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(May 7, 2015 2:56 PM CDT) The Senate overwhelmingly backed legislation today that would let Congress review and possibly reject any final deal with Tehran. The vote was 98-1 for the bill that would give Congress a say on what could be a historic accord that the United States and five other nations are trying to finalize with Iran. The lone no vote came from freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who wants the administration to submit any agreement to the Senate as a treaty. Under the Constitution, that would require approval of two-thirds of the Senate. The House is expected to vote next week on the measure. A nuclear-arms agreement with any adversary--especially the terror-sponsoring, Islamist Iranian regime--should be submitted as a treaty and obtain a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate as required by the Constitution, said Cotton. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill offers the best chance for our constituents through the Congress they elect to weigh in on the White House negotiations with Iran. The Hill notes that if Congress reviewed a deal and rejected it, President Obama could override the move. The president initially opposed any such review, but he changed his mind given the number of Democrats in support of it.

(Jan 4, 2013 2:27 PM) It was the console that seemed like it would never die, but after 12 years, Sony has finally ceased production on the PlayStation 2, the Guardian reports. (We know what you're thinking: Yes, they were still making PS2s.) The console, originally launched in 2000, ends its run as arguably the most successful system of all time, selling 150 million units worldwide. The move comes as the next generation of consoles winds down, with Nintendo launching the Wii U, and Microsoft expected to announce a new XBox this summer. The PS2's successor, the PS3, has sold about 70 million units since its 2006 launch, but has never matched the PS2's success--a major blow given how expensive it was to develop. Some believe that when Sony finally unveils the PS4, it will be the last traditional console. Certainly the idea of console cycles that last seven years seems like a busted flush now, says a former PlayStation Magazine editor.

(Jan 5, 2019 7:05 PM) Harold Brown, who as defense secretary in the Carter administration championed cutting-edge fighting technology during a tenure that included the failed rescue of hostages in Iran, has died at age 91. Brown died Friday, said the Rand Corp., the California-based think tank which Brown served as a trustee for more than 35 years. Brown was a nuclear physicist who led the Pentagon to modernize its defense systems with weapons that included precision-guided cruise missiles, stealth aircraft, advanced satellite surveillance, and improved communications and intelligence systems, the AP reports. He successfully campaigned to increase the Pentagon budget during his term, despite skepticism inside the White House and from Democrats in Congress.

(Jan 9, 2015 2:04 PM) A man who ditched work for 24 years has finally lost his job--apparently a sign that India is cracking down on government bureaucrats who avoid office time, Reuters reports. AK Verma, a senior engineer at the Central Public Works Department, last showed up for work in December 1990. The Hindu describes him as being on furlough, but an inquiry ruled against him in 1992, and delays and inaction ensued for 22 more years until Verma eventually got fired. He went on seeking extension of leave, which was not sanctioned, and defied directions to report to work, officials said in a statement. Civil servants in India are infamous for showing up late, taking lengthy lunches, and hitting the links during work hours, the Guardian reports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he was shocked by bureaucrats' behavior when he took power last year, and has tried cracking down. He's known to play office monitor, showing up in the halls of power unannounced, and now makes civil servants sign in with fingerprint scanners (the results can be seen online). Attendance has gone up since, the Guardian says, and Delhi's main golf course is now mostly empty during the week. (In the US, a worker got in trouble with the boss for using his robot voice on the phone to callers.)

(Nov 2, 2011 2:39 PM CDT) It may be a tough time to be selling cars, but here's one way not to boost sales: Accuse your big rival of being a Taliban-loving terrorist sympathizer. A Toyota dealership in Pensacola, Florida, has to shell out $7.5 million for doing just that, reports Reuters. A jury awarded the money to Shawn Esfahani, a naturalized US citizen who was born in Iran and now runs a dealership in nearby Daphne, Alabama. The salesmen in Pensacola weren't exactly subtle about it, according to the lawsuit. (Esfahani) is funneling money back to his family and other terrorists, one told a couple browsing for cars. I have a brother over there and what you're doing is helping kill my brother.

(Sep 12, 2017 10:35 AM CDT) Jessica Durham saw two faces, including that of her 5-year-old son. Then she was pushed off an 80-foot cliff. She would remarkably survive, but her son wasn't so lucky. Police and family say the 41-year-old Kentucky woman was beaten, then kidnapped along with her son on Friday in response to a money dispute, per WLEX. Her sister says a family friend arrived at Durham's home, repeatedly struck her in the head in an attempt to knock her out, then forced Durham into a car with her son, per the Lexington Herald-Leader. The man drove until he reached an 80-foot cliff in Jackson County and pushed Durham over the edge, the state police commissioner says. That was the last time Durham--discovered by hikers the next day--saw her son alive, per WHAS. Though her alleged assailant was located hours after Durham was found with a broken ankle, shattered pelvis, internal bleeding, and a head injury, 5-year-old James Spoonamore seemed to have disappeared. In what police are now calling a tragic turn, however, James' body was found Monday in a national forest, a little over half a mile from the spot where Durham was discovered Saturday. It's horrible anytime you have a death. But when you have the death of a young child, it hurts even more, says the commissioner. An autopsy is scheduled. Meanwhile, Lonnie Belt, said to be 40 or 41, has been charged with murder, kidnapping, assault, and evidence tampering after police say he painted walls to hide Durham's blood. He's held on a $100,000 bond.

(Nov 24, 2008 8:32 AM) After the biggest hijacking in maritime history, Somali pirates have cut their ransom demand for a Saudi supertanker from $25 million to $15 million, Reuters reports. The Sirius Star, carrying $100 million in oil and 25 international crew members, was nabbed southeast of Kenya and has been moved to 62 miles off central Somalia after an Islamist militia declared its intention to confront the pirates. Middlemen have given a $15 million ransom figure for the Saudi ship. That is the issue now, said an Islamist official. He noted that his goal is to rescue the Muslim ship, though residents say the militia is looking to cash in on the ransom. Some 17 foreign ships carrying 250 crew members are thought to remain in pirates' hands off the Horn of Africa, the Guardian notes.

(Mar 29, 2017 3:16 PM CDT) Energy companies led US stock indexes mostly higher as crude oil prices rose, the AP reports. Banks and other financial stocks fell Wednesday as bond yields headed lower, which will mean lower interest rates on loans and lower profits for banks. US Bancorp lost 1.3%. Depomed dropped 3% after the drugmaker replaced its CEO late Tuesday and shook up its board. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,361. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42 points, or 0.2%, to 20,659. The Nasdaq composite increased 22 points, or 0.4%, to 5,897. Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Jul 13, 2011 4:43 PM CDT) A father and son in Oregon who pleaded guilty to poaching deer--a lot of deer--have gotten a unique punishment: They have to report to jail on the first day of hunting season for the next four years and remain locked up for 90 days each year, reports the Register Guard. They're also losing hunting privileges for life as part of the plea deal. The son, 37, admitted killing 300 deer over the last five years--about, oh, 295 over the limit. They used other hunters' tags in their scheme and faced identity theft charges as well. In the areas that the Donohos frequented during this long criminal conspiracy, you would have a hard time finding any deer, said a state wildlife official.

(Oct 9, 2019 9:55 AM CDT) Johnson & Johnson is facing lawsuits from more than 13,000 people over the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, and now one of those complaints has spurred an enormous payout. The AP and New York Times report that a Philly jury has come in with an $8 billion award in punitive damages against J&J and one of its subsidiaries, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, after a Maryland man claimed Risperdal he took as a child to treat autism led to breast enlargement, a incurable condition in men known as gynecomastia. Plaintiff Nicholas Murray, 26, alleged that J&J failed to adequately warn doctors of the risks of the drug, which he took for a 5-year period beginning at age 9, reports the Washington Post. Compensatory damages for Murray amounting to $680,000 had previously been awarded in 2016. This jury resoundingly told Johnson & Johnson that its actions were deliberate and malicious, Murray's lawyers said in a statement, adding that J&J disregarded the safety of the most vulnerable of children. In its own statement, J&J called the verdict excessive and unfounded, complaining that it wasn't allowed to present as evidence labeling that shows users were adequately warned of the drug's risks, as well as that the plaintiff's attorneys failed to present any evidence that the plaintiff was actually harmed by the alleged conduct. The company adds it will be immediately moving to set aside the ruling. The Wall Street Journal notes J&J's other recent woes on the lawsuit front, including billions in damages for cases of cancer linked to its baby powder, as well as settlements it's been reaching involving the opioid crisis. (A similar case linked to Risperdal here.)

(Mar 29, 2011 12:32 PM CDT) Week one of the United States' intervention in Libya has cost us at least $600 million, according to new data from the Pentagon. That figure includes $268.8 million worth of Tomahawk cruise missiles, tens of thousands of dollars worth of precision guided bombs, and more than $60 million to replace the downed F-15E fighter jet. Each sortie, even if it drops no munitions, is very pricey, a member of one defense think tank tells ABC News. These airplanes cost us tens of thousands of dollars to operate per hour, and the fancier you get in terms of planes, the costs get truly astounding. To wit, three B-2 stealth bombers flew a 25-hour bombing mission from Missouri to Libya, at the cost of $10,000 per hour each (add to that another $1.3 million for the 45 Joint Direct Attack Munitions they dropped). So far, however, all the money for the operation has come out of reserves in the Pentagon's existing budget. But if the war drags on, President Obama may need to ask Congress for more money later this year.

(Apr 18, 2013 11:25 AM CDT) H7N9 is growing no less mysterious: Roughly 40% of those infected in China's bird flu outbreak have never actually come in contact with poultry, according to a leading Chinese scientist, and the World Health Organization yesterday backed up that claim. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl acknowledged there are people who have no history of contact with poultry. ... This is one of the puzzles still (to) be solved, he tells Reuters. It might be because of dust at the wet markets, it could be another animal source besides poultry, it could also be human-to-human transmission, though he added that there was still no sustained evidence of the latter. Officials are keeping a watchful eye on three Shanghai families and two boys in Beijing that they suspect may have infected each other, Hartl tells the New York Times, but he cautioned that even if members of the same family tested positive, it wouldn't be conclusive. The Times reports there's also growing concern that the virus may not have originated in birds, but in another animal. But China maintains that live poultry markets are the source; it's collected 47,801 samples from 1,000 such markets and farms to prove it. But only 39 tested positive, a number that Hartl notes is low.

