Florida Men Cling to Tree for Their Lives in Alligator Habitat

Two men were forced to cling to a tree above a Florida river after their boat capsized and floated away. The men were stranded in the Hillsborough River northeast of Tampa on Tuesday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The area is home to alligators, turtles, water snakes, frogs, and wading birds. Footage released by the sheriff’s office shows the two men on a tree limb that extended over the river waiting to be rescued. The sheriff’s office did not say whether or not the stranded pair came into contact with any alligators or other water-dwelling species during their ordeal. It is unknown what caused their boat to capsize or how long the men spent stranded. Authorities were called to the river at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and it took them some time to locate the men, who were roughly 3,000 feet downstream of the boat ramp. Sheriff’s deputies and an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked together to rescue the pair. Neither man was injured, but their boat wasn’t so lucky. “The capsized boat was not located,” the sheriff’s office said.

Two pilots have been accused of flying drunk and crashing a brand-new private plane while touching down at Libya’s Misrata International Airport this week. The jet veered off the runway and crashed, leaving a trail of smoke and debris, according to Arab News. The aircraft burst into flames on the runway. Only three people were on board, including the two pilots and a flight attendant, and no injuries were reported. The Cessna Citation Latitude, built this year, had been flying from Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport to pick up “VIP passengers” in Misrata, according to the New York Post. The two pilots were arrested after investigators discovered “evidence” that they had “flown the aircraft while drunk,” although the plane’s operator, a Turkish company called BKNJET Aviation Co., contested the allegation.

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Michael Sweetney, a former NBA first-round draft pick, has died at just 43-years-old, his family has confirmed. Sweetney played for the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls after a standout college career with the Georgetown Hoyas. He died on Wednesday at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. No cause of death was given. In a post on Instagram his wife, India, announced the news. “With the heaviest hearts, we are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Michael,” she wrote. “To know @mikesweetney was love to him. No one loved him more and he loved no one more than his family. His children were the light of his life, and he lived every day to give them the best life possible.” After leaving the NBA, Sweetney went on to play in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Uruguay before transitioning to coaching in 2019. He worked as an assistant coach at Yeshiva University. “The world lost a giant today,” Yeshiva’s head coach Elliot Steinmetz said in a post on X. “I lost a close friend. The basketball world lost a beloved star.” The Knicks and the Bulls also posted tributes to Sweetney on social media.

Princess Diana’s brother has doubled down on his explosive claim that King Charles told him “we’ll forget her soon enough” after Diana’s death, insisting in a BBC interview that he is “telling the truth” and saying the Palace hadn’t actually denied the claim. Earl Spencer’s new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, alleges that the then-Prince of Wales made the remark during a furious row over whether Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.Buckingham Palace hit back with a rare statement, saying the King was “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”Speaking to the BBC at his Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, where Diana is buried, Spencer was unmoved. He said he had no documentary proof but had told family and friends at the time what Charles had said, “because it was so monstrous.” Now, the public is left to judge which Charles is telling the royal truth.

Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandal? Follow all Tom Sykes’ reporting at The Royalist on Substack or listen toThe Royalist podcast on YouTube.

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The Pentagon released its sixth batch of government files on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UFOs, on Friday in a move critics labeled a distraction. The document drop includes grainy videos of lights in the sky, scanned contracts, and declassified papers from Project Blue Book, an Air Force investigation program that ran from 1952 to 1969. In February, President Donald Trump ordered the release of government files related to extraterrestrial life and unidentified anomalous phenomena, calling them “highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters” in a Truth Social post. Since May, the Defense Department has intermittently shared new materials on a rolling basis. The latest files, many of which come from a secretive military initiative called the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program, deal with topics straight out of science fiction, from warp drives to wormholes to invisibility cloaking. Critics called the release a diversion tactic as the president faces mounting political and economic pressure due to the war in Iran. “They are trying to distract from $7 diesel prices with more UFOs,” wrote political commentator Brian Krassenstein in a post on X. (Diesel prices reached an all-time high of $6.43 Friday morning).

