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(Mar 11, 2010 9:12 AM) In the olden days, cops handed out traffic tickets to keep us safe; in our brave, new, cash-strapped world, states and municipalities are pushing police to hand out as many as possible--for the money they bring in. Just look at Virginia, where last weekend police wrote 6,996 tickets in a federally funded effort to line the state's coffers called Operation Air, Land, and Speed. And the fines aren't paltry: Get caught going, say, 60 in a 45 mph zone in the Old Dominion State and you could pay a whopping $2,500. The law establishing such massive fines for minor violations is not coy: The purpose, it reads, is to generate revenue. Cops aren't thrilled about their new role. They're trying to use police officers to balance the budget on the backs of drivers and it's too bad, a Michigan lawman tells the Business Insider. We might as well just go door to door and tell people, 'Slide us $100.' Even if cops rebel, governments can still bring in the dough the automatic way. Revenue from red-light cameras in LA went from $200,000 to $400,000 a month between 2007 and 2009.

(Feb 6, 2011 5:53 PM) Aaron Rodgers has turned the Green Bay Packers into Super Bowl champions once again. Rodgers threw three touchdown passes and Nick Collins returned an interception for another score, leading the Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was Green Bay's fourth Super Bowl title. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls with Vince Lombardi coaching Bart Starr, and captured another with Brett Favre in January 1997. The Steelers trailed 21-3 before halftime. Ben Roethlisberger got them within 28-25 midway through the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass and a nifty 2-point conversion. The Packers answered with a field goal, giving Roethlisberger one last chance. Needing to go 87 yards in 1:59 with one timeout left, Roethlisberger couldn't make it across midfield.

(Apr 24, 2009 2:03 PM CDT) The Obama administration provided General Motors with another $2 billion in low-cost federal loans today, MarketWatch reports. The funds are intended to keep the company operating as it attempts to restructure ahead of a June 1 deadline. GM has so far received $15.4 billion in loans from the government.

(Nov 28, 2011 5:02 PM) Visiting CNN's Situation Room today, Herman Cain swiftly denied having an extramarital affair with an Atlanta businesswoman. This individual is going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time, Cain said. (See the video.) It is someone that I know who is an acquaintance that I thought was a friend. Cain said he's alerted his wife, who groaned, Here we go again. He also said he'll stay in the Republican presidential primary race. The woman, Ginger White, is telling her story on Fox 5 in Atlanta tonight, MyFox Atlanta reports. It was pretty simple, White says of the alleged 13-year affair. It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. In her TV interview, she will try to prove her story and explain why she's speaking up now. Earlier today, Cain's attorney fired off a preemptive statement saying that this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults--a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public.

(Feb 24, 2011 9:01 AM) Looks like Hugh Hefner really is going through with this whole third marriage thing: He and Crystal Harris have selected June 18 as their wedding date, a Playboy rep confirms to Us. Hef has said the wedding will be intimate with a close number of friends and very personal ; apparently that just means the guest list will come in at less than 300, as an insider confirms. Click for more on the impending nuptials, including Harris's top gown choice--and one notable invitee who will not be attending.

(Feb 2, 2009 2:58 PM) Using VoIP Internet-calling services, pranksters are easily duping outdated 911 call centers to disastrous consequences, Ars Technica reports. Using easy-access online services, callers can cover up their real locations, make up stories, and mobilize emergency teams anywhere. Updating call-center systems could fix the problem, but most such places can't afford an overhaul. A Washington state teen called an Orange County 911 center and reported a case of drugs and murder, sending a SWAT team to arrest a family the boy had randomly chosen. A group of eight people together made over 300 prank emergency calls. Such calls not only waste the physical resources of police, but they also cost a heap. The Washington teen's call, for example, cost officials $14,000.

(Feb 21, 2009 10:33 PM) Having proved he can get the government to pony up $787 billion to stimulate the economy, President Obama will now attempt to highlight his frugal side. Obama will unveil a budget Thursday that aims to cut the deficit--which could climb to $1.9 trillion in 2009--to $533 million by the end of his first term, the Wall Street Journal reports. The main savings would come from the Iraqi troop withdrawal and from letting Bush's tax cuts for wealthy families expire in 2011. Obama's forecast also counts on the economy recovering before 2013, the Journal notes. The deficit is currently running at about 9% of GDP, and Obama's plan would get it to about 3%. The president convenes a so-called fiscal responsibility summit on Monday to begin looking at issues such as Medicare and Social Security. On Tuesday, he will speak to a joint session of Congress about the dangers of the national debt--the accumulation of all these yearly deficits--which is now nearing $11 trillion.

(Jan 10, 2009 6:30 PM) After years of shooting, shocking, drugging, and maiming terror suspects, Jack Bauer will finally be tortured--by his own conscience, Peter Finn reveals in the Washington Post. 24 opens its seventh season with its post-9/11 action hero testifying before Congress about his interrogation tactics. Bauer remains defiant, but he'll weigh the repercussions of his actions as the season progresses. Jack will travel some distance on the subject, said 24's head writer, who promised a more deep and nuanced look at torture. Critics have blasted the show for harmful portrayals of interrogations. It is an advertisement for torture on prime-time television, said one activist. Concludes Finn: The sins of the past are beginning to weigh on Jack, and the show's writers.

(Dec 26, 2018 9:01 AM) Rescuers are now citing the Almighty as one of their last hopes for getting 15 coal miners out of a rat-hole mine in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Per ABC News, things look dire for the trapped men, who didn't emerge from the mine on Dec. 13, and those seeking to rescue them have been hampered by flooding inside the mine and a lack of equipment needed to drain it. NDTV notes that nearly a dozen 100-horsepower pumps are needed to clear the water so that divers can enter the mine and search for the missing, but those pumps are not available with the Meghalaya government, officials say. A couple of 25-horsepower pumps were being used, but they weren't effective. Per NDTV, high-powered pumps sent to rescue a boys soccer team in Thailand earlier this year came from an Indian company, making the lack of pumps for this local rescue even more frustrating. Coal mining in Meghalaya is a hot topic: It can be extremely lucrative, but it also wreaks havoc on the environment, so it was banned in the state in 2014. However, illegal and often perilous rat-hole mines started popping up soon after, in which locals use simple tools to burrow into the ground. The Times of India notes that sometimes even children are recruited to head underground to bring up the coal. The leader of a local indigenous group tells ABC that even the hopes of retrieving the men's bodies should they die is iffy, due to the extreme saltiness of the water in the mine. It is possible that the bodies may disintegrate and never be recovered by the authorities, he says. (A West Virginia man has been accused of entering a mine to have sex, among other things.)

(Jan 11, 2012 10:36 AM) If Mitt Romney fans wanted even more good news today, here it comes: The frontrunner raised $24 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, his best total yet, bringing his yearly total up to $56 million--of which $19 million is still on hand, the campaign announced today. The LA Times also notes that none of that came from Romney's own wallet--a big change from his 2008 run, when he dumped $45 million into the campaign--and that all of it was earmarked for the primary campaign, meaning the same donors can contribute again for the general election if Romney wins the nomination. The total also appears to put Romney far ahead of his competitors; Ron Paul raised $13 million over that span, and Newt Gingrich pulled in $10 million. Others have not reported their totals yet.

(Feb 12, 2020 8:14 AM) Police and family members in South Carolina are desperately searching for a 6-year-old girl who returned home from school Monday only to vanish from her front yard. Faye Marie Swetlik of Cayce was reported missing at 5pm, roughly an hour after she was last seen playing outside her home in the Churchill Heights neighborhood. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department spent the evening searching and interviewing neighbors, but had no news about the girl's whereabouts at a press conference early Tuesday, per People. With no signs of an abduction, we have more questions than answers, Capt. Adam Myrick said, per WSOC, though Byron Snellgrove of the Cayce Police Department noted authorities had found some surveillance video that has helped us. Some 250 officers are searching for Faye along with many volunteers. Last seen wearing a black T-shirt with the word peace on the front, a flower print skirt, and polka-dot rain boots, the first-grader is described as 3 foot 10 inches, 65 pounds, with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and a speech impediment owing to a tethered tongue, per WSOC and CNN. Authorities say Faye's mother, father, and the mother's boyfriend are all cooperating with the investigation. Faye pays attention to her surroundings and is not the type of kid that will up and walk away, her family said in a Tuesday statement. I want my baby back, grandmother Ruth Collins added at an evening vigil, per WSOC.

(Aug 2, 2013 7:57 AM CDT) Unemployment fell to a 4.5-year low of 7.4% in July, after employers added 162,000 jobs, the Labor Department announced today. But don't celebrate. That 162,000 figure was the lowest since March, and significantly less than analysts were expecting--those surveyed by Bloomberg expected to see a 185,000 bump. And the report was otherwise miserable, showing a decrease in both hourly earnings and hours worked for the first time since October. And while the unemployment rate fell, actual labor force participation remained basically flat at 63.4%, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bad news wasn't confined to July, either; the report revised May and June's numbers downward as well. ( Remember, these numbers have a history of being upwardly revised more often than not, writes Steven Russolillo for the Journal; he calls the revision a bit surprising. ) The dollar dropped precipitously on the report. It is still a difficult job market, says one economist. The impact on employment from the sequestration is still to work its way through the economy.

(Oct 21, 2008 4:25 PM CDT) Saturday Night Live has lined up Barack Obama for Nov. 1--the weekend before the election, blogger Martin Eisenstadt says he's hearing from an aide to Sarah Palin. In boozy glee over the successful Palin appearance Saturday, SNL political writer Seth Meyers blurted, just wait til you see what we have cooked up for Obama's appearance right before the election, Eisenstadt paraphrases. Obama canceled his appearance for the season premier because of Hurricane Ike, but it now seems possible that SNL honcho Lorne Michaels and the Obama campaign instead chose to reschedule the appearance to be closer to the election, Eisenstadt posits ... adding that although previously listed as contributing to McCain's campaign, Michaels recently gave $4,600 to the Illinois Democrat.

(Apr 24, 2018 4:18 PM CDT) A musician whose songs helped teach children on ABC's Schoolhouse Rock has died. His son, Chris, says 94-year-old Bob Dorough died of natural causes Monday at his home in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, the AP reports. According to his biography, the jazz musician set the multiplication tables to music as musical director for the educational cartoon series between 1973 and 1985. It was revived from 1993 to 1999. He also wrote the song Devil May Care, which jazz great Miles Davis recorded as an instrumental version.

