North Dakota stuntman known as Flying Farmer crashes on jump

The first car jumping attempt in five years by North Dakota's version of Evil Knievel ended in disaster when the car driven my the man known as the Flying Farmer corkscrewed off the ramp and rolled. Authorities said John Smith, 57, was alert after the crash Saturday at a rural gravel pit and that he even tried to pull himself out of the car while talking to rescuers. He was eventually cut out and taken by a medical helicopter to a hospital, according to firefighters.

Fireball that ‘skimmed’ the North Carolina coast Friday was caught on video, NASA says

A fireball that soared over the North Carolina coast Friday was seen blazing through the sky across the state. NASA Meteor Watch said the fireball — which is an “exceptionally bright” meteor — “skimmed the coast of North Carolina” around 7:40 p.m. and became “visible 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune.” It was one of five fireballs reportedly seen over the United States that night, according to NASA.

Powerful Sam stays the course as Category 4 hurricane amid track shift

The Atlantic hurricane season is inching closer to reaching the end of the main 2021 storm name list, with Sam chugging through the ocean as a major Category 4 storm. With an ample amount of warm Atlantic waters at its disposal, Sam is reaping the beneficial atmospheric conditions as it continues to churn in the ocean. On Saturday, the storm crossed the Category 3 threshold, qualifying it as a major hurricane, then hit Category 4 later in the day.

• 
  Hurricane Sam grows stronger, hits Category 4 status as it marches west

  The Weather Network
• 
  Hurricane Sam moving slowly across Atlantic as a Category 4 storm

  CBS News

iPhone 14 is reportedly a 'complete redesign'

The iPhone 13 series is barely in stores, but that isn't stopping a growing chorus of leaks surrounding next year's model. As 9to5Mac notes, Bloomberg's historically accurate Mark Gurman claimed the iPhone 14 will represent a "complete redesign" — the first since the iPhone X arrived in 2017. The relatively modest iPhone 13 update was a hint that bigger things were coming, he said.

More than half of San Francisco's unvaccinated police officers are seeking a religious exemption to avoid the city's vaccine requirement

Of the 366 San Francisco Police Department employees that are unvaccinated against COVID-19, 193 have applied for religious exemptions to avoid having to get required vaccines, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. In June, San Francisco became the first major city to announce that it will require approximately 35,000 city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs, The Los Angeles Times reported. All city employees have to be vaccinated by October 13.

• 
  NBA denies Wiggins' religious exemption for Covid-19 vaccine

  NBC News
• 
  Report: Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga now vaccinated against COVID-19

  Rookie Wire

U.S. export tightening slows advance of Chinese C919 jet - sources

China's C919 jetliner - a no-show at the country's biggest air show this week – has found it harder to meet certification and production targets amid tough U.S. export rules, according to three people with knowledge of the programme. The state-owned manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), has been unable to get timely help from suppliers and has run out of some spare parts, those people said. U.S.-linked suppliers are gradually receiving the licences, but the hiccup has slowed down Chinese certification, and months-long delays threaten to affect early production, said the people, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

India Is Ignoring a Nightmare Snakebite Massacre

NEW DELHI—An onslaught of fatal snakebite attacks is sweeping India and killing tens of thousands each year—and so far, the government's response has been to ignore, trivialize, and cover up the crisis altogether. In contrast, the country's government reports ridiculously low numbers: In 2018, the Health and Family Welfare minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey declared that only 689 snake-related deaths had occurred in India that year—a fraction of the figure referenced in the study, and one that any expert would quickly balk at. Shashikant Dubey, 28, was working in his rice fields last month in Niwari, a small rural district in central India's Madhya Pradesh state, when he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his hand.

Basta! Romans say enough to invasion of wild boars in city

Rome has been invaded by Gauls, Visigoths and vandals over the centuries, but the Eternal City is now grappling with a rampaging force of an entirely different sort: rubbish-seeking wild boars. Entire families of wild boars have become a daily sight in Rome, as groups of 10-30 beasts young and old emerge from the vast parks surrounding the city to trot down traffic-clogged streets in search of food in Rome's notoriously overflowing rubbish bins. Posting wild boar videos on social media has become something of a sport as exasperated Romans capture the scavengers marching past their stores, strollers or playgrounds.

Some say COVID-19 vaccine is the 'mark of the beast.' Is there a connection to the Bible?

The COVID-19 vaccine has been scientifically proved to save lives, but for a select group of people in the religious realm, a more important matter is at stake – eternal salvation. As the delta variant of the coronavirus spreads, many Americans resist COVID-19 vaccines, some citing the uncertainty of long-term side effects, others lacking trust in the medical field. The "mark of the beast" in the New Testament's Book of Revelation signals an allegiance to Satan or those who reject God's memorial of creatorship.

Texas Gov. Won't Budge On Abortion Exceptions As Chris Wallace Grills Him On 15,000 Rapes

Fox News host Chris Wallace came down hard Sunday on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) about the 15,000 rapes that took place in his state in 2019 ― and about the radical anti-abortion measure, which bars the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy even in cases of rape or incest, that Abbott recently signed into law. Close to 90% of all abortions in Texas occur after the six-week mark, because most women don't even know they're pregnant in those first few weeks. As for abortion in cases of rape, Abbott claimed earlier this month that he would somehow “eliminate all rapists” in the state.

