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☆ The Instant Pot Was Beloved. Now Its Maker Has Filed for Bankruptcy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Press a button, head out for work and return hours later to a perfectly prepared chili. For a while, the Instant Pot, an electronically controlled device that could pressure-cook and slow-cook food, was the kitchen tool everyone wanted. The product hit the market in 2010, quickly became a top seller, and spawned a legion of fans who called themselves “Potheads” and used their Instant Pots to create dozens of recipes. But over the past few years, the Instant Pot has failed to attract new fans, and its parent company is struggling. Instant Brands, the maker of the Instant Pot and other household brands such as Pyrex, Snapware and CorningWare, announced on Monday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Organizations: Instant Brands

☆ Pat Sajak, Longtime ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Says He Will Retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Pat Sajak, who as the host of “Wheel of Fortune” since 1981 became one of the most familiar faces on American television, announced on Monday that he will retire next year. “The time has come,” Mr. Sajak, 76, said on Twitter. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.”This is a developing story.

Persons: Pat Sajak, ”, “, Mr, Sajak, “ I’ve Organizations: Twitter

In Ontario, a layer of haze blanketed parts of Ottawa and Toronto, where Canadian officials warned residents about the poor air quality, as smoke floated over portions of New York State and Vermont. All of New York City was under an air quality alert on Tuesday because of the smoke; by the afternoon, the Manhattan skyline was obscured by hazy skies. In eastern Canada, Quebec was most affected by wildfires as of early Tuesday afternoon, with more than 150 active blazes across the area, according to the fire agency. Weather officials warned that people more sensitive to poor air quality, such as people with lung disease and heart disease, children and older adults, should limit certain activities outdoors. Air quality alerts were also in place in New York City and in multiple counties in upstate New York through midnight.

Persons: Jiménez, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Bill Blair, ” Mr, Blair, Eric Adams Organizations: New York, New, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Residents, U.S . National Weather Service, Weather Service, Weather, Twitter, New York State Department of Environmental Locations: United States, Canada, Minnesota, Massachusetts, In Ontario, Ottawa, Toronto, New, New York State, Vermont, New York City, Manhattan, Quebec, Lake Superior, New York, “, Connecticut , Massachusetts

☆ At Least 42 Are Dead and Thousands Are Displaced After Flooding in Haiti
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At least 42 people were dead and thousands were displaced after a weekend of heavy rainfall and widespread flooding in Haiti, the country’s disaster response agency said on Monday. The heavy rain, which fell mostly on Saturday and Sunday, flooded more than 13,000 homes, displacing people across Haiti, according to the agency. As emergency workers rushed to provide food, drinking water and shelter for those who were affected, western portions of the Caribbean nation appeared to have suffered the brunt of the heavy rain. In western portions of Haiti, more than 5,500 homes had been affected by rain and flooding, leaving more than 2,500 people displaced, the agency said in an update on Sunday. In the central region, it said that the agriculture sector had been affected by the rains as well.

Locations: Haiti, Caribbean

☆ Robert Hanssen, F.B.I. Agent Exposed as Spy for Moscow, Dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Robert Hanssen, a former F.B.I. agent who was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for spying for Moscow during and after the Cold War in one of the most damaging espionage cases in American history, was found dead in his cell in a federal prison in Colorado on Monday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. The bureau said in a statement that Mr. Hanssen was found unresponsive at the United States Penitentiary Florence in Colorado just before 7 a.m. He was pronounced dead after lifesaving efforts by emergency medical workers. This is a developing story.

Persons: Robert Hanssen, Hanssen Organizations: Federal Bureau of Prisons, United, Penitentiary Locations: Moscow, Colorado, Penitentiary Florence

☆ New Hampshire Man Is Arrested After Threatening to Kill U.S. Senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man from New Hampshire faces up to up to 10 years in prison after threatening to kill a United States senator because he was angry that the senator was “blocking military promotions,” according to federal court documents. The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of New Hampshire announced on Friday that Brian Landry, 66, of Franklin, N.H., had been charged with threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a United States official. Mr. Landry called a senator’s district field office on May 17 and left a threatening voice mail message, according to court documents. The senator who was threatened by Mr. Landry was not named in court documents, which only detailed that the senator has been in office since January 2021. You’re a dead man walking,” he said, adding some expletives.

