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☆ 3 Killed in National Guard Helicopter Crash Near Mexican Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three people were killed and one was critically injured after a helicopter carrying National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent crashed in southern Texas on Friday while following people who were crossing the border with Mexico, officials said. The helicopter, which crashed at 2:50 p.m., was conducting an operation near Rio Grande City, according to Joint Task Force North, an operation under the Defense Department that supports Customs and Border Protection with National Guard units. Two of the dead were soldiers, and the third was a Border Patrol agent, Joint Task Force North said in a statement, adding that it would not share the names of the victims because their families had not been notified. The National Guard confirmed in a statement that its members on board were part of the Army National Guard. That model has served as the U.S. Army’s light utility helicopter since 2006, according to Airbus, the manufacturer.

Organizations: National Guard, Border Patrol, Task Force, Defense Department, Army National Guard, UH, Lakota, Airbus Locations: Texas, Mexico, Rio Grande City

☆ 1 Killed as Explosion at Michigan Vape Distributor Sends Canisters Flying
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Emily Schmall | John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A teenager in Michigan was struck and killed by a flying butane canister from an explosive fire at a vaping distributor’s warehouse about a quarter mile away on Monday night, the authorities said. The 19-year-old man, who was not identified, was among several people injured from chunks of metal that the force of the explosion projected as far as a mile away, Mark Hackel, the county executive in Macomb County in Eastern Michigan, said in an interview. The fire, which began shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday, filled the night sky with flames and smoke, prompted the police to urge residents to avoid the area and left a trail of charred debris along 15 Mile Road, a highway in Clinton Township, Mich.“You could see the amount of fire just coursing in the sky, and the explosions were actually shaking the car,” Tim Duncan, the chief of Clinton Township’s fire department, said in a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Persons: Mark Hackel, Tim Duncan, Clinton Locations: Michigan, Macomb County, Eastern Michigan, Clinton Township, Mich

☆ Wildfires Prompt Evacuations in Texas and Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wildfires were spreading rapidly in Texas and Oklahoma early Wednesday, prompting evacuations and the closure of a plant that disassembles nuclear weapons. In Texas, Gov. The largest current blaze in the Texas Panhandle, the Smokehouse Creek fire, has burned at least 300,000 acres since igniting on Monday, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. “Hot and dry conditions caused by high temperatures and windy conditions are expected to continue in the region in the coming days,” Governor Abbott said in a statement. “These conditions could increase the potential for these wildfires to grow larger and more dangerous.”

Persons: Greg Abbott, Abbott Organizations: Gov, Texas Panhandle, Texas, M, Service Locations: Texas, Oklahoma

☆ A K-Pop Star’s Lonely Downward Spiral
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Motoko Rich | John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The K-pop star looked utterly drained. Her face scrubbed of makeup, Goo Hara, one of South Korea’s most popular musical artists, gazed into the camera during an Instagram livestream from a hotel room in Japan. In a fading voice, she read questions from fans watching from around the world. Her father at one point attempted suicide. After grueling training, she debuted in a K-pop group at 17, early even by the standards of the Korean hit-making machine.

Persons: Goo Hara Locations: Japan

☆ Pankaj Udhas, Bollywood Singer and Maestro of the Ghazal, Dies at 72
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Suhasini Raj | John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Pankaj Udhas, a singer from India whose soulful renditions of ghazals, or lyric love songs, were a cornerstone of many Bollywood films over his decades-long career, died in Mumbai on Monday. His death was announced on social media by his daughter Nayaab Udhas. Mr. Udhas moved generations of people in India and the Indian diaspora by singing ghazals, the lyric poems that have been written for centuries in Persian, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish and other languages. He also worked as a playback singer, the term for a vocalist who recorded tracks offscreen for actors to lip-sync over. Mr. Udhas became a stalwart in the Indian music industry through both his discography of more than 50 albums and the enormous success of the movies in which he sang.

