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☆ Far-Right Icon Predicted to Win Dutch Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Netherlands on Wednesday took a startling turn in national elections with the potential to ripple through Europe, as Dutch voters threw most support behind the party of a far-right icon with an incendiary reputation who had campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform. Geert Wilders, a political provocateur long known for his anti-Islam and anti-Europe stances, appeared poised to come out significantly ahead with the most parliamentary seats, according to some early results and exit polls, which were expected to be dependable, especially given the margin of victory they indicated. “The Dutch voter has spoken,” Mr. Wilders said in a speech on Wednesday night, declaring himself the winner. “The voter has said, ‘We are fed up.’” He added that he wanted to return “the Netherlands to the Dutch.”If the preliminary results hold up, the Netherlands will be at the threshold of uncertain new political terrain after 13 years of stewardship by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a stalwart of Dutch politics and a dependable presence on the E.U.

Persons: Geert Wilders, Mr, Wilders, “, ‘, Mark Rutte Organizations: Wednesday Locations: Netherlands

☆ This Season, Holiday Movies Are Falling for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

And, according to an increasing number of holiday movies, it’s in Europe. In Notting Hill. A jolly good Christmas. A merry Scottish Christmas and even a merry Swissmas. Europe, with its cobblestoned streets (a nightmare in heels), old buildings (no central heating) and Christmas markets (those can be as good as they look onscreen), provides the perfect setting for a magical holiday adventure.

Persons: Noel, ”, Ali Liebert Organizations: Hallmark Locations: Europe, Rome, Vienna, Switzerland, Scotland, Notting Hill, Belgian, Heidelberg, France

☆ The Man Looking to Upend an Unpredictable Dutch Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yet it is one that does not pit the elite against the common man in the way populist parties often do, political analysts said. The Dutch election is shaping up as one of the most significant and competitive in years. Mr. Rutte, who is serving as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed, was considered a mainstay of Dutch politics. Mr. Rutte was also a strong voice for fiscal restraint inside the European Union, especially after the British exit, allowing the Netherlands to punch above its weight on E.U. Those are big political shoes to fill, and the race remains unpredictable, analysts said, with three or four parties closely jockeying near the top of polls in the homestretch.

Persons: Rutte, ” Organizations: European Union Locations: Groningen, Netherlands

☆ Shakira Reaches Deal in Spanish Tax Fraud Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The international pop star Shakira reached a deal with Spanish prosecutors to settle a multimillion-euro tax evasion case on Monday, just before the trial was set to begin in Barcelona. Prosecutors had accused Shakira of six counts of tax fraud, charging that she had failed to pay 14.5 million euros, about $15.8 million, in income taxes. reported that, under the deal, she would receive a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of €7 million. Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, was accused of failing to pay income taxes to the Spanish government from 2012 to 2014. Shakira had repeatedly denied the accusations and said that she was not living in Spain during those years.

Persons: Shakira, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll Organizations: Prosecutors, Associated Press Locations: Barcelona, Spain

☆ Iceland Is in a Holding Pattern as It Awaits a Volcanic Eruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A holding patternIf and when a volcanic eruption may happen is unclear and hard to predict. A nine-mile-long underground river of magma is moving under Grindavik, the evacuated town, and out to the ocean. This week, officials said that the intensity of the seismic activity had decreased a bit, but they have continued to warn of a possible eruption. As of Friday, the website of the Icelandic Met Office, the country’s weather service, continued to warn that there was a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days,” as it has done for multiple days. Last Saturday, officials evacuated the more than 3,000 residents of Grindavik, a small fishing town about 30 miles south of Reykjavik.

