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At least one person was killed on Wednesday as strong storms moved through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and hail in some areas. The severe weather arrived a day after widespread storms pummeled the Midwest, with tornadoes that tore through Michigan. As storms continued to move through a swath of the Midwest and the Eastern United States on Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a string of tornado warnings in cities across Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. More severe storms were expected through the evening, according to forecasters. About 18 million people were under either an enhanced or moderate risk of severe weather — the third and fourth levels of intensity, out of five — on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

Organizations: Midwest, Eastern, National Weather Service, Prediction Locations: Missouri , Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Claiborne County, Eastern United States, Missouri , Kentucky

☆ Delta Air Lines Flight Loses Emergency Slide After Takeoff, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Boeing 767 plane flown by Delta Air Lines lost an emergency slide on Friday, prompting it to return to New York not long after taking off, officials said. The flight, Delta Air Lines 520, had left Kennedy International Airport in New York and was headed to Los Angeles when its crew discovered an issue related to the aircraft’s right wing emergency exit slide. Crew members also detected an unusual sound near the wing, Delta Air Lines said. Pilots declared an emergency to air traffic controllers and the flight returned to Kennedy and landed safely, the airline said. After the plane landed, it became apparent that the aircraft’s emergency slide had “separated” from the plane, Delta Air Lines said.

Persons: Kennedy Organizations: Boeing, Delta Air Lines, Delta Air, Kennedy International, Pilots Locations: New York, Los Angeles

☆ Moulin Rouge’s Windmill Blades Fall Off in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The bright red windmill of the Moulin Rouge has been an omnipresent marker atop the famed cabaret venue for more than a century. But on Thursday, Parisians woke up to an alarming sight: the blades of the windmill bent and lying on the ground after they broke off and fell overnight. Footage circulating in local news media on Thursday showed the blades tangled on the ground in front of the building. Three letters of the bright “Moulin Rouge” sign also appeared to have fallen. Firefighters were called to the area after 2 a.m., a spokeswoman for the Paris Fire Brigade said, and examined the structure to make sure nothing else was threatening to fall.

Organizations: Firefighters, Paris Fire Brigade, Workers Locations: Moulin Rouge, Rouge

☆ Bondi Junction, Site of Stabbing Attack, Is a Popular and Busy Hub
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bondi Junction, the area of Sydney, Australia, where Saturday’s stabbings took place, is a bustling hub that regularly draws crowds on weekends. The shopping area’s early development in the 1970s made it one of Australia’s largest development projects. And during a major renovation in 2005, it was known as one of the largest shopping centers in the Southern Hemisphere. An array of small businesses, including cafes and yoga studios, have sprung up in the area, making it an attractive meeting ground. That includes the famous Bondi Beach, which means that on any given weekend, tourists and backpackers are in the mix along with residents of the area.

Persons: Saturday’s stabbings, Chanel, Gucci Organizations: Southern Hemisphere Locations: Sydney, Australia, Westfield, Bondi

Europe’s top human rights court said in a landmark ruling on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to stop climate change. But the court rejected climate-related cases brought by the former mayor of a coastal town in France and a group of young people in Portugal as inadmissible. The cases, the first of their kind to be heard at the court, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, are part of a broader movement of climate-related lawsuits that aim to use human rights law to push governments to act against global warming. The rulings focused on three cases, filed by members of the public in France, Portugal and Switzerland who argued that their governments, by not doing enough to mitigate climate change, were violating the citizens’ rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Organizations: Swiss, of Human Rights, European, Human Rights Locations: France, Portugal, Strasbourg, Switzerland

☆ What We Know About Catherine, Princess of Wales’s Cancer Diagnosis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed on Friday evening that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy, it brought to a head months of speculation about her well-being. Her prolonged absence from public life in recent months had driven a wave of theories and wild rumors about her health, her whereabouts and even the state of her marriage to Prince William. Here’s what we know about her diagnosis and treatment. The cancer was discovered after abdominal surgery. The princess has not disclosed the type of cancer she has, but she underwent abdominal surgery in mid-January.

