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☆ Miss USA Resigns From Title, Citing Mental Health
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in September, said on Monday that she was stepping down from the role to prioritize her mental health. Ms. Voigt, who represented Utah in the 2023 pageant in Reno, Nev., said in a statement on Instagram that resigning was “a tough decision.”“In life, I strongly value the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health,” she said. Ms. Voigt, who was born in Florida, said that she was the first Venezuelan-American woman to win Miss USA, which started in 1952. As the winner, Ms. Voigt went on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador in November. She placed in the top 20, and for the costume competition, she wore an outfit that featured small models of landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument and the White House.

Persons: Noelia Voigt, Voigt, ” Organizations: Miss USA, Miss Universe, of, Washington, White Locations: Utah, Reno, Nev, Florida, Venezuelan, American, El Salvador

☆ More Flooding Expected in Houston as Rain Drenches Texas
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Southeast Texas faced more heavy rainfall on Sunday, with forecasters warning that flash flooding could happen in Houston after several rounds of storms in the past few days prompted evacuations and rescues in the area. The storms exacerbated dangerous conditions and forecasters said that once the storms passed, rivers could be swollen for days or even weeks. About 2.1 million people in Texas were under flood warnings on Sunday morning, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said, with many flood gauges in Houston expected to reach or exceed their flood records. The National Weather Service in Houston said that another one to three inches of rain was expected in Southeast Texas and that some places could see four to eight more inches of rain. Damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes were also possible.

Organizations: Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service Locations: Texas, Houston, Southeast Texas

☆ Dave & Buster’s to Allow Betting on Arcade Games
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dave & Buster’s did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not clear which specific games customers would be able to place bets on, or when the company would roll out the betting product, which will be available to people enrolled in the Dave & Buster’s loyalty program. On social media, people poked fun at the announcement, joking, for example, about whether customers might bet on such games as Skee-Ball. The age policies vary at each Dave & Buster’s location, but generally people under 18 years old can enter with a guardian. For example, professional golfers and tennis players pay an entry fee to compete and can win a cash prize. “If two people are competing against one another in Skee-Ball, presuming that there is nothing unusual done in the Skee-Ball game and physical skill is actually going to determine the winner, there is no problem,” Professor Edelman said.

Persons: Dave, Buster’s, Madding, ”, Marc Edelman, Edelman Organizations: Dave, Baruch College Locations: New York

☆ J. Cole Apologizes for Kendrick Lamar Diss Track
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The rapper J. Cole apologized on Sunday for releasing a diss track about Kendrick Lamar, saying he felt “terrible” and vowing to update the song or remove it from streaming services. The apology followed an exchange of verses that began in October, when J. Cole and Drake ranked themselves, with Lamar, as the “big three” in hip-hop in the song “First Person Shooter.” In March, Lamar dismissed that comparison in a guest verse on the song “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin, rapping that there was no big three, “it’s just big me.”In response, J. Cole on Friday released the diss track “7 Minute Drill” on his surprise new album, “Might Delete Later.” It includes the lines: “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions / He still doing shows but fell off like ‘The Simpsons.’”Two days after the song was released, J. Cole apologized for it while onstage at his Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, N.C., according to videos posted on social media. During his headlining performance, he said that when he saw the response to the song after it came out, it didn’t “sit right with my spirit,” and that he was speaking about it at the concert to end the beef.

Persons: J, Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, ”, Lamar, “, ’ Organizations: Future, Metro Boomin Locations: Lamar, Raleigh, N.C

A Southwest Airlines flight safely returned to Denver International Airport on Sunday after the engine cover of a Boeing 737-800 fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Flight 3695 was headed to Houston but returned to the Denver airport around 8:15 a.m. after the crew reported the engine cowling, or cover, fell off. The plane, which had 135 passengers and five crew members, was towed back to the gate. In a statement, Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams were reviewing the aircraft. Southwest said the passengers boarded another plane and arrived at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston approximately three hours behind schedule.

