A Nebraska sheriff’s deputy jumped into the cab of a runaway semitrailer after the driver apparently passed out at the wheel, stopping the vehicle from possibly crashing off a busy viaduct bridge. Deputies responding to a 911 call about a reckless semi on U.S. Highway 81 caught up with the… Read More

After months of secrecy and anticipation, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is thrilling fans and theater owners alike. The most anticipated film in the galaxy opened globally Thursday, setting international and pre-sale box-office records and delighting moviegoers who’ve had opening-night tickets in hand for months. Kelly Andrews, who wears her… Read More

The FBI says 17 people have been charged in north Mississippi as a part of a major operation targeting suspected gang members called “Operation Bite Back,” launched after the savage killing of Jessica Chambers. The Clarion-Ledger reports FBI Special Agent in Charge Don Alway announced the indictments on Tuesday. Federal… Read More

Schools in a Shenandoah Valley county in Virginia were closed Friday and a weekend holiday concert and athletic events were canceled amid an angry backlash about a school lesson involving the Islamic faith. Augusta County school officials said they had not received any specific threats but were alarmed by the… Read More

New Orleans’ leaders on Thursday made a sweeping move to break with the city’s Confederate past when the City Council voted to remove prominent Confederate monuments along some of its busiest streets. The council’s 6-1 vote allows the city to remove four monuments, including a towering statue of Confederate Gen…. Read More

A customer has bought the first beer served legally in a rural upstate New York town in 80 years. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports servers at the Eureka Market & Cafe poured the first beer sold in Neversink on Thursday since an eight-decade prohibition on alcohol was partially lifted… Read More

The video of a little girl stopping a man she thinks is Santa Claus is going viral, and we think it’s too good to miss — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhupAi6kJCc&feature=youtu.be

A worker at a Northern California recycling center saved a tiny kitten from certain death when he spotted the animal heading down a conveyor belt. Tony Miranda tells television station KCRA that he was sorting recyclables Tuesday when he found the pink-nosed, white-pawed cat between the debris and scooped it… Read More

A man has paid off more than $106,000 in shoppers’ layaways at two Wal-Mart stores in northeast Ohio. WEWS-TV in Cleveland reports that the man told Wal-Mart employees that he liked to do something special on his birthday every year. They say he insisted on remaining anonymous. The donor paid… Read More