Persons: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Here’s Locations: Kensington Palace

☆ 3 People Fatally Shot in Two Pennsylvania Township Homes, Police Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Three people were fatally shot on Saturday morning at two separate residences in Falls Township in Pennsylvania, according to the authorities, who said they have confined the gunman to a home in Trenton, N.J. The gunman, identified by the authorities as Andre Gordon, 26, drove a stolen vehicle and killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, in Levittown, Pa., according to Jennifer Schorn, the Bucks County, Pa., district attorney. There were three other people, including a 14-year-old, in the home who hid as Mr. Gordon searched for them, Ms. Schorn said. Mr. Gordon then drove to a second nearby residence where he killed Taylor Daniel, a 25-year-old woman with whom he had two children, Ms. Schorn said.

Persons: Andre Gordon, Karen Gordon, Kera Gordon, Jennifer Schorn, Gordon, Schorn, Taylor Daniel Locations: Falls Township, Pennsylvania, Trenton , N.J, Levittown, Pa, Bucks County

☆ Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Speaks Out About ‘Hateful’ Online Bullying
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The glare of public attention has often left Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, on the receiving end of strong opinions. And Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pushed back at that directly on Friday, criticizing a culture of bullying on social media. “We have forgotten about our humanity, and that has got to change,” she said, while appearing on a keynote panel at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, focusing on the representation of women in entertainment and the media. Meghan and Harry have voiced repeated concerns about how negative media attention has affected them, both while they were active members of Britain’s royal family and since they stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States. Meghan said on Friday that she had received the bulk of online abuse while she was pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet, and in the months after their births.

Persons: Prince Harry, Meghan, Duchess of, Harry, Archie, Lilibet Organizations: Southwest Locations: Duchess of Sussex, Austin , Texas, United States

☆ Ewen MacIntosh, Comedian on British Sitcom ‘The Office,’ Dies at 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ewen MacIntosh, a British actor and comedian known for his dry portrayal of Keith Bishop, a lackluster accountant in the acclaimed British sitcom, “The Office,” has died. He died on Monday, his management company, Just Right Management, said, but it did not give a cause of death. The company said in a social media post that Mr. MacIntosh received support from a care home before he died. Mr. MacIntosh had parts in several comedic series, including the British sitcom “Miranda” and the sketch series “Little Britain.” But it was “The Office” that would be his most famous role, as a socially inept accountant working at a boring branch of a paper company. It included two series and a Christmas special, and its comedic approach was praised by critics and audiences alike.

Persons: Ewen MacIntosh, Keith Bishop, ”, MacIntosh, “ Miranda ”, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant Locations: British, Britain

☆ After a Taste of Freedom in the Scottish Highlands, Runaway Monkey Is Captured
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was the denouement to a whirlwind that had engulfed — or at least amused — the communities of Kingussie and Kincraig in the Scottish highlands, where about 1,500 humans live. Since the macaque went on the lam, his fate had drawn reporters who waited nearby for updates on the monkey’s location. “Everybody is rooting for this monkey,” said Carl Nagle, a Kincraig resident who spotted the monkey on Sunday in his backyard, apparently snacking on even more birdfeed. “He must be having a ball living his best life.”For his part, Mr. Nagle said he was “hugely relieved,” that the monkey was caught, saying that he needed to return to his troop. “This is ridiculous — and yet it is somehow perfect,” Mr. Nagle said.

Persons: ”, Keith Gilchrist, Carl Nagle, Nagle, “ It’s, Mr Organizations: Wildlife Locations: Honshu, Kingussie, Scottish

☆ A Monkey Is on the Run in the Scottish Highlands
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Was it a longing for freedom, for friends or for snacks that pushed the monkey to make his daring getaway? He has evaded the hands of animal keepers who have been chasing him since Sunday, when he escaped from an enclosure in the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland, and fled into the Scottish highlands. Park officials have brought in thermal drones to help them search for the animal and have asked residents to report sightings. The monkey’s life on the lam has brought a whirlwind of media attention to the relatively remote communities of Kingussie and Kincraig (combined population: about 1,500 humans). Amused residents, who have given the animal the nickname “Kingussie Kong,” have found themselves invested in its fate, and journalists have followed animal keepers as they have swept the hills.

