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Pioneering CNN Founder Ted Turner Dead at 87

Ted Turner speaks during the CNN World Report Contributors banquet in Atlanta on May 4, 1995. (AP)
Ted Turner speaks during the CNN World Report Contributors banquet in Atlanta on May 4, 1995. (AP)
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Pioneering CNN Founder Ted Turner Dead at 87

Ted Turner speaks during the CNN World Report Contributors banquet in Atlanta on May 4, 1995. (AP)
Ted Turner speaks during the CNN World Report Contributors banquet in Atlanta on May 4, 1995. (AP)

Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who transformed television news with the creation of CNN in 1980, has died at the age of 87, the network said Wednesday.

The mustached southerner, yachting enthusiast and philanthropist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.

Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking news and shot to global recognition with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1990-91.

The 24-hour network was the first in the United States to run non-stop news and quickly built a worldwide footprint.

Correspondents brought live coverage from major events ranging from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Chinese crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests. CNN's decision to keep reporters in Baghdad amid US bombing on the Iraqi capital cemented the network's reputation as an indispensable source of breaking news.

"Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world," Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement.

"He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN."

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 1938, Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee, and then attended Brown University, but was expelled before graduating.

Turner took over a faltering family advertising business after his father, despondent over financial problems, committed suicide.

After buying a number of radio stations, Turner's purchase of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 was his first move into television.

Ten years later, that became the flagship of his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, the profits from which he parlayed into the launch of CNN.

CNN's success inspired the creation of other 24-hour news channels including Fox News by longtime Turner rival Rupert Murdoch, MSNBC and countless networks worldwide.

Turner's television empire expanded beyond CNN and included TBS and TNT channels for sports and entertainment, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, among others.

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Varieties

In Search of Happiness: Young People in South Korea Resort to Dopamine Sites

Instead of spending money, the sites offer a form of digital role-play, capturing the experience of consumption while protecting your bank account (File/Reuters)
Instead of spending money, the sites offer a form of digital role-play, capturing the experience of consumption while protecting your bank account (File/Reuters)
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In Search of Happiness: Young People in South Korea Resort to Dopamine Sites

Instead of spending money, the sites offer a form of digital role-play, capturing the experience of consumption while protecting your bank account (File/Reuters)
Instead of spending money, the sites offer a form of digital role-play, capturing the experience of consumption while protecting your bank account (File/Reuters)

Online “dopamine sites” are now trending among young people in South Korea by offering fake consumption experiences such as a fake food delivery service and a virtual cigarette, all for a quick escape from financial and social pressure.

According to Psychology Today website, these sites capture the pleasure associated with buying without the financial cost, splitting the emotional experience of anticipation from any real-world consequences.

People using these sites have experienced a surge of desire, happiness, or excitement generated by mentally simulating the future purchase. The anticipation often generates a psychological reward equal to, or sometimes greater than, the actual purchase.

We often hear dopamine described as the brain’s “pleasure chemical,” but that description overlooks the role of anticipation. Dopamine plays a major role in motivation, learning, and anticipating rewards. Much of the activity in dopaminergic reward systems occurs before a reward is received.

The sites are hyper-realistic, mocking major Korean e-commerce giants and food delivery apps.

One popular site, FoodNeverComes, mimics a food delivery app where you can compare menu items, read reviews, pick your favorites, fill your cart, and even watch a virtual courier make progress toward your house on a live map.

Other platforms simulate cigarette breaks, allowing users to sit in virtual break rooms with strangers that recreate the ritual of stepping away from work without lighting a cigarette.

The trend has gone viral among young South Koreans facing rising living costs and growing pressure to consume.

Instead of spending money, these sites offer a form of digital role-play, capturing the experience of consumption while protecting your bank account.

According to the Korean Times, one user found the fake delivery site helpful for managing late-night cravings, and a college student reported less loneliness after visiting a smoke-break site while studying for exams.

The Comfort of Rituals

Ordering food, shopping, and taking cigarette breaks are social rituals. They tap into familiar and enjoyable behaviors that provide structure, anticipation, a sense of control, and temporary relief from stress.

Virtual breaks replicate the social and restorative aspects of stepping away from work. Sitting in a simulated break room with anonymous others creates a sense of presence and social connection that, for some users, takes the edge off loneliness.

In digital environments, neural systems involved in empathy and social cognition can bridge the physical gap; by processing virtual people as real, the brain creates the sense of shared experiences that can support empathy and connection.

Coping Skill or Digital Detour?

Reactions to the popularity of dopamine sites have been mixed. The benefits depend on how the platform is used. A virtual experience can be beneficial as entertainment, stress relief, or imaginative play.

However, if virtual experiences replace meaningful real-world activities, if simulated purchases increase a sense of deprivation, or if they reinforce rather than address compulsive behaviors, then the benefits may come with psychological costs.

Whether fake takeout sites catch on in the West remains to be seen. But by splitting the emotional experience of anticipation from the financial transaction, the “dopamine site” trend highlights how much of our enjoyment of consumption rests in the emotions associated with imagined futures rather than ownership itself.

“Better understanding that distinction in our own lives can help us make more intentional choices about how we spend both our time and our money,” the website noted.