Persons: ” Mr, Viglundsson, “ Organizations: Icelandic Met Office Locations: Grindavik, Reykjavik

☆ Gwyneth Paltrow’s Ski Trial Is Getting the Musical Treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s not your average Christmas love story. But here goes: “She’s the Goop-founding, door-sliding, Shakespeare-in-loving, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar. In 2016, they went skiing.”That’s how the production company Awkward Productions is introducing its new musical “Gwyneth Goes Skiing,” about Gwyneth Paltrow’s trial over a skiing accident, set to run at the Pleasance Theater in London this December. Far from a classic West End musical, the show is a comedy featuring original songs by Leland, a singer songwriter who has worked with stars including Selena Gomez. Set in a small venue, the show will be 90 minutes.

Persons: It’s, He’s, Gwyneth, Gwyneth Paltrow’s, Leland, Selena Gomez Organizations: Hollywood Locations: Utah, London

☆ A Volcano May Erupt in Iceland. Here’s What to Know for Now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Iceland is bracing for a possible volcanic eruption. Since late October, tens of thousands of earthquakes have been reported in the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the southwestern part of the country. At one point there were as many as 1,400 in a single 24-hour period. On Tuesday, the Icelandic Met Office, the country’s weather service, warned that there was a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.”The increased seismic activity and the formation of a nine-mile underground river of magma have led the authorities in recent days to declare a state of emergency and to evacuate the small fishing town of Grindavik, where more than 3,000 people live.

Organizations: Icelandic Met Office Locations: Iceland, Grindavik

☆ A Grocery Chain Just Fired Its Self-Checkouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

You clicked the picture of a zucchini on the screen, but what you have in your basket is a cucumber. And buying something like alcohol or medicine still means you have to wait for a store worker to come over. No warm welcome from machines. “Delighting customers with our warm northern welcome is part of our DNA.”Can humans and machines peacefully coexist? But removing self-checkouts altogether, as Booths announced it will do, would be a “bad idea,” Ms. Abittan said.

Persons: that’s, “ There’s, ”, Sandra Abittan, “, Ms, Abittan Organizations: Tesco, Wal, Mart Locations: London, United States, Britain

☆ Lucky Find at Auction Identifies Man on Cover of ‘Led Zeppelin IV’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Nov. 8, 1971, Led Zeppelin released its iconic fourth studio album, which was untitled but is widely known as “Led Zeppelin IV.” It features the band’s major hit “Stairway to Heaven,” and the wordless cover shows the image of a bearded, older man with a large bundle of sticks on his back against the backdrop of a decaying wall. Now, 52 years later to the day, a minor mystery about that cover has been solved. Sometimes thought to be a painting, the image, it turns out, was a Victorian-era photograph of a man who made thatched roofs for cottages in Wiltshire, a rural county in southwestern England. His name was Lot Long and he was 69 at the time, according to Brian Edwards, a researcher who found the photo. As he was looking through a Victorian photo album full of landscapes and houses, Mr. Edwards noticed a photo he had seemingly seen before.

Persons: Lot Long, Brian Edwards, Edwards Organizations: Zeppelin, University of the Locations: Victorian, Wiltshire, England

☆ After Two Years in Solitude, ‘Britain’s Loneliest Sheep’ Finds a Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Fiona, a now-famous and once-lonely British sheep, is at the center of a social media frenzy as well as a local dispute. Farmers rescued her on Saturday by hoisting her up a hill after she spent at least two years by herself at the bottom of a Scottish cliff, snacking on grass and hiding from the elements in a cave. Fiona — so named because a sheep named Shrek had been in a similar position in New Zealand almost 20 years ago — has been moved to Dalscone Farm in Dumfries, about 25 miles north of the border with England, where she is set to live out the rest of her days. While it’s not known how Fiona ended up at the bottom of a cliff, it is likely that she got separated from her mother before falling or wandering down the hill and ended up at the bottom without a path back up.

Persons: Fiona, Fiona —, —, it’s Organizations: Farmers Locations: Scottish, New Zealand, Dumfries, England

☆ ‘Utterly Devastated’: ‘Friends’ Cast Reacts to Matthew Perry’s Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Matthew Perry’s fellow “Friends” cast members expressed their grief and sadness about his death in a joint statement to People magazine on Monday. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer said in the statement. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” the statement said.

