Free Republic

A Penn State student and former high school cheerleader fell 11 stories to her death in a trash chute — after allegedly having a bad reaction to a “smoke.” The body of 19-year-old Justine Gross of Summit, NJ, was discovered last week when a trash hauler emptied its load at a Pennsylvania landfill, her mother told NJ.com on Thursday. Francoise Gross said her daughter, a communications sophomore at the school in State College, Pa., ended up plunging from the chute into a dumpster where she lived at the Beaver Terrace Apartments about a block from campus. The shattered mom said...

A 180-pound parachute deployed in just four-tenths of a second -- twice the speed of sound -- setting a new record. The powerful parachute is needed for the heaviest payload yet to hit the surface of the red planet.

The generic name for this mayhem is ice cross downhill, a label that reflects its blending of elements from skating, skiing and boardercross (snowboard racing). Crashed Ice, the title of this series of races, offers an additional nod to what happens to many of the racers. Falls are such a part of the race that competitors are required to wear full hockey or motocross protective gear.

Red Bull pulled off glider to glider transfer. I didn't see this before and thought I'd share....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58L3m0dqVDY

Investigators probing the circumstances surrounding a JetBlue flight attendant's outburst and exit from a plane at Kennedy Airport are beginning to question the narrative that he was provoked by an injury suffered during a confrontation with an unruly passenger, according to Port Authority officials with knowledge of the investigation. The officials said Steven Slater's assertion that he was hit in the head by luggage or an overhead bin door while trying to assist an abusive passenger with her oversize bag isn't being corroborated by other passengers. Investigators believe such a passenger may not exist and that he could have received...

Jeb Corliss wants to fly — not the way the Wright brothers wanted to fly, but the way we do in our dreams. He wants to jump from a helicopter and land without using a parachute. And his dream, strange as it sounds, is not unique. Around the globe, Mr. Corliss said, at least a half-dozen groups — in France, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia and the United States — have the same goal in mind. Although nobody is waving a flag, the quest has evoked the spirit of nations’ pursuits of Everest and the North and South Poles. “All...