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☆ A Baguette Is Baked in France
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Look, the French know how to make a great baguette, right? Can the French make a big baguette? An enormously long baguette that could feed a small town? French bakers in Suresnes, just west of Paris, made a 461-foot baguette on Sunday. The massive loaf successfully returned the title of world’s longest baguette to France, according to Guinness World Records, as it exceeded a 435-foot baguette made by (gasp) Italians in 2019.

Organizations: Guinness World Records Locations: Suresnes, Paris, France

☆ Pet Alligator Is Mistakenly Released Into the Wild, Owner Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WallyGator, the emotional support alligator who enjoyed a moment of fame last year when he was denied admittance to a Major League Baseball game, is back in the news. Wally’s owner, Joie Henney, said on social media that the alligator had been taken early in the morning of April 21 from a pen where he was being kept in Brunswick, Ga.Mr. Henney said on Monday that he had learned that Wally was taken by a person who had then dropped him in someone else’s yard, possibly to scare them. When the alligator was discovered, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources was called, and brought in a trapper, who caught and released the animal into a swamp where about 20 other alligators lived, Mr. Henney said. Mr. Henney, of Jonestown, Pa., said the trapper had told him that the chances of finding the alligator now were “slim to none,” but Mr. Henney was holding out hope and said he planned to search for WallyGator.

Persons: He’s, Joie Henney, Henney, Wally Organizations: Major League Baseball, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Locations: Brunswick, Jonestown, Pa

☆ Huw Edwards, a Top BBC Anchor, Resigns After 40 Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Huw Edwards, one of the BBC’s highest-profile anchors and who was suspended last year over allegations of paying for explicit images, resigned from the broadcaster on Monday. Mr. Edwards, 62, had led the BBC’s coverage of major national events, including the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. He started as a trainee in 1984, and by the end of his career he was the regular anchor of “BBC News at Ten.”He was suspended by the BBC in July after The Sun tabloid newspaper reported that an unnamed anchor from the broadcaster had paid a teenager $45,000 for sexually explicit images, starting when the person was 17. Mr. Edwards’s wife later publicly identified her husband as the anchor in the report. The age of consent in Britain is 16, but sharing or possessing indecent images of someone under 18 is a crime.

Persons: Huw Edwards, Edwards, Queen Elizabeth II, Edwards’s Organizations: BBC, Sun Locations: Britain

☆ Chick-fil-A Modifies Its ‘No Antibiotic’ Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A said on Monday that it would shift its policy that had barred serving chicken treated with any antibiotics and serve chicken treated only with animal antibiotics. The old policy was known as No Antibiotics Ever and barred the use of antibiotics used to treat people and animals. The new one, which is known as No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine, is expected to go into effect in the spring. The previous policy meant that no antibiotics of any kind were given to animals. The new approach bars the use of antibiotics used to treat people but does allow the use of animal antibiotics if the animal and those around it are sick.

☆ Dallas Seavey Overcomes Moose-Gutting Penalty to Win Iditarod
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Dallas Seavey won his record sixth Iditarod sled dog race on Tuesday, despite an eventful race that included a penalty for failing to properly gut a moose. Seavey was cruising in the race last week near Skwentna, Alaska, when his dog team became entangled with a moose. Sledders in the race are permitted to carry firearms and Seavey used his to shoot and kill the moose. The ethics of the Iditarod race require that when a large animal like a moose or caribou is killed during the competition, its meat must be taken and distributed. So the sledder involved in the accident must stop and gut the animal.

Persons: Dallas Seavey, Seavey Locations: Skwentna , Alaska

Maybe it’s AT&T, which went down for many users on Thursday. The short answer: You need a Wi-Fi connection. Call on Wi-FiFirst, be sure that Wi-Fi calling is turned on in your phone’s settings. iPhone users can turn on Wi-Fi calling by going to Settings, and then activating Wi-Fi calling under the Cellular settings page. Android users can turn on Wi-Fi calling within the Phone app.