(Jul 15, 2016 6:18 AM CDT) Among the more than 80 people killed in Thursday's assault in Nice, France, were an American father and his 11-year-old son, reports the Austin American-Statesman. The family of Sean and Brodie Copeland of Lakeway, Texas, have confirmed their deaths. We are heartbroken and in shock over the loss of Brodie Copeland, an amazing son and brother who lit up our lives, and Sean Copeland, a wonderful husband and father, the family said in a statement. They are so loved. In a Twitter post, Sean's niece, Haley Copeland, says her uncle and cousin were on a vacation with other family members and celebrating a birthday when the attack happened. It's not clear if other members of the family were injured. This is an extremely difficult time for my family and anyone who knows Sean and Brodie Copeland, she wrote. Losing a loved one is hard no matter the circumstances but losing a loved one in such a tragic and unexpected way is unbearable. The elder Copeland, 51, worked as a vice president for Lexmark Corp. and coached youth baseball, which Brodie played, notes NBC News. A group called Hill Country Baseball put up a Facebook post to ask that the HC family keep the Copelands in your prayers. ... Nobody deserves this type of fate, especially not such a wonderful family. Read more about what's currently known about the attacker here.

(Aug 3, 2019 4:45 PM CDT) A North Carolina man was arrested Friday for allegedly raping and murdering a teenage girl nearly 40 years ago, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. Robert James Adkins, 62, was charged with first-degree forcible rape and first-degree murder of Ronda Mechelle Blaylock, whose partly-clothed body was found in a wooded area in 1980. The 14-year-old was stabbed to death, a medical examiner said, but the rape was only officially revealed after Adkins' arrest, per the Mount Airy News. A multi-agency task force was established in 2015 to break the case using DNA testing and evidence that a former sheriff said was in excellent condition. Blaylock was in ninth grade when she vanished on Aug. 26, 1980. A man in a blue pickup apparently gave her and a friend a lift after school, then dropped off the friend first. Witnesses recalled the driver as being in his early 20s or late teens, smoking cigarettes, and listening to rock on the radio; Adkins was 23 at the time. But the investigation stalled, leaving the girl's mother, Rebecca, wanting the killer to spend his life in prison for the death of her only child: I've been in prison, so to speak, for 35 years, she said in 2015. I want them to know how it feels not to have your freedom, you know. Rebecca died a year to the day before Adkins' arrest. The sheriff plans to reveal more at a press conference on Wednesday.

(May 5, 2011 6:41 PM CDT) It looks like gas prices will start heading down for once. Both AP and the New York Times quote experts saying the price has probably peaked and will begin ticking downward from the national average of just under $4. Skeptics can look to oil prices, which dropped below $100 a barrel on Thursday and have fallen 12% in four days. Part of the reason: Traders are worried that Americans are driving less and putting a crimp in demand for crude. I wouldn't be surprised if we dropped to about $3.50 by the middle of June, one industry analyst tells AP. The driver can expect to see a slow erosion of price, another tells the Times. My expectation is what people pay this week will be the highest they pay for 90 days. The Wall Street Journal has more details on the day's turmoil in the commodities markets and underlying fears about the global economic recovery.

(Apr 1, 2019 2:34 PM CDT) A 9-year-old boy who went missing in 2017 was found safe Saturday morning, ABC News reports. Police say Joshua Graham's father took the boy from Texas without informing his mother; in February 2018, his mother was granted sole custody. The boy was eventually reported missing under the status of abducted by non-custodial parent, and police believed his father may have taken him to Florida, where the father once lived. Indeed, that's where they found the pair Saturday; they were investigating a suspicious vehicle in Sanford when they found Joshua inside with his father Kenneth Graham, 52. Joshua is currently in the custody of Child Protective Services awaiting reunification with his mother, WESH reports. I felt like I would never see Joshua again and my daughters would never see their brother again, the boy's mother says. When (the call) came (that they found him), it was like I was having a dream ... me and my family have waited so long and we've been through so much that it just felt like I was dreaming. Criminal charges may be filed in Texas at a later date, authorities say. (Boy who went missing for two days says he had company.)

(Apr 2, 2009 6:19 AM CDT) G20 leaders have nearly completed an agreement to confront the global financial crisis, reports the Times of London. Gordon Brown opened the summit by saying that the draft communique already prepared reflected a high degree of consensus between us. The British PM said that the leaders needed to focus today on global financial regulation--which France and Germany said again last night must be beefed up if they are to sign the deal. According to the BBC, the final communique should announce an increase of $500 billion for the International Monetary Fund to help struggling economies. There will also be a statement about limiting executive pay, although fixing numbers to that may be unlikely. Anti-protectionist measures will also be included, and the G20 may agree to name and shame countries that violate free trade rules.

(Dec 13, 2010 2:25 PM) Bernie Sanders may not like President Obama's tax deal, but most of America supports it. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 69% support the tax-and-benefits package and only 29% oppose it. Even when confronted with the fact that it could add $900 billion to the deficit, the level of support remains strong at 62%. Despite the broad support, however, only 36% believe the deal will help the economy. Though some parts of the deal are favored more by one party than another, the package as a whole enjoys 68% support from Democrats and independents and 75% among Republicans. It becomes less popular when broken down into its individual parts: While the extension of unemployment benefits enjoys a strong level of support at 72%, only 54% support extending the Bush tax cuts for all levels of wealth, and only 52% support increasing the inheritance tax exemption. The fourth major part, cutting Social Security payroll taxes, is actually opposed by 57%.

(May 15, 2020 5:33 AM CDT) More than two years after she was rescued by Pakistani forces, the FBI is offering a reward for the Taliban-linked captors of US woman Caitlan Coleman and her husband, Canadian citizen Joshua Boyle. A reward notice states that the government will give up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Coleman--who gave birth to three children during her five years in captivity--and Boyle were kidnapped by the Haqqani Network soon after they arrived in Afghanistan in 2012, the Guardian reports. The FBI is dedicated to not only bring American citizens back home, but also to bring them justice after years in captivity, said FBI official Timothy R. Slater, though he did not explain why the bureau waited until now to offer a reward. Coleman is now estranged from Boyle, who was charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement soon after they arrived in Canada. She has custody of their children and now lives in Pennsylvania. The charges against Boyle were dismissed last year. Coleman says Boyle had Taliban sympathies which she did not share. For the perspective of people who may still have questions of whether our five years in captivity was 'voluntary,' this certainly does clear that up, she tells ABC. The US government wouldn't offer a million dollars to catch our kidnappers if they thought otherwise. Last year, she said she feared Boyle more than the Taliban guards during their years in captivity.

(Apr 27, 2017 12:37 PM CDT) Having seen the court block a number of his executive orders during his short time in office, President Trump tells the Washington Examiner he's absolutely considering breaking up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. What's going on in the 9th Circuit is a shame, Trump says, adding the 9th Circuit is outrageous and his opponents are judge shopping by taking cases there. Republicans have been attacking the 9th Circuit for decades, accusing it of being both too liberal and too large, the Washington Post reports. Conservative pundits call it the Ninth Circus or the Nutty Ninth, and Newt Gingrich once proposed getting rid of it entirely for being anti-American. The first part of Republicans' complaint--that the 9th Circuit is too liberal--isn't as accurate as it used to be. The court's liberal bent declined recently after President Obama placed a handful of centrist judges on it. And the GOP's claim that decisions from the 9th Circuit have the highest rate of being overturned in the Supreme Court is complicated by the fact that the high court takes up a minuscule fraction of any courts cases, notes the Post. But Republicans may have a point that the 9th Circuit is too big: The AP reports it has more judges than any other appellate court and covers 20% of the US population. But 9th Circuit judges--appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents--oppose proposals to break it down into smaller courts. Trump can't break up the court on his own anyway; it would require Congress to act.

(Jul 26, 2008 1:04 PM CDT) Gas prices dipped below $4 today for the first time in almost 2 months, CNN reports. A survey by AAA showed that a gallon of regular cost an average of $3.983, 2 cents lower than yesterday. The move continues a trend over roughly the last week in which prices have dropped 10 cents, and they could fall an additional 25 cents by the end of summer, AAA says. The drop mirrors a similar fall in the cost of crude oil. We think it is primarily in reaction to the drop in demand by American consumers, said a AAA spokesman.

(Apr 24, 2009 2:03 PM CDT) The Obama administration provided General Motors with another $2 billion in low-cost federal loans today, MarketWatch reports. The funds are intended to keep the company operating as it attempts to restructure ahead of a June 1 deadline. GM has so far received $15.4 billion in loans from the government.

(Jan 31, 2015 2:16 PM) The sewage being treated by your city could be a veritable gold mine. That's because all kinds of metals end up in sewage sludge, which is the leftovers from treated sewage, Science reports. Researchers in Arizona recently found that a city of a million people could generate up to $13 million a year in such metals, with $2.6 million of that coming in the form of gold and silver. They studied the samples, which came from 32 states, with a mass spectrometer, Discover reports; the tool uses extreme heat to reveal elements. On a global scale, they found, sludge probably contains about 360 tons of gold each year. While we expected that the metals were present at low concentration, the fact that the small amounts represent such a significant economic value was definitely surprising, a study co-author tells Time. Getting at those metals might sound like a pipe dream, quite literally, but a city in Japan was able to get about four pounds of gold from every metric ton of ash from burned sludge. That's better than what some mines can offer, Science notes. We need to make this push where we stop thinking about (sewage sludge) as a liability and instead we think about it as a resource, says an outside researcher. Unfortunately, there's not currently any technology to extract metals from sludge on a large scale, but if we could someday find a way to do so, there could be environmental benefits, too: The metals in sludge, which is often used as fertilizer, may not be great for the environment, so removing them could be a good thing. As for how metals get into wastewater? Industries like electronics, jewelry manufacturing, mining, and the like. (If searching through sludge is too much for you, you could always look for gold directly in the toilet.)

(Aug 16, 2015 6:05 AM CDT) Julian Bond, a civil rights activist and longtime board chairman of the NAACP, died last night, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was 75. Bond died in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after a brief illness, the SPLC said in a statement released this morning. The Nashville, Tenn. native was considered a symbol and icon of the 1960s civil rights movement. As a Morehouse College student, Bond helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and as its communications director, he was on the front lines of protests that led to the nation's landmark civil rights laws. Bond later served as board chairman of the 500,000-member NAACP for 10 years but declined to run again for another one-year term in 2010. The SPLC said Bond was a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights. With Julian's passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice, SPLC co-founder Morris Dees said in a statement. He advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all. Bond also served in the Georgia state legislature and was a professor at American University and the University of Virginia. Bond is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, a former SPLC attorney; his five children, Phyllis Jane Bond-McMillan, Horace Mann Bond II, Michael Julian Bond, Jeffrey Alvin Bond, and Julia Louise Bond; his brother, James Bond; and his sister, Jane Bond Moore.

(Apr 24, 2008 5:21 PM CDT) A Florida judge today sentenced Wesley Snipes to the maximum 3 years in federal prison for failing to file his taxes, WESH-TV of Orlando reports. Snipes received no fine, though he could have been hit for $5 million. During sentencing, the judge noted the actor's long history of ignoring tax laws. He said that Snipes will be notified when to report to prison and that he would try to place him in one near his New Jersey home.

