As coal plants shut in Romania, some miners transition to green energy while others are reluctant

ANCA GURZU, Cipher News
Wed, October 23, 2024

PETRILA, Romania (AP) — For many years, Sebastian Tirinticǎ worked in a coal mine, just like his father and grandfather before him.

These days, Tirinticǎ, now 38, is largely surrounded by solar panels and wind turbines as he travels across Romania to train former coal workers and others for jobs in renewable energies.

It’s been a huge professional shift for a worker from one of the main coal regions of this formerly Communist Eastern European country.


“It’s hard to unglue yourself from something you did your entire life," said Tirinticǎ, who has a short beard sprinkled with grey hair. “It’s hard to start again from zero, and not everyone has the strength and courage to do it.”

Romania hopes to find more workers like Tirinticǎ, but they are hard to come by.

____

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between The Associated Press and Cipher News.

____

In a region where coal mining was once a driving economic force, coal miners are witnessing a slow and steady decline of a decades-old industry as Romania prepares to phase out all coal-based activities by 2032.

However, not many miners have taken the leap to equip themselves with new skills, even when presented with opportunities, as tradition, uncertainty and fear keep people wedded to what they know. This is sometimes one of the largest challenges of the green energy transition: changing hearts and minds.

For that to happen, coal workers need incentives and guarantees, which experts say do not exist. The lack of a targeted strategy, mixed political messages and distrust are some of the main barriers for transforming regions that have long depended on coal.

Tirinticǎ initially hesitated to make the jump. He was one of 10 miners who could have received free training and a job as a wind turbine installer as part of a pilot project in 2019. He declined because it would have taken him to Germany and away from his wife and two daughters.

Today, he said he is the only one of those original 10 who had left the coal industry. He did so in 2022 after having gone through two reskilling courses the year before, totalling about a month. Tirinticǎ learned the basics of how to install solar panels on different surfaces and how to fix wind turbines, including first aid procedures and how to deal with heights. He later took additional specialized courses to train others in gaining new skills.

Romania, a European Union member country of about 19 million people, is known for its medieval castles in the region of Transylvania. The country has a flourishing information technology and software services sector, along with a good manufacturing and agricultural base. Yet unemployment in rural areas, corruption and bureaucracy are challenges. Millions have left in recent years in search of better economic opportunities.

A shift to a greener economy is also upending the country’s energy sector, adding to the reluctance of some miners to embrace change amid an uncertain future.

Workers at the Oltenia Energy Complex (CE Oltenia), one of Romania’s largest energy companies primarily involved in coal-based energy production in the southwestern county of Gorj, had the chance earlier this year to pursue an 18-day course to become an accredited installer of solar photovoltaic panels.

This summer, about 100 people completed the course provided by RenewAcad, a reskilling program spearheaded by renewable energy company Monsson and sponsored by energy major OMV Petrom.

Although a success for the project, the number represents only about 1.3% of CE Oletenia’s workforce of about 8,000 employees across the company’s mines and coal-based power plants.

In 2021, the RenewAcad project targeted a group of 800 coal-based workers for reskilling as solar panel and wind turbine installers. But the search for applicants had to be broadened to other parts of the country because the sign-up rates from the mining regions wasn’t high enough.

“Grandpa, great-grandpa worked in the mine, what will the neighbor say if I leave the industry?” said Sebastian Enache, business development manager at Monsson, who is overseeing the project, explaining the reluctance of many coal miners.

The average monthly salary for a coal miner is around 800 to 1000 euros, locals say, but can also be higher for those working in power plants or with more education. Entry level salaries for solar panel installers are similar but often involve traveling across the country or abroad, making the switch less attractive.

Workers who participated in the Romanian training had to take time off or do the almost four-week course between their shifts, which was a disincentive.

“You can imagine the interest would have been much higher if people didn’t have to take vacation for it,” said Ciprian Nacu, 39, chief engineer at one of the main power plants in the region, who enjoyed the solar installer course after initially hesitating. He also runs a small lighting company and wants to slowly expand it towards PV installations.

The reskilling course is set to start again in November.

Locals worry that the closure of coal-based activities will bring poverty to their areas, which neighboring regions experienced as hundreds of mines started to close after the fall of Communism in the 1990s.

“We are not connected to any European road, we don’t have a highway, who is going to come here and make something new?” said Constantin Buzarin, vice president at Ecocivica Gorj, a local nonprofit.

The renewables sector is expected to create thousands of jobs, but they will likely be spread across the country and appeal to people with different professional backgrounds.

Gorj County’s troubles reflect the struggles many regions across Europe and the United States encounter as coal phase-out plans continue and decarbonization efforts gain momentum. Failure to ensure reskilling and economic opportunities for former fossil fuel workers could lead to inequalities, according to a recent labor market report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Romania received 2.14 billion euros through the EU’s Just Transition Fund, set up to help transform European regions that historically have focused on fossil fuel production. Gorj County received the highest share, 550 million euros, which is set to gradually go to a series of programs through 2027, including one to reskill coal workers, according to the European Commission.

Although Romania’s coal industry is on its way out, the topic remains politically sensitive, especially ahead of the parliamtradentary elections set to take place on Dec. 1, as the mining community still represents a powerful voting bloc.

“There is no political vision that can show people the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Eliza Barnea from CEE Bankwatch Network, a climate-focused nonprofit.

Alin Şipanu, Gorj County council representative working on the energy transition, sees some progress, however. At the launch of the reskilling project earlier this year, workers who showed up were curious about what they could learn. A few years ago, when the energy transition talk started popping up in the region, workers were outwardly hostile.

“Four years ago, the topic was taboo,” Şipanu said. “You would have seen tomatoes flying.”

—-

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Climate Romania Coal To Renewables
Sebastian Tirintica sits backdropped by solar panels in the RenewAcad training center in Petrosani, southern Romania, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Boeing factory workers vote to

 reject contract and continue 

6-week strike

DAVID KOENIG and MANUEL VALDES

Updated Wed, October 23, 2024 

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing factory workers voted Wednesday to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a six-week strike that has halted production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners.

Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots voted against accepting the proposal.

“After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,” Jon Holden, the head of the IAM District 751 union, said in a statement Wednesday evening. “This is workplace democracy — and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year."

A spokesperson for Boeing said officials didn’t have a comment on the vote.

The labor standoff comes during an already challenging year for Boeing, which became the focus of multiple federal investigations after a door panel blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The strike has deprived the company of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines. On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion.

Union machinists assemble the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling airliner, along with the 777 or “triple-seven” jet and the 767 cargo plane at factories in Renton and Everett, Washington.

The offer rejected Wednesday included pay raises of 35% over four years. The version that union members rejected when they voted to strike last month featured a 25% increase over four years.

The union, which initially demanded 40% pay boosts over three years, said the annual raises in the revised offer would total 39.8%, when compounded.

Boeing has said that average annual pay for machinists is currently $75,608.

Boeing workers told Associated Press reporters that a sticking point was the company’s refusal to restore a traditional pension plan that was frozen a decade ago.

“The pension should have been the top priority. We all said that was our top priority, along with wage,” Larry Best, a customer-quality coordinator with 38 years at Boeing, said on a picket line outside a Boeing factory in Everett, Washington. “Now is the prime opportunity in a prime time to get our pension back, and we all need to stay out and dig our heels in.”

Theresa Pound, a 16-year Boeing veteran, also voted against the deal. She said the health plan has gotten worse, with higher premiums and more out-of-pocket expenses, and her expected pension benefits would not be enough, even when combined with a 401(k) retirement account.

“I have put more time in this place than I was ever required to. I have literally blood, sweat and tears from working at this company,” the 37-year-old said. “I’m looking at working until I’m 70 because I have this possibility that I might not get to retire based on what’s happening in the market.”

The strike, which began Sept. 13, has served as an early test for Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who became chief executive in August.

In his first remarks to investors, Ortberg said earlier Wednesday that Boeing needs “a fundamental culture change,” and he laid out his plan to revive the aerospace giant after years of heavy losses and damage to its reputation.

Ortberg repeated in a message to employees and on the earnings call that he wants to “reset” management’s relationship with labor “so we don’t become so disconnected in the future.” He said company leaders need to spend more time on factory floors to know what is going on and “prevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause.”

Ortberg, a Boeing outsider who previously ran Rockwell Collins, a maker of avionics and flight controls for airline and military planes, said Boeing is at a crossroads.

“The trust in our company has eroded. We’re saddled with too much debt. We’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers,” he said.

But Ortberg also highlighted the company’s strengths, including a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars.

“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” he said.

In recent weeks, Ortberg announced large-scale layoffs — about 17,000 people — and a plan to raise enough cash to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

Boeing hasn’t had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s numbers represented the second-worst quarter in the manufacturer’s history. Boeing lost $6.17 billion in the period ended Sept. 30, with an adjusted loss of $10.44 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research had expected a loss of $10.34 per share.

BOEING CEO

Revenue totaled $17.84 billion, matching Wall Street estimates.

The company burned nearly $2 billion in cash, in the quarter, weakening its balance sheet, which is loaded down with $58 billion in debt. Chief Financial Officer Brian West said the company will not generate positive cash flow until the second half of next year.

Shares of The Boeing Co. fell 2% in regular trading Wednesday.

Boeing’s fortunes soured after two of its 737 Max jetliners crashed in October 2018 and March 2019, killing 346 people. Safety concerns were renewed this January, when a panel blew off a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight.

Ortberg needs to convince federal regulators that Boeing is fixing its safety culture and is ready to boost production of the 737 Max — a crucial step to bring in much-needed cash. That can’t happen, however, until the striking workers return to their jobs.

Early in the strike, Boeing made what it termed its “best and final” offer. The proposal included pay raises of 30% over four years, and angered union leaders because the company announced it to the striking workers through the media and set a short ratification deadline.

Boeing backed down and gave the union more time. However, many workers maintained the offer still wasn’t good enough. The company withdrew the proposed contract on Oct. 9 after negotiations broke down, and the two sides announced the latest proposal on Saturday.

Charles Fromong, a mechanic who has worked at Boeing for 38 years, said Wednesday night after the results were announced that the company needs to take care of its workers.

“I feel sorry for the young people,” he said. “I’ve spent my life here and I’m getting ready to go, but they deserve a pension and I deserve an increase.”

The last Boeing strike, in 2008, lasted eight weeks and cost the company about $100 million daily in deferred revenue. A 1995 strike lasted 10 weeks.

___

Koenig reported from Dallas. Lindsey Wasson in Everett, Washington, contributed to this report.

Boeing workers reject the company's latest proposal, which included a 35% wage hike

Shubhangi Goel
Wed, October 23, 2024

Boeing workers just rejected a proposal with a 35% wage increase over four years.


The strike has halted most of Boeing's manufacturing for over five weeks.


Boeing's earnings missed analyst expectations by over 18% amid the ongoing strike.

Boeing machinists have rejected a new proposal that included a 35% wage increase over four years, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said Wednesday.

The strike has been going on for five weeks and has halted most of the plane maker's manufacturing.

Along with the wage hike, the new proposal raised a signing bonus from $3,000 to $7,000. It was rejected by 64% of union workers, according to the IAM.

"After 10 years of sacrifice, we still have ground to make up. We hope to resume negotiations promptly," the IAM said in a statement on X on Wednesday.

Boeing reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with a net loss of over $6 billion. This brings the company's total losses in 2024 to nearly $8 billion.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, who joined in August, addressed the stoppage on Wednesday's earnings call.

"First and foremost on everybody's mind today is ending the IAM strike. We've been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs," Ortberg said.

The strike, which started on September 13, began after workers rejected a proposal to raise pay by 25% over four years, demanding 40%. The company's second offer of 30% was withdrawn after talks broke down.

According to figures provided by the union and company, the average pay for Boeing machinists has risen about 15% over the past decade to $75,000. The cost of living in the US has risen 33% in the same period, according to government inflation data.