(May 19, 2020 6:34 PM CDT) Pier 1, the seller of wicker chairs and scented candles, says it will go out of business and permanently close all 540 of its stores. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company said Tuesday that it was unable to find a buyer for its business after filing for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. CNN has this line from the company: Due to the combination of a challenging retail environment and the new reality and uncertainty of a post-COVID world, the company and its advisers determined that an orderly wind-down is the best way to maximize the value of Pier 1's assets. It will start going-out-of-business sales as soon as it can reopen stores that have been temporarily shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports the AP.

(Oct 14, 2018 11:15 AM CDT) Prepare yourself: Eleven dead infants have been found stored away in the ceiling of a shuttered Detroit funeral home, ABC News reports. Following an anonymous letter, officials discovered the remains Friday at Cantrell Funeral Home, which had already been closed for earlier violations. The remains were stored in a cardboard box and a small coffin tucked away in bags in a drop-down ceiling, per CNN. They were [mostly] in a cardboard box, nine of the 11--they're very small remains, says Detroit Police Lt. Brian Bowser. He says some dead infants' names are known to police, and the medical examiner is investigating. At least one of the infants has been on the premises since 2009, WXYZ reports. The funeral home was shut down in April over conditions inspectors called deplorable and other violations, including unclean rooms, operating without proper registration, failure to deposit over $20,000 for prepaid goods and services, and keeping mold-covered bodies in an advanced state of decomposition, per WXYZ. The home was told to either hand off its prepaid contracts to another provider or simply cancel them and refund customers. Now, it's far worse: This is horrific, and it's unethical, says Jameca LaJoyce Boone, who managed the funeral home until the shutdown, per the New York Times. I don't understand how it happened or why it happened, and I'm just at a loss for words. That's not how the funeral industry operates.

(Jul 27, 2016 9:33 AM CDT) When Ronnie Music Jr. won $3 million in a Georgia Lottery scratch game last year, he decided to invest--in methamphetamine, say police. Music, of Waycross, Ga., pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges last week after prosecutors accused the 45-year-old of supplying drug dealers with at least 11 pounds of crystal meth, worth $500,000. Authorities say they discovered the drugs in September 2015 and traced them to Music, who bought them with his lottery winnings. An investigation soon led to the seizure of $1 million worth of meth, a hoard of firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several vehicles, and $600,000 in cash, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Authorities say Music--a former maintenance supervisor, per the New York Daily News-- conspired with others to possess and distribute kilograms of methamphetamine in Ware County and across Georgia, per a release. Already a rich man, Music decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth, a US attorney adds. As a result of his unsound investment strategy, Music now faces decades in a federal prison. Music could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison once a pre-sentencing investigation wraps up, reports First Coast News. His conspirators will also be sentenced at that time. (Another Georgia Lottery winner was murdered.)

(Dec 20, 2020 3:55 PM) Can't score a PlayStation 5? Thank the so-called grinch bot. The Washington Post reports that Ted Brack, 47, is among those buying the next-gen consoles with software that alerts him when products are available--and allows him to hammer retailers with orders faster than a regular customer ever could. I can see why somebody would get upset about it, says Brack. But any time that there's demand for something, you're always going to find somebody in between a purchaser and seller. Brack tells the Post his side hustle will earn him about $30,000 this year. On the other side is John Coleman, 13, who has been trying without success to purchase a PS5 since the units first went on sale last month. Think about the little kids who've been waiting for it; it will be their first console, he says. Shopping bots like Brack's are legal, but retailers deploy detection tools to block them. Walmart, for instance, says it blocked more than 20 million attempts by bots to place orders during the first 30 minutes of its PS5 sales event on Nov. 25, NBC News reports. And bots aren't just for buying game consoles: During the pandemic, people have used them to target essential goods, like toilet paper and disinfectant spray, as well as grocery store delivery slots. But there is a move in Congress to pass laws to shut down the so-called scalper bots, per Quartz. Democratic Representative Paul Tonko says such legislation will restore fairness for consumers so that they're not paying inflated prices because a few unscrupulous people took advantage online.

(Oct 8, 2014 6:00 PM CDT) Want to buy a fixer-upper in Detroit? Probably not, but if you change your mind there's a three-bedroom available in east Detroit for an iPhone 6, ABC News reports. Real estate broker Larry Else admits there are problems, like no front door, broken windows, and $6,000 in back taxes that you'd have to take on. And the neighborhood is a little dicey, he says. This house is really not worth much at all. (Else won't even enter the property due to a company policy about entering unsecured houses.) So why try and sell it? For one thing, the owner, who is staying anonymous and lives in Austria, wants it sold before thousands of other houses near foreclosure become available by tax auction. And the property has been a headache from the start. The owner snapped it up in 2010 for $41,000 because he was told it had rental value. Then he learned that the previous owner had bought it just two weeks before for $10,500, says Else: Public records don't show up that fast. So far, Else is getting offers ranging in seriousness, reports ABC, and a neighbor tells MyFox Detroit that he's interested: I work on houses, so I would love to have it for [an iPhone 6], he says. It doesn't take a lot of money to fix these houses back up. Meanwhile, Else says the price is negotiable; the owner would accept a 32GB iPad or anything, maybe an Android. (See why Detroit wants to tear down 40,000 houses.)

(Oct 17, 2008 1:20 PM CDT) Sarah Palin ran on a platform of transparent government, but it seems that Alaskan transparency has a price: $15 million. That's how much the governor's office wants from news organizations for copies of official email, MSNBC reports. Even if organizations are willing to pay up, the email will be censored, and won't come until well after Election Day. Why $15 million? The office says a computer programmer needs13 hours to assemble the emails for each employee, which, at $73.87 an hour, equals $960.31. Multiply by the 16,000 full-time state employees, and you get $15,364,960. Plus 10 cents per photocopy. State law allows such fees to be waived for journalists, but Palin's only done so when it's a few dollars.

(Feb 9, 2012 12:37 PM) Scary security footage from a Georgia Walmart shows a man attempting to snatch a 7-year-old girl, who manages to get away from him. Authorities have charged Thomas A. Woods, 25--who was on parole after a conviction of voluntary manslaughter--with attempted kidnapping, the AP reports. The girl, whom the below report names as Brittney Baxter, was in the toy aisle when the incident occurred, while her mother shopped in a different aisle.

(Apr 7, 2017 1:39 PM CDT) Steve Perry parted ways with Journey in 1987--but the original lead singer will perform with the band for the first time since a brief reunion in 1991 when Journey is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night. Journey, whose current lead singer is Arnel Pineda, will perform three songs at the induction, and Perry will sing on at least one of them, TMZ reports. As the Mercury News notes, the ceremony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center won't be broadcast live, but will air on ET April 29.

(May 27, 2020 10:40 AM CDT) Two missing hikers have been found alive after 19 days in a New Zealand national forest. Kayak guide Jessica O'Connor and chef Dion Reynolds, both 23, were discovered in a tiny clearing in Kahurangi National Park at the north end of the South Island after a search helicopter spotted smoke from their fire on Wednesday. The couple had set off May 9 intending to spend about a week in the country's second-largest national park, an area of about 1,745 square miles, per the BBC. But they suffered injuries in a fall as they became lost in fog. They stayed put for a few days before going in search of water, per the New Zealand Herald. When they finally found it, they set up camp and lit a fire. Searchers had been scouring the area for a week and a half when the smoke was observed before 1pm local time Wednesday. A rescue helicopter found the couple in a 10-foot-square clearing near the headwaters of a stream, per the Otago Daily Times. They were chatty and in good spirits but had been without food for some time, Search and Rescue Sgt. Malcolm York tells the Herald. Still, they were well prepared with equipment for cold temperatures and they did the right thing. They stayed put and they made themselves visible. The BBC reports the hikers hugged their rescuers, who handed over chocolate bars. O'Connor, who strained her back, and Reynolds, who strained an ankle, were both discharged from a hospital within hours of discovery and allowed to return home. O'Connor's mother described her daughter as very emotional after speaking to her over the phone, per the Herald. She was in tears and couldn't talk much, she said.

(Sep 30, 2020 2:09 PM CDT) The trial of five alleged 9/11 plotters is unlikely to begin anytime before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist atrocity. Col. Stephen Keane, the judge who began overseeing the case against the five men earlier this month, has canceled all hearings for the rest of the year, citing pandemic travel restrictions and his need to get up to speed on the case. The new timetable delays the start of the trial until August 2021 at the earliest, but most people involved with the case say even that timeline is unrealistic, NPR reports. There's just too much ground to cover between now and then, says James Connell, attorney for Ammar al-Baluchi, a Pakistani citizen accused of funding the hijackers. Keane, the fourth judge to take charge of the case, took over after the retirement of Col. Shane Cohen, who set a January 2021 jury selection date. No hearings in the case have taken place since February, largely due to a two-week quarantine requirement at the Guantanamo Bay base, reports the New York Times. The five suspects, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are among 40 prisoners still detained at Guantanamo. The oldest prisoner is now 73 and the youngest is in his mid-30s, Fox reports. The last known arrival was in 2008, despite President Trump's 2016 promise to send more bad dudes to the facility. Only one detainee has been released under Trump's administration.

(Mar 18, 2008 7:54 AM CDT) Goldman Sachs today beat analysts' dire predictions even though it reported a 53% drop in first-quarter profits--the worst falloff since 1999--after a $2.1 billion writeoff, reports Bloomberg. Analysts had expected the Wall Street brokerage to see profits drop more than 60%. Goldman said net income was $1.51 billion, down from $3.2 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings were $3.23, compared to $6.67 in the first quarter last year, as net revenue dropped 35% to $8.34 billion from $12.73 billion, Goldman said. Although the company has seen its stock price slip 30% this year as investor confidence in the financial industry has waned, Goldman has had minimal exposure to the subprime crisis.

(Oct 18, 2016 3:16 PM CDT) Stocks closed solidly higher on Wall Street after several companies delivered positive surprises in their quarterly earnings reports, the AP reports. Netflix soared 19% Tuesday after reporting results that were far better than analysts were expecting. Goldman Sachs rose 2% and Comerica gained 4% after both banks also reported better-than-expected results. Safe-play stocks lagged the market. Phone companies had the smallest gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75 points, or 0.4%, to 18,161. The S&P 500 index climbed 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,139. The Nasdaq composite increased 44 points, or 0.9%, to 5,243.

