Earth will have a temporary 'mini moon' for two months
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Earth will have a temporary "mini moon" for two months. The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus. When it whizzes by Earth on Sunday, it will be temporarily trapped by our planet's gravity and orbit the globe _ but only for about two months. The space rock was first spotted in August by astronomers in Madrid using a powerful telescope located in South Africa. It won't be visible to the naked eye during the two months it circles Earth. It will part ways with Earth by the end of November.
Rescuers save and assist hundreds as Helene's storm surge and rain create havoc
Emergency workers in Florida, Georgia and elsewhere rescued hundreds of people from boats, their homes and their cars as Hurricane Helene's winds and storm surge created havoc on the Gulf of Mexico, in coastal neighborhoods and further inland. Florida emergency operations director Kevin Guthrie said the state's 1,500 search-and-rescue personnel will concentrate on securing and stabilizing affected communities through the weekend. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said there had been more than 100 rescues in that state as Helene dropped prodigious rain. The Category 4 storm made landfall on the Northwest Florida coast late Thursday, but it created flooding from storm surge all along the state's Gulf Coast.
Van Gogh paintings vandalized at a London gallery after 2 activists were sentenced in similar attack
LONDON (AP) -- A group of activists attacked a pair of paintings by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh at London's National Gallery by throwing what appeared to be tomato soup on the artworks. Friday's attack took place shortly after two other activists were sentenced over a similar attack two years ago. Both paintings were from Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" series. The gallery said they were not damaged thanks to protective glass coverings. The three activists from Just Stop Oil environmental group involved in the attack were arrested while the paintings were removed, examined, and then returned to their location. The exhibition reopened later Friday.
Mark Zuckerberg faces deposition in AI copyright lawsuit from Sarah Silverman and other authors
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be deposed as part of a lawsuit brought by authors including comedian Sarah Silverman accusing the company of copyright infringement to train its artificial intelligence technology. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hixson rejected Meta's bid to bar the deposition of Zuckerberg, pointing to evidence that he is the "principal decision maker" of the company's AI platforms. Meta had argued that Zuckerberg doesn't have unique knowledge of the company's AI operations and that the same information could be obtained from depositions with other employees.
Joe Wolf, who played for North Carolina and 7 NBA teams, dies at 59
Joe Wolf, a former North Carolina captain for Dean Smith who went on to play for seven teams in an 11-year NBA career before becoming a coach, has died. The Milwaukee Bucks announced that Wolf died unexpectedly Thursday. He was 59. Wolf was an assistant coach for the Bucks' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. Wolf was a high school All-American in 1983 before joining the Tar Heels to play alongside the likes of Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins. Wolf was a co-captain for the Tar Heels as a senior in 1986-87, sharing that role with Kenny Smith.
49 saplings from famous UK tree that was illegally chopped down will be shared to mark anniversary
LONDON (AP) -- The National Trust, a conservation charity that seeks to protect and open up historic places and green spaces in the U.K., has launched an initiative in which 49 saplings from a famous sycamore tree that was inexplicably cut down a year ago will be given to communities around the country. The felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, as it was known because of its regal canopy framed between two hills, triggered a wave of shock and disbelief across the U.K., even among those who had never seen it up close. The "Trees of Hope" initiative, launched Friday, aims to "create a new chapter in the life of this legendary tree."
Giants' Malik Nabers, Cowboys' Micah Parsons injured in Thursday night game
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Malik Nabers of the New York Giants sustained a concussion and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys was carted off the field with an ankle injury during the Cowboys' 20-15 victory Thursday night. Nabers was hurt with 3:30 to play when he fell hard near the Giants' bench while attempting to tiptoe the sideline and catch a fourth-down pass from Daniel Jones. Nabers finished with 12 catches for 115 yards, his second straight game of 10-plus catches for at least 100 yards. Parsons also left in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial in sexual abuse case
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial on charges that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl, said a judge in the Dominican Republic on Thursday. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecutors was worthy of the case moving to trial. No date has been set for the trial that will be handled by a panel of judges. In the Dominican Republic, there are no jury trials. Prosecutors filed multiple charges against Franco six months after a judge ordered that he be investigated in connection with alleged sexual and psychological abuse of the girl.
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan finalize their divorce after 6 years and avoid trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Actors Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan have reached a divorce settlement six years after their split. Court filings Wednesday made the agreement official. It means Tatum and Dewan will avoid a trial over the splitting of assets and custody of their 13-year-old daughter that was scheduled for December. Details of the settlement were kept confidential. The couple met when they were co-stars in the 2006 dance movie "Step Up" and married in 2009. They announced their split in April 2018, and she filed for divorce six months later. A judge declared them divorced in 2019, but a yearslong fight over finances and custody continued.
Hoda Kotb is leaving NBC's 'Today' show early next year
NEW YORK (AP) -- Hoda Kotb, a fixture at NBC for more than two decades, says she will leave her morning perch on the "Today" show early next year, telling staffers "it's time." In a memo to her team, Kotb says her 60th birthday this summer helped trigger the departure, saying "now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie." Kotb has co-anchored "Today" with Savannah Guthrie since 2018, filling in after Matt Lauer left amid sexual harassment allegations. She first joined NBC News as a correspondent for "Dateline" in 1998, and later joined "Today" in 2007.