Analysts at Anderson Economic Group estimated that the first month of Boeing's 33,000-worker strike cost the company and workers $5 billion. The last strike, in 2008, shuttered plants for eight weeks and hit revenue by an estimated $100 million per day.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent outside standard business hours.

 Business Insider

Boeing strike to continue after workers reject new contract

MAX ZAHN, JACK MOORE and AYESHA ALI
Wed, October 23, 2024 at 10:07 PM MDT·4 min read
33





Boeing machinists on Wednesday rejected a new contract proposal that would've ended a weekslong work stoppage against the embattled aerospace company -- and the union said the strike will go on.

Sixty-four percent of workers voted to reject the new contract, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and California.

Representatives for Boeing said Wednesday night the company did not have a comment on the vote.

The proposed contract would have delivered a 35% raise over the four-year duration of the contract, upping the 25% cumulative raise provided in a previous offer overwhelmingly rejected by workers in a vote last month. Workers had initially sought a 40% cumulative pay increase.

The proposal also called for hiking Boeing's contribution to a 401(k) plan, but it declined to fulfill workers' call for a reinstatement of the company's defined pension. The contract would have included a $7,000 ratification bonus for each worker, as well as a performance bonus that Boeing had sought to jettison.

But union leaders said the concessions offered in the proposal were not enough to meet the demands of rank-and-file union members.

"This contract struggle began over ten years ago when the company overreached and created a wound that may never heal for many members," said Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751 in Seattle, in a statement after the vote. "I don’t have to tell you all how challenging it has been for our membership through the pandemic, the crashes, massive inflation, and the need to address the losses stemming from the 2014 contract."

The union said the strike will continue as they return to the bargaining table with the company.

Hours before workers cast ballots on Wednesday, Boeing released an earnings report showing the company had lost a staggering $6.1 billion over the most recent quarter due primarily to costs associated with the strike.

MORE: Striking Boeing workers set to vote on new contract offer. Will they approve it?

"We have some really big rocks that we need to get behind us to move the company forward," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a letter to investors on Wednesday.

Ortberg singled out the strike as an issue that must be addressed "first and foremost."

"We have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs," Ortberg said.

The company and its workers have faced significant financial losses during the nearly six-week strike.

Union members have received $250 per week from a strike fund, beginning in the third week of the work stoppage. That compensation marks a major pay cut for many of the employees.

Mid-ranking workers involved in the strike typically make $20 per hour, which totals $800 per 40-hour work week, while higher-paid members earn salaries upward of $100,000 per year, or nearly $2,000 per week.

"The question is whether the employees and their union determine that they have the power to get more from Boeing," Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, told ABC News. "It's whether they think they can extract more from Boeing, or Boeing says, 'You know what, this is it.'"

PHOTO: Boeing factory workers and supporters gather on a picket line during the third day of a strike near the entrance to a Boeing production facility in Renton, Wash., Sept. 15, 2024. (David Ryder/Reuters)

The strike was set to cost Boeing $108 million per day in lost revenue, amounting to as much as $5.5 billion in losses should the work stoppage last 50 days, investment bank TD Cowen said in a report reviewed by ABC News at the outset of the dispute. So far, the strike has lasted 40 days.

In September, Boeing announced furloughs and pay cuts for some white-collar employees in response to the strike. Last week, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, which amounts to about 10% of its global workforce.

"This is really painful for Boeing," Richard Aboulafia, managing director of aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told ABC News.

MORE: What would a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump victory mean for the stock market?

The most recent IAM strike against Boeing in the Pacific Northwest, in 2008, lasted 57 days. Work stoppages undertaken by unionized Boeing employees in the same region have historically lasted an average of 60 days, a Bank of America Global Research analysis found after examining seven previous strikes, the earliest in 1948.

In the days leading up to Wednesday's vote, the outcome remained unclear, Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, who studies labor, told ABC News.

"What are the workers going to do?" Rosenfeld said. "That's a really tough question."

Boeing workers vote to reject deal

to end strike, union says

Michael Sainato

THE GUARDIAN
Wed, October 23, 2024 


Boeing workers strike in Seattle, Washington, on 15 October 2024. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union have voted to extend their month-long strike.Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters


Boeing workers have rejected the latest offer to end the more than a month-long strike that has crippled the already struggling manufacturing giant.

In a blow to Boeing and the Biden administration, which has fought for a resolution to the dispute, 64% of the 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union voted to reject the contract, the union said late on Wednesday.

“After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,” leaders of the union said in a statement after votes were tallied.

The news came on the same day that new CEO Kelly Ortberg said he would “fundamentally” transform the culture inside the beleaguered aerospace giant, and announced Boeing’s quarterly losses had swelled to almost $6bn.

The workers represented by the union began striking on 13 September.

The latest contract proposal included a 35% wage increase over the four-year contract, reinstatement of incentive bonuses, increases to the company 401k match – though workers were pushing to bring back pensions that were lost as concessionary in previous contracts, and a $7,000 ratification bonus.

Related: Boeing faces new scrutiny as US aviation agency opens safety review

After weeks of tense negotiations, a deal had appeared to be in the offing over the weekend.

“With the help of acting US secretary of labor Julie Su, we have received a negotiated proposal and resolution to end the strike, and it warrants presenting to the members and is worthy of your consideration,” the union’s bargaining committee said in a statement to members on 19 October. “We are finalizing the strike settlement agreement, which will be completed soon, along with additional contract details to provide you with a clear understanding of the offer.”

Workers also rejected an initial tentative agreement in early September. Talks resumed with a federal mediator on 7 October after a two-week stalemate. But those talks quickly broke down as Boeing suspended negotiations with the union and withdrew the offer that included a 30% wage increase.

On 1 October, employee healthcare benefits for Boeing workers on strike were cut off by the company. The union noted workers had been engaging with the community for striking members to work temporary jobs in addition to the strike pay of $250 a week members have been receiving since the third week of the strike.

Boeing had also announced plans to layoff 17,000 workers as part of plans for a 10% work reduction at its commercial unit for union and non-union workers.

