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US - Sep 3, 2026 - At 15, Jim Bishop bought 2.5 Colorado acres with $450 he earned mowing lawns and delivering papers; 10 years later, he began a stone castle that he spent 50 years turning into the world's largest one-man project - For over five decades, Jim Bishop dedicated his life to building the biggest one-man castle in the world, starting in 1969. His ambition was fueled by a determination to silence skeptics, initially using his own funds and later gathering donations. After Jim's passing in November 2024, his son Daniel has taken up the monumental task, ensuring the legacy of this extraordinary masterpiece lives on.

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In 1967, astronaut Vance Brand bought 160 acres beside Rocky Mountain National Park for $32,000; decades later, his family gave 40 acres to the park and Congress changed its boundary to accept it

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In 1964, a couple bought 535 acres in North Carolina and built a summer home there; decades later, they donated the entire property to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in its largest land gift since the park was created

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US - Sep 3, 2026 - Gloria Steinem passes away at 92: Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden, Meghan Markle, Lena Dunham and others remember the feminist icon who inspired generations of women - Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist activist, author and journalist, has passed away at 92. Following her death, Hillary Clinton, Meghan Markle, Lena Dunham and others paid heartfelt tributes, remembering her influence, generosity and lifelong fight for equality. From women's rights to reproductive freedom, Steinem's work inspired generations and left an enduring mark on society.

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'Until their economy collapses': Trump warns Carney against making him 'enemy'

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A Virginia mountaintop was scarred by coal mining; it now holds a 200,000-square-foot high school bringing students from four schools onto one campus

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This California town with 27 apartments and a local post office is still looking for a buyer. The price has come down to $5.9 million

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In 1997, Ted Turner opened his New Mexico ranch to endangered Mexican wolves; the facility became a major breeding centre for animals released into the wild

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On the day his mother died, a Wyoming rancher promised their family land would never be developed; 8 years later, he protected the 2,506 acres forever

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US journalist gets 2-year prison term for working as Chinese government agent

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US draws a red line on PM Modi's Iran meeting

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Before giving away billions, MacKenzie Scott started an anti-bullying organisation; her lesser-known philanthropy cause she backed for years

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An elderly San Francisco woman mailed checks to pay her bills; thieves altered them and took $14,000 from her bank account

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In 1880, Wisconsin's Chippewa River became a 7-mile wall of logs as 200 million board feet of timber jammed the river before a flood broke it apart

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In 2005, Virginia bought 431 waterfront acres for a future state park; 21 years later, the undeveloped land has been folded into another park with a 30-year plan

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Fundraiser for infant daughter of Erin Piacenti, stabbed to death in Times Square, triggers row as organizer is an Indian

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In 1982, Ralph Lauren bought land around a century-old Colorado barn; decades later it had grown into a 17,000-acre ranch and wildlife preserve

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New Mexico man arrested after taking down Flock cameras, loading them into his truck and driving straight to sheriff's HQ as county ends contracts over privacy concerns

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In 1953, a US Navy serviceman met his first love in Japan, but had to leave because war orders sent him home; nearly 70 years later, at 91, he finally found her again

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'You're causing antisemitism': Pro-Israel activist confronts NYC mayor Mamdani at Brooklyn Jewish store

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Meet Gage Klein, the 16-year-old Pennsylvania student who has already opened his second restaurant while still in high school

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US woman's family joked about her looking 'nothing' like her siblings, then a DNA test revealed something even more shocking

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A San Francisco bystander heard screams from a garbage truck after its load had been compacted; 25 firefighters spent more than 2 hours digging a trapped man out alive

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Walt Disney built a 2,615-foot railroad in his backyard in 1950; when his house was demolished decades later, one tiny barn was saved and moved

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Rust streaks, faded paint and 5,000 tired sailors: War-weary USS Lincoln docks in Thailand

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Feminist activist and Ms Magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem dies at 92

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In 1935, Melanchthon Cliser refused $4,855 for his 46-acre Virginia property; deputies handcuffed and evicted him, and he never cashed it as Shenandoah National Park took shape

