Aurelia Butler

More stories

  • 163 Shares169 Views

    in Elections

    Palm Beach, Never Richer, Is a Draw for Young MAGA. Locals Aren’t Pleased.

    Donald Trump’s presidency has turned this Florida island into the nightlife headquarters of MAGA, but the town’s old guard — much of it Republican — doesn’t love the new vibe.There are no star maps on Palm Beach, and many of its biggest estates are hidden behind elaborate landscaping. To learn what belongs to whom, and how much it cost, a guide is needed, and Dana Koch, who has been selling real estate here for 22 years, knows the area cold. He’s a veteran docent in a zoo where the creatures are billionaires and it’s difficult to see the cages.“Howard and Beth Stern live here,” he said, pointing to a gate flanked by shrubbery. “This whole place, he paid about $50 million for it years ago. Now it’s worth $200 million.”On it goes, an inventory of rich and famous people, a patter that rambles along, like Mr. Koch’s car, at about 10 miles an hour. Jon Bon Jovi lives there. That’s where Roger Ailes slipped in the shower and died. William Lauder built this, after buying Rush Limbaugh’s place for $155 million and tearing it down.Some homes are identified by job (N.F.L. owner, sugar magnate) others by names, (Dr. Oz, Tom Ford, Charles Schwab). That lot once belonged to Jeffrey Epstein, whose place was razed. A new house is under construction, and the owners, Mr. Koch speculates, are going to apply for a new address.After the election last year, in one week alone, $100 million of residential real estate was sold in Palm Beach.Martina Tuaty for The New York TimesThese have been busy months for Mr. Koch, 52, who is not related to the famous Republican donors. (“Same name, different bank account.”) Palm Beach is, of course, home to President Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago. After the election in November, there was a “Trump bump,” with $100 million worth of property on Palm Beach going under contract in the span of a week. Late last year, the Fox News host Sean Hannity purchased a $23.5 million mansion in nearby Manalapan, then spent $14.9 million on an oceanfront townhouse in Palm Beach in January. (He’d previously spent $5.3 million for a townhouse here in 2021.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares189 Views

    in Elections

    Republican Lawmakers Cheer Strike on Iran as Top Democrats Condemn It

    Republicans in Congress praised President Trump’s decision to hit Iran. Many Democrats and some G.O.P. lawmakers said he should have consulted Congress.Top Republicans in Congress swiftly rallied behind President Trump on Saturday after he ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, even as senior Democrats and some G.O.P. lawmakers condemned it as an unconstitutional move that could drag the United States into a broader war in the Middle East.In separate statements, the leading Republicans in Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, commended the military operation, calling it a necessary check on Iran’s ambitions of developing a nuclear weapon. Both men had been briefed on the military action before the strike was carried out, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.Mr. Johnson and Mr. Thune both argued that the airstrikes were necessary after Iran had rejected diplomatic overtures to curb its nuclear program.“The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace,” Mr. Thune said.Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said that Iran rejected pathways to peace.Tierney L. Cross/The New York TimesMr. Johnson argued that the military action was consistent with Mr. Trump’s muscular foreign policy.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares129 Views

    in Elections

    U.S. Military Is Pulled Back Into Middle East Wars

    The strikes on Iran ushered in a period of high alert as the Pentagon braced for almost-certain retaliation against American forces in the region.The U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in Iran are an extraordinary turn for a military that was supposed to be moving on from two decades of forever wars in the Middle East, and they put the United States back on war footing.Across the region, where more than 40,000 American troops are on bases and warships, the strikes ushered in a period of high alert as the Pentagon braced for almost-certain retaliation from Iran.President Trump announced on social media that three Iranian sites were hit, including the mountain facility at Fordo. The bombs used in the strikes are believed to include “bunker busters,” which are designed to destroy deep underground bunkers or well-buried weapons in highly protected facilities.A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence said that multiple 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordo, and that initial damage assessments indicated that the facility had been “taken off the table.”The strikes, whether successful or not, are likely to trigger a fierce response. Tehran has vowed to strike at American bases in the Middle East, and American intelligence agencies confirmed before the strikes took place that Iran would take steps to widen the war and hit U.S. forces in the region. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, said the strikes against the three nuclear sites were complete. The official said no follow-up attacks were expected, although commanders were ready to respond to any Iranian retaliation.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 150 Shares119 Views

    in Elections

    With Decision to Bomb Iran, Trump Injects U.S. Into Middle East Conflict

    By bombing three nuclear sites in Iran, the United States has joined Israel’s war against the country. Now it is bracing for Iranian retaliation.President Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. military had bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites, including its uranium-enrichment facility deep underground at Fordo, injecting the United States directly into a war in the Middle East.The president made the announcement on his social media website, Truth Social, shortly before 8 p.m. in Washington.“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” the president wrote. “A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”The bombing came two days after the White House said Mr. Trump would make a decision “within two weeks” about whether to move ahead with such an attack. Israeli officials were told about the bombing beforehand, and Mr. Trump spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel afterward, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.Mr. Trump said he would address the nation on Saturday night from the White House at 10 p.m.It was not immediately clear how many bombs were dropped, or how much damage was caused to Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium and potentially pursue a nuclear weapon. And Mr. Trump, who had been debating whether to join Israel’s war against Iran, immediately suggested that a diplomatic resolution was still possible. But it was far from clear that Iran would be interested in that.Since making clear that he was considering striking Iran, Mr. Trump has faced pressure from Republican critics and supporters of such of a move, highlighting a split within his own party.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares99 Views