Persons: you’re

☆ Was Bobi Really the World’s Oldest Dog? His Guinness Record Is in Doubt.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bobi’s advanced age was remarkable: Dogs of his breed normally live 12 to 14 years. And although there are many exceptions, smaller dogs in general live longer than midsize ones, who live longer than the largest. It noted that while Bobi had been registered on a Portuguese government database, his listed age was based entirely on the owner’s say-so. Questions were also raised because the dog appeared to be overweight in photos, not a good sign for extreme longevity. It said that while the timeline could vary, it sought to keep such investigations to three or fewer months.

Persons: Bobi’s, Bobi, Danny Chambers, Leonel Costa Organizations: Wired, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Guardian Locations: Conqueiros, Portugal

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

☆ Police Cast a Dragnet for 10,000 Stolen Doughnuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Reader, please select your own corny first line for this article:1. I’ve heard of stealing some dough, but this is ridiculous. Closed circuit footage of the scene shows a woman milling around the gas pumps at the attached service station — or “servo” to Australians — and then climbing into the unattended van and driving away. What makes the story more compelling than a typical opportunistic vehicle theft is the van’s contents: 10,000 Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The treats were bound for shops in Newcastle, but instead have now disappeared to parts unknown.

Persons: I’ve, — Locations: Carlingford, Australia, Sydney, Newcastle

☆ Everybody’s Ejected After an N.H.L. Fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Hockey is one of the most physical sports, and referees try to keep it in line by assessing penalties when a push or a trip goes too far. But on Monday night in Ottawa, the officials had enough. After a fight broke out in the third period of a roughly played game between the Florida Panthers and the Ottawa Senators, the officials threw up their hands and kicked every skater on the ice out of the game. Florida was leading by 4-0 when Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, came off the bench and got a quick breakaway. The officials at first seemed to get the situation under control, but a punch heated things up again.

Persons: Brady Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov Organizations: Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Panthers Locations: Ottawa, Florida

☆ Make Sure Your Google Accounts Are Active, or They Might Be Deleted
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It also said that idle accounts were 10 times less likely to have two-factor verification, which checks a user’s identity. Although the company said it could begin purging accounts on Dec. 1, it may not eliminate all of them immediately. Google said in May that it planned to start with accounts that had never been used. If a Google account is deleted, all of its content and data may disappear. Before beginning deletion, Google said it would warn users in multiple emails to the inactive Google account and to another email, if one has been saved to a user’s account.

Organizations: Google

☆ A Three-Year Cruise Is Canceled for Lack of a Ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

If you’re going to organize a three-year round-the-world cruise, a good first step is probably to acquire a ship. For months, Life at Sea Cruises has been signing up travelers, taking their money and marketing this unusual offering, which it announced in March. Its website, which was promoting the cruise as of Monday, described the ship, the MV Lara, and promised visits to the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. Prospective passengers might pause before booking, though, when they see that the voyage was already supposed to set sail on Nov. 1. And they may be more alarmed to learn that the ship, under its original name, the AIDAaura, was acquired in mid-November by Celestyal Cruises, not by Life at Sea.

Persons: Taj Organizations: Sea Cruises, Taj Mahal, Celestyal Cruises Locations: China, Machu Picchu

☆ M.L.S. Fans Will Pay More to See Lionel Messi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A holiday deal offered by the Red Bulls soccer team includes some merchandise, like a travel mug, as well as tickets to two games, including its first home game. But there is some fine print. Miami is the team of Messi, the global superstar, and a chance to see him is a lot more appealing than a random game against, say, Toronto F.C. Some Red Bulls fans who noticed the fine print were annoyed and expressed that on social media — words like “gouge” were common. “It’s purely naïve to expect the league not to try to capitalize on this at all costs,” said Dan Rodriguez, a Red Bulls fan from Westchester County, N.Y.

Persons: Lionel Messi, “, ”, Dan Rodriguez Organizations: Red Bulls, Major League Soccer, Inter Miami, Miami, Messi, Toronto F.C Locations: Westchester County, N.Y

☆ Your Next 10 Steps After Watching the New ‘Napoleon’ Film
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since you’re already in Paris to see that horse, stop by the Louvre for one of Jacques-Louis David’s masterworks: “Le Sacre de Napoléon” (1807). Far from a stock figure, he is a fully realized person in the novel, displaying egotism, anger and a liking for snuff. If that famously thick book is too much, there are several film versions. Herbert Lom plays Napoleon in a 1956 Hollywood film starring Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. And Prokofiev wrote an opera that was last seen at the Met in 2008, but is readily available on streaming services.

