Man dies after becoming unresponsive on Stardust Racers roller coaster at Epic Universe

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Web Staff

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    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — A guest at Epic Universe died after riding on the Stardust Racers roller coaster on Wednesday, according to Universal officials.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said that off-duty deputies responded to a “man down” call at the theme park.

Once they arrived at the scene, they found a man in his 30s who was unresponsive. The man was then transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Chopper 2 was live on the scene and captured exclusive video of a large law enforcement presence, including crime scene vans and a forensic team taking photos of the ride vehicle in the loading area.

Universal Orlando’s app currently indicates that the popular Stardust Racers coaster is closed on Thursday.

Statement from Universal spokesperson:

“Universal is cooperating with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office following a tragic event involving a guest at Epic Universe on Wednesday night. The guest became unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers and was transported to the hospital, where the guest later died. We are devastated by this event and extend our sincerest sympathies to the guest’s loved ones. We are fully committed to cooperating with this ongoing investigation. The attraction remains closed.

This racing coaster reaches speeds of up to 62 miles per hour and heights of 133 feet along a 5,000-foot track.

The ride features two sides racing each other on green and yellow tracks, with an inverted criss-cross maneuver called the Celestial Spin.

Before opening, the ride underwent extensive testing, requiring 80 consecutive hours of flawless operation.

Universal Orlando’s safety guidelines warn that the coaster includes sudden and dramatic acceleration, climbing, tilting, inversion and dropping.

Riders must be at least four feet tall, and those with blood pressure issues, heart conditions, back or neck problems, sensitivity to strobe lights, motion, or fog, as well as expectant mothers or individuals who have recently undergone surgery, are advised not to ride.

Additionally, the park requires guests to store loose items in a locker and pass through a metal detector before boarding the coaster.

Universal’s Epic Universe is Central Florida’s newest theme park, officially opening its doors to the public on May 22, 2025.

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Port Charlotte mom recovering after losing part of arm to severe spider bite

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Jackie Guenther

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    PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida (WBBH) — Nicole Kelly, a single mother of two from Port Charlotte, has been hospitalized for two weeks, recovering from a venomous spider bite and a COVID-19 diagnosis, which has left her unable to work and facing financial difficulties.

“It’s hard trying to make it through, especially mentally, because I’m away from my kids,” Kelly said. She expressed the difficulty of asking for help, saying, “I don’t ask for help, and it feels very foreign and very weird, but it’s crazy how one spider bite can lead to all of this.”

Kelly was bitten by a brown recluse spider on Sept. 3 while moving, leading to a serious condition that required immediate surgery. “They had to do a pretty invasive surgery. It was bad. They took out what they described as about two ice cream scoops full of tissue and flesh that had been eaten away or had started to deteriorate because of the venom. It was pretty serious,” Kelly said.

Joyce Fassbender, an entomologist and arachnologist at Florida Gulf Coast University, explained that a large amount of venom from a spider can cause serious health issues. “If you get a spider that injects a large amount of venom into the body, then you can actually have the formation of an ulcer that starts to break down and can sometimes work its way through the skin and into the muscle below,” Fassbender said.

Kelly shared the intense upkeep of the wound, “They have to clean it out twice a day. They make sure they give me some pain medication beforehand because it is painful. It’s probably going to take about 6 to 8 weeks to heal. It’s going to be a long ride,” she said.

Kelly is looking for all the help she can get to manage the hefty hospital bills and hopes to reunite with her children soon.

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Kansas City man charged after fleeing stolen car with child

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Nick Sloan

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A Kansas City man has been charged after police say he fled from a stolen car while carrying a young child during a crash and standoff last week.

Tyrin Mosby-Sherman, 21, faces multiple charges, including first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, leaving the scene of an accident, and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Court records allege Mosby-Sherman pulled a small child from a crashed Audi near East Linwood Boulevard and Bellefontaine Avenue on Sept. 10 before running from the scene.

Police later took him into custody, recovered the child safely, and confirmed the Audi had been stolen.

A firearm and three vehicle key fobs, including one for an Audi, were also found at the site of the arrest.

Mosby-Sherman faces up to seven years in prison on the D felony charges and up to four years on the E felony charges if he is convicted.

