Dale Earnhardt Jr. abruptly announced his retirement at the end of the season Tuesday, a decision that will cost NASCAR its most popular driver as the series scrambles to rebuild its fan base. Colorful, candid and talented, Earnhardt has been plagued by concussions the last several years and he missed… Read More

Police in Connecticut have cited Fitbit records in an arrest warrant for a 40-year-old man charged with killing his wife in 2015. Richard Dabate (DAH-bayt) faces murder, tampering with evidence and making a false statement charges in the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Connie Dabate on Dec. 23, 2015. Authorities say… Read More

Astronaut Peggy Whitson broke the U.S. record Monday for most time in space and talked up Mars during a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump. The International Space Station’s commander surpassed the record of 534 days, two hours and 48 minutes for most accumulated time in space by an American…. Read More

Workers in New Orleans removed the first of four prominent Confederate monuments Monday morning, becoming the latest Southern institution to sever itself from symbols viewed by many as a representation of racism and white supremacy. The Liberty Place monument, which commemorates whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War… Read More

Erin Moran, the former child star who played Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi,” has died. She was 56. Moran was found dead Saturday by emergency responders after a dispatcher for the Harrison County, Indiana, sheriff’s department received a 911 call, the department said. The… Read More

A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to selling unused burial plots that had already been purchased by other people and pocketing the cash. Prosecutors say 71-year-old John Hughes was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation, the first three months of which must be served in home confinement, and ordered… Read More

Federal prosecutors want the Russian man convicted of hacking into U.S. businesses to steal credit card data to be sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $170 million in restitution. But Roman Seleznev’s lawyers say his troubled history, poor health and willingness to help the government catch… Read More

Georgia has issued a birth certificate for a toddler with the last name “Allah” after initially declining to do so because that doesn’t match either of the parents’ last names, a civil rights group that sued on behalf of the parents said Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia… Read More

The last orca has been born in captivity at a SeaWorld park in San Antonio just over a year after the theme park decided to stop breeding orcas following animal rights protests and declining ticket sales. The Orlando-based company said the orca — the last in a generation of whales… Read More