• 
  Fox’s Chris Wallace confronts Texas governor over claim that he will ‘eliminate’ rape

  The Independent
• 
  If You've Had An Abortion, We'd Like To Hear About Your Experience

  BuzzFeed

Police kill armed man on crowded Southern California beach

Police officers shot and killed an armed man in the sand in front of dozens of terrified witnesses, many who had gathered at Huntington Beach for the U.S. Open of Surfing. Officers responding to reports of a man with a gun made contact with him Saturday afternoon and when he refused to comply with numerous commands they opened fire, the city's police spokeswoman Jennifer Carey said in a statement. The man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

• 
  Huntington Beach police fatally shoot armed suspect on beach as U.S. Open of Surfing underway nearby

  LA Times
• 
  Huntington Beach police shoot, wound man

  KABC – Los Angeles

School bus driver stabbed to death in front of students in Washington state

A school bus driver was fatally stabbed in front of students after picking them up from a Washington state elementary school Friday afternoon, authorities said. The alleged killer, who is now in custody, got on the bus near Longfellow Elementary in the city of Pasco around 3 p.m. and launched the knife attack as multiple children watched in horror, according to police. “Pasco police detectives will be processing the crime scene throughout the night,” he told reporters in a prepared statement.

A 25-year-old who had to get a double lung transplant due to COVID-19 said his lungs look like 'chewed up pieces of bubblegum'

A Georgia man had to get a double lung transplant after he got COVID-19 in April. Blake Bargatze had no underlying health issues but was not vaccinated before he fell ill. The 25-year-old told Insider the virus made his lungs look like "chewed up pieces of bubblegum."

China's Xi warns of 'grim' Taiwan situation in letter to opposition

The situation in the Taiwan Strait is "complex and grim", Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday to the newly elected leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing. Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) elected as their leader on Saturday former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-opposition-partys-new-leader-pledges-renewed-talks-with-china-2021-09-25), who said he would rekindle stalled high-level contacts with China's ruling Communist Party.

A Michigan doctor said 6 out of 8 patients who questioned his medical advice on COVID-19 have died

A Michigan pulmonologist recounted interactions with eight patients who were severely suffering from COVID-19 while they ignored the reality of the virus in a Facebook post. On Friday, Dr. Matthew Trunsky, the director of the palliative care unit at a Beaumont Health network hospital in Troy, Michigan, told The Washington Post six of those eight patients have since died. In his September 11 Facebook post, Trunsky said some of the patients denied having the virus, requested unproven and unapproved treatments like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, or even said: "I'd rather die than take the vaccine."

Canada foreign minister says eyes wide open when it comes to normalizing China ties

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canada's "eyes are wide open" when it comes to normalizing its relationship with China, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said on Sunday, two days after the release of a Huawei executive following almost three years of house arrest in Vancouver. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, flew back to China on Friday after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to end a bank fraud case against her. Soon after Meng flew to China, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - two Canadians detained by Chinese authorities just days after Meng's arrest in Vancouver in December 2018 on a U.S. warrant - were released by Beijing.

• 
  China roundup: Meng Wanzhou's release and Huawei's future

  TechCrunch
• 
  Huawei CFO leaves Canada after U.S. agreement on fraud charges, detained Canadians head home

  Reuters

Baggage claim: Two men charged with stealing $550,000 from airlines in lost luggage scam

Pernell Anthony Jones, Jr., 31, of Kenner, and Donmonick Martin, 29, of Chalmette, are accused of running the scam on numerous airlines, filing lost luggage claims following 180 flights in and out of Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, despite never actually travelling with any bags, according to court documents. Prosecutors say that starting in 2015, Jones would buy tickets for the flights online using false identities and preloaded gift cards. He would then present fake identification at the airport and collect a baggage claim ticket after paying the checked bag fee, but wouldn't actually check a bag.

North Carolina sorority suspended after members held powerpoint presentation mocking Black football players

A North Carolina sorority was suspended after a member was pictured mocking Black football players. In a PowerPoint presentation, members compared Black players to their white teammates. The Alpha Delta Pi chapter said it was "deeply embarrassed" and deserved the suspension.

Taiwan says needs long-range weapons to deter China

Taiwan needs to have long-range, accurate weapons in order to properly deter a China that is rapidly developing its systems to attack the island, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Monday. Taiwan this month proposed extra defence spending of almost $9 billion over the next five years, including on new missiles, as it warned of an urgent need to upgrade weapons in the face of a "severe threat" from giant neighbour China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. Speaking in parliament, Chiu said Taiwan needed to be able to let China know they could defend themselves.

Bay Area News Anchor Pulled Off Air Over Dispute About Gabby Petito Coverage (Report)

Frank Somerville, anchor for Fox Bay Area news affiliate KTVU, has been pulled off air by the network over a behind-the-scenes dispute concerning coverage of the Gabby Petito missing persons case. According to The Mercury News, Somerville wanted to add a tagline to a segment about the Petito case pointing out the disparity in coverage of missing persons cases of white women relative to women of color. The disparity has become part of the national conversation surrounding the Petito case after MSNBC host Joy Reid brought it up on her show “The ReidOut” this past Monday.

Apple's 2021 iPad drops to $299 at Amazon

The 256GB variant has dropped by a similar amount to $449. That matches a previous discount at Walmart, and is currently the lowest price we've seen for Apple's latest 10.2-inch slate. Just don't fret over color choices or shipping times — only Space Gray models appear to be in stock, and you'll have to wait one to three weeks.