Deutsche Bank is to pay $75m to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were sexually abused by the late financier, Jeffrey Epstein. One of the firms representing women in the case called it the biggest sex trafficking settlement with a bank in US history. The lawsuit alleged that the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein's sex trafficking. Deutsche Bank has acknowledged that it was a mistake to take Epstein on as a client, but the bank had thitherto joined JPMorgan Chase, which is also being sued over links to Epstein, in fighting the claims brought by victims. Deutsche Bank said that from 2013 to 2018 it provided "routine banking services" to Epstein, and claimed the lawsuit did not prove it was "was part of Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring".
A new study has warned that New York should stop building high-rise buildings if it wants to avoid sinking due to the effects of rising ocean levels and climate change. The city is already sinking by 1-2mm a year, and the sea level is predicted to rise by 5ft by the end of the century, with the greatest threat faced by Lower Manhattan and parts of the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The study revealed that regardless of the threat, the response has been inadequate with only 10% of the buildings erected in flooded areas following Hurricane Sandy being built to required standards.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Michael McCaul, has agreed to pause an attempt to hold US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after the US State Department offered to let McCaul review a classified cable from US diplomats in Kabul from July 2021. It reportedly warned of the potential fall of Kabul via a special dissent channel. The offer was made with the names of those who signed it redacted. The same offer was made to the top Democrat on the panel, Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, but McCaul urged State to grant access to all committee members.
The Washington Mystics are set to host the New York Liberty for their season opener. Washington had a strong record of 11-7 in Eastern Conference play and 12-6 at home in the previous season, while the Liberty had a record of 10-8 in Eastern Conference games and 16-20 overall. Both teams have no current injuries listed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not received personal contact from the Royal family following their recent car chase in New York; the lack of personal contact is said to have frustrated the couple. They released a statement relating to the alleged “relentless pursuit” that could have been fatal; however, New York authorities and witnesses have raised concerns about their version of events, particularly the alleged level of danger. The Royal couple's security team has said the "chase was frightening", with their safety put "in danger".
A new study has warned that New York should stop building high-rise buildings if it wants to avoid sinking due to the effects of rising ocean levels and climate change. The city is already sinking by 1-2mm a year, and the sea level is predicted to rise by 5ft by the end of the century, with the greatest threat faced by Lower Manhattan and parts of the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The study revealed that regardless of the threat, the response has been inadequate with only 10% of the buildings erected in flooded areas following Hurricane Sandy being built to required standards.
The Cannes screening of Black Flies, the new film from Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, has confirmed that Sean Penn, in the role of an experienced paramedic, has produced his best performance in some time. Co-star Tye Sheridan is no less impressive as a nervous rookie alongside Penn, though together they face down the "raging urban stress and cramped horizons" of their duty with occasional displays of black humour. Despite formulaic components, the film's central theme of everyday realities serve the story well in a gritty, often uncomfortably tense and sometimes violent movie.
The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 59. Johnny Marr, The Smiths’ guitarist, tweeted his sadness at the news, saying that Rourke was a “kind and beautiful soul” as well as a talented musician. Rourke played alongside Marr as well as singer Morrissey and drummer Mike Joyce, who played with Marr in a brief Smiths reunion in 2008. During his career, Rourke played with The Pretenders and Sinead O’Connor and was part of the supergroup Freebass.
Photo agency Backgrid has refused to hand over photographs to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex involving an alleged car chase in New York. The couple and one of their mothers were reportedly in danger due to a "ring of highly aggressive paparazzi." Harry and Meghan had been at a gala event, their first public appearance together since the duchess missed the King’s coronation on May 6. Backgrid rejected a formal demand from the couple's legal team for copies of all photos, videos, and films taken after the event.
Author Salman Rushdie has made his first public appearance since being attacked with a knife last year, which left him with partial blindness. Rushdie lost sight in one eye after he was stabbed 10 times while on stage at a US arts centre last August. The attack echoed the fatwa calling for his assassination issued by then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, following publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses in 1988. Rushdie’s public appearance came at a ceremony hosted by PEN, an organisation which champions free speech.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on 19 May. The milestone comes days after names of the paparazzi photographers accused of conducting a “near catastrophic” car chase through New York City with the couple emerged. The Sussexes met through mutual friends in 2016, visiting the Soho House members’ club on their first date. They announced their engagement a year later and married in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. In 2020, they stepped back from royal duties and now live in California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
Jordan Neely, a man who was killed by another passenger, Daniel Penny, has been remembered at a funeral service in Harlem. Penny has been charged with manslaughter and the incident has fuelled concerns about safety on New York's subway system and raised questions about the support given to homeless people in the city. Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was shouting at passengers and asking for money before the incident. There is no evidence that Neely physically attacked anyone during the incident. The funeral was delivered by Reverend Al Sharpton.
The remains of a US Marine veteran who went missing in Ukraine over a year ago have been located and returned to his family in eastern North Carolina. Retired Marine Capt. Grady Kurpasi, a 50-year-old Iraq War veteran, had volunteered last year to help evacuate Ukrainian residents before fighting in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. He disappeared in April 2022 after investigating gunfire near southern Ukraine. His remains were located by the Weatherman Foundation, who flew them via Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport before being flown to Wilmington, North Carolina.
The Reverend Al Sharpton has criticised the state of New York’s lack of mental health provision for residents, following the choking death of Jordan Neely. The 1 May incident sparked a discussion about mental health, racial bias and civil vigilantism after reports emerged that the 24-year-old suspect, Daniel Penny, had choked Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator, for several minutes because he had walked into the train car loudly complaining of hunger and thirst, and saying he was not afraid to go to jail or die. Penny has been charged with second-degree murder.
The post-pandemic ghost town scenario of New York and other major cities is set to continue after agents said that companies were subletting large amounts of their office space in a bid to reduce their footprints and slash costs. New York has 22.7 million sq ft of sublet space, most of which is occupied by tech and media firms. Many employees are still reluctant to attend the office regularly and this is causing a slump in central city footfall; New York, for example, is losing $4,661 (£3,410) per worker annually, according to Bloomberg. JB Morgan has told its bankers to return for at least five days a week or face sanctions, while Blackrock requires staff to attend for at least four days a week.
The man accused of strangling and killing a homeless man on a New York City subway train in front of shocked onlookers has spoken for the first time since the incident, saying the episode had "nothing to do with race". Daniel Penny, who was charged with second-degree manslaughter after the 30-year-old Jordan Neely died from compression of the neck on a Manhattan train in May, also criticised "a system that so desperately failed us". Neely was black and his killing has raised debate about the need for better health and mental care for vulnerable people, as well as race and criminal justice.
The US think tank, Heritage Foundation, has launched legal action against the State Department to get hold of Prince Harry's immigration records. The Foundation claims that the public has a "right to know" whether Harry, who admitted in his memoir to taking drugs, was truthful on his visa application. The US visa application form asks whether an applicant has ever violated any law related to controlled substances. Even though the US government has refused to release it following pressure from the think tank, a US court will rule on whether to compel officials to release his immigration records to the public.
A new study published in Nature has revealed that extreme heat levels, which would see humans migrate out of areas, will affect 2 billion people by 2100. The next biggest markets for air conditioning units for developing countries, Nigeria and India, will be among the worst affected by the 2.7C temperature increase. Exposure to extreme heat will have existential consequences for the human food supply chain, and could spur conflict and troublesome refugee situations if migration becomes necessary.