(May 4, 2018 2:28 AM CDT) The USDA's food inspection unit wants people to check their freezers for ground beef that may have been contaminated by pieces of hard, blue plastic. A recall notice has been issued for 17.7 tons of ground beef from a batch that ended up at Kroger stores, among other outlets, USA Today reports. The notice was issued after a consumer found plastic in beef, though there've been no reports of adverse reactions, according to the USDA. The recall affects a batch produced by North Carolina producer JBS USA on March 22. It ended up in Kroger stores in states including North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, and West Virginia, as well as at chains including Food 4 Less and JayC in the Midwest. The affected beef was sold in products including Kroger Ground Beef, Private Selection Angus Beef, Kroger Ground Sirloin, and All Natural Laura's Lean Beef, all with the inspection number EST. 34176, CNN reports. We encourage customers to check their freezers for the potentially affected products and not to consume them but throw them away or return them to their place of purchase for a full refund, a Kroger spokeswoman says. A full list of affected products, all with a sell-by date of April 9, can be seen here.

(Jul 9, 2013 5:14 PM CDT) It's a little solace perhaps for people besieged by phone calls morning, noon, and night by debt-collection firm Expert Global Solutions: The company agreed to pay the FTC a $3.2 million fine and ease up on the harassment of debtors, reports Reuters. It's the biggest such fine ever levied on a third-party debt collector. They called after being asked to stop; after they promised to stop; early in the morning; late at night; at people's workplaces--when they knew the employers prohibited the calls, writes an FTC official. Those types of tactics aren't just annoying, they're illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the FTC Act, reports ABC News. Among the changes: The company and its subsidiaries will stop calling people if the debt is being disputed, at least until an investigation takes place. The company also has to record 75% of its calls and keep the recordings for at least three months. (Being a debt collector can be a lucrative job.)

(Apr 30, 2017 4:03 PM CDT) This week marked the 28th birthday of Tibet's Panchen Lama, reinvigorating calls for his release from detention by the Chinese government. Radio Free Asia reports that at just 6 years old, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family were detained when the exiled Dalai Lama named him the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Chinese authorities swiftly removed Nyima and installed government-backed Gyaincain Norbu to the religious and political position. The role of the Panchen Lama is the second most senior monk in Tibetan tradition, and Gyaincain Norbu remains an unsatisfactory candidate to many Tibetans who consider Nyima's detention a tragedy. Please know that I think about you every day, and as each year passes, my resolve to find you and restore you to your rightful role becomes stronger, the head of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote in an open letter to the missing Panchen Lama. Little has emerged about him over the last 22 years. According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Chinese officials stated in 2015 that he doesn't want to be bothered and is living a normal life, including attending school. But Beijing has denied the United Nations as well as human rights group's requests to check up on him. Current law dictates that reincarnate lamas must be approved by Beijing in order to discourage a rallying call for Tibetan independence, a process that could instate a new patriotic lama once the current Dalai Lama, who is 81, one day passes away.

(Aug 10, 2017 11:15 AM CDT) ESPN has a lengthy feature on a high school football team in Texas, but Friday Night Lights this isn't. The story is about a team in tiny Harrold, Texas, where the schools are so small they play a six-man version of the game on a shorter field. Players often line up on both offense and defense the entire game. As it turns out, Harrold nearly had to cancel its season when a player left the school just as practice camp was about to start. The coach, with only five players on his squad, walked through the school gym one day and jokingly asked any of the girls on the volleyball team if they wanted to play. Much to his surprise, he got a taker in Olivia Perez, who had only a superficial knowledge of the game. But one of her best friends was on the football team, and she decided to play, for him. He, in turn, wanted to play for his father. At this point, you might be expecting a Cinderella sports story to unfold, but that's not what this story is about. The 2016 season wasn't much of a fight, writes Elizabeth Merrill. The team lost one game by 59 points, another by 50. And, no, Olivia didn't miraculously morph into a star player. But she played. The coach protected her as best he could, and there was sort of an unspoken understanding among the local teams that no one would lay a hard tackle on her, writes Miller. Olivia adds that one opposing coach even warned his players he'd run them if they hit her too hard: I think that's cool. The story tracks various members of the team, along with their families and their struggles. In short, it's about friendship, death, and a football season saved by a 5-foot-2, 135-pound girl, writes Miller. Read it in full here.

(Mar 26, 2019 9:16 AM CDT) Flight simulations have found that Boeing 737 Max pilots would have less than a minute to disengage an automated system and manually prevent a nosedive caused by a failed sensor--the scenario that is suspected in two recent airliner crashes. The sensor failure causes software designed to prevent a stall to kick in, the New York Times reports. That's when the pilots in the tests found out they would have 40 seconds to override that system and prevent a nosedive. To do that, they'd have to flip three switches and turn a wheel. If they don't act quickly enough, attempts to override the system won't work. Lion Air pilots threw a thumb switch more than two dozen times, but the system kept engaging, causing the nosedive. It's debatable whether pilots have had enough training on the 737 Max. Ethiopian Airlines says the pilots on its doomed plane were trained on all appropriate simulators. But training on this system has been limited, and the Lion Air captain was futilely relying on a technical manual just before the crash to diagnose the problem. Boeing hopes to address the problem with a software update that would give pilots more control, people involved told the Times. The thumb switch can lengthen the 40-second period to several minutes, but even that might not be enough time if the crew isn't knowledgeable. That appears to be the case in the Lion Air crash. There is a limited window to solve this problem, an aviation safety consultant says, and this crew didn't even know that this system existed.

(Dec 18, 2011 9:13 PM) Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died at the age of 69, according to state television. His death was was announced today by a tearful announcer in black who said he had died from physical and mental over-work while on a train trip to a location outside Pyongyang, Reuters reports. A later report from state-run media said the Dear Leader had died of heart failure. Kim, revered as a man of almost superhuman talents by state-run media, but widely mocked in the West, inherited power after his father's death in 1994. His designated successor is believed to be his son, Kim Jong Un, who is still in his 20s. Asian stock markets fell on the news of his death and South Korea placed its military on alert. With the transition to power in North Korea incomplete, very unstable times times could lie ahead for the diplomatically isolated nation, an analyst tells the BBC.

(Aug 22, 2009 3:55 PM CDT) Lovestruck in northern Germany, a 67-year-old pensioner traveled more than 125 miles in an arm-powered wheelchair to propose to the woman he loved, Der Spiegel reports. When she turned him down, he turned around for the 4-day journey home and stopped in a cornfield for food. But he couldn't get back in his wheelchair. So he called for help on his cellphone. Placed back in his wheelchair by police, the hearty senior hit the road again. What makes this story even more funny but also even more tragic, is that the corn he wanted to eat was not even edible, said a police spokesman, who added that the man was sane but disappointed over his rejection. He must have immense upper body strength.

(Sep 22, 2016 10:03 AM CDT) The image of a Syrian boy covered in blood after an airstrike in Aleppo touched many--including 6-year-old Alex. In a letter to President Obama, Alex asks that the president please go get 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh and bring him to his family's home in New York. We will give him a family and he will be our brother, he writes. In my school, I have a friend from Syria, Omar, and I will introduce him to Omar and we can all play together. The letter, which Obama read at the Leaders Summit on Refugees this week, has gone viral since it was posted to the White House's Facebook page, with 5.6 million views, 163,000 likes, and 106,000 shares in just 12 hours. Those are the words of a 6-year-old boy--a young child who has not learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray, reads the post. We should all be more like Alex. Imagine what the world would look like if we were. Commenters seem to agree. Alex has more humanity, love, and understanding than most adults, one user writes, per CNN. Another who was brought to tears says neither of these sweet little boys, someone's sons, are Skittles. As of August, the US had taken in 10,000 Syrian refugees. Obama says another 110,000 will be accepted in the 2017 fiscal year, per the BBC.

(Jan 23, 2017 11:37 AM) The much-derided superhero clash Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the far-too-late comedy sequel Zoolander 2 are the leading nominees for the 37th annual Razzie Awards, the AP reports. Zoolander 2 drew nine nods and Batman v Superman landed eight in nominations announced Monday for the worst films and performances of 2016. Both are up for worst picture, along with Gods of Egypt, Independence Day: Resurgence, Dirty Grandpa, and the political documentary Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party. Many nominees are typically acclaimed performers, including Robert De Niro (Dirty Grandpa), Naomi Watts (Divergent Series: Allegiant and Shut-In), Kristen Wiig (Zoolander 2), Johnny Depp (Alice Through the Looking Glass), Will Ferrell (Zoolander 2), Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman), and Julia Roberts (Mother's Day). Winners will be announced Feb. 25.

(Jul 6, 2017 3:47 AM CDT) American soldiers gobbled up more than 100 million pounds of it during WWII, and a tableful of Monty Python Vikings sang its praises. Although its origins are humble and its nutritional content dubious, Spam is going strong on its 80th birthday. More than 8 billion cans of the pink loaf have been sold, and presumably eaten, since Hormel introduced Spam in July 1937, Live Science reports. The little blue cans went global when the army shipped troops overseas, and Spam even sustained hungry Russian troops. Despite many jokes, it tasted good, nonetheless, former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev once wrote, per Time. Civilians appreciated the low price and extended shelf-life, and didn't seem to mind the vague kinda like ham taste. Ham is, thankfully, one of only six ingredients that also include salt--a lot of it. A regular can packs a mouth-puckering 4,696mg of sodium, plus 100 grams of fat, and 1,000-plus calories, per the Evening Standard. Farm-sourced and organic may be all the foodie rage today, but 44,000 cans of Spam are produced very hour. The Standard compiles other fun facts about everyone's favorite mottled meat, including the root of its name: Sizzle, pork, and mmmm. In Hawaii, Spam is literally all around you, one chef tells NBC News. Another fan who serves Spam sliders from her food truck calls it the perfect luncheon meat ... it's salty, a little sweet. As for Spam's transmogrification from meal into junk email, the Standard speculates that that dates back to that famous 1970 Python sketch. (Here are more reasons to like Spam.)

(Oct 23, 2009 2:30 AM CDT) San Francisco police believe they have uncovered another killing by the Night Stalker serial killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the '80s. DNA evidence has linked Richard Ramirez to the 1984 murder of 9-year-old Mei Leung, who was sexually assaulted and killed in the basement of a hotel. The breakthrough was made by homicide detective Holly Pera, who was a rookie at the time of Leung's slaying and never lost interest in the case. I was a new police officer at the time. That's part of the reason that the case was relooked at, Pera told CNN. It's the type of case as a new officer, a case involving a little girl, that you don't forget. The victim's family members have been contacted and are grateful to learn of the breakthrough, said a police official. Ramirez, who has been on death row since being convicted of 13 murders in 1988, is a suspect in several other unsolved killings.

