ten awards, including Game of the Year. At the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, it won Game of the Year, Best Design, and Best Narrative. The game received seven nominations at the Spike VGX, with Baker winning the award for Best Voice Actor and Johnson winning the award for Best Voice Actress. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Stibnite, also known as antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb₂S₃. This soft grey material crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group. Pastes of stibnite powder in fat or other materials have been used since at least 3000 BC as eye cosmetics in the Mediterranean and farther afield; in this use, it is called kohl. It was used to darken the brows and lashes, or to draw a line around the perimeter of the eye. Stibnite is also the most important industrial source for the metalloid antimony. This stibnite crystal, measuring 5.0 cm × 2.8 cm × 1.5 cm (1.97 in × 1.10 in × 0.59 in), was found in the Herja Mine in Maramureș, Romania.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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