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The parents of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from a theme park ride have been awarded $310m (£243m) by a US jury.

Tyre Sampson, who was 6ft 2in tall and weighed 27 stone, plunged about 100ft (30 metres) from the Orlando Free Fall at ICON Park in Florida.

His size meant a shoulder harness did not lock properly.

The ride did not have seat belts, something most drop rides have as an additional safety measure.

People visit a makeshift memorial for Tyre Sampson outside the Orlando Free Fall ride at the ICON Park entertainment complex, Sunday, March 27, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Sampson, a teenager visiting from Missouri on spring break, fell to his death while on the ride. (Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP)
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The Orlando Free Fall ride. Pic: AP

Sampson, from St Louis, Missouri, died in March 2022 when the ride braked.

The budding NFL player weighed about seven stone more than the 20-stone limit.

Sampson was on spring break when he and his friends went to the amusement park.

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They chose to ride the Orlando Free Fall, which placed 30 riders in seats attached to a tower, secured them with a shoulder harness and then dropped them 430ft (131 metres).

Tyre Sampson died after falling from an amusement park ride. Pic: Tyre Sampson/Facebook
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Tyre Sampson was a budding NFL player. Pic: Tyre Sampson/Facebook

His parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson, sued park owners ICON and Funtime, the ride manufacturer, claiming both should have warned their son about the risks of someone his size going on the ride and did not provide an appropriate restraint system.

On Thursday in a civil verdict, an Orange County jury ordered Funtime to pay the pair $155m (£121.5m) each after a trial that lasted only a day as the Austrian firm did not appear in court to defend itself.

Nekia Dodd, the mother of Tyre Sampson, 14, speaks at a press conference, Tuesday, April 26, 2022, about the last hug she gave her child before he left for his trip to Florida. She said she had to grab him in for a hug because 14-year-old boys don't always want to hug their moms. It was the last time she saw him alive. Tyre was killed on an amusement park ride in Orlando, Fla., March 24. 2022.  Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
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Nekia Dodd, the mother of Tyre Sampson. Pic: AP

ICON Park had already settled with Sampson’s family for an undisclosed amount.

The family’s lawyers, Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson, said jurors had backed their view that Sampson’s death “was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritise safety over profits”.

Funtime, they said, “neglected their duty to protect passengers, and [Thursday’s] outcome ensures they face the consequences”.

The family will now have to seek an order from an Austrian court to collect the damages.

Sky News approached Funtime for comment.

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Authorities ordered the ride to be closed after the accident and it never reopened.

The Orlando Free Fall is now being demolished.

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Mark Carney’s body language during his Trump meeting spoke volumes

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Mark Carney's body language during his Trump meeting spoke volumes

Donald Trump welcomed Mark Carney to an Oval Office refurbished, in his words, “with love and carat gold”.

But there was more gold than love on display when they got around to discussing the annexation of Canada.

The US president said it would be “better” for the people of Canada, opening the door for the inevitable response.

Prime Minister Carney replied that he had met with the people, “the owners of Canada” during the campaign, adding: “Canada is not for sale.”

His approach, largely shutting the debate down, can be summed up in four words: the people have spoken.

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Trump and Carney’s ‘awkward meeting’ analysed

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Listing the White House and Buckingham Palace among other places “not for sale”, his answer on the 51st state question appeared well prepared.

But when it came to the issue of tariffs, the new premier struggled to get a word in edgeways.

Instead, his body language spoke volumes – the clenched jaw, a hand raised several times in an attempt to interject, and the silent mouthing of two words – “never, never”.

That was Carney’s response when Trump suggested never saying never to the annexation question.

President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
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President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

Diplomats on both sides will be relieved that the meeting was more cordial than the prelude.

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Just moments before the Canadian prime minister arrived, the US president launched a scathing attack on the neighbours.

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On his Truth Social platform, Trump posted: “Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 billion a year, in addition to giving them FREE military protection, and many other things?”

If that was a $200bn bid for Canada, the people have spoken and their message to the former real-estate tycoon now occupying the White House is very clear: “Canada is not for sale.”

