Michael Levenson
The Boston Globe
Houston, TX, United States
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Past articles by Michael:
Whiskey fungus fed by Jack Daniel’s encrusts a Tennessee town
The ethanol-fueled fungus known as whiskey fungus thrives around distilleries and bakeries and is now driving a wedge between some residents of Lincoln County, Tennessee, and Jack Daniel’s, the famed distillery founded in 1866. → Read More
Pair is charged with plotting to ‘destroy Baltimore’ by attacking electrical grid
Sarah Clendaniel, 27, of Catonsville, Md., and Brandon Russell, 34, of Orlando, Fla., planned to inflict “maximum harm” by targeting facilities operated by Baltimore Gas and Electric, which serves 1.2 million customers in central Maryland, according to a complaint filed in federal court. → Read More
Attacks on electrical substations raise alarm
Over the past three months, at least nine substations have been attacked in North Carolina, Washington state and Oregon, cutting power to tens of thousands of people. After those attacks, federal regulators ordered a review of security standards for the electrical system. → Read More
Rishi Sunak is fined for not wearing a seat belt
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain acknowledged Friday that he had been fined by police for not wearing a seat belt after he posted an Instagram video of himself riding in a car without one. → Read More
Couple in car survive 300-foot fall into a California canyon
Cloe Fields and her boyfriend, Christian Zelada, were driving on a two-lane highway at the edge of a steep canyon in Southern California on Tuesday when, they said, a woman in a white Mercedes pulled up behind them and started honking. → Read More
In a future filled with electric cars, AM radio may be left behind
An increasing number of electric models have dropped AM radio in what broadcasters call a worrisome shift that could spell trouble for the stations and deprive drivers of a crucial source of news in emergencies. → Read More
Whole Foods to stop buying Maine lobster amid risk to endangered whales
The decision prompted a swift response from Maine’s congressional delegation and governor, who questioned the science behind it and urged Whole Foods to reverse course and resume buying the state’s storied crustacean. → Read More
Four friends missing in Oklahoma are found dismembered, police say
The mysterious disappearance of four friends in Oklahoma took a grim turn Monday after police confirmed that their remains had been found in a river after they had been fatally shot and then dismembered. → Read More
Backing Lindt, Swiss court orders Lidl to ‘destroy’ its chocolate bunnies
The face-off pitted two chocolate bunnies against each other and only one, it seemed, could survive. → Read More
Man sues American Airlines, saying he spent 17 days in jail after false accusation
An Arizona man was jailed for 17 days after American Airlines mistakenly identified him as a suspect who had broken into a duty-free shop at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and then boarded an American flight to Reno, Nevada, he claims in a lawsuit. → Read More
She was told surgery would cost about $1,300. Then the bill came: $229,000.
This past week, after a years-long legal battle, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Lisa Melody French did not have to pay the nearly $230,000 for the spinal-fusion surgery she underwent at St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster in 2014. → Read More
Goodwill sold a bust for $34.99. It’s an ancient Roman relic.
Laura Young was browsing through a Goodwill store in Austin, Texas, in 2018 when she found a bust for sale. It was resting on the floor, under a table, and had a yellow price tag slapped on its cheek: $34.99. She bought it. → Read More
As diplomacy hopes dim, US marshals allies to furnish long-term military aid to Ukraine
The increasing flow of Western weapons into Ukraine — including howitzers, armed drones, tanks and ammunition — amounted to another sign that a war Putin had expected would divide his Western adversaries had instead drawn them much closer together. → Read More
‘Black Panther’ director Ryan Coogler mistaken for bank robber in Atlanta
Bank of America has apologized to director Ryan Coogler after he was assumed to be a bank robber and briefly handcuffed by police while trying to withdraw money from a branch in Atlanta in January. → Read More
Russian forces pound civilians, as Putin calls sanctions a ‘declaration of war’
President Putin warned Saturday that economic sanctions were “akin to a declaration of war,” as the Russian military pummeled civilian targets and continued shelling near the first protected routes intended to allow besieged Ukrainians to flee. → Read More
Russia advances on 3 Ukrainian cities, but meets fierce resistance
The Ukrainian military, outmanned and outgunned, waged ferocious, close-range battles on Saturday to maintain control of the capital, Kyiv, and other cities around the country as intense street fighting broke out on the third day of the Russian invasion. → Read More
Passenger refusing to wear a mask exposed himself, threw can during flight, prosecutors say
The charges represent the latest example of the unruly and sometimes violent behavior that has surged on airplanes since the start of the pandemic. Many of the disturbances have involved passengers who refused to wear masks, as required by the federal government. → Read More
Hostages rescued safely, suspect dies in Texas synagogue standoff
Police on Saturday night rescued a rabbi and several hostages who had been held by a man who claimed to have weapons and explosives at a synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, ending a tense 11-hour standoff, authorities said. → Read More
Last known slave ship is remarkably well preserved, researchers say
As much as two-thirds of the original structure remains, including the hold below the main deck where 110 people were imprisoned during the ship’s final, brutal journey from Benin to Mobile in 1860. → Read More
Money found by plumber at Joel Osteen’s church is tied to 2014 burglary, police say
Seven years ago, Lakewood Church, the Houston megachurch led by Joel Osteen, the prominent televangelist, reported that $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks had been stolen from a church safe. Last month, the money may have been discovered by a plumber fixing a toilet inside a church bathroom. → Read More