Persons: William P Organizations: Southwest Airlines, Denver International Airport, Boeing, Federal Aviation Administration, Hobby Locations: Houston, Denver

☆ Joe Flaherty, ‘SCTV’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Actor, Dies at 82
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Joe Flaherty, the comedic actor best known for his performances in the influential sketch comedy series “SCTV” and as a father on the short-lived NBC ensemble series “Freaks and Geeks,” died on Monday. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Gudrun Flaherty, who said that Mr. Flaherty died after a “brief illness.” She did not specify a cause, or say where he died. Among Mr. Flaherty’s characters were Guy Caballero, the sleazy president of the station, and Sammy Maudlin, an unctuous late-night talk show host. His character Count Floyd wore a cheap vampire costume while hosting a horror movie show, “Monster Chiller Horror Theater.” The joke was that the movies the program showed — such as “Dr. Tongue’s Evil House of Pancakes” — were seldom very scary, leaving Floyd holding the bag and often having to apologize to viewers.

Persons: Joe Flaherty, ”, Gudrun Flaherty, Mr, Flaherty, John Candy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Guy Caballero, Sammy Maudlin, Count Floyd, Floyd Organizations: NBC, SCTV

The police in Burlington, Vt., on Sunday were investigating the shooting of three students of Palestinian descent as a possible hate crime, the city’s mayor said. The three victims, all men in their 20s and students of American universities, were walking near the University of Vermont on Saturday when they were shot and wounded by a white man with a handgun, the police said in a statement on Sunday. Two of them were wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh. Two of the victims were in stable condition; the third sustained much more serious injuries, the authorities said. “In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” the chief of the Burlington police, Jon Murad, said.

Persons: Jon Murad Organizations: Sunday, University of Vermont, Burlington Locations: Burlington , Vt

☆ Remains of World War II Tank Commander Identified After 79 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For nearly 79 years, Anne Walker Collingwood knew little about her father, an American soldier who died about three months after she was born while fighting near Hücheln, Germany, during World War II. Her father, Second Lt. Gene F. Walker, was the commander of a tank that was hit by an anti-tank round and caught fire in November 1944. The attack is believed to have killed Lieutenant Walker, 27, instantly, but heavy fighting in the area prevented the surviving crew members from recovering his body. At home in Indiana, Ms. Collingwood’s family told her little about her father. Then in July, Ms. Collingwood received an unexpected call: the military had identified her father’s remains.

Persons: Anne Walker Collingwood, Gene F, Walker, Walker’s, Collingwood’s, Collingwood Locations: American, Hücheln, Germany, Indiana

A fan died in the sweltering heat at Friday night’s show in Rio de Janeiro. Swift postponed her Saturday show until Monday, to the dismay of thousands of fans who had already started filling the stadium. The military police said a fan who was in Rio de Janeiro for the regularly scheduled concert on Sunday was stabbed to death earlier that morning. The fatality and other problems were a departure from the triumphant first leg of Ms. Swift’s Eras Tour, a career-spanning production that broke records in North America. As the tour’s second show in Rio de Janeiro approached on Sunday night, fans grappled with ruined travel plans, extreme heat and disappointment.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Swift, Anne Di Motta Organizations: Sunday Locations: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, North America, São Paulo

Kaitlin Armstrong was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday in the death of Moriah Wilson, a professional cyclist who had briefly dated Ms. Armstrong’s boyfriend and was killed while visiting Austin, Texas, for a bike race 18 months ago. State District Judge Brenda Kennedy said that the jury delivered the guilty verdict against Ms. Armstrong after deliberating for about two hours. It was unclear when Ms. Armstrong would be sentenced. Rickey Jones, a state prosecutor, said in his opening statement that Ms. Armstrong was “not happy” that her boyfriend at the time, Colin Strickland, had been communicating with Ms. Wilson. Mr. Strickland and Ms. Armstrong had an “on-and-off-again” relationship and lived together, Mr. Jones said, though he had briefly dated Ms. Wilson during an off-period in October 2021.

