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☆ Australian Man and His Dog Rescued After Nearly 3 Months at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Michael Levenson | More About Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

While searching for tuna last week, a helicopter pilot spotted something bobbing in the vast blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean, more than 1,200 miles from land. It was a small white catamaran, badly damaged. When a small boat sent by the helicopter caught up with him, he said his name was Timothy Shaddock and that he and his dog, Bella, had been at sea for about three months. He said he had survived in part by fishing for tuna, which he ate raw, and drinking rainwater. On Tuesday, Mr. Shaddock, 54, walked down the gangway of the Maria Delia, the Mexican tuna trawler that had rescued him, and began to recount his remarkable story of survival.

Persons: Timothy Shaddock, Bella, Shaddock, Maria Delia

☆ U.S. to Pay $975,000 to Resolve Sexual Assault Claims Against Air Force General
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Michael Levenson | More About Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The federal government has agreed to pay a retired Army colonel $975,000 to resolve a lawsuit she filed in 2019 that accused John E. Hyten, an Air Force general who later became vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of sexual assault, according to court records. The retired colonel, Kathryn A. Spletstoser, had accused General Hyten of unwanted sexual advances and touching beginning in 2017, when he was her boss and the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, responsible for overseeing the country’s nuclear arsenal. Colonel Spletstoser reported the accusations to military investigators in April 2019 after President Donald J. Trump nominated General Hyten to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country’s No. General Hyten strongly denied the accusations, and an Air Force official charged with investigating Colonel Spletstoser’s complaint declined in June 2019 to refer him to a court-martial. But Colonel Spletstoser spoke publicly about the accusations the following month, telling The New York Times that she had a “moral responsibility to come forward” as the Senate considered his nomination.

Persons: John E, Kathryn A, Hyten, Spletstoser, Donald J, Trump, General Hyten Organizations: Army, Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S . Strategic Command, New York Times, Senate

☆ Nathan's hot dog eating contest crowns Joey Chestnut men's champion and Miki Sudo women's champion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It’s the 4th of July, I got to eat some hot dogs and get a win.”“I feel great,” he added. People take shelter from the rain Tuesday at the Nathan's hot dog eating contest. A spectacle of gluttonyMayoi Ebihara and Miki Sudo compete in the Nathan's hot dog eating contest on Tuesday. Amr Alfiky/ReutersChestnut was the heavy favorite on the men’s side and has now won 16 of the last 17 Independence Day contests, including 63 hot dogs last year. Sudo won last year’s title with 40 hot dogs and holds the women’s world record for eating 48.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Persons: Joey Chestnut, Miki Sudo, Chestnut, ” Chestnut, I’m, ”, “ I’ve, I’ll, ” Geoffrey Esper, Australia’s James Webb, Amr Alfiky, Ebihara, “, “ It’s, Mayoi Ebihara, Michelle Lesco, Sudo, Nathan’s Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, FDNY, Lutheran Medical Center, Nathan’s, Professional League, WABC Locations: Coney Island , New York, Coney, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Sudo, Surf, New York City

☆ Five Things to Know One Year After the Dobbs Decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yet there have also been unexpected legal and political changes that have left Americans on both sides of the issue scrambling to adapt. Here are five major changes detailed in The New York Times’s coverage of the first anniversary of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion after nearly 50 years. The Dobbs decision has reshaped the national political landscape in two seemingly contradictory ways. It has made abortion rights a significant electoral strength for Democrats and, often, a clear liability for Republicans. And yet, Republican-dominated states have moved swiftly to limit or ban access to abortion.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Dobbs Organizations: Republican, Jackson, Health Organization, Democrats Locations: New York, Dobbs v

☆ Thousands of Reddit Communities Stay Dark as App Policy Protest Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Thousands of volunteer-run message boards on Reddit remained dark on Tuesday, a week after moderators of the communities began what they called a 48-hour protest against Reddit’s planned changes to its business model. More than 3,200 message boards, known as subreddits, remained restricted or private, down from nearly 9,000 last week, according to a website tracking the revolt. Others were flooded with memes mocking Reddit’s chief executive, Steve Huffman, as anger continued to bubble on the site over changes to the company’s business model. Moderators of some of the communities that reopened said they had done so after Reddit threatened to replace them. “We want the best for this community and have no choice but to open it back up — or have it opened for us,” the moderators of the Apple enthusiast forum r/Apple wrote in a message in which they called on Mr. Huffman to resign.

Persons: Reddit’s, Steve Huffman, Apple, Huffman Organizations: Apple

CNN —The US Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation for a submersible with five people on board that went missing during an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic. In an interview with Fox News, First District Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the Coast Guard is “bringing all assets to bear” in search of the missing submersible. Person on expedition posted photosOne of the individuals on the missing submersible posted photos of it on Sunday before its launch. From InstagramOne of the individuals on the missing sub posted photos of it on Sunday before its launch. “That is where our focus is right now.”He asked people not to ask for the names of the people on the missing sub or speculate.