Persons: Kingussie Organizations: Wildlife Locations: Kingussie, Scotland, Scottish, Kingussie Kong

☆ A Famed Cemetery Is Nearly Full. Can It Reuse Old Graves to Add More Space?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In death, as in life, it is expensive to have famous people as your neighbors. There is hardly any space left at Highgate Cemetery, a Victorian graveyard in north London where Karl Marx, George Michael and George Eliot are buried, along with 170,000 other Londoners. The price of a grave to rest in esteemed peace? That cost gained attention in British media this week, after the historic site notified the public it had begun a process of adding new gravesites. “Cemeteries are quite expensive places to maintain,” said Ian Dungavell, the chief executive of the charity that manages Highgate Cemetery, adding that dwindling space on the property contributed in part to the high cost of being buried there.

Persons: Karl Marx, George Michael, George Eliot, ”, Ian Dungavell, “ Organizations: Highgate Locations: London, “, Highgate

☆ London’s Black Cabs Can Soon Join Uber. But Will They?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Uber said it needed several hundred drivers to sign up in order to launch the service. But many London cabdrivers had a scathing response. “We don’t need a partnership with Uber,” said the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, a union that represents a majority of the city’s nearly 18,000 cabdrivers, in the headline of a release on Wednesday. There was “no demand” for such a partnership from taxi drivers, the union’s general secretary, Steve McNamara, said in a statement, adding that their members were unlikely to even consider joining the platform. “If they were offering double the meter and no commission, I still wouldn’t sign up with them.”

Persons: sweetening, Uber, London cabdrivers, ”, Steve McNamara, Howard Taylor Organizations: Taxi Drivers Association Locations: London

☆ Riots in Dublin Bring ‘Shame’ on Ireland, Prime Minister Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A violent clash between rioters and police in central Dublin on Thursday injured several police officers, one seriously, and prompted the arrests of 34 people, according to the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. Rioters set fire to police vehicles, destroyed public buses and looted or damaged more than a dozen shops, the Gardai said. A mob had gathered in the city center following a knife attack that had seriously injured a female schoolteacher and three young children. The escalating unrest appalled the authorities, who blamed a far-right faction for fueling tensions by spreading misinformation about the knife attack. Unconfirmed speculation about the nationality of the knife-wielding attacker spread online in the hours after the stabbings, with one protester telling the Agence France-Presse news service that “Irish people are being attacked by these scum.”

Organizations: Garda, Irish, Agence France, Presse Locations: Dublin

☆ ‘Absolute Chaos’: Residents Evacuated From Public Housing Tower in England
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Our lives are all up in the air.”The evacuation has drawn fresh attention to the construction of Britain’s public housing high-rises. The Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and left hundreds homeless, prompted a national reckoning over safety measures and construction of high-rise buildings. Critics have accused governments of prioritizing cost-cutting over safety, and housing advocates in London and elsewhere have since raised concerns about other buildings. While there was “no evidence of an immediate risk to life,” he said the decision was made to evacuate. Barton House was built in 1958 and is among the oldest of the city’s public housing projects, or council housing estates, as they are called in Britain.

Persons: Ali, “, ”, Grenfell, Barton, Mr, Rees Organizations: Barton House Locations: London, Bristol, Barton, Britain

☆ ‘Everybody Is a Bit on Edge’: Sailors Trade Tips on Steering Clear of Orcas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The first time orcas appeared near his catamaran, Florian Rutsch was surprised, but prepared. He scattered sand in the water, which some sailors thought could act as a deterrent (unsubstantiated). Then he slammed the engine into full throttle, moving away from the group (advice supported by the Spanish government). This time, to deter them, the crew also tried another idea that had been passed along: booming a curated playlist of heavy metal — titled “Metal for Orcas” — through an underwater speaker. The crew had to call for help, and eventually Spanish rescue authorities arrived and towed the vessel to port.

