Former Ohio State and
UFC champion Kevin Randleman of Sandusky has died. Cedar Point is tearing down
Shoot the Rapids. Ted Cruz pulled an ad that unknowingly featured a former
soft-core porn star. The United States, Russia and other powers agreed to a
"cessation of hostilities" in Syria's civil war. Hillary Clinton and
Bernie Sanders bickered over his trillion-dollar agenda and her foreign policy
record. Ohioan David Fry was the last militant to leave the Oregon standoff.
Einstein was right, again. And speaking of gravity, Cedar Point is tearing down
a water ride.
Kevin Randleman dead at age 44:
Kevin "The
Monster" Randleman, who gained national fame as an NCAA champion at Ohio
State University as well as a UFC Mixed Martial Arts champion, died Thursday
evening at the age of 44. Randleman's sister confirmed his death on her
Facebook page. It was reported by multiple sources Thursday that Randleman had
been admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and died from heart failure. The 1989
Sandusky High graduate was a Division I state champion wrestler in 1989.
Randleman was also a three-time All-American while winning two national titles
(1992-93) and finishing runner-up (1991) once. He was inducted into the OSU
Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Nicknamed 'The Monster,' Randleman became a UFC
champion in 1999.
Cedar Point tears down ride:
Cedar Point's Shoot the
Rapids is coming down. Sources have told the Register the amusement park
operator started to tear down the water ride Tuesday. Cedar Point is not
confirming the removal or what will come next. "Our focus is on the
construction of Valravn, our record-breaking dive coaster. We have not
announced any changes regarding our current ride lineup," wrote Tony
Clark, director of communications, in a statement. The ride, which debuted in
June 2010 on Frontier Trail, suffered its share of problems.
Clinton challenges Sanders policy plans:
Hillary Clinton,
scrambling to recover from her double-digit defeat in the New Hampshire
primary, repeatedly challenged the trillion-dollar policy plans of Bernie
Sanders at their presidential debate on Thursday night and portrayed him as a
big talker who needed to "level" with voters about the difficulty of
accomplishing his agenda. Foreign affairs also took on unusual prominence as
Mrs. Clinton sought to underscore her experience and Mr. Sanders excoriated her
judgment on Libya and Iraq, as well as her previous praise of former Secretary
of State Henry A. Kissinger. But Mrs. Clinton was frequently on the offensive
as well, seizing an opportunity to talk about leaders she admired and turning
it against Mr. Sanders by bashing his past criticism of President Obama — a
remark that Mr. Sanders called a "low blow."
U.S., Russia and other powers agree on 'cessation of hostilities' in
Syria:
The United States,
Russia and other powers agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" in
Syria's civil war, to take place within the next week, and immediate
humanitarian access to besieged areas, Secretary of State John F. Kerry
announced here early Friday. "It was unanimous," Kerry said. Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the projected date for ending at least some
of his country's airstrikes in Syria is a week from Friday, but he emphasized
that "terrorist" groups would continue to be targeted.
Physicists detect gravitational waves, confirming Einstein:
Scientists announced
Thursday that they have succeeded in detecting gravitational waves from the
violent merging of two black holes in deep space. The detection was hailed as a
triumph for a controversial, exquisitely crafted, billion-dollar physics
experiment and as confirmation of a key prediction of Albert Einstein's General
Theory of Relativity. It will also inaugurate a new era of astronomy in which
gravitational waves are tools for studying the most mysterious and exotic
objects in the universe,
Fry last to surrender in Oregon:
The occupation of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, undertaken 41 days ago with guns and threats,
ended Thursday with the peaceful surrender of four holdouts after an hour-long
negotiation with the last protester. Those taken into custody by the FBI were
David Fry, 27, of the Cincinnati area, Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada, Sean
Anderson, 47, and his wife, Sandy, 48, of Riggins, Idaho. They each face a
federal conspiracy charge for their role in the occupation, joining at least 12
others already arraigned on that charge. At the final moment after the first
three had walked out, Fry said he was feeling suicidal and wouldn't give
himself up. He demanded to talk to an FBI negotiator by phone as others
repeatedly urged him to calm down and walk out. We will pray you out," a
woman's voice was heard saying at one point, but then Fry said he was pointing
a gun at his head. "I'm really confused right now," he said as the
entreaties continued for him to leave the refuge.
Bundy asks for court-appointed attorney:
Nevada rancher Cliven
D. Bundy asked for a court-appointed attorney as he made his first appearance
Thursday in federal court following his arrest the night before at Portland
International Airport.
Ted Cruz drops ad featuring soft-core porn star:
Ted Cruz's presidential
campaign is taking down its newest TV advertisement after learning that the
spot featured a softcore porn star. BuzzFeed News reported Thursday that the
ad, which attacks Marco Rubio, included actress Amy Lindsay. She's appeared in
adult movies such as Carnal Wishes and Erotic Confessions, along with
non-erotic roles, the media outlet reported. Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler
explained to BuzzFeed News that that Lindsay responded to an open casting call
and passed her audition.
Obama creates national monuments in California desert:
President Obama
designated three new national monuments in the California desert Thursday,
expanding federal protection to 1.8 million acres of landscapes that have
retained their natural beauty despite decades of heavy mining, cattle ranching
and off-roading.
Police kill man who attacked restaurant patrons with
machete:
Columbus police say a
man came into a restaurant and began hacking people with a machete, sending
four of them to area hospitals and critically injuring at least one Thursday.
He was shot and killed by police after they tracked him down about 5 miles from
the restaurant. It's unclear why he did what he did. Sgt. Rich Weiner, a
spokesman for the Police Division, said "there's nothing to lead us to
believe this is anything more than a random attack." The FBI also is
investigating but Weiner wouldn't say why.