Persons: Matthew Perry’s, ”, “, Matthew, ” Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Chandler Bing —

☆ Will Playing the Lottery in Southern California Turn You Into a Billionaire?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This month, a winning ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, Calif., a town about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. In July, a lucky player bought a ticket worth $1.08 billion at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles. In 2016, lucky buyers in Chino Hills, Calif., less than 40 miles from Los Angeles, split $1.6 billion with winners in Tennessee and Florida. Lottery officials have not announced who won the winning billion dollar tickets in July and October. The wins have led people in online forums like Reddit and Quora, or in their Google searches, to ask: Is Southern California lucky?

Persons: Edwin Castro, ”, James Abdey, “ Organizations: Midway, Liquor, Las, Lottery, London School of Economics, Political Locations: Frazier Park, Calif, Los Angeles, Chino Hills, Tennessee, Florida, Altadena, Southern California

The man who has long been linked to the 2005 disappearance of the American teenager Natalee Holloway described in court documents released on Wednesday how he had brutally attacked her on a beach in Aruba after she rejected his advances. It was the first time that details of Ms. Holloway’s disappearance have been made public, and it came after Joran van der Sloot, a 36-year-old Dutchman, agreed to provide “full, complete, accurate, and truthful information” about it in exchange for a 20-year sentence on extortion and wire fraud charges. As part of a plea agreement, Mr. van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham to charges that he had tried to extort Ms. Holloway’s mother, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In court, Judge Anna M. Manasco said that as part of the sentencing decision, Mr. van der Sloot had confessed to killing Ms. Holloway and disposing of her remains, The Associated Press reported.

Persons: Natalee Holloway, Joran van der, van der Sloot, Holloway’s, Anna M, Manasco, Holloway Organizations: Northern, Northern District of, Associated Press Locations: Aruba, Northern District, Northern District of Alabama, Birmingham

☆ In His Next Magic Show, Derren Brown Will Be Invisible
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After decades of stage shows, TV specials and essentially reinventing mind control, Derren Brown is doing something new: He’s getting off the stage, and into the director’s chair. “Unbelievable,” directed by Brown and his longtime collaborators Andrew O’Connor and Andy Nyman, opens on Tuesday in London’s West End, and is a family-friendly magic show the likes of which its makers promise you’ve never seen. It’s also a new kind of Derren Brown show. Brown has long maintained that he is not a psychic, but that his mind tricks are a combination of magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship. This time, Brown said that creating a magic show using actors and musicians directed by him, O’Connor and Nyman “just felt like a really appealing idea.”

Persons: Derren Brown, ” Brown, ”, Brown, Andrew O’Connor, Andy Nyman, you’ve, It’s, O’Connor, Nyman “ Locations: London’s

☆ Singing Competition Again Comes Under Fire After Use of Blackface
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In response to that criticism, the show said the negative comments were surprising. This time around, “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” which is in its 19th season, has not yet publicly responded. The show’s Instagram account indicates that multiple contestants have dressed in blackface to perform as Black singers, including Snoop Dogg, Ray Charles, Bill Withers and Missy Elliott. She said the continued use of blackface on the show might be because the stigma surrounding it is smaller in Poland, which has a population that is overwhelmingly white, than it is in the United States. About 97 percent of Poland’s population identifies as ethnically Polish, according to Minority Rights Group International.

Persons: Snoop Dogg, Ray Charles, Bill Withers, Missy Elliott, Mia Moody, Ramirez, cornrows Organizations: Baylor University, Group International Locations: Texas, Poland, United States

☆ A ‘River’ of Wine Flooded the Streets of a Town in Portugal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The wine flowed freely in one Portuguese town over the weekend. Two tanks holding nearly 600,000 gallons (about 2.2 million liters) of wine at a distillery collapsed on Sunday, sending a torrent of red wine down the streets of the small town of Levira. The sheer force of the wine knocked over another tank, causing the wine from both tanks to flow out of the distillery and into the streets. The authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse, Mr. Carvalho said. It looked “like a river,” said Mr. Carvalho, who noted that there was not a strong smell in the air afterward because it was “good quality wine.”The spill lasted for no more than an hour, Mr. Carvalho said, and the local volunteer fire department helped clean up the roads.