(May 25, 2016 1:40 PM CDT) Well, it looks like Gawker still owes Hulk Hogan $140 million. On Wednesday, a Florida circuit court judge declined to order a new trial or change the jury's verdict in Hogan's lawsuit against the media company, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Gawker's attorney had asked the judge to reduce the jury's verdict or toss it completely. In March, Hogan was awarded $55 million in economic damages, $60 million for emotional distress, and $25 million in extra punitive damages after Gawker published a portion of his sex tape in 2012, according to ABC News. Gawker has said paying that amount would be ruinous for the company, the Wall Street Journal reports. A lawyer for the company calls the verdict grossly excessive compared to the conduct at issue. Hogan's team disagrees. Gawker has failed and continues to fail in recognizing their obligation to [Hogan] for their reprehensible behavior and method of doing what they call journalism, ABC quotes Hogan's legal team as saying Wednesday. The judge's decision sends the case to a Florida appeals court, where Gawker plans to cite the First Amendment. It was reported Tuesday that the billionaire founder of PayPal, who has beef with Gawker, has been funding Hogan's lawsuit.

(Oct 27, 2015 6:00 PM CDT) One in 14 children have had at least one parent incarcerated during their life--a percentage that's even higher for poor children and black children--and that's having a negative impact on their lives, USA Today reports The statistics come from a report--Parents Behind Bars: What Happens to Their Children?--published Tuesday by Child Trends. Report co-author David Murphey says he wants the public to realize there's more to it than the adults themselves. Children with an incarcerated parent can suffer from a lack of contact with that parent and fear of visiting them in prison, but also from societal stigma, according to the AP. If your parent is a soldier overseas, everyone says, 'Oh, you're brave,' one expert says. When your parent is in prison...you're not viewed in the same heroic way. The Christian Science Monitor reports more than 5 million children have experienced having a parent incarcerated--three times more than earlier estimates that only looked at children who had a parent currently locked up. Most research finds negative outcomes for these children, such as childhood health and behavioral problems and grade retention, Murphey tells USA Today. Children who grow up with a parent in prison are more likely to suffer from poor mental and physical health in adulthood. Child Trends is fighting for a number of changes, including better communication between children and their incarcerated parents and child-friendly visiting areas and practices in prisons. The AP reports even something as small as allowing children to hug their locked-up parents can have a big impact.

(Apr 15, 2009 12:53 PM CDT) Amid widespread reports that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are on the rocks, Star says news of baby No. 7's pending arrival has stopped the bickering. A thrilled Jolie is 10 weeks along, and even though they'd been trying for months, the news was still a total shock, a family insider tells the tab. It happened just in time, because things were getting pretty ugly between them. Meanwhile, Jolie-Pitt watchers at OK! say Pitt has a favorite new role: Mr. Mom. With Jolie in New York shooting the spy flick Salt, Pitt has taken over the household. He even drives the kids to school, causing quite a stir among the other parents. The moms have started dressing up, one local says. They usually wear sweatpants, but now they're all decked out.

(Mar 27, 2017 3:11 PM CDT) US stock indexes finished a bumpy day mostly lower as losses for phone companies and banks outweighed gains in health care stocks, the AP reports. Major indexes clawed back some of the ground they lost in early Monday as investors worried that the defeat of the Republican-backed health care bill might make it tougher to pass business-friendly policies like tax reform. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,341. It was down almost 1% earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average gave back 45 points, or 0.2%, to 20,550. The Nasdaq rose 11 points, or 0.2%, to 5,840. About as many stocks rose as fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Mar 20, 2020 7:22 AM CDT) With pandemic panic buying and widespread uncertainty, these are tough times for Walmart workers--but the company says they will be rewarded. Walmart exec Dan Bartlett says the company is paying cash bonuses totalling around $550 million to its hourly workers the Wall Street Journal reports. We felt this was a moment they needed to be provided some extra merit pay, he says. They are doing herculean work in our stores serving our customers in frankly a tense environment. Full-time workers will get a $300 cash bonus and part-timers will get $150. Walmart, which has reduced store hours and rationed some items, is also hiring 150,000 new workers, largely for distribution centers dealing with online orders, CNBC reports. The company says it has streamlined the hiring process and reached out to workers from restaurants and other industries hit hard by coronavirus-related closures. (Amazon has also reached out to laid-off workers as it tries to fill 100,000 vacancies.)

(Jun 15, 2020 5:32 PM CDT) Several Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans players have tested positive for COVID-19, sources tell NFL Network, thought the teams have declined to provide the exact number. The sources say none of the players has been in the team's facilities and the proper health protocols were followed. Rocky Arceneaux, agent for star Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, confirmed the diagnosis but said the player is feeling good. Some Cowboys employees, including coaches, returned to work earlier this month but players are not expected at training camp until July at the earliest, the Dallas Morning News reports. Due to federal and local privacy laws, we are unable to provide information regarding the personal health of any of our employees, the Cowboys said in a statement, per CNN. The Morning News notes that in April, Elliott and other NFL players were criticized for failing to respect social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders after they posted videos of workouts in the Dallas area. Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, said last month that the league is going to face challenges returning because football and physical distancing are not compatible. We fully expect we will have positive cases that will arise, he said.

(Apr 22, 2008 4:00 PM CDT) Al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader says Iran is denying the terrorist group credit for 9/11 by spreading the rumor that Israel masterminded the 2001 attacks on the US. A new audiotape from Ayman al-Zawahiri highlights the growing tension between al-Qaeda and Tehran, the BBC reports, evidence of a sectarian struggle for power in the region. The purpose of this lie is clear--[to suggest] that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no-one else did in history, said Zawahiri. He also knocked Shia-dominated Iran for collaborating with the US, and accused Tehran of spreading lies to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Mar 13, 2017 12:28 PM CDT) If you're a Texas cowboy who wants to rope the pony, hope you've got a C-note in that 10-gallon hat. Per the Texas Tribune, Democratic Rep. Jessica Farrar has been a vocal opponent of what she says are anti-women's measures recently introduced in the Lone Star State, including forcing women to wait 24 hours after a consult before getting an abortion and making women listen to the fetal heartbeat before an abortion, which she says messes with women's heads. So Farrar has introduced House Bill 4260, aka A Man's Right to Know Act, which would fine men $100 for unregulated masturbatory emissions. Farrar's admittedly satirical proposal would also make men seeking an elective vasectomy, a colonoscopy, or a Viagra prescription wait 24 hours and go over an informational packet first with their physicians. Finally, the bill would allow doctors to reject requests for vasectomies or Viagra if their personal, moralistic, or religious beliefs wouldn't let them do so in good conscience. Farrar tells the Tribune, tongue in cheek, that semen not put toward a pregnancy is a waste because it's only supposed to be used for creating more human life. She tells the Houston Chronicle that while many are finding her bill funny, what isn't hilarious are the obstacles that Texas women face every day ... placed there by legislatures making it very difficult for them to access health care. GOP state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, who has submitted a bill that would criminalize all abortions in Texas, says in a statement he's embarrassed for Farrar and that she needs to go take a biology class if she thinks comparing masturbation to abortion is valid.

(Jun 17, 2016 12:26 PM CDT) Chicago's Parlor Pizza isn't the kind of place where you'll find crisp white tablecloths and chandeliers. In fact, its patio consists of several wooden picnic tables. Even so, Antar Jackson says he was turned away, apparently because of his $245 pants. In what he claims was a case of racial discrimination, Jackson says he visited the restaurant with his wife on June 5 only to have an employee say his black herringbone wool trousers were too street for entry, reports the Chicago Tribune. A manager backed up the decision, citing the restaurant's dress code. The eatery's website notes athletic wear including sweatpants and lounge wear is prohibited after 5pm--Jackson's pants are described by the maker as joggers --but Jackson says other patrons were admitted wearing yoga pants, cargo shorts, and baseball caps, per NBC Chicago. They can do whatever they want as a business, says Jackson's lawyer. They can have a dress code that says nothing purple, but you can't discriminate. Jackson says he decided to go public after he told the story at a local barbershop and every single [black patron] said that this has happened to them at one point in their lives. He filed a discrimination complaint with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations on Monday and is asking for a public apology and for Parlor Pizza to get rid of the dress code if they're not able to enforce it for everyone the same way. In a statement, the eatery says that its policy is uniformly enforced and that Jackson was wearing sweatpants. We are very sorry to hear of the recent accusation and take these situations very seriously, it says. This was in no way discrimination, a spokesperson tells the TV station. (This woman was sent home from work for not wearing heels.)

(Feb 9, 2016 6:01 PM) You're not imagining things: Gas prices could soon fall as low as $1 per gallon at some US gas stations, USA Today reports. Some Midwest states--Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas--are already seeing the lowest prices in 12 years. And one in four US gas stations is currently selling gas for $1.50 per gallon or less, according to Time. Incredible as it sounds, we wouldn't be shocked to see a few stations in these states as low as 99 cents a gallon, says one expert. As of Tuesday afternoon, the nationwide average was $1.72 per gallon. That's approximately 7 cents less than last week, 26 cents less than last month, and 46 cents less than last year. It's the lowest average price the US has seen in six years. The low prices--caused by a combination of falling demand and increasing production in the US and Middle East--are good news for consumers but bad news for oil companies. Oil prices hit 13-year lows last month, and the stocks of companies like BP and Exxon Mobil were down Tuesday. But not everyone is enjoying the savings. CNN reports the average price of gas in California is around $2.50 per gallon. That's due to both a larger-than-average gas tax and cleaner-than-average gasoline. California's requirement for gasoline that creates fewer emissions keeps prices higher but has made a huge impact on the state's air quality. One expert warns the rest of the country better enjoy low gas prices while it can. Refineries not turning a profit at these prices may close down for maintenance, sending gas supplies down and prices up.

