Aurelia Butler

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    Israeli Attacks in Iran Kill Three More Commanders, Israel Says

    The claims by the Israeli military came as aircraft tracker data indicated American B-2 bombers might be moving into position for joining the assault on Iran.Israeli warplanes struck and killed three Iranian commanders, Israel’s defense ministry said Saturday, including the head of the force that supports the Palestinian group Hamas and other proxy militias around the Middle East.The reported killing of the commanders expanded Israel’s tally of assassinated Iranian officials in the nine days of war between the two countries. Israel identified the commander of the force that coordinates with proxy militias as Mohammed Said Izadi, and said he was killed in an assault on the holy city of Qum.The new attacks came amid fears that the war could expand with the involvement of the United States, a prospect that President Trump has kept vague, leaving the world guessing his intentions.Mr. Trump was scheduled to travel late Saturday afternoon from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to Washington, where he was to meet with his national security team in the evening and then again on Sunday. The president typically spends both weekend days out of town at one of his properties. Before Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, flight tracker data suggested multiple B-2 military aircraft had taken off from a Midwestern military base. Defense analysts took note of flight movements amid the president’s deliberations about whether to join Israel’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. Only Washington possesses the 30,000-pound bomb many consider essential to an air assault on Fordo, a deeply buried nuclear complex — and the aircraft, the B-2, capable of delivering the munition.The movement of the B-2s, however, did not mean a final decision had been made about whether to strike. It is not unusual to shift military assets into position to provide options to the president and military commanders even if they are not ultimately deployed.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

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    Nathan Silver, Who Chronicled a Vanished New York, Dies at 89

    An architect, he wrote in his book “Lost New York” about the many buildings that were destroyed before passage of the city’s landmarks preservation law.Nathan Silver, an architect whose elegiac 1967 book, “Lost New York,” offered a history lesson about the many buildings that were demolished before the city passed a landmarks preservation law that might have offered protection from the wrecking ball, died on May 19 in London. He was 89.His brother, Robert, who is also an architect, said that he died in a hospital after a fall and subsequent surgery to repair a torn knee ligament.Mr. Silver’s book — an outgrowth of an exhibition that he curated in 1964 while he was teaching at Columbia University’s architecture school — was an indispensable photographic guide to what had vanished over many decades. It was published as the city’s long-percolating preservation movement was working to prevent other worthy structures from being destroyed.“By 1963, it seemed urgent to make some sort of plea for architectural preservation in New York City,” he wrote. “It had been announced that Pennsylvania Station would be razed, a final solution seemed likely for the 39th Street Metropolitan Opera” — it was destroyed in 1967 — “and the commercial buildings of Worth Street were being pounded into landfill for a parking lot.”He added, “While cities must adapt if they are to remain responsive to the needs and wishes of their inhabitants, they need not change in a heedless and suicidal fashion.”He found images in archives of “first-rate architecture” that no longer existed, including a post office near City Hall; Madison Square Garden, at Madison Avenue and 26th Street; the art collector Richard Canfield’s gambling house, on 44th Street near Fifth Avenue; the 47-story Singer Tower, at Broadway and Liberty Street; the Produce Exchange, at Beaver Street and Bowling Green; and the Ziegfeld Theater, at 54th Street and Sixth Avenue.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

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    Mahmoud Khalil Returns to New York After Months in Detention

    The Trump administration remains committed to deporting Mr. Khalil, a Columbia graduate and leading figure in the pro-Palestinian protest movement.Mahmoud Khalil walked through a nondescript door into a Newark airport lobby on Saturday, his wife to his left, a congresswoman to his right and a stroller in front of him. His fist was raised and he could not stop smiling.Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident, had spent more than three months detained by the Trump administration, which said he had enabled the spread of antisemitism and had sought to deport him.But his lawyers had denied the accusations of antisemitism and had protested his detention as unconstitutional retaliation for free speech. On Friday, a judge ordered him released on bail.After spending the evening driving from Jena, La., to a Houston airport, Mr. Khalil returned to the East Coast, his plane landing shortly before 1 p.m. on Saturday at Newark Liberty International Airport. He was expected to head to his home in New York City.When Mr. Khalil emerged at the Newark airport with his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, he was quickly surrounded by roughly 50 supporters, reporters, lawyers and relatives.Mr. Khalil briefly addressed the crowd, saying he would immediately resume his outspoken work on behalf of Palestinian rights, speech he said that should be celebrated rather than punished. Asked about a message for the Trump administration, he said “just the fact that I am here sends a message.”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

