DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — A historic ocean liner is a step closer to becoming the world’s largest artificial reef.
Officials in Florida's Okaloosa County expect to sink the SS United States off the Gulf Coast during the second week of November. The exact dates could change because of weather.
The ship will be sunk about 22 nautical miles (41 kilometers) southwest of Destin.
“This is an exciting move forward to create a one-of-a-kind resource for the environment and for our tourism industry,” county officials wrote in a news release.
The nearly 1,000-foot (305-meter) vessel shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952. Preservation groups tried to save the ship but were hindered by high costs.
Supporters hope that sinking the ship will make it a barnacle-encrusted star among more than 500 artificial reefs and a signature diving attraction, helping to generate millions of dollars a year in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.
FILE - The SS United States is towed down the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, from Philadelphia, on Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - The SS United States is towed down the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, from Philadelphia, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
LONDON (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is to be sentenced Monday over brawling at a London nightclub three years ago.
Brown, 37, pleaded guilty to a count of affray at London’s Southwark Crown Court in July for attacking a music producer with a bottle on the head.
Brown had denied attacking Abraham Diaw with a bottle at the Tape nightclub in the swanky Mayfair neighborhood in February 2023. But prosecutors said the fight was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people.
In return for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of assault, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and having an offensive weapon, a bottle.
Brown's friend and vocal coach Omololu Akinlolu also pleaded guilty to affray. He will be sentenced too.
Brown left the United Kingdom after the brawl but was arrested in May 2025 at a Manchester hotel after flying to the city for a concert.
Brown had been free on bail of 5 million pounds ($6.7 million), which allowed him to tour Europe and North America last summer. He was freed on bail again Friday and will be sentenced Oct. 26 on the affray charge, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Brown, who rose to stardom as a teen in 2005, won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for “F.A.M.E.” He earned his second in the same category for “11:11 (Deluxe)” in 2025.
He has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, hours before the pair were due to perform at the Grammys.
He has been arrested in several U.S. states over altercations, and in 2019 he was arrested in Paris and questioned on suspicion of rape. He was released without charge.
R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown court for being sentenced over a nightclub attack in London, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown court for being sentenced over a nightclub attack in London, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown court for being sentenced over a nightclub attack in London, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown court for being sentenced over a nightclub attack in London, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
FILE - R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown Court to attend a plea hearing in London, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