(Dec 2, 2016 4:12 PM) A retiring Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission manager filled out the exit survey workers are given when they leave the job--and sent his less-than-pleased answers to the questionnaire to all 2,000+ employees at the Commission. When they asked for an honest exit interview, I gave them one, a laughing Michael Stuban tells the Philadelphia Daily News. I sent it minutes before I officially retired [on Thanksgiving day]. The 58-year-old, who had been with the Commission for 35 years, blasted out of touch higher-level managers who only care about themselves, incompetent employees hired only due to political connections, and a rudderless agency with no morale among his fellow employees for the past five years. His response set off a chain of reply all messages: Want to get away? Southwest is offering great fares... wrote one employee. A former state senator, chairman of the Commission, wrote that he was grateful to have never met Stuban. He did miss the point, Stuban tells the Daily News. If it was an effective company and someone told you there are problems and no morale, you don't have to believe me, but maybe someone should check into it.

(May 22, 2009 5:05 AM CDT) Florida's BankUnited went bust yesterday as the FDIC seized the critically undercapitalized bank and sold it off to a private-equity team including Blackstone, reports the Wall Street Journal. BankUnited's troubles stemmed from overeager moves in the housing market. It specialized in loans for foreigners wanting to buy Florida property. After Indymac, BankUnited is the largest bank failure since the start of the financial crisis. The already weakened FDIC reckons the bust will cost it $4.9 billion.

(Sep 7, 2016 9:36 AM CDT) Police in San Luis Obispo, Calif., are following the most promising lead we've had in years in the hopes of finding some trace of a California Polytechnic State University freshman who vanished 20 years ago. Human decomposition dogs and other information led police and the FBI to three sites on the campus--including one spot marked by the P in a giant hillside sign for Cal Poly--which will now be excavated over four days, reports the Los Angeles Times. Without elaborating, police say evidence strongly suggests Kristin Smart may be buried at one of the sites, per the San Luis Obispo Tribune. The 19-year-old student disappeared after leaving an off-campus party in the early hours of May 25, 1996. A witness told police that Paul Flores, 19, offered to walk Smart home after she'd apparently passed out. Flores--who's considered a person of interest but has never been charged due to a lack of evidence, police say--claims he dropped Smart off near her dorm, though the Tribune notes four cadaver dogs reacted separately to Flores' dorm room, focusing on a mattress and wastebasket, after he moved out in June 1996. The Smart family has sued Flores in civil court, though searches at properties linked to the Flores family have turned up no sign of Smart. We're not sure where this is going to take us, a sheriff tells CBS News of the new dig. Obviously, we want to be optimistic as possible. (The FBI is hunting a dormant serial killer.)

(Aug 8, 2012 7:34 AM CDT) A fire broke out this morning on the 88th floor of 1 World Trade Center, the centerpiece of the new WTC complex. The blaze was called in around 7:45am, and 84 firefighters responded. CBS New York reports it was extinguished by 8:30am. The cause and scope of the fire remain unknown at this time, but the FDNY apparently said sparks from welding could be the culprit.

(Mar 18, 2010 10:42 AM CDT) Kendra Wilkinson may be among the most famous Playboy Playmates--not to mention married to a football star--but her younger years weren't so bright. Previews for her upcoming E! True Hollywood Story show Wilkinson talking about using cocaine at 13 and cutting herself by 15, the New York Daily News reports. I had so much pain that I just wanted to die, she says, adding that she checked into a psychiatric facility for two weeks after swallowing a half-dozen or so medications. Wilkinson found herself in the news for another reason yesterday after she apparently slammed fellow celebrity mom Kate Gosselin for appearing on Dancing With the Stars. If I were asked to go on, I don't think I'd do it, she said on Today. I would definitely say no to it, because I am that mom that wants to be there every step. I don't want to spend three months away from my baby. I just couldn't do that. She later tweeted she didn't mean to bash Kate.

(Apr 24, 2014 8:29 AM CDT) A cathedral chaplain calls it a very special occasion, though it sounds rather grisly: Swedish researchers yesterday opened an 850-year-old coffin containing the remains of the country's King Erik IX, who was murdered in 1160 and later made a saint, the AP reports. Scientists plan to study the bones of the ruler known as King Erik the Holy because so little is known about him. Through DNA testing and X-ray scans, they hope to learn about his health, his ancestry (some think his father was English), what he ate, and where he lived--it seems there's a longstanding disagreement over whether he was from Uppsala, where he was killed and laid to rest, or the west coast. They may also learn more about the king's death by looking at his collarbone, which has evidence of a sword strike, the Local notes. Legend has it the bone damage was a fatal blow from when he was killed on ascension in 1160, says the chaplain. Others think he was taken captive and beheaded a week later. Either way, the sword hit his collarbone, and the marking is quite visible. Scientists will also study Erik's gilded copper crown, decorated with semi-precious stones, which is certainly the oldest medieval royal crown in the country, the chaplain says. The crown will be publicly displayed for the first time; it will go on exhibit at the Uppsala Cathedral in June, along with relics from other local churches. (In Egypt recently, archaeologists stumbled upon the remains of a previously unknown pharaoh.)

(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.

(Jan 27, 2013 6:03 AM) A fireworks display in a Brazilian nightclub went horribly awry last night, spawning a fire that police say killed upward of 233 people, reports CNN. Police on the scene at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria have already removed 159 bodies, reports Reuters, and rescuers are still looking for more. People started panicking and ended up treading on each other, the local fire chief tells the BBC, which notes that there was apparently only one exit in the facility. The number of injured is also in the hundreds; local media report that the club had a capacity of 2,000 and was believed to be full on a Saturday night. It was really fast. There was a lot of smoke, really dark smoke, says survivor Aline Santos Silva, 29. We were only able to get out quickly because we were in a VIP area close to the door. The AP runs down a list of other deadly nightclub fires here.

(Apr 15, 2017 7:45 AM CDT) Tragedy for Todd Heap: Police say the former NFL tight end accidentally killed his 3-year-old daughter while moving a truck outside his home in Mesa, Arizona, ESPN reports. Police say they were told the girl was on the driveway outside the home Friday afternoon when Heap hit her while moving the truck forward. Heap, who grew up in Mesa, played for the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2012. Police say they do not believe impairment was a factor in the accident, which is still being investigated, the Arizona Republic reports.

(Jul 8, 2013 12:40 AM CDT) All nine passengers and a pilot were killed yesterday in Alaska's worst aviation accident in more than 25 years. A de Havilland DHC-3 Otter air taxi crashed just after 11am at the airport in Soldotna, around 75 miles southwest of Anchorage, the AP reports. The aircraft was operated by Rediske Air, an air charter company whose owner, Walter Rediske, was the pilot killed in the crash. When fire crews reached the airport, the aircraft was crashed off the side of the runway and it was fully involved in flames which took around 10 minutes to extinguish, an emergency services spokeswoman tells the Anchorage Daily News. The aircraft crashed on take-off but there were no witnesses to the crash, she says. A National Transportation Safety Board investigative go-team from Washington, DC, is on its way to the crash site.

(Dec 27, 2011 6:40 AM) It seems that the Kardashian Kollection alone wasn't enough to save Sears from a horrible holiday season. Sears Holdings Corp. today announced that it will close between 100 and 120 of its approximately 2,200 Kmart and Sears full-line stores, reports the Wall Street Journal. It expects the sale of those stores' inventory to bring in as much as $170 million; it will likely make more when it unloads or subleases the actual buildings those stores occupy. Same-store Sears and Kmart sales are down 5.2% for the quarter to date. Kmart has attributed its drop to fewer layaways and a decline in clothing and consumer electronics sales; Sears pointed to disappointing consumer electronics and home appliance sales, reports the AP. The Journal notes that some have faulted Edward Lampert, the billionaire hedge-fund investor who serves as the chair of Sears Holdings Corp., for shuttering stores rather than renovating tired locations.

(Jun 29, 2013 1:30 PM CDT) More details are emerging about the 21-year-old American student killed yesterday during protests in Egypt. Andrew D. Pochter had been in the country working for a nonprofit called Amideast, reports ABC News. His family in Chevy Chase, Maryland, explains in a statement: Pochter was stabbed in the chest during protests in Alexandria, say Egyptian authorities. The State Department says he had been photographing the clashes between opponents and supporters of Mohamed Morsi near the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, reports the AP. (Bigger protests are expected tomorrow.) The New York Times has found an article that Pochter wrote in 2011 while living with a host family in Morocco in the midst of the Arab Spring. It's a hopeful piece, as he recounts the democratic transformation taking place. Says his family: He went to Egypt because he cared profoundly about the Middle East, and he planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding.

(Nov 24, 2010 6:48 AM) There's no need to leave your house to snag a killer Black Friday deal, like the one Amazon just announced: a Kindle e-reader for $89. The site disclosed the deal on its Facebook page, David Carnoy reports for CNET. The only catch: You can only get the previous generation (Amazon's second generation) at that price; the latest generation will still cost $139. The deal begins at 9am Pacific time. Notes Carnoy, We're not sure how it would go over to gift someone an 'old' model, but hey, certain people might not know the difference. Can't decide if you want an e-reader or not? Click here to see how buying one might change your reading habits. Or click here for more Black Friday deals.

(Aug 11, 2011 8:31 AM CDT) The Dougherty gang's time on the run was the stuff of movies--and the details of the siblings' capture are no less colorful. As reported yesterday, the sister was shot in the leg: It apparently happened as Lee Grace Dougherty ran through a field, armed with an automatic pistol that she pointed at a cop. Brothers Ryan Edward and Dylan Dougherty Stanley also fled; one was spotted hiding in bushes by construction workers, one of whom tackled and detained the fugitive until police arrived, reports Fox31 Denver. Police found a MAC-11 machine pistol, two AK-47 assault rifles (which they used to fire at cops during yesterday's chase), and a handgun outside their crashed Subaru, and report that they'll be extradited from Colorado to Florida as soon as possible. The trio is scheduled to appear in Pueblo County Court this morning. The Tampa Bay Tribune managed to get some priceless comments from Lee Grace's fiance (that's right), who says his plans of marrying her are probably over because by the time she is out of jail, I will be in a diaper. He did note, however, that he will visit her, and says he will bring her favorite doll to her, should she want it.

(Jul 28, 2009 3:21 PM CDT) Stocks closed slightly lower today as falling crude prices and shares of energy firms weighed on the broader market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Exxon and Chevron both fell around 1% off a decline of $1.15 in crude oil prices, which stand at $67.32 a barrel. A new report also said consumer confidence dipped again. The Dow fell 12 points to close at 9,097. The Nasdaq gained 8 points, settling at 1,976, while the S&P 500 closed down 3 points at 980.