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Flight student dies in Moriarty plane crash

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Corey Howard

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    MORIARTY, New Mexico (KOAT) — A flight student died and the instructor was critically injured in a crash near Moriarty, New Mexico, after the plane suffered an engine failure, according to Torrance County Sheriff David Frazee.

Frazee said, “I have seen a lot of posts on the internet, on social media and some phone calls indicating that they’re all praying for the survivor and the family of the deceased.”

The crash occurred near McNabb Road and Highway 41. Frazee explained that when an engine fails, the plane loses thrust and lift, requiring the pilot to find a nearby spot to glide down and land. He noted that instead of keeping the plane level, the pilot attempted a U-turn to land in a field, which he believes caused the plane to descend faster.

Frazee said, “So the plane was descending fairly rapidly. It flew over and hit the light pole here. The telephone pole snapped that pole off and cut power out.”

Power has since been restored in the area, and the condition of the crash survivor is improving, according to Frazee. Law enforcement officials stated that the crash remains under investigation.

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Valencia County teen becomes first woman to earn Eagle Scout rank

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Peyton Spellacy

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Changes came to the Boy Scouts in 2019 when the organization rebranded and opened its doors to girls. This year, it became Scouting America.

Now, Valencia County has its first young woman to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

Seventeen-year-old Gabrielle Montoya earned the honor after five years of dedication, leadership, and community service. To reach the highest rank in scouting, she completed a major project that turned old tires into dog beds for the Valencia County Animal Shelter.

Her uniform sash carries more than 40 merit badges, each marking a skill she has mastered, from first aid to space exploration and shotgun safety. Those skills, Montoya said, have prepared her not only for life but also for her dream career as a veterinarian.

“One of the things that I want to do with my life is help those animals and help other people who love them in the same way that I do,” she said. “And part of the reason that scouting sort of has assisted me in this way is because, you know, you learn a thing or two from merit badges like these, and you learn how to, you know, be the best person that you can be throughout this journey.”

Montoya also takes pride in the patches displayed on her uniform.

“This is my patrol patch. We’re part of the Frosty Flippers. And the patrol is basically a leadership group within the troop. So kind of like a bureaucracy if you think, like, different levels of government, we’ve got the same thing in the troop,” she said. “This is a Journey to Excellence Award. And what this represents is a couple of things that our troop had to do in order to take the step up and be a step above, and maybe like an average Scout troop.”

She pointed out one patch in particular.

“This patch right here is particularly important. This is in memory of one of the scouts in our brother troop, who actually was an Eagle Scout named Evan Strickland, who passed away during an Osprey accident in service. So we wear this in memory for him and in memory for his family as well,” she said.

Other patches on her uniform represent the High Desert Council, the troop she helped found, her role as a junior assistant scoutmaster, and her Eagle Scout rank. She also wears patches for completing polar bear plunge activities and for her membership in the Order of the Arrow, scouting’s honor society.

Montoya said scouting helped her grow as a leader and as a person. Her advice to other girls hoping to follow in her footsteps is to take the leap.

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Geese overrun park in Lawndale; experts blame overpopulation on food provided by the public

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Ashley Mackey

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    LAWNDALE, California (KABC) — It’s been a honking good time for the booming population of geese that has overrun Alondra Park in Lawndale these days, but not so much for their human neighbors.

Residents who live across the street from the park told ABC7 they’ve seen the geese population grow drastically over the last few years.

They say the once beautiful lake now has an odor, is littered with droppings and is buzzing with flies.

“They will go where there is food available,” Megan Bauer, senior wildlife technician at the Wetlands and Wildlife Center, said. “Because people keep offering them food, more and more will keep congregating, and that is leading to that overpopulation.”

Despite signs posted around Alondra Park to not feed the wildlife, just in the short time that ABC7 visited the park, people fed the birds cereal, popcorn, bread and potatoes.

Experts say feeding the fowl certain foods can be harmful.

“That can cause issues such as what we call ‘angel wing’. That makes them unable to fly. It’s very painful,” Bauer said. “Unfortunately, that is not a very good end for geese who are supposed to be able to fly away from predators.”

Some neighbors say the geese wander into the street, stop traffic and sometimes get hit.

On the other hand, some park visitors say they enjoy seeing the wildlife.

“When I first started running, I used to be a little bit aggravated at avoiding all the droppings,” Ron Berman, a runner at Alondra Park, said. “But, you know, after a while, it’s like ‘I don’t care’. Its great seeing nature.”

