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☆ 35 Years After Its Debut, Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ Wins a Song of the Year Award
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tracy Chapman won song of the year at the Country Music Awards on Wednesday for “Fast Car,” a folk ballad that topped the country charts more than three decades after it was first released thanks to a cover by the singer Luke Combs. Chapman, 59, is the first Black songwriter to win that award, Rolling Stone Magazine reported. She did not attend the awards ceremony in Nashville but thanked the crowd in a statement that was read onstage by Sarah Evans, a co-presenter of the award. “It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut,” Chapman’s statement said. “Thank you to the C.M.A.s and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of ‘Fast Car.’”Combs, an unassuming star known for his irrepressibly catchy and relatable country anthems, also won single of the year for “Fast Car.” He began his acceptance speech on Wednesday by thanking Chapman for writing “one of the best songs of all time.”

Persons: Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs, Chapman, Sarah Evans, “ It’s, ”, Luke, ’ ” Combs Organizations: Country, Stone Magazine, “ Locations: Nashville

Three weeks ago, the view from Iwo Jima showed open ocean. Now there’s a tiny new island right offshore, billowing smoke as it grows and offering a rare glimpse at how volcanic islands emerge. The new island is the product of an unnamed undersea volcano that began erupting on Oct. 21, less than a mile from Iwo Jima, the island in Japan where American and Japanese forces waged a fierce battle during World War II. No injuries or damages have been reported on Iwo Jima, hundreds of miles from Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, since the ongoing eruption began. The eruption is offering an eye-opening real-time view of a rare geological phenomenon.

Persons: Yuji Usui Organizations: Japan Meteorological Agency Locations: Iwo Jima, Japan, Tokyo

☆ California Boat Captain Convicted of Manslaughter in Fire That Killed 34
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire off the coast of Southern California in 2019, killing all 33 passengers and one of its six crew members, was found guilty by a federal jury on Monday on one count of an offense known as “seaman’s manslaughter.”When the commercial scuba diving vessel, the Conception, caught fire in a harbor near Santa Cruz Island early on the morning of Sept. 2, 2019, all the passengers were sleeping below deck. Prosecutors say the captain, Jerry Nehl Boylan, successfully escaped, along with four members of the crew, without trying to help them. Mr. Boylan failed to carry out his duties as a ship officer in part by “failing to perform any lifesaving or firefighting activities whatsoever at the time of the fire, even though he was uninjured,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release on Monday that announced the conviction. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February, the release said. Mr. Boylan could face up to 10 years in prison.

Persons: ”, Jerry Nehl Boylan, Boylan Organizations: Prosecutors, United States Attorney’s Office, Central, Central District of Locations: Southern California, Santa Cruz, United, Central District, Central District of California

☆ Jeff Bezos Says He Is Leaving Seattle for Miami
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon out of his Seattle garage in 1994 and plowed billions of dollars into transforming the city into a tech boomtown, said on Thursday that he was leaving his home of three decades and moving to Miami. Mr. Bezos, 59, announced his move in an Instagram post on Thursday night. He said his parents had recently moved back to Miami, where he attended high school, and that he wanted to be closer to them and to his partner, Lauren Sanchez. Bloomberg News reported last month that Mr. Bezos had purchased a mansion in South Florida for $79 million, a few months after buying a neighboring one for $68 million. Mr. Bezos is worth $161 billion, making him the world’s third-richest person, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Lauren Sanchez Organizations: Seattle, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Locations: Miami, Cape Canaveral, Fla, South Florida

☆ Ady Barkan, Health Care Activist, Dies at 39
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Like so many of you, I have experienced the ways our health care system is fundamentally broken: enormous costs, denied claims, dehumanizing treatment when we are most in need. Today we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing health care system. Everyone living in America should get the health care they need, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of people’s health insurance. And then, with a compassionate and intelligent president, we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the health care we deserve.