Persons: Pankaj Udhas, Nayaab Udhas, Udhas Locations: India, Mumbai

☆ Lee Hoyang, Prolific K-Pop Producer and Songwriter, Dies at 40
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lee Hoyang, a prolific producer and songwriter of South Korean pop music who was professionally known as Shinsadong Tiger and who helped create some of the biggest K-pop hits of the 2010s, died in Seoul on Friday. It did not mention the cause of death, but said that a private funeral was being held in Seoul. Mr. Lee was often credited with shaping the musical style that defined K-pop in the early 2010s: catchy, upbeat and repetitive with a strong hook. Among the hits were “Roly-Poly” and “Bo Peep Bo Peep,” both by T-ara; “NoNoNo” by Apink; and “Bubble Pop!” by HyunA. “He created an exciting, funky, beat-driven K-pop style that continues to be repeated over and over again,” said Do Heon Kim, a pop music critic in South Korea.

Persons: Lee Hoyang, Tiger, Lee’s, Lee, “ Bo Peep Bo Peep, ”, Heon Kim, hasn’t Organizations: TR Entertainment Locations: Korean, Seoul, South Korea

☆ Trader Joe’s Is Coming to Springfield. Just Not That Springfield.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Trader Joe’s told a Springfield, Mo., newspaper on Thursday that it was opening a store there, shoppers rejoiced. “Springfield is getting so nice I may not want to go to heaven!” a pastor, Tyler Padgitt, wrote on Facebook. But his elation didn’t last even an hour: The company apologized minutes later, saying it was actually talking about Springfield, Va.“It was a moment of euphoria followed by a dark night of the soul,” Mr. Padgitt said in an interview.

Persons: Joe’s, “ Springfield, Tyler Padgitt, Mr, Padgitt Organizations: Facebook Locations: Springfield, Mo, Springfield , Va

Ameen Sayani, a pioneering radio presenter who drew generations of listeners in India with his melodic voice on a radio show that became a national phenomenon, died on Tuesday. Born in 1932, Ameen Sayani was introduced to radio by his elder brother who was an English-language presenter. In 1952, Ameen became one of the first voices to be heard on the airwaves in Asia by starting the radio program for which he became the most famous, “Binaca Geetmala,” showcasing Bollywood music. He hosted the program on Radio Ceylon, one of the oldest radio stations in the world, based in what is now Sri Lanka. The show was later moved to All India Radio, the state-owned public broadcaster.

Persons: Ameen, Narendra Modi, Sayani’s, “, ” Mr, Rajil, Ameen Sayani, Binaca Organizations: Radio Ceylon, India Radio Locations: India, English, Asia, Sri Lanka

A firefighter was killed after a house in Virginia exploded Friday night, injuring 11 other people and scattering pieces of the home across the neighborhood, officials said. Firefighters arrived at the home in Sterling, Va., a suburb of Washington, about 7:40 p.m., said James Williams, the assistant chief of operations for Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. That was around the same time the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company reported on social media that it had sent fire engines to the house to investigate a gas leak. Soon after, the house exploded with firefighters inside, leaving people trapped and the area in “total devastation,” Mr. Williams said. Aerial footage of the scene from local news media showed smoke and debris covering the area and barely any signs of the demolished house.

Persons: Firefighters, James Williams, ” Mr, Williams Organizations: Loudoun County Fire, Sterling Volunteer Fire Company Locations: Virginia, Sterling , Va, Washington, Loudoun County

☆ William Post, Who Helped Create Pop-Tarts, Dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

William Post, a businessman who was credited with a significant role in inventing Pop-Tarts, a classic American snack and cultural touchstone with an enticing sweetness and simplicity, died on Feb. 10 in Grand Rapids, Mich. His death was confirmed by his son, Dan Post, who said his father had died of heart failure in a senior living community. Mr. Post led the bakery plant that developed the first Pop-Tarts for Kellogg’s in 1964, his son said. The snack quickly became a popular treat for many people in the United States, including Mr. Post’s children, who were among the first taste testers. Today, billions of Pop-Tarts are sold each year, according to Kellogg’s.

