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From today's featured article

Belvidere Apollo Theatre in 2012

The collapse of the Belvidere Apollo Theatre took place on the evening of March 31, 2023, when a tornado struck Belvidere, Illinois, in the United States. The show, headlined by the death metal band Morbid Angel, began despite advance knowledge of imminent severe weather. Winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour (140 to 160 km/h) caused the failure of the lower roof structure and large amounts of debris fell into the sold-out venue burying many people. Concertgoers removed debris prior to the arrival of the Belvidere Fire Department. One concertgoer was pronounced dead at the scene and 27 were taken to the hospital, of 48 who suffered non-fatal injuries. The street-facing facade and the upper roof structure were found on the street after the tornado. Following the collapse, the lack of safety protocols despite warning became the subject of multiple lawsuits. The Apollo Theatre was condemned the next day, but reopened that September. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Wycliffe Smith

... that pastor, poet, teacher, and musician Wycliffe Smith (pictured) has served as lieutenant governor of Saba and prime minister of Sint Maarten?
... that during Operation Security and Order, Mbah Suro's followers fought against Indonesian Army special forces with clubs and headbands?
... that NFL player Henry Monroe retired after one season to enter medical school?
... that workers of Jakarta's Public Facility Maintenance Agency are known as "orange troops"?
... that Luis Aranaz was named an "adopted son" of Sabadell after captaining the city's football club to two Spanish second-division titles in the 1940s?
... that the SWAT unit in Regina recruited their first female officer from the Regina Police Service in May 1991?
... that Namibian activist Werner Mamugwe was banned from entering Bechuanaland Protectorate due to his political activities?
... that North Korea thanked the United States for helping its sailors defeat a group of pirates?
... that "the Psycho" controlled the drug trade in Finglas, Cabra, and Ballymun from the early 1990s until his death in 1996?

In the news

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

In cycling, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (pictured) wins the Tour de France Femmes.
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean.
In association football, the UEFA Women's Euro concludes with England defeating Spain in the final.
In cycling, Tadej Pogačar wins the Tour de France.

On this day

August 5: Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day in Croatia (1995)

Animas River after the Gold King Mine waste water spill

1506 – Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved one of the greatest Lithuanian victories against the Tatars at the Battle of Kletsk.
1600 – Scottish nobleman John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was killed during what was most likely a failed attempt to kidnap King James VI.
1772 – Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of Poland, with the primary motive to restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe.
1973 – Due to an athletics scandal, the National Collegiate Athletic Association applied the death penalty to the basketball program at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
2015 – United States Environmental Protection Agency personnel accidentally caused a spillage (aftermath pictured) of 3 million gallons (11 million litres) of mine waste water and tailings trapped inside the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.

Jerry Pentland (b. 1894)
Vladyslav Gorai (b. 1967)
Soichiro Honda (d. 1991)
Hawa Abdi (d. 2020)

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Today's featured picture

Carmen Miranda (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. Despite being stereotyped, Miranda's performances popularized Brazilian music and increased public awareness of Latin culture. In 1941, Miranda was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave her hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She died in Beverly Hills, California, and is buried at the Cemitério de São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro. This photograph depicts Miranda in a scene from the 1941 film Week-End in Havana.

Photograph credit: 20th Century Fox; restored by Adam Cuerden

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