Persons: Ady Barkan, Donald Trump, —, Joe Biden Organizations: Republican Locations: America

☆ Tropical Storm Pilar Kills at Least 2 in El Salvador
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Heavy rains linked to Tropical Storm Pilar have caused at least two deaths in El Salvador, officials said, as parts of Central America faced heavy flooding on Tuesday night. Its center was about 125 miles south of San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital, and 210 miles west of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on Tuesday night. Tropical storm watches are in effect for the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras. That means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 12 to 24 hours. The U.S. Hurricane Center said that the storm was drifting north and expected to begin moving west, farther into the Pacific Ocean, on Wednesday.

Persons: Storm Pilar, Pilar Organizations: Central America, Associated Press, National Hurricane Center of, U.S . Hurricane Center Locations: El Salvador, Central, United States, San Salvador, Salvadoran, Managua, Nicaragua, Pacific, Honduras, U.S

☆ Aaron Spears, Drummer for Usher and Other Stars, Dies at 47
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aaron Spears, a Grammy-nominated drummer who played with Usher, Ariana Grande and many other major pop stars, has died. The statement did not provide details about other survivors or specify a time, place or cause of death. Representatives for Spears could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday night. In 2004, he earned a Grammy nomination as a producer for Usher’s album “Confessions,” which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Over the years, Spears also played with Grande, Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga, among many other artists, and performed several times on the show “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

Persons: Aaron Spears, Usher, Ariana Grande, Jessica, Spears, James Brown’s, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Seth Meyers, ” Organizations: Grande

The first of the two shootings in Lewiston, Maine, took place at a bowling alley, interrupting an American pastime on an ordinary Wednesday evening. “See you again in your spare time!”On the bowling alley’s Facebook page, the management has posted photos of smiling customers and congratulated people for bowling perfect games. Around 2 a.m., a few reporters were congregating near a sports bar and a Subway sandwich shop at the corner of Mollison Way, a road leading to the bowling alley. “We all went bowling as kids growing up here,” said Mar Mcenery, 52, who lives four miles from the bowling alley and had come to see the scene for herself at 4 a.m. despite the citywide lockdown order. “Especially when the weather gets colder — the bowling alley and the ice rink, that’s what we do.”Ms. Mcenery said the bowling center was a popular hangout for local teenagers.

Persons: ”, Mar Mcenery, Ms, Mcenery, “ Organizations: Facebook, Lewiston police Locations: Lewiston , Maine, Lewiston

☆ Men Accused of Stealing 2 Million Dimes Face Federal Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And then, somehow, more than two million dimes, worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars. The four thieves who federal prosecutors say were behind the robberies didn’t use the most sophisticated tactics. Four men now face several criminal charges, including theft of government money and robbery interfering with instate commerce, according to court documents unsealed last week. The defendants have “developed into a bona fide cargo theft and robbery crew” that used multiple vehicles to break into cargo trailers across the city this spring, federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Monday. In addition to refrigerators, tequila and dimes, they also stole — and in some cases tried to resell — televisions and frozen meat, shrimp and crab legs.

Persons: Jose Cuervo Locations: Philadelphia

☆ Three Neighbors of Ukraine Ban Its Grain as E.U. Restrictions Expire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hours after the European Union ended a temporary ban on exports of Ukrainian grain and other products to five member nations, three of them — Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — defied the bloc and said they would continue to bar Ukrainian grain from being sold within their borders. As Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, has struggled to ship its grain because of Russia’s invasion, the European Union has opened up to tariff-free food imports from the country, a move that had the unintended consequence of undercutting prices in several eastern E.U. As part of a deal meant to protect those countries, the European Union allowed some grain to transit through them, but prohibited domestic sales. Brussels’ decision to let that deal expire at midnight on Friday revived an issue that has threatened European Union unity on support for Ukraine. Lawmakers in Bulgaria went in the other direction, agreeing on Thursday to resume imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, The Associated Press reported, saying the ban had cut into tax revenue.