Persons: Brian Landry, Landry, Mr, Landy, You’re, ” Organizations: United, District, New Hampshire Locations: New Hampshire, United States, U.S, Franklin, N.H

☆ Why Chick-fil-A Is Drawing Fire Over a ‘Culture of Belonging’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Chick-fil-A drew fierce criticism this week from conservatives calling out the fast-food chain for its diversity, equity and inclusion policy and questioning the hiring of an executive to be in charge of such efforts. The backlash has made Chick-fil-A one of the latest companies to draw public condemnation over “culture war” flash points like L.G.B.T.Q. Several companies and brands have also been at the center of such criticism in recent months, including Bud Light, Target and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chick-fil-A itself has drawn controversy in the past, though more typically from the left. ‘Chick-fil-A has gone woke’This week, many conservatives have rebuked Chick-fil-A, pointing to a corporate policy on its website that details the company’s focus on “ensuring equal access,” “valuing differences,” and “creating a culture of belonging,” under the title, “Committed to being Better at Together.”Critics also singled out the chain’s hiring of Erick McReynolds to head its D.E.I.

Persons: Bud Light, ‘, Chick, ”, ” Critics, Erick McReynolds Organizations: Target, Los Angeles Dodgers, ”

☆ Officials Discover What Turned Venice’s Grand Canal Green
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For days, Venetians have wondered what caused a swath of their city’s famous Grand Canal to turn bright green. On Monday, the authorities had an answer: Test samples of the water confirmed that the canal’s bright new hue was caused by fluorescein, a chemical often used to find leaks during underwater construction. Now, Italian officials are investigating how the chemical got into the canal. Still, officials do not know who or what was behind the color. Luca Zaia, the president of the Veneto region, said on Facebook on Monday that the possibility of copycats was “worrying.”

Persons: fluorescein, Luca Zaia, copycats Organizations: Facebook Locations: Veneto, Venice

☆ 9 People Wounded in Memorial Day Shooting Near Florida Beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Details about the victims remained unclear on Monday night with differing police and hospital accounts. In a second news conference on Monday night, Ms. Bettineschi said that four children, ranging from ages 1 to 17, were wounded along with five adults, who were between 25 to 65. Ms. Bettineschi said that one victim was in surgery on Monday night, and that the other eight victims were in stable condition. It is unclear what led to the shooting or how many people were involved in the confrontation. “There was a dispute between two different groups, and that’s when there was the gunfire,” Ms. Bettineschi said at the initial news conference.

☆ N.A.A.C.P. Issues Florida Travel Advisory, Joining Latino and L.G.B.T.Q. Groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Saturday issued a travel advisory for Florida, saying that under Gov. Ron DeSantis the state has become “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and L.G.B.T.Q.+ individuals.”The N.A.A.C.P. joins the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights organization that issued a Florida travel warning on Wednesday, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group that issued one last month. The N.A.A.C.P.’s travel advisory does not explicitly recommend against travel to Florida. said in a statement on Saturday that the travel advisory was in “direct response to Gov.

☆ Jimmy Buffett, Hospitalized After Bahamas Trip, Cancels Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who has built a lucrative lifestyle empire on the basis of beach-bum anthems like “Margaritaville” and “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” canceled a show scheduled for Saturday in Charleston, S.C., after he was hospitalized for an unspecified illness. Mr. Buffett, 76, said in a statement on Thursday that he had a “sudden change of plans this week” after returning from a trip to the Bahamas. “I had to stop in Boston for a checkup but wound up back in the hospital to address some issues that needed immediate attention,” he said. “Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you.”Mr. Buffett said that he would perform again when he is “well enough.”A representative for Mr. Buffett responded to a request for information about his condition by referring to his statement and declined to comment further.

☆ Can You Spot the Dog Hidden in This Picasso Painting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Pablo Picasso’s 1900 painting “Le Moulin de la Galette,” revelers sporting dresses or top hats appear to be drinking, dancing and chatting. Beneath the partyers, under layers of paint, there is a hidden dog that the artist seems to have hastily painted over. But recent research and extensive restoration of the painting for an exhibition revealed an auburn-coated King Charles spaniel with a red bow. The treatment revealed subtleties — such as the brushwork, color palette and spatial definition — that had previously gone unnoticed in the painting. Then, technical imaging unveiled an earlier version of the painting that included the lap dog in the foreground.

☆ Haven’t Checked Your Gmail in a While? Google May Delete Your Account.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Starting in December, Google will begin deleting accounts that have not been used in at least two years as part of an effort to address security risks, the company said on Tuesday. The expunging of old accounts does not only mean losing access to Gmail. Work in Google Docs, Google Workspace, Google Photos and other Google products will also be wiped out, as will any videos that an affected user has uploaded to YouTube. Ruth Kricheli, the company’s vice president of product management, said in a statement announcing the new policy that the move was intended to protect users from security threats because accounts that had not been used for a while were more likely to be comprised. An internal analysis at Google found that abandoned accounts were much less likely than active accounts to have two-factor verification, an authentication method that helps to confirm a user’s identity, the company said.