The park is serviced by Los Angeles County, and they say their main goal is to educate the public on how to safely cohabitate with the geese, which includes not feeding them.

“Canada geese are a native species to North America, and they are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918,” Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department biologist Cristhian Mace said. “Harassing or trying to relocate them is really not an option. We need to learn to share this space with them peacefully.”

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‘Nothing is done’: Buxton residents not surprised after home collapses on NC coast

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Kirstyn Clark

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    BUXTON, North Carolina (WRAL) — Cape Hatteras National Seashore is asking people to avoid the beach and stay out of the water in Buxton after a home collapsed into the water.

On Tuesday, officials said a home on Tower Circle Road had collapsed into the Atlantic. A pre-existing beach safety closure from the north end of Buxton to around off-road vehicle ramp 43 may need to be expanded depending on the extent of the debris, according to authorities.

Area leaders said this house is the 12th to collapse in the past five years in the Rodanthe and Buxton area.

“There are about 40 of them that are sitting right there in the shore break. And I would say out of those, there’s probably about 4 or 5 that look like they’re kinda ready to go,” said Donny Bowers, a Buxton native who was on the beach just moments after the home collapsed.

“Nothing is done until it’s on the verge of catastrophic and then the only thing anyone can do is abandon,” he continued.

WRAL News previously reported about how many sea level rise experts believe there are areas of barrier islands that are not ideal for development.

Rodanthe has become the focal point in the national conversation about the impacts of climate change on sea level rise in coastal areas.

When homes fall, they leave behind dangerous debris that can scatter for miles along the shoreline. A routine Reide Corbett said he knows all too well.

“These homes are extremely vulnerable,” said Corbett, Executive Director of the Coastal Studies Institute at ECU. “The process that’s leading to these challenges isn’t going away.”

He said beach nourishment is a temporary and expensive fix that will only buy time before the inevitable.

“There is a discussion about hardened shorelines, jetties. These are not solutions, and they are certainly not solutions for North Carolina,” he said. “I want to work with these homeowners and Dare County as a whole to find solutions. It’s not going to be easy, but we need to engage in these conversations.”

Outer Banks visitors are also asked to avoid the north end of Rodanthe due to threatened oceanfront structures.

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Beverly Hills residents concerned by “palm tree tourists” stopping in street to take selfies with city’s landscape

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Web Staff

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    BEVERLY HILLS, California (KCAL/KCBS) — Local News Beverly Hills residents concerned by “palm tree tourists” stopping in street to take selfies with city’s landscape losangeles By Gio Insignares, September 17, 2025 / 10:57 PM PDT / KCAL News

Though Beverly Hills is well-known for having some of the world’s most iconic palm tree-lined streets, residents are beginning to grow tired of “palm tree tourists” stopping in the street to snap photos of the city’s iconic landscapes.

They say that the concerning trend really took off thanks to social media and influencers, with groups of people flooding popular streets like Rodeo Drive, Beverly Drive and Cañon Drive.

“It’s definitely taking a risk,” said Jeremiah Cox, a Beverly Hills resident. “Because I drive through there all the time, and sometimes people are in the middle of the street, and you have to honk.”

Visitors say that with so many iconic locations, it’s hard to pass up on a perfect photo.

“Pictures with the palms and the streets; it is iconic,” said two tourists. “Every spot that you have here, it’s like, ‘Okay, I need to take a photo because it’s so beautiful.'”

City leaders say that there has always been a presence of people taking pictures, but that they’re taking the sudden spike in popularity, and the safety concerns associated with it, very seriously.

“At the end of the day, this is a hazard for everyone involved — the pedestrians in the street and the drivers as well,” said Beverly Hills City Manager Keith Sterling.

He says that police have stepped up their patrols in popular areas, stopping visitors from entering the roads and having them move to a safer place. While they continue trying to find ways to address the concerns, city leaders also say that police are using cameras and drones to monitor trouble spots.

So far, Sterling said that they’re making sure that people are educated and aware of the dangers, but that citations are a real possibility if the behavior continues.

“We hope it doesn’t get to that, but if we need to go there, we will,” Sterling said.

In August, the Beverly Hills City Council debated creating a designated photo island, but was concerned that it would lead to even larger crowds and more chaos.

“It’s kind of a way of life in Beverly Hills, but it can’t be at the expense of public safety, not only for the people in the streets, but for our residents,” Sterling said.

