Tom Lehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97
Tom Lehrer, a song satirist who gained a popular following in the 1950s and ’60s lampooning marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, and then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died at 97. His songs included “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “The Old Dope Peddler,” “Be Prepared” in which he mocked the Boy Scouts and “The Vatican Rag,” in which Lehrer poked at the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. But he attacked in such an erudite, even polite, manner that almost no one objected. Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
US Park Service erases the word 'transgender' from website commemorating Stonewall riot
References to transgender people have been removed from a National Park Service website for the Stonewall National Monument. It's a park and visitor center in New York City focused on the history of a 1969 police raid on a gay bar that became a watershed moment for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. The changes were made in the wake of an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day back in office which called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the move cruel and petty in a social media post Thursday.
Decorated pilot Harry Stewart, Jr., one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, dies at 100
Retired Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, has died. He was 100. Stewart was one of the last surviving combat pilots of the famed 332nd Fighter Group who were the nation's first military pilots. Stewart earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for downing three German aircraft during a dogfight on April 1, 1945. He was also part of a team of four Tuskegee Airmen who won the U.S. Air Force Top Gun flying competition in 1949. The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum confirmed his passing. The organization said he passed peacefully at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on Sunday.
US port strike: Over 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas hit picket lines
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas have started walking picket lines in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike early Tuesday. The strike is affecting 36 ports. The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent there was no deal.
NYPD officer lands $175K settlement over 'courtesy cards' that help drivers get out of traffic stops
A New York City police officer has reached a $175,000 settlement with the city in his lawsuit that illuminated the use of the “courtesy cards” that officers dole out to friends and relatives to get out of traffic stops and other minor infractions. The deal brings an end to a lawsuit brought last year by Officer Mathew Bianchi that claimed he was punished by his superiors for failing to honor the cards, though the settlement itself makes no substantive changes to how the cards are used by NYPD officers. The Staten Island-based officer said he was ousted from his job in the traffic unit and moved to a night patrol shift after he issued a ticket to a friend of the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, pioneering sex therapist, has died
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, has died. She was 96. Westheimer never advocated risky sexual behavior. Instead, she encouraged an open dialogue on previously closeted issues that affected her audience of millions. Her one recurring theme was there was nothing to be ashamed of. Westheimer’s giggly, German-accented voice, coupled with her 4-foot-7 frame, made her an unlikely looking — and sounding — outlet for “sexual literacy.” The contradiction was one of the keys to her success. She died Friday at her home in New York City, surrounded by family.
Angry birds fight drones on patrol for sharks and swimmers on NYC beaches
A new initiative to monitor swimmers and sharks on New York City beaches with surveillance drones is bringing a backlash from shorebirds. City officials say the drones had been repeatedly swarmed by birds that have forced pilots to ground the devices on several occasions since the program launched in May. The city is now avoiding known nesting areas, but the attacks have not stopped. Wildlife experts cautioned the drones could provoke a stress response in the birds forcing them to abandon their nests. Attacks have mostly been carried out by American oystercatchers. The beach is also home to piping plovers, a federally designated endangered species.
Angry birds fight drones on patrol for sharks and swimmers on NYC beaches
A new initiative to monitor swimmers and sharks on New York City beaches with surveillance drones is bringing a backlash from shorebirds. City officials say the drones had been repeatedly swarmed by birds that have forced pilots to ground the devices on several occasions since the program launched in May. The city is now avoiding known nesting areas, but the attacks have not stopped. Wildlife experts cautioned the drones could provoke a stress response in the birds forcing them to abandon their nests. Attacks have mostly been carried out by American oystercatchers. The beach is also home to piping plovers, a federally designated endangered species.
The United States has its first large offshore wind farm, with more to come
America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is officially open, a long-awaited moment that helps pave the way for a succession of large wind farms. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource built a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind east of Montauk Point, New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul went to Long Island Thursday to announce that the turbines are delivering clean power to the local electric grid. It’s a turning point for the industry, but what’s next? Experts say the nation needs a major buildout of this type of clean electricity to address climate change. The Biden administration has approved six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects.
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