Persons: orcas, Florian Rutsch, Rutsch Locations: Gibraltar, Spanish

☆ Orcas Sink Fourth Boat Off Iberia, Unnerving Sailors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The yacht Grazie Mamma II carried its crew along the coastlines and archipelagos of the Mediterranean. Its last adventure was off the coast of Morocco last week, when it encountered a pod of orcas. The marine animals slammed the yacht’s rudder for 45 minutes, causing major damage and a leak, according to Morskie Mile, the boat’s Polish operators. The crew escaped, and rescuers and the Moroccan Navy tried to tow the yacht to safety, but it sank near the port of Tanger Med, the operator said on its website. The largest of the dolphin family, orcas are playful apex predators that hunt sharks, whales and other prey but are generally amiable to humans in the wild.

Organizations: Moroccan Navy Locations: Morocco, Tanger, Strait, Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain

☆ Air Canada Apologizes for Questioning a British Lawmaker About His Background
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, has apologized to a British lawmaker, Mohammad Yasin, after lawmakers said Mr. Yasin was singled out for questioning because of his name and background on a recent official trip to the country. Pablo Rodríguez, the Canadian transport minister, told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday that his office had contacted the airline about the screening. “We called Air Canada and Air Canada apologized,” Mr. Rodríguez said, “and apologizing was the right thing to do.”Mr. Yasin, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, has represented the constituency of Bedford in eastern England since 2017. While leaving for a trip to Canada with other lawmakers last week, he said, he was questioned vigorously at Heathrow Airport near London. Details of the questioning emerged on Monday when one of Mr. Yasin’s colleagues, Clive Betts, said in remarks to Parliament that Mr. Yasin was the only lawmaker in the group delayed for questioning by officials who they believed worked for Air Canada and the Canadian government.

Persons: Mohammad Yasin, Yasin, Pablo Rodríguez, ” Mr, Rodríguez, “, Mr, Yasin’s, Clive Betts Organizations: Air, Air Canada, Labour Party, Airport, Canadian Locations: Air Canada, British, Ottawa, Bedford, England, Canada, London

Tens of thousands of women and nonbinary people in Iceland were expected to participate on Tuesday in a one-day strike, which organizers called the country’s largest effort to protest workplace inequality in nearly five decades. Iceland is a global leader in gender equality but still has a long way to go, said Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, a spokeswoman for the Icelandic Federation of Public Workers, the country’s largest federation of public worker unions. “Iceland is often viewed as some sort of equality paradise,” Ms. Steingrímsdóttir, an organizer of the strike, said. “If we’re going to live up to that name, we need to move forward and really be the best we can be — and we’re not stopping until full gender equality is reached.”Organizers urged women and nonbinary people to stop all work on Tuesday, including household errands and child care. Even Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said she would take part, telling local news media that she would not call a cabinet meeting and that she expected other women in the cabinet to strike.

Persons: Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, Ms, Steingrímsdóttir, Katrín Jakobsdóttir Organizations: Icelandic Federation of Public Workers, ” Locations: Iceland

The Americans took off in a plane from Tehran just before 9 a.m. Eastern time and were expected to fly to Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials said that they would be given brief medical checkups before flying to Washington on a U.S. government plane. Several of the Iranian American prisoners, who hold dual citizenship, had been moved from the notorious Evin prison to a hotel last month, according to officials at the State Department and the National Security Council. The U.S. government had deemed the five wrongfully detained. Their release comes after more than two years of quiet negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Organizations: Iranian, White House, Officials, State Department, National Security Council Locations: Iran, Tehran, Doha, Qatar, Washington, U.S

