ALT Before achieving fame, Harrison Ford was working as a self-taught, professional carpenter in Los Angeles to support his young family after failing to get steady acting work. While building custom wooden cabinets for director George Lucas on the set of American Graffiti, he caught Lucas's attention. Later, while helping out on the auditions for a new sci-fi project by reading lines opposite auditioning actors, Lucas realized he was the perfect fit for the role itself.

ALT Before making it in Hollywood, Channing Tatum dropped out of college and was working as an 18-year-old exotic dancer at a local nightclub in Tampa, Florida, going by the name " Chan Crawford ". While dancing, he was discovered by a talent scout during an open audition casting call in Miami, which led to a role as a dancer in Ricky Martin’s " She Bangs " music video and modeling gigs that opened doors to acting classes.

ALT Broke, homeless, and sleeping in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City for three weeks, Sylvester Stallone took a $ 200 job starring in a low-budget softcore adult movie ( The Party at Kitty and Stud's ) out of sheer desperation just to get off the street. He also worked odd jobs as a movie theater usher and cleaning lion cages at the zoo. With almost no money left, Stallone watched a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner. Inspired by the underdog story, he wrote the screenplay for Rocky in 3.5 days and fiercely refused to sell the script unless studio executives let him star as the lead.

ALT An active 4500 BC Chalcolithic excavation at Bulgaria's Varna 🦇 ݁Necropolis exposes Grave 43's elite 🧈 chieftain adorned with gold.

ALT During late pick-ups for a intimate romantic scene between Victoria and Riley, Bryce Dallas Howard was unavailable. Her stunt double, Unshou Ishizuka / Sarah Clarke, stood in for her.

ALT When full costumes and elaborate makeup were applied, theNatalie Portman and Keira Knightley looked so identical that even their mothers couldn't tell them apart on set. However, because Knightley was slightly taller, set dressers used subtle platform shoes and specific camera angles so Knightley did not tower over Portman in scenes where they appeared near each other.

ALT For wide shots requiring the character of Rosemary in her larger physical form, Gwyneth Paltrow could not always wear the multi-pound silicone suit for full days. A body double ( Ivy Snitzer ) wore the full prosthetic suit and a blonde wig matching Paltrow's hairstyle. To ensure the double matched Paltrow’s taller height dynamic next to co-star Jack Black, Snitzer had to stand on wooden blocks / boxes for static medium shots.

ALT Penélope Cruz was pregnant during filming, making full-body action shots and certain close romantic stances with Johnny Depp challenging to frame. Her real-life sister, Mónica Cruz, was brought in as her body double. Mónica wore a identical wig, wardrobe, and heavy makeup. Because Mónica is slightly shorter than Penélope, the crew placed her on apple boxes during close-up two-shots to match Penélope's exact eyeline and height relative to Johnny Depp.

ALT The Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule Wednesday ending automatic work permit extensions for certain immigrants awaiting renewal approval. It left affected workers at risk of losing their authorization to work while federal officials process their applications.

ALT Published 14 October 2026, the final regulation permanently adopts restrictions that took effect under the Trump administration on 30 October 2025. Immigrants covered by the policy must generally receive approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) before their existing work permits expire, even when they submit renewal applications on time.

ALT As of 30 June 2026, over 432,000 work permit renewal applications were pending at USCIS for more than six months, with more than 91,000 of these applications outstanding for over 18 months. Foreign workers can only submit renewal applications within 180 days prior to their permit expiry, creating additional pressure on applicants.

ALT In January, a group of H-4 visa holders initiated legal action against the federal agency, contending that the policy change contravened the Administrative Procedure Act. A California judge subsequently ruled in September that the interim final rule could not be enforced against these plaintiffs, citing the agency’s failure to adhere to procedural requirements and neglecting to consider the reliance on the previous policy.

ALT Carpenters construct a wooden pagoda around a central 🏮 shinbashira pillar using mortarless kigumi joints 🧱.

ALT Siege of Dura-Europos in 256 CE : Sasanian subterranean ☢️ toxic gas attack vs. Romans, preserving ancient 🎨 wall paintings.

ALT Heliodorus, an ambassador sent by the Indo-Greek King Antialcidas of Taxila to the court of an Indian king in Madhya Pradesh, erected a stone column ( a Garuda-dhvaja ) in honor of the Hindu deity Vāsudeva ( Vishnu )

ALT Ashoka had these edicts written in refined, high-register Greek ( translating Indian philosophical concepts like Dharma into the Greek word Eusebeia ) for the local Greek population that remained after Alexander’s conquest

ALT King Menander I's bilingual coinage features his profile on one side with a Greek legend ( Basileos Soteros Menandrou ) and the Prakrit translation in Kharosthi script on the reverse ( Maharajasa Tratarasa Menandrasa ). Furthermore, the Buddhist text Milinda Pañha ( " Questions of King Milinda " ) records his philosophical dialogue with the sage Nāgasena, culminating in the Greek king's conversion to Buddhism.

ALT Air France bars Pakistani, Muslim-majority nationalities following Israel’s new airline crew restrictions after Flydubai incident

ALT One of the pilots of the Israel-bound Flydubai flight FZ1073 stabbed the other pilot and appears to have tried to crash the plane, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a short while ago

ALT The new Israeli restrictions, reported by Israeli media and French investigative publication Mediapart, list 31 Muslim-majority countries, including Algeria, Tunisia, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Niger, whose nationals are no longer allowed to fly into Israel’s airspace

ALT 14 nations recognize Israel & have diplomatic ties : Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Türkiye, UAE, Senegal, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia & Maldives. 17 nations do NOT recognize Israel : Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen & more.

ALT The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has set aside the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra in a facebook post on Wednesday

ALT Anojan Sivarasa, 27, was sentenced to death in September after a Saudi appellate court convicted him of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad over his comment

ALT The Qurʾān yields little concrete biographical information about the Islamic Prophet. It addresses an individual “ messenger of God ”, whom a number of verses call Muhammad ( e.g., 3 : 144 ), and speaks of a pilgrimage sanctuary that is associated with the “ valley of Mecca ” and the Kaʿbah ( e.g., 2 : 124 – 129, 5 : 97, 48 : 24 – 25 ).

ALT The Deputy Minister stated that the Sri Lankan Government, acting under the guidance of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, pursued all available diplomatic, consular and legal avenues to secure relief for the Sri Lankan national. According to Hemachandra, Anojan Sivarasa’s family met both the President and the Foreign Minister during the course of the case, while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and embassy officials engaged extensively with senior Saudi authorities.