(Oct 4, 2008 6:06 AM CDT) Fannie Mae will let 90-year-old Addie Polk keep her house and forgive her mortgage, the Akron Beacon-Journal reports. The widow shot herself in the chest Wednesday as deputies arrived to evict her from her home of 40 years. Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised the Ohio woman's plight in the House yesterday morning as members prepared to vote on the bailout bill and by afternoon the foreclosure action was dismissed. Just given the circumstances, we think it's appropriate, a Fannie Mae spokesman said. Polk, who is in the hospital and expected to recover from the apparent suicide attempt, had taken out several loans on her house after the original mortgage was paid off in 1982. Her husband died in 1992. She said it was a crazy thing to do, now that she's had time to think about it,'' a neighbor said. ''You know, the good Lord works in different ways. Maybe what's happened to her will help a lot of other seniors in this country.''

(Jan 11, 2011 11:49 AM) A voyage to Mars would be long, boring, could cause profound depression, and, oh yes, would be nearly impossible to return from. Who in the world would want to sign up for that? Apparently, lots of people. The Journal of Cosmology recently ran an article explaining the logistics of a one-way journey to Mars--and more than 400 readers wrote in to volunteer to make the trip, Fox News reports. Most wouldn't meet NASA's requirements, but the mission the article envisioned was a privately funded venture. The emails volunteering were a complete surprise, the editor says. At first, we thought the emails were a joke. ... Then we received more and more, with men giving their reasons and qualifications, and we realized they were completely serious. Nor are they deterred by warnings from psychologists. I envision life on Mars to be stunning, frightening, lonely, quite cramped and busy, says one applicant. But my experience would be so different from all 6 to 7 billion human beings.

(Jul 18, 2017 8:02 AM CDT) Use it or lose it, right? Researchers may not be ready to claim that word puzzles can help stave off age-related neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, but a major new study shows that there does appear to be a link between word puzzle play and improved cognition. Analyzing data from more than 17,000 healthy people aged 50 and older collected in an online trial, researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and Kings College London announced that when it comes to tests on short-term memory and grammatical reasoning speed, people who play word puzzles enjoy cognitive health that is equivalent to 10 years younger than their actual age. That performance was not only consistently better in people who engage in puzzles, but actually improved incrementally with the frequency of puzzle play. It's an exciting enough finding, per Fast Company, that researchers now want to conduct a clinical trial to see if playing crosswords and other word puzzles can actively help reduce cognitive decline. We can't yet say that crosswords give you a sharper brain--the next step is to assess whether encouraging people to start playing word games regularly could actually improve their brain function, one researcher says in a press release. The Alzheimer's Society's director of research adds that in the meantime, Our top tips to reduce the risk of developing dementia are keeping physically active, avoiding smoking, and eating a healthy, balanced diet. The findings were unveiled at this week's Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London. (Your ums and uhs could be a clue to mental decline.)

(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.

(Aug 12, 2011 8:48 AM CDT) Markets are up, at least for now: The Dow was up more than 100 points at open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit, up about 11 and 13 points, respectively, MarketWatch reports. An upbeat report on retail sales no doubt prodded stocks upward: July sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, their biggest gain in four months. Currently the Dow is hovering in the 11,200 range.

(Jan 8, 2020 5:33 AM) Two lucky souls who bought tickets for Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 from Tehran, Iran, to Kyiv ultimately didn't board the plane. Ukrainian officials say all 176 people aboard--including 63 Canadians--were killed when the plane crashed six miles from Imam Khomeini airport shortly after 6am local time Wednesday. Also on the Boeing 737-800 NG were 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Britons, three Germans, and two Ukrainian passengers, in addition to nine Ukrainian crew members, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said, per the BBC. Iran's head of emergency operations instead reported that 147 of the victims were Iranian, raising the possibility of dual nationalities. Airline officials tell the Guardian that most passengers were to travel on to other destinations from Kyiv. A civil aviation spokesman tells the Guardian that the plane crashed five minutes after takeoff. The pilot had no contact with the tower and didn't announce an emergency situation before the crash, the rep said. An initial statement from Ukraine's Tehran embassy blamed engine failure, per the BBC. The embassy later said information on the causes of the plane crash is being clarified, per CNN. As video circulated showing a fireball in the sky, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against speculation or unchecked theories before an official report. Several commercial airlines had rerouted flights to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace when the plane went down, hours after Iran attacked Iraqi bases housing US troops. We express our condolences, Prystaiko said, per the Guardian. The Ukrainian authorities continue to investigate.

(Dec 30, 2016 2:28 AM) Tragedy in ski country: A mother died and her two daughters were injured in a fall from a chair lift at a ski resort in Colorado Thursday. Authorities say the 40-year-old woman from Texas and the girls, ages 9 and 12, fell around 20 feet from the lift onto snow at the Ski Granby Ranch, the AP reports. One girl was hospitalized in stable condition and the other was airlifted to a hospital near Denver, around 90 miles away. The resort's operation director says the three were the only people on a four-person lift and they came out of their chair somewhere between the loading area and the summit. Police and state regulators are investigating the incident, which ski industry groups say was an extremely rare event. The National Ski Areas Association says that between 2004 and October of this year, there were just three recorded deaths from ski lift falls. The last chair lift death blamed on a malfunction was in 1993, according to the NSAA. Since the last fatal accident in Colorado, in 2002, there have been 1.7 billion chair lift rides, a spokesman for Colorado Ski Country USA tells the Denver Post. It's super rare. It really doesn't happen very often, and it's not something that folks need to be concerned about. Witnesses to Thursday's accident tell CBS Denver that there had been problems with the chair lift over the last few days, with each stop causing the chairs to sway.

(Dec 30, 2012 10:40 AM) Remember when Christian Slater was hot? Neither does America. The onetime A-lister found a new basement in the box office this year with his presumably horrible horror flick, Playback. How bad are the stats? Playback played one theater for one week in March--and raked in a not-so-whopping $264. That's about 33 tickets sold, paying the mortgage on a $7.5 million budget, reports the Huffington Post, which also runs down some other box-office bombs from 2012.

(Jun 6, 2017 12:03 PM CDT) You've heard of bulimia. But exercise bulimia? Thus the headline on Luke O'Neil's piece in Esquire: Most People Will Never Understand My Eating Disorder. Think of it this way: A person with bulimia feels the need to purge by vomiting. For those with exercise bulimia, the purge comes through obsessive exercise. O'Neil figures he hits the gym 360 days a year, and he recounts tales of vacationing with his wife in exotic locales, only to find himself pumping weights in a shabby gym while she sees the sights. You wouldn't know it by looking at me, writes O'Neil, who is 6 feet tall and weighs between 180 and 190 pounds. I am by no means the picture of health or even particularly muscular-looking--not for someone who exercises this much, and definitely not compared to most of the men I see at my gym. That might be because once his regimen is over--only when he feels like he's earned it --O'Neil has a big meal, thus setting the cycle in place for the next day. Exercise bulimia isn't categorized as its own ailment in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but as a subset of bulimia nervosa, and no firm numbers exist on how many people have it. But it's a problem as destructive as any other type of addiction, writes O'Neil, even if the idea of going to the gym is hard to fathom as a self-destructive habit. He delves into its various manifestations, along with how to recognize symptoms and get help, but his main point is in simply speaking up about it. You're not going to die from the embarrassment, he writes to others who might be in the same boat. Your eating disorder, on the other hand, might do the trick if you let it. Click for the full piece.

(Jul 2, 2018 7:41 AM CDT) Cleveland was on Monday told to celebrate Independence Day without fear in the wake of Sunday's arrest of Demetrius Pitts, who the FBI alleges had intended to attack the city's downtown in a July 4 terror plot. Cleveland.com reports the Maple Heights resident voiced a desire to join a terror organization between 2015 and 2017, per FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony, and he has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization. In a Monday press conference, Anthony said that Pitts, who was born in Philadelphia, revealed his plans to an undercover cop. Allegedly among them: Hit Voinovich Park, where the fireworks are launched. Just last week, this individual was walking around downtown Cleveland, taking reconnaissance for what he thought was a large scale attack on the Fourth of July, per US Attorney Justin Herdman, who alleged that Pitts expressed a desire to use an explosives-packed van to take spots like St. John's Cathedral off the map, per Fox 8 (authorities did not specify whether any such materials had been obtained). Herdman says Pitts faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

(Mar 10, 2011 11:11 AM) The rumored layoffs have arrived. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong today announced that the company would cut 200 US jobs, with the content side bearing the brunt of the layoffs. The Hollywood Reporter notes that a total of 900 jobs--or 20% of the workforce--will be done away with: Some 400 employees in India will be axed, and another 300 jobs there will be transitioned to outsourcing partners. AOL's brands and sites are getting a major slimdown: They'll shrink from 340 to 40, though Armstrong didn't mention any specifics on which would go. Business Insider adds some tidbits gleaned from Armstrong's memo to the staff: Those affected will hear by 3pm today, and will be offered workspace, counseling, and technology ... assistance programs. AOL will keep the AOL brand in media.

(Jan 26, 2016 3:22 PM) US stocks closed sharply higher as the price of crude oil made another sudden turn, this time to the upside. The price of oil surge almost 4% Tuesday, reversing a slump from the day before. Chevron and Exxon Mobil each jumped 4%. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 282 points, or 1.8%, to 16,167. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 26 points, or 1.4%, to 1,903. The Nasdaq composite added 49 points, or 1.1%, to 4,567. (Oprah helped the stock market, too.

(Feb 8, 2013 4:39 AM) Four car bombs struck two outdoor markets in predominantly Shiite areas of Iraq today, killing at least 31 people and wounding dozens at a time of mounting discontent among minority Sunnis. The bombings in Baghdad and a town south of the capital were the latest attacks by suspected Sunni insurgents trying to re-ignite sectarian violence and undermine the Shiite-led government. The bombings targeted an outdoor pet market in Baghdad's northern Kazimyah neighborhood and a vegetable market in the Shiite town of Shomali in Hillah province. In Baghdad, the first car bomb exploded around mid-morning at the entrance to the Kazimyah market, police said. When panicked shoppers tried to flee the area, a second parked car exploded a few yards away, according to the officers, who said at least 17 people were killed and 45 were wounded. About an hour later, two car bombs exploded simultaneously at the Shomali market, killing at least 14 people and wounding 26, police said. A recent spike of particularly lethal insurgent attacks comes amid anti-government Sunni protests; tens of thousands rallied today in western and northern Iraq.