According to a recent analysis by the Anderson Economic Group, the strike cost an estimated $7.6bn in direct economic losses, including $4.35bn for Boeing and nearly $2bn for Boeing suppliers

Boeing employees on strike arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Trump thinks that people who work at McDonald’s are a joke’

Juliann Ventura
Tue, October 22, 2024


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed former President Trump for his recent visit to a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, suggesting the photo op was just an attempt at “connecting” with voters.

“You’ve got Donald Trump putting on a little McDonald’s costume because he thinks that’s what people do,” Ocasio-Cortez told a crowd of people Monday during an event with the United Auto Workers (UAW).

“They’re not trying to empathize with us. They are making fun of us,” she added. “Donald Trump thinks that people who work at McDonald’s are a joke.”


Trump visited the fast-food chain in Bucks County, Pa., on Sunday, donning an apron and working the drive-thru and the french fry station.

The New York Democrat also knocked tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk for pledging to give away $1 million per day to voters for signing his PAC’s petition backing the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, and the Second Amendment, with its right “to keep and bear arms.”

“We see Elon Musk coming in here. He’s doing these little contests where he’s promising people a million dollars in some kind of lottery giveaway if they sign up for his list,” she said, “You have a billionaire just dangling a million bucks to those of us and many of us who are struggling to make ends meet if they dance for him.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that Musk “thinks that dangling money in front of a working person is a cute thing to do.”

She continued in her appeal to working-class voters, arguing that Trump and Musk “have no idea what our lives are like.”

“They think this callousness is a way of connecting,” she said at the UAW event. “It’s not a way of connecting, because you and I both know that when that camera turns [off] and they turn around and go into their car, they’re laughing at us; they think we are the suckers.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, also accused the former president of disrespecting McDonald’s workers during the campaign stop — which was largely seen as an attack on Vice President Harris, who has described her time working at the restaurant during college.

The Trump campaign has sought to capitalize on the visit, selling T-shirts with a photo of the former president working in the drive-thru.

McDonald’s, in the wake of the event, emphasized its political neutrality.

The Hill has contacted the Trump campaign and Tesla for Elon Musk for comment.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

McDonald’s Is Suffering After Trump’s Weird Staged Photo-Op Visit
Paige Oamek
Wed, October 23, 2024 


McDonald’s share price just hit its lowest point since Covid. It might not be completely Donald Trump’s fault—but we can’t say that he helped at all.

After Trump’s desperate stunt at the fast-food franchise on Sunday afternoon, McDonald’s suffered a double blow to the golden arches brand. On Tuesday, news broke that an E. coli outbreak related to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders is spreading in multiple states (notably not yet in Pennsylvania, where Trump held his staged photo op).


One person has died from the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and hospitalizations have been reported across 10 states.

In response to the double whammy, McDonald’s stock, which began dropping the day after Trump’s visit, is down 19 percent on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump Media stock continues to fluctuate and even surge, despite the company appearing to fall apart at the seams after hitting a new low last month. Experts say that the share price is less of a measure of the health of the business, which again is not good, and more “a barometer for both Trump and Trump’s followers,” Kristi Marvin, a former investment banker, told The New York Times. “This stock has never traded on fundamentals.”

Trump’s media company continues to lose tens of millions each quarter, and senior management are dropping like flies, despite the stock fluctuations. For a comparison to demonstrate just how much of a failure Trump’s company is, let’s put it into perspective: Trump Media’s quarterly revenue is less than that of a single McDonald’s franchise.

While McDonald’s stock will probably rebound, if investors can begin to see clearly, Trump’s businesses may not be so lucky.

Trump cashes in on McDonald’s stunt with new ‘MAGADonald’s’ merch

James Liddell
Tue, October 22, 2024 at 4:29 AM MDT·3 min read

Donald Trump has sought to cash in on his McDonald’s stunt by releasing a new, limited edition line of “MAGADonald’s” merchandise.

The former president attempted to troll Kamala Harris by manning a fryer at a drive-thru in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, on Sunday as he continues to claim the vice president is lying about working at the fast food chain as a summer job in the early 1980s.

And now, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have rolled out a new, limited edition piece of apparel to commemorate the day: a MAGADonald’s T-shirt.

“True Trump patriots” can purchase the white top brandished with Trump donning an apron and waving from the McDonald’s drive-thru window, featuring the “MAGADonald’s” slogan in the fast food giant’s red and gold brand colors.

The eagle-eyed shoppers can also spot Trump’s quiff sitting atop the slogan’s “D.”

“I HAVE A McGIFT FOR YOU!,” read a fundraising email, with the same slogan splashed across the top of the fundraising website. The so-called gift, however, is not free, with the website suggesting a donation of $100 in exchange for the T-shirt.

“I am the first and only 2024 presidential nominee to work at McDonald’s,” it continues. “But thanks to Kamala, prices for a meal are through the roof!”


The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee were quick to try and earn a buck from the former president’s McDonald’s visit (Trump campaign/Republican National Committee)

The merch adds to the Republican presidential candidate’s online store offering already consisting of $55 Make America Great Again baseball caps and a $499 pair of golden “fight, fight, fight” sneakers.

McDonald’s has attempted to distance itself from the Trump campaign and said in a statement that it does not endorse candidates for elected office following his visit.

The former president, without evidence, has repeatedly claimed that Harris has never worked at the fast food restaurant.

On October 10, Trump told rallygoers in Reno, Nevada, that he would make a pit stop at the Golden Arches.

Trump uses fryer next to an employee during his visit to McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose on Sunday (AP)

Instead of ordering his one-time 2,400kcal order of choice – two Big Macs, two Fillet-O-Fish, and a chocolate milkshake – the former president declared he was “going to a McDonald’s to work”.

The McDonald’s loyalist, whose campaign allegedly spent $31,000 at the fast food chain in the last 18 months, also claimed his minutes-long stint would mean he’d “have worked longer and harder at McDonald’s” than Harris.

On Sunday afternoon, Trump spent just minutes donning an apron and serving up fries during a roughly hour-long photoshoot.

“I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump told reporters, throwing a jab at Harris.

