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Six Flags

Six Flags Closes World-Famous Roller Coaster After Brain Injury Lawsuits 

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Six Flags announced this week that it will be permanently closing its X2 roller coaster, one of its most famous, after an investigation performed by CNN exposed a long history of life-altering injuries, and even deaths linked to the ride. 

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Six Flags Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding published a blog post this week stating that while the “X2 roller coaster has consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do.”

“Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”

CNN’s investigation took place last month and found allegations that the roller coaster has been injuring riders for over a decade but has been “kept under wraps.” 

There have been a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations linked to the ride including at least two deaths. The most recent finding was two women who ended up in the same Santa Clarita emergency room with brain injuries after riding X2 only six days apart this summer. 

The ride itself was temporarily closed after the second woman’s injury. Just last week, attorneys held a news conference reporting that there were over 100 new victims who came forward regarding brain injuries they sustained from allegedly riding X2. 

Those new victims were from the last two years alone. 

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Three lawsuits were filed last week from three riders who suffered life-threatening injuries this year. The three lawsuits all allege that Six Flags officials had plenty of notice of the alleged dangers of the ride and should never have kept it running. 

One of the riders from the three recent suits is 26-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson who is currently in a coma. She boarded the ride just six days after another individual, Pamela Guillen, lost consciousness when she got off the roller coaster and had to get emergency brain surgery. 

“This is long overdue,” Greer-Wilkinson’s parents told CNN. 

“Six Flags knew years ago that X2 was putting people at grave risk and chose to continue gambling with their lives anyway.”

“This should have happened long before Naomi’s brain injury but we’re happy to hear that now finally no one else’s daughter or sister will ever be hurt on this ride again.”

Guillen is luckily out of the hospital, but had to learn how to walk and talk again and still battles awful headaches, brain fog, and needs medication to prevent seizures. 

“I’m relieved that X2 is closing for good. I never should have been hurt, and neither should the others who were. … I also hope Six Flags will put better safety and inspection measures in place across all of its parks and rides,” she told the publication. 

olympics

‘Success Today Has A Completely Different Meaning,’ Lindsey Vonn After Third Leg Surgery

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Lindsey Vonn recently gave an update that she had her third successful surgery on the broken leg she unfortunately suffered during the women’s Olympic downhill event on Sunday. 

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Vonn posted photos on Instagram to give the update, including photos of her giving a thumbs up in her hospital bed with a metal frame attached to her leg. 

“I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful. Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago.”

“I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be okay,” Vonn wrote. 

On Sunday’s race at the Milan Cortina Games, the 41-year-old professional athlete crashed just 13 seconds into her run, and had to be airlifted off the course by helicopter. 

She stated late on Monday that she had suffered a “complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.” 

Additionally, just nine days before her crash on Sunday, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee in another crash. Previously, Vonn was making headlines and excited fans after she returned to the Games from about six years of retirement. 

Alan Kildow, Vonn’s father, told the Associated Press this week that Lindsey is surrounded by family “at all times” at the hospital in Treviso where she is currently being treated. 

Andrea Panzeri, the chief physician for the Italian Winter Sports Federation, also told the publication that some fractures require “external fixation to keep the leg stable,” often until a further surgery is performed. 

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Panzeri has operated on other top skiers after serious injuries such as Sofia Goggia and Federica Brigone. 

“Thankful for all of the incredible medical staff, friends, family, who have been by my side and the beautiful outpouring of love and support from people around the world,” Vonn said. 

“Also, huge congrats to my teammates and all of the Team USA athletes who are out there inspiring me and giving me something to cheer for.”

Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup victories in Cortina, and returned to racing in December 2024, after she endured a knee replacement surgery in April 2024. 

She was the top speed racer this season as she entered the Olympics, by winning two downhills and finishing on the podium, in seven of the eight World Cup races, she also came in fourth in the other one. 

Vonn has received an outpour of support in her comments just a few hours after delivering her update. 

Hall of Fame tennis star Billie Jean King wrote, “Forever the champion! Feel better soon.” Seven-time Olympic track champion Allyson Felix said, “sending you lots of love.”

Teammate Bella Wright commented of Vonn, “the baddest there is.”

football

NCAA Announces New Rules To Combat Players Faking Injuries

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The NCAA announced this week that the Playing Rules Oversight Panel has officially approved changes to the injury timeout rules beginning this fall. The new rules were made in an effort to prevent players from faking injuries, a predominant issue in college football, according to ESPN. 