Persons: William Post, Dan Post, “, ”, Jerry Seinfeld Organizations: Post Locations: Grand Rapids, Mich, Kellogg’s, United States, “

☆ Samsung’s Leader Acquitted in Stock and Accounting Fraud Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s top executive, on charges of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud, the latest twist in the billionaire’s legal troubles tied to a merger that helped him secure control of the nation’s largest company. Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of five years and a fine of 500 million won against Mr. Lee, 55. Prosecutors have the option to appeal the decision to a higher court. Neither Samsung Electronics nor the prosecutors’ office immediately commented after the verdict. Mr. Lee’s lawyers said in a statement that the decision “clearly confirmed the legality” of the merger and the accounting of its affiliates.

Persons: Lee Jae, Lee, “ Organizations: Samsung, Prosecutors, Mr, Samsung Electronics Locations: Seoul

☆ The conservative legal world lines up behind Donald Trump at the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —As Donald Trump wages a Supreme Court battle to stay on state presidential ballots, a potent contingent of the conservative legal world has united behind him. The new filings in the case of Trump v. Anderson also reinforce the tight world of Supreme Court lawyering. From the start, the Colorado voters trying to keep Trump off the ballot, and who won at the state Supreme Court level, have been represented by former US Supreme Court clerks who’ve become prominent advocates. In this screengrab from video, Jonathan Mitchell speaks during a panel on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's legacy in April 2016. A decision could come any day, and when that happens, the case of United States v. Trump would, no doubt, return to the justices.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jonathan Mitchell, Roe, Wade, Elena Kagan, Trump, who’ve, Noel Francisco, George W, Bush, John Yoo, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anderson, Mitchell, Thomas, Scalia, Jason Murray, Justice Kagan, Eric Olson, Sean Grimsley, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Joe Biden, “, United States …, ” Mitchell, United States ’, ”, Francisco, William Barr, Michael Mukasey, Edwin Meese, Trump’s, Antonin Scalia's, Scott Gessler, Jack Smith Organizations: CNN, Republican National Committee, GOP, Trump, Colorado, White, Colorado Supreme, Capitol, Confederate, United, National Republican, University of Chicago, Supreme, SPAN, Republican, Dhillon Locations: Texas, Colorado, United States

Fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift likely generated by artificial intelligence spread rapidly across social media platforms this week, disturbing fans who saw them and reigniting calls from lawmakers to protect women and crack down on the platforms and technology that spread such images. X suspended several accounts that posted the faked images of Ms. Swift, but the images were shared on other social media platforms and continued to spread despite those companies’ efforts to remove them. While X said it was working to remove the images, fans of the pop superstar flooded the platform in protest. They posted related keywords, along with the sentence “Protect Taylor Swift,” in an effort to drown out the explicit images and make them more difficult to find.

Persons: Taylor Swift, X, Swift, Ben Colman Organizations: Twitter

☆ For Second Time This Month, a Politician Is Attacked in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( John Yoon | Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A South Korean lawmaker was attacked in the head with a blunt object in Seoul on Thursday and taken to a hospital where she was being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to her staff and physicians. Bae Hyunjin, of the ruling People Power Party, is the second South Korean politician to be physically assaulted while in public in less than a month. Yang Jaeyu, her chief of staff, said that the attacker approached her asking, “Are you the People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyunjin?” twice before striking her with what he called a “rocklike object.”Security camera footage shared by her office showed the assailant walking through a doorway closely behind her before repeatedly hitting the lawmaker as she fell over backward onto the floor and tried to resist the attack.

Persons: Bae Hyunjin, Yang Jaeyu, ” Organizations: Power Party, South, People Power Party Locations: Seoul, South Korean

After the check, Mr. Young began asking the agents questions, which they said they answered, and he began video recording them. The arrest affidavit said that Mr. Young and his friends had followed them and began talking to the people there. Then the agent pushed Mr. Young with two hands, and Mr. Young staggered backward and hit his back on a corner of the bar table, causing him to briefly fall, the video shows. Mr. Young then got up, raised both of his hands in the air and walked backward from the agents. Another agent tried speaking to Mr. Young, who did not comply with the orders, the affidavit said.

