Scientists have unearthed nearly 200 dinosaur footprints, dating back 166 million years to the Middle Jurassic Period, at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England.

The remarkable find, first spied in 2023 when quarry worker Gary Johnson sensed “unusual bumps” on the ground while extracting limestone for road construction, has been nicknamed the “dinosaur highway” as a nod to the extensive pathways left by these prehistoric creatures.

While other Jurassic pathways have been documented globally, the recent “highway” discovery in Oxfordshire is the largest known dinosaur track site in the United Kingdom.

Around 100 volunteers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford collaborated this past June for one week, excavating the tracks and recording as much information as possible about the expansive site.

The discovery holds particular significance as it aligns with the 200th anniversary of the first-ever described dinosaur, the Megalosaurus, which was found in Oxfordshire in 1824.

“There’s a really long legacy in this area of exciting dinosaur tracks and body fossils,” said Kirsty Edgar, a professor of micropaleontology at the University of Birmingham in England who was involved with the excavation.

The recently uncovered tracks connect to a previously discovered dinosaur path in the same Oxfordshire quarry back in 1997, but it’s no longer accessible.

However, with advancements in technology, the new trackways will provide scientists with an opportunity to analyze previously unavailable information about these extinct animals and unlock secrets about their movements, dietary habits and social dynamics.

A prehistoric roadmap

During the excavation, scientists uncovered five extensive trackways, with the longest continuous pathway measuring more than 150 meters in length (492 feet), according to a University of Birmingham news release.

Four of these paths contained tracks from colossal, long-necked, four-legged herbivorous dinosaurs of the subgroup known as sauropods — most likely Cetiosaurus, which reached up to 18 meters (59 feet) in length, with the largest tracks measuring 90 centimeters (around 35 inches) long, according to Edgar.

Lawrence Tanner, a paleoecologist and professor of biological and environmental sciences at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, likened sauropods to modern elephants due to their massive size and herbivorous diet. He explained that most of the tracks were from hind legs, noting that, similar to elephants, sauropods’ hind feet were larger and often stepped over the impressions left by their front feet.

“The general rule of locomotion is that the faster the animal is moving, the farther apart the footprints will be,” Tanner, who was not involved in the excavation, said.

The fifth pathway contained prints from the Megalosaurus, a massive predatory dinosaur known for its distinctive, three-toed feet. Megalosaurus is believed to be up to 9 meters in length (30 feet), and in Oxfordshire, researchers found 65-centimeter (2.1-foot) long footprints.

From the footprints, researchers were also able to determine the direction and speed at which the dinosaurs were moving. Most of the giants were moving northeast at an average speed of around 5 kilometers per hour (3 miles per hour), which is comparable to the pace of a human walking, Edgar said.

Scientists believe larger theropods, such as the Megalosaurus, lacked running capabilities, unlike their smaller theropod counterparts, which possibly had the ability to run at fast speeds. Tanner said this theropod seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, as indicated by the footprints.

Researchers noted that the Megalosaurus path intersected with the sauropod trackways, suggesting the predator moved through the area shortly after the herbivores.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint where the dinosaurs were headed, Tanner indicated they may have been traveling along the shoreline to navigate around trees or to search for food sources.

Ideal preservation conditions

The preservation of such an expansive ancient trackway is rare and was made possible by the unique conditions of the land during this time frame of the Jurassic Period.

The distinct footprints indicate the area was once covered in soft sediment, with an ideal amount of water to conserve the impressions.

Edgar compared the site’s ancient environment to the Florida Keys, with its carbonate mud banks and nearby water source.

The tracks were also quickly covered, likely by a storm, protecting them from erosion caused by wind, water or other animals, according to Edgar.

While Jurassic bone discoveries often draw significant attention, dinosaur tracks provide more specific insights into the lives of these extinct animals, Edgar said. Unlike bones, which can be transported to different areas by wind, water or scavengers, footprints remain in the exact locations where they were made.

Tracks not only indicate the size of the dinosaurs but also provide clues about their behavior, such as group dynamics and predator-prey interactions. If well-preserved, the impressions can also shed light on how these creatures reacted to environmental changes, according to Tanner.

“It’s like a snapshot into the day of the (dinosaurs’) life, and what they were doing,” Edgar said.