(Sep 29, 2013 11:43 AM CDT) If your 24-year-old is acting like a kid, don't worry--he or she actually is one, at least according to psychologists, who now say adolescence continues until we're 25. Neuroscience has made these massive advances where we now don't think that things just stop at a certain age, that actually there's evidence of brain development well into early twenties, notes a child psychologist; those in her field are now expected to see patients from ages 0 to 25, the BBC reports. That later development may explain the growing social acceptability of young adults living with their parents. Of course, not everyone agrees. A sociology professor fears we're being too soft on younger generations. There is a loss of the aspiration for independence and striking out on your own, he says. Psychologists' perception of extended adolescence inadvertently reinforces that kind of passivity and powerlessness and immaturity. If that's the case, one expert offers some solutions: Young adults living at home should do their own washing, pay their own way, pay towards the rent, pay towards the bills. So when do they grow up? When they realize that there are no grown-ups and everyone else is winging it.

(Nov 22, 2016 8:59 AM) MarketWatch credits Trump-induced euphoria in its headline: The Dow on Tuesday hit 19,000 for the first time at open, a milestone that followed Monday's record close of 18,957. The S&P 500 also passed 2,200. The AP earlier reported that global stocks rose Tuesday, buoyed by hopes that OPEC will support the price of oil with a production cut. The Wall Street Journal reports oil prices continue to hang around a three-week high in anticipation of a possible end-of-month OPEC deal. Rising commodity prices do help, one senior portfolio manager with Robeco tells the Journal. But I think there is also a bit of an upbeat mood about the [Donald] Trump election.

(Jun 23, 2011 11:20 AM CDT) More than 100 women were sexually assaulted and many more injured in a mass rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo two weeks ago, international aid workers said today. The attacks are believed to have been carried out by a group of 200 rebels who had been integrated into the Congolese Army, only to defect last month, Reuters reports. They have also reportedly looted health care centers and stolen cattle in the area, according to the UN. We have medical teams in the area, says the head of Doctors Without Borders' mission in the region. We were about to start on a mass vaccination program when we started hearing stories of rape relating to these events. Mass rape is frighteningly common in the war-torn Congo; a UN report last month estimated that 48 women are raped every hour there.

(Feb 21, 2014 1:52 PM) What has been called the most mysterious manuscript in the world has at last given up a tiny handful of its secrets. An applied linguistics professor thinks he's deciphered 14 characters from the famous Voynich manuscript, and with them 10 complete words, LiveScience, the BBC, and the Independent report. The 600-year-old illustrated text was re-discovered in 1912, but it's written in an unknown alphabet, and in the century since no one has been able to make heads or tails of it. Some have suggested it's an untranslatable medieval hoax. I hit on the idea of identifying proper names in the text, like those of stars and planets, researcher Stephen Bax explains. The same technique was once used to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. After that, he could identify other words; pictures of corriander, hellebore, and juniper turned out to be labeled as such. My research shows conclusively that the manuscript is not a hoax, Bax says. It is probably a treatise on nature. Last year, another study suggested the same, demonstrating that the text follows linguistic rules.

(Apr 6, 2017 2:13 PM CDT) Sunoco is selling most of its convenience stores, with their accompanying gas pumps, to Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, in a deal valued at $3.3 billion as it looks to focus more on its fuel supply business, per the New York Times. About 1,110 convenience stores, mostly along the East Coast and in Texas, will be added to the 7-Eleven roster, the AP reports; approximately 200 convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma will be sold separately. The transaction also includes fuel, merchandise, and other inventories. It doesn't include Sunoco's APlus franchisee-run stores or its Aloha Petroleum unit in Hawaii. The Times notes the deal is part of Seven & i's US expansion after what it describes as a bit of a soap opera, in which its current president, Ryuichi Isaka, forced out the previous president, Toshifumi Suzuki, last year in a highly publicized battle. As part of the deal, Sunoco LP will have a 15-year take-or-pay fuel supply agreement with a 7-Eleven subsidiary, under which Sunoco will supply approximately 2.2 billion gallons of fuel a year. The sale, announced Thursday and believed to be Seven & i's biggest acquisition ever, is expected to close by the fourth quarter.

(Oct 12, 2009 2:04 PM CDT) A Colorado couple is baffled that their baby has been denied health insurance coverage because of a preexisting condition: obesity. I could understand if we could control what he's eating, says the boy's father. But he's 4 months old. He's breast-feeding. We can't put him on the Atkins diet. An insurance company exec understands the consternation but tells the Denver Post there's nothing he can do. Everybody else in the industry does it. Under company rules, individuals who place outside certain norms can't be covered. Alex Lange is as big as a 9-month-old, in the 99th percentile for both height and weight, well above the 95th percentile cut-off. If health care reform occurs, underwriting will go away, the insurance exec says. That's cold comfort for Alex's parents, who are both slender and imagine he will be, too, once he starts crawling. There is just something absurd about denying an infant, dad says.

(Apr 3, 2012 4:00 PM CDT) If the Colorado Rockies' Jamie Moyer pulls off a win this Saturday, he'll become the oldest pitcher in baseball history to do so. At 49, Moyer is the oldest Major Leaguer since 2007, and the oldest to take the mound since 1972. Indeed, he's more than twice the age of some of the guys on his team, and he nabbed a starting spot on the team's rotation despite competition from a pitcher who wasn't born in 1986, when Moyer's big-league career began, notes the Today show, via MSNBC. But it hasn't been an easy road for the left-hander. He was out all last season after elbow surgery. It's been a lot of hard work and dedication, but it takes opportunity, and the Rockies have been very gracious in allowing me to have the opportunity this season, he says. His fastball isn't all that fast, at 80 mph. It's not a lot of fire, but I can still get it up there and hopefully get a lot of people out, he says. His 2.77 ERA in spring training--and his status as the active MLB player with the most wins (267)--suggests he might just do that.

(Feb 19, 2012 7:12 AM) Roller coasters, water slides, and teacups are boring. Take a trip to one of these 10 strange amusement parks, compiled by Time.

(Feb 20, 2012 3:53 PM) Yesterday's riot at a prison in northern Mexico not only killed 44 inmates, but also covered up the escape of 30 members of the infamous Zeta drug cartel, Mexican officials say. Without a doubt there was premeditation, says the governor of Nuevo Leon, Rodrigo Medina. This was planned. All of those killed in the riot were members of the rival Gulf Cartel, notes the Wall Street Journal. Police are offering $800,000 for information that leads to the capture of the escapees. As the smoke clears, the riot continues to look like an inside job: Medina says that at least four top officials at the Apodaca prison outside Monterrey have been relieved of their duties, as have 18 guards who were on duty at the time of the riot. It's difficult for us to confirm that the treason, corruption and complicity of some can obstruct the good work of police, soldiers, and sailors who everyday risk their life, said Medina. The jail-break is the Zetas' largest since they broke out 141 of their own from a Tamaulipas prison in 2010.

(Jan 20, 2009 6:47 AM) The New York Times Company announced last night that it had cut a deal with Mexico's Carlos Slim, the world's second-richest man, for a $250 million loan. Slim will receive common shares over six years, at the end of which he will own 17% of the corporation. But he will not gain any representation on the company's board or any of the special voting shares held by the Sulzberger family. The agreement comes as the company, which owns the Times and the Boston Globe among other properties, struggles with declining advertising revenue and faces a deadline to pay back $1.1 billion in debt. In recent months the company has tried to sell its stake in the Boston Red Sox, and it will borrow up to $225 million against its new office building on New York's 8th Avenue. Slim, who approached the Times in November, will also receive 14% interest on the loan.

(Feb 25, 2009 11:54 AM) Jordan Brown, the 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged with murdering his father's pregnant girlfriend, has been moved from county jail to a nearby juvenile facility, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Officials had said the jail wasn't appropriate for the young suspect, and a judge OK'd the transfer yesterday. I know he is considered an adult under the law, but he is an 11-year-old, the DA said. Meanwhile, Brown's lawyer argued that the boy should be released pending further legal action; he has a bail hearing on Monday. His lawyer said the child does not have access to money or transportation, and strong ties to the community, and is thus not a flight risk. Furthermore, proof of a minor child's guilt is not evident, he said, and the presumption of guilt is not great.

(Feb 20, 2014 7:28 AM) Some 82 elderly South Koreans, in their Sunday best, traveled by bus into North Korea today where they met with relatives they hadn't seen in 60 years, and--at an average age of 84--likely will never see again, the Washington Post reports. The event marked the start of a six-day family reunion between the two Koreas, the first since 2010. It almost didn't happen--North Korea threatened to pull out a day after the reunions were announced--but talks last week seem to have calmed concerns, allowing fathers to reunite with daughters, and brothers and sisters to exchange small gifts of clothing, medicine, and food, after having no communication since the Korean War, the BBC notes. The South Korean participants, who gathered along with 58 other family members, were chosen by computer-generated lottery from a waiting list of more than 70,000, but some were lucky to make it at all. Many were in wheelchairs and one 91-year-old man was so frail, he came in an ambulance. Upon seeing their relatives--180 North Koreans attended, according to reports--some fell to the ground and cried, others held hands and told family stories over old photographs. It's hard for people to understand what it's like when you've been separated so long, a South Korean man told the BBC before he left. All that was missing in my life was my brother, and now that I can see him again, I'd have no regrets whatsoever if I were to die tomorrow.

(Jun 17, 2017 5:00 AM CDT) John G. Avildsen, who directed Rocky and The Karate Kid--two dark-horse, underdog favorites that went on to become Hollywood franchises--died Friday in Los Angeles at age 81. Anthony Avildsen said his father died from pancreatic cancer and called him a pretty extraordinary man in my estimation. Rocky was a huge success. It won Oscars for best picture, director (Avildsen), and editing and was nominated for seven others. Rocky was a chance venture for Avildsen, reports the AP. Sylvester Stallone, then unknown, had written the script and sought Avildsen to direct it, but Avildsen was already working on another film. Suddenly the production company ran out of money and that film was canceled. A friend sent Avildsen the Rocky script. On page 3, this guy (Rocky) is talking to his turtles, and I was hooked, Avildsen remarked. It was a great character study. Avildsen agreed to direct Rocky even though he knew nothing about boxing. The film was shot on a tight budget, less than $1 million, and it was completed in 28 days. The first time I showed it to 40 or 50 friends, they all freaked out, so that was encouraging, he recalled. But I guess when I saw the lines around the block, it began to take on a reality. Five sequels followed, but Avildsen turned them down, until the fourth, Rocky V, in 1990. He said he considered it a good script and liked that Rocky would die. During the shooting the producers decided Rocky had to live. You don't kill off your corporate assets, Avildsen commented. Read much more on his life and work here.

