Melissa Stusinski

Some Stonehenge secrets were uncovered using digital mapping technology, suggesting that the iconic monument was once accompanied by 17 neighboring shrines. The shrines were included on the most detailed map ever of the earth under Stonehenge and its surroundings. BBC notes that the archaeologists combined different instruments to scan the area to a depth of […]

A “fat shaming” study suggested this week that the prejudice doesn’t help people lose weight. Experts in the study warn that branding people fat “is part of the obesity problem and not the solution.” While some may consider fat shaming a way of being “cruel to be kind,” the study suggests that it can lead […]

Missouri lawmakers voted to override the governor’s veto Tuesday and enact a 72-hour abortion wait period. The bill is one of the nation’s most restrictive and gives no exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and other circumstances. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, previously called the measure “extreme and disrespectful” toward women because it doesn’t […]

Earth’s protective ozone layer is showing its first signs of recovery, largely because of the 1980s ban on some chemicals used in refrigerants and aerosol cans. The discovery was made by a U.N. scientific panel. For the first time in 35 years, scientists confirmed a statistically significant and sustained increase in stratospheric ozone, reports ABC […]

Ex-FBI director Robert Mueller will investigate the NFL’s pursuit and handling of the case against Ray Rice. The decision comes after a report Wednesday that a league executive received videotape evidence of Rice’s domestic violence incident five months before it became public. USA Today reports that New York Giants owner John Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers […]

An elderly husband died trying to give his wife CPR. The couple was found dead in their home on Lake Wylie in South Carolina Monday. Investigators believe 84-year-old Dave Molter was trying to perform CPR on his ailing wife when he collapsed next to her and died. Brandy Williams, the couple’s caregiver, stopped by three […]

Congress began discussing police use of military gear during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Tuesday. U.S. government programs were set up after 9/11 to help local police obtain military equipment, but now lawmakers are questioning the decision in light of situations like Ferguson, Missouri. The Associated Press reports that […]

U.S. woman Erica Faith Hagan was found dead in Temuco, Chile, in her campus apartment where she was teaching English. The U.S. woman was found unresponsive in her apartment Saturday morning and her family was notified this weekend. Hagan’s aunt, Charlene Martin, told WSIL-TV, “This was a phenomenal, well-loved young lady that deserved better. She […]

A Pennsylvania mom was sentenced to prison for her daughter’s abortion. The woman, Ann Whalen, obtained abortion pills and gave them to her daughter to end the girl’s pregnancy. Whalen, 39, pleaded guilty in August to obtaining the pills from an online site in Europe. MSN News reports that her daughter, who was 16 at […]

The World Health Organization is predicting thousands of new Ebola cases in Liberia this month, explaining that the virus is growing exponentially. The WHO explained in a statement, “Transmission of the Ebola virus in Liberia is already intense and the number of new cases is increasing exponentially.” The organization told Reuters that motorbike-taxis and regular […]

Two Iowa woman got married after 72 years together, proving love really can conquer all. The women, Vivian Boyack and Alice “Nonie” Dubes, say it’s never too late to write a new chapter in their lives. Boyack, 91, and Dubes, 90, exchanged wedding vows at First Christian Church in Davenport, Iowa over the weekend. The […]

Olive Garden’s “Never Ending Pasta Pass” was introduced on Monday and gives the holder the right to consume all the pasta, salad, breadsticks and s0da they want for seven weeks. However, if you want one of the limited passes, you’ll have to act fast. USA Today reports that only 1,000 of the passes will be […]

Yosemite’s wildfire tripled in size after authorities airlifted hikers out of harm’s way Sunday night. Several water-dropping helicopters and airplanes are assisting hundreds of firefighters with the blaze, which grew to nearly 2,600 acres Monday morning. The Meadow fire is burning near Half Dome peak and Merced Lake, according to park ranger Scott Gediman. The […]

Will Hayden’s oldest daughter, Stephanie Ford, came forward over the weekend to say that she suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Hayden, the star of cancelled TV show Sons of Guns, was arrested last month for aggravated rape of his 12-year-old daughter. While Stephanie initially supported her father, TMZ reports that she […]

Joelle Lockwood, a missing Indiana woman, was found alive after two months. Lockwood was reunited with her family and authorities arrested two people in connection with her July disappearance. The 30-year-old Indiana woman went missing on July 9. Yahoo! News reports that she was apparently held in a residence in Indiana’s Posey County. Lockwood was […]

Sierra Leone is planning a three-day nationwide lockdown against Ebola, though leading medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned would not help. During the lockdown, residents will not be allowed to leave their homes. It is a predominantly social campaign, rather than a medical one where volunteers go door-to-door to […]

