Some deaths loom so large that they come to signify the passing of an entire era. This year, it seemed as though the 1970s faded away, along with so many figures from the political and cultural life of the decade. Among them were Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, first lady Rosalynn Carter, filmmaker William Friedkin and stars of show business as varied as David Crosby, Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Buffett and Richard Roundtree.

The word “last” appeared with painful frequency in obituaries for people of the 1940s, the World War II generation. Ben Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, and Traute Lafrenz, the last known survivor of the White Rose anti-Nazi resistance group, both died at 103.

We were reminded this year of the glamour of the 1950s, with the passing of such stars as the voluptuous Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, but also the horror, with the death of Carolyn Bryant, whose accusation led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till. Singer-activist Harry Belafonte, with his a cappella shout of “Day-O!,”straddled the beauty of music-making and the pain of the civil rights struggle, which he helped bankroll.

The 1960s, too, had its losses, with the deaths of actress Raquel Welch, fashion designer Marc Bohan, and composer and songwriter Burt Bacharach, who had more than 70 Top-40 hits. And we said goodbye to many mainstays of the 1980s and beyond, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

There were those whose lives seemed to transcend time — entertainers Tony Bennett, Tina Turner and Wayne Shorter, acclaimed author Cormac McCarthy, the eternal game-show host Bob Barker — and those who lives ended too soon. “Friends” star Matthew Perry and singer Lisa Marie Presley both died at 54. The rebellious Irish musical genius Sinéad O’Connor was 56. But the death, at 96, of counterculture filmmaker Kenneth Anger reminds us that nonconformists were always with us and always will be, as fascinating as they are timeless.

From Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to France’s iconic fashion designer Thierry Mugler and the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, many notable public figures left us in 2022. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at the lives and legacies behind some of the year’s most high-profile deaths. 

The National Fire Protection Association recommends that animal owners in at-risk areas have evacuation plans for animals in place, but because of how urgent some orders were, many were unable to return home for their pets and other animals.

• California wildfires reach grim milestone 

Residents have been using social media to spread images of their lost animals around the internet.

Dedicated accounts, groups and hashtags have also been set up by online volunteers to help reunite pets with their owners.
 

DUPONT, Wash. — An Amtrak train on its inaugural run derailed south of Seattle on Monday, causing multiple deaths and injuries as rail cars plunged off a bridge over a traffic-clogged interstate, authorities said.

Cars that fly or drive themselves aren't available to the public yet, but many cutting-edge technologies are already featured in today's vehicles.

More car companies are leaning on innovations coming out of Silicon Valley and elsewhere to make getting behind the wheel less of a hassle and more fun.

Here are some of the coolest features that tease the future of driving, from windshieldprojections to never needing to park again.

Cameras galore

Humans are no longer the only ones to see the road ahead.

Cars are increasingly outfitted with sensors, especially cameras. With the help of computer vision software, cameras are able to identify signs -- such as the speed limit -- and adjust accordingly.

Ford offers a speed-limiting feature on several of its European cars, including the Kuga, Edge, S-Max and Galaxy. A driver in one of those vehicles can set parameters to prevent driving more than 5 mph above the speed limit. Rather than applying brakes to keep a driver at that speed, it limits the amount of fuel to the engine.

Cameras are also playing a big role in autonomous vehicles, such as helping them see around corners or detecting people and objects on the road.

Meanwhile, the Cadillac SuperCruise uses a camera on the steering column to monitor a driver's eyes. It knows when a driver's eyes turn away from the road for too long and flashes a light to help them re-focus.

On 22 March 2017 a terrorist attack occurred in the United Kingdom, on Westminster Bridge, in Parliament Square and within the grounds of the Palace of Westminster, in central London.^[1] The attacker drove a vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and a crowd of people near the palace gates, then fatally stabbed a police officer. The attacker was then shot by other officers. Four people—including two pedestrians on the bridge, the stabbed police officer and the assailant—were killed.^[2][3]

In response to the attacks, the British and Scottish parliaments and the Welsh Assembly suspended proceedings. International reactions condemned the attacks and expressed sympathy for the victims.

Sources: Wikipedia