(Jul 21, 2011 4:03 AM CDT) At least 22 deaths have now been attributed to the heat wave scorching the US this week, which one AccuWeather meteorologist yesterday predicted would be more significant and impact a larger area than the deadly 1995 heat wave. That disaster killed a whopping 750 people over four days, but that hasn't happened this time because of better communication of heat warnings and awareness of the danger, community leaders tell USA Today. The National Weather Service's current heat advisory affects some 141 million people across 24 states. Of course, those warnings haven't helped livestock; some 1,500 cattle have died in South Dakota alone, Reuters reports, and that number could rise. And they haven't mitigated the damage to roads, bridges, power grids, or crops either. In some places water itself is in short supply--Indianapolis has asked residents to stop watering their lawns to ensure sufficient water pressure in the system for firefighters.

(Jan 21, 2015 6:50 AM) Allegations that the New England Patriots used deflated footballs in Sunday's game appear to be true: Unnamed NFL sources have confirmed as much to ESPN, though league officials tell the AP that we're still awaiting findings. The ESPN report holds that 11 of 12 game balls were under-inflated by some two pounds per square inch compared to league requirements. A letter shown to the Boston Globe says the Patriots have been told of the findings, which came after a halftime ball inspection, that paper reports. Officials are still looking into how the under-inflation occurred, ESPN reports. A Patriots rep says the team is cooperating; coach Bill Belichick said yesterday he'd also cooperate fully, noting that he hadn't known about the issue until Monday night. It's still unclear what the consequences would be for the Patriots if the reported findings are accurate. But players are responding--some with humor. I don't know anything about that, said defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. I don't touch footballs. I tackle people. Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee wondered on Twitter: If New England was to be DQ'd ... We'd be their replacements right??... I should probably lay off these strawberry margs.

(Sep 11, 2018 7:17 PM CDT) The founder and president of a pharmaceutical company that last month raised the price of an essential antibiotic from $474.75 per bottle to $2,392 per bottle tells the Financial Times the 400% increase was not only justifiable but morally imperative. I think it is a moral requirement to make money when you can . . . to sell the product for the highest price, says Nirmal Mulye, CEO of Nostrum Laboratories, the small Missouri-based drugmaker that makes a liquid version of nitrofurantoin. The World Health Organization lists the antibiotic mixture as an essential drug for lower urinary tract infections, CNN reports. Mulye says his company decided to raise its price after Casper Pharma, which makes another version of the drug, increased its own price 182% between 2015 and 2018. A bottle of that version now sells for $2,800: The point here is the only other choice is the brand at the higher price. It is still a saving regardless of whether it is a big one or not, Mulye says, adding that he's in the pharmaceutical business to make money. As for another former pharma exec who came under fire for a similar move, Mulye also defended Martin Shkreli during the interview. If he's the only one selling it then he can make as much money as he can, said Mulye. The FDA commissioner responded to the interview on Twitter: There's no moral imperative to price gouge and take advantage of patients.

(May 16, 2017 1:29 PM CDT) A Mississippi man received a 49-year prison sentence Monday for the first-ever conviction on federal hate crime charges arising from the killing of a transgender woman, the AP reports. In a case watched by the LGBT community nationwide, US District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. sentenced Joshua Vallum, 29, in the 2015 killing of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson. It was the first case prosecuted under the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act involving a victim targeted because of gender identity. Prosecutors said Vallum shocked Williamson with a stun gun, stabbed her, and beat her to death to keep fellow Latin Kings gang members from discovering the two were having sex. Gang rules barred homosexual activity and declared it punishable by death. The couple had broken up in 2014 but a friend had recently discovered Williamson was transgender, per CNN. Guirola could have sentenced Vallum to life in prison, but heeded a lesser sentence suggested in a plea agreement between defense attorneys and prosecutors, citing Vallum's neglected childhood and other issues. Both the judge and defense lawyers said Vallum's history of abuse as a child had to be considered. Vallum pleaded guilty to the federal charges in December. He previously pleaded guilty to a state murder charge that led to a separate sentence of life without parole. On Monday, Vallum begged forgiveness from Williamson's family and friends, though none of them were present--only a few reporters, the judge, and Vallum's father and stepmother. Every day, I live with the guilt and regret of my actions, Vallum said. If I could bring back Mercedes by giving up my life, I would gladly do so.

(Sep 4, 2013 2:03 AM CDT) Looks like Montana's Judge Todd Baugh might be better suited to a career that doesn't involve sentencing people. After apologizing and calling himself a blithering idiot for remarks he made when sentencing a teacher to just 30 days for raping a 14-year-old student, Baugh has ordered a new hearing after admitting that he believes he misread state law and the teacher should have been sentenced to a minimum of two years, the Missoulian reports. Baugh--whose remarks sparked protests and demands that he step down--says his error means the 30 days he gave 54-year-old Stacey Rambold would be an illegal sentence, reports NBC. The county attorney says Baugh's order is an unusual occurrence and he has been working to determine whether the case can be appealed to the state's Supreme Court. The mother of Rambold's victim, who committed suicide before the case could go to trial, has refused to accept the judge's apology.

(Sep 4, 2010 1:37 PM CDT) Standup comic Robert Schimmel died yesterday at age 60 after battling injuries sustained in a car accident in Arizona. Schimmel is probably best known for his raunchy HBO specials and guest appearances on Howard Stern's show, notes E! Online. He was also a favorite of Conan's. Schimmel was in a car driven by his teenage daughter when she swerved to avoid another vehicle on Aug. 26. She's expected to fully recover. Schimmel survived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and wrote a 2008 memoir about it called Cancer on $5 a Day. He was currently awaiting a liver transplant after a bad blood transfusion gave him cirrhosis. Tweeted Jimmy Kimmel: Robert Schimmel was one of the funniest and nicest guys in comedy. See the video gallery for samples.

(Apr 3, 2020 3:05 AM CDT) President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spent Thursday clashing over the administration's coronavirus response, with Schumer criticizing the White House's tardiness and inadequacy and Trump firing back in more personal terms. Trump, who was impeached by the House in December, called the Democrat a bad senator in what USA Today calls a notably nasty letter and told him New York would have been better prepared if Schumer had spent less time on your ridiculous impeachment hoax. The back-and-forth began early in the day, when Schumer wrote in a letter to Trump that the president should appoint a czar like a military or logistics expert to lead the effort to make and get the supplies where they're needed. The federal leadership void has left America with an ugly spectacle in which states and cities are literally fending for themselves, often in conflict and competition with each other, Schumer wrote, per Politico. Trump told Schumer, whose state has the most COVID-19 cases in the country, to stop complaining. It wouldn't matter if you got ten times what was needed, it would never be good enough, Trump tweeted. Schumer's office later told CNN the senator had spoken to Trump on Thursday afternoon, and that Trump told Schumer he had written a very nasty letter to Schumer but would try to stop it from going out. Schumer told MSNBC Thursday night that he was appalled by the president's letter. He said Trump should stop the pettiness--people are dying.

(Dec 11, 2015 7:36 AM) A new Malaysian air cargo company said Friday it is the owner of three jumbo jets parked for more than a year at the country's main airport and that it was shocked by authorities' claim that the owner could not be traced. Malaysia's airport operator on Monday took the unusual step of posting photos in two major newspapers of the three Boeing 747-200s. The notice warns owners that the airport has the right to sell or dispose of the planes unless they are collected within 14 days. Swift Air Cargo said it legally bought the planes in June and that it has since been in communication with the operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, which has demanded more documentation on the purchase. We are dumbfounded and perplexed by Malaysia Airport's move. Swift is the owner and we definitely have not forgotten the planes, said Swift's lawyer, Syed Amir Syakib Arslan. In a brief statement, Malaysia Airports said the claim of ownership could not be satisfactorily verified at this point and that it has asked the owner for more information. It said the newspaper notice was a normal legal process for debt recovery. Syed Amir said Swift has given the airport operator the sale and purchase agreement, a legal declaration from the previous Hong Kong owner of the planes on the sale, as well as other original supporting documents to show ownership of the plane. He said Swift is only liable for parking charges since June and not responsible for previous dues but that it was willing to sit down and negotiate with the airport operator.

(Dec 18, 2016 4:12 PM) It's a chilling and partially inaudible 911 call, and one of only a few clues: In the wee hours of Aug. 9, 2013, Brandon Lawson ran out of gas. The Houston Chronicle reports he was along Highway 277 near Bronte, Texas, and he started walking north. Then, at 1:20am, came the 911 call, the last time Lawson was ever heard from. NBC DFW has portions of the transcript: Yes I'm in the middle of a field (inaudible) pushed some guys over, right here going towards Abilene, on both sides. My truck ran out of gas, there's one car here, the guy's chasing (inaudible) to the woods, please hurry! The dispatcher asks if an ambulance is needed. The last thing the 26-year-old father of four says: No I need the cops. A website set up about the disappearance explains Lawson had left his San Angelo home minutes before midnight and later called his brother asking for gas. His truck--keys and phone removed--was found undamaged. As father Brad Lawson puts it to NBC DFW, His cell phone battery dies so he had no flashlight, it's rocky cactus terrain out there, if he had fell down or something we would have found him in a search. But there's been no sign of him. In a press release issued in 2014, the president of LostNMissing, a nonprofit helping Lawson's family, said we also believe there is a second voice on the 911 tape and if that proves to be correct, that person has knowledge as to what has happened. Law enforcement has never confirmed this. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (325) 658-HELP. (The search continues for a young Michigan woman who vanished.)

(Jul 8, 2010 7:16 AM CDT) Cuba has promised to release 52 political prisoners, after one of them went on an attention-grabbing hunger strike. Guillermo Farinas, a 48-year-old psychologist and journalist, has been hospitalized thanks to his hunger strike, which he began back in February, after a previous hunger striker starved to death. Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos came to Havana this week to attempt to save his life, and hammered out the release deal with Raul Castro and Havana Archbishop Jaime Ortega, the New York Times reports. All of the prisoners slated for release were rounded up in a 2003 crackdown on dissents, which saw 75 journalists and activists imprisoned as American agents. Some have since been released, but those remaining have been a rallying point for Cuba's detractors. The 52 will be released gradually over the next few months, with some expatriated to Spain. The deal should improve relations between the US and Cuba and hopefully make Farinas resume eating. I feel like I'm born again, his mother said.

