MICHAEL SMITH

Workers say bosses at the McDonald's franchise gave them face masks made of dog diapers and coffee filters. The owners deny the accusations.

A remembrance is set for eight young people killed when a van returning to an Alabama girls home after a week at the beach wrecked in a fiery crash during a tropical storm last month. Michael Smith, chief executive of the Christian-based Alabama Youth Homes, said it was time to honor the youths who were killed when the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch van became entangled in the massive pileup on June 19 at Tropical Storm Claudette blew through the Southeast. A van driven by the ranch director, Candice Gulley, was carrying eight children ages 3 to 17 when the crash occurred about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Montgomery on Interstate 65.

Police on Wednesday morning arrested a man hours after another man was set on fire in downtown Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Eight of the children killed were traveling together in a van after a week-long vacation in Gulf Shores. Some lived at the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch — a youth home for neglected or abused children.

Alabama authorities have identified some of the 10 people who died during a major pileup on the interstate during stormy weather Saturday — eight of the fatal victims are girls from a youth home for abused and neglected children whose van burst into flames in the crash as they headed home from a beach trip.

It was expected to move off the Carolinas coast. The multi-vehicle crash, on a wet Alabama interstate, killed 10 people in all. Eight of the kids were from a home for abused or neglected children

The chief executive of a Christian youth home in rural Alabama says the community is working toward healing after eight of its children were killed in a fiery crash during the rains of Tropical Storm Claudette.

The chief executive of a Christian youth home in rural Alabama says the community is working toward healing after eight of its children were killed in a fiery crash during the rains of Tropical Storm Claudette.

A Tennessee man, his infant daughter among dead in wreck that also killed 8 young children and teens from Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch in Alabama.

Eight of the children were traveling in a van belonging to a youth ranch operated by the Alabama Sheriffs Association for abused or neglected children. A 9-month-old baby died in a separate vehicle.

Eight children in a van from a youth ranch for abused or neglected children were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on a wet interstate over the weekend — the most devastating blow from a tropical depression that claimed a total of 13 lives in Alabama.

Children ages 12 and older can now get COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., offering parents and schools a chance to relax their pandemic precautions.

Children between 12 and 15 years old will soon be able to receive the Pfizer coronavirus shot.

Children between 12 and 15 years old will soon be able to receive the Pfizer coronavirus shot.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn stands with Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Quinn was hired by the Falcons in 2015 after a highly successful run as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, highlighted by two straight trips to the Super Bowl. After going 8-8 his first season, Quinn guided the Falcons to one of the greatest years in team history. The Falcons made the playoffs again the following year, losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, but never seemed to fully shake their Super Bowl debacle. Dimitroff kept his job when Smith was fired at the end of the 2014 season after two straight losing campaigns.

TEDxJacksonville continues a series of free, virtual Small Great Conversations on Racism this Saturday featuring Pastor Michael Smith, a TEDxJacksonville speaker the talk Black Murder Is Normal. (Event link)This series highlights previous TEDx speakers and their ideas for confronting the challenges currently facing our community and the world. These events bring TEDxJacksonville speaker alumni to our audience in an online conversation on topics that cover systemic racism, activism and public policy debates. Those talks are now shared via the TEDx Talks YouTube channel with more than 20 million subscribers. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

(Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)ATLANTA Mayors in Atlanta and other Georgia cities deepened their defiance of Gov. He went so far as to say local governments couldn't order masks on their own property, which would include Atlanta's airport. Kemp's stance not only shying away from a statewide order but trying to bar local governments from instituting their own leaves him standing virtually alone. In the South, Republican governors in Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida have resisted calls for a statewide mask mandate but allow local jurisdictions to implement them. Republican governors in Alabama and Texas and Democrats in Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina have issued statewide mask requirements.

Among the places people paid their respects locally was the Jacksonville National Cemetery. “It’s in everybody’s heart, it’s no different, you just do it a different way,” explained Michael Smith, a member of the support committee at Jacksonville National Cemetery. It still has the same meaning, it’s just done a different way," said Smith, who was honoring Staff Sgt. At just 29-years-old, Dahlke is the first KIA to be buried when Jacksonville National Cemetery opened that same year. “There’s things in life that change your life, and this man right here, what he did for our nation, changed my life,” Smith said.

Merritt was convicted in June of the murders of his former business associate Joseph McStay, McStay's wife, Summer, and their 4- and 3-year-old sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr. But after Friday's hearing stretched on for more than seven hours, Smith continued sentencing until Tuesday. “Joey, Summer, Gianni and Joey Jr did nothing to you,” the older man told Merritt. Authorities said they believed Merritt killed the family as McStay was cutting him out of his business making and selling custom water fountains. They said McStay told friends Merritt was doing shoddy work and pilfering money from him.

Being agile enables organizations to quickly pivot in an ever-changing landscape. Given the growing trend of personalization and customization, we leverage many different technologies to customize our packaging, consumer experiences, retail offerings and more. Building an agile, digital workplace is crucial to allowing your team to develop and thrive, as well as making it easier to connect, collaborate and create with employees across the globe. Our Long Island City Technology Hub, for example, offers innovative and digital workspaces to enhance the employee experience. Every aspect of this space was designed and built with the purpose of amplifying productivity and promoting innovation, collaboration, creativity, agility and fun.

This year, volunteers with "Wreaths Across America," hope to lay holiday wreaths at 12,000 gravestones at Jacksonville National Cemetery, but they need your help to meet that goal. The goal is to have the wreaths ready by Dec. 14. The Jacksonville National Cemetery is arguably one of the most peaceful places in the city. Willen is retired a retired Navy commander, and will soon take over responsibilities with Wreaths Across America Jacksonville. Michael Smith is the location coordinator for Wreaths Across America Jacksonville.

Michael Smith/Getty Images(CNN) - Burger King UK is removing plastic toys from kids' meals in a bid to reduce its environmental impact. Some 320 tonnes of single-use plastic will be saved each year, according to Burger King. The company will also install containers in UK stores so that old plastic toys can be recycled and used to build play areas. Burger King was responding to a petition from Ella and Caitlin McEwan, aged 9 and 7, who wrote: "It's not enough to make recyclable plastic toys big, rich companies shouldn't be making toys out of plastic at all." Burger King said it intends to remove non-biodegradable plastic toys from other markets by 2025.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a large fire, dozens of residents at the Calloway Cove Apartments told News4Jax they were told to leave the complex and are staying at a Northside hotel. Many of the residents said they were bused to the Travelodge Inn near the airport on Wednesday night. Residents told News4Jax they were evacuated because of potential gas leaks in other buildings. When asked for comment Thursday about the potential gas leaks, a spokesperson for Millennia Housing Management, the property owner, said she could not comment because of an ongoing investigation. It's unclear how long the residents will be staying at the hotel.