Salon.com > Jacob Sugarman

Pic of the day: World Trade Center reborn

Thu, 02 May 2013 21:29:00 +0000

The New York City skyline has just gotten a little taller and a lot more patriotic. On Thursday Iron workers raised the final section of One World Trade Center's spire, which features an oversized American flag hanging from its base.

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From Bangladesh to the banks of the Mississippi, a look at the images that defined the week

Twitter turns AP hack into comedy

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:06:00 +0000

That AP tweet was fake -- there was no explosion at the White House. It did not happen!

But the markets were still rattled momentarily by the tweet, being blamed on phishers gaining access to the AP Twitter password.

As soon it was clearly a hoax, Twitter lit up with jokes. Here are some of our favorites:

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Apple named in Chinese porn probe

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:37:00 +0000

Apple's already contentious relationship with China has just taken a turn for the worse. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the computer giant has turned up on a list of companies named in a Chinese porn probe for allegedly offering illicit material on their web sites and app stores.

Report: Ricin letters are appearing around official Washington

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:37:00 +0000

UPDATE 4/17 12:20 p.m.

In his press conference, White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed that a letter with a suspicious substance had been sent to President Obama but referred further questions to the FBI. He also referred questions about the Boston attack investigation to the FBI.

UPDATE 4/17 11:36 a.m.

The AP is reporting that authorities have a suspect in mind but didn’t say much more:

Police have a suspect in mind as they investigate a letter mailed to Sen. Roger Wicker that tested positive for poisonous ricin, a Senate colleague said.

“The person that is a suspect writes a lot of letters to members,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Tuesday as she emerged from a classified briefing.

UPDATE: 4/17 11:28 a.m.

The president may have received one as well:

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UPDATE: 4/17 10:50 a.m.

ABC News' Terry Moran tweeted:

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UPDATE No. 2: Politico is now reporting that a suspect in the case has been identified.

From Glenn Thrush:

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Massachusetts governor fields question from “false-flag” conspiracist

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:39:00 +0000

On Monday afternoon, media entity and professional truther Alex Jones postulated that the Boston Marathon bombings were part of an elaborate government conspiracy to trample our personal freedoms. Within hours, he'd found a new disciple to preach his gospel, a conspiracist who kicked off Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's 9:00 PM press conference with this gem: "Is this another false flag attack staged attack to take our civil liberties?"

Watch Patrick's withering response below:

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From ticker-tape celebrations to flags flying at half mast, a look at the week's enduring images

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From Easter Sunday to Opening Day, a look at the week's most enduring images

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From three-point bombs to stealth bombers, a look at the week's most enduring images

Pic of the day: Alfonse D’Amato, mobbed up?

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Bartolomeo Vernace is a Gambino crime boss on trial for participating in the 1991 double murder of two bar owners in Queens. He's also the proud owner of this chummy photograph of former New York Sen. Aflonse D'Amato, which almost seems conjured from the imagination of David Chase or Martin Scorsese.

From the New York Daily News:

Ex-Bonanno associate Joseph (Giusseppe) Gambina testified Tuesday that the photo was taken at a fundraiser for “Senator Amato” in late 1991 at mobbed-up Giannini’s restaurant in Maspeth.

D’Amato is flanked by Gambina along with Gambino mobster Ralph Sciulla. Both gangsters are flashing wide smiles. Gambina said he gave the photo to the feds when he became a cooperating witness, but a second copy was hanging on the wall of capo Bartolomeo (Bobby) Vernace’s cafe, where Vernace also operated gambling and loan shark rackets.

...

Within a year of the photo being taken, Sciulla’s corpse was found in the trunk of a Mercedes in Long Island and Giannini’s owner Sebastian (Sammy) DeFalco was gunned down in a separate gangland hit by Bonanno mobsters.

David Foster Wallace had Sandusky’s interviewer right

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:17:00 +0000

If you haven't read David Foster Wallace's feature "Host," which skewers the talk radio industry and its curdled politics, today may be the day to dust off your paperback copy of "Consider the Lobster" or do a little spelunking in the Atlantic's archives. That's because the profile's subject, yakker-cum-documentarian John Ziegler, whose previous two films center respectively on left-wing media plots to obscure the truth about 9/11 and elect Barack Obama, has reemerged to share a superfluous and offensive new interview with Jerry Sandusky that Ziegler conducted for his forthcoming documentary, "The Framing of Joe Paterno."