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Bodycam video shows Bristol, Pa. officer rescue man from burning apartment building — on his 24th birthday

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Joe Brandt

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    BRISTOL, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Another angle of Wednesday’s Bristol, Pennsylvania, fire is visible in newly released body camera video showing a police officer helping residents out of a burning apartment building.

Crews were called to the Levittown Trace Apartments on Ford Road around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and found heavy fire coming from a unit on the second floor. First responders worked to get people out while firefighters battled the flames, which eventually spread to a total of 12 units and left them uninhabitable.

No one was seriously injured, but two firefighters and a resident were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

In the video, the officer runs up to the burning building and sees a man’s legs hanging out of a window.

“Hanging, hanging from the window,” another officer shouts as the officer helps the man.

“My phone, my phone,” the resident says. “Your phone? Don’t worry about your phone, man,” the officer says.

The video begins with the officer knocking on doors and alerting people to get out. He takes breaks to go outside for fresh air due to the smoke filling the building.

At one point, the officer helps firefighters drag out hoses to get water on the flames.

The Bristol Township police chief said the officer was working on his 24th birthday when he sprang into action.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The American Red Cross said it was working with about 40 residents who are displaced.

Matt Cavallo contributed to this report.

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Teen convicted of working with extremist groups to carry out terrorist attacks in Philadelphia area

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Tom Dougherty

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A teenager has been convicted of working with extremist groups in Syria with the intent of carrying out terrorist attacks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, specifically targeting the Philly Pride Parade, the Army-Navy game and other events in the city.

Muhyyee-Ud-din Abdul-Rahman, 19, was found guilty in a jury trial on Wednesday of attempting to possess weapons of mass destruction and risking a catastrophe, among other charges, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced in a press conference.

“The evidence in the case indicated that a Philadelphian, 17 years of age, in our opinion, self-radicalized or was radicalized, and wanted to be a bomb maker for terrorists,” Krasner said. “His desire to be a bomb maker for terrorists resulted in multiple tests of actual bombs. Resulted in a search for potential targets for what we believe was a terrorist bombing in the Philadelphia area and within the United States.”

Abdul-Rahman plotted to attack events in Philadelphia, including the city’s Pride parade and the Army-Navy football game, a Black university, the Valley Forge Military Academy in Delaware County and nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Krasner’s office said in a news release.

Abdul-Rahman was arrested in August 2023 when he was 17. Announcing Abdul-Rahman’s arrest, Krasner called the teen “an aspiring terrorist.”

Law enforcement said Abdul-Rahman had communicated with Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, or KTJ, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which are designated global terrorism groups by the U.S. government.

First Assistant District Attorney Robert Listenbee said Wednesday that the teen acquired a passport and planned on going to Syria, never to return to the U.S.

“He said he was not planning to target any place in the United States, but every indication that we have was that he was,” Listenbee said.

The teen sent and received media containing terrorism propaganda and guidance on committing criminal attacks, including how to make a bomb, the FBI previously said.

“The specific type of bombs that he was in the process of creating included TATP, which is one of the most volatile and destructive weapons imaginable,” Listenbee said.

Listenbee said Abdul-Rahman attempted to make a TATP in his backyard but “didn’t get the ingredients right.” The assistant first district attorney added that Abdul-Rahman had between 12 and 20 attempts of trying to make bombs.

Investigators found that Abdul-Rahman was searching online for potential targets in the Philadelphia area and evidence of hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, prosecutors said. Listenbee and Krasner said Wednesday there were 8,000 searches.

“This individual had a grievance, a grievance against homosexuality. He asked the questions in one of his searches, ‘What is the punishment for homosexuality in Sharia Law?’ Which is the Muslim law, as I understand it,” Listenbee said. “He then also indicated in a statement that he felt that the homosexual agenda in the United States was too extensive, along with some of the conservative agendas of the Proud Boys and others. He indicated all along that he wanted to become a bomber, no question about it.”

Customs and Border Protection records showed 14 international shipments of military and tactical gear shipped to the teen’s West Philadelphia address.

Prosecutors said Abdul-Rahman was being held on $5 million bond. Krasner said prosecutors will be back in court Wednesday afternoon to determine Abdul-Rahman’s bail status.

Stephanie Ballesteros and Dan Snyder contributed to this report.

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