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National Interest
Vacation Tragedy: Lightning Strike Kills American Tourist At Sicily’s Mount Etna Vacation Tragedy: Lightning Strike Kills American Tourist At Sicily’s Mount Etna
Vacation Tragedy: Lightning Strike Kills American Tourist At Sicily’s Mount Etna A sightseeing trek on one of the world’s most famous volcanoes ended in tragedy when dangerous weather swept across its exposed slopes. A 30-year-old American tourist died after lightning struck him while he was hiking in Italy on Sunday, Aug. 16, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The incident happened on Mount Etna in Sicily. The volcano rises along Sicily's eastern coast. Authorities have not publicly identified the man or where in the US he's from. The tourist had reportedly entered an area closed to hikers and was climbing toward the volcano’s upper reaches when a p…

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by Joe Lombardi
On Your Side
Chicken, Goat Products Recalled Nationwide Over Missing Inspection Chicken, Goat Products Recalled Nationwide Over Missing Inspection
Chicken, Goat Products Recalled Nationwide Over Missing Inspection A shelf-stable specialty food recall is reaching kitchens across the country after a federal safeguard was missed. The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced on Monday, Aug. 17, that Indus Foods LLC, doing business as Gangothri Foods, is recalling about 1,626 pounds of ready-to-eat pickled goat and chicken products. The Austin, Texas, company produced the food without the benefit of federal inspection. The affected jars do not carry a USDA mark of inspection. The products were made between Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, and Wednesday, May 6. They have a two-ye…

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by Joe Lombardi
Breaking News
Harvard Agrees To Pay $53M To Families After Body Parts Stolen From Morgue Were Sold Harvard Agrees To Pay $53M To Families After Body Parts Stolen From Morgue Were Sold
Harvard Agrees To Pay $53M To Families After Body Parts Stolen From Morgue Were Sold Harvard has agreed to pay $53 million to settle lawsuits brought by families who fear their loved ones’ remains were stolen from the medical school’s morgue and sold for cash.  The university announced the settlement on Monday, Aug. 17. A Suffolk Superior Court judge granted preliminary approval, and a final approval is set for December. Federal prosecutors said former Harvard morgue manager Cedric Lodge sold stolen human remains across state lines. Investigators said Lodge secretly removed organs, skin, hands, faces, dissected heads, and other parts from donated bodies.  He…

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by Josh Lanier
Breaking News
Former Fauci Adviser Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: Feds Former Fauci Adviser Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: Feds
Former Fauci Adviser Admits Hiding Covid-era Communications From Public View: Feds David Morens spent years advising one of the biggest names in America's COVID-19 response. Now the Maryland man has admitted conspiring to keep some of his pandemic-era communications out of public view. Morens, 78, of Chester, pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States, months after the former senior National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases official was indicted in the scheme. Morens served as a senior adviser in NIAID's Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022 and was an adviser to Dr.…

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by Zak Failla
Breaking News
Hayden Panettiere's Mom Makes Stunning Claim About Boyfriend After Actress's Death: Report Hayden Panettiere's Mom Makes Stunning Claim About Boyfriend After Actress's Death: Report
Hayden Panettiere's Mom Makes Stunning Claim About Boyfriend After Actress's Death: Report Hayden Panettiere's mother has released a statement to NBC News following her daughter's death, revealing how she felt about Panettiere's boyfriend. The 36-year-old former child actress had apparently rekindled her relationship with Brian Hickerson, according to NBC News. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, called Hickerson "a person in her life we have been trying to get rid of." Panettiere was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest after a 911 call brought first responders to a Greenville, SC home on Aug. 16. The word "overdose" can be heard duri…

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by Cecilia Levine
Breaking News
Basketball Coach Stabbed Dead; Flock Cameras Help Track Boyfriend Across State Lines: Police Basketball Coach Stabbed Dead; Flock Cameras Help Track Boyfriend Across State Lines: Police
Basketball Coach Stabbed Dead; Flock Cameras Help Track Boyfriend Across State Lines: Police A teacher and basketball coach was found stabbed to death inside her North Carolina home, sparking an interstate search aided by Flock cameras that ended with her boyfriend's capture at a Pennsylvania mall, authorities announced on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Sheremy Gwenette Dillard, 57, was found dead at 2201 Whistling Straits Way in Raleigh on Thursday, Aug. 13, according to the Raleigh Police Department. Officers were dispatched to the home around 12:18 p.m. after family members reported they had not heard from Dillard and told police she lived there with her boyfriend, Rickey Andra Harper. Offi…