Planning future discoveries

During the excavation, researchers captured more than 20,000 images of the footprints with aerial drone photography. The team will use these images to create detailed 3D models to further investigate the interactions and biomechanics of the dinosaurs.

Over the next six months to a year, researchers will be working to quickly analyze the data collected and prepare to release their findings to the public.

“We have these 3D models for the first time, which means that anyone, as soon as we publish them, will be able to see the site and (its) legacy,” Edgar said.

As a result of the limited time researchers had to document the site to prevent further disruptions to the quarry site, Edgar noted that a large portion of the surface remains unexplored, potentially offering even more information about the diverse creatures that once roamed the area.

“As quarrying continues, as long as we can, I think we’ll be continuously evaluating and working with the quarry workers as new areas are exposed,” Edgar said. “We would hope to be doing excavations each summer.”

Steve Guttenberg doesn’t just play a good guy on the screen.

The actor, best known for performances in hit films like “Police Academy” and “Three Men and a Baby,” sprang into action when Los Angeles County wildfires threatened the area around his Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

Life-threatening fires have been racing across LA County, where residents have been faced unpredictable flames, heavy smoke and evacuation orders for thousands.

Earlier, Guttenberg spoke with Los Angeles television station KTLA as he actively worked to try and clear some of the abandoned cars in an area where he said it was hindering people’s ability to evacuate.

“There are people stuck up there. So we’re trying to clear Palisades Drive and I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars,” Guttenberg told KTLA. “There are families up there, there are pets up there. There are people that really need help.”

“There were mothers who were hysterical [having] panic attacks, helping them with their suitcases and they were worried about their families up there because they couldn’t get them out in time,” he told Coates. “There were little kids crying. There were people who couldn’t speak English, driving their friends cars or their bosses cars and being careful where they drove.”

Ultimately, he said, the fire got so close that people were told to get out of their cars and evacuate on foot. He said he spent all day trying to move abandoned cars to make way for firetrucks to be able to get through.

“This is the most unbelievable fire I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Guttenberg is just one of many recognizable faces who have been affected by the fires.

“Star Wars” star Mark Hamill is among the thousands of LA County residents forced to evacuate their homes due to wildfires.

“7pm – Evacuated Malibu so last-minute there (were) small fires on both sides of the road as we approached PCH,” Hamill wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday night. “

He and his wife and their dog went to stay with their daughter near Hollywood.

“Most horrific fire since ’93,” Hamill added, before encouraging others to “stay safe.”

Actor James Woods shared a video on social media of the view from his home in the Pacific Palisades, taken the night before he wrote it was hit by flames.

“I took this last night from our beautiful little home in the Palisades. Now all the fire alarms are going off at once remotely,” Woods wrote. “It tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say.”

“She came out with her little Yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house,” he said, breaking down in tears.

Parts of Pacific Palisades High School, a location for films including the horror classic “Carrie” and the 2003 movie “Freaky Friday,” was also engulfed in flames from the Palisades Fire, which has spread to more than 15,000 acres and zero containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

Reality star Spencer Pratt, who is married to Heidi Montag, posted a photo of their children’s room burning. Both their house and Pratt’s parents’ house burned in the fires, according to his social media on Wednesday.

The devastating wildfires that continue to ravage the celebrity-filled enclave of Pacific Palisades and other areas have forced a production shutdown across Los Angeles, as well as the cancellation of a number of key award season events that were set to take place this week.

“This unfolding tragedy has already had a profound impact on our community. All our thoughts and prayers are with those battling the devastating fires and with all who have been affected,” said Critics Choice Awards CEO Joey Berlin in a statement.

The Critics Choice Awards was set to be the second major televised Hollywood award show for the 2025 season, following last weekend’s Golden Globes.

The award show was set to be held at The Barker Hanger, a venue in Santa Monica, not far from the Pacific Palisades where fire has destroyed at least 1,000 structures and burned more than 5,000 acres. Evacuation orders have also reached residents in Santa Monica where the award show was set to be held.

Amid the ongoing wildfires in Southern California, a number of glitzy Hollywood events and red carpet premieres have also been cancelled.

The in-person nominations for the 31^st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were cancelled on Wednesday morning, instead being announced via press release.

