A bird strike, likely involving multiple geese, brought down a sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River in April 2025, killing a Spanish family of five and their pilot, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report released this week. The Bell 206L-4 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Charter Inc., broke apart in midair […] The post NTSB finds bird strike most likely caused deadly Hudson River helicopter crash appeared first on American Almanac .
A bird strike, likely involving multiple geese, brought down a sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River in April 2025, killing a Spanish family of five and their pilot, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report released this week. The Bell 206L-4 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter Charter Inc., broke apart in midair roughly 17 minutes after lifting off from lower Manhattan on the afternoon of April 10, 2025. It fell into the Hudson River near the New Jersey shoreline. No one survived. The NTSB's findings bring a measure of clarity to a crash that devastated a vacationing family and raised fresh questions about the safety of tour helicopter operations over one of the most congested airspaces in the…Open
Eight Democrats took the stage Thursday night in Portland, Maine, hoping to convince their party they deserve a shot at the U.S. Senate. One of them, Ashley Webb, was asked a simple question: What qualifies you to serve? The answer, songwriting, self-published books, and a string of losing campaigns, went viral within hours, and not […] The post Maine Democratic Senate candidate cites songwriting as top qualification, and the video speaks for itself appeared first on American Almanac .
Eight Democrats took the stage Thursday night in Portland, Maine, hoping to convince their party they deserve a shot at the U.S. Senate. One of them, Ashley Webb, was asked a simple question: What qualifies you to serve? The answer, songwriting, self-published books, and a string of losing campaigns, went viral within hours , and not in the way any candidate wants. The two-hour debate at Portland's WCSH-6 studio was supposed to showcase a deep bench of Democratic talent rushing to fill a vacancy created by scandal. Instead, the night handed Republicans a highlight reel. And it raised a pointed question about the state of the Maine Democratic Party: Is this really the best they can do? The answer that launched a thousand posts Webb, a…Open
Iran's Ministry of Energy told citizens Friday to turn off their air conditioners during peak hours, in the middle of a brutal heat wave, blaming U.S. airstrikes for the strain on the country's electrical grid. Tehran's temperatures were forecast to hit 102°F over the weekend. In the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the mercury […] The post Iran orders citizens to shut off air conditioning as regime shifts blame for power crisis to U.S. strikes appeared first on American Almanac .
Iran's Ministry of Energy told citizens Friday to turn off their air conditioners during peak hours, in the middle of a brutal heat wave, blaming U.S. airstrikes for the strain on the country's electrical grid. Tehran's temperatures were forecast to hit 102°F over the weekend. In the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the mercury was expected to reach 105°F by Sunday. The directive, reported by the New York Post , said the shutoffs were needed "to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities." What the ministry did not specify: which facilities, exactly, had been hit. Power plants? Transmission lines? Substations? The statement…Open
Manny Rutinel, the Democratic nominee in one of the most competitive House races in the country, has built his campaign around a simple story: raised by a single mother, humble beginnings, Colorado values. What he hasn't told voters is that his father is a powerful Dominican Republic politician with deep roots in socialist politics, a […] The post Colorado Democrat running for Congress comes from Dominican socialist political dynasty he won't discuss appeared first on American Almanac .
Manny Rutinel, the Democratic nominee in one of the most competitive House races in the country, has built his campaign around a simple story: raised by a single mother, humble beginnings, Colorado values. What he hasn't told voters is that his father is a powerful Dominican Republic politician with deep roots in socialist politics, a domestic violence arrest, and a family dynasty that has held legislative seats and diplomatic posts for decades. A Washington Free Beacon investigation published July 17 traced the Rutinel family's political lineage through Dominican news reports, Facebook posts, WikiLeaks cables, court filings, and archived blog posts. The picture that emerges raises fair questions about whether Rutinel's public persona…Open
A 55-year-old German far-right provocateur convicted of slander and incitement to hatred is now serving time in a women's prison, after registering as female while appealing his sentence. Marla-Svenja Liebich, previously known as Sven, was extradited from the Czech Republic on Wednesday and placed in a German women's facility, The Sun reported, because prison officials […] The post German extremist exploits self-determination law, lands in women's prison after changing gender on paper appeared first on American Almanac .
