Migrants Crossing the Darién Gap Find Success on Social Media
Politics

Migrants Crossing the Darién Gap Find Success on Social Media

Much of the content about the Darién and the rest of the journey is aspirational, featuring everyday people overcoming great odds, sometimes accompanied by religious music. One TikTok video of a disabled person making his way through the jungle on the back of another man has more than 10,000 comments.Even a Darién parody subgenre has emerged, built on a long tradition of using humor to confront tragedy. A video featuring a fake Hugo Chávez, the father of Venezuela’s socialist revolution, migrating through the Darién has been shared more than 23,000 times.In it, Fake Chávez curses his successor, President Nicolás Maduro, who has held onto power for the last decade. The bit carries the hashtag #hunger #corruption and #fear.Facebook and TikTok are also flooded with the faces of people who hav...
How Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Surgery Became a Big Business
Politics

How Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Surgery Became a Big Business

Later in 2020, Ms. Lavelle also complained to the board, describing how she had been traumatized by her daughter’s tongue-tie release.The lactation board, which reports its disciplinary decisions, has not taken action against Ms. Henstrom. A spokeswoman for the board, Susan Brayshaw, declined to comment on the complaints, citing a policy of confidentiality. “Some complaints take significantly longer than others due to the nature of the allegations and related investigations,” she said.Since 2002, the board has revoked the certifications of only three lactation consultants.Ms. Lavelle also filed a complaint against Dr. Zink with the Idaho board of dentistry. The board collected medical records and statements from Ms. Lavelle and Dr. Zink. Dr. Zink told the board that June’s procedure was “u...
NFL Power Rankings Week 16: 49ers, Ravens on top, plus a surprise from every team
Politics

NFL Power Rankings Week 16: 49ers, Ravens on top, plus a surprise from every team

We’re coming down the stretch of the NFL season, and the playoff seedings and Power Rankings are starting to sort themselves out, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some surprises along the way. Today, we’re going to look at one surprising aspect of each team’s season.And then we’re going to start looking forward to a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Week 16 of the season.(Last week: 1)Sunday: Beat Arizona Cardinals 45-29Surprise: Brock PurdyWe’ve let all the talk about whether the second-year quarterback is a top-10 quarterback in the league or even possibly the MVP obscure what remains at its heart the most remarkable story in the league. Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, is now 16-3 as a starting quarterback. His passer rating (119) and expected points added per dropback (.32) lea...
New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea
Science and Technology

New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea

A man involved in a brazen plot to manipulate the stock price of a New Jersey deli’s parent company pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Wednesday.James T. Patten, 64, of North Carolina, admitted to orchestrating a series of misleading trades in an apparent bid to enrich himself and two co-defendants in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J.Mr. Patten faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for securities fraud. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.Mr. Patten’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, said in an interview on Wednesday that attention on the case “was exaggerated beyond any perception — that this was some $100 million fraud involving a delicatessen...
Choice Hotel Franchise Owners Push Back on Merger With Wyndham
Investments and Business

Choice Hotel Franchise Owners Push Back on Merger With Wyndham

When Patrick Pacious, the chief executive of a large portfolio of hotel brands, promoted a blockbuster attempt to acquire a competitor in October, he said the proposed merger would lower costs and attract more customers for the families and small businesses that own most of the company’s locations.“Our franchisees instantly grasped the strategic benefit this would bring to their hotels,” Mr. Pacious, who leads Choice Hotels, said on CNBC.As the weeks have passed, however, the reaction has not been positive. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, the target of the proposed deal, rejected the offer from Choice, which is now pursuing a hostile takeover. And in early December, an association representing the majority of hoteliers who own Choice and Wyndham-branded properties came out strongly against it....
Hamas’s Top Political Leader Is in Egypt for Talks About War in Gaza: Live Updates
Politics

Hamas’s Top Political Leader Is in Egypt for Talks About War in Gaza: Live Updates

For the second day in a row, the United Nations Security Council delayed a vote on a resolution calling for Israel and Hamas to provide greater access for more humanitarian aid, and pauses in the fighting to make that possible, as diplomats wrestled with the United States on what it might allow to pass.The announcement of a delay on Tuesday followed hours of intense, closed-door negotiations and a Security Council session in which diplomats discussed the war in Gaza. It also followed days of negotiations since Friday, when the United Arab Emirates, which put forth the resolution, circulated the text among members.The draft resolution called for suspending the fighting long enough to allow the safe delivery of humanitarian relief to Gaza via land, air and sea and the immediate release of ho...
Behind the Shortage Keeping Cancer Patients From Chemo
Politics

Behind the Shortage Keeping Cancer Patients From Chemo

Stephanie Scanlan learned about the shortages of basic chemotherapy drugs this spring in the most frightening way. Two of the three drugs typically used to treat her rare bone cancer were too scarce. She would have to go forward without them.Ms. Scanlan, 56, the manager of a busy state office in Tallahassee, Fla., had sought the drugs for months as the cancer spread from her wrist to her rib to her spine. By summer it was clear that her left wrist and hand would need to be amputated.“I’m scared to death,” she said as she faced the surgery. “This is America. Why are we having to choose who we save?”The disruption this year in supplies of key chemotherapy drugs has realized the worst fears of patients — and of the broader health system — because some people with aggressive cancers have been ...