(Sep 15, 2010 3:55 PM CDT) Fair or not, baby boomers get a bad rap for being a self-indulgent bunch who pale in comparison to the Greatest Generation of their parents. Boomers need a legacy, writes Michael Kinsley in the Atlantic. It ought to be patriotic. And it ought to be accomplished by the time the last Boomer turns 65, which would be 2029. Boomers have 19 years to redeem themselves. His suggestion: Cash. We should pass on to the next generation an America that's free from debt, writes Kinsley. Instead of ignoring it, or arguing endlessly about whose fault it is and who should pay for it, Boomers as an age cohort should just grab the check and say, 'This one's on us.' One way to start is with an improved estate tax, one that reaches far more people--essentially anyone who inherits any significant amount of money--but at a much lower rate. A little more so-called rationing --to avoid wasteful, long-shot medical care near the end of life--wouldn't hurt, either. Read the full essay here.

(Jul 22, 2017 3:34 PM CDT) Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Friday that made New Jersey the third state to raise its smoking age to 21, the AP reports. Hawaii and California are the only other states where the smoking age is 21. On Friday, Christie cited the strain on the health care system caused by tobacco-related illnesses. He also noted that his mother died from the effects of smoking. By raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, we are giving young people more time to develop a maturity and better understanding of how dangerous smoking can be and that it is better to not start smoking in the first place, Christie wrote. The restriction applies to tobacco products and electronic smoking devices. Christie vetoed a similar measure last year. Democratic Sens. Richard Codey and Joseph Vitale, the bill's co-sponsors, said reports show smoking causes about $4 billion in health care costs to the state each year. That amount doesn't include costs related to secondhand smoke or smokeless tobacco use, they said. Data surveys show that if individuals aren't smokers by 21 years of age, they will most likely not start later in their lives, Vitale said. Making it harder to buy cigarettes by raising the age to legally purchase them in New Jersey will help prevent our youth from becoming lifelong smokers and suffering the long-term effects of the habit.

(Nov 3, 2008 4:55 PM) It would be hard to overstate the impact of the past 2 months on those who work and invest in the stock market, Ben Steverman writes for BusinessWeek. The crisis has surely spurred many investors to reevaluate the risks, but is it a game-changer, historically speaking? Although it was steep, the Dow's October decline of 14.1% is smaller than 15 other months on record. Indeed, the Dow's losses for all of 2008 have yet to surpass the 30.7% fall of September 1931. Some worry the stock bubble has popped, and that equities will never return to overvalued prices. But experts disagree: The stock market is reacting to the bad news in the banking sector and to the economy, not an overvaluation of stocks themselves, says one financial historian.

(Oct 24, 2012 10:40 AM CDT) If you thought President Obama's kill list was a simple, shopping list-style affair, think again. The military has spent the past two years developing what it calls a disposition matrix, a complex database keeping tabs on targets and plans to eliminate them, the Washington Post reports. What's more, the administration expects to keep adding names to the list for years, with senior officials saying such assassinations are likely to continue for at least another decade. Officials say the matrix is part of an effort to make counterterrorism a permanent feature of US policy. Adviser John Brennan is working on codifying Obama's methods for future administrations, while David Petraeus is requesting an expansion of the CIA's drone fleet. The US Joint Special Operations Command has built a secret targeting center 15 minutes away from the White House, even as it deploys commando teams to suspected hotbeds throughout Africa. We are looking at something that is potentially indefinite, the CIA's former deputy director of counterterrorism warns. For the full, extensive piece, click here. (It includes the factoid that the number of deaths in the drone campaign will soon surpass the number killed in the 9/11 attacks.)

(Sep 8, 2016 7:23 AM CDT) The woman told a 911 dispatcher she was being chased by three men in a truck while driving in Phoenix. Then came three gunshots, and silence. Police say the woman, who has not been identified, was shot in the head before crashing into a concrete median on State Route 51 on Wednesday night, per the Arizona Republic. She believed these people were following her specifically as she drove on Interstate 10 around 7:20pm, but she didn't offer any information as to why, says Sgt. Jonathan Howard, adding authorities are now searching for a white truck with a ladder rack and toolbox. The truck--believed to be carrying three Hispanic men, per Fox 10--was driving aggressively, according to five or six 911 calls Wednesday evening. However, police are still unclear why the shooting, which killed the woman, occurred. It also caused minor collisions involving four vehicles, and two people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police say. Several white, work-style trucks were later stopped, but none panned out, says Howard. Police now plan to review freeway camera footage and other surveillance footage available. Authorities say the shooting doesn't appear to be linked to Phoenix's serial shooter, per CBS News.

(May 15, 2013 12:35 PM CDT) Firefighters have contained 90% of a wildfire in northwest Wisconsin, which has burned through 8,700 acres and 47 structures, including 17 houses. It's the biggest wildfire in northern Wisconsin in 33 years, WEAU reports. At least 60 people evacuated their homes last night, with 22 staying overnight in the local high school, the AP reports. At 8:30[pm] there was too much fire so we just ran, says one local, who lost his outhouse but not his actual house, the Duluth News Tribune reports. I have no idea why this didn't burn; I don't know if someone was here fighting the fire or not because we just got out of here. Another evacuee shares his story: We thought the fire was going to go north of us, but when the wind switched it came at us so fast we had to run. I grabbed my guns, my mother-in-law and my wife--in that order--and we got out. Still no word on cause, but the News Tribune does share one cruel twist of fate : A large swath of the area hit by the fire was buried in snow just 12 days ago. But without much spring greening and no recent rain, last year's leaves and grasses remained particularly susceptible to fire.

(Feb 2, 2016 4:03 AM) For 16 years, a man known only as Garage 66 lay in a California hospital bed, unable to speak after suffering severe brain damage after an automobile accident. Now authorities say they've finally discovered the name of the man who was probably still in his teens when he first arrived at San Diego's Sharp Coronado Hospital in 1999, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He has been on life support and unresponsive ever since. The Mexican consulate in the city says that after the mystery man's case was publicized, DNA tests confirmed that he was the long-lost relative of one of the families that came forward. The consulate says the man's relatives have asked for privacy, and medical privacy laws prevent him from being named publicly. But his Sharp caregivers can now address him by name, and we are all celebrating the dignity afforded a person who has an identity and a history, says a consulate spokesman. After the accident near the Mexican border, authorities apparently named the man after the garage where the wrecked van he was riding in was taken, inewsource found when it reported on the case last year. The founder of the immigrant rights group Border Angels tells the Union-Tribune that he helped find the man's family--and he hopes the case will give hope to other people whose relatives vanished in attempting to cross the US border. There are a lot of Garage 66s out there, Enrique Morones says. Maybe it's not a 16-year-old case, maybe it's a six-day-old case. But there's a mom who still wants to know, 'Did my son make it?' (An Alabama woman reported missing after a tornado in 2011 was recently found alive and well in Florida.)

(Feb 3, 2014 10:44 AM) Disturbing news on World Cancer Day: Cases are poised to surge in the coming years, jumping 50% by 2030, according to a UN report. That means 21.6 million cases per year, compared to a rate that was 14 million in 2012, AFP reports. By 2035, we're likely to see 24 million new cases a year. Deaths from cancer are set to climb to 13 million per year, versus 8.2 million in 2012. A key reason for the upswing: lung cancer that's inextricably linked to Big Tobacco sales efforts. Developing countries will face the greatest danger as wealthier people increasingly smoke, drink, and eat processed foods while getting less exercise. But while more than 60% of cases and 70% of deaths took place in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America, the percentage of populations affected were higher in wealthier countries, including western countries and Japan and South Korea. Lung cancer was responsible for 19.4% of deaths, the highest of any cancer. While it's implausible to treat our way out of cancer, says a UN official, the report finds that about half of all cancers could be avoided by focusing on prevention and early treatment. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization finds that just one in 10 people needing palliative care are getting it; a third of those are people with cancer.

(May 3, 2020 5:25 PM CDT) What Nicholas John Crilley did is hard to read about--so if you have any doubt, please stop here. The Australian was sentenced Friday to seven life sentences for torturing, raping, beating, and burning a woman over three unimaginable weeks, 7 News reports. The 34-year-old's attacks left her so badly injured that paramedics thought she was dead until she murmured a sound. Her skin was purple, she stank with decay, and her body was 46% burned from chemicals and boiling water. Her wounds were so infected that maggots lived in them. Her eyes were swollen shut, lips drawn back and discoloured, and teeth were exposed, Judge Anthony Rafter said at the sentencing. The left side of her face was missing all of the skin. Crilley's motives are barely explained, but Australia's News Network reports that he was delusional on methylamphetamine and thought she'd been part of a drive-by attempt on his life. The court also heard that he grinned and laughed while assaulting her and sent photos of her injuries to friends on Facebook. Finally he called emergency services himself before leading police on a chase using stolen cars. As for his 22-year-old victim, she was put in an induced coma and needed eight weeks of hospitalization to recover and re-learn how to walk. I have been disfigured both mentally and physically, she said. It is something I would not wish on my worst enemies. Crilley was charged with 62 crimes, including grievous bodily harm and sexual assault. His longest of the concurrent sentences is 25 years.

(Feb 23, 2017 3:16 PM) Stocks struggled to a mixed close as losses in industrial and small-company stocks mostly outweighed gains in high dividend-payers like utilities, the AP reports. The Dow Jones industrial average managed its 10th straight increase Thursday and closed at another all-time high. Technology companies fell, ending a 15-day winning streak. US Steel dropped 8% and heavy machinery maker Caterpillar gave up 2.7%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up a point to 2,363. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 34 points, or 0.2%, to 20,810. The Nasdaq composite dropped 25 points, or 0.4%, to 5,835. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks small-company stocks, dropped 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,394.

(Jan 22, 2020 12:33 AM) Two different air bag glitches have forced Toyota and Honda to recall over 6 million vehicles worldwide, and both problems present different dangers to motorists. The Toyota recall affects about 3.4 million vehicles globally and is being done because the air bags may not inflate in a crash. The cars have air bag control computers made by ZF-TRW that are vulnerable to electrical interference and may not signal the bags to inflate, the AP reports. The problem could affect as many as 12.3 million vehicles in the US made by six companies. It's possible that as many as eight people were killed when air bags didn't inflate. US safety regulators are investigating. Honda's recall covers about 2.7 million Honda and Acura vehicles from the 1996 to 2003 model years in the US and Canada with Takata air bag inflators that could explode, throwing shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

(Jun 27, 2019 2:43 AM CDT) Inside a locked vault at Johnson Space Center is treasure few have seen and fewer have touched. The restricted lab is home to hundreds of pounds of moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts close to a half-century ago. And for the first time in decades, NASA is about to open some of the pristine samples and let geologists take a crack at them with 21st-century technology, the AP reports. What better way to mark this summer's 50th anniversary of humanity's first footsteps on the moon than by sharing a bit of the lunar loot. It's sort of a coincidence that we're opening them in the year of the anniversary, explains NASA's Apollo sample curator Ryan Zeigler. But certainly the anniversary increased the awareness and the fact that we're going back to the moon.