Persons: Kaitlin Armstrong, Moriah Wilson, Armstrong’s, Brenda Kennedy, Armstrong, Rickey Jones, “, Colin Strickland, Wilson, Mr, Strickland, Jones Locations: Austin , Texas

☆ Amazon to Stop Selling Seven Eyedrops After F.D.A. Warning
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon said on Wednesday that it was removing seven eyedrops products from its website after the Food and Drug Administration warned the company that the eyedrops had not been recognized as safe and effective. said in a letter to Andrew Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, on Monday that Amazon had violated federal regulations by selling the eyedrops, which claimed to help with problems including pink eye, dry eyes, eyestrain and floaters. “These products are especially concerning from a public health perspective,” the F.D.A. letter said. “Ophthalmic drug products, which are intended for administration into the eyes, in general pose a greater risk of harm to users because the route of administration for these products bypasses some of the body’s natural defenses.”The eyedrops named in the letter are: Similasan Pink Eye Relief, The Goodbye Company Pink Eye, Can-C Eye Drops, Optique 1 Eye Drops, OcluMed Eye Drops, TRP Natural Eyes Floaters Relief, and Manzanilla Sophia Chamomile Herbal Eye Drops.

Persons: Andrew Jassy, Manzanilla Sophia Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, Amazon, Eye

☆ Georgia ‘Baby Jane Doe’ Identified After 35 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A girl known as “Baby Jane Doe,” who was found dead and encased in concrete in southeast Georgia in 1988, has been identified, the authorities announced on Monday. The girl, Kenyatta “KeKe” Odom, 5, of Albany, Ga., was identified after a woman called the police with a tip in January of this year, Jason Seacrist, special agent in charge at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said at a news conference on Monday. Kenyatta’s remains were found on Dec. 21, 1988, at a dump site in Millwood, Ga., Mr. Seacrist said. Her blanket-wrapped body had been in a duffel bag inside of a trunk that was encased in concrete and hidden in an old TV cabinet, he said. At the time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner labeled it a homicide but could not determine the cause of death.

Persons: Jane Doe, ”, Kenyatta “ KeKe ” Odom, Jason Seacrist, Kenyatta’s, Seacrist Organizations: Georgia Bureau of, Georgia Bureau Locations: Georgia, Albany, Ga, Millwood

The company owns and operates several digital media outlets, including Gizmodo, Quartz and Deadspin. News of the site’s closure bookended a revolution of feminist writing on the internet that Jezebel helped kick off when it launched in 2007. A wave of sites, including DoubleX, from Slate, and Reductress, followed, many of them adopting Jezebel’s incisive focus on gender politics and racism. Anna Holmes, who founded Jezebel and left the publication in 2010, woke up to the announcement of the site shuttering on Thursday and said she was still processing the news. Ms. Holmes, 50, said that she was hired by Nick Denton, the founder of Gawker Media, to launch the publication in 2007.

Persons: Spanfeller, “, Jezebel, Anna Holmes, ”, Holmes, Nick Denton Organizations: O Media, Slate, Gawker Media

☆ $23,500 in Coins to Pay a Settlement? Judge Says Keep the Change and Try Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters might be legal tender but more than 6,500 pounds of loose change is not a proper form of payment, a Colorado judge ruled last week after a defendant attempted to deliver $23,500 in coins to settle a legal dispute. The judge, Joseph Findley, of Larimer County, said that the delivery of more than three tons was done “maliciously and in bad faith,” and that the defendant, a welding company, must now pay more for its act. The welding company, JMF Enterprises LLC, and its owner John Frank, were sued by a custom fabrication company, Fired Up Fabrication LLC, which said it worked as a subcontractor for JMF Enterprises but did not get paid in full. The companies agreed in mediation to the settlement but the agreement did not specify the form of payment, according to Judge Findley’s order.

