Vegas Star Gans Dead at 52

Drivers had expressed fears about track, super-fast speeds

(NEWSER) - Two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon died yesterday in a horrific 15-car crash in Las Vegas. The fiery accident, which sent three other drivers to the hospital, occurred just days after the 33-year-old British father of two and others expressed fears about crowded conditions and super-fast speeds of up to 225mph on the Vegas track, reports ABC News . Two cars touched tires only minutes into yesterday's race, sparking the deadly smash-up on the 11th lap. "I saw two cars touch each other up in front and I couldn't slow down," driver Paul Tracy told ESPN . "Then Dan's car came over my back wheel and over top of me. Just a horrendous accident." More»

Casino owner says that's why no one's hiring or investing

(NEWSER) - Why aren’t businesses hiring more people with the piles of cash at their disposal? Casino magnate Steve Wynn thinks it’s because they’re scared of Barack Obama. “I'm telling you that the business community in this company is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the president,” Wynn said on a recent conference call, according to USA Today . “Until he’s gone, everybody’s going to be sitting on their thumbs.” More»

Evangelist reached millions during his heyday

(AP) - Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, died today at 91 of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif. He had been hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. Roberts was a pioneer on two fronts—he helped bring spirit-filled charismatic Christianity into the mainstream and took his trademark revivals to television, a new frontier for religion. More»

Friends call NYC cops after not seeing Adam Goldstein for several days

(NEWSER) - DJ AM, who less than a year ago survived a plane crash, was found dead this afternoon in a New York apartment, TMZ reports; his real name was Adam Goldstein, and he was 36. Police, called by a friend who hadn’t seen Goldstein in several days, found drug paraphernalia at the scene after breaking down the door of the SoHo apartment. More»

(NEWSER) - Frank McCourt, the former schoolteacher who gained literary stardom by recounting his unhappy childhood in Angela's Ashes, died today in New York of skin cancer, the New York Times reports. He was 78. The Brooklyn-born author grew up in Limerick and taught in New York public schools for 30 years before writing Ashes, which dazzled critics with its simple account of poverty—and sparked anger in Ireland, where McCourt was "denounced from hill, pulpit and barstool," he said. More»