Trump also declared that he would cover the cost of all food served to supporters: “Trump is paying for it… This is all on Trump, am I allowed to do that?”

The former president added that he enjoyed his mini-shift and would consider coming back and doing it again.
View comments (94)




Here's What We Know About Trump's 'Shift' at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania and Claims It Was 'Staged'

Aleksandra Wrona
Tue, October 22, 2024 

Reddit u/Lifegoesonforever, C-SPAN


Former U.S. President Donald Trump spent about 15 minutes scooping French fries into containers and handing them to drive-thru "customers" at a McDonald's restaurant in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20, 2024, in a publicity stunt arranged by his presidential campaign.

"I worked 15 minutes longer than Kamala Harris ever did," Trump told reporters after the photo op, doubling down on his claims that the vice president lied when she said she worked at a McDonald's in her youth.

When video of Trump's 15-minute stint as a fast-food worker was released, social media platforms erupted with partisan posts claiming it was was "fake," "staged" and merely a "stunt."

It's crucial to note that photo ops and publicity stunts are always, by definition, staged. That said, here are examples of some of the online comments about Trump's McDonald's outing:

"You mean to tell me this was all staged, and that these 'customers' rehearsed in advance to make it seem like a genuine interaction and that the McDonald's was actually closed to the public!" one X post read. Another X post, with more than 1.7 million views, stated: "Who else was NOT surprised to learn that Trump's event at a closed McDonald's was totally staged and as fraudulent as he is?"

The News Media on Trump's 'Shift' At McDonald's

Multiple reliable news outlets, such as The Associated Press, Reuters and the BBC, reported on Trump's visit to the fast-food restaurant. The New York Times rightly called it a "campaign photo op," reporting that Trump handed food to preselected customers.

C-SPAN recorded the visit, stating Trump "worked a 30-minute shift. … He first met with the owner and received a uniform and name tag, and then learned how to make and package french fries before serving some drive-thru customers and answering questions from the press."

You can see the footage of Trump's visit below:

Trump's involvement was limited to a short interaction with staff and customers, learning how to make and package French fries, and serving a few drive-thru customers, rather than a normal employee's full workday involving numerous tasks.
Was the Location Closed?

The primary argument circulating on social media accusing the event of being staged was centered around a printed notice supposedly displayed at the restaurant, stating it was closed. A photograph of the notice was shared on platforms including X, Threads, Facebook and Reddit. "So the place wasn't even open. It was all staged and fake. He didn't work for real at a McDonalds. It was a staged fraud just like every other event," one X user captioned it.

The Washington Post and Philadelphia TV station WCAU also reported the restaurant was closed to the public during Trump's visit.

The text on the notice read:



Dear Feasterville Community,

We plan to be closed on Sunday, October 20 until 4 p.m., to accommodate a visit at the request of former President Trump and his campaign.

While we are not a political organization, we proudly open our doors to everyone and as a locally owned and operated location, this visit provides a unique opportunity to shine a light on the positive impact of small businesses here in Feasterville. We're equally honored to share the significance of what 1 in 8 Americans have experienced: that a job at McDonald's is more than just a job. It's a pathway to critical skills development and meaningful career opportunities. Having started my McDonald's joumey as a crew member in New York nearly 30 years ago. This path to economic opportunity is especially meaningful to me.

I apologize for the inconvenience of closing our restaurant and sincerely look forward to serving you very soon.

Derek Giacomantonio and my team at Feasterville McDonald's

Giacomantonio was shown in the C-SPAN video as an owner of the restaurant.

We have reached out to McDonald's and Giacomantonio to confirm the notice's authenticity.
Photos From the Event

Apart from the printed notice, social media users shared other photographs from the event along with their claims the event was fake. "It was all STAGED!! Trump did not work. McDonald's closed for the day & there was a car rehearsal," one Reddit user wrote. One X post claimed that customers were "handpicked," while another alleged the customers were "pre-selected supporters of his campaign who had practiced how to use the drive-through."

WCAU reported that "it was not immediately clear how the drive-through customers served by Trump were selected." According to The Washington Post, "the motorists whom Trump served were screened by the U.S. Secret Service and positioned before his arrival. No one ordered food. Instead, the attendees received whatever Trump gave them."

These photographs were initially shared by local journalist Tom Sofield, who captioned them with: "Cars rehearsing ahead of former Pres. Trump, who is expected to be serving supporters McDonald's food" and "The supporters who will be served food by Trump are in place and screened by USSS."



(X user @BuxMontNews)

"The fact that you present this like it's some big shock makes me wonder who ties your shoes for you. The USSS didn't let a bunch of random people in their personal vehicles drive up to a drive-thru window with a former President and Presidential candidate," one X user commented, pointing to the fact that screening people in high-security situations is a standard practice.

Sofield confirmed to Snopes that he took the pictures. He said the "rehearsals" involved staging the cars in line and brief conversations with campaign staff, adding that the people in the vehicles waited about an hour or an hour and a half before Trump arrived and handed out food.

We also reached out to Trump's campaign, which did not respond to questions about whether there were rehearsals, how customers were chosen and screened, or whether the notice about the store's closure was real, instead repeating the line that "President Trump has now worked at McDonald's longer than Kamala Harris ever did."

Additionally, we reached out to the Secret Service for comment about how the customers were selected and whether they were screened by the agency, and we will update this report if we receive a response.
Sources:

Contact. https://www.secretservice.gov/contact. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Contact Information | McDonald's Corporation. https://www.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/contact.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Former President Trump Works at McDonald's in Bucks County, PA | C-SPAN.Org. https://www.c-span.org/video/?539376-1/president-trump-works-mcdonalds-bucks-county-pa. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Gold, Michael. "Trump Slings McDonald's Fries as He Smears Harris in Pennsylvania." The New York Times, 20 Oct. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/us/politics/trump-mcdonalds-fries.html.

Shalal, Andrea, and Steve Holland. "Trump Hands out French Fries, Harris Visits Georgia Churches." Reuters, 21 Oct. 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-mark-60th-birthday-with-atlanta-church-visits-trump-hits-mcdonalds-2024-10-20/.

