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    The Beaches Are Open in New York City. So Are the Lifeguard Chairs.

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    Beach season began Saturday with 280 lifeguards, well short of what the city needs, amid a yearslong staffing shortage. But more will come by summer’s peak.New York City’s 14 miles of public beaches opened for the season on Saturday, moving the city one step closer to the official start of summer.And with the opening of the beaches came the lifeguards.Before 10 a.m., groups of them made their way to posts across the city, from Orchard Beach in the Bronx to Rockaway Beach in Queens. Not long after, one group sprang into action on Coney Island.“We’ve already got someone on the jetty,” one lifeguard said to another. And then they were off, jogging out to the rocks, whistles blaring.The city had 280 lifeguards certified as of Saturday, according to the Parks and Recreation Department. That’s well short of full staffing for the city’s beaches and pools, but 50 more than were available on Memorial Day weekend last year. City officials say that’s a somewhat encouraging sign as the city struggles to address a yearslong lifeguard shortage — a common affliction among parks departments across the country.Daniel Jimenez, one of the lifeguards on duty on Coney Island.Danielle Amy for The New York TimesA lifeguard chair outlines the rules.Danielle Amy for The New York TimesSue Donoghue, the parks commissioner, said she expected overall staffing to grow over the next few weeks as students finish classes and summer officially arrives. There are 374 new lifeguards currently enrolled in training classes, according to the department, and returning lifeguards are expected to join up in time for the height of summer. Last year, the city had certified more than 900 lifeguards by Fourth of July weekend, up from just 230 at the start of beach season.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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      3 Drown After Boat Crash During Fishing Tournament in Alabama

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      The men were thrown overboard when two boats collided in Lewis Smith Lake on Wednesday morning, the authorities said.Three people were killed and multiple others were injured Wednesday morning when two fishing boats collided in a lake in northwest Alabama during a fishing competition, the authorities said.At around 7 a.m., Joey M. Broom, 58, of Altoona, Ala., John K. Clark, 44, of Cullman, Ala., and Jeffrey C. Little, 62, of Brandon, Miss., were on a center console boat in Lewis Smith Lake in Cullman County when it collided with a bass boat, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.The three men were thrown overboard and drowned, the law enforcement agency said. Their bodies were found in the Miller Flats area on the eastern side of the lake — a sprawling reservoir with long fingers and jagged inlets about an hour north of Birmingham.The number of injuries and their severity was not known. The coroner for Cullman County did not immediately respond to an email seeking additional information about the causes of death.The crash occurred at the beginning of the second day of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational, a competition promoted by the organization Major League Fishing. It also involved Flint Davis, a competing angler from Leesburg, Ga., the organization said. His condition was not known.The final day of the tournament, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was canceled, Major League Fishing announced.Competitors in the Tackle Warehouse Invitational try to catch the biggest bass. They are vying for a top prize of up to $115,000 as well as points to qualify for the championship invitational in September, Major League Fishing said. More

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      Capsized Boat Near Jacksonville, Fla., Leaves 1 Dead and 3 Missing

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      One adult and two children are missing, and four others were rescued on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Fla. They were on the water to take pictures of the sunset, an official said.One person died and three others were missing, including two children, after a small boat capsized on a river near Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday night, the authorities said.The U.S. Coast Guard received reports of an overturned vessel around 7 p.m. near Goat Island, which is north of Jacksonville. No one was wearing life jackets, according to a Coast Guard news release.Officials said that the people on board had set out to take photos of the sunset while on the St. Johns River, which is the longest river in Florida and winds through and around Jacksonville.The marine unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office rescued four boaters who were perched atop the overturned boat. According to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, none of the survivors were taken to a hospital.There were four others thought to have been underneath the boat. Divers from the sheriff’s office did not find any people underneath the boat, however.“A Coast Guard Station Mayport rescue surface swimmer attempted to contact the people reportedly underneath the vessel but received no responses,” according to the news release.A crew from the sheriff’s office discovered a person in the water who was dead, said Capt. Eric Prosswimmer, a spokesman for the fire department.It was not immediately clear what caused the boat to capsize. Additional details about those on board were not released.“It’s an 18-foot watercraft boat — a pleasure craft so to speak,” Captain Prosswimmer told reporters on Friday night. “We have recovered the boat, and it was flipped. We flipped it back over, and it was towed back to the dock.”Crews from the Coast Guard, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, the sheriff’s office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were engaged in the search. Two helicopters were also deployed in the search.The weather was calm in Jacksonville on Friday evening, with a light breeze and passing clouds. More

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      Migrant Boats Capsize Off Yemen and Djibouti, U.N. Says