Persons: Samantha Corcoran, “, ”, Corcoran, John Mauger, Jacques Cousteau’s, OceanGate, Person, ” Rory Golden, Golden, “ … Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, Polar, Coast Guard, Oceangate Expeditions, RCC Halifax, Canadian Coast Guard, Fox News, Guard, NOAA, Sunday, Facebook Locations: Newfoundland, Canada, St, John’s

CNN —Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, was convicted by a federal jury Friday on all 63 charges against him. Bowers was also convicted of 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. The shooting unfolded on a day when the synagogue was hosting three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, for weekly Shabbat services. In addition to the 11 killed, two worshippers and four responding police officers were wounded. Before the shooting, Bowers spent years posting about attacks on immigrants and Jewish people on Gab, a small social media platform used by far-right extremists.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers, David Klug Diane Rosenthal, Cecil, David Rosenthal, ‘, ’, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, ” Myers, ” “, ”, Jonathan Greenblatt, that’s, ” Greenblatt, Dan Frankel, “, Frankel, ” Bowers, Robert Bowers David Klug, Robert Colville, Elisa Long, ” Long, Eric Olshan, ” Olshan, Dor Hadash, Andrea Wedner, Rose Mallinger, ’ ”, Mary Hahn, – Organizations: CNN, U.S, Attorney, Defamation League, Pennsylvania, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Police, Immigrant Aid Society Locations: Maryland, New York

☆ Harvard Medical School Morgue Manager Sold Body Parts, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The manager of a morgue at Harvard Medical School has been charged with selling body parts from donated cadavers and allowing buyers to come to the morgue to choose which parts they wanted, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Prosecutors said that the manager, Cedric Lodge, 55, and his wife, Denise Lodge, 63, both of Goffstown, N.H., and three others had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods. A sixth person, Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Bloomsburg, Pa., was charged separately, prosecutors said. A seventh, Candace Chapman Scott, of Little Rock, Ark., was previously indicted in Arkansas, prosecutors said. The defendants were all part of a nationwide network that bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and a mortuary in Little Rock where Ms. Scott worked, prosecutors said.

Persons: Cedric Lodge, Denise Lodge, Jeremy Pauley, Candace Chapman Scott, Scott Organizations: Harvard Medical, Wednesday, Prosecutors, Harvard Medical School Locations: Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, Pa, Arkansas, Little Rock

☆ Reddit Communities Go Dark to Protest New App Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The moderators of hundreds of Reddit forums, known as subreddits, closed off access to their groups on Monday to protest the company’s plan to charge for access to the data that outside developers need to run apps on the site. Many said the new pricing scheme could kill off some of the most popular third-party apps that many users rely on to browse and comment on the site. Others said the charges had sowed uncertainty about the tools that moderators use to manage discussions. An estimated 57 million people a day visit the platform. Reddit said it no longer wanted to give away such a valuable asset to companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft, which have been using Reddit’s data to develop artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley see as the next big thing.

Persons: Reddit Organizations: Google, Microsoft Locations: Silicon

CNN —Pat Robertson, the prominent televangelist who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, made the Christian right a powerful political force and unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988, died on Thursday, the network said in a news release. “Pat Robertson, longtime TV host, religious broadcaster, educator, humanitarian, and one-time presidential candidate died at his home in Virginia Beach early Thursday morning. Pat Robertson (right) hosted the show "The 700 Club" on his Christian Broadcasting Network from 1966 to 2021. Linda C. Culpepper/APRobertson helped transform the conservative evangelical movement into a political force on the American right that helped elect Ronald Reagan. His wife of 70 years, Dede Robertson, died last year at the age of 94.

Persons: Pat Robertson, “ Pat Robertson, Robertson, “, Academic Affairs William L, Hathaway, “ Dr, Jesus Christ, ”, ” –, Linda C, Culpepper, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Bob Dole, Jerry Falwell, ’ ” Falwell, ” Robertson, Donald Trump, Trump, Gordon, Dede Robertson Organizations: CNN, Christian Broadcasting Network, Regent University, ” Regent University Executive, Academic Affairs, Southern Baptist, Republican, Christian Coalition of America, ”, ACLU, People, Trump Locations: Virginia Beach, Virginia, America, Haiti