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    Iranians Find Pockets of Connection Amid Internet Blackout

    Iranians managed to gain some unreliable connection to the internet on Friday after a near-total blackout that lasted four days.After Iranians were cut off from the world for four days, the country’s nearly complete internet blackout was abruptly lifted late Friday for some Iranians, who managed to get access to weak connections by switching to different servers or perhaps through sheer luck.But many said they thought the connections were temporary or unsafe, with the government still imposing tight restrictions that were difficult to bypass.“It feels like we’re in a dark cave,” said Arta, an Iranian who fled Tehran on Tuesday and was able to briefly send a few messages over Instagram late Friday.Like many others who have exchanged messages with The New York Times over the last week, he asked to be identified only by his first name to avoid scrutiny by the authorities.“Even SMS texts don’t go through sometimes,” he said.Many Iranians rely on virtual private networks, or VPNs, to evade government restrictions on the internet, but many of those services have been disrupted since Israel’s attacks began. On Saturday, as some connection returned, providers urged their users to act cautiously.“For your own sake, don’t spread the link, the server will disconnect, and our work will only get harder,” one organizer wrote on a VPN provider’s Telegram channel. The organizer warned that reports of disconnection were increasing again, and asked subscribers to not share their product link because their server was overwhelmed.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

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    Dr. Demento Announces His Retirement After 55 Years on the Air

    Barry Hansen, mostly known by his D.J. name, said he’d end his show’s run after 55 years of playing parody songs. His syndicated show was once heard on more than 150 radio stations.“Monster Mash.” “Another One Rides the Bus.” “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”The D.J. most responsible for lodging these earworms in listeners’ heads, Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento, said last month that he would retire from the airwaves in October, on the 55th anniversary of his radio debut.Mr. Hansen, 84, started on KPPC-FM, a free form and progressive rock station in Pasadena, Calif., (now KROQ-FM) in 1970 and soon began focusing on what he called “funny music” because of listener requests for songs that made them laugh.After he played “Transfusion,” a song by Nervous Norvus, which had been banned on many radio stations in the 1950s, another D.J. at the station called Mr. Hansen demented.“Transfusion” — featuring the sound effects of vehicle crashes — is about a reckless driver who repeatedly gets seriously injured in car crashes by breaking traffic laws. In the lyrics, the driver gets a blood transfusion after each crash and vows to drive safely, before getting into another one.The novelty song struck a chord with Mr. Hansen, who would spin up similar parodies for his playlists for the next half century. The nickname Dr. Demento, which he adopted shortly afterward, also stuck.He referred to his fans as dementoids and dementites.“I have been doing this show for nearly 55 years, about two-thirds of my life,” Mr. Hansen said on his May 31 show, which broadcasts online. “It’s been a blast, but I have come to the decision that I need to hang up my top hat soon. The show you just heard is the last of my regular shows.”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

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    Windy Conditions Fan Forsyth Fire in Utah

