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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Opera opens its 2024-25 season Sept. 21 with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” reimagined in a film studio and said Saturday it will present the company premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar" while reducing its offerings from six main-stage productions to five. Mario Gras's “Butterfly” staging, first seen at Madrid’s Teatro Real in 2017, stars Karah Son as Cio-Cio-San and Jonathan Tetelma as Pinkerton in their company debuts. The six main-stage productions in 2022-23 brought in $9.4 million; the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season resulted in just under $7 million from four stagings. “That’ll be our ninth main-stage opera in Spanish in the company’s 38-year history,” Koelsch said. Tomer Zvulun’s staging of Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” which premiered at the 2019 Houston Grand Opera, opens May 31, 2025, with Quinn Kelsey, Rosa Feola in her company debut and René Barbera.

Persons: Puccini’s, Osvaldo Golijov’s “, Mario Gras's, Karah, Jonathan Tetelma, Pinkerton, James Conlon, Martin, Christopher Koelsch, ” Koelsch, ”, Ana María Martínez, Daniela Mack, Deborah Colker, “, Ian Judge’s, Roméo, Juliette ”, Duke Kim, Amina Edris, Michael Cavanagh’s, Conlon, Erica Petrocelli, Tomer, Verdi’s, Quinn Kelsey, Rosa Feola, René Barbera Organizations: ANGELES, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro Real, Martin Gas, LA, Hollywood, ” Revenue, Scottish Opera, Detroit Opera, Welsh National Opera, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera Locations: Japan, ”

☆ ‘Son of the Old West’ Review: Cowboy and Chronicler
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Andrew R. Graybill | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Charlie Siringo (right) crosses the Rio Grande on horseback. Photo: Courtesy of Nathan WardA close friend of mine—a fellow historian and avid outdoorsman—likes to joke that while I merely write about the American West, he has actually lived it, crisscrossing the region’s hiking trails, bike paths and ski slopes. My pal might thus admire Charlie Siringo, who did both: He worked as a cowboy and as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency and then published books about his adventures. In “Son of the Old West,” writer Nathan Ward tracks Siringo from Texas to Idaho and seemingly everywhere in between while relating his encounters with an array of characters, some of them among the most famous of his day. As Mr. Ward explains, his book is as much a chronicle of the Old West as it is the study of a colorful, and ubiquitous, frontiersman.

Persons: Charlie Siringo, Nathan Ward, outdoorsman —, Ward Organizations: Pinkerton Agency Locations: Rio Grande, Siringo, Texas, Idaho

☆ Universal under investigation after it trimmed trees that shaded SAG-AFTRA protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Los Angeles City Controller’s office is investigating after NBCUniversal severely trimmed a row of trees outside its studios where members of SAG-AFTRA were picketing company executives, eliminating shade during a searing heatwave. Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket. The trimmed trees are LA City managed street trees. “Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week,” he wrote. “We understand that the safety tree trimming of the Ficus trees we did on Barham Blvd.

Persons: Kenneth Mejia, Chris Stephens, ”, NBCUniversal, Mejia, Ron Perlman, Instagram, “, ” Perlman, There’s, Pinkerton Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles City, SAG, Universal Studios, LA City, Twitter, Guild of America, Alliance, Television Producers, Disney, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, ”, Los Angeles Public Works Department, National Weather Service, WGA, Labor Locations: LA, Los Angeles, America

Harry objected to an article published by the Daily Mirror on September 28 2008, detailing Harry’s potential return to serve with the British military in Afghanistan. The Mirror article Harry objected to, headlined “Soldier Harry’s Taliban,” concerned the prince’s potential redeployment some months later, once it was safer for him to do so. Green argued that this article did not concern Harry’s private life, since the question of his redeployment “was a military decision.”“It was about your professional life, not your private life,” Green said. Harry disagreed, saying that he did not widely share his feelings about wanting to return to serve with the military. The prince claimed that he suspects that Lowther-Pinkerton’s phone was hacked by MGN journalists.