(May 4, 2017 8:50 PM CDT) Experts say that by 2044--if trends continue--the US will have no ethnic majority for the first time in its history. In the meantime, WalletHub has ranked the 501 largest American cities by cultural diversity, looking at three factors: ethnicity and race, language, and birthplace. Here are the 10 most culturally diverse and 10 least culturally diverse cities in the US: 10 Most Culturally Diverse Cities

(Dec 17, 2020 6:40 PM) Eight nuns living at a retirement home for sisters in suburban Milwaukee died of COVID-19 complications in the past week--four of them on the same day, according to the congregation that runs the home. The School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province said other sisters who live at Notre Dame of Elm Grove have also been diagnosed with COVID-19, but the international congregation of women declined to provide additional details, citing the residents' privacy. All CDC guidelines are being followed regarding the care of sisters affected by COVID-19 and to avoid spread of the virus, including wearing masks, social distancing and handwashing, the School Sisters of Notre Dame said in a statement, the AP reports. Our thoughts and prayers are with the sisters, their caregivers and families. We invite you to join us in prayer for all those affected by the pandemic.

(Feb 8, 2011 8:53 AM) The field of GOP presidential candidates for 2012 may not be so great, but the VP field is getting the right energized. A wealth of new Congress members and governors has Republicans buzzing over potential veeps like Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal and Kelly Ayotte, Politico reports. Where the potential presidential candidates are mostly white, male, and not from battleground states, the would-be veeps boast an impressive diversity when it comes to race, gender, geographical location, and political experience--and they're young, with many under 50 and one under 40. Anytime that you have a hugely successful year, like we had in 2010, we put a lot of dynamic candidates on the board, says Mike Huckabee's 2008 campaign manager. That's quite a difference from 2008, when the GOP was struggling with the aftermath of disappointing elections in 2006 and John McCain had few choices for a running mate. Republicans elected just three new senators and five new governors between 2006 and 2008--compared to 15 new governors and 14 new senators in 2010 alone. Other potential candidates include governors Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Susana Martinez, and Rick Perry, among many others.

(Mar 21, 2020 9:31 AM CDT) The Federal Reserve moved with unprecedented force and speed Friday to pump huge amounts of cash into the financial system to ease disruptions that have escalated since the viral outbreak, the AP reports. The New York Federal Reserve Bank said it will offer $1 trillion of overnight loans a day through the end of this month to large banks. That is in addition to $1 trillion in 14-day loans it is offering every week. Banks, so far, have not borrowed nearly as much as the New York Fed is offering, and the loans are quickly repaid. None of the funding is from taxpayer dollars. Wall Street analysts say the huge number is intended to calm markets by demonstrating that the Fed's ability to lend short-term is nearly unlimited.

(Feb 11, 2017 11:18 AM) Billionaire businessman Mike Ilitch, who founded the Little Caesars pizza empire before buying the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, and won praise for keeping the professional sports teams in the city as others relocated to new suburban stadiums, has died. He was 87. His family released a statement saying Ilitch died Friday at a local hospital, the AP reports. They called him a visionary who set the tone for his company and his family. City leaders heaped praise on the man known simply as Mr. I to most in Michigan for all that he put into Detroit. He was a Detroiter through-and-through, Mayor Mike Duggan said. Mr. I helped to bring thousands of jobs and opportunities to our city.

(Aug 25, 2015 4:27 AM CDT) The financial world looks less chaotic today than it did on what's being called Black Monday: Chinese stocks had another rough day, but European markets stabilized and American stock futures rose, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Shanghai Index closed down 7.6% and Japan's Nikkei dropped 4%, but a host of other markets (the Stoxx Europe 600, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC) were up more than 2% this morning. Meanwhile, China further tried to ease turmoil with new stimulus measures, reports CNN. It cut its main lending and deposit rates by 0.25% and made it easier for banks to lend money. Stock futures for the Dow and the S&P 500 were up more than 3%, suggesting a higher opening this morning, reports TheStreet. Still, don't expect a sudden end to the volatility. The US stock market is in a mode of uncertainty, at best, DoubleLine Capital's co-founder Jeffrey Gundlach tells Reuters. You don't correct all of this in three days. Yesterday's global sell-off was triggered by the sharp drop in Chinese stocks, but experts say there was little change in economic fundamentals to justify such a massive global slide. There was no clear catalyst for the global stock meltdown. The lack of clarity makes it difficult to assess what is needed to stem the rout, says Bernard Aw of IG Markets in a report. (The CEO of Starbucks has told workers to be nice to worried investors.)

(Sep 16, 2019 1:28 PM CDT) Last time out, documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate only fast food for a month. This time, he's the one dishing out the fried stuff, the AP reports. Spurlock has gone from being an avid Big Mac consumer in Super Size Me to serving his own fast-food chicken sandwiches in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!--a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. Ironically, Spurlock's film about fast-food chicken reemerges during a food feud over fried-chicken sandwiches, with the nation obsessed with a Popeyes version. The documentary was released Friday and is already available for streaming, Today reports. In it, Spurlock sets up his own chicken farm to raise chickens that will then be used at his own fast-food restaurant, Holy Chicken. Today notes that among the truths the film exposes is the fact that in order for chicken to be labeled free range, it need only have access to a tiny outdoor space. The label does not necessarily mean the chicken actually roamed outside. Spurlock, attempting to recreate this condition in the film, actually had to chase his chickens to get them to even approach the door; they were too large to feel like being active in the hot outdoors. Spurlock says the movie also reveals how poorly chicken farmers are treated by Big Chicken. (The film's release was delayed due to Spurlock's admission of sexual misconduct.)

(Apr 14, 2016 1:51 PM CDT) Oil giant BP lost $5.2 billion last year, but the company somehow saw fit to propose maximum bonuses for 2015 for its top executives, including a 20% pay increase for CEO Bob Dudley--a proposal that 59% of shareholders roundly rejected by proxy vote at Thursday's annual meeting, MarketWatch reports. The company had indicated earlier in the day that it may also have to reduce its dividend, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dudley is set to receive the full bonus he was eligible for, which comes to $4.2 million (including $1.4 million in cash and a portion in deferred BP shares), per an earlier MarketWatch report. This amount was bumped up from the $3 million ($1 million in cash) he received in 2014. BP's CFO was also on the list to rake in his full bonus. We think it sends the wrong message, a rep for shareholder Royal London Asset Management tells the BBC. It shows that the board is out of touch. Not only did BP suffer straight-up monetary losses as the price of oil fell, it also announced it will be getting rid of about 7,000 jobs and taking other belt-tightening measures. And the Financial Times notes that other energy company execs saw their pay slashed in 2015. But a BP spokesman says executives performed strongly in a difficult environment in 2015, managing the things they could control and for which they were accountable. Andy Critchlow, writing for the Reuters Breakingviews blog, agrees. Dudley has to work harder than his predecessors, he writes, noting the CEO has helped the company recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and improved safety protocol. The mild-mannered American has had possibly the toughest job in the oil industry. His rewards look in line with that task. Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP's board, says the nonbinding shareholder vote won't alter the payouts they've already decided on, but that the board will take investors' concerns into account when coming up with next year's compensation packages.

(Aug 4, 2009 6:08 AM CDT) Ruth Madoff won't be able to spend $100 without scrutiny under a deal approved by a bankruptcy judge overseeing the liquidation of her husband's financial firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. Madoff agreed to give a full accounting of her income and any spending over $100 to a court-appointed trustee acting for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The deal came as part of a lawsuit from the trustee seeking $44 million on behalf of the fraudster's victims. Ruth's lawyer has labeled the lawsuit perplexing and totally unjustified, since she surrendered more than $80 million in assets, keeping $2.5 million. But many victims doubt that all the assets have been accounted for. Considering the integrity of her husband, I'm sure she's got plenty of money stashed away, one tells the New York Daily News.

(Apr 27, 2009 2:55 AM CDT) An illegal immigrant was nabbed in England clinging to the outside of a Eurostar rail car, reports the Independent. The trains reach speeds of 186 mph. The train originated in Brussels and traveled through France. Police provided no details on how the man survived the risky journey. Immigrants sneaking into England are a continuing problem. Last week a French official vowed to destroy a squatter camp of people waiting for a chance to steal across the English Channel from northern France.

(Jun 6, 2011 12:08 PM CDT) If it's felt like Mother Nature has been a little angrier lately, you're not imaging things. More than 42 million people around the world were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters in 2010, more than double the number during the previous year. More than 90% of these disaster displacements were caused by weather-related hazards such as floods and storms, according to a report released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. It says the number of reported natural disasters has doubled from around 200 to more than 400 a year over the past two decades. Asia was the hardest hit region last year, with the largest number of displaced people seen in countries such as India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, and Pakistan.

(Apr 9, 2013 6:07 AM CDT) A family cookout turned tragic Saturday, when a 4-year-old shot and killed a Tennessee sheriff's deputy's wife--apparently accidentally, police say. Josephine Fanning's young nephew entered a bedroom where her husband was showing guns to another relative, reports NewsChannel5. The boy took a gun from the bed and fired a single shot, killing Fanning, 48, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says. The sheriff says no one saw the child enter: Split second, we're talking about seconds for that kid to walk in that room unbeknownst to them, grab that gun, and it goes off. Deputy Daniel Fanning wasn't on duty during the incident, and the gun was a personal weapon, not a police one, a TBI rep says, per the Tennessean. The shooting, currently under investigation, appears accidental at this time, the rep adds. No charges are pending.

(Mar 16, 2009 2:34 PM CDT) It's 1988. President Ronald Reagan is making a visit to the Soviet Union, where he tours Moscow's Red Square alongside Mikhail Gorbachev. He stops and takes questions from a group of tourists about human rights in the United States. Except they're not tourists, Radio Free Europe reports. They're KGB agents and their families. And one of them is Col. Vladimir Putin. The photo is courtesy of Pete Souza, photographer for Reagan and now President Obama, Foreign Policy adds. I can't believe these tourists in the Soviet Union are asking these pointed questions, Souza said to a Secret Service agent at the time. Oh, these are all KGB families, the agent replied. At least that explains why now-Prime Minister Putin looks like a dorky tourist.