Sisters Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, both in elementary school, were there with their mother. Aishwarya Thatikonda had come to shop with a friend before she had to head to a job site for her work at a general contracting firm. On Saturday, it became different kind of all-American scene: the location of yet another mass shooting. By the time a police officer shot and killed the gunman, eight people had suffered fatal wounds, including three small children. It was the country’s second-deadliest mass shooting this year, indiscriminately wiping out individuals, and nearly one entire family.

☆ The Land Beneath This Stadium Once Was Theirs. They Want It Back.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

LOS ANGELES — Standing less than a mile from Dodger Stadium on a recent Saturday afternoon, Vincent Montalvo could hear the roar of the crowd inside the ballpark. It was Jackie Robinson Day, and more than 50,000 fans were nestling into their seats for a matchup against the Chicago Cubs. It has been more than 30 years since he has stepped inside Dodger Stadium. But the seemingly harmless act of attending that game deepened a wound that has festered in the Montalvo family and the city’s Latino community. Reckoning with that hurt has been a challenge for the Dodgers as the team has tried to maintain a balance between acknowledging it and broadening the team’s widely Latino fan base.

☆ In Australia, He Was a ‘Great Father.’ Secretly, He Was an Escaped Convict.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That was based on an immigration document with Mr. Arnold’s name on it issued to someone in Brazil less than two years after the prison escape. But Mr. Westover said Brazilian officials didn’t have any record of Mr. Arnold, and it was unclear why his name was on that document. Mr. Westover also found a postcard from Canada and one from California with Mr. Arnold’s name. “It just seemed like everything was working against us,” Mr. Westover said. He then began to move around, living in Cincinnati and Miami, according to The Omaha World-Herald, which has chronicled Mr. Arnold’s life through a series of articles and a podcast.

☆ Fugitive Accused of Killing 5 in Texas Was Deported Several Times, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Credit... FBIAn official with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on Monday that an immigration judge had ordered I.C.E. to deport Mr. Oropesa to Mexico in March 2009. Mr. Oropesa illegally returned to the United States, and he was caught and removed several more times by I.C.E. and several Texas law enforcement agencies sought the fugitive, attention turned quickly to the immigration status of the suspect and his victims. officials did not immediately respond to an email about the immigration status of the victims who were killed, all of whom were from Honduras.

☆ Man Resumed Date After Killing ‘Scammer’ Over $40, Police Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The man, Erick Aguirre, 29, was arrested on Tuesday in Aransas County, north of Corpus Christi, Texas, and charged with murder in the death of Elliot Nix, 46, on April 11. Brent Mayr, a lawyer for Mr. Aguirre, declined to comment on Friday. According to a charging document, Mr. Aguirre was going out to eat on April 11 with Melanie Castillo, who said in a voluntary statement that she and Mr. Aguirre were dating. They drove separately to Rodeo Goat, a hamburger restaurant east of downtown Houston. Mr. Aguirre paid the man, and the couple went to Rodeo Goat.

☆ The Long Demise of the Stretch Limousine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“There wasn’t one stretch limousine on the show floor,” said Robert Alexander, president of the National Limousine Association, a trade group. “Not one.”Decades ago, stretch limos were a symbol of affluence, used almost exclusively by the rich and famous. Over time, they became more of a common luxury, booked for children’s birthday parties or by teenagers heading to the prom. These days, it seems as if hardly anyone is riding in a stretch limo. While the limousine name has stuck, the limo industry has shifted to chauffeur services in almost anything but actual stretch limos, which have largely been supplanted by black S.U.V.s, buses and vans.

☆ Cellphones Across Britain Will Blast a ‘Loud Siren-like’ Alert This Weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A “loud siren-like sound” will blare from cellphones for up to 10 seconds across Britain on Sunday as part of a test for a new emergency alert system launched by the British government. Governments and institutions across the world use similar alert systems in life-threatening situations such as terror attacks and dangerous weather. The alerts, which in many cases are sent as notifications or text messages, warn people in the path of danger to take shelter or to get to safety. In Britain, the test of the warning service has prompted a backlash among some, with some officials and organizations encouraging people to turn off the service. People with smartphones across Britain, including visiting tourists, will receive an alert that the government described as a “loud, siren-like sound” accompanied by a vibration, on Sunday at 3 p.m.

☆ 2 Indianapolis Police Officers Face Manslaughter Charges in Death of Black Man
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two Indianapolis police officers were indicted on manslaughter charges on Thursday in the death of Herman Whitfield III, a Black man who died in April 2022 after he was restrained by the police when his parents called 911 because he was having a mental health crisis. In addition to involuntary manslaughter, the officers, Adam Ahmad, 31, and Steven Sanchez, 34, also face felony charges of reckless homicide and battery and an additional misdemeanor count of battery. Officer Sanchez faces a second count of involuntary manslaughter for using a Taser, according to the indictment. The officers could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Mr. Whitfield’s death followed a series of episodes in which Black men were killed in police custody — encounters that have prompted national protests.

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