Persons: Jacques, Louis David’s, Napoléon ”, Napoleon, Pope, Read, Leo Tolstoy’s, ” Napoleon, Herbert Lom, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Prokofiev, William Thackeray’s, George Orwell’s Organizations: Louvre, Notre Dame, Times, Met Locations: Paris, Moscow, Hollywood, Le

☆ Man Is Arrested in Death of Jewish Protester After California Altercation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A California man was arrested Thursday in the case of a 69-year-old pro-Israel protester who died after an altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator in Southern California earlier this month, the authorities said. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said that Loay Alnaji, 50, was arrested in Moorpark, Calif., and was being held on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of the protester, Paul Kessler. Mr. Alnaji’s bail was to be set at $1 million, the sheriff’s office said in a statement announcing the arrest. The Ventura County district attorney’s office was still reviewing the evidence Thursday morning and said that it expected to determine the exact charges against Mr. Alnaji later in the day.

Persons: Paul Kessler, Alnaji’s, Alnaji Organizations: Israel, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Locations: California, Southern California, Ventura County, Moorpark, Calif

☆ Elite Runner Who Rode in a Car During a Race Is Banned for a Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A top ultramarathoner who got a lift for part of a race has been banned for a year from competing or coaching in Britain. The runner, Joasia Zakrzewski, a 47-year-old British woman, acknowledged that in April she traveled by car for two and a half miles of a 50-mile race from Manchester to Liverpool. But race officials there encouraged her to continue. A key area of dispute is what Zakrzewski told the officials. She said she mentioned having been in a car and was encouraged to finish the race unofficially, for pride.

Persons: Joasia, Zakrzewski Organizations: Athletics Locations: Britain, Manchester, Liverpool

☆ Video Shows Officer Repeatedly Punching Woman Held on Ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The police in Charlotte, N.C., have started an internal investigation after a video was shared on social media showing an officer repeatedly punching a woman while other officers restrained her on the ground. In the video, taken on Monday, several officers are seen restraining a prone woman. After a moment, the woman is seen being taken to a police car. The police said in a statement on Tuesday that a man and a woman had been smoking marijuana in public and were approached by officers. The woman punched an officer in the face, the police said.

Locations: Charlotte, N.C

☆ What Is the Inverted Jenny Stamp, and Why Is It Worth $2 Million?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The tale of the misprint, and the ever-increasing sale prices, began to make the Inverted Jenny famous enough to be a cultural reference. In the 1985 comedy “Brewster’s Millions,” Richard Pryor, who for plot reasons is desperately trying to spend $30 million, asks a dealer for his most expensive stamp and is shown the Inverted Jenny. In 1955, a block of four was stolen from a stamp collecting convention in Norfolk, Va. First, check Grandpa’s safe deposit box. The stamp sold last week was discovered in 2018 after spending generations in a safe deposit box.

Persons: ” Richard Pryor, …, Homer Organizations: Postal Locations: Independence, Norfolk, Va

☆ Lionel Messi Wins Eighth Ballon D’Or as Soccer’s Best Player
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual soccer award of the year, rewards the best player over a 12-month period. But Lionel Messi essentially won it in just about a month late last year. Rather it was his performance in helping carry Argentina last December to its first World Cup since 1986. He won the tournament’s most valuable player award as well. That performance more or less locked up the Ballon d’Or 11 months before it was handed to him.

Persons: Lionel Messi, Aitana, Germain Organizations: Messi, Inter Miami, Major League Soccer, Spanish, France, Ballon, Paris St, Miami Locations: Barcelona, Miami, Argentina, Paris

☆ Tour de France Route Steers Clear of Olympics, and Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1996, for example, the Atlanta Braves baseball team embarked on a 17-game, 20-day road trip while the Summer Olympics went on in their home city. The Tour plans a different route every year, and it had previously announced some of this year’s featured changes, including the finish in Nice and a start in Italy. It is not uncommon for the Tour to begin in another country; it has done so six times in the last 10 years. Next year, the men’s Tour will start in Italy for the first time since its inception in 1903. The opening stage will travel east from Florence to Rimini on June 29, with Stages 2 and 3 in Italy as well before the race enters France.