Persons: Slovakia —, Istvan Nagy Organizations: European Union, Brussels, Ukraine, Lawmakers, Associated Press Locations: — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria

A fire broke out at a nine-story apartment tower in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday night, resulting in more than 50 casualties, the country’s state-run news media said. The Hanoi police announced the figure, which includes dead and injured, hours after the blaze in the capital’s Thanh Xuan district, the Dan Tri newspaper reported on Wednesday morning. The exact death toll was not immediately clear, but Dan Tri reported that many of the 54 people who had been hospitalized after the fire had died. Officials said the cause of the blaze was under investigation. The building has 45 households, and many residents were there when the fire started around 11:30 p.m., the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Persons: Dan, Dan Tri Organizations: Hanoi police, Dan Tri, Vietnam News Agency Locations: Hanoi, Vietnam, Thanh Xuan

He has been spotted several times, even as officers use drones, dogs and helicopters to find and arrest him. Mr. Cavalcante, a Brazilian national, is also wanted for a 2017 murder in his home country. On Saturday night Mr. Cavalcante was seen on a doorbell camera miles away. Police are now searching an area deeper in the Pennsylvania countryside, where he abandoned the van, apparently after it ran out of gas. They urged people in the area to be vigilant and warned of consequences for anyone who helped him.

Persons: Cavalcante Organizations: Police Locations: Brazilian, Pennsylvania

Residents of Morocco who experienced the earthquake firsthand said that confusion had quickly turned into chaos when their walls started shaking and objects started crashing to the ground. In Amizmiz, a town about 30 miles southwest of Marrakesh that is near the epicenter, Yasmina Bennani was about to go to sleep on Friday night when she heard a loud noise. “I felt terrorized,” said Ms. Bennani, 38, a journalist who, like many people in the area, lives in a house made of clay bricks. “It didn’t last long but felt like years,” Ms. Bennani said. “The adrenaline took over,” Mr. Kourkouz told BFMTV.

Persons: Bennani, ”, ” Ms, “, “ Mustapha, Hassan, Ilhem, Maftouh, ” Yacine, France’s, Mr, Kourkouz, BFMTV, ” Raja Bouri, Ms, Bouri Locations: Marrakesh, Saturday, Morocco, Moroccan, Agadir

The quake had a magnitude of 6.8 and a depth of about 11 miles, the United States Geological Survey said in a preliminary report. Here’s what to know about the earthquake: The United States Geological Survey said it was the strongest quake to hit the area in more than 100 years. The epicenter of the earthquake was just over 30 miles west of Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort, the U.S.G.S. As of early morning local time, the full extent of the casualties and damages was not known. The deadliest and most destructive earthquake in Morocco’s recent history was 5.8 magnitude and killed about 12,000 people in 1960.

Organizations: Morocco, Ministry, United States Geological Survey, UNESCO, Heritage, Reuters Locations: Marrakesh, Oukaimeden, Moroccan

As the death toll from the powerful earthquake in Morocco rose on Saturday, questions mounted about the vulnerability of buildings in the seismically active North African country. Moroccan architects said that the hardest-hit areas were rural zones with many earthen houses that were unable to withstand the shaking. “Given the state of the buildings in the country, this death toll was kind of expected,” said Anass Amazirh, an architect in the northern city of Casablanca. Image Rescue workers searching for survivors in a collapsed house in Moulay Brahim, in Morocco’s Al Haouz Province, on Saturday. “These more extreme risks occur regularly in other countries,” the report said, “and Morocco cannot avoid taking them into account.”

Persons: “, ”, Anass Amazirh, Omar Farkhani, Fadel Senna, Mr, Farkhani, Al Hoceima, Al, Haouz, Amazirh Organizations: Morocco’s, of Architects, ., Agence France, Moroccan, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development Locations: Marrakesh, Morocco, Moroccan, Casablanca, Al Haouz, Moulay Brahim, Morocco’s Al Haouz Province, Al, Al Hoceima, “

☆ At Least 296 Killed as Strong Quake Strikes Morocco, Military Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A powerful earthquake that struck about 50 miles from the Moroccan city of Marrakesh late Friday killed at least 296 people, the authorities said early Saturday, as a frantic rescue effort took shape in the hours before dawn. The Moroccan armed forces announced the confirmed death toll of 296 in a post on X, formerly known on Twitter, soon after releasing a preliminary estimate saying that about 100 had been killed. An additional 153 people were transported to hospitals with injuries, the Moroccan news outlet 2M reported. The quake in the High Atlas Mountains had a magnitude of 6.8 and a depth of about 11 miles, the United States Geological Survey said in a preliminary report. The Associated Press reported that it damaged buildings and sent people pouring into the streets of Marrakesh and other Moroccan cities.