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The new rule was approved officially on Wednesday, and it stated that if medical personnel enter the field to evaluate a player that has been potentially injured after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew, the player’s team will be charged with a timeout, Heather Dinich wrote.

The initial proposal was created due to an increase in teams faking injuries in order to stop their opponents’ momentum. 

Steve Shaw, the NCAA secretary-rules editor/national coordinator of officials, is the individual who was in charge of accepting requests from teams when they believed their opponents had faked an injury, and would then take disciplinary action.

According to the NCAA’s release, the rule change next season will allow fake injuries to be called out mid-game because “Football Rules Committee members think these actions negatively affect the overall perception of the game.”

Shaw told ESPN that while he still will review film if asked, his role is now to determine if a team is taking advantage of an injury timeout to gain an advantage. 

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With the new rule, the committee compiled a nine-minute video highlighting moments that could have been considered fake injuries from last season. 

Shaw stated that this video “shows an integrity issue in our game that needs to be addressed.”

“When you watch that video, action is required,” Shaw said. 

“Sometimes players may do it on their own because it feels accepted, and that’s what we want to stop. I’m not sure there is a perfect solution, but I think this is a good first step. 

This will have an impact on those that are very obvious and are late and looking to the sideline and going down. Coaches do not want to risk a timeout under any circumstances. Those are very valuable commodities in the game.”

“If it doesn’t have an impact, there will probably be another step, but it’s a good starting point and hopefully this will clean it up.”

stadium

NFL Broncos’ KJ Hamler To Step Away For Treatment Of Heart Issue 

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KJ Hamler of the Denver Broncos’ announced this week on his Instagram account that he has been diagnosed with a “mild heart irritation” known as pericarditis. He will be missing some time with his team while he receives treatment with medication, but fully intends on coming back this season. 

“After feeling some chest pains while working out on the break before camp started, I got everything checked out and was diagnosed with mild heart irritation, called pericarditis. I’ve got a great treatment plan with medicine and am taking a quick break to get this all taken care of so I can get back to doing what I love,” Hamler said in his Instagram post.

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“I will be back on the field—better and stronger than ever—as soon as possible this season! I feel great physically and this is very frustrating for me to deal with. I know most of you have heard or know of my story and these past few years what I’ve been going through on and off the field.”

Hamler played seven games last season before being placed on injured reserve in December due to a hamstring injury. He only missed three games in 2021, and also suffered from a torn ACL and hip injury. 

“It’s tough to deal with this when I was ready for a breakout year, but adversity is nothing new to me. I have been through hell and back, but it’s hard to reach paradise if you don’t go through hell first.”

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I’ll get past this just like everything else on this journey! I will continue to elevate. I forever stand on business.

This is not a farewell, this is not a good bye, this is a see you soon as I take a break for my health,” Hamler continued in his post. 

Hamler opened training camp on the team’s non-football injury list, so he didn’t participate in any practice. 

“I’m so grateful for my teammates & coaches. Appreciate the support from the Broncos Country and encouragement I have been receiving. This is something to bring awareness to anybody. So anyone with chest pains please get checked out by your doctor!

Stay true, Be you, stand on Ten, Never bend,” Hamler concluded.

cowboys

Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Out Of Season Until At Least December Due To Knee Injury

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Right before the opening of the season, the Dallas Cowboys will be starting without their Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith. 

In Wednesday’s practice, Smith suffered an avulsion fracture to his knee and tore his left hamstring which will require surgery. Recent reports say that Smith won’t return to the field until the earliest possibly December, if he returns at all this season.

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Smith was on a running play during practice and fell to the ground as he went to make a block against the Cowboys’s linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.

“The 31-year-old went down in practice with a non-contact injury but was able to walk off under his own power,” reported the NFL.

After the injury, Smith was found leaving the locker room after practice and to others, he didn’t appear to be limping from the recent injury that was sustained. The initial tests came back and indicated that the ACL in his knee was still intact. 

 

“He gave me a nice reassuring grunt like he usually does. That’s the one thing playing next to him for so long, I can decipher his grunts. I think he’s all right,” said Left guard Connor McGovern.

 

This isn’t the first time that the Cowboys have had to play without Smith’s presence on the field. 

Smith also missed 20 games over the past two seasons and hasn’t played in an entire season since 2015. 

Over the last couple of seasons, he has suffered from other knee, ankle, neck and elbow injuries. He missed 14 games over the 2020 season due to his neck injury and 6 games in the 2021 season due to an ankle injury and having some time on the COVID list. 

The Cowboys are now trying to evaluate potential free agents for the offensive tackle spot but are having trouble finding help within the position. Any and all efforts to find assistance has now intensified. 

