Walt Disney Co will ban selfie sticks starting this week at its theme parks around the world, the company said, joining a growing list of attractions that restrict the camera accessories for safety reasons.
Beginning today, the company will not allow selfie sticks – extension rods used for taking self-portraits with smartphones – at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, or Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The ban will begin tomorrow at parks in Hong Kong and Paris. (Reuters)
Two injured in rare beaver attack
Two Oregon hikers who were assaulted by a beaver after they climbed onto its dam have been hospitalised for injuries incurred during the rare attack, law enforcement officials said.
Clayton Mitchell, 23, told the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office that he and a friend had been hiking along a river near his central Oregon home last week when they climbed onto a beaver dam. (Reuters)
Million dollar lottery late winner
A lottery scratchcard bought as a last-minute Father’s Day gift turned a truck driver into an instant millionaire.
Joseph Morrah, 61, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, was the lucky recipient. His daughter Christina put the ticket in a card she gave him, but Morrah’s wife Debbie said it was her idea to buy the $20 ticket at the last minute because she had not bought him anything and “felt bad”.
Pennsylvania Lottery said the Million Dollar Payout ticket was confirmed by officials in Harrisburg. Morrah, a supermarket truck driver for 31 years, says he will retire early. (PA)
Puppy rescued from sewage pipe
A three-month-old puppy was rescued from a sewage drainage pipe buried under the front garden of a home in New York state.
A couple who were dog sitting for their daughter said they took the Yorkshire terrier, named Bailey, out for a walk in Buffalo and he tumbled into a sewer vent that did not have a cover.
Firefighters failed to coax Bailey out of the pipe so they called a local demolition company. Two workers showed up with an excavator and dug a large hole around the pipe. After about two hours, water authority workers cut away a piece of pipe and Bailey crawled out. A firefighter administered oxygen to the dog, who was wet but otherwise unharmed. (PA)
Man’s 12,000th roller coaster ride
A 73-year-old man has taken his 12,000th ride on his favourite roller coaster at King’s Island amusement park in Ohio.
Gary Coleman, of Monfort Heights, took the milestone ride in the front row of the Diamondback roller coaster, the park said.
The retired church minister has made 493 trips to the theme park outside of Cincinnati since 2009, when the 230-foot steel roller coaster opened. It is the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island and reaches speeds of 80mph. Coleman said he has loved coasters since childhood and plans to continue increasing his ride count as long as he remains healthy enough to do so. (PA)
Baseball star comes out with pride
Baseball history was made on a field of wistful dreams in California’s wine country with the appearance of the sport’s first openly gay active professional.
Pitcher Sean Conroy, 23, took the mound in his first start for the Sonoma Stompers, a 22-man team that is part of the independent Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs, in the San Francisco area.
The Stompers recruited the New York native out of college in May. General manager Theo Fightmaster said Conroy privately shared his sexual orientation with team-mates and management before agreeing to come out publicly in time for the team’s gay pride night. (PA)