Persons: Joseph Findley, “, John Frank, Findley’s Organizations: JMF Enterprises Locations: Colorado, Larimer County

☆ Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade Is Linked to Death in Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A college student with a heart condition died after she drank a heavily caffeinated drink from Panera Bread, likely thinking it had a safe amount of caffeine, her parents said in a lawsuit filed on Monday. The lawsuit said that the company “failed to properly warn” customers about the potential dangers of its Charged Lemonade and misleadingly marketed the drink as “clean,” even though the large size has more caffeine than a 12-ounce Red Bull and a 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink combined. The student, Sarah Katz, 21, drank Panera’s Charged Lemonade in September 2022, and died later that day, according to the lawsuit, filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Ms. Katz’s heart condition, Long QT Type 1 Syndrome, affects the electrical system that controls a person’s heartbeat, the complaint said. She was diagnosed with the condition when she was 5 years old, took daily medication and avoided energy drinks and other highly caffeinated beverages, the complaint said.

Persons: Sarah Katz Locations: Philadelphia

The storm system is helping usher in traditional autumn weather across Britain this week with cool, wind-swept rains on Tuesday and Wednesday. Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service, said on Tuesday that it was not unusual for former hurricanes to enter this part of the world. He said this particular system would bring a significant amount of rainfall to parts of Britain, but no hurricane conditions. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain for much of Wales and northwest England. “Be aware of the possibility of flooding and travel disruption in these areas” on Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters said.

Persons: Hurricane Lee, Grahame Madge, “ Organizations: Met Office, Met Locations: New England, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Wales, England

☆ Ian Wilmut, Scientist Behind Dolly the Sheep, Is Dead at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ian Wilmut, the British scientist who led the project that cloned a mammal for the first time, Dolly the sheep, shocking scientists who had thought that cloning was impossible, has died. His death on Sunday after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease was announced by the Roslin Institute, a research center near Edinburgh, where Dr. Wilmut had worked for decades. Dr. Wilmut and his team announced the remarkable birth of Dolly in February 1997, creating a media frenzy and raising questions about the ethics of cloning. Dolly’s birth to a surrogate mother at the Roslin Institute on July 5, 1996, had been shrouded in secrecy for months. Dolly, who was named after the singer Dolly Parton, died in February 2003 at age 6 after a brief lung infection.

Persons: Ian Wilmut, Wilmut, Dolly, Dolly Parton Organizations: Roslin, National Museum of Scotland Locations: British, Edinburgh

The organizers of the Mexico City Marathon said they were investigating runners of the race last month for “unsportsmanlike” attitudes, after reports of people cheating emerged online. The Sports Institute of Mexico City, which organized the marathon, said in a statement last week that it would “proceed to identify those cases in which the participants” of the 40th Mexico City Marathon “would have demonstrated an unsportsmanlike attitude during the event and will invalidate their recorded times.”The institute did not immediately respond to questions about how many people had been disqualified from the race or why they had been disqualified. There is precedent for a large number of disqualifications at the marathon. Organizers said in 2018 that 3,090 runners were disqualified, mostly for course cutting, or crossing the finish line without running the entire distance. In 2017, they disqualified 5,806 people, most of whom had engaged in course cutting.

Organizations: Mexico City Marathon, The Sports Institute of Locations: Mexico, The Sports Institute of Mexico City

☆ She Was Depressed and Forgetful. It Was the Worm in Her Brain.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Roundworms infect hundreds of millions of people globally, according to the Cleveland Clinic, but the researchers in Australia said this was the first report of the Ophidascaris worm species infecting a human. The woman may have been infected by the worm the same way small animals typically are: by accidentally consuming worm eggs. Carpet pythons were at a lake area near where the woman lived, the article said. She had no direct contact with the snakes but often gathered warrigal greens, which are similar to spinach, from around the lake to cook. The article said that she could have inadvertently consumed worm eggs by eating the greens or because her hands or her kitchen were contaminated by them.

Persons: Scott Gardner, ” Dr, Gardner, we’re immunocompromised, ” Organizations: Cleveland Clinic, Manter, Parasitology, University of Nebraska Locations: Australia, Lincoln

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was under a shelter-in-place order on Monday afternoon after the school warned that an “armed, dangerous person” was on campus. The university sent an alert just after 1 p.m. that advised people in the area to go inside and stay away from windows. All classes & events canceled for today.”Students returned to class on Aug. 21 after summer break. The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not clear whether there were injuries.