    in Elections

    4 Missing After Medical Helicopter Crashes in Quebec Lake

    The helicopter was carrying four crew members and a patient when it crashed on Friday night, officials said.Emergency responders on Saturday were searching for four people who were missing after a medical helicopter crashed into a lake in rural Quebec on Friday night, the authorities said.Five people were on board, four crew members and one patient, said Raphaele Bourgault, a manager for Airmedic, a company that operates the medical helicopter.One person was found with injuries that were not life threatening and taken to a hospital, said Sgt. Laurie Avoine, a spokeswoman for the Quebec provincial police. It was not clear if the person was among the members of the crew.The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. in a wooded area north of Natashquan, Quebec, Sergeant Avoine said. The Canadian Armed Forces have been asked to help the provincial police, she said.Teams are searching on the ground, in the water and by air for those missing, Sergeant Avoine said.The helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff, said Nicholas Defalco, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The destination and departure sites of the flight were not immediately known.Airmedic, which has seven planes and six helicopters, said on its website that it was temporarily suspending its air operations until further notice.Natashquan, which is on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and 625 miles northeast of Quebec City, is described by Bonjour Quebec, the province’s tourism group, as “really at the edge of the world.”The village of 300 is the childhood home of the Québécois singer-songwriter and poet Gilles Vigneault.The area is part of the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, which has fewer than 100,000 people. Tourists visit the area for whale watching and to enjoy the forest. More

  • 200 Shares189 Views

    in Elections

    No U.S. Decision on Joining War Yet, Though It Could Come in Days, Israeli Officials Say

    Israel on Saturday struck sites in southwestern Iran that would most likely be on any potential flight path used by U.S. warplanes on the way to attack a key Iranian nuclear facility.The Trump administration has not told the Israeli military whether the United States plans to join the war on Iran, two Israeli defense officials said on Saturday.But the two officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, said they believed that Washington was likely to enter the war and that it was already making preparations to do so.Based on Israeli conversations with their American counterparts over the past two days, the officials said, a U.S. strike on Iran could take place in the coming days.President Trump was scheduled to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday evening to discuss the possibility of joining Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. While the White House has said Mr. Trump has not made a final decision on an attack, the United States has dispatched several Air Force B-2 bombers from an American base and across the Pacific.The bombers can carry the 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs Mr. Trump is considering dropping on Fordo, the heavily fortified underground nuclear facility in Iran that is critical to its nuclear program.The planes could provide options to the president, even if they are not ultimately deployed. In moving the B-2 bombers — and allowing the public to know about it — the White House may also be seeking to pressure Iran to come to the negotiating table.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares99 Views

    in Elections

    In Final Push for Mayor, Lander Appears With 2 Cuomo Accusers

    The campaign event by Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller running for mayor, came as Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner, appeared with the mother of a murder victim.On the last Saturday before Democratic voters pick their standard-bearer in the New York City mayor’s race, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo stood with the mother of a teenager murdered with knives and machetes in a 2018 act of violence that shocked the city.“One of the top priorities has to be public safety,” said Mr. Cuomo, who has promised to add 5,000 more officers to the police force. “If people don’t feel safe in the city, nothing else really matters.”He spoke in front of signs displaying years-old social media posts from his chief rival, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, that called for the defunding of the police, a stance he no longer holds.Earlier that day, Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, rebounded from a Saturday night, seven-and-a-half-hour, top-to-bottom hike of Manhattan with a rally in Sunnyside, Queens.And, in Manhattan, was Comptroller Brad Lander, whose mayoral campaign gained national attention after federal agents arrested him while he was accompanying a migrant at immigration court last week. At his “closing argument” for the mayoralty in the voter-rich precincts of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Mr. Lander sought further attention by inviting the first two women to accuse Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment.Their accusations, which Mr. Cuomo denies, set the stage for other women to come forward, ultimately prompting his 2021 resignation from office. A supporter held up a sign that read “Don’t Rank Creepy Cuomo.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares189 Views

    in Elections

    Midwest Cities Bake as Heat Wave Blankets the Central U.S.

    St. Louis, Omaha and Des Moines were among the cities that saw heat indexes rise toward triple digits, with similar temperatures expected on the East Coast by Monday.Dick Kraklow rolled into Minneapolis earlier this week with three generations of his family and several vintage vehicles in tow, excited for an annual gathering of the Minnesota Street Rod Association that celebrates classic cars.But instead of setting up on Saturday morning to display their collection, Mr. Kraklow, 42, and his family were loading up to drive back to Wisconsin. Several members of the group are in their late 70s, and the heat radiating off the asphalt at the state fairgrounds in St. Paul on Friday caused the family to change plans.“We love the show,” Mr. Kraklow, a welder from Muskego, Wis., said as his uncle angled a yellow 1957 Ford Thunderbird onto a trailer. But ultimately, he said, “It’s too hot.” Millions of Americans on Saturday faced sweltering conditions as a dangerous heat wave brought rising temperatures to the Midwest and Central Plains. By early afternoon, the National Weather Service reported that the heat index — a measure of how hot it feels that accounts for both heat and humidity — had hit 93 degrees in Minneapolis, 98 in Des Moines, 99 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and 105 in St. Louis. In Omaha, forecasters said that it would feel like it was 100 to 110 degrees this weekend — in the shade.The most extreme heat was expected to move east and south over the next several days. New York City, Washington and Philadelphia could all break 100 degrees on the heat index by the end of the weekend. Several cities could see heat records broken. Over the entire country, more than 64 million people were under an extreme heat warning.Climate scientists have found that climate change has made heat waves more common, more intense and longer lasting worldwide, though attributing a specific heat wave to climate change is tricky.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More