Persons: Young, Mr, Joseph Phillips Organizations: Alcoholic Beverage Commission, DawgHouse

☆ Frankfurt Airport Cancels Half Its Flights Because of Snow and Ice
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Heavy snow and freezing rain grounded hundreds of flights in Germany on Wednesday, including at Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe’s busiest, where half of the scheduled flights were canceled. At Frankfurt Airport, about 500 of the 1,030 scheduled flights were canceled because of the weather on Wednesday, when 115,000 passengers had been expected, the airport said in a statement. The weather-related disruptions would continue on Thursday, the airport said, advising passengers to check their flight status before traveling to the airport. Munich Airport grounded about 150 flights on Wednesday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. Saarbrücken Airport, a small international airport on the country’s western border, suspended operations entirely, its website said.

Organizations: Frankfurt Airport, Saarbrücken Locations: Germany

The U.S. Air Force said on Monday that the bodies of five crew members had been found alongside the wreckage of a CV-22 Osprey that went down during a routine training exercise last week in southern Japan. Two crew members remain unaccounted for, and the remains of one had been discovered on Wednesday, the day of the crash. Over the weekend, the Air Force identified that airman as Staff Sgt. The body of Sergeant Galliher, a young father who went by the first name Jake, had been found by the Japan Coast Guard. The U.S. Air Force said that a breakthrough in the five-day search came on Monday, when a combined Japanese and American team found the Osprey’s fuselage.

Persons: Jacob M, Sergeant Galliher, Jake, Minoru Kihara, Ricky Rupp Organizations: U.S . Air Force, Air Force, Japan Coast Guard, United States Forces Japan Locations: Japan, Yakushima

When the North Korean men’s soccer team took the field for two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches this month, close observers noticed an important roster change. Han Kwang-song, a high-profile striker, was back, more than three years after vanishing from public view for reasons beyond his control: United Nations-imposed sanctions on North Korean nationals over Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Mr. Han’s story is a rare case of North Korea sanctions reverberating through professional soccer. It also shows how enforcement of U.N. sanctions against individuals varies by country. The government in Italy did not deport Mr. Han, now 25, while he was playing professional soccer there.

Persons: Han Kwang, Han Organizations: United Nations, North Locations: Korean, North Korea, Italy, Qatar, Qatari

☆ Students at Bates College waited anxiously for news under lockdown.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At Bates College, the active shooter alert on Wednesday night interrupted a birthday celebration in a dormitory room. “We huddled together and waited for more news,” Ms. The lockdown remained in place overnight for Lewiston, Me., and the 1,800 students at Bates College, a small liberal arts institution there. The emergency order left some students and employees stranded on campus, unable to return home, the university said in a statement. Le waited for news in her dormitory, her family in the Portland, Me., area periodically checked in with her, she said.

Persons: Mavy Le, Ms, Le, “, ”, Geoffrey Swift, “ I’m, ” David He, Mr Organizations: Bates College Locations: Lewiston, Me, Portland

☆ Otis Makes Landfall Near Acapulco as ‘Catastrophic’ Category 5 Hurricane
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Otis made landfall near the resort city of Acapulco on the southern Pacific Coast of Mexico as a Category 5 hurricane, bringing record winds and rainfall that could create a “nightmare scenario” of flooding and mudslides, forecasters said early Wednesday. Hurricane Otis’s maximum sustained winds had grown to 165 miles per hour with stronger gusts at about 12:25 a.m. local time, when it made landfall, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm formed in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, became a Category 1 hurricane midday Tuesday and “explosively intensified” in a matter of hours, becoming the strongest storm ever to hit this part of Mexico, forecasters said. Otis threatens a coast dotted with fishing villages and beach resorts as they gear up for their peak winter season. Along its path lies Acapulco, a large port city and a popular tourist destination home to more than 852,000 people, according to the Mexican government.

Persons: Otis, “ Organizations: National Hurricane Center Locations: Acapulco, Pacific Coast, Mexico

A Washington state senator was arrested at a Hong Kong airport on charges of possessing a locally unregistered firearm, his office said on Monday. Jeff Wilson, a Republican who represents parts of southwestern Washington State, discovered the weapon on his flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong when he reached into his briefcase for a piece of gum, his office said in a statement. Baggage screeners in Portland, Ore., had failed to notice the unloaded pistol in his briefcase before he departed for his trip, letting it pass through airport security, according to his office. When he landed at Hong Kong International Airport, he told customs officials there about the gun. Mr. Wilson was arrested on Friday night, then released on bail on Sunday, his office said.

