CNN – National

By Stella Chan and Eric Levenson, CNN A 70-year-old man imprisoned for the 1976 kidnapping of a bus full of children has been approved for parole, according to spokesperson Joe Orlando of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Frederick Newhall Woods, 70, was one of three men who kidnapped 26 children and their

By Pooja Salhotra, Caroll Alvarado and Eric Levenson, CNN At least three people have died after a snow squall led to a multi-vehicle crash on a Pennsylvania highway on Monday, state coroner’s office spokesman John Mika confirmed to CNN. Heavy fog and precipitation from the squall caused a mass pileup of about 40 vehicles on

By Jamiel Lynch, CNN Dollywood is temporarily closing its drop tower attraction after a boy fell to his death from a similar type of ride by the same manufacturer at a park in Orlando, a spokesman for Dolly Parton’s Tennessee theme park said. “We were deeply saddened to hear of the heartbreaking accident at ICON

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A Georgia high school senior has received acceptance letters from 49 colleges and over $1 million in scholarship offers. Makenzie Thompson, 18, didn’t originally plan to apply to over 50 universities. But after attending college fairs and receiving fee waivers, she ended up applying to 51 schools. So far, she has

By Hannah Sarisohn and Holly Yan, CNN Just one day after a wildfire spurred evacuation orders for 19,000 people in Colorado, the blaze is 35% contained as it nears the 24-hour mark, emergency management officials said Sunday afternoon. Saturday night’s evacuation order will be updated on Sunday evening, according to a spokesperson from Colorado’s Office

By Kaylene Chassie and Keith Allen, CNN Alcohol may have been a contributing factor when a motorist drove into an encampment of unhoused people early Sunday in Salem, Oregon, killing four, police said. A preliminary investigation suggests the driver plowed into the encampment around 2 a.m. (5 a.m. ET) after veering off the road, the

By Dakin Andone, CNN A woman died in Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday after falling into rapids on the Colorado River, according to the National Park Service. The woman — identified as 68-year-old Mary Kelley of Steamboat Springs, Colorado — was on the ninth day of a private boating trip when she “entered the

By Zoe Sottile, CNN After waiting more than 80 years, Merrill Pittman Cooper finally received his high school diploma. Cooper, 101, attended Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, from 1934 to 1938, but dropped out during his senior year when his family relocated to Philadelphia for financial reasons, Jefferson County Schools said in a

By Christina Maxouris, CNN David Lipson sat in his dining room talking on the phone with his son when he smelled the smoke. He grabbed his dog, his gun and a pair of guitars he bought in 1976 — the year he married his wife — and ran out of his home near Gorman, Texas.