"Tom Sofield, Author at LevittownNow.Com." LevittownNow.Com, 21 Oct. 2024, https://levittownnow.com/author/tomsofield/.

Trump Serves up McDonald's Fries and Harris Celebrates Birthday. https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cgryevjjlx2o. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

"Trump Works the Fry Station and Holds a Drive-Thru News Conference at a Pennsylvania McDonald's." AP News, 20 Oct. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-mcdonalds-2024-presidential-election-pennsylvania-73e55c8c1db4adc2a547b62bd5142be3.

Key Atlantic current could collapse soon, 'impacting the entire world for centuries to come,' leading climate scientists warn

Sascha Pare
Tue, October 22, 2024 

Credit: NOAA

Forty-four of the world's leading climate scientists have called on Nordic policymakers to address the potentially imminent and "devastating" collapse of key Atlantic Ocean currents.

In an open letter published online Monday (Oct. 21), University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann and other eminent scientists say the risks of weakening ocean circulation in the Atlantic have been greatly underestimated and warrant urgent action.


The currents in question are those forming the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a giant ocean conveyor belt that includes the Gulf Stream and transports vital heat to the Northern Hemisphere. Research shows the AMOC is slowing down and could soon reach a tipping point due to global warming, throwing Earth's climate into chaos.

"Such an ocean circulation change would have devastating and irreversible impacts especially for Nordic countries, but also for other parts of the world," the scientists wrote in the letter. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Related: Michael Mann: Yes, we can still stop the worst effects of climate change. Here's why.

An AMOC collapse would lead to major cooling and extreme weather in Nordic countries, according to the letter. This would enlarge and deepen a strange "cold blob" that has already developed over the eastern North Atlantic due to the slowdown of heat-carrying currents. Collapsing ocean currents are also likely to precipitate climate impacts across the Northern Hemisphere, threatening agriculture in Northwestern Europe, according to the letter.

A map of the major ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean

Other regions would feel the effects, too, the scientists said. Should the AMOC grind to a halt, it would trigger a southward shift in tropical monsoon systems — with catastrophic consequences for agriculture and ecosystems. Halted ocean currents could also further heighten sea levels along the American Atlantic coast and send marine ecosystems and fisheries into a state of "upheaval."

Without urgent climate action, the AMOC could collapse in the next few decades, although there is huge uncertainty in predicting the timescales, according to the letter. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that "there is medium confidence that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will not collapse abruptly before 2100," but the scientists say this is an underestimate.

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The IPCC estimate is not only imprecise but also worrisome, according to the letter.

"The purpose of this letter is to draw attention to the fact that only 'medium confidence' in the AMOC not collapsing is not reassuring, and clearly leaves open the possibility of an AMOC collapse during this century," the scientists wrote. "Even with a medium likelihood of occurrence, given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimize this risk."

The scientists addressed the letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental forum tasked with promoting cooperation among the Nordic countries. They urged policymakers to seriously consider the risks posed by an AMOC collapse and to increase pressure on international partners to stay close to the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to keep average global temperature rise to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels.

 Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated only with organic fertilizers for decades: '[Will] help us to move forward'

Juliana Marino
October 13, 2024

Sustainable farming is making headlines after researchers discovered a unique connection between organic farming and carbon storage in soil, according to an article posted on Phys.org.

As more polluting carbon ends up in the atmosphere and global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are trying to find ways to increase carbon absorption. This will help decrease the carbon in the atmosphere, creating a healthier planet for everyone.

Researchers at Kansas State University have been studying how different farming practices impact the amount of carbon stored in the soil. After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

While previous studies on soil carbon capture have also found organic farming techniques increase carbon capture in soil, the researchers at KSU discovered something else: how the carbon gets stored in the soil.

According to their findings, the carbon is preserved in pores, and some of that carbon attaches to minerals in the soil. Ultrabright synchrotron light — a type of light that is more intense and brighter than an X-ray — enabled the researchers to see how the carbon connects to the soil particles.

KSU researchers used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, to analyze soil from a Kansas cornfield that had been farmed with no tilling and only manure/compost fertilizer for the past 22 years.

Watch now: How did Hurricane Helene wreak havoc so far inland?

Published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, the study underscores the benefits of sustainable farming. It highlights how organic compost and manure not only support the health of the soil but also directly fight rising global temperatures through carbon sequestration.

"Collectively, studies like this are going to help us to move forward to more sustainable, more regenerative agriculture practices that will protect our soils and environment as well as help feed growing populations," KSU professor of soil and environmental chemistry Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi said, according to Rowan Hollinger of Canadian Light Source.

"As well, understanding the role of the different minerals, chemicals, and microbes involved will help improve models for predicting how different farming practices affect soil carbon storage," Hettiarachchi added.

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Mexico announces food and agriculture plan that could take the country back to the 1980s

Associated Press
Updated Tue, October 22, 2024 




 A farm worker irrigates black bean plants with wastewater near Tepatepec, Hidalgo state, Mexico

 (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s new president announced an agriculture plan Tuesday that could make the country’s food production and distribution look a lot more like it did in the 1980s, when meals in Mexico were dominated by tortillas, beans, instant coffee and cheap hot chocolate.

Four decades ago, the ingredients for those meals were often bought at government stores that stocked a few basic goods.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged Tuesday to revive those often shabby, limited government stores and continue efforts to achieve “food sovereignty.”

“It is about producing what we eat,” Sheinbaum said of her policy, whose main focus will be on increasing bean and corn production.

Sheinbaum appears to have a deep interest in boosting beans. On Monday, she said, “It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips."

Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said the focus would be on guaranteeing prices for farmers who grow corn used for tortillas and lowering tortilla prices by 10% after prices jumped a couple of years ago.

The government aims to boost bean production by about 30% in six years to replace imports of beans, and will set up research centers to supply higher-yielding bean seeds.

“Self-sufficiency in beans is a goal the president has set for us,” Berdegué said.

