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☆ 8 Killed After Bus Carrying Migrant Workers Crashes in Central Florida
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Emily Schmall | More About Emily Schmall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At least eight people were killed and dozens of others were injured on Tuesday after a bus carrying migrant farm workers collided with a pickup truck in Central Florida, the local authorities said. The bus was carrying 53 migrant workers when it sideswiped a pickup truck, drove through a fence and overturned in unincorporated Marion County, west of Ocala, Fla., according to a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol, which is investigating the incident. About 40 passengers were taken to nearby hospitals to be treated for injuries, the spokeswoman said. She did not say the extent of their injuries. The authorities did not confirm where the bus was traveling, but the local station WCJB reported the bus was carrying workers employed at a watermelon farm in the area.

Organizations: Florida, Patrol, WCJB Locations: Central Florida, Marion County, Ocala, Fla

Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling English author of the “Shopaholic” book series, revealed on social media on Wednesday that she had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive and often fatal form of brain cancer. Kinsella said that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022, but waited to make the diagnosis public so her children could “ hear and process the news privately and adapt to our ‘new normal.’” She added that her condition was stable after a successful operation and ongoing chemotherapy and radiation at University College Hospital in London. Kinsella, whose real name is Madeleine Wickham, has written a string of hit novels, starting with “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in 2000, about a financial journalist in New York City with a serious shopping addiction. About a decade later, a movie starring Isla Fisher based on the original novel and a sequel was released. Since the smashing success of the first novel, nine sequels following the life of the protagonist Rebecca Bloomwood have been released, earning Kinsella, 54, a loyal following and a reigning position among authors of romantic comedy books.

Persons: Sophie Kinsella, Kinsella, glioblastoma, Madeleine Wickham, Isla Fisher, Rebecca Bloomwood Organizations: University College Hospital Locations: London, New York City

☆ To Boost Profits, Disney Cracks Down on Password Sharing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Emily Schmall | More About Emily Schmall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Fans of “The Bear” won’t be able to use a friend’s Hulu account to watch Season 3. The Walt Disney Company, which owns Hulu, joined Netflix this week in banning password sharing in an effort to boost the company’s subscriber numbers and make its streaming services business profitable. In an email to its subscribers on Wednesday, Hulu said it would start “adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household,” beginning March 14. The company added that it would analyze account use, and that it could suspend or terminate accounts that shared login details beyond their households. On Jan. 25, Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, all services owned by Disney, updated their terms of service agreements to prohibit viewers from “using another person’s username, password or other account information” to access their content.

Persons: won’t, Hulu Organizations: Walt Disney Company, Hulu, Netflix, Disney, ESPN Locations: ”, Hulu

Residents in Billings, Mont., woke up to a temperature of minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. In Des Moines, homeowners were digging out snow from a blizzard and facing wind gusts of 45 miles per hour. Towns and cities along the East Coast were bracing for possible flooding from yet more rain. And communities near the Gulf Coast are preparing for a deep freeze. MidwestAs of Saturday morning, blizzard warnings were in effect for most of Iowa, as well as for North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: Billings, Mont, Des Moines, Towns, East, United States, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska

One adjective was invoked more than any other to describe Sandra Day O’Connor immediately after her death at 93 on Friday: “trailblazing.”Justice O’Connor, the first woman on the United States Supreme Court, paved the way for generations of women in politics and law. Raised on a remote Arizona ranch, Justice O’Connor was remembered as much for being first as for her rugged independence on the court. Shortly after her death was announced by the Supreme Court, public figures from across the political spectrum praised Justice O’Connor on social media for her fearlessness, both in crashing through the judiciary’s glass ceiling and in casting swing votes on some of the nation’s most polarizing cultural issues, including abortion and affirmative action. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., a fellow conservative whose voting record on the court often echoes Justice O’Connor’s, praised her on Friday as a “fiercely independent defender of the rule of law.”

Persons: Sandra Day O’Connor, “, O’Connor, John G, Roberts, Justice O’Connor’s, ” Organizations: United States Supreme, Supreme Locations: Arizona

For Nasreen, getting to New Delhi after she ran away from her family and the betrothal they had arranged for her was a daring feat. In the winter, the air pollution was among the worst in the world, clinging to skin and choking lungs. In her family’s flat, she cooked on a stove that added to the heat and smoke. When she could get outside, she had to walk a gantlet of leering men who lined the sidewalks. Delhi inspired her to dream of a bigger life and connected her to people who could help her reach for it.

Persons: Nasreen, Bindu Locations: New Delhi, Delhi

For Indian families, a modest wedding is an oxymoron. It was no different for Arti Kumari’s parents, despite their limited means as an NGO worker and a subsistence farmer. As the wedding day grew closer, Arti was still waiting for notice of the date of her athletic test for the federal security force job she hoped to win. She would be marrying without a job — not the future she and her mother had worked so hard for. Nevertheless, her wedding would be an ornate, multiday affair.

Persons: Arti Kumari’s, Meena, Anil, Arti Locations: India’s

Arti Kumari, 22, crouched on a dusty dirt track in a runner’s lunge, waiting to spring forward as soon as her mother started the clock. Although Arti had risen before dawn to train, the oppressive heat bore down on her. It was May, and northern India was experiencing its worst heat wave in 45 years. She, like millions of other young people in India, dreamed of getting a job with India’s central government. Arti had already beaten the odds and passed the written exams for India’s Central Industrial Security Force, or C.I.S.F., a paramilitary corps responsible for guarding critical infrastructure.

Persons: Arti Kumari, Arti Organizations: Central Industrial Security Force Locations: India

As Nasreen Parveen ran, her mind focused on nothing but putting one foot in front of the other. Occasionally, for the briefest flash, she remembered the high window ledge and her decision not to jump. Finally, after more than four miles of running on torn, blistered feet, Nasreen reached the bus station. From there, a bus brought her to a train station in the nearest city. Staring at the ticket counter, Nasreen could think of only one place to go: New Delhi, India’s capital, where she had lived with her family.

Persons: Nasreen Parveen, Nasreen Locations: New Delhi

Nasreen Parveen decided to run for her life at the same moment she decided not to end it. But as she prepared to jump, she looked out and received a stunning, seemingly impossible glimpse into the future. The young woman plummeted to the ground, hit hard on her back and then lay in the dirt, grievously injured. Nasreen decided that the step into thin air, the drop and the dirt were not for her. But she was equally certain that she could not live the life that her family was trying to bind her to.

Persons: Nasreen Parveen, Nasreen

☆ Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crimes in El Paso Massacre That Killed 23
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Emily Schmall | More About Emily Schmall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Texas man who fatally shot 23 people and injured dozens more at a Walmart store in El Paso in 2019 pleaded guilty on Wednesday to federal hate crimes and weapons charges in connection with the deadliest anti-Latino attack in modern United States history. Lawyers for the gunman, Patrick Crusius, said last month that he would change his plea to guilty days after federal prosecutors notified the court that they would not seek the death penalty. He has agreed to accept a sentence of 90 consecutive life terms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Mr. Crusius, 24, still faces trial on state capital murder charges, for which he could receive the death penalty. He appeared in U.S. District Court in El Paso on Wednesday afternoon, where he pleaded guilty to all 90 federal charges that he faced, including 45 hate crimes.

Persons: Patrick Crusius, Crusius Organizations: Walmart, Attorney’s, Western, Western District of, Mr Locations: Texas, El Paso, United States, Western District, Western District of Texas, U.S

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