Persons: ”, Pedro Carvalho, Levira, Carvalho Locations: Levira, Portuguese, Anadia, Lisbon

☆ Stolen Van Gogh Painting Is Returned in Ikea Bag
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The people believed to be involved in the theft have already been arrested and convicted, after the police intercepted their encrypted communications — meaning that they could not have been the ones to physically return the painting, Brand said. Over the last few years, he had already received tips relating to the painting, including photographs of the artwork. Brand did not reveal the identity of the tipster. In 2019, for example, he found a stolen Picasso. Brand said he had worked together with the Dutch police to find the work.

Persons: Brand, ” Brand, Indiana Jones, ”, ” Tipsters, Picasso Organizations: Dutch, NOS, Brand

☆ Hemingway Survived Two Plane Crashes. A Letter About Them Just Sold for Over $237,000.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Dr. Farah has theorized that Hemingway suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which in later years would be linked to the suicides of former N.F.L. players who suffered the brain disease because of repeated concussions and other injuries. In Philadelphia in February, a first edition of Hemingway’s “In Our Time” from 1924 was auctioned for $277,000. Another signed letter was auctioned off last month at Nate Sanders Auctions, but went for much less: $6,875 after only one bid. In the crash letter — which was written on April 17, 1954, but was misdated as 1953 — Hemingway recounted the crashes and their effect on him, and told his lawyer Alfred Rice that he needed money.

Persons: Farah, Hemingway, Nate Sanders, ”, Kobe Bryant, — Hemingway, Alfred Rice, Abercrombie &, “, ” Hemingway Organizations: Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch Locations: Philadelphia, Venice

☆ Steve Harwell, Former Smash Mouth Lead Singer, Dies at 56
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Steve Harwell, the former lead singer of the rock band Smash Mouth, which was best known for its ubiquitous 1999 hit “All Star,” died on Monday. His death, at his home in Boise, Idaho, was confirmed by the band’s manager, Robert Hayes, who said the cause was liver failure. Smash Mouth was founded in 1994 in San Jose, Calif., and was made up of Harwell, the lead singer, Kevin Coleman on the drums, Greg Camp on the guitar, and Paul De Lisle on the bass. The band first broke out with their 1997 song “Walkin’ on the Sun,” which appeared on their debut album, “Fush Yu Mang.”“‘Walkin’ on the Sun’ changed music. It changed the way people listen to music,” Harwell told Rolling Stone in 2019.

Persons: Steve Harwell, ”, Robert Hayes, Kevin Coleman, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle, Fush Yu Mang, ” Harwell, Rolling Stone, anybody that’s Organizations: Calif, Sun Locations: Boise , Idaho, San Jose, Harwell

☆ How to Help Hurricane Idalia Victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, causing devastating flooding. It then moved on to bring surging water into Charleston, S.C., before heading toward North Carolina on Thursday. Volunteers and aid groups are working to help the affected communities. If you wish to help, here’s some guidance. Officials with the Federal Communications Commission have said that scammers may use phone calls, text messages, emails, post mail, and even go door to door.