☆ Relief Efforts in Libya Turn to Disease Prevention, as Hopes for Finding Survivors Dim
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly a week after a powerful storm caused catastrophic flooding in northeastern Libya, rescue groups assessing the damage left behind after two dams collapsed in the city of Derna — washing entire neighborhoods out to sea — said that the death toll was still being assessed amid diminishing hopes for finding survivors. “There are still bodies in the water,” said Salem Al Naas, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent in Derna, adding in an interview that workers were still searching hundreds of buildings where families were feared to have died. People are being found alive — one person was pulled from the rubble yesterday, Mr. Al Naas said. The United Nations had said on Saturday that at least 11,300 people had died and that more than 10,000 people were still missing, citing figures it said were from the Libyan Red Crescent. But Mr. Al Naas walked that back a bit, and said that while those numbers “might be an approximate number,” the final death toll is yet unknown.

Persons: —, ”, Salem Al, Al Naas, “ Organizations: Libyan, United Nations Locations: Libya, Salem, Salem Al Naas, Derna, Libyan

More than 5,000 people were killed in Libya after torrential rains caused two dams to burst near the coastal city of Derna, destroying much of the city and carrying entire neighborhoods into the sea, local authorities said on Tuesday. Libya, a North African nation splintered by a war, was ill-prepared for the storm, called Daniel, which swept across the Mediterranean Sea to batter its coastline. The country is administered by two rival governments, complicating rescue and aid efforts, and its infrastructure had been poorly maintained after more than a decade of political chaos. In the city of Derna alone, at least 5,200 people died, said Tarek al-Kharraz, a spokesman for the interior ministry of the government that oversees Eastern Libya, according to the Libyan television station al-Masar. At least 20,000 people were displaced.

Persons: Daniel, Tarek al Organizations: Eastern, Libyan Locations: Libya, Derna, African, Eastern Libya

Deadly floods swept through northeastern Libya over the weekend, with the top official in the region warning that the toll could exceed 2,000 dead as rescue teams searched for survivors. It was not immediately clear what the head of the divided country’s eastern region, Osama Hamad, or the spokesman were basing their numbers on. But the flooding was centered in the region under Mr. Hamad’s administration. The internationally recognized government in western Libya, in Tripoli, has not put out figures. “Entire neighborhoods have been swept away by the sea, and entire neighborhoods have disappeared with their inhabitants,” Mr. Hamad said in a phone interview with the Libyan television channel al-Masar on Monday from the port city of Derna in eastern Libya.

Persons: Osama Hamad, ” Mr, Hamad Organizations: Libyan Locations: Libya, Tripoli, Derna

Violent storms have pounded parts of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey with extreme amounts of rain, causing floods that killed at least 13 people, ravaged roads and prompted evacuations. In Greece, where record rainfall has swamped the country’s central region this week, the death toll stood at three, after the authorities on Wednesday recovered two more bodies. In Turkey, seven people were killed by flooding in the northwest late on Tuesday, according to the interior minister. And Bulgarian officials said on Wednesday that three people had died in floodwaters on that country’s Black Sea coast. Greece’s fire service said Wednesday that it had received more than 2,000 calls for help in 24 hours.

Locations: Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Volos

☆ Have You Seen Paul McCartney’s Lost Bass Guitar? Tips Welcome.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Isabella Kwai | More About Isabella Kwai | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Before Beatlemania, there was the distinctive Höfner violin bass — the first guitar that Paul McCartney bought after becoming the bassist for the Beatles. That bass can be heard on some of the band’s most famous hits, including “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You,” and “Twist and Shout.”Mr. McCartney picked up the instrument in a Hamburg music store in 1961, and it accompanied the Fab Four as they rocketed to stunning success, becoming the most famous band in the world. But the guitar vanished eight years later. A new campaign is seeking to find the missing instrument, and hundreds of people have responded, hoping to help solve the decades-old mystery: Where is Paul McCartney’s missing bass guitar?

Persons: Paul McCartney, Mr, McCartney, Paul McCartney’s Locations: Hamburg

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