(Aug 27, 2019 12:32 PM CDT) An $18,500 reward is offered for information that could solve a donkey murder mystery in the Mojave Desert. Some 42 burros have been found shot to death along Interstate 15 in the Clark Mountain Herd Area near the California-Nevada border since May, though the animals are federally protected as living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, per CNN. Officials tell the Los Angeles Times that juveniles were among the animals shot in the neck with a rifle. A few appeared to have been gunned down while drinking from springs. We will pursue every lead until we've arrested and prosecuted those responsible for these cruel, savage deaths, says a rep for the Bureau of Land Management. We welcome the public's help to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice. Federal officials are offering a $10,000 reward, while the Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation, the American Wild Horse Campaign, and the Cloud Foundation have contributed $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000, respectively. These cruel and hostile acts against federally protected animals strike at the heart of everyone working so hard for their protection and for humane, non-lethal solutions to management concerns, says Return to Freedom president Neda DeMayo. A rep for the American Wild Horse Campaign calls the deaths a travesty. The Times notes that back in 1953, 50 burros were found dead, some with bullet wounds to the head, in an area 200 miles west. The animals were later granted protections in 10 western states by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

(Nov 15, 2013 7:13 AM) The Secret Service's Colombia sex scandal may have been just the tip of the iceberg. Whistleblowers have come forward accusing the Service of a host of sexual misconduct across 17 countries, Sen. Ron Johnson revealed yesterday. Johnson wouldn't divulge the particulars, but sources tell the Washington Post that the improprieties include hiring prostitutes, visiting bordellos while on work trips, extramarital affairs, and engaging in both one-night flings and long-term relationships with foreign nationals. In one case, an agent missed a military transport flight because he was drunk in a Thai brothel. He was flown home on an expensive commercial flight, but was never punished. The revelations come just days after a fresh scandal broke around supervisor Ignacio Zamora's misplaced bullet and lewd texts. It turns out Zamora had helped lead the agency's internal investigation of the Colombia incident, Johnson revealed, likening it to the fox guarding the hen house. The agents involved in the Colombia scandal have long argued that their behavior was not unusual. When the Post asked the Secret Service to comment, a spokesman hung up on them.

(Feb 20, 2018 3:08 PM) Stocks took a turn lower in afternoon trading, ending a six-day winning streak, the AP reports. Walmart plunged 10% Tuesday after reporting weak online sales and disappointing earnings. Other retailers and grocery store operators also fell. Target gave up 3% and Ross Stores lost 2.7%. A sell-off in the afternoon wiped out early gains, which were led by technology companies. NXP Semiconductor jumped 6% after Qualcomm raised its offer for the company. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15 points, or 0.6%, to 2,716. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 254 points, or 1%, to 24,964. The Nasdaq composite slipped 5 points, or 0.1%, to 7,234. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.89%.

(Jul 19, 2014 12:31 PM CDT) Chicago's violent summer continues: Police say 22 people were shot between 3:30pm yesterday and 3am today. Among the victims is an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet while inside a home, reports the Chicago Tribune. If you can't even be at home, where can you be safe? asks a cousin of Shamiya Adams. She was reportedly at a friend's house for a slumber party, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. All the other shooting victims, including a 12-year-old girl shot in the same neighborhood, are expected to survive.

(May 28, 2019 7:35 AM CDT) The US hasn't seen such a preponderance of measles in a quarter century, but thanks to a slew of new cases across the country, that 25-year-old benchmark has nearly been reached, and looks to soon be surpassed. Reuters reports that 940 confirmed measles cases have been recorded so far in 2019, which is the highest number since 1994, when a total of 958 was tallied for the year--and there's still seven months to go. The CDC says the outbreak has now reached 26 states. Although the measles virus was technically eliminated in the US as of 2000, outbreaks have been occurring due to people traveling abroad and bringing the disease back with them, combined with misinformation that has prompted some Americans to skip vaccinations. (A Scientology ship was said to have been quarantined for measles.

(Oct 28, 2018 4:00 PM CDT) Julia Roberts just turned 51, and for her it's the biggest shrug--why would anyone care? I think that's made up, that at a certain age, the bell is going to ring and you are done, she says, per ABC News. I don't think anybody buys into that. I don't think I am special. I've always been fortunate that I have found the work I am looking for. I mean, 30 years is a long time - and I am grateful and satisfied. She also tells iNews that Hollywood's all-too-slow embrace of equal pay is a headscratcher. It's an ongoing thing that we wish was more in the rear-view mirror, she says. I know the World Surf League announced that they will have equal pay for their female surfers and male surfers. ... So if it's a little bit of time, then we have to take it. (Marisa Tomei has her own punchy reaction to getting older.)

(Jan 7, 2014 8:56 AM) An amazing survival tale out of Taiwan: A man--unable to swim--was able to stay afloat for 60 hours in the sea after a large wave swept him from a beach where he was catching baby eels. I managed to hold on as the first wave hit me on the chest, but I was overwhelmed by the second and bigger wave, Tseng Lien-fa told local media, per Sky News. Rescuers found him on a beach Sunday, 46 miles from where he was washed away on Friday. He'd grabbed on to a piece of wood--bizarrely, a floating coffin lid, the AFP reports--and hung on for dear life as the sea carried him away. When my feet touched sand, I relaxed and was pushed by the waves onto shore, he told Reuters, per the BBC. And despite two days without food or water, Tseng, 42, was just slightly dehydrated, with sores from the saltwater. Considering the fact that he had not taken in any food or water while drifting at sea for 60 hours and he remained conscious, all I could say about him was that this was a miracle, his doctor said. Tseng has now promised his fiance, who's expecting a baby next month, there will be no more fishing trips in his future. (Click to see video of the amazing rescue of another man trapped 60 hours under the water.)

(Nov 18, 2019 6:00 PM) A Memphis judge ruled on Monday that the daughter of a man executed 13 years ago for murder does not have the right to seek DNA testing in the case. Sedley Alley, April Alley's father, was executed in 2006 for the 1985 murder of Marine Lance Cpl. Suzanne Collins. In May, April Alley petitioned the court on behalf of her father's estate to order DNA testing, the AP reports. The move came after investigators in a Missouri case contacted the Innocence Project about a possible connection between that suspect and Collins. Since the early 1990s, 22 death row inmates around the US have been absolved of crimes through DNA evidence. The Innocence Project was trying to use such evidence to exonerate a person who has already been executed, something that has never been done before.

(Oct 18, 2013 12:31 AM CDT) Many scientists have argued that several different species of human ancestors spread from Africa--but a 1.8 million-year-old skull and the fossilized remains of four other creatures seem to tell a different story. The scientists who found the bones at Dmanisi, in the country of Georgia, in 2005 say they show that a single species fanned out from the continent, the Wall Street Journal reports. There are these jaw-dropping moments in the life of a scientist, says a neurobiologist who examined Skull #5, as it's called. Preconceived ideas ... start falling to pieces. The crux of the finding: Even aside from the tale it tells, the skull is a pretty impressive discovery. It's got to be one of the most complete skulls ever discovered in the fossil record of human evolution, an anatomy professor tells NPR. And as the oldest batch of pre-human fossils found outside Africa, the bones set the date of departure from Africa much earlier than previously believed, David Lordkipanidze, the lead author of the study published in Science, tells the AP. (Previously, that movement was thought to have happened 1 million years ago.) With the Dmanisi finds, For the first time, we can see a population. We only had individuals before, says another researcher.

(Nov 20, 2013 4:29 PM) During their third-grade play in 1938, George Raynes played Prince Charming and Carol Harris was Sleeping Beauty. He wasn't supposed to really kiss her, but I laid a big wet one on her, the now 83-year-old Raynes tells CBC of New Brunswick. No young romance bloomed at the time, but 75 years later, the Saint John residents have gotten married. Raynes is a widower who raised a family, and Harris never married. But they did stay in touch over the years, and now I can't help but think ... that my prince from Grade 3 has finally come home to stay, says Harris.

(May 22, 2013 7:37 AM CDT) Still no jetpacks, but your inner 9-year-old has to be excited about this: NASA is developing a 3D printer that can print nutritious and flavorful food during space travel. The agency says its current space food is not adequate in nutrition or acceptability through the five-year shelf life required for a mission to Mars, or other long duration missions. So the new printer would combine powders, water, and oil a la carte to create meals that better suit an astronaut's individual tastes and needs, the Washington Post reports. The first goal is to create a 3D-printed pizza, but eventually, astronauts' families could send in personalized family recipes from home. Mom designs a cookie in a computer, sends the cookie to the space shuttle and the son or daughter prints out a cookie at Christmas, says the engineer who came up with the idea. He also believes the printer could eventually help the fight against hunger back here on Earth, as the powder used to build food would be shelf-stable for decades, Quartz reports.

(Oct 26, 2018 5:00 PM CDT) How do you celebrate winning Game 2 of the World Series? If you're Mookie Betts, right fielder for the victorious Red Sox, USA Today reports, you stay up to the wee hours of the night passing out food to the homeless at the Boston Public Library. Reportedly wearing a hooded sweatshirt and doing his best to remain anonymous, Betts was spotted by Mike Winter, who was exiting a nearby nightclub around 1:45am, according to WEEI. I didn't know who they were at first, Winter says of the men distributing food to a line of homeless people. Then he recognized Betts. I walked up and said hello, because we have a mutual friend, Winter says. Soon, more people began to stream out of the nightclub, and Betts just walked away-- no pictures. No nothing, Winter says, adding that the homeless people, who in turn offered food to the nightclub patrons, didn't even know who had just fed them. You see a lot of celebrities do stuff for recognition, but the fact was he was trying to stay totally on the low-down. Comments on a Twitter photo of people enjoying the food Betts provided gush with praise for the ballplayer. Restoring my faith in humanity. Thank you, @mookiebetts!!! reads one. Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

(Mar 20, 2010 3:33 PM CDT) New Jersey police have arrested a 16-year-old boy and charged him with using a public-address system in a Wal-Mart store to ask all the black people to leave, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. He faces up to a year in a juvenile detention center if convicted on charges of harassment and bias. Police say they scoured Facebook and other online postings for comments about the incident and found instances of kids bragging, notes the New York Times. They also had store images of the youth and two others near the phone in question before the announcement and rushing from the store afterward. Anonymous tips helped seal the arrest. The teen allegedly picked up the phone and said something along the lines of, Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers: Will all the black people please leave the store. Thank you.

