EgyptAir Plane Hijacked
A man wearing an apparently fake “suicide belt” hijacked an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo and forced it to land in Cyprus Tuesday morning. All the passengers have been freed and officials say the act was of an unstable man, and not linked to terrorism — but questions linger, including those related to Egypt’s air security. [Reuters]
Tribeca Film Festival Pulls Anti-Vaccination Film After Protests
The Tribeca Film Festival drew sharp criticism when it came out that the festival would include “Vaxxed,” an anti-vaccination film that promotes the thoroughly debunked myth of a link between vaccinations and autism. Now the festival's organizers have backed down and announced they won’t screen the film. [The Verge]
The Mystery of the Undercover “Cop Cab”
An expose by Motherboard and Muckrock alleges that the NYPD has a fleet of police cars disguised as taxi cabs, but neither the NYPD nor the Taxi and Limousine Commission will admit to it. In a series of emails Muckrock requested, the NYPD and the TLC discussed the licensing and registration for these mystery vehicles, but the term used for them were redacted. The NYPD has yet to confirm their purpose. [Motherboard]
The Village Still Has Some Bohemian Spirit — But It’s Where You Might Not Expect
New York Times columnist Matt Chaban’s profile of the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, which he describes as “one of the few places left in Greenwich Village to hear authors such as Jonathan Lethem, Sharon Olds, Junot Díaz and Zadie Smith.” It also happens to house the NYU Creative Writing Program, an ironic juxtaposition for many neighborhood stalwarts who consider the university to be a culture-killing entity in the neighborhood. [NYT]
Sanitation Worker Turns Trash into Treasure with Collection
Three decades worth of old belongings sit organized on the second floor of the NYC Sanitation Department’s East 99th Street truck depot. Former sanitation worker Nelson Molina started the collection — which includes everything from discarded typewriters to black and white family photographs — after discovering interesting finds during his routes. His colleagues from around the boroughs began to add to the archives, and Molina estimates the collection is valued at $160,000. [NY Post]
Manspreading Makes Men and Women Look More Attractive, Study Finds
Men and women who posed in expansive postures, with their arms and legs spread open and not closed inward, were deemed more attractive by participants in a study conducted by a research fellow at UC Berkeley. The open body language read more dominant than timid, suggesting that women should stop trying to look demure to be attractive, the lead researcher said. This data “may be signifying a change in what men are looking for in women,” she said. [The Atlantic]
Why 'Friends' is Still So Popular
“Friends” has been off the air for more than 10 years now, and while the stars of the show may have moved on to playing new roles ranging from Robert Kardashian to themselves, the fans of the show just keep coming. Vulture writer Adam Sternbergh takes a look at why the sitcom is still so popular, writing that the show’s frequent portrayal of young adults just hanging out with each other and feeling relaxed “has never been quite so longed-for as it is now.” [Vulture]
The Elusive Artist Who Staged the 'Selfie Rat' Hoax
The New York Times attempts to lift the curtain on Zardulu, a secretive artist believed to be behind viral hoaxes, like the subway rat that took its own selfie and a man who caught three-eyed catfish in the Gowanus Canal. One of those who had the chance to meet Zardulu called her a “true eccentric." [NYT]
JFK Now a Musical
Move over Hamilton, there’s another historical political figure taking the world by storm: President John F. Kennedy. "JFK", the opera, focuses on the first stop the former president made of his two-day tour through Texas, in Fort Worth, when Kennedy he went on to give what is now known as the “Breakfast Speech” to a crowd that had gathered outside the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. The speech, where Kennedy shares how the Secret Service “didn’t like him doing [impromptu speeches] because William McKinley was out speaking to people when he was shot by an assassin,” presented a “sort of premonition,” according to the opera's composer, as Kennedy was shot and killed hours later. [The Daily Beast]
The column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Danielle Tcholakian, Eddie Small, Gwynne Hogan, Camille Bautista, Emily Frost, Jeanmarie Evelly, Shaye Weaver, Carolina Pichardo, Noah Hurowitz and Irene Plagianos.