☆ Man Pleads Guilty to Moving Bison Calf, Calling It an ‘Act of Compassion’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Clifford Walters said he was only trying to save a struggling newborn bison when he made a sudden decision to push it up from a riverbank in Yellowstone National Park. But Mr. Walters’s encounter with the animal on May 20 landed him in federal court, where he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife, which is a misdemeanor. Mr. Walters was ordered to pay a $500 fine, a $500 community service payment to the Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 special assessment and a $10 processing fee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said in a statement. Mr. Walters, 78, represented himself in court and said in an interview on Friday that he believed the outcome was fair. The charge he was facing carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Persons: Clifford Walters, Walters’s, Walters, . Walters Organizations: Protection, Attorney’s, District of Locations: U.S, District of Wyoming

☆ Danny Masterson Is Convicted of Raping Two Women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Another accuser, who was identified in court documents only as Christina B., said in the same statement that she was “devastated” that the jury had deadlocked on the charge that Masterson raped her in 2001 when they were in a relationship. About 20 or 30 minutes later, she felt “very disoriented,” the brief states. According to the brief, Masterson raped her after she regained consciousness on his bed. She reached for his hair to try to pull him off and tried to push a pillow into his face, the brief states. When Masterson heard a man yelling in the house, he pulled a gun from his night stand and told her not to move or to “say anything,” adding expletives, the brief states.

Persons: “, Danny Masterson, Masterson, Christina B, ”, Jen B Organizations: of Scientology, Los Angeles County, Attorney’s Office Locations: ”

☆ Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Has Dementia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter and a longtime advocate for expanded access to mental health care, has dementia, the Carter Center said on Tuesday. The announcement came just over three months after the center said that Mr. Carter, who at 98 is the longest living president in American history, had decided to forgo further medical treatment and would enter hospice care at the couple’s home in Plains, Ga. The center said on Tuesday that Mrs. Carter, 95, “continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones.”“We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support,” the center said. “We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.”

☆ Fixer-Uppers With Waterfront Views: The U.S. Is Unloading Lighthouses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Looking for a place with waterfront views? The government might have a deal for you. The General Services Administration said on Friday that it was giving away six lighthouses to nonprofits or government agencies that promise to maintain them, and planned to sell four others to the public at auction. The lighthouses are on some of the most picturesque waters in New England and the Midwest. But aspiring lightkeepers should be prepared to do some repair work before living out their 19th-century maritime fantasies.

CNN —British author Martin Amis, best known for the 1984 novel, “Money,” and 1989’s “London Fields,” has died, his publisher Penguin Books UK announced Saturday. “(Amis) leaves a towering legacy and an indelible mark on the British cultural landscape, and will be missed enormously,” the British publishing house said on Twitter. LONDON - APRIL 5: Writer Martin Amis at home in London on April 5, 1995. His 1991 novel, “Time’s Arrow,” and 2014’s “The Zone of Interest,” explored the Holocaust. “It’s hard to imagine a world without Martin Amis in it,” his UK editor, Michal Shavit, said in Penguin’s statement.

☆ Man Charged With Stealing Ruby Slippers Worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man has been indicted on charges that he stole a pair of the famed ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., the actress’s hometown, nearly 18 years ago. Mr. Martin was indicted on one count of theft of a major artwork. The one-page indictment did not provide any further details about the case. It was not immediately clear if Mr. Martin had a lawyer. Reached by phone Wednesday at his home, Mr. Martin told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that he had to go to trial, and added: “I don’t want to talk to you.”

☆ Possible Cyberattack Disrupts The Philadelphia Inquirer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A possible cyberattack on The Philadelphia Inquirer disrupted the newspaper’s print operation over the weekend and prompted it to close its newsroom through at least Tuesday, when its staff will be covering an expensive and fiercely contested mayoral primary. Elizabeth H. Hughes, the publisher and chief executive of The Inquirer, said that the newspaper discovered “anomalous activity on select computer systems” on Thursday and “immediately took those systems offline.”But The Inquirer was unable to print its regular Sunday edition, the newspaper reported. Instead, print subscribers received a Sunday “early edition,” which went to press on Friday night. The newspaper also reported on Sunday that its ability to post and update stories on its website, Inquirer.com, was “sometimes slower than normal.”The Monday print editions of The Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News, which The Inquirer also publishes, were distributed as scheduled, Evan Benn, a company spokesman, said.

CNN —A US Army sergeant who was convicted of murdering a protester at a Black Lives Matter rally in 2020 was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday morning – even as Texas’ governor pushes to pardon him. In April, a Texas jury convicted Perry of murder but found him not guilty on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The governor can only pardon Perry if the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends it, according to Texas law. And in a June 1, 2020, social media comment, Perry compared the Black Lives Matter movement to “a zoo full of monkeys that are freaking out flinging their sh*t,” the documents show. CNN reached out to the governor’s office for comment on the social media posts.