(May 2, 2009 9:31 PM CDT) Jack Kemp, the former football star, congressman, one-time vice-presidential nominee, and self-described bleeding-heart conservative died today of cancer at age 73. Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988. Eight years later, after serving a term as George H.W. Bush's housing secretary, he made it onto the national ticket as Bob Dole's running mate. With that loss, the Republican bowed out of political office, but not out of politics. In speaking engagements and a syndicated column, he continued to advocate for the tax-reform and supply-side policies--the idea that the more taxes are cut, the more the economy will grow--that he pioneered. Mitch McConnell called Kemp one of the nation's most distinguished public servants.

(Aug 10, 2011 7:45 AM CDT) Thanks to 2,286 people who believe aliens may be out there, SETI's search for radio waves that would prove there is intelligent life in the universe is once again a go, reports the LA Times. Budget cuts shut down SETI's Allen Telescope Array in April, but a call for crowd-sourced funds has brought in $206,133 as of today, surpassing the $200,000 goal. Thank You for Your Support to Resume the Search, wrote SETI officials on their website, adding that they hoped to get things up and running by September. But even $200,000 is not enough to fund the ATA's 42 radio telescope dishes, so SETI is also negotiating with the Air Force in hopes the Air Force will pay it to keep track of orbital debris. We view this mission as one of profound importance, answering man's most fundamental questions--are we alone? said SETI co-founder Tom Pierson. Being off-air is something we needed to fix. Could we have missed our chance during the down-time? You never know when or if a signal is going to be detected, so if you miss a few months, how important is that? It's impossible to know.

(Jan 18, 2018 6:27 AM) It's not every day that the New York Times reports on an In Touch article about a porn star, but here we are. In a follow-up to last week's Wall Street Journal article that alleged an adult film actress was paid $130,000 in 2016 to stay mum on a consensual sexual encounter with a then-married Donald Trump in 2006 comes the In Touch article, published Wednesday. It is based on a 2011 interview with Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels, and describes her meeting Trump at a 2006 golf tournament and having textbook generic sex that night. Among the more salacious details: that the encounter allegedly happened four months after Melania Trump gave birth, and that Trump told Clifford she was beautiful like his daughter. Per the article, the two met up on future occasions, with the Times quoting it as saying Trump last called Clifford in late 2009 or early 2010. The In Touch article says it backed up Clifford's claims via a polygraph and corroboration from an adult-film colleague and her ex-husband. Clifford has since denied the affair, and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, again disputed the account to the Times, calling it the recirculation of an old and debunked story. As far as recirculation goes, Slate Group editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg also elaborated on his conversations with Clifford in August and October of 2016 (no story was published at the time) in a piece for Slate, writing, The worst Trump had done, she said, was break promises she'd never believed he would fulfill. Like the In Touch article, Weisberg says Clifford told her Trump had promised her a slot on The Apprentice. The story has gotten the late-night treatment, too: Stephen Colbert discussed it Wednesday, quipping, Wow, maybe In Touch magazine should lead the Russia investigation.

(Jul 10, 2008 9:00 AM CDT) After the third man in 5 weeks scaled the facade of the New York Times building, the newspaper has begun removing dozens of the distinctive horizontal rods that sheathe the new skyscraper. Opened last year and designed by Renzo Piano, the building has attracted death-defying climbers who have ascended all the way to the top via the ladder-like beams. The Times building's trademark rods are energy-efficient, designed to admit sunlight without overheating the interior.

(Jun 24, 2011 5:43 PM CDT) At least two people are dead after a semi-trailer smashed into an Amtrak train en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., today. The Chicago Tribune reports that the truck driver and at least one passenger were killed; another 20 or so were injured in the fiery crash. The truck apparently plowed into the train at a crossing on US 50. A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper says the crossing gates were working properly. A total of 218 people were on board.

(Oct 21, 2020 6:30 AM CDT) Coronavirus has infected every resident of a Kansas nursing home, with deadly results. Ten of the 62 residents of Andbe Home in Norton have died and one is in hospital, reports NBC News. The Norton County Health Department announced the outbreak at the privately owned facility on Monday, saying an unspecified number of staff members had also tested positive for the virus, per CBS News and KOLN. Steps are being taken to prevent any further outbreak including quarantining residents in their rooms and not allowing outside visitors into the facility, the department said, per NBC. The outbreak follows another at the state's prison in Norton. More than 100 cases were reported there over two weeks ending Oct. 14, per CBS, which notes Norton County, near the Nebraska border, has seen one of the largest proportional increases in confirmed coronavirus cases over two weeks in the country. Kansas has reported almost 73,000 cases and 872 related deaths. And the numbers are getting worse, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Dr. Lee Norman said last week, per NBC. You've seen that every week in terms of the prevalence.

(Apr 17, 2017 12:56 AM CDT) At age 101, retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole says his memories are vivid of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders mission that helped change the course of World War II. Now the sole survivor of the original 80-member group, he plans to take part in events Monday and Tuesday at the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, marking the 75th anniversary of the attack that rallied America and jarred Japan. It will be a somber affair when he fulfills the long Raider tradition of toasting those who've died in the past year, using goblets engraved with their names, Cole tells the AP. In a private ceremony, he will offer tribute to retired Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, who died last year at age 94 in Missoula, Mont. The Raiders, led by aviation pioneer Jimmy Doolittle, launched their assault April 18, 1942, in B-25 bombers not built to fly off an aircraft carrier at sea. After hitting Tokyo and other targets in the first US airstrike on Japan's home islands, they continued to China because it would have been impossible to land the bombers back on the USS Hornet. Three Raiders died trying to reach China. Out of eight later captured by Japanese soldiers, three were executed, and a fourth died in captivity. Their attack inflicted scattered damage--and stunned Japan's people. Its military diverted resources to guard their homeland, while news of the raid lifted US morale after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and a string of Japanese victories in the Pacific.

(Jun 26, 2020 6:03 AM CDT) With COVID-19 cases surging in many states and daily infection totals hitting new highs, Vice President Mike Pence is due to hold his first public briefing as head of the government coronavirus task force in almost two months. The White House announced Thursday night that Pence will hold the briefing Friday morning at the Department of Health and Human Services. Sources tell CNN that the task force has been largely sidelined in recent weeks and now only meets once or twice a week. Task force members including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a House panel this week that they hadn't spoken to President Trump in weeks. Fauci told reporters that Pence was relaying his messages to Trump. (Fauci says the next few weeks will be critical.

(Jun 11, 2012 1:07 PM CDT) Two American students trapped in the New Zealand wilderness by a snowstorm trekked out to safety after surviving their nine-day ordeal by rationing trail mix and warming themselves in hot springs. Alec Brown and Erica Klintworth, both 21, returned to Christchurch today after meeting up with a search team--famished but otherwise in good shape. The two students, on a foreign study program, had planned to hike and camp at some hot springs, but it rained and rained, day after day, and snowed, Alec Brown wrote in an email. When they realized they were stuck they started rationing: a biscuit and jelly one day, Brown wrote, and even less another. The couple didn't take much food--some carrots, rice, peanut butter, and trail mix. Brown said that soaking in the hot pools helped keep us warm and slow energy loss. It wasn't until yesterday, Brown said, that the river finally seemed safe enough to cross again, and they ventured out, spotting a rescue helicopter that never saw them. We met up with the search and rescue by the road, Brown said, adding that he was confident in their ability to survive. When you go into the bush you take your life into your own hands and need to be prepared to handle whatever conditions occur, he said. We could have been more prepared, but in the end we were prepared enough to walk ourselves out.

(May 31, 2013 12:40 PM CDT) Autumn Erhard's first stroke of luck was being 30 years old, which qualified her to appear on Wheel of Fortune's 30th anniversary show yesterday. Mix in some pretty tough odds about landing on a million-dollar prize slot, making it to the bonus round, landing on that prize slot again, and then solving a 12-letter puzzle with only four letters flipped, and it all adds up to the show's second million-dollar winner, report USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.

(Dec 18, 2014 12:07 AM) A motorist hit a group of pedestrians outside a California church as a Christmas service ended last night, killing one person and leaving up to 11 others injured, police say. Some of the pedestrians were rushed to hospitals with critical injuries, a police spokesman in Redondo Beach says. One adult died at a hospital, and the injured included at least two children. The motorist was driving a white sedan northbound when she ran a red light, ran into the pedestrians, and hit another vehicle after. The driver was taken in police custody to a hospital, where she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities say. They are investigating whether she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

(Aug 20, 2008 8:05 PM CDT) Ken Griffey Jr. slammed his 609th home run today to move into a tie with Sammy Sosa for fifth on the Major League Baseball career list. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), and Willie Mays (660) have hit more. Griffey's two-run drive helped his Chicago White Sox rout Seattle, 15-3. It was his first homer since Chicago acquired him from Cincinnati last month.

(Jun 13, 2018 12:50 AM CDT) An unlicensed driver being chased by state troopers plowed into a Minneapolis playground, injuring three young siblings, one of them critically, authorities say. State troopers tried to stop 27-year-old Kabaar Powell for speeding on Interstate 94 on Monday, but he tried to flee, authorities say. They say he eventually got off the highway, tore through tennis courts, and smashed into the playground near Jenny Lind Elementary School on the city's north side, hitting young Kayden, Konnor, and Lillianna Peltier and coming to a halt entangled in a swing set, the AP reports. Powell remained jailed without bail Tuesday on suspicion of criminal vehicular operation and fleeing police. The children's aunt, Devin Brinkley, says 2-year-old Kayden was in critical condition heading into surgery on Monday night.

(Oct 31, 2008 10:45 AM CDT) Make Me a Supermodel host Niki Taylor is expecting her third child in March. The supermodel is married to Burney Lamar, a NASCAR driver. Burney and I are very excited with this stage of our lives, 33-year-old Taylor told People. We're thrilled. Taylor has 13-year-old twin boys from a previous marriage.

(Jul 12, 2016 5:10 PM CDT) A Tesla Model X owner tells CNN Money that his car crashed while in Autopilot mode over the weekend in Montana. The owner, who identified himself only by his last name, Pang, says he wants to talk to Tesla to determine whether the accident was the car's fault or his fault. His car swerved off a narrow, winding, two-lane Montana highway around 12:30am Saturday while Pang did not have his hands on the wheel. It's the third crash reported to have involved Teslas that were in the semi-autonomous Autopilot mode at the time. Federal safety agencies are investigating one of the crashes, which was fatal. Pang says he did not receive any warnings from the car prior to the crash, but in a statement, Tesla says, As road conditions became increasingly uncertain, the vehicle again alerted the driver to put his hands on the wheel. He did not do so and shortly thereafter the vehicle collided with a post on the edge of the roadway. Pang received a careless driving citation after the crash.