Angel Mario Vega, a star Minnesota college wrestler, is accused of raping a teenager while filming the incident inside a Minnesota State University Moorhead dorm. Before the incident, Vega reportedly told other students he was bent on “getting laid.” Vega, a native of Oliverhurst, California, was a senior wrestling for the Moorhead Dragons. He faces […]

Geno Auriemma reportedly violated an NCAA secondary rule when he called Mo’ne Davis to congratulate her on her performance at the Little League World Series last month. The ace of the Philadelphia Taney Dragons team didn’t keep it a secret that she loves basketball even more than baseball. Auriemma is the head coach for the […]

The Seattle Seahawks dominated Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers with a score of 36 to 16 in the NFL regular season opener. While the Packers are considered a popular pick to contend in the NFC, Seattle showed no mercy and proved it is still a favorite to repeat its Super Bowl win. […]

Four years after an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, Halliburton agreed to pay $1.1 billion to residents, local governments, and businesses affected by the incident. The decision announced Tuesday by the company and plaintiffs’ lawyers involved the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The settlement covers claims for punitive damages brought by the […]

Dr. Kent Brantly spoke with TODAY co-host Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview Tuesday night. Dr. Brantly and colleague Nancy Writebol were diagnosed with Ebola fever in late July while working at a hospital in Liberia. They were flown back to a special unit in Atlanta, Georgia, and given an experimental serum to help them […]

A West Virginia town banned cell phones, microwaves, commercial radios, wireless internet and other devices in the name of science. While Green Bank might sound like a town bent on staying in the past, the real reason for the ban is different. Green Bank, West Virginia is home to the world’s largest radio telescope. MSN […]

Revel Casino began closing its doors in Atlantic City Monday, becoming the second of three casinos in the city to close in a two-week span. The Showboat Casino Hotel closed its doors Sunday and Trump Plaza Closes September 16. Revel opened just two years ago with high hopes of revitalizing Atlantic City’s gambling industry. Unfortunately, […]

Chelsea Clinton quit her NBC News correspondent job Friday, citing increased work at the Clinton Foundation, as well as the impending birth of her first child. Clinton worked with the network since 2011 doing feature stories on people or organizations doing public-spirited work. Yahoo! News reports that the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton was […]

Tony Stewart will return to the racetrack this weekend for Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Stewart’s return ends a three-race hiatus taken after the star driver struck and killed a fellow driver during a dirt track race. Stewart hasn’t raced since his car struck 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. on August […]

An active shooter situation at Fort Lee in Virginia ended Monday after an enraged female soldier shot herself in the head. The soldier, who has not been named, barricaded herself inside a major command’s headquarters and threw objects around the office as law enforcement officials tried to calm her down. The soldier shot herself in […]

A gay teen’s eyes were rejected for organ donation by the Food and Drug Administration because of his sexual orientation. The teen, Alexander “AJ” Betts, attempted suicide in July 2013 and died shortly after. His mother, Sheryl Moore, said he was outed as gay about a year and a half before his death. Betts requested […]

Sir Cliff Richard’s home was searched by U.K. police in connection with a sex assault allegation involving a boy. The allegation stems from an event held by Billy Graham in Sheffield in 1985. Sky News reports that a search warrant was granted for Richard’s home after a historical claim of underage sex was made involving […]

NASCAR announced a new caution rule Friday in light of the tragic death of sprint-car driver Kevin Ward Jr. last weekend. The new rule governs driver behavior under caution and says that drivers may not leave their cars after on-track accidents unless “extenuating circumstances exist.” The rule was announced by NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton […]

Two pilots’ mid-air dive got them suspended from Jet Airways Thursday. The incident happened last Friday on a flight from Mumbai to Brussels. According to India’s civil aviation regulator, the Jet Airways plane dived 5,000 feet, forcing air traffic controllers to issue an emergency warning. Yahoo! News reports that the captain was on a scheduled […]

Seth Mazzaglia was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the rape and murder of 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott. A judge handed down the maximum sentence for Mazzaglia, 31. Marriott was five weeks into her sophomore year at the University of New Hampshire when she disappeared on October 9, 2012. Mazzaglia spoke briefly at the […]

Pope Francis rocked a Kia Soul during the first day of his five-day trip to South Korea. The pope also made a public speech in English for the first time Thursday. The pope’s choice in cars surprised many people in South Korea, where big shots rarely take to the streets in a non-luxury car. But […]

Edward Snowden revealed that dishonest comments to Congress by U.S. national intelligence chief James Clapper caused him to leak a flood of national security documents. Snowden made the revelation in a detailed interview with Wired magazine over several days from Moscow. Snowden told the magazine he was troubled for years by the activities of the […]

