(MIDDLETOWN, Ohio) — A 14-year-old girl died Tuesday evening after she was pulled from the water at an Ohio theme park, officials said.
Police were called to the Land of Illusion Aqua Adventure Park in Middletown after the teen went under water and did not surface, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the girl went under at about 5 p.m. and she wasn’t located until a half hour later.
The victim was identified by authorities as Mykiara Jones.
Mykiara was airlifted to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she later died, police and other officials said.
“This is a tragedy no parent should have to endure,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a statement. “These are the calls first responders dread and have difficulty dealing with. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”
An investigation is ongoing.
In a statement released on its Facebook page, Land of Illusion’s owners said it closed down the water park and is cooperating with investigators to determine what happened.
“We ask that you join us in sending thoughts and prayers and our deepest condolences to our guest’s family and friends, as well as to the team members and guests who were onsite last evening during this tragedy,” the owners said.
The Middletown School District put out a statement alerting the community about Mykiara’s death.
Superintendent Marlon Styles said Mykiara was going to be a freshman at Middletown High School in the fall and the teen’s mother worked in the school system.
“We will be wrapping our arms around her during this extremely difficult time,” Styles said of Mykiara’s mother.
The school provided students, faculty and other members with information on counseling services.
“We extend our deepest sympathy and prayers to the family, friends, and teachers of Mykiara. We pray the family finds peace and comfort during this difficult time,” Styles said.
(TOKYO) — An American volleyball player tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival to Japan and is reportedly no longer participating in the Tokyo Olympics.
“In alignment with local rules and protocols, the athlete has been transferred to a hotel,” USA Volleyball said in a statement on Wednesday.
The player’s name has not yet been officially released.
The athlete is the second member of Team USA to test positive for the virus just two days ahead of the opening ceremonies.
The International Olympic Committee reported 71 people accredited to the games have tested positive for COVID-19, including a growing number of international athletes within the Olympic Village in Tokyo.
As of Wednesday, Japan reported 3,600 new cases of COVID-19 and the country remains in a state of emergency due to large outbreaks in the greater Tokyo area.
A limited-edition 20-CD live Grateful Dead box set, featuring seven full previously unreleased concert performances that the band played in St. Louis in 1971, 1972 and 1973, will be issued on October 1.
Listen to the River: St. Louis ’71 ’72 ’73 includes audio of shows that took place December 9-10, 1971, and October 17-19, 1972, at the Fox Theatre, as well as October 29 and 30, 1973, performances at Kiel Auditorium.
The box set comes with an 84-page hardbound book that features several essays about the concerts, including one penned by The Dead’s tour manager during that time, Sam Cutler.
The shows featured the band playing 60 different songs, including covers of three tunes by St. Louis’ own Chuck Berry — “Run Rudolph Run,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “Around and Around.”
“The seven shows in this boxed set perfectly summarize 22 months of Grateful Dead music, performances, and growth,” says Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux, who also produced the collection.
Only 13,000 copies of the 20-CD box set, each individually numbered, will be available. You can pre-order copies now exclusively from Dead.net. High-res digital versions also are being sold at the website.
In advance of Listen to the River‘s arrival, a performance of “Sugaree” from the December 10, 1971, show has been made available digitally and via The Grateful Dead’s official YouTube channel.
Also on October 1, the December 10, 1971, concert will be released individually at traditional retail outlets as a three-CD set, a five-LP collection, and digitally. In addition, the October 18, 1972, performance will be issued as a limited-edition two-LP set titled Light into Ashes: Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO (10/18/72) that will be available exclusively at Dead.net.
As the Kings of Leon family gets bigger, the band will be down one Followill on the live stage for a bit.
Guitarist Matthew Followill, cousin of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, just welcomed a new baby with his wife Johanna, and therefore will not join his band mates on their upcoming tour.
“During this special time, Matt has decided to be home with his family,” the Kings write in an Instagram post.
In Matt’s stead, the Followill brothers have recruited past and present touring KoL members Timothy Deaux and Chris Coleman.