The annual AFI Awards luncheon, which was set to be held on January 10, will be rescheduled. And the annual BAFTA Tea Party, a key stop in the Oscars race set for January 11 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, has been cancelled, the organization announced.

Many Hollywood productions have been forced to stop filming, amid the high winds, smoke and dangerous fires.

More than a dozen shows that shoot in LA have halted production, according to The Hollywood Reporter, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Hacks,” “Suits L.A.,” “NCIS” and “The Price Is Right.” Late night shows, like ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and CBS’ “After Midnight,” will also cease production on Wednesday, per Variety, which reports that the situation will be monitored for Thursday’s shows.

Wind-driven flames are pushing through Los Angeles, forcing residents to flee their homes by the Tens of thousands. Four massive wildfires present an unprecedented disaster for rescue and relief officials, consuming thousands of structures and inflicting “significant injuries.”

As emergency crews struggle to battle the blazes, evacuees can only seek shelter and hope their homes are spared. Aid groups are on the ground to help those affected. You can assist them by clicking HERE or on the link below.

In the two months since the election, President-elect Donald Trump has urged his nearly 8.5 million followers on Truth Social to buy limited edition guitars that bear his signature and Trump-themed fragrances that “represent winning.”

A $899 gold-plated inauguration edition was recently added to the line of Trump watches he first launched this summer and his nascent sneaker brand is now offering footwear featuring a state-by-state map of his electoral victory.

The post-election sales pitches illustrate just how closely Trump’s personal business interests are entwined with his politics. But less than two weeks from taking the oath of office, the Republican billionaire and the Trump Organization have not offered details to the public on how precisely they intend to wall off those varied interests – which range from hotels, golf clubs and licensing deals to a new cryptocurrency venture – from his job as president.

So far, Trump has transferred his shares in Truth Social’s parent company into a longstanding trust of which he is the sole beneficiary, according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is the trustee. Ethics experts say those steps fall well short of the blind trusts and divestitures from private business interests that other presidents have used to avoid ethical conflicts with their job.

And there are signs that the Trump Organization will erect fewer limits on its activity than it did during Trump’s first four years in the White House. His son, Eric Trump – who oversees the company day-to-day – has said the company will continue to pursue business opportunities overseas, dropping a self-imposed prohibition on foreign deals that the company said was in place during the first term.

The marketing activity around Donald Trump’s return to the White House “indicates that there is clearly a focus on monetizing the presidency,” said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center watchdog group. “The concern is that he will now use the presidency to benefit himself and his family beyond what is imaginable.”

Given that Trump will not face voters again as a presidential candidate, there’s little incentive for him to erect new guardrails against potential self-dealing, Payne added. His supporters were “well aware of the conflicts” and did not view it as disqualifying Trump from the presidency, he said.

In a statement, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the incoming president did not enter politics “for profit,” pointing to his decision to step away from running his company during his first term and donate his $400,000 annual presidential salary.

“President Trump removed himself from his multi-billion-dollar real estate empire to run for office and forewent his government salary, becoming the first President to actually lose net worth while serving in the White House,” said Leavitt, who is slated to serve as press secretary in the second Trump White House. “Unlike most politicians, President Trump didn’t get into politics for profit – he’s fighting because he loves the people of this country and wants to make America great again.”

Transition officials did not answer questions about plans by the president-elect to avoid potential conflicts.

Blurred lines

The intersection of Trump’s political ambitions and his family’s far-reaching business ventures, however, was on full display Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago. As a stiff morning breeze chilled the estate’s patio, Eric Trump met outside with Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire developer from the United Arab Emirates who built Trump International Golf Club in Dubai.

Shortly afterward, the former president appeared alongside Sajwani in the gilded confines of his Florida residence, where the pair announced the Emirati tycoon’s pledge to pour at least $20 billion into US data center development. Addressing a small group of reporters, Trump doubled down on his pledge to streamline federal permitting for corporate ventures exceeding $1 billion – like Sajwani’s proposed projects – while Eric Trump lingered in the back of the room.

