Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

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Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

READ ALSO:CNN President, Jeff Zucker Resigns After Failing To Disclose Secret Affair With Colleague

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

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“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. 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.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

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CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

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According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)

A six-year-old Nigerian girl has died after falling from a high-rise residential building in Toronto, Canada, in a tragic incident that has left the community in shock.

Reports indicate that her mother was in Nigeria at the time of the incident.

The incident occurred at an apartment complex on Chalkfarm Drive in North York, close to Jane Street, at about 8:15 p.m.

Toronto Police Service said officers responded to a report described as “unknown trouble” and later found the child unresponsive on the ground outside the building.

Residents of the building described the girl as cheerful and familiar within the community, saying her death had deeply unsettled neighbours.

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One resident told CP24 that the child was regularly seen playing around the premises.

“She used to come here all the time and play… she was a lively kid. It’s very, very sad,” the neighbour said.

Another resident said the news had been devastating for people living in the building, adding that the girl was a familiar face during daily routines such as school runs.

“It’s crazy that I will never see this child again. I see her every morning. It’s heartbreaking,” the resident said.

According to neighbours, the girl had been staying with a family friend who lives on the top floor of the building while her mother was away in Nigeria.

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Some residents also questioned how the incident occurred, noting that the building is fitted with window safety features designed to prevent full opening.

“To be fair, they do have precautions on these windows to make sure these things don’t happen,” one resident said.

Another added that the windows are secured and cannot be fully opened, further adding to uncertainty surrounding the circumstances.

The property management company, Greenwin, which manages the building at 200 Chalkfarm Drive, described the incident as “deeply saddening,” adding that its thoughts are with the child’s family.

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The company confirmed that emergency responders attended the scene promptly and said it is fully cooperating with investigators.

It declined to comment on the condition or inspection history of the windows, citing an ongoing investigation.

Police in Toronto said the case is not being treated as suspicious at this stage, though investigations are continuing pending autopsy results.