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Music festival season is officially here, and as you’re finalizing your packing list and desert-proof fashion looks, we just found a few makeup picks you’ll probably want to bring with you as…
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Whole troll-caught Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, is displayed on ice and offered for sale at Anchorage’s New Sagaya Midtown Market on June 23, 2023. The troll-caught fish, which are handled carefully to preserve quality, are prized in the market and fetch high prices. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Fishers in Southeast Alaska will be allowed to harvest 205,300 Chinook salmon this year, returning to a normal total after last year’s ultra-low harvest limit.
The Southeast Alaska Chinook harvest total, set in accordance with the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty, was announced this week by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Last year’s Southeast Chinook catch limit of 133,500 fish was the lowest in any year since the Pacific Salmon Treaty went into effect in 1985, according to the department.
Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, make up the smallest total harvest of Alaska’s five species of salmon. But they are also sold at a premium, usually fetching the highest market prices. Those that swim in Southeast Alaska waters are the subject of management from different jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada, through the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The treaty is necessary because the fish are highly migratory and swim through and spawn in various locations, said Dani Evenson, Pacific Salmon Treaty and Arctic Policy Coordinator for the department’s Division of Commercial Fisheries.
“They kind of ignore things like international borders and jurisdictions, and they’re going to do what they do,” Evenson said. “And so we have this treaty where we share the burden of conservation, we share the available catch. And it’s a shared resource.”
Along with Alaska and the federal governments of the U.S. and Canada, participants in the treaty process include Washington state, Oregon, British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and tribal governments.
Southeast Chinook salmon are the only Alaska salmon for which a numerical harvest cap is set each year, Evenson said.
Alaska’s cap and those for the other jurisdictions covered by the treaty are the products of analysis conducted by regional panels and technical committees. Those panels and committees provide information to the bilateral Pacific Salmon Commission, the decision-making body under the treaty.
Last year’s record-low cap reflected what appeared to be poor conditions for the region’s highly prized Chinook. Evenson said the slashed harvest levels posed a hardship on some fishing dependent communities.
“Last year was terrible,” she said.
It turned out, as determined through post-season analysis, that last year’s harvest cap was overly conservative and that another 53,800 Chinook salmon could have been safely caught by Southeast Alaska fishers, she said.
Improvements in abundance and ocean conditions support this year’s increased catch limits, Evenson said. Nonetheless, the overall harvest limit is at a level considered “judicious,” in light of conservation challenges facing various Chinook stocks and the contention over harvest allocations.
“Chinook have been a flashpoint,” she said. “It seems prudent to approach more cautiously.”
As determined by the Alaska Board of Fisheries, most of this year’s Southeast Alaska Chinook catch – 146,000 fish, about three quarters of the total — is allocated to harvesters who use troll gear. Salmon trolling involves hooking individual fish, and those caught in that method fetch high prices because they can be iced quickly and handled carefully, thus maintaining high quality.
The next largest total, 43,600 fish, is allocated to sport anglers, according to the Board of Fisheries decision. The remainder of the Southeast Alaska Chinook harvest is allocated to fishers who use nets and are targeting other salmon species but catch some Chinooks incidentally.
Girl, prepare to be interrupted by Shiloh Jolie’s cameo.
The 19-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt made viewers do a double take when she briefly appeared an teaser…
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FRAUDTUITOUS: Gov. Kathy Hochul has spent the last four months beating the auto-insurance affordability drum and fighting the trial lawyers and unconvinced lawmakers who stand in her way.
She’s proposing limiting the ways car crash victims — especially those deemed at fault for the collision — can sue for damages, a move she says will cut the cost of auto insurance. She also wants to target insurance fraud and staged crashes.
It’s been a massive sticking point in negotiations to finish her now-late budget.
“If, God forbid, you are the majority reason that there’s an accident, you will no longer be entitled to pain and suffering,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters Wednesday. “That’s a pretty serious thing for people to accept. I mean, accidents do happen.”
But as Hochul hopes to draw the Assembly and Senate to her side, it just so happens that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York dropped indictments this week targeting a close personal friend of former Mayor Eric Adams and alleging a massive car-crash-victim-fraud scheme.
Perfect! Timing!