The hacker collective Anonymous released police dispatch audio tapes Wednesday from the shooting of Michael Brown. The group also vowed to identify the police officer who shot the unarmed teen Saturday afternoon. The audio tapes were released by Anonymous in a YouTube video lasting almost two hours. In the description, the hacktivist collective writes that […]

Three Ebola-stricken countries are cordoning off affected areas in an unprecedented action. The tactic was used in medieval times to fight the bubonic plague, but has not been used in modern-day disease outbreaks — until now. Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia started setting up a cross-border isolation zone patrolled by guards, reports ABC News. Food […]

A Russian humanitarian convoy is stuck amid doubts from Ukraine that its neighboring country is actually bringing in food and other supplies. The convoy of 280 Russian trucks is allegedly carrying relief goods for civilians, but Ukraine claims it is actually trying to smuggle supplies to pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Danylo Lubkivsky is […]

Gay marriage could begin in Virginia next week after a federal appeals court refused Wednesday to delay its ruling striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban. Assuming the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t intervene, the state will also have to start recognizing out-of-state marriages by next Wednesday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond […]

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos died Wednesday in a plane crash, throwing the country’s October election into chaos. Campos’ private jet crashed in bad weather as it was preparing to land in the coastal city of Santos, south of Sao Paulo, on its way from Rio de Janeiro. All seven people aboard the aircraft were […]

Marlene Pinnock spoke out This weekend for the first time since her brutal beating at the hands of a California Highway Patrol officer on July 1. Pinnock’s beating was videotaped by a motorist who stopped to film it on the side of a Los Angeles freeway. Pinnock told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday […]

A boy missing since 1940 was ID’d at the former Florida Industrial School for Boys, located in Marianna. The school, now known as Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, was closed in 2011 for budgetary reasons. The boy, George Owen Smith, was sent to the school in 1940 for car theft. His sister, Ovell Krell, […]

Bodies found in a lake in Oklahoma solve two cold cases dating back to 1969 and 1970. The cases involved a trio who disappeared while driving near Oklahoma’s Foss Lake. Six bodies were found in two separate cars at Foss Lake last September when police were testing new sonar equipment. Reuters reports that authorities identified […]

The Ebola outbreak’s patient zero could have started with a 2-year-old boy in Guinea. The toddler, whom researchers believe was the first to contact the virus, suffered fever, black stool, and vomiting about eight months ago. The little boy died on December 6, 2013. Scientists aren’t sure how the toddler contracted Ebola, which is spread […]

Tony Stewart will not face criminal charges for hitting and killing Kevin Ward Jr. in an on-track accident Saturday, according to Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero. Povero explained at a news conference, “There are no criminal charges pending at this time.” The Washington Post notes that Povero and the police department reviewed the investigation with […]

Malaysia Airlines will soon be state-owned after the airline admitted to being mired in debt and still reeling from two aircraft disasters this year. Khazanah Nasional, the investment arm of the Malaysian government, formally requested the delisting of the airline in a letter to the country’s stock exchange Friday. The investment arm also offered to […]

Sen. John Walsh is withdrawing from the Montana Senate race over plagiarism accusations stemming from the final paper he wrote to earn his master’s degree from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Walsh met with his campaign manager Wednesday night to discuss the decision, then told campaign supporters Thursday. Sen. Walsh, a Democrat, was […]

Jaime Pressly opened up on Thursday about her mastectomy after she was diagnosed with mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland in the breast. Pressly explained during an appearance on The Talk that her health scare began after welcoming son Dezi with former fiance Eric Cubiche in 2007. Pressly told the CBS co-hosts, “I had […]

Jurors reached a verdict in the “porch shooting” case Thursday, finding that Theodore Wafer is guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride. Wafer, 55, shot and killed the unarmed woman on his porch just before dawn on November 2. Wafer claimed the shooting was self-defense. He told investigators that he woke […]

Hawaii braced Thursday for its first hurricane in 22 years as Iselle took aim at the Big Island. The fast-moving Category 1 hurricane was expected to lose momentum before hitting the island state, but the storm strengthened instead. Hurricane Julio is tracking right behind Iselle and the Category 2 storm should hit Hawaii two days […]

Saddam Hussein’s body was moved by allies from a family plot to a secret place, fearful that Shia Muslims would harm it. Their caution paid off this week when Shia militamen broke into the tomb, tore down photographs of the deposed leader, and set the area on fire. A leader from Saddam’s Albu Nasir tribe […]

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday for a ruling on the state’s gay marriage ban. The appeal comes after a lower court’s ruling struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Utah is one of several states currently fighting the courts to keep bans on the nuptials. In a […]