Persons: Jeff Wilson, Wilson Organizations: Republican, Hong Kong International Airport Locations: Washington, Hong Kong, Washington State, San Francisco, Portland ,

In video clips verified by The New York Times, scores of Palestinian bodies were filmed strewn across the courtyard of the Ahli Arab Hospital, some bloodied, charred, mangled or in pieces. The explosion at the hospital came a day after Iran warned that “other multiple fronts will open” if Israeli attacks continued to kill civilians in Gaza. Hundreds of families had fled to the hospital in search of refuge after 11 days of Israeli strikes elsewhere in Gaza. Image Two Palestinian children injured in the explosion at Ahli Arab Hospital were taken to another hospital in Gaza, Al-Shifa, for treatment. The Health Ministry in Gaza said that Ahli Arab Hospital was also struck on Sunday.

Persons: ”, Ali Jadallah, Israel, Biden’s, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Jordan, Biden, Jadallah, Mr, Ghassan Abu, Dr, Abu, Sitta, Abed Khaled, Ahmed Hijazi, “ I’ve, Hijazi, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Abu Bakr Bashir, Haley Willis, Euan Ward, Yousur, Abu Hweila Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, The New York Times, Ahli Arab Hospital, Anadolu Agency, Shifa, Lebanese, Palestinian, Islamic, Palestinian Authority, Israel, ”, West Bank, West Bank . Video, The Times, Arab Hospital, Episcopal, Health Ministry, World Health Organization, Twitter Locations: Gaza City, Palestinian, Ahli, Al, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Egypt, Zeitoun, Jerusalem, ”, Canterbury, London, Berkeley, Calif, Beirut, Cairo

The Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa on Tuesday was acquitted by a Philippine court of tax fraud, the latest legal victory in her fight for the survival of her news site Rappler, which has come to represent the precariousness of the nation’s press freedoms. A regional trial court in Pasig City, near Manila, found that Ms. Ressa did not violate the country’s tax code, according to the ruling. It was the fifth and final tax-related charge against Ms. Ressa, who faced a fine and up to 10 years in prison, and her publication, according to a statement from Rappler. Ms. Ressa, the Philippines’ most prominent journalist, has been the target of harassment and intimidation since she founded the news site in 2012. She has faced a series of civil and criminal cases, including charges of tax evasion and violations of foreign ownership rules.

Persons: Maria Ressa, Ressa, Ms, ” Locations: Philippine, Pasig City, Manila, Philippines

☆ Flooding From Cyclone in Southern Brazil Kills at Least 22
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A cyclone battered southern Brazil early this week, killing at least 22 people, displacing 3,000 others and prompting the federal government to dispatch helicopters for rescues, the authorities said late Tuesday. Since Sunday, the storm has brought strong winds and floods to the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, submerging dozens of towns, according to the Ministry of Social Development. More rainfall was on the way, and some areas could get more than 11 inches of rain this week, Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology said. Authorities also warned of further flooding near three rivers in the region. The storm, which forecasters described as an extratropical cyclone, also spawned a tornado and winds exceeding 62 miles per hour in Santa Catarina, the state’s Civil Defense said on Tuesday.

Organizations: Ministry of Social, Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, Authorities, state’s Civil Defense Locations: Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina

A fire in a house that was being used as a T-shirt printing shop in the Philippines killed at least 15 people on Thursday, including its workers, the business owner and his family members, officials said. The fire broke out at 5:45 a.m. in a house in the district of Tandang Sora in Quezon City, a densely populated suburb northwest of the capital, Manila, a police report said. When the fire alarm was triggered, 37 fire engines were sent to the site of the blaze, according to the police report from the Quezon City Police District. Among the dead were workers at the shop, including quality checkers, printing staff and a driver, many of whom lived in the house and were in their 20s, the police said. The business owner, Michael Cavilte, was 44.

Persons: Tandang Sora, Michael Cavilte Organizations: Quezon City Police District Locations: Philippines, Tandang, Quezon City, Manila, Quezon

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