“This alleged scheme is exactly the type of fraud Governor Hochul’s auto insurance reforms are designed to curb in New York State,” Hochul spokesperson Kristin Devoe told Playbook in a statement.
Her office is arguing that the scheme might never have happened had Hochul’s proposed changes been in place.
“The Governor’s proposals would strengthen enforcement, allow more time to investigate suspected fraudulent claims and crack down on the networks and providers that make this type of fraud possible in the first place,” Devoe said.
Our colleague Chris Sommerfeldt reported this morning that federal prosecutors dropped a superseding indictment Thursday in their fraud case against Zhan “Johnny” Petrosyants, the man who hobnobbed, dined and clubbed with Adams during his tenure, as Hizzoner tested New York City’s nightlife “product.” The superseder alleged businessmen Vladislav Stoyanovsky and Dmitriy Khavko participated in the scheme as well. All three men pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors claim the men had car crash victims in medical clinics undergo dubious procedures conducted by clinicians who were part of the scheme. The indictment also alleges the men behind the operation billed insurers for procedures that never happened.
Petrosyants, Stoyanovsky and Khavko then allegedly filed no-fault claims to the insurance companies, who, under state law, are required to pay out the claims in just 30 days. The scheme brought in tens of millions of dollars, prosecutors said.
Hochul’s office wants to change that. The governor says she’d give insurers more time to investigate whether a no-fault claim is fraudulent. Right now, if an insurer delays a payout, it can’t defend itself in court by saying it was busy investigating the claim. Insurers would still have to pay interest on delayed payouts. And if someone sues to force a reluctant insurer to pay up, the insurer would have to cover attorneys fees.
The cost of paying out bogus insurance claims is a main factor in the high cost of auto insurance in New York, contends Team Hochul. Last year, insurance carriers reported 43,811 incidents of suspected auto insurance fraud to regulators, an 80 percent jump compared to 2020.
The Trial Lawyers Association says Hochul’s proposals would give insurance companies more time to delay and deny claims.
“Stripping away consumer rights while insurers rake in record profit is a giveaway to the industry that leaves New Yorkers to pick up the tab,” association spokesperson Sabrina Rezzy said in a statement. — Jason Beeferman
From the Capitol
TIGHTENING ALBANY’S BELTWAY: The much-derided I-787 — an asphalt apron familiar to Capital Region drivers who commute downtown to the statehouse — is one step closer to a makeover.
Hochul announced Thursday the state is opening a community outreach center amid an environmental review focused on how to improve waterfront access. I-787 runs parallel to the Hudson River.
“Reimagining the I-787 corridor is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of downtown Albany, so it is imperative that the people who live and work in the area have a major voice in how this project progresses,” Hochul said. — Nick Reisman
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
BLACKBURN’S BONDI PAST: In 2016, years before she became one of the Trump administration’s most prominent and polarizing officials, then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi had a young intern in her office named Conrad Blackburn.
That fact is now being seized on by Blackburn’s critics as he runs for a Harlem-based Assembly seat as a democratic socialist and unabashed enemy of Trump.
“It is unconscionable that Conrad Blackburn chose to work for Pam Bondi at the very moment she was leading the charge to keep more than a million Floridians, including one in five Black adults, permanently locked out of the voting booth,” Uptown Democratic Club President Donna-Marie Gibbons told Playbook, referencing Bondi’s effort to preserve a Florida law that made it difficult for felons to regain voting rights after serving time. “Anyone who signed up to work in that office while she was fighting to preserve this racist, Jim Crow-era machinery has questions to answer about their commitment to our community.”
Trump fired Bondi as his U.S. attorney general Thursday.
Blackburn, who grew up in Florida, said criticism of his stint with the attorney general there says more about his haters than it does about him.
He told Playbook he took the unpaid, two-month internship in Bondi’s criminal appeals bureau while in law school — and the experience drove him to become a public defender, a role he continues to serve in to this day.
“I did not need very long to say that the system was broken and I needed to spend my time working to protect Black folks from it, with actions, not just words,” Blackburn said.
“I am happy to debate my record on its merits,” he continued. “But harkening back to my days as a 1L, as a poor kid trying to work in the criminal appeals bureau of the Florida AG’s office as some kinda gotcha? That is everything wrong with politics now. If the powers that be in this district focused on the issues, they would have to explain the lack of meaningful change in the community…Heck, if the powers that be did their jobs, I may not be running in this race at all.”