☆ A New Jersey Mystery: Who Dumped Hundreds of Pounds of Pasta, and Why?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“There was literally 25 feet of pasta that had been dumped,” she said. The scene resembled something out of “Strega Nona,” the classic children’s book by Tomie dePaola about a kindly “grandma witch” whose magically overflowing pot floods her little town in Italy with pasta. Ms. Jochnowitz estimated that 300 to 500 pounds of pasta had been left to congeal in the woods. She documented the pasta with the camera on her phone, emailed a town official to report the find and posted the photos on Facebook. Before long, the town was consumed with theories about who might have dumped the pasta and why, especially in a state known for its love of Italian food.

CNN —A Minnesota judge found former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter for his role in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, according to court documents filed Monday. “Like the bystanders, Thao could see Floyd’s life slowly ebbing away as the restraint continued,” Cahill wrote in the verdict. Tou Thao Hennepin County Sheriff's Office“The conviction of Tou Thao is historic and the right outcome,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the lead prosecutor of Floyd’s murder, said in a statement. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in state court and was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison in June 2021. Lane, Kueng and Thao were found guilty in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights and of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the restraint.

☆ Oklahoma bodies found: Convicted sex offender Jesse McFadden and 2 teen girls among 7 bodies found at his home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tina Burnside Caroll Alvarado Eric Levenson | Tina Burnside | Caroll Alvarado | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A convicted sex offender and two missing teenage girls were believed to be among seven bodies found at the man’s Oklahoma home on Monday, authorities said. Brittany Brewer, 16, left, and Ivy Webster, 14, right, were the subject of an endangered/missing advisory issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. From Nathan Brewer/Okmulgee County Sheriff's OfficeThe seven bodies were found at a property where McFadden lived and was listed as his home in the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry. “Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the school system said. “Please continue to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.”Located in central Oklahoma, Henryetta had a population of 5,640 at the 2020 US census.

☆ Freight Train Derails in Southwestern Wisconsin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Michael Levenson | April Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A BNSF freight train derailed on Thursday in southwestern Wisconsin, injuring four crew members and sending two containers into the Mississippi River but causing no environmental damage, officials said. BNSF said in a statement that the train derailed at about 12:15 p.m. local time near the village of De Soto, Wis., which hugs the Mississippi River, near the border of Iowa and Minnesota. Two of the three locomotives and an unknown number of cars carrying “freight of all kinds” were involved, the statement said. Two containers went into the Mississippi River, but they did not contain hazardous materials, the statement said. The materials did not pose a hazard to the public because they remained on land, he said.

☆ What to Know About Danny Masterson’s Second Rape Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Opening arguments began on Monday in a retrial of the rape case against Danny Masterson, the actor known for his role in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” nearly five months after the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury. The first trial ended in November when the jury could not reach a verdict on the three counts of forcible rape that the actor faced, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial. If convicted in the retrial, Masterson could face 45 years to life in prison. The charges in the retrial in Los Angeles Superior Court are the same as in the first trial. But in a potentially significant shift, the judge, Charlaine F. Olmedo, has allowed prosecutors to tell jurors directly that Masterson had drugged his three accusers, The Associated Press reported.

☆ Children With Autism Across U.S. Lend Voices to Transit Announcements
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Although not every child’s recording made the final cut, the project has aimed to broaden acceptance of children with autism and to give them a chance to have their voices broadcast at train stations, which many of them adore. Many children with autism focus intensely on the technical aspects of trains and buses, subway maps and train schedules, said Jonathan Trichter, a co-founder of the Foundry Learning Center — a school for children with developmental disabilities in Manhattan — and the driving force behind the public service announcements. Children with autism also latch onto phrases they hear in spaces where they are intensely focused and use them as some of their first means of communication, Mr. Trichter said. “As a result, it is not unusual for a child in New York City who is on the spectrum to have, as his or her first full sentence, something like ‘Stand clear of the closing doors, please,’” Mr. Trichter said, reciting the familiar warning that plays throughout the city’s subway system. That phenomenon, he said, gave him the idea to pitch the children’s announcements to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, which was the first agency to broadcast them last April.

☆ Koko Da Doll, Star of Film on Transgender Sex Workers, Is Killed in Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Koko Da Doll, who was featured in “Kokomo City,” a documentary about four Black transgender sex workers that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival this year, was fatally shot in Atlanta on Tuesday, the film’s director said. Koko Da Doll, 35, whose name was Rasheeda Williams, “was the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women,” the director, D. Smith, said in a statement. “I created ‘Kokomo City’ because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women,” Ms. Smith said. “I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of transgender lives. But here we are again.”The Atlanta Police Department said that it was actively investigating three violent crimes against transgender women this year — the fatal shooting on Tuesday, another fatal shooting on April 11 and a shooting that critically injured a female victim in January.

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