A 55-year-old German far-right provocateur convicted of slander and incitement to hatred is now serving time in a women's prison, after registering as female while appealing his sentence. Marla-Svenja Liebich, previously known as Sven, was extradited from the Czech Republic on Wednesday and placed in a German women's facility, The Sun reported , because prison officials based the housing decision on registered gender rather than biological sex. The case has become a flashpoint in Germany's growing debate over its self-determination law, legislation introduced under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government that made it far easier to change one's legal name and gender. Current Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to review the…Open
Lyndsey Fifield, the first woman to publicly accuse former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of abuse, tore into Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Wednesday after the Rhode Island Democrat went on national television and dismissed her allegations, again, as the product of a conservative political operation. Whitehouse appeared on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" and […] The post Platner accuser fires back at Sen. Whitehouse for dismissing abuse allegations as political: 'Truly pathetic' appeared first on American Almanac .
Lyndsey Fifield, the first woman to publicly accuse former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of abuse, tore into Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Wednesday after the Rhode Island Democrat went on national television and dismissed her allegations, again, as the product of a conservative political operation. Whitehouse appeared on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" and doubled down on his skepticism of Fifield's account, citing a lack of corroboration and what he called her ties to Koch-funded political activity. Fifield responded the same day with a pointed post on X, calling his conduct "truly pathetic" and challenging him to get his facts straight. The exchange captures something larger than a social-media spat. It exposes how a senior…Open
Days after standing beside his son in a Utah courtroom, Matthew Robinson climbed into his GMC pickup and drove to work. The unmarked warehouse on the outskirts of St. George, Utah, houses the stone and marble supply business he has run for more than a decade, a business built on word-of-mouth marketing and, if his […] The post Robinson family's lucrative masonry business under new scrutiny as Utah taxpayers face $10M tab for Charlie Kirk murder defense appeared first on American Almanac .
Days after standing beside his son in a Utah courtroom, Matthew Robinson climbed into his GMC pickup and drove to work. The unmarked warehouse on the outskirts of St. George, Utah, houses the stone and marble supply business he has run for more than a decade, a business built on word-of-mouth marketing and, if his own brother's lawsuit is to be believed, some deeply questionable bookkeeping. His son, 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, sits in a jail cell charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. A judge has declared the younger Robinson indigent, and Utah taxpayers are now funding a defense that could exceed $10 million when appeals are factored in. The Robinson…Open
Republican senators turned a confirmation hearing for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche into a sustained confrontation with the former Biden administration pardon attorney who recommended clemency for all 40 federal death row inmates, including the man who walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church in 2015 and shot nine Black parishioners to death during Bible […] The post GOP senators confront former Biden pardon attorney over clemency push for Dylann Roof, federal death row inmates appeared first on American Almanac .
Republican senators turned a confirmation hearing for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche into a sustained confrontation with the former Biden administration pardon attorney who recommended clemency for all 40 federal death row inmates, including the man who walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church in 2015 and shot nine Black parishioners to death during Bible study. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri led the charge Thursday on Capitol Hill, pressing Elizabeth Oyer over a 73-page memorandum she authored in November 2024 that urged President Joe Biden to spare every inmate on the federal death row. Democrats had called Oyer as their chief witness against Blanche's nomination. By the time Republicans finished questioning her, the witness…Open
President Donald J. Trump has dropped BBC Studios from a defamation lawsuit against the British public broadcaster, but continues to pursue claims against the BBC over the deceptive editing of a 2024 Panorama episode.
President Donald J. Trump has dropped BBC Studios from a defamation lawsuit against the British public broadcaster, but continues to pursue claims against the BBC over the deceptive editing of a 2024 Panorama episode. PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump has removed BBC Studios from his defamation lawsuit against Britain’s state-backed public broadcaster, but is continuing a $10 billion claim against the BBC over a 2024 Panorama episode. The lawsuit alleges that the program “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” edited a Trump speech to misrepresent his remarks about the January 6 , 2021, Capitol protests, splicing together remarks made roughly an hour apart to make it look as though he was inciting…Open