Blackburn is facing off in June’s Democratic primary against Assemblymember Jordan Wright, the son of Manhattan Democratic Party head Keith Wright.
New York Focus reported today that Charlie King, a longtime aide to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is launching a super PAC to boost Wright, whose district Mayor Zohran Mamdani comfortably won in last year’s election. — Chris Sommerfeldt
IN OTHER NEWS
— ARRESTS SURGE: ICE arrested more New Yorkers between November and January than in any comparable period since 2022, according to federal data. (Times Union)
— ONE MAN’S TRASH: Reports show that progress in New York’s composting push slowed after officials halted fines and enforcement efforts. (Gothamist)
— BLESS THIS MESS: Competing lobbying groups in Hochul’s car insurance reform fight are clashing over dueling clergy letters and even disputing who actually signed which. (City and State)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Politics
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Just when you thought Taylor Frankie Paul’s situation couldn’t get any worse, along comes news about an embarrassing detail of what was likely the worst night of her life.
As you’re probably aware by now, Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette was canceled by ABC after network execs saw some very incriminating footage.
In February of 2023, Taylor assaulted then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, who took out his phone and captured the attack on camera.
(Taylor’s criminal history was public knowledge before the footage went public, but for reasons known only to them, producers her as the Bachelorette anyway.)
Now, Page Six and other outlets are focusing on police bodycam footage that was not part of the original leak that got Taylor fired.
In a piece titled “Taylor Frankie Paul’s final indignity,” the outlet explores Taylor’s claim that she was so frightened of Dakota that she peed herself twice on the day in question.
“She said on the way home she peed herself. She said you guys were arguing in the car and she was scared to get out,” one cop says in the footage, adding:
“Do you remember her peeing her pants at all throughout the night?
“That’s not what happened,” Mortensen insisted.
“So it wasn’t like she peed her pants when you picked her up?” the officer continued.
“No,” Mortensen responded.
“And then once you got home, and you guys were arguing… did she pee herself then?”
“No,” Mortensen said again.
“At any point in time in the night, could you tell that she peed herself?” the officer pressed.
“No, never,” Mortensen said, adding in a separate part of the footage that if she had peed herself, it was because she was “so intoxicated.”
The cops seemed to side with Dakota on that one, with one officer remarking that he saw no evidence of Taylor having an accident.
“When I first arrived at the house, I didn’t see her peeing herself, and I reckon that’s something I would have noticed,” one officer remarks.
Now, we’re not sure if that’s necessarily a detail that the cops would have picked up on right away.
But hey, these are law enforcement professionals. Who are we to question their methods?
Besides, the “to pee or not pee” question is really the least of Taylor’s concerns these days, as she’s reportedly being investigated for new domestic violence claims.
Ironically, her reality TV career might be over just as her life becomes more dramatic than ever.
Taylor Frankie Paul: Did She Lie About ‘Peeing Herself’ on Night of Dakota … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Hailee Steinfeld’s first days of motherhood have been a total touchdown.
