Disaster at Daytona
Happy Tuesday to everyone except for the monsters who vandalized Plymouth Rock.
It's Ashley with the news to know.
But first, all the feels: A father was moved to tears when he heard his son's heartbeat in a teddy bear gifted by his heart transplant recipient.
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Ryan Newman 'awake and speaking' after frightening NASCAR crash
Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500, but the race will mostly be remembered for a grisly car wreck involving NASCAR driver Ryan Newman on the final lap. The frightening crash occurred when fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney nudged Newman's car ahead of Hamlin on the backstretch. Extra contact forced Newman to spin out, flinging his car violently into a wall, where it flipped into the air before being hit again by Corey LaJoie as he crossed the finish line. Though still in the hospital after the horrific crash, Newman is "awake and speaking" with family members and his doctors, his race team announced.
Bankruptcy filing further clouds Boy Scouts future
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday amid declining membership and a slew of child sexual abuse allegations. In court filings, the Boy Scouts said it faces 275 abuse lawsuits and potentially an additional 1,400 cases to come. Bankruptcy was "the only viable option" for the Boy Scouts to consolidate numerous cases in one proceeding, pay its victims and emerge as a sustainable entity, the organization said. The exact effects on Boy Scouts' future operations are unknown, leading to speculation about the organization's odds for survival, the impact on troops and how bankruptcy could change the dynamic for abuse survivors who have yet to come forward.
What everyone’s talking about
Why though? Someone keeps abandoning snakes inside pillowcases in England.
We already knew Reese Witherspoon and her daughter had a striking resemblance, but a new Instagram photo takes the cake.
Mandatory vasectomy at age 50? An Alabama lawmaker proposed this in response to the state's contested abortion ban.
Someone really used a trash can to heckle the Astros at spring training.
Former NBA star Dwyane Wade urged parents to support their kids and do proper research after his daughter Zaya came out as transgender.
Coronavirus may be 20 times deadlier than the flu
The overall death rate for the rapidly spreading coronavirus is 2.3%, according to data released by Chinese officials. This season's flu death rate in the USA is about 0.1%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That data indicates that the coronavirus could be 20 times more deadly than the flu. Still, the coronavirus death rate is far below SARS – a coronavirus that swept across China almost two decades ago with an almost 10% death rate. Health officials note that the COVID-19 death rate could be lower since only severe cases were recognized in the first weeks of the outbreak.
Coronavirus death toll approaches 2,000: The director of a Chinese hospital at the epicenter of the outbreak died Tuesday despite "all-out" efforts to save his life, Chinese health officials said. His death pushed the global death toll to 1,875.
Trump gives out get out of jail free cards
President Donald Trump exercised a few executive powers Tuesday, commuting the prison sentence of a former Illinois governor and pardoning others. Trump commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Blagojevich entered federal prison in 2012 to serve a 14-year sentence after being convicted on federal charges of using his powers as governor to extract campaign money and other political favors. Trump said he felt Blagojevich, who appeared on "The Apprentice," was treated "very, very unfairly."
You get a pardon! You get a pardon!
The commutation came hours after the White House announced Trump would pardon Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, for his involvement in a gambling fraud case.
Trump also pardoned former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and rogue financier Michael Milken, both of whom are out of prison.
The president said he has not decided what to do with convicted allies Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn.
Real quick
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has qualified to participate in his first Democratic presidential debate.
More rain is forecast across areas of the South that are experiencing historic flooding.
The jury in the Harvey Weinstein sex crimes trial was told to use "common sense" before beginning deliberations on the formerly powerful movie producer's fate.
Autopsy: South Carolina girl Faye Marie Swetlik died of homicide by asphyxiation.
An abandoned 'ghost ship' washed ashore
An abandoned "ghost ship" drifting in the Atlantic finally washed ashore in Ireland with no crew on board amid Storm Dennis' choppy water, the country's coast guard says. The roughly 250-foot vessel – MV Alta – was abandoned in 2018 after the U.S. Coast Guard rescued its crew, which was stranded without power, Lt. Amanda Faulkner, a public affairs officer for the Coast Guard's 5th District, told USA TODAY.
A break from the news
The 5 best Amazon deals you can get Tuesday.
Want to save more than $6,000 on your taxes this year? Here's how to do it.
Southwest loophole: Savvy travelers profited from airline's repeated 737 Max flight changes.
This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, Rod Blagojevich, Boy Scouts bankruptcy, Daytona 500: Tuesday’s news