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Pete Hegseth’s order to cancel weapons to Ukraine caught White House off guard, says report

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Pete Hegseth's order to cancel weapons to Ukraine caught White House off guard, says report

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth cancelled military aid to Ukraine without a direct order from Donald Trump about a week after he was sworn in as president, according to a report.

The pause led to the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) stopping 11 flights from US bases in Delaware and Qatar which were loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry and had been bound for Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Hours later, Ukrainian and Polish officials then asked Washington what was happening but top national security officials in the White House, Pentagon and US State Department were unable to provide answers, said the news agency.

Trump latest: ‘Some places are never for sale’, Carney tells president

The pause came as Ukraine’s military was struggling to fight off Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and in the consequential battle for Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces were losing ground and have since all but been forced out.

Reuters reported that records it reviewed showed Mr Hegseth had given a verbal order to stop the weapons shipments soon after attending an Oval Office meeting on 30 January, where cutting military aid to Kyiv was discussed, but Mr Trump did not give an instruction to stop it.

The president was unaware of Mr Hegseth’s order, as were other top national security officials in the meeting, Reuters said.

According to TRANSCOM records, the verbal order originated from Mr Hegseth’s office, the news agency claimed. It added that a TRANSCOM spokesperson said the command received the order via the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

Within a week – 5 February, the military flights were back in the air.

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‘Some places are never for sale’

Asked to comment on the report, the White House told Reuters that Mr Hegseth had followed a directive from President Trump to pause aid to Ukraine, which it said was the administration’s position at the time.

It did not explain why, according to those who spoke to Reuters, top national security officials in the normal decision-making process did not know about the order or why it was so swiftly reversed.

‘Complex and fluid situation’

“Negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War has been a complex and fluid situation. We are not going to detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

“The bottom line is the war is much closer to an end today than it was when President Trump took office.”

It is unclear if Mr Trump subsequently questioned or reprimanded Mr Hegseth.

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Why Trump fired Waltz – but kept Hegseth

Mr Hegseth and other top US officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, came under fire in March after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat where they discussed plans to conduct airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

Waltz ultimately intervened

Reuters reported Mr Waltz ultimately intervened to reverse the military aid cancellations. Mr Waltz was forced out last Thursday and has been nominated as US ambassador to the United Nations.

The cancellations cost TRANSCOM $2.2m (£1.6m), according to the records reviewed by Reuters. In response to a request for comment, TRANSCOM said that the total cost was $1.6m (£1.2m) – 11 flights were cancelled but one incurred no charge.

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An order halting military aid authorised under the Biden administration went into effect officially a month later, on 4 March, when the White House made an announcement.

Despite the brief pause in February and the longer one that began in early March, the Trump administration has resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Mr Biden. No new policy has been announced.

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Donald Trump denies posting AI image of himself as pope

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Donald Trump denies posting AI image of himself as pope

Donald Trump has denied posting an AI image of himself as pope – and said Catholics who were offended “can’t take a joke”.

A picture of the president wearing white and gold robes in the style of a pontiff was posted to his account on Truth Social and caused outcry among some Christians.

“I had nothing to do with it, somebody made a picture of me dressed like the Pope and they put it out on the internet,” he said on Monday.

“That’s not me that did it, I’ve got no idea where it came from, maybe it was AI.”

When it was pointed out to him that some Catholics were offended by the image, he replied: “Oh, they can’t take a joke.”

“The Catholics loved it,” he also claimed.

Pic: Donald Trump/Truth Social
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Pic: Donald Trump/Truth Social

President Trump insisted that he first saw the image – which was posted on Friday night on his Truth Social account and later promoted by the White House on its official X account – on Sunday evening.

He also noted that first lady Melania Trump “thought it was cute”.

President Trump was not baptised as a Catholic and therefore is ineligible to be pope, neither is he allowed to participate in the conclave.

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Some 133 cardinal electors – those under the age of 80 – will take part in the conclave and begin voting for the new pontiff on Wednesday after the death of Pope Francis last month.

The rituals of the event, held in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, are elaborate and date back centuries.

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