After announcing on April 2 that she and husband Josh Allen had welcomed a baby girl together, the True Grit actress raved…
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Brooke Williamson’s relationship with Bobby Flay has fans curious about which of her recipes he likes best. Hint: It’s a simple breakfast staple with a twist.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
The Guardians’ knight helmet, a purchase made by pitcher Tanner Bibee during a spring training team bonding trip to Medieval Times in Scottsdale, Arizona, has turned into a celebratory prop in the dugout. It is worn by any Cleveland batter who hits a home run. Through the team’s first three games, however, only one player had the honor of getting the silver helmet ceremoniously placed atop his head — again and again and again and again. Last weekend, rookie Chase DeLauter joined Trevor Story as the only two players in Major League Baseball history to launch four home runs through their first three career regular-season games. Six games into the Guardians’ season, DeLauter was still the only Cleveland player who had gone deep. So, Austin Hedges and other veterans on the team began referring to their medieval headgear by a different moniker: “Chase’s homer helmet.”DeLauter kept that helmet warm again Friday, returning to the lineup after a brief injury scare and belting his fifth homer of the season in the Guardians’ home opener against the Cubs to move into a tie atop MLB’s home-run leaderboard. “It’s just such a cool feeling,” DeLauter told me at Dodgers Stadium earlier this week during the Guardians’ three-game series in Los Angeles. “Being one of the younger guys on the team and looking up to guys that have been here for a while and future Hall of Famers, it’s a cool feeling to just feel like you’re a part of that.” “It’s just such a cool feeling,” DeLauter told me at Dodgers Stadium earlier this week during the Guardians’ three-game series in Los Angeles. “Being one of the younger guys on the team and looking up to guys that have been here for a while and future Hall of Famers, it’s a cool feeling to just feel like you’re a part of that.” DeLauter, who was named AL Player of the Week, has been much more than a supporting member of the Guardians’ lineup through the season’s first days; he’s the starring attraction. The 24-year-old outfielder has produced a 1.122 OPS through his first six games and made believers of everyone in the clubhouse, including a team leader in Hedges who just celebrated his 10th year of MLB service time. “Twelve years ago, I think everyone saw Jose Ramirez walk into a room and was like, ‘That guy’s got something,’” Hedges told me. “Chase has something. He’s got something very special … and we’re not even scratching the surface of what this kid’s capable of.” ‘A Sense of Belonging’ Last year, the Guardians made a furious late-season comeback and won the AL Central for the second straight year despite an offense that ranked last in OPS in the American League. This winter, they added veteran slugger Rhys Hoskins on a minor-league deal but did nothing else to try to fix their offensive shortcomings. Improvements would have to come from within. At some point this year, 2024 top overall draft pick Travis Bazzana is expected to make his debut. As the first Australian-born player to get selected in the first round, Bazzana created buzz in Triple-A last season after having an .858 OPS in 26 games while also belting a home run for his country at the World Baseball Classic in March. – Who is Travis Bazzana? Australian Prospect Talks Sydney and Sushi Already, though, another top prospect and former first-round selection is making his presence felt. Coming off three injury-shortened minor-league campaigns and a playoff cameo, DeLauter is seizing his opportunity after breaking camp with the big-league club. “Even talking to him about his phone blowing up and all these people contacting him, I just love how he’s going about it,” outfielder Steven Kwan told me. “He sets his boundaries, he knows his circle, he knows his people who are important to him. He’s not going out doing all these interviews and podcasts and clout-chasing stuff. He’s here to play baseball.” The first week of DeLauter’s regular-season MLB career began with two homers on Opening Day — including a first-inning blast off Mariners ace Logan Gilbert in his first career regular-season plate appearance — and ended with the Guardians rookie leading all of MLB in home runs. It’s important to specify “regular season,” because Opening Day was not DeLauter’s first time roaming the Guardians outfield. DeLauter made his first big-league start last October in Game 2 of the Guardians’ wild-card series against Detroit, when he became just the sixth player ever to debut in a postseason game. The decision was even more surprising considering he hadn’t played in a professional game in nearly three months after undergoing surgery to repair a hamate fracture and had only played in 138 games over three minor-league seasons following a litany of injuries. But Cleveland’s front office believed in his ability to handle the enormity of the moment and, more importantly, the upside of his talent. “I think through the obstacles and challenges and lost time, I think he learned a ton about himself and developed those routines that are now allowing him to do what he’s doing,” assistant general manager Matt Forman told me. “He’s always made great swing decisions, he’s always made good contact. When he hits the ball, he hits it really hard. He adds value in the other parts of his game, defensively and on the bases. Could he have been contributing at this level in the past? I’m not sure, but he’s put himself in position to do it now.” “He’s confident; he’s not arrogant,” added Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “He’s not cocky. He’s very confident in his abilities, and he was