The options that are available with the team’s current roster doesn’t come with much experience.

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Back in April, the Cowboys drafted left tackle Tyler Smith from Tulsa within the first round and rotated him between the left guard and left tackle position. Their intent was to have Smith start at left guard but have him prepared to slide into left tackle in case Tyron Smith suffered an injury at any point of the season.

Tyler Smith was originally planned to play left guard for this season but still hasn’t taken the job from McGovern. In the most recent training camps, he did some left tackle reps but still played mostly guard positions.

Tyler Smith is still the Cowboy’s plan for the long run in the position at left tackle. 

Serena Williams Exits Wimbledon 2021 After On-Court Injury 

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Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon this year after suffering a knee injury in the middle of her first match. During the first set of her Round 1 match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Williams slipped on the grass while planting one of her legs resulting in the knee injury. 

At first Williams only exited briefly and had the intention to finish the match regardless of her knee. After she was quickly treated by a trainer she returned and attempted to continue the match as tears streamed down her face from the pain. 

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Williams was visibly trying not to put any extra weight on her injured leg and was able to manage playing for a little while before she fell to the ground after landing on her knee. She took to Instagram later that day to address her devastation.

“I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg. My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on Centre Court so meaningful. Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked off the court.” 

This is the second time Williams was forced to withdraw from a Grand Slam competition due to an injury. The other time was also at Wimbledon in 1998, 23 years ago. 

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The rainy weather has been affecting the condition of some of the courts at Wimbledon this year, leading to slippery grass. Williams was the second player forced to retire from the competition due to an injury caused by slipping on the grass. 

Adrian Mannarino of France also slipped on the grass and injured his knee right as he was winning in his match against Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic also slipped numerous times throughout his match on Monday but was able to avoid injury. 

With both Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep not playing in the Grand Slam this year, and number one seed Ash Barty dealing with a hip injury, it seemed as though Williams was going to have a relatively easy time winning what would’ve been her 24th Grand Slam. 

It’s unclear whether or not Williams will be able to play in the US Open this year, as the extent of her injury has not been determined or released to the public. There is a chance she won’t be able to return to the court until next season.

Cruise Ships

Two Cruise Ships Collide, Injuring Six

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The last thing you’d want to experience when vacationing on a cruise is an accident that stops the festivities and puts people in danger. But that’s exactly what happened to passengers on two cruise ships which collided today off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, injuring six. Fortunately, nobody sustained any serious or life-threatening injuries, and both ships were deemed to be seaworthy despite the damage, meaning passengers are able to complete their cruise as scheduled. The collision of the two ships, the Carnival Glory and the Carnival Legend, was captured on video and frightened passengers, who heard the sound of cracking and shattering glass and were told to evacuate rooms close to the scene of the accident. Indeed, as can be seen in the video, much of the Carnival Legend’s dining hall was destroyed in the impact, though fortunately no one was directly struck by the colliding ship. One passenger was hurt while rooms were being evacuated, though, and five more passengers arrived at the Carnival Glory’s medical center for evaluation, having sustained minor injuries.

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As of yet, it is unclear exactly what led to the collision, which occurred around 10 a.m. this morning as one ship was maneuvering to dock and ran into the other ship which was already docked. For now, Carnival officials have advised the ships’ passengers to spend their day in Cozumel as they continue to assess the damage to the ships and manage the aftermath of the accident. According to passengers of the Carnival Glory who spoke with CNN about the incident, high winds and ocean currents were factors that led to the crash, though a full investigation has yet to be completed. While passengers who were close to the point of collision screamed as they witnessed the frightening event, most of each ships’ passengers barely noticed the crash, describing it as feeling like the boat had been jolted by a large wave. Carnival has not yet said whether it would compensate the customers who underwent the frightening ordeal for its mistake.

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While incidences like this are rare, particularly as technology and safety standards have evolved, passengers of cruise ships do occasionally find themselves in the middle of accidents that at best put a damper on their vacation and at worst threaten lives. While today’s collision is relatively minor, all things considered, more serious events have taken place on cruise ships in the past. Everybody knows that the Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg over a century ago, but this is not the deadliest accident on a cruise ship in history; that would be the destruction of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, which was built by the Nazis and was sunk by torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine in 1945, killing over nine thousand passengers. More recently, a generator fire left the Carnival Triumph without electricity for days, disabling the boat’s sewage system and causing the ship’s passengers and crew tremendous stress. And in 2012, the Costa Concordia, which had room for 4,200 guests, sank after hitting an underwater rock, killing 32 passengers.