Fine of $250K leveled in Orlando amusement park death

The operator of an Orlando amusement park ride from which a Missouri teenager fell to his death should pay a $250,000 fine and can never hold a ride permit in Florida again, state officials said Tuesday. Fourteen-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death from the 400-foot (122-meter) drop tower ride operated by Orlando Slingshot in […]

UF revokes football scholarship after video surfaces of recruit using racial slur

The University of Florida has withdrawn a scholarship offer for Nease High School quarterback Marcus Stokes after a video of him rapping along to a song using a racial slur surfaced on social media. Stokes took to social media to apologize on Sunday, saying that he accepts the consequences of his actions. “I deeply apologize […]

Disney taps ex-CEO Bob Iger to return, set strategy

The Walt Disney Company has tapped its former CEO Bob Iger to return to head the company for two years, firing his successor Bob Chapek in a move that stunned the entertainment industry. Chapek is leaving after the company posted lower than expected earnings in the last quarter. Hollywood’s creative community had grumbled about Chapek’s […]

NASA’s Orion capsule closes in on the moon for a course-changing flyby

Nearly five days after its sky-lighting launch, NASA’s unpiloted Orion crew capsule closed in on the moon Sunday, on course for a critical rocket firing and lunar flyby Monday to whip the craft into a distant orbit. The goal is to pave the way toward a piloted flight around the moon in 2024. NASA managers met […]

“Unprecedented”: IAEA head on the current threat of nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine

Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, is maybe the most dangerous place in the world right now. The plant is in Russian-occupied Ukraine and has been shelled repeatedly since March. The situation is carefully monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency tasked with making sure nuclear facilities are safe and […]

‘Amazing’: Mom hears late daughter’s transplanted heart

An Indiana woman heard the heartbeat of her late daughter inside the chest of a 68-year-old Illinois man who received it in a transplant operation. Amber Morgan and Tom Johnson met for the first time Saturday, four years after he received a heart transplant from the body of Andreona Williams, who was 20 when she […]

Kyiv’s mayor: Extraordinary, in extraordinarily tough times

The body armor propped against a radiator, ready for use, the spent shell casing adding to the clutter on his desk, the boxing memorabilia, and the sign asking visitors to leave firearms at his door: All shout that this is the office of an extraordinary mayor, in extraordinarily difficult times. Other, more personal touches fill […]

Qatar opens Mideast’s first World Cup before leaders, fans

Qatar on Sunday opened the Middle East’s first FIFA World Cup before global leaders and soccer fans who have poured into this energy-rich nation after it was battered by a regional boycott and international criticism. With American actor Morgan Freeman’s dulcet voice and an Arabian theme with camels, the opening ceremony began with a promise […]

Police: Gunman entered gay club, immediately started firing

A 22-year-old gunman walked into a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs and immediately began firing from a “long rifle,” killing at least five people and wounding 18, officials said Sunday. Colorado Springs Police Department Chief Adrian Vasquez says two firearms were found at the scene. The gunman was taken into custody around five minutes after […]

Accused Albany bishop asks to be removed from priesthood

The retired bishop of Albany, New York, who has admitted to covering up for predator priests and has himself been accused of sexual abuse, has asked Pope Francis to remove him from the priesthood. Emeritus Bishop Howard Hubbard, 84, announced the decision in a statement Friday, the day the United Nations designated as the World Day […]