ready to be a big leaguer. We were just waiting for him to get healthy. Once he got healthy, we’re sitting there in a win-or-go-home game, it was like, yeah, he can handle this.” DeLauter’s first inning as a big-leaguer, however, began ominously. On a sunny day in Cleveland last October against the Tigers, DeLauter dropped the first ball ever hit to him in center field. “That was kind of my moment of like, ‘Oh, gosh, I’m going to have to really baby him and take care of him,” said Kwan, who was playing left field that day. But the way DeLauter responded to the mistake, and the quiet confidence he exuded in the midst of an elimination game, let Kwan know that wouldn’t be necessary. “Just seeing his energy, it immediately told me, ‘Oh, this kid’s going to be just fine,’” Kwan continued. “I don’t know how I would react if I dropped my first fly ball ever in the big leagues in a playoff game, but he handled it so well, with grace.” DeLauter followed the error by drawing an eight-pitch walk in his first career plate appearance. In the fourth, he made up for his defensive miscue by delivering a 92.3 mph strike from center field to cut down Zach McKinstry at third base and stifle a Detroit rally with a throw that flipped the momentum in an eventual Cleveland win. DeLauter’s next two at-bats ended in hard-hit outs, including a 110.8 mph lineout to center that represented the hardest-hit ball of the day for the Guardians. “For me, it was kind of a sense of belonging, feeling like they believe I can help the team win,” DeLauter said. “I think for any player that’s coming up, that’s a huge thing. Confidence is everything, and to have these guys have my back in that situation — especially after having an unfortunate first inning, I would say — it’s everything. That confidence does wonders.” ‘No Moment Too Big for Him’ Intrigue and injury have defined every stop of DeLauter’s career to this point. He excelled in the Cape Cod League in 2021, hitting nine homers with more walks than strikeouts in 34 games, and hit over .400 in three seasons at James Madison. But he only played in 66 college games. In his final year of college, he jumped out to a 1.404 OPS in 24 games before breaking his left foot. Shortly after getting selected 16th overall by Cleveland in 2022, another foot injury required surgery that delayed his minor-league debut until the following summer. In 2024, he fractured his left foot again and also dealt with toe and hamstring injuries. Last year, he suffered a core muscle injury in the spring and needed hernia surgery. He returned in May and started feeling like himself again in the summer only to then fracture the hamate bone in his right wrist in July. “It’s tough, man,” DeLauter told me. “I think it helps, though, going forward. The failures, the successes, the day-to-day process during the season, it’s kind of the same deal. You’re not rehabbing or dealing with body situations, but you go 0-for-4 with four punchies, and you could hit three homers the next day.” Last Saturday in Seattle, DeLauter’s home run streak seemed destined to end after striking out three times and then grounding out in the seventh. When a final opportunity presented itself in extra innings, DeLauter fell down in the count against All-Star closer Andres Munoz before muscling a 97 mph fastball up and out of the zone the other way for a two-run homer to break the game open. “He’s just shown there’s no moment too big for him,” Vogt said. “He’s showing maturity beyond his experience, and we’ve seen that in him for years now.” In between all the injuries, DeLauter has always produced. He slashed .302/.384/.504 with 20 home runs and nearly as many walks (70) as strikeouts (80) in his minor-league career, showcasing a rare combination of plate discipline and power that made him the top prospect in Cleveland’s system. Those preternatural skills are now making him one of the most promising rookies in the sport. He’s already the No. 2 hitter in Cleveland’s lineup, sandwiched between a two-time All-Star in Kwan and a seven-time All-Star in Ramírez. “To have a guy like that, a real home run presence in our lineup, I think it opens up so many opportunities,” Kwan said. “And I think it makes my job a little easier. Just get on first base, and I’m in scoring position. And again, just professional at-bats. We’re going to see a ton of pitches when he’s at the plate. That helps Jose, [he] gets on base, and it just keeps rolling. It’s a contagious thing.” Last year, Cleveland right fielders ranked last in MLB in both wins above replacement (-1.6) and OPS (.605). In a short sample this year, they rank in the top five in both categories thanks mostly to DeLauter, who said his only personal goal this year is being available for 162 games. That hope, however, has already been quashed. The entire city of Cleveland held its collective breath in the first inning Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium when DeLauter fouled a 97.6 mph fastball from Shohei Ohtani off his surgically-repaired left foot. DeLauter grounded out on the next pitch and immediately hobbled out of the game. Finally, though, DeLauter appears to have caught a break, not suffered one. X-rays came back negative, and he was back in the lineup Friday for his team’s home opener against the Cubs. Finally, though, DeLauter received positive injury news when X-rays came back negative. He was back in the lineup for Cleveland’s home opener on Friday, putting “Chase’s homer helmet” to good use again. “He’s super hungry,” Hoskins said. “Great start, but he knows that he’s out for more.” In “Touching Base,” we check on the top players and topics making headlines around baseball and what comes next. Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
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This Classic Country Star Murdered His Wife
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