Persons: Harry, Green, “, ” Harry, ”, ” Green, Jamie Lowther, Pinkerton, Lowther Organizations: Daily, American, News Group Locations: Afghanistan, Australian

☆ Explainer: What are the health risks from wildfire smoke?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Nancy Lapid | Thomson Reuters | Nancy Has Been A Health News Editor At Reuters For More Than A Decade. Previously She Was A Writer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

More toxic than normal air pollution, wildfire smoke can linger in the air for weeks and travel hundreds of miles. Along with particles of soil and biological materials, wildfire smoke often contains traces of chemicals, metals, plastics and other synthetic materials. New data from California also show an increase in fungal infections in the months following wildfire smoke exposure, likely due to fungal spores in the smoke. But the health effects of wildfire smoke exposure over multiple seasons are not yet clear. Doug Brugge, who chairs the Department of Public Health Sciences at UConn School of Medicine, said wildfire smoke can be deadly.

Persons: Kent Pinkerton, Davis, Keith Bein, Doug Brugge, Nancy Lapid, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Center for Health, University of California, UC, Davis . Studies, Environment, UC Davis, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, of Public Health Sciences, UConn School of Medicine, Thomson Locations: United States, Canada, New York City, California, U.S

☆ Taiwan's wind industry braves cross-strait risks in clean energy boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sarah Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

With large swathes of Taiwan's territorial waters restricted due to defense, shipping and other uses, offshore wind developers will soon run out of space. It's a question of whether you want to pay the price," insurance broker Clive Lin told offshore wind developers in a packed lecture hall in Taipei. Political risk insurance is typically not covered in mainstream insurance policies, so developers have to buy it additionally. The risk of a military confrontation and its impact on Taiwan's wind farms are hard to quantify, analysts say. "In a kinetic conflict invasion, Taiwan's going to have so many other problems, offshore wind is going to be way down on the list," Cancian said.

☆ Southwest explains its meltdown to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Congress is set to receive new evidence Thursday of internal chaos at Southwest Airlines over the Christmas holiday meltdown. The Senate Commerce committee is set to question Southwest executive Andrew Watterson, alongside Southwest pilot union president Casey Murray, Sharon Pinkerton of the Airlines for America trade group, Paul Hudson of Flyers’ Rights, and economist Clifford Winston of The Brookings Institution. It’s a mess down here.”A photograph of the message, which shows the extent of the airline’s breakdown, is included in testimony the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association union, SWAPA, plans to present at the hearing. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan apologized and the airline offered reimbursements for passengers’ costs, along with bonus points. The union criticized the airline for giving executives stock options in the wake of the meltdown while employees lost profit sharing pay because of the airline’s financial hit due to the meltdown.

☆ Southwest plans to tell Senate it's confident in its schedule after holiday meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Southwest Airlines plans to apologize before a Senate panel on Thursday over the carrier's December meltdown that stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers around Christmas. "In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resilience," Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said in written testimony, which was reviewed by CNBC, ahead of Senate Commerce Committee hearing. The debacle made for an $800 million pretax hit and drove the carrier to a net loss last quarter. Watterson plans to tell the committee that the carrier has made short-term improvements to communicate more easily with crews when things go wrong and has improved tools that keep track of the operation's stability. With those mitigation tools, "we are confident in our flight network and the schedules we have published for sale," Watterson plans to say, according to the testimony.

☆ Southwest pilots detail the Christmas meltdown chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Congress is set to receive new evidence Thursday of internal chaos at Southwest Airlines over the Christmas holiday meltdown. It’s a mess down here.”A photograph of the message, which shows the extent of the airline’s breakdown, is included in testimony the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association union, SWAPA, plans to present at a Senate Commerce committee hearing. “No updates here,” another cockpit computer message to pilots read. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan apologized and the airline offered reimbursements for passengers’ costs, along with bonus points. The union criticized the airline for giving executives stock options in the wake of the meltdown while employees lost profit sharing pay because of the airline’s financial hit due to the meltdown.

☆ Southwest faces Senate hearing next week following holiday meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

John and Lori Ingoldsby, who drove to Denver after the first leg of their flight on Southwest Airlines was canceled, wait for a flight to finish their trip at Denver International Airport on December 28, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Southwest Airlines ' chief operating officer, Andrew Watterson, will face questions from a Senate panel next Thursday about the carrier's holiday meltdown that stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers. Southwest said the hearing date overlapped with "a previous commitment" for CEO Bob Jordan. The incident has drawn increased scrutiny from Washington and capped a year of on-and-off disruptions in air travel, due to bad weather, staffing and technology issues. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the committee chair, had previously said she planned to hold a hearing on flight disruptions following Southwest's holiday travel chaos.