A popular sour candy sold at major retailers has been recalled. The Ricky Joy Company issued the warning for its Ricky Joy Sour Crush Rolling Liquid Candy Bottles. Walmart, Forman Mills, H-E-B, and CandyFunHouse.com have pulled 2.3 million bottles from shelves. The company said a batch of the candy’s famous rotating ball could detach, “posing a risk of serious injury or death from [the] choking hazard,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The company has sold the bottles nationwide since January 2023, but no injuries have been reported. Consumers who bought them are now told to stop using them immediately and contact the Ricky Joy Company for a refund. This development comes after the FDA recalled two chocolate bars, saying they contained prescription drugs called sildenafil and tadalafil found in erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra and Cialis. Juniper Granola also faced a recall in January for candy bars containing undeclared milk and soy, which poses a significant threat to people with allergies. After a staffing and leadership overhaul, the FDA and USDA have issued 162 food recalls in 2026 alone.

An airline’s former CEO has been accused of breaking company policy and causing a mid-air explosion, according to local media citing sources. Camiel Eurlings was reportedly on board a KLM flight from Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands to Curaçao International Airport in the Caribbean when the jet was forced to turn around over the Atlantic and head back to Europe on Thursday night. Sources told Dutch outlets RTL and NU.NL that the fire started when a passenger, allegedly Eurlings, charged a power bank and fell asleep. KLM forbids passengers from using or charging power banks on board its flights. Two sources said that passengers aboard the Boeing 777-300ER heard a loud crash and the power bank exploded. “Suddenly a bang was heard,” a source told RTL. “After that, there was an immediate fire; large flames were coming out above the seat. The bang was the power bank exploding and immediately catching fire.” Passengers praised the crew’s handling of the incident, with one source saying, “A fire broke out, but it was extinguished immediately.” KLM has not confirmed that it was Eurlings’ power bank or whether he was involved, saying in a statement, “That is privacy-sensitive information.” Its spokesperson added that one man “sustained burns.” Eurlings was CEO from 2013 to 2014. The Daily Beast has contacted KLM and Eurlings for comment.

A swimmer has died after being mauled by a shark, leaving nothing but a “pool of blood.” Beachgoers in Perth, Western Australia, were left shocked after a man was attacked around 50 feet from the shore while in the water with his friend on Friday. A helicopter was scrambled to the northern suburb of Sorrento Beach as part of a frantic search. The victim’s body was not found, with police saying they were confident the “swimmer died as a result of the attack.” “I couldn’t believe there was that much blood (that had) come out of a human body,” passerby Ryan Rowe told newspaper The Western Australian. Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, beachgoer Jacqui Rapaic said, “My friend said, ‘Jac, I think there’s been a shark attack,’ and I looked out to the ocean, and I could see a pool of blood.” Witness Darrel told 9News, “I feel for his mate. He’s apologizing. He said, ‘I couldn’t save my mate’. I said, ‘You couldn’t have done anything.’” The network reports that an order to destroy the shark has been issued. A five-foot great white was subsequently spotted, but it is not clear whether it was the fish in question. Authorities plan to work through the weekend to catch and kill it.

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A Major League Baseball player has been knocked unconscious by his own teammate in the middle of a game. New York Mets first baseman Jared Young had to be taken off the field in a golf buggy and on a stretcher at Citi Field on Thursday. He received a knee to the head from pitcher Nolan McLean as both scrambled to get the ball at first base. Young was left motionless with his face in the infield dirt after the slam as his teammates looked on in horror. MLB said he exhibited signs of concussion in the hospital later that night, although results from a CT scan came back negative. The Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0. “It was scary, man,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said following the defeat. “It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment. He was just somewhere else.” “That was a terrifying moment on a baseball field,” Mets Interim manager Andy Green said. “Thankful he is showing really good signs right now and doing well at the hospital.”

A Volaris Airlines flight bound for Mexico turned back to Las Vegas after its crew reported a possible engine fire mid-flight, according to airport officials and the Federal Aviation Administration. Volaris Flight 1741 was headed to Guadalajara when the crew called in the alert around 4:30 p.m. on September 14, prompting emergency protocols at Harry Reid International Airport. Video captured the Airbus A321neo departing over the valley with what appeared to be flames near one of its wings. “That plane is literally on fire!” one witness said, watching it fly overhead. Despite the dramatic scene, the plane landed safely with no injuries reported among passengers or crew. Airport authorities said they saw no visible smoke or fire once the aircraft landed. The FAA confirmed the incident in a statement, calling the information “preliminary and subject to change” and noting that it will investigate. Volaris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.