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      The missing people were on two boats that capsized off Yemen, which is on a major route for migrants trying to reach Gulf countries for work.CAIRO — At least two people have died and 186 others were missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized overnight in waters off Yemen and Djibouti, the United Nations migration agency said on Friday.Two vessels capsized off Yemen late Thursday, said Tamim Eleian, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration. Two crew members were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crew members remain missing, he said.Two other boats capsized off the tiny African nation of Djibouti around the same time, he said. Two bodies of migrants were recovered, and all others onboard were rescued.Strong winds caused the two boats to capsize near the beach in Djibouti after they started sailing off, said Abdusattor Esoev, the head of the mission for the I.O.M. in Yemen.The third boat, which capsized off Dhubab district in Taiz governorate, in southwestern Yemen, was carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew.The fourth boat, which capsized near the same area, was heading to Ahwar district in Abyan governorate, and was carrying 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew.Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa seeking to reach Gulf countries for work, with hundreds of thousands trying the route each year.To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.The numbers making it to Yemen reached 97,200 in 2023 — triple the number in 2021. Last year, the number dropped to just under 61,000, probably because of greater patrolling of the waters, according to an I.O.M. report released this month.Over the past decade, at least 2,082 migrants have disappeared along the route, including 693 known to have drowned, according to the migration agency. Some 380,000 migrants are in Yemen. More

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      Nigeria Boat Capsizes, Killing at Least 27

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      Rescuers were searching for survivors after the vessel, taking passengers to a food market, capsized along the River Niger, officials said.ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 27 people were killed and more than 100, mostly women, were missing on Friday after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, the authorities said.About 200 passengers were on the boat traveling from the state of Kogi to the neighboring state of Niger when it capsized, said Ibrahim Audu, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.Rescuers had managed to pull 27 bodies from the river by Friday evening, while divers were still searching for survivors, according to Sandra Musa, a spokeswoman for the Kogi state emergency services.The authorities have not confirmed the cause of the sinking, but local news outlets suggested the boat might have been overloaded. Overcrowding on boats is common in remote parts of Nigeria, where the lack of good roads leaves many with no alternative routes.Most previous deadly boat accidents in Nigeria have been attributed to overcrowding and the lack of maintenance of the boats, often built locally to accommodate as many passengers as possible in defiance of safety measures.Also, the authorities have not been able to enforce the use of life jackets on such trips, often because of the lack of availability or cost.Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state, said rescuers had trouble finding the location of the capsized vessel for hours after tragedy struck.Such deadly episodes are increasingly becoming a source of concern in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as the authorities struggle to enforce safety measures and regulations for water transportation. More

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      Dartmouth Sorority and 2 Fraternity Members Are Charged After Student’s Drowning

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      The 20-year-old student died this summer after attending an off-campus party. The fraternity members and sorority were charged with offenses related to providing alcohol to minors.A Dartmouth College sorority and two fraternity members have been charged with underage alcohol offenses in the death of a 20-year-old student who drowned after attending an off-campus party this summer. The authorities said the student, Won Jang, attended the party hosted by the sorority Alpha Phi on July 6. Most people at the gathering, including Mr. Jang, were underage and drank alcohol that was provided by members of Mr. Jang’s fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega.Alpha Phi was charged with a misdemeanor for hosting a party where underage drinking occurred, according to a Friday news release from the police department in Hanover, N.H., where Dartmouth’s campus is. Two members of Beta Alpha Omega, who are not underage, were each charged with a misdemeanor for supplying alcohol to attendees under 21, the release said. On the night of the party, several attendees went swimming in the Connecticut River, which runs along Hanover, the police said. Many departed when a heavy rainstorm hit, but Mr. Jang, who his family said could not swim, was left behind.Mr. Jang was found dead in the river the day after the party, the authorities said. The medical examiner’s office determined that the cause of death was drowning, and a toxicology report found that Mr. Jang had a blood alcohol level that indicated he was likely to have been significantly impaired. Lt. Michael Schibuola of the Hanover Police Department said the police had investigated whether hazing had contributed to Mr. Jang’s death but ultimately determined it had not.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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      Flooding in Missouri Kills at Least 4, Including 2 Poll Workers