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Priscilla Chan's grandfather died of cancer when she was in sixth grade; she found a cancer textbook and taught herself why he died

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Miami golfer Kai Trump opens up about emotional college transition

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JD Vance's mom hits back at Michigan Senate hopeful over family jabs, says she'd 'probably punch' him

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Former California mayor sentenced to prison for sexually abusing 17-year-old foreign exchange student

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A $6.9 billion Ohio data-centre project would cover about 300 acres; after resident backlash, Grove City imposed a one-year moratorium, and a ballot fight is now underway

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End Iran war or keep options open? Trump, Pentagon appear to take different tracks

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US judge blocks Trump's fresh bid to curb birthright citizenship: 'Children covered by earlier SC ruling remain US citizens at birth'

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A retired US nurse lost more than $200,000 to a scammer posing as a federal agent; then the IRS sent her an $80,000 tax bill and she had to sell her home

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In 2007, American Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner began collecting plastic bottles in Granados; by 2009, they formed 2 schoolrooms and inspired 10 more schools

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In 2017, USGS injected 13.5 liters of red dye into Ohio's Sandusky River during a grass carp spawning event; downstream stations measured dye movement

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In 2021, South Carolina sank a retired 250-foot barge off Edisto Island; its water tower and containers now give snapper and grouper cave-like shelter

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'They can't go to the bathroom': Trump claims US has eyes on Iran's every move

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In the 1940s, Seabiscuit retired to a California ranch; decades later its redwoods, oak woodlands and wetlands became a conservation priority

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In 1932, stressed shoe salesman I.W. Stevens followed his doctor's advice and bought a 400-acre Minnesota island; nearly 50 years of diaries now survive in Voyageurs National Park

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In June 1998, the US Army turned 13,000 pounds of mixed plastic into a 25-foot Fort Leonard Wood bridge designed to carry light vehicles across a creek

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A Florida man moved $300,000 into his checking account after a caller said he had missed jury duty; his wife tracked him on Find My iPhone and a police officer stopped the wire

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A 5,000-acre Wyoming ranch was bought by conservationists in the 1990s; instead of ending ranching, they kept cattle grazing to protect the ecosystem

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US Pentagon issues guidelines for testosterone screening for troops aged 30 and above

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Mike Tyson started keeping pigeons as a bullied Brooklyn boy, finding love and comfort in them; decades later, he still has hundreds of birds across the US

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Quote of the day by Meryl Streep: "The formula of happiness and success is just,..." - a powerful reflection on authenticity

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Bette Midler started cleaning a neglected New York park in 1995; 30 years later, her group has planted 200,000 trees and built an artificial oyster reef

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Colorado farmer Marc Arnusch turned down solar leases on 2,700 acres; instead he chose a conservation easement to protect the family farm, then faced an IRS audit

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Two Amazon delivery drivers carried an 85-year-old Kentucky woman's printer inside; minutes later she stopped breathing and they performed CPR that helped save her life

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After his wife of 43 years died, a New York widower looked for companionship online; the woman he met was fake and took $800,000 from his retirement savings

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Leonardo DiCaprio helped protect Indonesia's Leuser Ecosystem, a rare rainforest where elephants, tigers and orangutans still live together

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A West Virginia high school built in 1923 has reopened 103 years later as a 40-room hotel, with its old classrooms turned into guest rooms and gathering spaces

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In 1996, a young TV reporter bought an abandoned 1830s lighthouse after it failed to sell at auction; he turned its 110-foot tower into an eight-storey home

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An $8 million grant helped transfer 1,688 California acres to public ownership; the ranch will protect 1.6 miles of an undammed river and a major wildlife corridor

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Trump expects Iran war to end soon after a 'very heavy attack' on provinces, Hormuz

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In 2021, Ted Turner gave nearly 80,000 acres of prairie to his ecoagriculture institute; it is now a living laboratory for bison and wetlands

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Quote of the day by Chuck Feeney: "I don't dislike money, but there's only so much money you can use" - a timeless lesson in knowing when you have enough

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