“We look forward to welcoming [Matt] back soon,” the post reads. “And seeing all of you even sooner!”
Kings of Leon’s tour kicks off in August. They’ll be supporting their new album When You See Yourself, which was released in March.
The Beach Boys‘ Brian Wilson has unveiled dates for a 2021 U.S. solo tour that kicks off August 29 in Long Beach, California, and is followed by a run of October concerts in the Northeast and Midwest.
The fall dates start with an October 5 show in Huntington, New York, and are mapped out through an October 23 performance in Waukegan, Illinois. The tour has been dubbed “Greatest Hits Live!” and, as in recent years, Brian and his band will be joined by two fellow Beach Boys alums: Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin.
Pre-sale tickets for most shows are available now; visit BrianWilson.com for more details and the full list of dates.
In other news, Wilson recently relaunched his official website, which features a new Timeline that looks at different eras of his life and career. The various sections feature historical recaps, photos, images of memorabilia, audio commentary and rare recordings, including previously unheard demos, outtakes and live performances.
George, the oldest child of Kate and Prince William’s three children, was in the spotlight recently when he joined his parents at London’s Wembley Stadium to watch England compete in the UEFA European Championship.
He watched England win in an earlier round but then saw the team lose to Italy in the finals earlier this month.
George will celebrate his birthday privately with his family, which also includes his younger sister, 6-year-old Princess Charlotte, and 3-year-old Prince Louis.
It has become a family tradition for Prince William and Duchess Kate to share new photos to mark the birthdays of each of their children.
(LAS VEGAS) — Alarmed by the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Las Vegas, elected officials approved a new indoor public space mask mandate for all county employees, but it excludes tourists and has no bearing on casinos or public schools.
The Clark County Commission unanimously adopted the motion Tuesday night following a raucous emergency hearing, in which the majority of speakers opposed a recommendation from the Southern Nevada Health District to require all members of the public to wear masks in all public settings.
Under the new rule, all Clark County employees, regardless of their vaccination status, will be required to wear masks in public spaces of county buildings, but not in their enclosed offices or cubicles.
Dr. Cort Lohff, chief medical officer for the Southern Nevada Health District, told the commission that COVID-19 infections in the community have tripled since early June, driven largely by the delta variant.
Las Vegas casinos and other businesses were allowed to fully open in early June after months of being closed or operating under severely limited capacity.
The county’s COVID test-positivity rate is at 13.8% and data from state health officials showed that 889 new COVID cases were reported in Clark County on Tuesday alone.
On Friday, the health district issued a recommendation to require all members of the public to wear masks in public settings “regardless of their vaccination status.”
Health officials said that roughly 42% of the population in Clark County is fully vaccinated. The U.S. population overall currently stands at 48.8% fully vaccinated.
“Out biggest pockets of unvaccinated are younger folks, 12 and older who are eligible for the vaccine. We are also seeing low rates among African American folks,” said Lohff, adding that the health district has launched an outreach program that includes a social media campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated.
“The most important thing is to increase our vaccination rates in our community because we know that the vaccines are very safe and despite what you heard, very effective,” Lohff said.
Commissioners said they could not issue a full mask mandate on the public because they have no jurisdiction over casinos and other private buildings in the city of Las Vegas.
“This has nothing to do with the school district,” said Marilyn Kirkpatricks, chairperson of the Clark County Commission. “The school district rules fall under the state Board of Education and the Clark County School District.”
Commissioner Jim Gibson, who proposed the limited mask mandate, said, “We have to do something.”
“We can’t afford to allow hospitals to become more worse in terms of their crowding and we cannot afford to have this economy suffer in the slightest,” Gibson said. “We have already been through a shutdown and a startup. We cannot afford to have major conventions choose to go elsewhere.”
The mask mandate will is scheduled to go into effect at midnight Thursday and will stay in place until at least Aug. 17 when the commission meets again.
Clark County is the most populous county in Nevada with about 2.3 million residents and includes the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.
Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, applauded the mask mandate the commission passed.
“I support the Clark County Commission for using their local authority to issue this mitigation measure amid significant community transmission in Southern Nevada and as we continue our joint effort to increase access and confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines,” Sisolak said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Some business owners, such as Ben Cucio, who owns a watch design and repair company, told the commission he fears that a total public mask mandate will eventually be imposed if the county’s COVID-19 crisis continues to worsen.
“People are not going to make any money and they’re not going to make any semblance of a reality having to face another shutdown,” Cucio said.
Todd Koren, CEO of Absolute Exhibits, a company that builds exhibits for trade shows and conventions, said he supports the commission for taking action.
“I think it’s a great first step. We have to prove to our tourists that Las Vegas is a safe place to come and visit,” Koren told Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV. “Exhibitors who are thinking about coming to a trade show just want to know that it’s safe and that we’re taking the right measures.”
Among those names who will be honored “for lifetime artistic achievements” will be singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, and opera baritone Justino Diaz, when the awards show gets underway on December 5 in Washington D.C.
“This year’s Honorees represent the unifying power of the Arts and surely remind us of that which binds us together as human beings,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “These artists are equal parts genius, inspiration, and entertainment.”
Chairman David M. Rubenstein said Gordy, “brought the quintessential soulfulness of Detroit into every home in America, elevating the Motown sound to become a national treasure.”
He said Michaels, “created the most enduring ‘must-see television’ with Saturday Night Live,” which is “a show that is both mirror and muse for life in America.”
Rubenstein called Midler, “an artistic tour de force and America’s Divine Miss M…entertaining millions with her wondrous voice and trademark comedic wit,” and described Mitchell as, “one of the most influential singer-songwriters and cultural figures in 20th-century popular music.”
The 44th annual honors in December will likely be broadcast by CBS in 2022.
Offset opened up about his first date with his wife, Cardi B, on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The Migos rapper said he wanted to impress the “Up” artist with a one-of-a-kind date experience.
“My first date I went big. I wanted to do something that was not normally done,” Offset shared with guest host Anthony Anderson. “I wanted to have fun and not be so serious and enjoy the time, so I took her to the Super Bowl.”
Offset noted it was the 2017 Super Bowl between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots. The Atlanta native recalled his team doing well until the second half of the game when Patriots quarterback TomBrady took over.
“I lost $10,000 that night,” Offset said before smiling. “But you know what I won? My wife.”
Anderson went on to ask about the expensive gifts he exchanges with Cardi on holidays, birthdays, etc. He mentioned the Lamborghini truck Offset gifted Cardi for her 26th birthday, the $300 thousand Rolls Royce Cullinan Cardi purchased Offset last October, and a $150,000 diamond necklace gifted to their daughter, Kulture, on her third birthday.
Cardi B and Offset married in 2017 and are expecting their second child. When asked if he plans to get Cardi an expensive “push gift,” Offset responded, “I feel like the gift is the beautiful child. I’m [going to] get her a gift, though. I got to.”
After reports that their marriage was on the rocks, it’s official: Superstar music manager Scooter Braun has filed for divorce from his wife, Yael Cohen.
Scooter guides the careers of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and The Kid LAROI, among others, and is also the co-CEO of HYBE America, a branch of the company that’s home to K-pop supergroup BTS. However, he’s perhaps best known for his very public feud with Taylor Swift, who’s accused him of bullying her and preventing her from owning her master recordings.
The legal papers, obtained by ABC News, cite “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split, and also reveal that the couple has a pre-nup in place.
Braun and Cohen, the founder of the charity F– Cancer, married in July 2014 and have three children: sons Jagger, 6, and Levi, 4, and 2½-year-old daughter Hart. He’s requested joint custody.
Earlier this month, Scooter posted a tribute to Yael on Instagram, writing, “If just for the kids you have given me everything. But thanks to you I have grown, I have been pushed to be the best version of myself and to continue growing and learning. That all happened because you came in to
