Robert Edward Turner III Dies at 87

May 6, 2026, 21:21
GlobalWorld

Introduction

Robert Edward Turner III started the news channel CNN. He died on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. He was 87 years old.

Main Body

Ted Turner started with his father's sign business. In 1980, he started CNN. It was the first news channel that worked 24 hours a day. He also started the Cartoon Network. He bought two sports teams in Atlanta. He owned the Braves and the Hawks. He used his TV channels to make these teams famous. He also won a big boat race in 1977. Later, he gave a lot of money to help the world. He gave 1 billion dollars to the United Nations. He bought a lot of land to protect nature and animals. He was married three times. In 2018, he became very sick with a brain disease. He went to the hospital in 2025.

Conclusion

Ted Turner died at 87. He changed how the world gets news and helped many people with his money.

Learning

🕒 The 'Past' Action Pattern

To tell a story about a person's life, we change the action word (verb) to show it happened before now.

Look at these changes:

  • Start →\rightarrow Started
  • Work →\rightarrow Worked
  • Use →\rightarrow Used
  • Change →\rightarrow Changed

The Secret Rule: Most of the time, you just add -ed to the end of the word. This tells the reader: "This is finished."

The 'Rule-Breakers' (Special Words): Some words don't follow the -ed rule. You must memorize them:

  • Buy →\rightarrow Bought
  • Give →\rightarrow Gave
  • Win →\rightarrow Won
  • Become →\rightarrow Became

Example from the text: "He bought a lot of land to protect nature." →\rightarrow (He does not buy it now; he did it in the past.)

Vocabulary Learning

channel (n.)
a TV or radio station that broadcasts programs
Example:CNN is a popular news channel.
business (n.)
a place where people sell goods or services
Example:Turner started a sign business with his father.
hours (n.)
a unit of time equal to 60 minutes
Example:The channel works 24 hours a day.
network (n.)
a group of connected people or things
Example:The Cartoon Network shows cartoons.
team (n.)
a group of people who work together
Example:He owned the Braves team.
famous (adj.)
well known by many people
Example:The TV channels made the teams famous.
race (n.)
a competition to see who is fastest
Example:He won a big boat race in 1977.
billion (n.)
a large number, one thousand million
Example:He gave 1 billion dollars to the United Nations.
protect (v.)
to keep safe from harm
Example:He bought land to protect nature.
disease (n.)
a sickness that affects the body
Example:He had a brain disease.