Organizations: Twitter, Ministry, United States Geological Survey, Associated Press Locations: Moroccan, Marrakesh, country’s

If you’re ever in New Delhi and think you hear a monkey, don’t assume it’s a monkey. It could be a professional monkey noise impersonator. That’s because humans have been trained to imitate the guttural grunts and shrieks of gray langurs, a type of large monkey that can scare away the smaller kinds that tend to invade city officials’ residences or disrupt state visits. This weekend, the impersonators will take on a fresh challenge: keeping monkeys, which often evade guards by swinging through tree canopies, from barging into venues for the Group of 20 summit of world leaders, the first to take place in India. The event is an important one for India on the global stage, and the government does not want monkeys to steal the spotlight.

Organizations: Group Locations: New Delhi, barging, India

The wages in Bali, which has a population of more than four million people, can be higher than in other parts of Indonesia. Others, like four of the five young housekeepers who died in the elevator accident last week, are day laborers or contractors who work without a social safety net, sometimes for years. In the Ayuterra Resort case, the government insurance agency decided to give all five workers insurance payouts of over $10,000. Representatives for Ayuterra Resort, in the Ubud area of Bali, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Thursday, the online rate for a two-bedroom Ayuterra penthouse villa with a private pool in October was nearly $700.

Persons: housekeepers, Niluh Djelantik, ” Organizations: Ayuterra Locations: Bali, Indonesia, Mount, Ubud

☆ Police Hunt for Convicted Murderer Who Escaped Pennsylvania Prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Law enforcement agencies were searching late Thursday for a Brazilian man who escaped from a prison near Philadelphia, days after he was sentenced to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend, the authorities said. The inmate, Danelo Cavalcante, escaped from the Chester County Prison Thursday morning, the local district attorney’s office said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The prison’s acting warden, Howard Holland, declined to comment at a news conference on how or why the escape occurred, saying only that it was under investigation. Deb Ryan, the Chester County district attorney, said at the news conference that Mr. Cavalcante was last seen walking southbound in the county’s Pocopson Township that morning wearing a white T-shirt, gray shorts and white sneakers.

Persons: Danelo Cavalcante, Howard Holland, Deb Ryan, Cavalcante Organizations: Twitter Locations: Philadelphia, Chester, Chester County

A graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been charged in the fatal shooting of one of his professors on Monday, a killing that spread fear across the campus and forced an hourslong lockdown, according to court documents. The student, Tailei Qi, 34, was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm on educational property in the killing of Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the applied physical sciences department, inside a campus lab, according to court documents filed in Orange County Court in Hillsborough, N.C.Mr. Qi made a brief appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon and was ordered held without bond until his next court appearance on Sept. 18. He did not enter a plea. The public defender who represented him did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Court documents did not describe a motive for the shooting, and Jeffrey L. Nieman, the Orange County district attorney, declined to comment on what might have led to it.

Persons: Tailei Qi, Zijie Yan, Qi, Jeffrey L, Nieman Organizations: University of North, Chapel, Orange County Court, Mr Locations: University of North Carolina, Orange County, Hillsborough, N.C

☆ Thailand’s Weed Industry Is Poised to Grow Fast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Bangkok these days, it’s hard not to notice the weed dispensaries catering to tourists that have multiplied since the government decriminalized the drug last year. Many of them take advantage of lax regulations to openly sell visitors dried marijuana flowers that have been imported illegally from Canada or the United States. On a recent afternoon, one shop advertised its pungent offerings — weed strains with names like “Ice Cream Cake” and “Lemon Cookies” — as “California’s finest.”But such dispensaries may be soon be out of business because of competition, oversupply and expected new regulations around the drug’s cultivation and sale, several cannabis industry experts said in interviews. The survivors will sell high-quality, domestically grown weed, which helps explain why investors have been plowing millions of dollars into high-tech indoor cannabis farms across Thailand. Although no one knows what kind of regulations the nation’s newly elected leadership will usher in, cannabis industry experts said the rules will most likely give investors more clarity and raise the bar to market entry in a way that benefits businesses with the best domestic supply chains.