(Jan 18, 2012 10:22 AM) Seven people have been charged in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $61.8 million in illegal profits based on trades of a single stock, prosecutors announced today. Two New York hedge fund executives and a Massachusetts man were among four charged in a criminal complaint in federal court in Manhattan. Anthony Chiasson was among those charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. He surrendered to the FBI this morning. He's a co-founder of former hedge fund group Level Global Investors LP. Jon Horvath was arrested at his New York City home. He's an employee of Sigma Capital Management, an affiliate of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors in Manhattan. Also arrested was Todd Newman in Needham, Mass.

(Jun 8, 2018 9:11 AM CDT) Nature is wonderful--from a safe distance. That's perhaps the lesson for a 59-year-old California woman who was gored by a bison in Yellowstone on Wednesday. Per a press release from the National Park Service, Kim Hancock of Santa Rosa was on a boardwalk with a group of people who, at one point, got within 30 feet of the bison; some in the group reportedly got as close as 15 feet. The park's recommendation is that visitors give bison and elk at least 75 feet of space. The bison then crossed the boardwalk and became agitated and charged, goring Hancock and then exiting the area. Hancock was taken to a medical facility in Big Sky, Montana, with a hip injury and is in good condition. Hers is the second case of a bison attack this year; a 72-year-old woman was butted by a bison that she hadn't spotted in early May near Old Faithful. Per the NPS, there was one bison incident in 2017 and five in 2015. Hancock's is the third wildlife attack in the park this month following two elk incidents.

(Aug 16, 2020 4:10 PM CDT) At least 18 people were shot, including four killed, as gunfire erupted in several places around Cincinnati overnight, authorities said Sunday. Officers responded just after 12:30am Sunday to the Avondale neighborhood and found 21-year-old Antonio Blair with gunshot wounds, police said in a statement, the AP reports. He was taken to University Hospital and died there, they said. Three other gunshot victims were also taken to the hospital. At about 2:15am, officers responded to a report of gunfire in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood where 10 people were shot, police said. One died at the scene and another at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center; they were identified in a statement as 34-year-old Robert Rogers and 30-year-old Jaquiez Grant.

(Apr 17, 2019 2:10 PM CDT) At the start of this month, a person told central Louisiana police about being raped as a child, identifying the alleged perpetrator as Harvey Joseph Fountain of Pineville. The 71-year-old has now been arrested on 100 preliminary counts of first-degree rape stemming from alleged assaults on children over the course of a decade, from the early 1970s to early 1980s. After the initial accuser named other possible victims, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office followed up, finding numerous cases where Fountain allegedly raped children under 13 in places he lived and frequented in Pineville, some 115 miles from Baton Rouge, per CNN. Fountain was arrested April 9 on 50 preliminary counts related to more than one alleged victim; he was re-arrested on another 50 preliminary counts three days later after police identified additional victims, according to a police statement. It doesn't mention the number of alleged victims but notes the investigation is still ongoing, and more arrests are possible. Per the Washington Post, Lt. Stephen Phillips adds we still have more [victims] to interview. As there is no statute of limitations for first-degree rape in Louisiana, a grand jury will decide if Fountain should be indicted and on which charges, per CNN, which notes a first-degree rape charge can carry a sentence of life imprisonment or death. Fountain was held late Tuesday with bail set at $1 million, per ABC News.

(Mar 1, 2016 3:21 PM) Stocks are closing sharply higher, giving the market its best day in over a month. Traders were encouraged by several pieces of good news on the US economy Tuesday, including a jump in construction spending to the highest level in eight years. Homebuilders and banks were among the biggest gainers. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America each rose 5%. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 348 points, or 2.1%, to 16,865. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 46 points, or 2.4%, to 1,978. The Nasdaq composite rose 131 points, or 2.9%, to 4,689.

(Feb 20, 2019 2:34 PM) Picture this: Jesus Christ returns for his prophesied second coming, and ends up a superhero's sidekick so that he can carry out his most holy mission by God and learn what it takes to be the true messiah. If that sounds like an entertaining romp to you, sorry: You won't be able to read it March 6 as planned. DC Comics has pulled the release of Mark Russell and Richard Pace's Second Coming after backlash over a premise critics say is blasphemous, NBC News reports. In a tweet, Russell, co-creator and writer of the comic, says DC gracefully agreed to give him back the rights to the book and it will still be released, albeit with a different publisher. Co-creator and artist Pace added that DC is being very kind and generous about this. The comic was announced months ago, but started making waves more recently after Fox News, Breitbart, and Christian Broadcasting Network ran stories on it. Multiple online petitions called for the comic's cancellation. DC has not commented on the official reason for the cancellation of the comic, which would have been part of the publisher's relaunch of its Vertigo imprint, but Russell tells SyFy he asked for the rights back after DC decided to push the release date back to some undetermined point in the future and warned that significant changes might need to be made. He tells HuffPost, however, some changes were requested before the uproar. He notes, I think once people actually read the book, a lot of them will be embarrassed by how up in arms they were. It's actually a very pro-Christ comic, as he's the character who actually offers a meaningful alternative to violence. (A Deadpool poster was also called blasphemous.)

(Nov 15, 2011 11:58 AM) Help the planet and create jobs, all at the same time? According to a new report, it might be that easy: If the US increases its recycling rate from 33% to 75% by 2030, an additional 1.5 million jobs will be created, according to the Tellus Institute. Why such a bump? According to the report, waste diversion is more labor intensive than waste disposal, meaning it requires more workers to assist with trash collecting, processing, composting, and making new recycled products. If the plan is enacted, the US would see 2.3 million jobs generated--1.5 million more than existed in 2008, and 1.1 million more than would be created at our current level of recycling. And, as a bonus, pollution will be reduced--the drop in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 would be equal to pulling 50 million cars off the road, USA Today reports.

(Feb 29, 2016 4:37 PM) NPR has lost one of its most familiar voices. Craig Windham, an award-winning reporter who anchored newscasts and covered a variety of subjects, died Sunday of a pulmonary embolism at age 66, NPR reports. He apparently had ongoing health issues and was visiting North Carolina to see his brother when he died in Winston-Salem, Current reports. Craig touched so many lives, says NPR Newscast executive producer Robert Garcia. His beautiful writing, his use of sound, his calm, steady, gorgeous delivery--all marked the work of a caring journalist who loved nothing more than telling a good story, adding the texture that took you there, and leaving every listener invested in some way--moved or informed. Before joining NPR, Windham reported on natural disasters, the first Persian Gulf War, and presidential campaigns for Unistar/RKO radio networks, according to his NPR bio page. At NPR he was on daily newscasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. When he wasn't reporting, Windham worked in his church and helped young people in overseas mission trips, youth programs, and his own business counseling adolescents. He had a Ph.D. in counseling from George Washington University. In numerous national speaking engagements, Craig had established himself as one of the leaders in the counseling field in the United States, Garcia says.

(Jul 2, 2013 1:35 PM CDT) On Independence Day, the flag flying over the Capitol building in DC will be made of hemp. Colorado hemp advocate Michael Bowman came up with the idea, and Rep. Jared Polis, sponsor of a hemp amendment that could help get farmers back into the hemp-growing business, helped Bowman make it a reality. The flags that fly over the Capitol can be purchased, so they are replaced almost every day. This one is thought to be the first made from hemp since the 1930s, when the government first started outlawing it. Considering that Betsy Ross's flag was hemp; that colonial settlers used the crop to pay taxes and make rope, fabric, paper, and other goods; and that many headed west in wagons covered with hemp canvas, the hemp flag that will fly on the 4th of July is a powerful symbol, Bowman says. The flag will go from DC to Colorado's state capitol building, then on a tour of other capitol buildings in states considering hemp legalization, the Washington Post reports.

(Jun 12, 2013 10:09 AM CDT) Wildfires are raging in Colorado, and one of them caused more than 900 prisoners to be evacuated from a state prison early today. The medium- and low-risk prisoners were taken by bus to other prisons, a spokesperson tells the AP. The fire hasn't actually reached the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, but this was done as a precaution because it takes a lot of time to move the prisoners, she explains. But dozens of homes have been destroyed, according to the AP, which puts the number of blazes in the Front Range area at four. The Black Forest Fire is burning in a residential area, and has burned as many as 60 homes since starting yesterday; 6,400 have been forced to evacuate, but no injuries have been reported. (The AP earlier reported that the area has large homes sitting on two to five acres each, some of them worth more than $1 million.) Record temperatures and strong winds were driving the fires quickly, and NBC News reports that fire departments are stretched thin.

(Jun 2, 2019 2:00 PM CDT) A small army of engineers, test pilots, and regulators missed a deadly flaw in the Boeing 737 Max--one that now seems unimaginable. It doesn't make any sense, says an ex-test pilot who took part. I wish I had the full story. Enter the New York Times, which dives into the development of a plane that was approved in 2017 and crashed twice last year, claiming 347 lives. The story hinges on MCAS, an automated system designed to make the 737 Max handle better at high speeds by lowering the nose. It was originally triggered by two sensors--one for G-force, the other for wind angle--but when the 737 Max handled poorly at low speeds, the G-force measurement was discarded. That left only one sensor controlling the nose of the plane.

(Aug 31, 2011 11:03 AM CDT) Think Hurricane Irene was overhyped? Well, it looks like it'll wind up being one of the 10 costliest disasters in US history, analysts tell the New York Times--and a lot of the damage won't be covered by insurance. Industry estimates peg the storm's costs at between $7 billion and $10 billion, with most of that due to flooding, which isn't covered under many standard insurance policies. The estimates include costs from drowned cotton and tobacco crops, widespread power outages, property damage, and more. This is going to end up being a bigger event than people think it is, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said. All of this is massive in scope. Some states saw critical infrastructure damage--Vermont, for example, lost 35 bridges. On the bright side, rebuilding could create around 42,000 jobs, one expert projects. The bad news: The same expert says that the losses from just one day of storm-caused business disruption could lead to the elimination of 62,000 jobs.