Ramona Graziul

Olive Garden restaurants across the country are getting a makeover! Starting this month, the Italian food chain has begun rolling out its redesigned décor and logo, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The overhaul is part of a “brand renaissance” announced last March by Darden Restaurants, Olive Garden’s parent company. The re-branding efforts include smaller lunch portions, […]

The United States Geological Survey measured a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in southern Mexico and Central America on Monday that set off mudslides and damaged scores of buildings. The quake was first calculated at a magnitude of 7.1 but was later lowered to 6.9. The Weather Channel reports the earthquake occurred at 6:23 a.m. local time, […]

The search continued over the holiday weekend for a Marine wife who has been missing since June 28. Nineteen-year-old Erin Corwin, who is three months pregnant, was last seen early on that Saturday morning leaving her home on the military base at Twentynine Palms, California, where her husband is stationed. Marine Corporal Jonathan Wayne Corwin […]

Government departments in China’s western region of Xinjiang have banned civil servants and students from fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The Associated Press reports that statements posted over the past several days on websites of schools, government agencies and local party organizations in the region said the ban was aimed at protecting […]

LaVar Burton’s Kickstarter campaign to bring back ‘Reading Rainbow’ ended today as the most widely backed campaign in the crowdfunding site’s five year history. As of 3p.m. EST Wednesday, the Kickstarter campaign had 105,000 backers.The previous record held was The Veronica Mars Movie, with 91,585 people donating to that campaign. According to CNet.com, ‘Reading Rainbow’ […]

Hundreds of fire fighters have been battling the San Juan Fire which has scorched nearly 6,400 acres in eastern Arizona’s White Mountains. The fire, burning on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, is being fueled by dry mixed conifer trees southeast of Vernon. The Associated Press reports that the human caused […]

CNN is reporting that controversial L.A. Lakers owner Donald Sterling underwent a comprehensive medical examination in Las Vegas over the weekend and was declared mentally fit. According to the article, the testing was conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, a neurologist with the Cleveland Clinic and one of the top dementia and Alzheimer’s disease specialists in […]

Former Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen was killed in a single car accident in Georgia in the early hours of Sunday morning. ESPN reports that police say Lutzenkirchen, 23, was a passenger in the 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe and was ejected when the vehicle overturned multiple times. Driver Joseph Ian Davis, 22, was partially ejected from […]

Justin Ross Harris is a Georgia dad who has been charged with murder for leaving his 22 month old son in a hot car where he died. According to NBC News, Cobb County officials say jail policy dictates that Harris must be kept locked up without bond while the rest of his family gathers in […]

Today, North Korea fired three short-range projectiles into the waters off its east coast a South Korean defense official said. According to The Korea Herald, the Defense Ministry stated in a press release, “We are strengthening our readiness posture in case there are additional launches.” The L.A. Times reports that South Korean military said the […]

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling took to Twitter on Wednesday to report the good news that his cancer is in remission. As of yesterday I am in remission. Start the 5 year clock! — Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) June 25, 2014 According to ESPN.com, the 47 year old athlete had announced his diagnosis in […]

The Ukrainian military is reporting that one of their helicopters was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in the east today, killing all nine people on board. The incident, which occurred late Tuesday afternoon in eastern Ukraine, comes less than a week after Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko, declared a cease-fire in Kiev’s fight against pro-Russian separatists. […]

Famed soccer star Hope Solo entered a not guilty plea in court today after police say she physically assaulted two relatives at a home near Seattle over the weekend. Yahoo!Sports reports Solo was released without bail and was ordered not to have contact with the alleged victims and to not drink alcohol. According to The […]

Today, the National Park Service announced that it had banned the use of unmanned aircraft aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones, at all of its parks and monuments. According to The Washington Post, the agency’s director, Jonathan Jarvis, said in a statement that the new rules are temporary, and will prohibit drone use until the […]

Actor Michael Jace, best known for his role on The Shield, appeared in a Los Angeles court Wednesday to enter a not guilty plea in the slaying of his wife. According to CNN, 51 year old Jace wore a yellow jail jumpsuit and was kept handcuffed while in a glass holding area for the hearing. […]

Today, four brave circus acrobats spoke publicly for the first time since they were injured in an accident, to announce they are planning a lawsuit. The accident occurred during Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus’ Legends show at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 4. Eight female acrobats from the […]

Paul the octopus is no longer with us but his legend lives on. Today, Google’s homepage doodle features the psychic cephalopod in the clouds, wearing a halo and struggling to choose between two boxes, one of which bears the Belgium flag while the other carries the Algerian flag. Clicking on the doodle will take you […]