Persons: Idalia Organizations: Thursday . Volunteers, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Florida, Charleston, S.C, North Carolina

☆ Dutch E-Bike Brand VanMoof Bought Out of Bankruptcy by Scooter Maker
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

VanMoof, the Dutch e-bike maker that gained a zealous following but declared bankruptcy last month, has been acquired by Lavoie, an upscale electric scooter company, the firms announced on Thursday. Riders of the expensive and technologically advanced VanMoof bikes were left in limbo by the company’s bankruptcy, because the machines are built from proprietary parts that only the company made and many of the bikes’ functions are linked to a smartphone app that runs on the company’s servers. Despite the buzz around the brand, VanMoof had run into financial problems that led to a production backlog and monthslong waits for sales and repairs. But riders will not be completely out of limbo under the new ownership. “What they can’t expect in the first couple of weeks is definitive answers to the problems,” said Nick Fry, the chairman of McLaren Applied, the British motorsports technology company that owns Lavoie.

Persons: Lavoie, VanMoof, ”, Nick Fry, Fry Organizations: Riders, McLaren

Higher winds. In a 2018 paper, Dr. Kossin wrote that hurricanes over the United States had slowed 17 percent since 1947. Dr. Kossin likened the problem to walking around your back yard while using a hose to spray water on the ground. Because warmer water helps fuel hurricanes, climate change is enlarging the zone where hurricanes can form. There is a “migration of tropical cyclones out of the tropics and toward subtropics and middle latitudes,” Dr. Kossin said.

Persons: ”, James P, Kerry Emanuel, “, Kossin, “ you’ll, Emanuel, Dr Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricanes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Hurricane Center, Researchers Locations: United States, subtropics, Japan

☆ Hurricane Idalia: Florida’s Evacuation Orders by County
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More than 20 counties in western and Central Florida have issued evacuation orders as Hurricane Idalia approaches, including parts of Tampa, the state’s third-largest city. Baker County, west of Jacksonville, issued a voluntary evacuation order for low-lying and flood-prone areas and for mobile homes. Dixie County, west of Gainesville, issued a mandatory evacuation order, urging residents to complete preparations by sunset on Tuesday. Gilchrist County, west of Gainesville, issued a voluntary evacuation order for all low-lying areas and mobile homes. Jefferson County, east of Tallahassee, ordered the voluntary evacuation of mobile homes, recreational vehicles and low-lying areas that are prone to floods.

Persons: Simmons, Joe Beach, Johnny Diaz, Claire Moses Locations: Central Florida, Tampa, Florida, Baker County, Jacksonville, Citrus County, U.S, Dixie County, Gainesville, Franklin County, Tallahassee, Gilchrist County, Gulf County, Panama City, Cape San Blas, Mexico, Simmons Bayou, Highland, Hernando County, Tuesday, Hillsborough County, Jefferson County

She is too young to quit and too old to uproot her life, she said, and the authorities have not provided enough support and information on how to change what she now does. Although only nine million out of almost 400 million voters in Europe work in agriculture, they are a vocal and influential bloc that attracts the sympathy of many on a continent where a nation’s identity is often tied to the food it produces. A host of new groups are vying to displace traditional parties. They include the Farmer Citizen Movement, known by its Dutch acronym BBB, which was established four years ago. The party has just one seat in the 150-member Dutch House of Representatives, but it swept regional elections in March, and polls predict it will do well in national elections in November.

Persons: ”, Breunissen Organizations: Political, Farmer Citizen Movement, Dutch, of Locations: Europe

☆ European Climate Czar Steps Down to Take Part in Dutch Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Frans Timmermans, the European Union’s climate chief, will leave his position in Brussels to become a candidate in coming elections in the Netherlands, the European Commission announced on Tuesday. Mr. Timmermans’s immediate departure comes as the European Union is focusing on meeting climate goals, reducing emissions on the continent as well as transitioning to clean energy. Mr. Timmermans served as the executive vice president for the European Green Deal, a set of proposals that aims to make the E.U.’s climate, energy, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Last month, European lawmakers approved a key element of the Green Deal that would require member nations to restore 20 percent of natural areas within their borders on land and at sea.

Persons: Frans Timmermans, Timmermans’s, Timmermans Organizations: European Commission, European Union, Green Deal, Green Locations: Brussels, Netherlands

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