Month: April 2025

Over 200 passengers and crew members aboard a still-at-sea Cunard cruise ship have contracted norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ship departed Southampton, England on March 8 bound for New York City and then the Caribbean. Of the 2,538 guests on board, 224 have reportedly fallen ill to the stomach bug which causes vomiting and diarrhea. Another 17 crew members are also affected, the CDC confirmed. As the cruise does not conclude until April 6, the uninfected guests are stuck rubbing shoulders with those who have come down with norovirus.

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“We have had a small number of guests on board Queen Mary 2 who have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness,” a Cunard spokesperson told U.S.A. Today. “We are continuing to closely monitor the guests and, as a precaution, completed a comprehensive deep clean of the ship and immediately activated our enhanced health and safety protocols, which are proving to be effective.”

Unfortunately, the Queen Mary 2 is not the only ship stuck at sea currently suffering from a norovirus outbreak. The CDC reported that Seabourn Cruise Lines’ Seabourn Encore is also weathering its share of sick passengers. Out of 461 guests, 12 have fallen ill with norovirus. Twenty-two of the 405 crew members have also been diagnosed. Like the Queen Mary 2, the Seabourn Encore will be in open water until April 9, leaving uninfected passengers over a week to wait it out.

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Diagnosed passengers on both ships have been quarantined from healthy guests. So far this year, the CDC has identified 12 gastrointestinal disease outbreaks on cruise ships. Norovirus has reportedly been responsible for 10 of those instances.

An Ohio teenager is being hailed a hero after saving a young family from a burning home last weekend, Cleveland Fire and Rescue shared on X.

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Sowden was at home near West 140th Street and Sacramento Avenue around 11 a.m. on Friday when he reportedly heard screams for help. Grabbing a ladder from his own house, Sowden rushed across the street and scrambled into the second floor of the burning home. There, he found a woman trying to escape the blaze with her seven-year-old child and 10-month-old infant. With Sowden’s help, everyone was able to make it out of the burning house without injury. The mother and her three children, including a 12-year-old who jumped from the home before Sowden arrived, were treated at a nearby hospital.

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“I was in my house, and I heard screaming,” Sowden told Cleveland 19. “I’d seen the [12-year-old] kid on top of the roof. The house was on fire. I took a ladder, ran over, put the ladder up, grabbed the kids, and helped the mom down the ladder. I wasn’t thinking, I just took the ladder and ran.”

“He just jumped into action, no questions asked. Risked his life to save the others,” Sowden’s stepfather, Matt Stamber, said. “He valued other people’s lives more than his own at the time, to just do what he needed to do. He knew what needed to be done, and he did it. I’m so proud of this boy.”

Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the scene. The home next to that of the one Sowden helped to evacuate was also grazed in the fire. First responders helped an elderly man and his dog out of the home and to safety. None of the victims or firefighters suffered serious injuries, but one first responder injured his shoulder in the process. He’s currently in stable condition.

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Cleveland Division of Fire Public Information Officer Lieutenant Mike Norman praised Sowden’s selfless actions and expressed a desire to recruit the 16-year-old as soon as possible.

“It’s amazing. He saved their lives. He was heroic this morning. I give him a lot of credit,” Norman said. “To react, to think ahead, to bring the ladder — he brought the right ladder to the scene — and help that woman and her children down. He saved three lives today.”

Norman continued: “Everybody working over here has been through the training academy. They’re all well-equipped. But for that young man to come and do what he did, it’s outstanding, Signups are open for Cleveland Fire. He’s too young at this time, but hopefully, in a couple years, we’ll bring him on board.”

Jack Black admitted in an interview with Variety that he’s “having lots of nightmares” about his April 5th gig on Saturday Night Live, his first time hosting the show in nearly 20 years. Black, 55, last hosted SNL on December 17, 2005, while promoting Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong. He also hosted twice more, in 2002 and 2003.

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Calling his return to Studio 8H “cray cray,” Black admitted he was having some self-doubts about hosting. “​​Just so you know, having lots of nightmares, and night terrors, and also fond memories flooding back. It’s crazy, very exciting,” he said.

“You know what they’re thinking about right now? They are just all in a dead coma from last night’s show,” Black continued of the SNL cast and crew. “Maybe some of them are thinking of some ideas, but I’m really thinking it’s one of those shows they put together in one week, that’s part of the excitement.”

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Still, Black said he was excited to collaborate with “all those kids” at SNL. “I call them kids because I was on that show before some of them were born — except for Kenan [Thompson], we’re around the same age. That’s about it,” the actor joked of 22-season veteran Thompson, 46.

Though it’s been almost 20 years since Black took to the SNL stage as host, he did appear as a musical guest in 2006 with Kyle Gass as part of Tenacious D. Elton John and Brandi Carlisle will serve as musical guests for Black’s episode this weekend.