Locations: Bangkok, Canada, United States, Thailand

Seafood is having a bad week in East Asia, which is bad news for a region where it’s a major part of the diet. Experts say Japan’s discharge into the ocean of treated radioactive wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began on Thursday, does not and will not pose health risks to people who eat seafood. On Thursday, the Chinese government widened a ban on seafood imports to include all of Japan instead of only some regions. The wastewater release has been heavily politicized and fueled deep anxiety over seafood in both China and South Korea, leaving some wondering whether sushi, sashimi and other products were still safe. At Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul on Friday, fish vending associations had put up banners urging consumers to not give in to paranoia.

Locations: East Asia, Japan, China, South Korea, Seoul

At least four people were dead, including a gunman, and six others were injured after a man believed to have been a retired law enforcement officer opened fire at a popular biker bar in Southern California on Wednesday evening as a crowd gathered for a rock music show and spaghetti night, the authorities said. The shooting occurred at about 7 p.m. at Cook’s Corner, a bar in Trabuco Canyon, a rural community in eastern Orange County, Jeff Hallock, undersheriff at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said. The injured were taken to Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif. Two of the patients were in critical condition, and four were in stable condition, the hospital said. Undersheriff Hallock said the shooting erupted in front of as many as 40 people. He called the incident “an absolute tragic event.”

Persons: Jeff Hallock, undersheriff, Undersheriff Hallock, ” Organizations: Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Providence Mission Hospital Locations: Southern California, Trabuco, Orange County, Orange, Providence, Mission Viejo, Calif

☆ More Than 60 Migrants Feared Dead After Boat Accident Off Cape Verde
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

More than 60 migrants are believed to have died after a boat carrying them from Senegal capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde, the authorities said this week. The boat capsized at some point after leaving Senegal on July 10, the Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Senegalese Foreign Ministry. A Spanish fisherman found the boat floating about 150 miles north of Cape Verde’s Salt Island, the country’s national police said on Monday. The islands of Cape Verde lie several hundred miles west of Senegal. She said seven people had been confirmed dead and 56 others were still missing.

Persons: Safa Organizations: Reuters, Senegalese Foreign Ministry, United Locations: Senegal, Cape Verde, Spanish, Cape Verde’s Salt, United Nations

Image The Pioneer Inn in Lahaina, Hawaii, last year. Image Shops and dining destinations along the sidewalks and streets in Lahaina, Maui. Mr. Hedani said the fabled beach areas on Oahu that Hawaii is best known for held nothing on Lahaina. “The sunset looks fake every time I see it.”Image Sunset in Lahaina, Hawaii. “What happens when you take away the most important street on Maui?” he said.

Persons: George Alan Freeland, Freeland’s, ”, Theo Morrison, Daejas, Baldwin, Ephraim Spaulding, Dwight Baldwin, Morrison, Mark Twain, “, —, Kiha Kaina, Patrick T, Kaina, Lee Anne Wong, Wong, Tony Novak, Clifford, Ronald Williams, Williams, it’s, Jared Hedani, Tommy Bahama, Hedani, “ You’re, Jim Wilson, Kamehameha the, Kaniela Ing, Ing, “ I’d, Amy Qin, David W, Chen, Mitch Smith Organizations: Lahaina Restoration Foundation, The New York Times, East Coast, ., Fallon, Agence France, French Culinary Institute, Hawaii State Archives, New York Times, Green New Deal Network Locations: Lahaina, British, Maui, Hawaii, “, United States, Lahaina , Hawaii, Massachusetts, East, Berkeley, Calif, ”, Papa’aina, New York City, Maui . Credit, Mexico City, Shaw, Paradise, Oahu, Waikiki

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