Persons: —, du Galibier Organizations: Atlanta Braves, Summer, Tour Locations: Nice, Italy, Florence, Rimini, France, Troyes

☆ K-Pop Group Celebrates Wrong Rangers at Texas Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s a longstanding concert tradition: A band comes to town for a show and performs a few songs while wearing the jerseys of a local sports team. So members of the Korean girl group STAYC have been donning jerseys for stops on their American tour. STAYC is a South Korean pop group that debuted in 2020. STAYC has a classic K-pop girl group sound, with bubbly lyrics, catchy hooks and an occasional rap verse to go with their slick dance moves. The name is an acronym for the English phrase “Star to a Young Culture,” and the group has had top-five hits in South Korea like “Run2U” and “Teddy Bear.”

Persons: It’s, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Flo Rida, Isa, J, Yoon, STAYC, Teddy Bear, ” Organizations: Dallas Locations: South Korean, Young, South Korea

☆ Lacrosse Is Coming to the Olympics. Will Its Inventors Be There?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At major lacrosse events, a team of Native Americans called the Haudenosaunee plays alongside countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. Now lacrosse has achieved an international breakthrough by being added to the Olympics for the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028. And both the United States and Canada already have lacrosse teams of their own. Although lacrosse officials seemed eager to find a way to get the team to the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee, which will have the final say, had discouraging words, at least for now. It said the United States and Canada would be able to include athletes from the Haudenosaunee in their respective teams.

Organizations: Olympics, Summer Games, International Olympic Committee, United Nations, Olympic Locations: United States, Canada, Australia, Los Angeles, New York, Ontario, Quebec, Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Tuscarora, United

☆ A New Dispute Arises Over a 15-Year-Old Formula 1 Title
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Felipe Massa, the Brazilian racing driver, believes he lost the Formula 1 championship unfairly, and now he plans to ask a British court to have the result overturned. The twist is that the title he is seeking is from 2008. Massa lost the championship that year by a single point, but a scandal about a possibly deliberate crash in one race and revelations that have come in the ensuing years have prompted him to seek a reversal. “I am the champion, and I feel that.”But many in the sport are uncomfortable re-examining such an old case. “If everybody were to open up situations, then the sport would be in disarray,” Toto Wolff, the current head of the Mercedes team, told reporters over the weekend.

Persons: Felipe Massa, Massa, “, ”, ” Toto Wolff Organizations: Associated Press, Mercedes Locations: Brazilian, “

☆ When Fiji Beats Australia, and It Almost Isn’t an Upset
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fiji, population 900,000, defeated Australia, population 25 million, at the Rugby World Cup in St. Etienne, France, on Sunday. Fiji had not defeated Australia, a two-time winner of the event, since 1954. Fiji and other tiny Pacific islands consistently punch above their weight in rugby, unlike just about any other international sports competition. In its opening World Cup game it came agonizingly close to beating another traditional power, Wales. The Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Tahiti and the Solomon Islands also field men’s teams in international competition.

Organizations: Rugby, Fiji, England, Chile Locations: Fiji, Australia, St, Etienne, France, Wales, Georgia, Portugal, Samoa, Tonga, Ireland, Cook, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Tahiti, Solomon

☆ Rodgers’s Jets Season Ends Early With Torn Achilles Tendon
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Victor Mather | More About Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aaron Rodgers got the news on Tuesday that was widely feared since he departed the Jets’ Monday night game against the Buffalo Bills: He had torn his left Achilles tendon and will miss the season, the league said in a social media post. But the star quarterback was sacked just three and a half minutes into his first game at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday. Though he stood for a moment after being felled by Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd, he soon sat down on the turf. He was helped to the sideline then carted off to the locker room and TV cameras showed Rodgers wearing a protective boot. On Tuesday, the league said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, citing two N.F.L.

Persons: Aaron Rodgers, Achilles, Rodgers, Joe Namath, Leonard Floyd, ” Organizations: Jets, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, MetLife, Bills, Twitter, Media, The Jets

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