Jason Arday Found Dead After Resigning From Cambridge
Jason Arday, the academic who resigned last week as a professor at the University of Cambridge following plagiarism allegations he denied, has been found dead at his home in Battersea, south London. Police were called to the address by the London ambulance service shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. In 2023 he became Cambridge's youngest Black professor, at the age of 37.
Arday's family said they were "in shock" at losing him and described a "campaign of misinformation" as having been too much to bear. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham called the death "a tragedy on so many levels", a sentiment echoed by London mayor Sadiq Khan. A fundraiser launched in Arday's memory has raised more than £30,000.
Hurricane Lala Batters Hawaii Before Weakening to Tropical Storm
Hurricane Lala swept toward Hawaii's Big Island as a Category 1 storm, prompting Governor Josh Green to declare a state of emergency. The system lashed the state with strong winds and torrential rain, and outages spread to more than 89,000 households. Forecasters cited differing historical benchmarks for a Hawaiian hurricane strike, with the BBC saying a landfall would mark the first direct hit in 34 years and NPR saying it would be the first hurricane landfall since 1871.
Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday after skirting Hawaii without making landfall, though hurricane-force gusts continued to punish the Big Island. One death was reported as the storm passed. Forecasters warned that nearly three feet of rain could fall on the higher windward slopes, turning rivers into raging torrents and threatening mudslides.
Rescued South Korean Pug Wins World's Ugliest Dog Contest
Jinny Lu, a rescued pug originally from South Korea, has won the 50th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, California. The competition, which promotes dog adoptions and celebrates what organisers call the imperfections that make all dogs special, marked its half-century this year.
Europe's Tallest Virgin Mary Statue Unveiled in Rural Poland
A 55.6‑metre concrete statue of the Virgin Mary was inaugurated in Konotopie, a small village in central Poland, where hundreds attended a ceremony that included a Mass, traditional music and helicopters scattering rose petals. The monument, which stands head‑and‑shoulders above Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, was attended by anti‑communist leader Lech Wałęsa.
Kate Douglass Breaks 50-Meter Freestyle World Record at Pan Pacs
American swimmer Kate Douglass broke the women's 50-metre freestyle world record at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, clocking 23.49 seconds in the heats to improve on the 23.55-second mark held by fellow American Gretchen Walsh. The 24-year-old five-time Olympic medalist later lowered the record again in the same day, the BBC reported, setting up a final showdown with Walsh.
Baseball Pitcher Tommy John Dies at Age 83
Tommy John, the four-time Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher whose name became attached to the pioneering elbow-ligament replacement surgery that revolutionised sports medicine, has died at 83. TMZ.com reported that John died at his home in Florida, surrounded by his family, including his wife, Cheryl, after recently receiving hospice care. The New York Yankees paid tribute to the left-hander, who won 288 games over a 26-year career.
Cristiano Ronaldo Says Current Season Likely His Last
Cristiano Ronaldo has said the current football season is "probably" his last. The 41-year-old Portugal captain and Al-Nassr forward, who has scored more than 950 goals for club and country, made the remark in a Vogue magazine interview published on Sunday.