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by Daily Voice
Breaking News
Former State Auditor Who Stole $405K From NY Town Gets Prison Time Former State Auditor Who Stole $405K From NY Town Gets Prison Time
Former State Auditor Who Stole $405K From NY Town Gets Prison Time A former New York state auditor from Dutchess County who admitted using his position to steal more than $400,000 from an Orange County town while auditing its finances will spend years in prison.  Tobias Otieno, 42, of Hyde Park, was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 18, to four to 12 years in state prison for stealing approximately $405,843 from the Town of Wallkill, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced. The sentence comes six months after Otieno pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny as a public corruption crime, as Daily Voice previously reported. Otieno worked as a…

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by Ben Crnic
On Your Side
Unlimited Pizza Pass Offered By Popular Chain: How To Buy One Unlimited Pizza Pass Offered By Popular Chain: How To Buy One
Unlimited Pizza Pass Offered By Popular Chain: How To Buy One Uno Pizzeria & Grill is rolling out a new unlimited pizza promotion this fall, including a $99 pass that can be used once a day for 10 weeks. The restaurant chain announced its first-ever "Pizza Pass" on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The pass includes unlimited servings of deep-dish pizzas, house or Caesar salads, and Pepsi soft drinks at participating locations from Saturday, Sept. 5, through Friday, Nov. 13. Only 1,000 passes will be available nationwide. Sales begin at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 20, at mypizzapass.com. Pass holders can visit a participating Uno restaurant once per day during …

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by Chris Spiker
Breaking News
2 People Beaten To Death Before Killer Set House On Fire, Only To Die In Blaze: Police 2 People Beaten To Death Before Killer Set House On Fire, Only To Die In Blaze: Police
2 People Beaten To Death Before Killer Set House On Fire, Only To Die In Blaze: Police Two people were beaten to death before their killer intentionally set a house on fire — only to die in the blaze, police announced on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The deadly fire at 508 Morgan Drive in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, was not accidental, forensic evidence revealed during what Lower Swatara Township Police called an "exhaustive investigation." Two of the victims suffered severe blunt-force trauma at the hands of the third person before that individual intentionally set the fire inside the house, according to Lower Swatara Township police. The person who set the fire then died of fire-rel…

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by Jillian Pikora
Breaking News
Fatal I-684 Crash: Westchester Woman Gets Manslaughter Charge In 2025 Wreck, Cops Say Fatal I-684 Crash: Westchester Woman Gets Manslaughter Charge In 2025 Wreck, Cops Say
Fatal I-684 Crash: Westchester Woman Gets Manslaughter Charge In 2025 Wreck, Cops Say A woman has been indicted on a manslaughter charge more than a year and a half after a crash on I-684 in Putnam County left a Connecticut man dead, police announced.  Mount Vernon resident Makayla S. McIntyre was arrested on Monday, Aug. 17, in connection with the January 2025 crash in the town of Southeast that killed 65-year-old New Milford resident Michael T. Keller, New York State Police said on Tuesday, Aug. 18.  The crash happened around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, when McIntyre, who was 23 at the time, lost control of her vehicle while traveling north on I-684,…

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by Ben Crnic
On Your Side
Crucial Part Can Break Off While Driving, Prompting Huge Toyota Recall Crucial Part Can Break Off While Driving, Prompting Huge Toyota Recall
Crucial Part Can Break Off While Driving, Prompting Huge Toyota Recall Nearly 50,000 Toyota trucks are being recalled because part of the shock absorbers can corrode and detach while driving. Toyota is recalling 48,280 Tacoma pickups in the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a report filed on Thursday, Aug. 6. The recall includes 2024 and 2025 Tacomas, along with 2024 Tacoma Hybrids. The front and rear shock absorbers have an external oil reservoir attached with a welded metal flange. Moisture can get between untreated metal surfaces, causing corrosion that can build up and put pressure on the welds. The reservoir can break of…

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by Chris Spiker
Breaking News
Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Saw Mill River Parkway In Westchester (DEVELOPING) Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Saw Mill River Parkway In Westchester (DEVELOPING)
Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Saw Mill River Parkway In Westchester (Developing) A vehicle fire shut down a stretch of the Saw Mill River Parkway in Northern Westchester during the Tuesday afternoon commute.   The incident happened on Tuesday, Aug. 18, on the northbound side of the parkway at Exit 32 for Route 120 in Chappaqua, according to 511NY traffic reports.  The fire was first reported at around 2:29 p.m. near mile marker 20.4. All northbound lanes were temporarily closed as crews responded to the scene, but have since reopened, 511NY reported.  More information about the vehicle involved or whether anyone was injured was not immediately avai…

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by Ben Crnic