(Jan 26, 2008 6:50 PM) Five young men were killed on a joyride in Florida last night when their speeding car careened off a private airstrip, flew 200 feet in the air, hit a large tree, and split in two. Three were thrown from the car and two were partly ejected, but all were pronounced dead on the scene, the Ocla Star-Banner reports. Officials arrived at 3:45 a.m. to find the $80,000 BMW broken in half, local TV reported. They found one of the boys 100 feet from the wreckage. Based on the skid marks, police think the boys, all 18-20-year-old High School wrestlers, tried to stop, but hurtled off the 85-foot-high embankment at the runway's end.

(Sep 10, 2020 3:17 AM CDT) Two men have filed a lawsuit against Kevin Spacey under New York's Child Victims Act, which extended the state's statute of limitations for child sex abuse. Both plaintiffs accuse the actor of abusing them in the 1980s when they were around 14 years old, the New York Times reports. One plaintiff is anonymous, and the other is Star Trek: Discovery cast member Anthony Rapp, who first aired his allegations against Spacey in 2017. In the lawsuit, Rapp says that after Spacey invited him to a party at his Manhattan home in 1986, the actor grabbed him by the buttocks, lifted him onto a bed, and laid down on top of him. Rapp says he suffered psychological injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, fright, anger, depression and anxiety, reports TMZ. After Rapp, the first of numerous people to accuse Spacey of sexual misconduct, came forward in 2017, Spacey said he didn't remember the incident, but apologized for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior. The other plaintiff in the lawsuit said he was a 14-year-old acting student when he met Spacey in the early 1980s. He said he engaged in sexual acts with Spacey on several occasions. In the lawsuit, he states that he fled Spacey's apartment after the actor sexually assaulted him despite him resisting and saying no.

(Jul 5, 2009 8:04 PM CDT) Jon and Kate Gosselin set their differences aside to celebrate July Fourth with the kids in Wernersville, Penn., Us reports. Despite their pending divorce, Jon helped Kate pick berries for their annual American flag cake, lit sparklers for the children, and played with the family dogs. The festivities were not filmed for Jon and Kate Plus 8, which TLC Network suspended until next month to give the family some time off to regroup.

(May 13, 2019 4:45 PM CDT) A boy called 911 to report that he and six other children had been left in a car in Maryland with the windows rolled up and the motor not running, the AP reports. The Charles County Sheriff's Office tells news outlets that the children ranged in age from 2 to 4 years old, and it's plausible that it was the eldest who called 911 Friday. The boy told authorities that the children were hot and didn't know where they were. Deputies traced the call to a Waldorf shopping center and helped the kids. Deputies say the driver arrived about 10 minutes later, having already been gone for about 20 minutes. The driver, a mother of two who was babysitting five other kids, was charged with confinement of children inside a motor vehicle. (A former cop was sentenced to 20 years for her child's hot-car death.

(Oct 10, 2020 9:00 AM CDT) Two Maine police officers have been fired and now face criminal charges after being accused of beating porcupines to death with their batons. The state's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says that 27-year-old Addison Cox and 30-year-old Michael Rolerson, now formerly of the Rockland Police Department, were hit with felony animal cruelty charges Friday after videos emerged showing them committing the alleged crime, per the New York Post. Police say the two used retractable batons to pummel the porcupines while a third officer recorded them, then posted the video to internal police Snapchat groups, WGME reports. Authorities say Rolerson admitted to pepper-spraying one of the animals before he beat it. These porcupines were in their natural habitat and causing no harm, an Aug. 29 statement from fellow officer Anne Griffith to her supervisor noted, per the Courier Gazette. Officer Rolerson not only chased the animal in the woods to kill it, but returned with a smile on his face and appeared as though he enjoyed it. I am sickened and embarrassed by [these] actions, she added. Rockland Police Chief Chris Young says he got wind of the allegations in late August and put Cox and Rolerson on administrative leave while the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office investigated, the Bangor Daily News reports. Both officers were terminated on Sept. 22. In 2017, Cox had been hailed as a wildlife hero for helping a baby raccoon and a skunk in distress. A tremendous amount of power is given to those who wear a badge and are tasked with protecting their communities; it's a power that I do not take lightly, Young said in a Sept. 30 Facebook post. The Daily News reports both men, who also face charges of hunting at night, are set to appear in court on Nov. 9.

(Sep 17, 2015 3:40 PM CDT) Full-time workers in the US spend an average of 47 hours a week punched in for a paycheck, according to Gallup data cited by Quartz, keeping pace with the current trend to work harder and longer. But a retirement home in Sweden has been reaping positive results from an experiment in the opposite: a six-hour workday in which nurses receive full-time pay for their shorter shifts, the Guardian reports. And by anecdotal accounts pouring in since the workers at the Svartedalens home in Gothenburg switched from their eight-hour shifts in February, employees are enjoying a better quality of life, which ups their well-being and allows them to take better care of their elderly patients, their families, and themselves. I used to be exhausted all the time, one nurse tells the paper. I would come home from work and pass out on the sofa. But ... now I am much more alert: I have much more energy for my work, and also for family life. Other employers in Sweden are testing this abridged workday out as well, including a Toyota repair shop in Gothenburg, which says it's seen less turnover, as well as greater productivity and profits since instituting the six-hour day 13 years ago. Staff feel better ... and it is easier to recruit new people, the managing director tells the Guardian. They have a shorter travel time to work, there is more efficient use of the machines, and lower capital costs--everyone is happy. Well, not everyone: Conservatives claim the extra expense to hire additional workers to cover the shift gaps is untenable-- It's like living in a world where it is raining money from the sky, one conservative pol tells the paper--but those who see the benefits overall say it's worth it. And a business administration researcher tells the Guardian we may even be able to extrapolate this to the next level: the four-hour workday, which was advocated nearly 90 years ago by philosopher Bertrand Russell, Quartz notes.

(Feb 14, 2011 1:40 AM) China has steamed past Japan to become the world's second-largest economy. Japan's economy, hit by a drop in exports and consumer demand, was worth $5.5 trillion at the end of last year, while China's was estimated at $5.8 trillion. China is expected to take over the US as the No. 1 economy in about a decade, reports the BBC. Japan officials played down the news. As an economy, we are not competing for rankings but working to improve citizens' lives, said the nation's economics minister.

(Sep 20, 2015 3:50 PM CDT) A new wildfire in Northern California has killed one person and destroyed or damaged 10 homes in Monterey County, a week after two other blazes killed five people and destroyed at least 1,400 homes, fire officials said today. The blaze burning about 2 miles north of the community of Jamesburg quickly grew to 1,200-acres after starting yesterday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says. The person who died has not been identified. Farther north, two wildfires have destroyed 1,400 homes and continue to threaten thousands more, fire officials say. Damage assessment teams have counted 888 homes burned in Lake County, many of them in the town of Middletown, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant says. He says teams are getting access to affected areas as firefighters make progress but that the count is far from over. The fire, which killed at least three people and charred 117 square miles, was 53% contained. Another 6,400 homes remain under threat. Another 535 homes were destroyed by a separate blaze that killed at least two people and that has burned 110 square miles in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 170 miles southeast. That blaze was 70% contained today but continued to threaten thousands of structures.

(Jul 18, 2017 12:50 PM CDT) Jesus Armando Escobar, 36, was exiting a Florida interstate on Saturday morning at the same time Antonio Santiago Wharton, 33, was driving a Mack truck loaded with scrap metal on the overpass above him. Wharton lost control of the truck going around the curve and it overturned, dumping a 7,000-pound metal pipe off the overpass and onto the roof of Escobar's van. Yet somehow, the father of three suffered only minor injuries--despite the fact that the roof of the van on the driver's side was crushed by the nearly four-ton piece of scrap metal, WFTV reports. I thought it was a fatality, to be honest with you. But they came out and said, 'Nope, he's only got scratches,' says a worker with AATR Orlando, a towing service. A state trooper who saw the scene and read other troopers' notes tells WESH Escobar was alert and walking around soon after the accident. Authorities say Escobar, who was released from the hospital the same day the accident happened, may have been killed had he been in any other seat. That's the exit everybody takes to go to SeaWorld with their kids. So if it had been somebody with a family full of children, it would have been a catastrophe, Escobar's lawyer says Escobar, who doesn't remember the incident, told him. The lawyer tells News4Jax his client's injuries include a significant head laceration and a neck fracture that will keep him in a neck brace for weeks, and says the family is hoping to reach a settlement in the case. Wharton received a careless-driving ticket; the load was properly secured, but authorities are investigating whether speed was an issue. (In another miraculous incident, a new dad fell 47 stories and survived.)

(Mar 28, 2009 12:10 PM CDT) Security patrols for next week's G20 summit, take note: A protest in London today drew an estimated 35,000 people, about three times as many as expected, the Guardian reports. Organizers of the march--a coalition of unions, church groups, and charities--are pushing for movement on jobs, justice, and climate from world leaders. Bad weather failed to thin the numbers, even though hail has begun to fall, as one marcher Twittered.

(Oct 19, 2016 12:52 AM CDT) Some 150,000 gallons of water contaminated by toxic firefighting chemicals were discharged from a Colorado Air Force Base into a city sewer system, and authorities can't explain why. Peterson Air Force Base has confirmed that water containing perfluorinated chemicals--PFCs--flowed through Colorado Springs Utilities wastewater treatment plant before ending up in Fountain Creek, which leads to the Arkansas River. PFCs, which have been linked to health problems such as liver and kidney damage, had already been found at up to 20 times safe limits in the area south of the base, the Denver Post reports. A base spokesman tells the Colorado Springs Gazette that the discharge, which was discovered Oct. 12. came from a tank that held outflow from training exercises from as far back as 2013. He says the tank is designed to be difficult to discharge, suggesting the release was an intentional act. The Air Force says it has stopped using firefighting foam containing PFCs, except in emergencies. The Post notes that PFCs have been found at levels deemed dangerous in 63 areas nationwide, with the area south of Colorado Springs among the worst. The Air Force, which has contributed $4.3 million to help area communities deal with the contamination, plans to put out a report on the issue next year.

(Oct 23, 2015 2:45 PM CDT) The M4 is the rarest of the already rare Nazi Enigma machines, which could help explain why a working model just sold for a record $365,000 at an auction Wednesday in New York. The Guardian reports the 70-year-old encryption machine was purchased by an anonymous private collector. The Enigma machine is an exceptional encryption device, one of the most sophisticated and complicated of its type, a specialist at Bonhams auction house tells the Guardian. According to Gizmodo, the M4 was introduced in February 1942 and played a big part in the Battle of the Atlantic. It was called the Shark-key by US codebreakers and remained unbroken for nearly a year. Of the 50 Enigma machines currently in museums, only seven are M4s, the Guardian reports. The M4s were used exclusively on German U-boats, 70% of which sank toward the end of WWII, accounting for the machine's rarity. In addition, Nazi captains were told to break their Enigma machines when captured, according to Gizmodo.