News

The Associated Press reports: The Vessel, a towering, honeycomb-like sculpture in Manhattan that was popular with tourists before a series of suicides forced its closure in 2021, will reopen Monday with new safety features. The 150-foot (46-meter) structure opened in 2019 as the centerpiece of the Hudson Yards development on Manhattan’s West Side. The climbable sculpture with zigzagging stairs drew …

The Hill reports: Nearly 1.01 million North Carolinians have already voted in the November general election, state officials reported Sunday afternoon. The North Carolina State Election Board said 1,008,123 ballots have already been cast in the 2024 election, including 916,433 ballots cast via in-person early voting, 77,831 ballots via civilian absentee voting, and nearly 14,000 cast via military or overseas …

Bloomberg News reports: TGI Friday’s Inc. is seeking financing as the casual-dining chain prepares to file for bankruptcy protection in coming weeks, according to people with knowledge of its plans, after struggling to turn around a business pressured by customers’ tighter budgets and preference for faster food. The company is huddling with lenders in search of a loan that would …

Yahoo Entertainment reports: The show opened with Maya Rudolph returning as Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Alec Baldwin making a surprise appearance as Fox News anchor Bret Baier, to parody Harris’s much-discussed interview on the conservative network on Oct. 16. Baldwin came out swinging in his portrayal of Baier — his first return to the show since the dismissal …

CNN reports: Authorities are working to identify the cause of a partial ferry dock collapse on Georgia’s Sapelo Island that turned a day of celebration into tragedy, leaving at least seven dead and six critically injured as crowds gathered for a cultural festival. In the midst of a celebration of the island’s small Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants, a …

Axios reports: An explosive drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon hit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday. This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit. Netanyahu’s spokesperson confirmed his private residence was targeted on Saturday morning local time, …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Georgia is continuing to smash early voting records. On Friday afternoon, Georgia Secretary of State’s Office Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling [photo], confirmed Georgia officially passed one million votes cast in the early voting period. The state remains a focus in one of the closest presidential contests in recent memory. The big voting push comes as …

Bloomberg reports: Electricity went out across the entirety of Cuba after the island’s main power plant failed and the government throttled key industries in an effort to save fuel. In a post on X, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said the unexpected failure of the 330-megawatt capacity CTE Antonio Guiteras plant at about 11 a.m. Friday had caused a …

Reuters reports: Some U.S. states are sending strong signals to county and local officials who might be tempted to intervene illegally in the Nov. 5 election or refuse to certify results: Fail to do your duty and risk criminal charges or hefty financial penalties. In at least five of the seven battleground states, top election and law enforcement officials have …

The Washington Post reports: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza after eluding their forces for more than a year. His body was identified after DNA testing in Israel, said an Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Hamas did …

The Washington Post reports: An independent panel called Thursday for new leadership at the Secret Service, hired mostly from outside the protective agency, saying it needs a major shake-up or security failures such as the July 13 shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania “can and will happen again.” The bipartisan panel, ordered by President Joe Biden to review the …

The Florida Times-Union reports: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said during an appearance on Times Radio in London that former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy would amount to creating “concentration camps” for holding undocumented immigrants. Trump’s campaign on Wednesday called Deegan’s comments “horrendously irresponsible” and a host a Republican elected officials criticized her after a clip of the interview was posted …

Florida Politics reports: An ad appealing to Republicans features words of the current GOP presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump. While he hasn’t shot a spot specifically for Amendment 3, the Mar-a-Lago resident said he will vote for the constitutional amendment in November. A spot entitled “Good” features a Truth Social post in which Trump commits to voting “Yes.” Then, …

TMZ reports: Liam Payne is dead after a fall from his hotel balcony in Argentina, TMZ has learned. The former One Direction singer died Wednesday evening. Several witnesses at the hotel where he was staying in Buenos Aires tell us Liam fell from his room on the 3rd floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. We do not know if it …

The Guardian reports: An “amorous couple in a stairwell” has been blamed for causing a flood in Melbourne’s city rail loop last week, which forced the evacuation of two stations and significant delays for people travelling home from an Olivia Rodrigo concert. Melbourne Central and Flagstaff stations had to be evacuated, causing delays across the metropolitan rail network. While it …

The Hill reports: Ride-hailing service Lyft announced that it will offer discounted rideshare, bike-share and scooters on Election Day, an initiative designed to increase transportation access for voters, according to a press release. Lyft plans to offer a 50 percent discount to customers who use a certain code, which will be valid from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in every …

The New York Times reports: After weeks of fielding phone calls, text messages and direct mail pleas to cast ballots before Election Day, Georgia voters did not waste time: Within six hours of polls opening on Tuesday, the presidential battleground state had posted record turnout for the first day of early voting. Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the …

NBC News reports: Americans are more eager to vote early than they were before the pandemic, but a deep partisan divide on early voting remains, the latest national NBC News poll shows. With not even a month to go before Election Day, 5% of registered voters said they had already cast their ballots (3% by mail and 2% in person), …

Axios reports: The Biden administration sent a letter to Israeli leaders on Monday demanding Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel being affected, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios. Countries that receive U.S. military aid and are in an active …

NBC News reports: Walgreens said Tuesday it plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years as it seeks to further downsize its footprint amid flagging sales and changing consumer behavior. The pharmacy chain said 500 of the closings would occur over the next 12 months. It estimates a quarter of its 8,700 stores in the U.S. are unprofitable. …