This week, American and European aviation agencies gave their approval for Boeing’s newest version of the Dreamliner, the 787-9, to enter commercial service. This latest version is a bigger update to Boeing’s family of Dreamliner aircraft. Last fall, CNN reported on the features of the upgraded airliners after the opening of Boeing’s Customer Innovation and […]

Though originally written for young adults, The Hunger Games books and movies have become a worldwide phenomenon for people of all ages. The idea of a regular citizen (particularly a young female one) rising up to stand against an oppressive government is appealing to human beings from all walks of life. The connection that people […]

Yesterday, Harvard University announced that former New York Times editor Jill Abramson will be a visiting lecturer on campus in the next academic year. Abramson, 60, was the first female to hold the executive editor position at The New York Times. In May, the newspaper reported that she has been dismissed from her position. The […]

The bizarre story that is Casey Kasem’s last days took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when a Los Angeles County judge awarded his daughter, Kerri Kasem, the authority to have doctors end his infusions of water, food and medicine. According to CNN, the 82 year old radio personality is critically ill at a hospital in […]

Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken is still hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center following an ATV accident on Friday. The 41-year-old athlete suffered severe injuries, including a severed spinal cord. Amy was driving an all-terrain vehicle on Friday in Show Low, about 180 miles east of Phoenix, when the […]

The world’s oldest man has died just two months after obtaining the title. Alexander Imich, a Polish-born psychic researcher died Sunday morning at his home at a senior care residence in Manhattan. He had turned 111 on February 4. His death was reported by a grandniece, Karen Bogen, in Rhode Island, and a longtime friend […]

The man accused of stabbing a fellow sailor near a naval hospital in Virginia was arrested on Friday. The Associated Press reports Petty Officer 3rd Class Wilbur Harwell got into an argument with another man outside the Navy Exchange at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Portsmouth Annex. According to the Navy, the facility was placed […]

Today North Korea announced that it has detained a US tourist who it says entered the country in April and broke the law. CNN reports that North Korean officials have said the man’s name is Jeffrey Edward Fowle and he is being held for acting “contrary to the purpose of tourism.”. The US citizen entered […]

Dunkin’ Donuts knows what you want and they’re prepared to give it to you: free donuts! Tomorrow, June 6th, is National Donut Day and to celebrate, Dunkin’ is giving away one free donut to anyone who purchases a beverage. As if we didn’t need yet another excuse to stop for a cup of that one […]

Seeing Presa Canario in the headlines is usually not a good thing. News from the UK this week reinforces that pattern. Yesterday, The Mirror reported that two women in Liverpool, England were sentenced to 12 months of jail time each in response to an incident last year when their Presa Canario mix breed dog brutally […]

The death of Eric Hill, on April 23, was surely a tragic event. The 32-year-old explorer passed away from injuries sustained in a paragliding accident just days prior. However, less than a month later, Hill appeared full of life on the season premier of ABC’s The Bachelorette. In the show’s 12-year history, this is the […]

Legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau passed away 17 years ago, but his legacy and his family name live on. Today, his 46 year old grandson, Fabian Cousteau will venture below the sea in an underwater laboratory called Aquarius with the goal of living there for 31 days. According to Reuters, the cylindrical 43-foot Aquarius is the […]

You’ve probably seen Southwest’s ads showing popular destinations and promising low fares. You may have even thought “That sounds too good to be true”, and you may have been right. According to an Associated Press article posted by ABC News, the Department of Transportation hit Southwest with a whopping $200,000 in fines this week for […]

Thousands of mourners participated in a two day vigil for Stephen Sutton in Staffordshire, England this week. The 19-year-old died on May 14, having been diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 15. Sutton spent the past several years relentlessly campaigning for The Teenage Cancer Trust. He raised over £4 million for the UK charity that […]

On Tuesday, US defense officials announced that the USS Bataan had moved into the Mediterranean Sea. The Bataan, which has a home port of Norfolk, Virginia, is a Navy warship that will be used for any possible evacuation of American citizens from Libya. The state department is urging Americans to leave the North African country […]

Former CIA agent Valerie Plame is surely experiencing a sense of deja vu lately. On Monday, she took to Twitter to express her surprise at the news that the White House had accidentally released the name of the CIA’s top intelligence official in Afghanistan to journalists. Plame’s Tweet referred to the mistake as “astonishing” and […]

Although Pizza Hut is not the first restaurant to offer bar-b-que pizza on the menu, the country’s largest pizza chain is the first to work with a country music star to develop their recipes. The ad campaign for the Blake Shelton inspired pies began earlier this month. A self proclaimed connoisseur of both pizza and […]