The government will also focus on supporting coffee production, but mainly for instant coffee, which it claims is used by 84% of Mexican households. The plan will also seek to support cocoa production, but mainly for powdered baking and hot chocolate, not fine chocolate bars.

The policies appear to run counter to market trends and what Mexican food sales look like today, when consumption of most of the old basics has fallen.

Most Mexicans today shop at modern grocery stores, and consumption of fresh ground coffee, not instant, has increased enormously, accompanied by a boom in specialized coffee chains and shops.

Meanwhile, bean consumption has been dropping precipitously for decades in Mexico. According to the government's “2024 Agricultural Panorama” report, Mexicans consume only about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of beans annually. That's less than half of the 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms) consumed per year in 1980.

A combination of factors, including the time it takes to cook dried beans, may be behind this. Amanda Gálvez, a researcher at Mexico's National Autonomous University, wrote that “we look down at beans because it is considered ‘the food of the poor,’ and we are making a serious mistake,” because beans are a good source of protein.

However, the health benefits aren't clear: The most common bean recipe in Mexico — refried beans — often contains a considerable dose of lard.

Tortilla consumption has also fallen from nearly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) per capita annually in 2000 to about 165 pounds (75 kilograms) in 2024. Consumers have increasingly taken to buying bread and other bakery products instead of tortillas.

Apart from the challenge of trying to change consumer habits, the policy also runs counter to market trends. While some countries are trying to encourage high-value varietal and specialized chocolate strains, Mexico is focusing on the cheapest products.

While chocolate was first exported to the rest of the world from Mexico, Mexico's own production has fallen dramatically because of plant diseases and a lack of investment. It dropped from almost 50,000 tons in 2003 to about 28,000 tons in 2022.

And while most Mexican homes may have a jar of instant coffee in their cupboards, that's not where the tendency — or consumer spending — is headed. According to a Technavio industry report, instant products accounted for only about 37% of the sales value of coffee in Mexico.

Sheinbaum's focus on self-sufficiency in oil, energy and foodstuffs is a holdover from her predecessor and political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who left office on Sept. 30.

López Obrador also appears to have passed on his nostalgia for a 1970s-style Mexico — including passenger rail service, state-owned industries, tight-knit families and small corner stores — to Sheinbaum.

The agriculture plan comes one day after Sheinbaum announced a complete “junk food” ban on salty, fried, processed snacks or sweetened beverages and soft drinks in schools, starting within six months.

But the government's track record in actually changing consumer behavior is poor, columnist Javier Tejado wrote Tuesday in the newspaper El Universal. He reminded readers that the government banned junk food advertisements aimed at children in 2014.

“The result after ten years of prohibitions?” Tejado wrote. “Things are worse than when they started in 2014; Mexicans have decided to keep consuming things they like.”

UK

Military boarding school pupils subjected to ‘dreadful abuse’, inquiry finds

Simon Johnson
Tue 22 October 2024 

Queen Victoria School has been described as a place where ‘violence was allowed to prevail’ - PA Images/Alamy


Pupils attending a military boarding school decades ago were subjected to “dreadful abuse” in an environment where “violence was allowed to prevail”, the chairman of an inquiry has found.

Lady Smith, who chairs the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, said children attending the Queen Victoria School (QVS) in Dunblane were physically and emotionally abused by teachers and older children.

Children were beaten or hit by “a small number of teachers” with belts, slippers, a cricket bat and wooden dusters “under the guise of corporal punishment”, she said.


Older pupils would also subject younger ones to “cruel and terrifying behaviour” such as tying them to chairs and putting bags over their heads.

QVS was constituted by a royal warrant initiated by Queen Victoria but enacted by her son, King Edward, who signed it in 1905.

The school was established with the initial aim to provide support and education to sons of Scottish servicemen of ranks other than officers.

Lady Smith made her remarks about the school as the latest volume of her inquiry findings were published on Tuesday.

She said: “The pupils at QVS were all boarders and they were exposed to risks of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. For many of them, those risks materialised and children suffered abuse.

“I have no difficulty in finding that children were abused by staff whose abusive practices were such that they must, or at least ought to, have been obvious to those in positions of responsibility.

“Further, they were abused by senior and other pupils, some of whose practices must or ought to have been obvious. It was mistakenly assumed the background and governance of the school would be enough to provide appropriate residential care.”

But she said this assumption was “ill-founded”, particularly between the late 1950s and early 1990s, and factors including inadequate management and “undue adherence to a robust military culture” enabling abuse to occur.

“The culture of the school was such that pupils were subjected to initiation ceremonies, there was a hierarchy that enabled abuse of power by senior pupils, differences were not tolerated, and pupils were, at times, not treated as the children they were,” she said.

“A culture of silence was the norm. Staff encouraged pupils not to clipe or report, and some ignored obvious abuse.”

Endemic violence

Highlighting the “endemic” violence displayed by older boys to younger pupils, she said that “cruel and terrifying behaviour” was commonplace in senior boarding houses. Among the cases she highlighted were “threatening to throw a child down a lift shaft”.

She concluded: “The current management, the commissioners, and the MoD now understand that there is no room for complacency given the abuse that has taken place since 2010 despite the child protection systems and policies that had been put in place.

“QVS apologised for the abuse experienced by children who had been entrusted into its care.”

Lady Smith has now published 13 volumes of inquiry findings, including one relating to Gordonstoun in Moray, the King’s former school.

Further case study findings in relation to other boarding schools will follow. QVS has been contacted for comment.

Norman coin hoard becomes England’s most valuable treasure find after being sold for record-breaking sum

Salma Ouaguira
Tue 22 October 2024 

The 11th-century coin trove is known as the Chew Valley Hoard (British Museum/PA Wire)

A group of metal detectorists uncovered an extraordinary hoard of 2,584 ancient coins in a Somerset field valued at £4.3million.

The 11th-century coin trove, known as the Chew Valley Hoard, is now England’s most valuable treasure find, revealing new information about the historical transition following the Norman Conquest.

The set includes pennies depicting William the Conqueror and Harold II, and a number of coins of William I issued after his coronation in 1066.