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      The governor activated emergency operations procedures after the deaths on Tuesday after days of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and tornadoes.At least four people, including two poll workers, died in floods across Missouri on Tuesday, prompting Gov. Mike Parson to activate an emergency operations plan.Intense storms brought six to 10 inches of rainfall, flash flooding and two small tornadoes in parts of Missouri, starting on Sunday and continuing through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The governor said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the storm had caused damage across the state and that the emergency action plan would ensure that state officials could respond if “further disruptions or damage occur” and help with recovery efforts.On Tuesday morning, two poll workers died after their vehicle was swept off State Route H near Manes, Mo., by floodwaters that had inundated parts the state, the Wright County Clerk’s Office said in a statement. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the two victims, whose names were not released, were a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman.Loni Pederson, the Wright County clerk, said in a statement that the two were a couple “who donated their time to serve their community.”Floodwaters were also believed to have caused two deaths in St. Louis County on Tuesday, according to the police.In one case, a woman was found dead in her S.U.V. as floodwaters began to recede. The woman had driven her car into the water during the height of the flood on Tuesday morning, the St. Louis County police said in a news release, noting that they were still investigating the episode.Later in the afternoon, the police found a man dead in a creek in the St. Louis area. The authorities said they believed that he had drowned but were waiting an autopsy.The State Highway Patrol said that it had also received reports of two vehicles that had been swept off roads in Wright County early Tuesday. The people in those vehicles were able to swim to safety, the authorities said.Flooding in some parts of Missouri had prevented voters from reaching polling places, the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office said. Governor Parson said on social media that voters in St. Louis City or St. Louis County who could not reach their polling places could vote at any polling location within the city or the county.Emergency operations in St. Louis will continue through Saturday morning as storm conditions and flooding are expected through the end of the week, an emergency operations official said on Tuesday evening. More

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      1 Dead and 4 Are Missing After Boat Capsizes Off California

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      A search began after reports of six overdue boaters Saturday. Officials said a child was rescued and in stable condition and the body of a teenager was recovered.The U.S. Coast Guard recovered the body of a teenager and rescued an 11-year-old boy as it pressed its search for four boaters missing after their vessel capsized on Saturday off California, the authorities said.The U.S. Coast Guard received a report about six overdue boaters at about 11:40 p.m. on Saturday from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, said Levi Read, chief petty officer with U.S. Coast Guard District 11.Three of those on board were adults, and the others were ages 11, 14 and 17, Petty Officer Read said.The group set out on a 21-foot blue-and-white motorized vessel from the Westside Marina in Bodega Bay around 3 p.m. for recreational crabbing, Petty Officer Read said.The boaters were supposed to be home by 7 p.m. the same day. When they didn’t return, family members alerted the authorities.Crews from several agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Sheriff’s Office and the California Air National Guard, searched a large area on Sunday that stretched from Bodega Bay south toward Point Reyes in Marin County and 20 miles offshore, Petty Officer Read said.It was unclear on Sunday where the group went crabbing, where and when the boat capsized or what led up to it overturning.The last cellphone ping the authorities received was around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and about seven nautical miles west of Bodega Bay, Petty Officer Read said.An 11-year-old boy was found alive off South Salmon Creek Beach at around 8 a.m. on Sunday. He was taken to a hospital and was stable.The body of another child, a male, was recovered from the waters within the search area at about 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, Petty Officer Read said. It was unclear whether it was the 14-year-old or 17-year-old who was recovered.He said the group was from the Corning, Calif., area, and that five are family members, though their relationship was unknown. One is a family friend, Petty Officer Read said.“The search is ongoing,” he said. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the family that is missing.”The water on Sunday was about 52 degrees, the average year-round temperature for the Pacific Ocean, Petty Officer Read said.Winds were about 20 miles per hour, creating choppy seas and white caps, but the sky was otherwise clear and visibility was good, he said.Bodega Bay, about 70 miles north of San Francisco, is a fishing hamlet of about 1,000 year-round residents where Dungeness crab is trapped several months of the year. More

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      Helene Has Killed More Than 90 People. Here Are Some of Their Stories.

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      Days after the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Florida’s gulf coast, some victims’ portraits were coming into focus. A woman in her 70s who repaired nuclear cooling towers and rode motorcycles. A Florida resident who helped her community recover from Hurricane Ian two years ago. A man who had just moved to South Carolina to work as an electrical lineman.All three were among the more than 90 people killed by Helene, a roaring Category 4 hurricane that has devastated much of the Southeast since coming ashore last week. The victims came from at least six states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Many people drowned, and others were killed by falling trees, car crashes under heavy rains and a tornado produced by the storm. A lot of the victims were still unidentified.The toll is almost certain to rise as rescuers reach communities in the Appalachian Mountains, where devastating flooding and mudslides have decimated whole towns.But on Sunday, three days after the giant storm made landfall in the Big Bend region, some victims’ stories were coming into focus.In Florida, most of the 11 victims there drowned in Pinellas County, which is in the Tampa Bay region and the most densely populated county in the state. 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