The interview, which aired this morning on the "Today" show, offers few surprises. Sandusky maintains his innocence and shows no sign of remorse, laughing off the disputed testimony of former assistant coach Mike McQueary. The Paterno family, meanwhile, have publicly decried the interview as "misguided and inappropriate," distancing themselves from any defense of Joe Paterno that hinges on the account of Jerry Sandusky.

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From March Madness to Michele Bachmann's craziness, a look at the images that defined the week

Obama is immune to March Madness

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:36:00 +0000

March Madness kicks off Thursday, which means it's time for another unimaginative set of Final Four picks from our bracketologist-in-chief. By his standards, President Obama threw caution to the wind this year, selecting Florida, Ohio State, Indiana and Louisville, two top seeds, a second seed and a third seed to advance to the Final Four in Atlanta. But his championship game still features Indiana and Louisville, both number ones.

God forbid he pick a sleeper like UNLV (3) or Michigan (4). "I'm going with Louisville," the president told ESPN's Andy Katz. "I know it's not a surprise pick. And I'm going with Indiana. I think this is Indiana's year."

It's always a number one seed's year with the president. Since Obama began publicly filling out the tournament bracket in 2009, he has been almost constitutionally incapable of choosing against the chalk. His Final Four and championship picks over the past five years have gone as follows (correct picks in bold):

2009: Final Four (Louisville (1), Pittsburgh (1), North Carolina(1), Memphis (2)), champion (North Carolina (1))

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

From Steubenville to Vatican City, a look at the stories that dominated the headlines

Lil Wayne seemingly alive and well, despite TMZ report

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 02:24:00 +0000

Celebrity "news" site TMZ sent the Twittersphere into convulsions Friday evening when it reported that rapper Lil Wayne was fighting for his life in the ICU of Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after suffering the latest in a series of seizures. "We're told several people are at Wayne's bedside crying, and a number of rap artists and family members are on the way," the outlet noted. "Sources say the scene is violent as Wayne shakes uncontrollably."

TMZ also reported that Wayne had been rushed to the hospital Tuesday night under similar circumstances, and that his bodyguard had found him face down and unconscious shortly after he was discharged Wednesday. The seizures were allegedly brought on by an excess consumption of sizzurp or purple drank, a codein-based drug popular in southern rap circles.

It's unclear how much of this initial report is true or false, but Weezy appears to be on the mend, tweeting the following Friday night:

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As of 10:15 PM EST, his message had been retweeted over 100,000 times. Meanwhile, fellow Young Money rapper Mack Maine offered some pointed words, er, hashtag for TMZ:

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The week in 10 pics

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

From Rand Paul's bladder-defying filibuster to the goofy "snowquester," a look at the images that defined the week

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

From Boehner's sequester face to Jennifer Lawrence's charming klutziness, a look at the week's enduring images

Watch the Miami Heat do the Harlem shake

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:44:00 +0000

Well, the Harlem shake was fun while it lasted, sort of. On Thursday night, the Miami Heat released their own version of the dance video, as sure a sign as any that the viral sensation is finally over. Still, basketball fans can revel in the sight of human inkblot Chris "Birdman" Andersen flapping his wings like a drugged-out condor and LeBron James channeling his inner Busta Rhymes. And look! There's Mario Chalmers as Super Mario and (we're guessing) Dwyane Wade as Kanye West circa 2004. It's like the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sprung to life, but with ghetto blasters and sombreros.

This isn't the first time the Heat have made news off the court. In March of 2012, the team donned hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin, a political statement as surprising as it was brave. Their latest video shows they know how to let loose together too.

The week in 10 pics

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

From the pope's resignation to a meteor burning across the Russian sky, a look at the stories that defined the week

Olympic wrestling’s vicious takedowns won’t be forgotten

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:33:00 +0000

Wrestling has been a fixture of the Olympics since 708 B.C. and is considered by many to be the oldest competitive sport. So when the International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to cut freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from the 2020 games, it came as something of a shock. "I think this is a really stupid decision," the Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the New York Times. "It has been in the modern Olympics since 1896. This is a popular sport."

Fans worldwide can still enjoy freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. But while there's a slim chance the IOC could reverse its decision by adding a 26th sport to the 2020 Games, the days of spandex singlets appear to be numbered -- at least on the Olympic stage. To give the sport a proper send-off, we look back on some of wrestling's gnarliest, most brutal moments.

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