The Trump family has pursued new business ventures even as the elder Trump pursued the presidency, including World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency platform that Eric Trump promoted last month at a conference in the United Arab Emirates. Its investors include cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, whom the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 accused of fraud and other violations of securities laws. In a post on X, Sun said he had invested $30 million in the Trump family firm. Sun and his companies have denied wrongdoing.

The company could stand to benefit if Trump follows through on a pledge to be a crypto-friendly president. Trump has already announced that a close ally and donor, tech investor David Sacks, will oversee cryptocurrency policies in his White House.

A business partner in the family’s cryptocurrency venture, Steve Witkoff, also joined the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. Witkoff, slated to serve as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, spoke briefly to reporters about his early work with the Biden administration to negotiate a hostage deal between Hamas and Israel.

Presidents are exempt from criminal and civil conflict of interest laws that apply to other government officials, but previous presidents have taken steps to avoid even the appearance of benefitting from their official position. George W. Bush, for instance, sold his stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team as he prepared to seek the presidency.

After winning the presidency in 2016, Trump took public steps to address ethical concerns by putting his business holdings in a trust. But ethics watchdogs criticized his decision to retain ownership of the empire, which was run by his adult sons and a longtime executive in the company while he was in office. At the time, Trump officials also pledged not to pursue any new foreign deals during his presidency. This time, Eric Trump has said the company will not work with foreign governments but will continue to engage in overseas business.

An ethics policy covering members of Trump’s presidential transition team, meanwhile, excluded an explicit pledge from the president to avoid conflicts of interest.

The potential conflicts have only extended in the time since Trump first left the White House through the final days of the 2024 campaign. Trump – who has long cashed in on the fame he amassed as a Manhattan socialite and celebrity developer – leveraged his name to profit off his presidential campaign unlike any of his predecessors. He launched a flurry of new businesses selling shoes, watches, coins and NFT trading cards through licensing arrangements.

Trump has yet to commit to sharing more details about his new business partners. Nor has he indicated whether he will continue selling Trump-themed merchandise once he is sworn in later this month.

The Trump Organization, however, is capitalizing on the milestone that his return to the White House represents. The company’s Trump Store is selling polo shirts, glasses, mugs and other swag emblazoned with the numbers “45” and “47,” marking his places in the line of US presidents.

A ginormous and deadly funnel-web spider has been handed in to a reptile park in Australia, where staff said it was the largest of its kind they’d ever seen.

Fittingly named Hemsworth, the spider spans 9.2 centimeters (about 3.6 inches) from foot to foot, according to the Australian Reptile Park. It surpasses the record set by the park’s previous biggest, Hercules, which measured 7.9 centimeters (3.1 inches) and was donated in January 2024.

“Hemsworth, he’s different. He is the biggest spider,” said the park’s spider keeper Emma Teni, in a video posted on its official Facebook page.

The spider is named after the Hemsworth brothers – Chris, Liam and Luke – who are among some of the most notable Australian actors in Hollywood.

The spider Hemsworth was handed in at one of the park’s drop-off locations in Newcastle, a coastal city around 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Sydney.

Park staff first thought it was a female spider due to its size. However, upon closer inspection, they soon realized it was a male.

According to the Australian Museum, the average length of a funnel-web spider’s body is 1 to 5 centimeters, with male spiders typically smaller than females.

“We’re used to having pretty big funnel-web spiders donated to the park but receiving a male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot,” Teni said to Sky News Australia.

Hemsworth’s fangs will now be “milked” to extract venom, which will be turned into life-saving antivenom. Only male funnel-web spiders are milked as they are about six times more venomous than females.

Funnel-webs, whose most dangerous species lives in and around Sydney, are known for their deadly, fast-acting venom. Before the antivenom was introduced in 1981, 13 people died as a result of funnel-web bites. Since its introduction, there have been no fatalities.

The park urges residents of Sydney and nearby areas at the start of every breeding season to beware and to carefully, and calmly, collect both the funnel-web spider and any of its eggs if they spot one so that they can be used to make antivenom.

Despite its size, Hemsworth is by no means the largest type of spider in Australia.

That title goes to a species of the tarantula known as the whistling spider, due to the noise it emits when provoked. The body length of the species can grow to 6 centimeters (about 2.36 inches) and they can have a leg span of 16 centimeters (about 6.3 inches), according to the Australian Museum.