A towering Yosemite granite monolith at the heart of U.S. national park lore
A U.S. District Court has ruled Shannon Joslin must pursue the Civil Service Reform Act process after termination from Yosemite; a final OSC determination is due in August. Joslin is a nonbinary biologist who helped hang a 66-foot Pride flag on El Capitan while off duty. The park has since banned banners larger than 15 square feet in wilderness-designated areas.
China's LineShine has been named the world's fastest supercomputer on the TOP500 list, marking its debut at the top. The system runs entirely on CPUs and achieves 2.198 exaflops, surpassing El Capitan in the US. Analysts say the result signals recognition of China’s chip-design efforts, though AI workloads and list methodology cloud the claim.
Jacob Daniel Whisenant, a Mammoth Lakes climber known for speed ascents, has died in an August 3 accident in the Sierra Nevada, Tulare County. The coroner has ruled blunt force trauma as the cause and the death an accident. He gained fame for a rapid El Capitan ascent in 2024 and leaves behind friends and family who describe his devotion to climbing.