    The Forsyth fire in Utah threatened a small community in the state’s southwest corner. Farther west, the Conner fire burned rapidly near Lake Tahoe.A wildfire in southwestern Utah destroyed 17 homes, and threatened hundreds more, as it grew to more than 1,500 acres on Friday night, the authorities said.The blaze, known as the Forsyth fire, burned just north of St. George, a city near the state’s borders with Nevada and Arizona and about 30 minutes from Zion National Park. The damage was concentrated in Pine Valley, a community of just over 300 people about 40 minutes north of St. George.Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency personnel responded to Pine Valley on Thursday when the fire broke out, but a quick change in the winds on Friday led to the destruction of homes, Sheriff Nate Brooksby of Washington County said on Facebook.“The firefighters were shocked,” Sheriff Brooksby said. “I could see it in their eyes. They gave it all they had, and still lost to mother nature.”All the residents of Pine Valley had been ordered to evacuate and members of the public were advised to stay away until the fire was contained, the sheriff’s office said.Red flag winds, those averaging 15 miles per hour or greater during dry conditions, continue to drive the fire, according to Utah Fire Info, an interagency team for public information regarding wildfires.According to the agency, 150 personnel had been deployed to fight the fire and 400 structures remained under threat. The cause of the fire remained under investigation.About 500 miles west, in Douglas County, Nev., roughly 25 miles east of Lake Tahoe, the Conner fire exploded to almost 14,000 acres, from 2,000 acres on Friday.The fire started as a structure fire, according to the Bureau of Land Management of Nevada, spreading quickly in windy conditions as dry brush and grass fueled its growth.Resources from federal, state and local agencies from Nevada and California were responding to the fire and almost 500 emergency workers were involved in attempts to contain it. Evacuations had been ordered.Images shared on social media showed plumes of smoke from the Conner fire that were visible from Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation destination that straddles California and Nevada and is home to hiking trails, campgrounds and cabins.Wildfire risk remained high as large sections of the United States were expected to experience a heat wave over the weekend.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sections of the country encompassing parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming were at critical risk of wildfires. More

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    Senate Official Rejects Food Aid Cuts Proposed by Republicans in Megabill

    The ruling by the parliamentarian sent G.O.P. lawmakers back to the drawing board to cover the costs of President Trump’s domestic policy bill.A top Senate official on Friday night rejected a bid by Republicans to slash federal food aid payments as part of their sweeping legislation carrying President Trump’s domestic agenda, sending party leaders scrambling to find another way to help offset the massive cost of the bill.The measure passed by the House last month and on track to be considered in the Senate next week would cover part of the cost of extending and expanding large tax cuts by cutting social safety net programs including Medicaid and nutrition programs, including SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.Republicans are moving the bill through Congress using special rules that shield it from a filibuster, depriving Democrats of the ability to block it. But to qualify for that protection, the legislation must comply with a rigorous set of budgetary restrictions meant to ensure that it will not add to the deficit. And the Senate parliamentarian, an official appointed by the chamber’s leaders to enforce its rules and precedents, must evaluate such measures to ensure that every provision meets those requirements.Elizabeth MacDonough, the parliamentarian, ruled that the SNAP measure, which would push some of the costs of nutrition assistance onto the states, did not. That sent Republicans back to the drawing board to find another strategy for covering tens of billions of dollars of the bill’s cost.She also said Republicans could not include a provision that would bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving SNAP benefits, according to Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.The House-passed bill would require all states to pay at least 5 percent of SNAP benefit costs, and more if they reported a high rate of errors in underpaying or overpaying recipients. That provision was estimated to save roughly $128 billion.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

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    Budget Cuts Threaten State Geological Surveys

    Nearly two dozen state geological surveys depend heavily on federal funds. A proposed budget cut could slow or stop key geologic mapping work.Every spring for the last 31 years, Reed Lewis has traversed Idaho to do what technology still cannot: examine rocks, collect samples and make a map that is critical for mining, oil and gas and other industries. He knows getting an early start is essential, as summer smoke and winter snows limit the days that are useful for gathering data.Dr. Lewis, a geologist for the state of Idaho, is normally in the field by June at the latest. But halfway through the month, he’s stuck at his desk.That’s because amid uncertainty over the federal budget, funds from Washington that pay for geological mapping have not arrived. “It’s starting to be worrisome,” Dr. Lewis said. The concern is widespread; no states have received their 2025 mapping money.What’s more, one line in the Trump administration’s proposed budget could hamstring the ability of states to create basic geologic maps for years to come.Geologists in every state use federal funds to study wildfires, water resources, hazards and to map the locations of mineral deposits and energy sources. In addition to mining and fossil fuel industries, the free and publicly available maps are used by geothermal energy and real estate companies.Private companies might map a small area of particular interest but they generally do not share the information.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