Organizations: University of North, Chapel, ” Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Bob Barker, Betty White and Their Fight Over Billy the Elephant
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bob Barker and Betty White were American television fixtures for decades, both known for supporting animal welfare, but they were so divided on what they thought was best for an elephant named Billy that it was rumored to have caused a feud between the two. The feud rumor was published in 2009 in The National Enquirer, which cited anonymous sources who said Barker had threatened to not attend the Game Show Awards if White attended. This claim was repeated by a number of gossip blogs at the time and circulated again after Barker’s death on Saturday. White died in December 2021. Neither Barker nor White appears to have addressed the rumor in public, and all reports of their supposed feud seem to trace back to The Enquirer.

Persons: Bob Barker, Betty White, Billy, Barker, White Organizations: National Enquirer Locations: American

☆ What’s Inside a Butter Cow? It’s Not Just Butter.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The oily visage of a butter cow is an alluring sight at state fairs across the nation, but few people have taken the time to think about what’s inside them. Warning: It’s not more butter. Instead, like any large sculpture not hewn from a solid block of clay or ice (or sometimes butter), the cows and other large dairy-based sculptures are assembled around an internal framework, or armature. Paul Brooke, the lead sculptor for the American Dairy Association Mideast butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair, said that people have questioned why the sculpture was not made only of butter “over the years off and on.” It comes down to basic sculpting principles, he said. “It would work without the armatures if you could start with a huge block and just do the whole thing just by carving removal of butter, it would stand,” Mr. Brooke said.

Persons: Paul Brooke, Mr, Brooke Organizations: American Dairy Association, Ohio State Fair

☆ Aldi to Buy 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket Stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The German supermarket chain Aldi is acquiring hundreds of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores in the southeastern United States, the company announced on Wednesday. Aldi said the deal included about 400 grocery stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Some of the locations will be converted into Aldi stores, while the others will remain operating under their current brands. Aldi, a discount retailer, opened its first stores in the United States in 1976. The chief executive of Aldi USA, Jason Hart, said in a statement that the company hoped to keep growing in the United States and that it aimed to add 120 new stores in the country this year.

Persons: Aldi, Jason Hart Organizations: Aldi, Dixie, Harveys, Aldi USA Locations: Winn, United States, Alabama , Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi

☆ Woman Is Awarded $1.2 Billion in ‘Revenge Porn’ Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Texas woman was awarded $1.2 billion in damages last week after she sued her former boyfriend and accused him of sending intimate images of her to her family, friends and co-workers from fake online accounts. The woman, who is identified only by the initials D.L. The couple started dating in 2016 and were living together in Chicago in early 2020 when they began a “long and drawn-out break up,” according to the lawsuit. temporarily moved to her mother’s house in Texas and Mr. Jackson began accessing the security system there to spy on her, the lawsuit said. told Mr. Jackson that she no longer wanted him to have access to what the lawsuit described as “visual intimate material” of her that she had allowed him to have while they were a couple.

Persons: Marques Jamal Jackson, Jackson Locations: Texas, Chicago

☆ Lizzo Denies Allegations in Former Dancers’ Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | More About Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lizzo on Thursday denied allegations made against her this week by three former dancers who said she created a hostile work environment while performing concerts during the Grammy-winning singer’s Special Tour this year. The three dancers said they had been “exposed to an overtly sexual atmosphere that permeated their workplace,” in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit described several episodes that lawyers for the dancers said amounted to sexual harassment and weight shaming. “Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed,” Lizzo said in a statement posted on social media. The lawsuit says Ms. Davis and Ms. Williams were fired in the spring of 2023.

Persons: ” Lizzo, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, Davis, Williams Organizations: Los Angeles Superior Court, Lizzo, Amazon Prime Locations: Los Angeles, ”

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