Runway fire breaks out at Sydney Airport after emergency landing
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- An engine failure on a passenger plane taking off from Sydney, Australia on Friday prompted the aircraft to circle before a safe emergency landing, the airline Qantas said. At the same time, a grass fire broke out along one side of a runway, Sydney Airport said in a statement. It was not known if the two events were linked. The fire has been brought under control, but flight delays are expected. Qantas did not say how many passengers were on board the twin jet Boeing 737-800 bound for Brisbane when the engine failed with a loud bang. No injuries were reported.
Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit's popular dog, Ben, dies
Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit says his beloved dog, Ben, has died at age 10. Ben was a golden retriever who gained fame for regularly accompanying Herbstreit to games and even appearing on set and the sideline. Herbstreit, who calls college football on ESPN and NFL games on Amazon Prime Video, posted on X that cancer had spread through his dog's organs and "there was nothing left we could do -- we had to let him go." The 55-year-old former Ohio State quarterback said he's had dogs his whole life but "Ben was 1 on 1."
The 2025 Grammy Award nominations are about to arrive. Here's what to know
NEW YORK (AP) -- The 2025 Grammy Award nominations are just around the corner. Who will compete for the top prizes? Nominees will be announced during a video stream live on the Grammy website and the Recording Academy's YouTube channel on Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern, kicking off with a pre-show 15 minutes earlier. A host of talent is on deck to announce the nominees, including Gayle King, Jim Gaffigan and a long list of past Grammy winners: Brandy Clark, Kirk Franklin, Kylie Minogue, Victoria Monét, Mark Ronson and Hayley Williams. The 2025 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 2 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Prince William describes family's 'brutal' year as wife and father faced cancer treatment
LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Prince William described the past year as "brutal" as he faced work while his wife and father were treated for cancer. The Prince of Wales told reporters Thursday at the end of a visit to South Africa that 2024 has "probably been the hardest year in my life." King Charles III was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February, forcing him to step away from public appearances for two months. The Princess of Wales announced her own cancer diagnosis a few weeks later and is slowly returning to public duties after completing chemotherapy. Buckingham Palace has said Kate and the king will take part in Remembrance Day ceremonies on Sunday to honor those who died in the world wars and the conflicts that have followed.
Argentine prosecutors charge 3 people linked to the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne
BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- Argentine prosecutors say that three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction, who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month. Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics," the prosecutor's office said. Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country.
A green giant: This year's 74-foot Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts
BOSTON (AP) -- A giant Norway spruce that will serve as this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is en route to New York City from its tiny Massachusetts hometown. The 74-foot-high conifer from West Stockbridge was cut down on Thursday and hoisted onto a flatbed truck by crane. It will be erected in midtown Manhattan on Saturday. People from across the country flocked to West Stockbridge to see the spruce, the first Rockefeller Christmas tree to hail from Massachusetts since 1959. The tree will be draped with 50,000 multi-colored lights and be topped by a Swarovski star. Its scheduled Dec. 4 lighting will be broadcast live on TV.
43 monkeys escape from a South Carolina medical lab. Police say there is no serious danger
A police chief in South Carolina says there is no "almost no danger" to the public after 43 monkeys escaped from a compound used for medical research. Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander says the monkeys from the Alpha Genesis faculty aren't infected with any diseases and are harmless and probably skittish. Police say the female Rhesus macaque primates weighing about 7 pounds escaped Wednesday when a new employee didn't fully shut an enclosure. Authorities say Alpha Genesis employees can see the monkeys and are setting traps and using thermal imaging cameras to capture them. Police say people should close their windows and doors and call 911 if they see a monkey.
New DNA evidence rewrites long-told stories of people in ancient Pompeii
When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved for centuries. Observers see stories in the figures, like a mother holding a child and two women embracing as they are buried in ash. But new DNA evidence suggests these prevailing interpretations come from looking at the ancient world through modern eyes. Scientists discovered that the person thought to be a mother was actually a man unrelated to the child. And at least one of the two people locked in an embrace was a man. The research was published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Volunteer poll workers drown on a flood-washed highway in rural Missouri on Election Day
Authorities say a husband and wife died in each other's arms after they were swept away by floodwaters as they drove to a polling station in rural Missouri early on Election Day. Wright County Sheriff Sonny Byerley says the two were regular election volunteers and that they were driving to the polling place in Manes, Missouri, around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday when their vehicle was overcome. Their daughter identified the couple as 70-year-old Chuck Baldwin and his 73-year-old wife Cathie. The Baldwins were seen trying to swim to dry ground, but their bodies were later found clinging to a tree and each other. They had been married for more than 50 years.
Health care worker gets 2 years for accessing Ruth Bader Ginsburg's medical records
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A former health care worker who illegally accessed the health records of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she died has been sentenced to two years in prison. Thirty-four-year -- old Trent Russell of Bellevue, Nebraska, worked at the time as a transplant coordinator in the Washington, D.C., region and had access to hospital records. A jury convicted him earlier this year of illegally accessing health care records and destroying or altering records. He was also charged with publishing that information on the internet in 2019, at a time when public speculation about Ginsburg's health and her ability to serve as a justice was a matter of public debate. But the jury acquitted Russell on that count.