Adam Staples, 48, discovered the coins in 2019 with his girlfriend at the time, Lisa Grace, and five friends, but had to wait for years to secure the payout.

The set includes pennies depicting William the Conqueror, Harold II and William I (British Museum/PA Wire)

Under the Treasure Act 1996, hunters must report an archaeological find to the local coroner within 14 days of discovering it.

The auctioneer from Derby said: “It’s like winning the lottery but then you can’t cash the ticket for five years.

“Coming to the British Museum a few days after we found the hoard, when they opened the front gates and we drove through crowds with a few million pounds worth of coins in the back of the car, was a surreal experience.

“And then it was Covid and five years of silence until we got to this point. It’s frustrating, but it’s still winning the lottery, so you feel like you can’t complain.

“We received the money a few weeks ago – I’ve bought a house and can now live mortgage-free.”

The collection shines fresh light on the aftermath of the Norman invasion, covering the transition from Saxon to Norman rule marked by 1066 (British Museum/PA Wire)

Half of the money went to the landowner, and the rest was split between the members of the treasure-hunting group, meaning they got around £300,000 each.

Despite hitting the jackpot, Mr Staples is continuing to hunt for treasure, having last gone detecting on Sunday.

Experts believe the coins provide valuable insights into the economic conditions during the period following the Battle of Hastings. They suggest the coins were buried for safekeeping amid the unrest at the time.

Gareth Williams, a curator at the British Museum, said the original owner was likely affluent and possibly involved in the conflicts during the Norman invasion.

An Edward the Confessor Pyramid coin (1065-6), which is part of the Chew Valley Hoard of 2,584 coins (AP)

Evidence showed whoever buried the trove was “involved in some way in the Battle of Hastings”, he added. The hoard would have bought a flock of more than 500 sheep, he said, and so it must have belonged to “someone relatively wealthy”.

That person “may or not” have come to an unpleasant end, Mr Williams added.

Coins in the 1,000-year-old hoard show signs of being illicitly tampered with, having mixed designs on either side. Experts said this is evidence that the person striking the coins was avoiding paying a fee to obtain an up-to-date design.

Mr Williams said that making false coinage risked a severe penalty – having a hand cut off – at the time. “We can see from these coins that that wasn’t a deterrent,” he added.

The hoard has been acquired by the South West Heritage Trust, following funding received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other organisations which paid Mr Staples for the coins.

It will be displayed at the British Museum from 26 November, before touring other museums across the country and eventually finding a permanent home in Somerset.

Hoard of 1,000-year-old coins unearthed in a farmer's field sells for $5.6 million

JILL LAWLESS
Tue 22 October 2024 





An Edward the Confessor Pyramid coin (1065-6), part of the Chew Valley Hoard of 2,584 coins, buried in the turmoil following the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066, on display at the British Museum in London, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, the hoard is valued at £4.3 million pounds, (US$5.58 million), a record find. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

LONDON (AP) — Adam Staples knew he’d found something when his metal detector let out a beep. And then another. And another.

Soon “it was just ‘beep beep, beep beep, beep beep,’” Staples said.

In a farmer’s field in southwest England, Staples and six friends had found a hoard of more than 2,500 silver coins that had lain in the ground for almost 1,000 years. Valued at 4.3 million pounds ($5.6 million) and now bound for a museum, they will help shed light on the turbulent aftermath of the Norman conquest of England.

“The first one was a William the Conqueror coin — 1,000 pounds, 1,500 pounds value,” Staples said Tuesday at the British Museum, where the hoard will go on display in November. “It’s a really good find. It’s a find-of-the-year sort of discovery. And then we got another one, (we thought) there might be five, there might be 10.

“And it just got bigger and bigger," he said — the biggest find in his 30 years of searching the fields and furrows of Britain as an amateur detectorist.

The hoard, discovered in 2019 and recently acquired by the South West Heritage Trust, totaled 2,584 silver pennies minted between 1066 and 1068, some showing conquering King William I and others his defeated Anglo-Saxon predecessor Harold II.

Michael Lewis, head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme — a government-funded project that records archaeological discoveries made by the public – said it is “one of the most spectacular discoveries” of recent years, especially because “its story is yet to be fully unraveled.”

Lewis said the coin hoard will help deepen understanding of the most famous date in English history: 1066, the year William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, replacing England’s Saxon monarchs with Norman French rulers.

“Most of us are taught about the Norman Conquest of England at school, probably because it was the last time that England was successfully conquered,” Lewis said. “But it a story based on certain myths,” such as the notion that the battle pitted “English versus French,” or “good” Saxons against “bad” Normans.

In fact, the warring families were interrelated, and Lewis said the hoard “helps us to tell a different story, one that is more nuanced.”

Though the invasion marked a historic schism, the coins in the hoard are remarkably similar whether they were minted before or after the conquest. One side shows a monarch’s head in profile, the other an emblem: an elaborate cross for William, the somewhat ironic word “pax” -- peace -- for Harold.

Amal Khreisheh, curator of archaeology at the South West Heritage Trust, said the coins were likely buried for safekeeping as local rebellions erupted against Norman rule.

“We know that the people of Exeter rebelled against William in 1068 and that Harold’s sons, who were in exile in Ireland, came back and started mounting attacks along the River Avon down into Somerset,” she said. “So it’s probably against that background they were hidden.”

The Chew Valley Hoard, named for the rural area where it was found, has been bought for the nation with money from the charitable arm of Britain’s national lottery. After going on display at the British Museum and other museums around the U.K., it will have a permanent home at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of London.

It has taken several years for the hoard to make its way through Britain’s system for handling amateur archaeological finds. The Treasure Act decrees that anyone who finds historic gold, silver or other precious items must inform the local coroner. If a coroner declares it treasure, the hoard will belong to the government, and museums can bid for funding to acquire it.

An expert committee sets a value on each find, with the money divided between the owner of the land and the finders. In this case, Staples and six fellow detectorists split half of the 4.3 million pound purse.

“It’s like winning the lottery,” said Staples, who plans to continue his treasure-hunting hobby. “I’m not going to give up now. I love it.”