New York attack
On Tuesday earlier this week a truck rammed into a crowd of people on a bike lane in lower Manhattan. The driver then crashed into a school bus, jumped out of the truck and waved two imitation guns around. A police officer stopped him by shooting him in the stomach. Eight people died due to the attack. It is said to be the deadliest terror attack in New York since 2011. The suspect worked as driver for a truck company and Uber.
The suspect was a recently radicalised immigrant, a native of Uzbekistan with no serious criminal record. He was charged on Wednesday on two accounts – one for material support to a terrorist organisation and another one for violence and destruction of a motor vehicle. He rented the truck only for an hour and 15 minutes. The suspect said little in court and showed no signs of remorse.
He spent a year preparing for the attack, closely following exact descriptions of a manual which ISIS had published last year. The manual instructs attackers on how to inflict the most damage and maximise casualties. Police found a video in his possession that called all Muslims in America and elsewhere to react to the killing of Muslims in Iraq. Police is not sure yet if he worked alone or if others were involved as well.
to ram (ræm) – etw rammen, gegen etw prallen, fahren
bike lane (baɪk leɪn) – der Fahrradweg
to wave (weɪv) – jdm winken, etw schwenken, wedeln
stomach (ˈstʌmək) – der Magen
recently (ˈri:səntli) – neulich, vor Kurzem
immigrant (ˈɪmɪgrənt) – der/die Einwanderer/in
serious (ˈsɪəriəs) – ernst, schwerwiegend
support (səˈpɔ:t) – die Unterstützung
violence (ˈvaɪələn(t)s) – die Gewalt, Gewalttat
destruction (dɪˈstrʌkʃən) – die Zerstörung, Verwüstung
remorse (rɪˈmɔ:s) – die Reue, Schuldgefühle
closely (ˈkləʊsli) – sehr genau, exakt
to instruct (ɪnˈstrʌkt) – jdm etw beibringen, anweisen
to inflict (ɪnˈflɪkt) – jdm etw zufügen, antun
casualty (ˈkæʒjuəlti) – (Unfall)opfer, Verletzter
possession (pəˈzeʃən) – der Besitz
elsewhere (ˈels(h)weəʳ) – anderswo, woanders
Kevin Spacey – Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
More and more men step forward and accuse actor and director Kevin Spacey of sexual misconduct. Many of the incidents allegedly took place while Spacey was the artistic director of the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015. Actors there say that Spacey routinely preyed on young male actors. The Old Vic set up a confidential complaint process that encourages everyone to tell their stories in a safe environment. Other accusations come from members of a theatre school in London.
Amidst the allegations of sexual misconduct against a minor Kevin Spacey outed himself as being gay and expressed the will to live as an openly gay man in the future. This sparked a heated debate on Social Media as many people see his coming out as a deflection technique. Furthermore, people think he would have been lauded if he had come out earlier this year and would have been a good role model for other homosexual actors.
In reaction to the allegations the production for the sixth season of the Netflix series “House of Cards” has been suspended indefinitely. Furthermore, Kevin Spacey was dropped as recipient of a special Emmy Award he was supposed to receive next month. The actor now said he is taking some time for an evaluation and is seeking treatment although it is unclear what kind of treatment.
to accuse (əˈkju:z) – jdn beschuldigen, anklagen
misconduct (ˌmɪˈskɒndʌkt) – unkorrektes Verhalten, schlechtes Benehmen
routinely (ru:ˈti:nli) – routinemäßig, regelmäig
to prey (preɪ) – Jagd auf etw/jdn machen
confidential (ˌkɒnfɪˈdən(t)ʃəl) – vertraulich
complaint (kəmˈpleɪnt) – die Beschwerde, Klage
to encourage (ɪnˈkʌrɪʤ) – jdn ermutigen, bestärken
environment (ɪnˈvaɪ(ə)rənmənt) – die Umgebung
amidst (əˈmɪdst) – inmitten
minor (ˈmaɪnəʳ) – hier: Minderjähriger
deflection (dɪˈflekʃən) – die Ablenkung,
to laud (lɔ:d) – jdn preisen, loben
role model (rəʊl ˈmɒdəl) – das Vorbild
to suspend (səˈspend) – etw vorübergehend einstellen, aussetzen
indefinitely (ɪnˈdefɪnətli) – auf unbestimmte Zeit
recipient (rəˈsɪpiənt) – der Empfänger
evaluation (ɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃən) – die Einschätzung, Beurteilung, Auswertung
treatment (ˈtri:tmənt) – die Behandlung