Varieties

Guinness Crowns Canberra Town Crier as the World's Loudest Person at 122.4 Decibels

In this image taken from video, Joseph McGrail-Bateup demonstrates his loud voice in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, after he was been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person. (Australian Broadcasting Corp. via AP)
In this image taken from video, Joseph McGrail-Bateup demonstrates his loud voice in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, after he was been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person. (Australian Broadcasting Corp. via AP)
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Guinness Crowns Canberra Town Crier as the World's Loudest Person at 122.4 Decibels

In this image taken from video, Joseph McGrail-Bateup demonstrates his loud voice in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, after he was been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person. (Australian Broadcasting Corp. via AP)
In this image taken from video, Joseph McGrail-Bateup demonstrates his loud voice in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, after he was been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's loudest person. (Australian Broadcasting Corp. via AP)

Joseph McGrail-Bateup, an Australian professional air conditioner cleaner and honorary town crier, has been recognized as the world’s loudest person.

Guinness World Records last week acknowledged the 58-year-old Canberra resident recorded the loudest ever shout by an individual. He yelled “now” at 122.4 decibels.

That broke the previous record of 121.7 dB set by Northern Ireland schoolteacher Annalisa Flanagan in 1994. She had yelled an ear-piercing “quiet”, The Associated Press said.

That is in the noise range of a chain saw, a jet aircraft taking off and an ambulance siren at close range.

The record attempt was not something McGrail-Bateup could train for, he said Tuesday.

“There’s no way that you can actually practice for it. You have to just keep it for the day, especially with the world record attempt,” McGrail-Bateup said.

“It took me seven attempts just for one word, which was the word ‘now,’ and my voice was shot for the next couple of days as well. It was husky. It was terrible. So no, you can’t really practice for it. But it’s a lot of fun when you’re doing it,” he added.

McGrail-Bateup considered himself the world’s loudest man rather than the loudest person, he said. There was no previous record for the loudest man.

“I’m pleased that she (Flanagan) gets to keep her record. So she’s still the loudest woman in the world and I’m the loudest male in the world,” McGrail-Bateup said.

McGrail-Bateup said he stumbled upon Flanagan's record when searching Guinness World Records unsuccessfully for feats in the realm of town crying.

He became competitively loud when he was appointed the official town crier of the national capital Canberra in 2017. It’s an honorary and part-time role established by the local government which he considers “a bit of fun.” His town crier name is Lord Joseph.

He makes announcements at community events, school fetes and car shows.

With the job came membership of the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, a competitive professional organization dedicated to preserving members’ historic and ceremonial roles.

He won a 2024 guild competition with the loudest “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez,” at 98 dB. That was a command for silence and attention before an Australian town crier makes a proclamation.

He experimented with several words for his world record attempt before settling on “now.”

His shout was recorded May 2 in a Canberra radio studio by a professional acoustic engineer and with witnesses present. The files were sent to Guinness World Records, which announced the record Friday.

It’s the second time McGrail-Bateup has broken a world record. In 2019, he broke a speed record for an archer shooting 10 arrows. His time of 60.03 seconds shaved a fraction of a second off a record that had stood since 2015.

Nine months later, a 7-year-old boy shattered McGrail-Bateup's record by 11.4 seconds.

McGrail-Bateup wasn’t interested in attempting to regain the archery record or in keeping his shouting record.

“If someone beats me, that’s fantastic,” he said. “Records are meant to be broken.”

Varieties

Sri Lanka Troops to Battle Deadly Dengue Mosquitoes as Cases Rise

A worker from the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) department fumigates a residential area during a mosquito control program in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker from the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) department fumigates a residential area during a mosquito control program in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Sri Lanka Troops to Battle Deadly Dengue Mosquitoes as Cases Rise

A worker from the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) department fumigates a residential area during a mosquito control program in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)
A worker from the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) department fumigates a residential area during a mosquito control program in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Sri Lanka is deploying the military to contain the spread of mosquito-borne dengue fever, as health authorities warned on Tuesday that hospitals are being overwhelmed with more than 1,000 admissions daily.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office said army, navy and air force officers would join a special unit to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

Dengue causes high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most serious cases, bleeding that can lead to death.

Nearly 50,000 cases have been reported this year, with 29 deaths, although that is still far below the 2017 peak, when 186,000 patients and 440 deaths were reported.

The Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue -- identifiable by its black and white striped legs -- breeds in stagnant pools.

"Laws will also be strictly enforced against those allowing mosquito breeding on their premises, in addition to setting up the special military unit," the statement said.

A nationwide campaign to clean up breeding sites will be launched on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and further due to climate change.

Sri Lanka has seen a surge in dengue cases since the start of June, with more than 1,000 reported in a single day this week, according to official data.

The government's dengue unit said it feared state and private hospitals may not be able to handle a further increase.

"Hospitals are already under pressure," the head of the unit, Kapila Kannangara, told reporters in Colombo. "We don't want to have a situation like the one we faced in 2017."

Monsoon rains, stagnant water from recent flooding, and haphazardly dumped waste have created ideal conditions for the rapid spread of mosquitoes.