Rapper NBA YoungBoy pleads guilty to Louisiana gun charges
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Rapper NBA YoungBoy has agreed to plead guilty to federal weapons charges if his case is transferred from Louisiana to Utah, where he faces an unrelated charge of operating a prescription drug fraud ring. News outlets report that in court documents filed last week, the rapper waived his right to a trial in Baton Rouge. U.S. District Judge Shelley Dick then transferred jurisdiction to federal court in Salt Lake City. The rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Goldin, also signed a notice of intent to plead guilty if the case is transferred to Utah. Goldin faces up to 10 years in prison on the weapons charges.
Disney drops motion to dismiss allergy death lawsuit after plaintiff subscribes to Disney+
NEW YORK (AP) — Disney has stopped asking a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit because the victim's family subscribed to the company's streaming service, Disney+. The company formally filed a notice in Orange County court on Tuesday to drop the widely mocked lawsuit. The chairman of Disney's theme parks division said Monday the company was waiving its right to arbitration. Disney had argued that Jeffrey Piccolo agreed to settle any lawsuit out of court when he joined Disney+. Piccolo's wife suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant last October.
The internet's love for 'highly unadulterated' content highlights what viral trends mean for creators
NEW YORK (AP) — You're not alone. The word “meek” has been used to describe everything online lately. It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jules Lebron posted a video that soon became a social media sensation. In just a few weeks, Lebron's “very thoughtful, very meek” phrases became the latest words to define the internet's summer lexicon. And the trend's surging popularity also means something to the TikTok user herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said last week that she's now able to cover the remaining costs of her transition. A few online creators have made a tidy income from their social media fame in recent years, but it's still quite rare.
Woman Threatened with Eviction Over Three Emotional Support Parrots Wins $165,000 in Federal Court Case
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who was facing eviction from her Manhattan apartment because she kept three emotional support parrots will be paid $165,000 in damages and $585,000 for the apartment under a consent decree announced by federal prosecutors. The consent decree announced Monday resolves a dispute between Merrill Lesser and the board of trustees of Rutherford, the 175-unit apartment complex where Lesser lived with her parrots, Layla, Ginger and Curtis. U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said the consent decree is the largest award the federal government has ever received in a case over support animals. An attorney for the board of trustees said he was pleased his client was able to resolve the case.
Tennis star Jannik Sinner tests positive for steroids twice but won't be suspended
World No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner tested positive for anabolic steroids twice in March, but will not be suspended because the International Tennis Integrity Authority determined that the banned performance-enhancing drugs entered his system unintentionally during a physical therapist's massage. The authority announced the settlement of the case on Tuesday and said Sinner will lose $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points from a tournament in Indian Wells, California, where he first tested positive for drugs. Sinner won the Cincinnati Open on Monday and is one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open, which starts next week in New York.
August's supermoon is first of four lunar spectacle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Monday's supermoon is the first of four this year, when the full moon gets a little closer to Earth than usual, making it appear a little bigger and brighter in the night sky. September's supermoon coincides with a partial lunar eclipse; October's supermoon is the closest to Earth of the year, while November's supermoon marks the end of the year. A supermoon occurs when the lunar phase of a full moon syncs up with the moon's particularly close passage around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year, with supermoons appearing in succession.
Spanish woman believed to be world's oldest person dies at age 117
MADRID (AP) — Maria Branyas, an American-born, Spanish-born woman who was thought to be the world's oldest person at 117, has died, her family announced. “She passed away peacefully and painlessly, in her sleep, as she wished,” her family wrote in a post on Branyas' X account. The Gerontology Research Group, which compiles details of people believed to be over 110 years old, lists Branyas as the world's oldest person. Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907 and lived in a nursing home in the town of Olot in northeastern Spain at the time of her death.
Trinidad repainted its coat of arms, removing Columbus' famous three ships.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Trinidad and Tobago officials are repainting the island's coat of arms in a move welcomed by many to remove references to European colonization for the first time since it was created in 1962. Three of Christopher Columbus' ships — the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa Maria — will be replaced with steel pans, a popular percussion instrument that originated on the eastern Caribbean island. Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced to a standing ovation Sunday that the coat of arms will be redesigned by late September.
The leading actors for the dramatic Broadway seafaring musical “Swept Away” have been announced.
NEW YORK (AP) — The four stars behind the new musical “Swept Away” — John Gallagher Jr., Stark Sands, Adrienne Blake Enscoe and Wayne Duvall — are taking the ocean-based tale to commercial Broadway waters. The story of four men stranded in the Atlantic Ocean after a 19th-century shipwreck features songs by the Avett Brothers, notably their 2004 album “Mignonette,” and opens at the Longacre Theatre in October. The show, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in early 2022 before moving to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
Phil Donahue, who dominated daytime talk shows for years before being overtaken by Oprah, left a lasting mark.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talk-show host Phil Donahue, who for decades reigned supreme over daytime television, roaming the audience with a microphone in hand, has died at age 88. The talk-show format he established in 1967 and maintained for nearly three decades eventually spawned many imitators, including Oprah Winfrey, who dethroned Donahue as daytime king of the show. Donahue's show introduced many Americans to issues like feminism, same-sex marriage and sexual harassment for the first time. Winfrey overtook Donahue in the ratings in the mid-1980s, but “Donahue” lasted another decade, and Donahue credited Winfrey's success with lifting “all boats” in daytime television.
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