☆ Southwest to testify at U.S. Senate hearing after meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson will testify on Feb. 9 before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee after a holiday meltdown forced the budget carrier to cancel thousands of flights. The hearing titled "Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections" will also include Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Captain Casey Murray, Sharon Pinkerton, a senior official with Airlines for America, an industry group, and Paul Hudson, who heads Flyers' Rights, a passenger advocacy organization. The hearing will review causes and impacts of recent air travel disruptions including the Southwest December holiday operational woes that resulted in more than 16,000 flight cancellations. Southwest Chief Executive Bob Jordan has repeatedly apologized for the mass cancellations and said the carrier is looking at all options to prevent a repeat. The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) is investigating whether Southwest engaged in "unrealistic scheduling of flights" in December.

☆ New Mexico judge and her pets shot dead by her husband in suspected murder-suicide, police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A judge in New Mexico and several of her pets were shot dead in what police believe was a murder-suicide carried out by the woman's husband. The killings marked the third fatal incident of domestic violence in the Albuquerque area on Thanksgiving weekend, the Albuquerque Journal reported. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or go to www.thehotline.org for anonymous, confidential online chats, available in English and Spanish. Individual states often have their own domestic violence hotlines as well. Advocates at the National Domestic Violence Hotline field calls from both survivors of domestic violence as well as individuals who are concerned that they may be abusive toward their partners.

☆ Travelers are getting out of town earlier for Thanksgiving this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The busiest travel days during Thanksgiving week are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and the Sunday after the holiday. It looks like the rush started early this year, as the Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 2.33 million travelers on Sunday. It’s the first year that the number of people catching planes surpassed the 2.32 million screened the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began. “As a result, we’re confident that the week is going to go well.”U.S. airlines plan to operate 13% fewer flights this week than during Thanksgiving week in 2019. The busiest day in TSA’s history came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2019, when nearly 2.9 million people were screened at airport checkpoints.

Airlines are operating 13% fewer domestic flights during the eight-day Thanksgiving travel period compared with 2019, according to data by Cirium. While flight delays and cancellations marred U.S. summer travel, airlines say they are better prepared to handle the holiday travel rush for Thanksgiving, which occurs on the fourth Thursday in November. Federal officials say they have enough staffing to handle holiday travel as well. More than 1.4 million travelers are going out of town for Thanksgiving by bus, train or cruise ship, AAA estimates. The company this year received Thanksgiving travel bookings as early as June, three months earlier than in 2019.

☆ New Hampshire Republican Don Bolduc claimed a local school has 'litter boxes' for children. The school says that's 'entirely untrue.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New Hampshire Republican Don Bolduc falsely claimed schools are providing kids "litter boxes." "They're putting litter boxes, right? Litter boxes for that." "There are no litter boxes in our buildings and students are not allowed to come to school in costume," the school said in a statement provided to a local Fox affiliate. "There are no furries or students identifying as such during the school day."

☆ Republican Party officials made a mysterious $36,000 payment in February to private investigators who advertise their use of surveillance drones and hidden cameras
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-22 | by ( Robin Bravender | Dave Levinthal | Tom Lobianco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Michigan company appears to use drones and secret cameras in its surveillance. "This could be a million and one things," a former RNC official told Insider of the payment. "You'd have to know specifically what they were after before you could draw any conclusions," the former RNC official said. A Cross Xamine Investigations promotional video includes images of surveillance drones and video cameras, as well as eyeglasses that appear to have a camera embedded in them. The RNC's payment to a private investigations firm is "far from common — very, very rare," another longtime Democratic operative familiar with opposition research said.

☆ Case of the Brooklyn Symbolist
▼ + stars: | 1992-08-30 | by ( Adam Begley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Paul Auster writes novels about lonely souls who try to make meaning out of circumstance -- and he writes under circumstances that look suspiciously meaningful: his office, a small studio apartment, is bare and white and smudged with Brooklyn grime. The window shades are always drawn; were they raised, you would see a brick wall across an air shaft. The same man called the next day and asked again for the venerable detective agency. The novel's protagonist is a solitary writer named Quinn who on three different nights gets a phone call from a man looking for "Paul Auster. Of the Auster Detective Agency."

Persons: Paul Auster, Auster, Pinkerton, Quinn Organizations: The, Auster, Agency Locations: Brooklyn, Glass

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