Uncategorized
Justice Department opens investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of assault: AP source
WASHINGTON | The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter. The […]
Zelenskyy says he’s pressing US for more Patriot missiles for Ukraine to counter Russian strikes
KYIV, Ukraine | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he’s being “very persistent” in pressing the United States to provide his country with more Patriot air defense missiles that can counter devastating Russian ballistic missile attacks. Zelenskyy said he hasn’t yet received a reply to a letter he sent earlier this week to U.S. […]
Key inflation gauge worsens as Americans’ income and spending power erodes
WASHINGTON | A key inflation gauge accelerated in April to the highest level in three years, squeezing Americans’ finances and creating political challenges for President Trump and congressional Republicans with midterm elections just five months away. Inflation jumped to 3.8% in April compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from 3.5% […]
Australia launches record $1.4B lawsuit against 3M over ‘forever chemicals’ at defense bases
MELBOURNE, Australia | Australia is suing U.S. conglomerate 3M for more than 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) over so-called “forever chemical” contamination from firefighting foam at defense bases, the government said on Thursday. The government’s largest-ever claim for compensation relates to contamination with per- and polyfluoroaklyl substances, known as PFAS, at 28 bases. Human-made […]
California Democrats shrug at their choices in packed race to replace Newsom
SACRAMENTO, Calif. | The packed race for California governor has left many Democrats in the state wrestling with who to vote for in the race’s closing days. Though voting began in early May ahead of the June 2 primary, Democrats have been returning their ballots at a slower pace than normal after a chaotic campaign […]
Movie Review: ‘Backrooms’ goes from internet meme to the big screen
What evil lurks in the drabbest of interiors? The meme-rooted “Backrooms” is the latest movie to pull its mounting horrors out of liminal spaces. “Exit 8,” released earlier this year, was set entirely in a subway corridor. In “Backrooms,” a struggling furniture salesperson discovers beneath his store an underground labyrinth, all lined with yellow wallpapered […]
Japanese woman who scaled the world’s 14 top peaks says she wants to share joy
TOKYO | The first woman to conquer the world’s second-highest peak, K2, three times has also summited all 14 of the world’s tallest mountains. But Naoko Watanabe, 44, says climbing is less about piling up records than enjoying an adventure, being happy and experiencing new people, food and culture. She’s planning to return in June […]
A proposed additive ban could change New York’s pizza and bagels, some say for the better
NEW YORK | After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family’s Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world. So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, […]
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop opens for tours. Here’s what’s inside the once-hidden puppet studio
NEW YORK | Deep in a cavernous New York City warehouse, the artisans behind some of the world’s most beloved children’s characters have been fashioning costumes and puppets for years in relative anonymity. Now Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the workshop founded by the legendary creator of the Muppets, is drawing back the curtain. This year, […]
The trolls come indoors as a Danish recycling artist stages his first museum exhibit
ISHØJ, Denmark | For more than a decade, Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo has scattered wooden troll sculptures around the world. He has created almost 200 in 19 countries. Now the poet and former hip-hop artist is bringing a collection of fairy tale-inspired creations in from the cold for his first museum exhibit. “The Garbage […]