News

Patrick J. Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is getting the shiv. After acting with great personal and professional integrity as the Bridgegate" scandal unfolded - as soon as he learned about it, the plan forward coming from the governors of New York and New Jersey seems to have no place for such a man. ⟶

Kurt Masur, music director emeritus of the New York Philharmonic, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease yesterday in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 88 years of age, and is survived by his third wife, Tomoko Sakurai, three sons, two daughters, and nine grandchildren. ⟶

The artist Christo, who together with his wife and collaborator Jeanne-Claude, became famous for wrapping three-dimensional objects - from lanterns to the Pont Neuf is still going strong. Now 80-years of age and a widower, Christo is still transforming environments in amazing ways: next up, allowing his disciples to walk on water. In fact, "The Floating Piers" will allow admirers and detractors alike to do just that, connecting a group of islands on Italy's Lake Iseo to promenade along an interconnecting floating walkway. ⟶

Can you here me now? If ever there was a tongue-in-cheek "first tweet," it is without a doubt the five word question chosen by Edward Snowden on September 28, 2015 as he bound on-stage in the Twitter-sphere. His profile notes, "I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public." He is further identified as Director at @FreedomofPress. ⟶

Kentucky's Kim Davis, who was jailed for failing to perform her duties as an elected civil servant, cannot have missed the powerful message sent to her from on high in Morehead, Kentucky, population 7,000. It is unlikely the message could have come any higher source there and it is, in fact, addressed personally to her. ⟶

With the quiet passage of years, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has become the world's longest reigning monarch. The distinction, until now held by her great-grandmother Queen Victoria, is one particularly à propos for a monarch who came to the throne by virtue of her uncle David, who as King Edward VIII notoriously abdicated the throne for the woman he loved, Wallis Simpson, an American who had been married-and-divorced more than once before. ⟶

Citing sources including the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, The New York Times reports that the nearly $400 million raised during the first half of 2015 represents the fastest start to a presidential contest ever. According to The Times, most of these donations are flowing into outside groups like "super PACs" and other political organizations that can accept unlimited amounts of money from corporations, individuals and unions rather than into individual politicians' campaigns. ⟶

International film star Omar Sharif, a darkly handsome leading man whose roles includes a myriad of ethnic portrayals from different continents, died today in Cairo. Born Michael Demetri Shalhoub on 10 April 10 1932, into a well-to-do family in Alexandria, Egypt, he graduated from Cairo University with a degree in mathematics and physics and worked for several years for the lumber company his father ran before moving to capitalize on his good looks by turning to film acting at home in the 1950s. ⟶

Concurrent with its ongoing efforts to convince major technology concerns to provide "back door" access to the United States government for snooping by the National Security Agency (NSA) and other agencies, the U.S. government has admitted that personnel files for over 20 million Americans had been compromised by the government's inability to secure even their own data. Post-Snowden and in the face of such continuous debacles in-house, can the U.S. government seriously question why there is a lack of confidence on the part of industry with regard to their own dismal track record? ⟶

In a stunning outcome that drew more than a 60 percent voter turnout on Friday, the people of the Republic of Ireland approved same-sex marriage by a substantial majority. In the process, Ireland became the first nation to approve marriage equality by popular vote. Yet more surprising in the aftermath than the 62% in favor versus the 38% opposed, was that an expected split along generational lines failed to materialize. Instead, the yes vote drew support across age and gender, geography and income, with only one district out of 43 voting the ballot down. ⟶