letter

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Einstein Came to Regret Letter That Could Now Fetch $4M

Christie's plans to auction 1939 note urging FDR to invest in atomic energy research

(Newser) - A signed copy of the letter Albert Einstein sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to fund the atomic energy research that would lead to the atomic bomb, will soon hit the auction block and set a new record if it sells, the Wall Street Journal reports. In September,...

Mallory's Last Note From Everest: 'It Is 50 to 1 Against Us'

The May 1924 letter is the UK adventurer's final correspondence to spouse before he vanished

(Newser) - In his final letter to his wife before he vanished on Mount Everest a century ago, George Mallory tried to ease her worries even as he said his chances of reaching the world's highest peak were "50 to 1 against us." The letter, digitized for the first...

Another Law Firm Rescinds Job Offers Over Israel Letters

Davis Polk slams law students whose groups signed statements condemning Israel

(Newser) - An elite law firm has withdrawn job offers to three law students from Harvard and Columbia, saying those students were part of groups that signed public statements regarding the Israel-Hamas war. "These statements are simply contrary to our firm's values," so "rescinding these offers was appropriate...

Some Big Names Went to Bat for Masterson in Support Letters

Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis called 'That '70s Show' co-star a 'role model' who helped them avoid drugs

(Newser) - Nearly 50 people submitted letters in support of That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson ahead of his sentencing this week for the rape of two women in 2003, and now some of those letters are coming to light, with some big names behind them. Married couple Ashton Kutcher and...

Hemingway Letter: 'I Am More Valuable to Them Alive Than Dead'

Author's note to his lawyer after 2 plane crashes talks about injuries, beef with Abercrombie & Fitch

(Newser) - A letter that author Ernest Hemingway wrote to his attorney soon after he'd endured back-to-back plane crashes just sold for big bucks on the auction block. NPR reports the that four-page note, scrawled on stationery from a hotel in Venice, Italy, went for $237,055 via Nate D. Sanders...

George Harrison's Mom Was a Bit Irked by His Fans

In letter up for auction, Louise Harrison says she was 'disgusted' by screaming girls, 'ashamed' to be female

(Newser) - If there was one Beatles song that the late George Harrison's mom could've picked to describe how she felt about some fans of her son's band, "Get Back" may have been a top contender. At least that's the impression one gets from a letter penned...

On Death Row, He Got a Letter That 'Brought Me to My Knees'

'Atlantic' story relays tale of forgiveness offered to a murderer from his victim's granddaughter

(Newser) - One effective way to wrangle with tough emotions is to keep a journal, but for Sarah Gregory, she channeled her rage into a letter—one sent to her grandmother's killer, now on death row in Alabama. As told to Elizabeth Bruenig in her piece for the Atlantic , Gregory recalls...

George Washington Letter Sees Him Pressed for Cash

Previously unknown 1787 letter about land for sale expected to fetch $50K at auction

(Newser) - A previously unknown letter from George Washington in which the first US president hints at financial troubles is ironically expected to fetch $50,000 at auction, CNN reports. Raab Collection, an auction house with a focus on historical documents, revealed the discovery of the 1787 letter "unknown to scholars"...

Barrett's Book Gets a Scathing Literary Reaction

In open letter, literati blast publisher, SCOTUS justice over 'fundamental human right' of abortion

(Newser) - Not everyone is thrilled about Amy Coney Barrett's upcoming book , including a couple hundred literary notables who've signed a scathing open letter to her publisher. The Guardian reports on the letter —titled "We Dissent" and signed by close to 250 "members of the writing, publishing,...

Lennon's Angry Letter to McCartney Up for Sale

'You know damn well we can't just sign a bit of paper'

(Newser) - An angry note John Lennon penned to Paul McCartney after the breakup of the Beatles has resurfaced on the auction block. Lennon sent one copy of the three-page typed letter dated Nov. 24, 1971, to McCartney and another to Richard Williams, the editor of British music magazine Melody Maker, urging...

ISIS Captive's Letter to Dad Leaves Courtroom in 'Tears'

Peter Kassig, killed in 2014, wrote that his last thought would be of the love of his parents

(Newser) - If Peter Kassig was true to his word, the only thought running through his mind as he was beheaded by Islamic State terrorists was how much his parents loved him. Ed Kassig, the father of the US aid worker who was taken hostage in Syria in 2013 and killed a...

Competition Decodes Letter by Dickens

Meaning of 1859 page of symbols and scribbles had been a mystery

(Newser) - The works of Charles Dickens are widely read, but a single page had defied scholars for more than a century. The contents of the letter, written in 1859, remained a mystery because it consisted not of letters of any alphabet but of symbols, dots, and scribbles—a shorthand all Dickens'...

Terrorists' Note on Doomed PM's Kidnapping Sells for Big Bucks

1978 letter from Italy's Red Brigades blew past auction estimate, goes for $29K

(Newser) - A 1978 note announcing the abduction of a former Italian prime minister by the group that would later kill him has sold for 15 times the estimate at a controversial auction in Rome. The two-sided letter from communist guerrilla group Red Brigades, written on the group's letterhead, was the...

1945 Letter Finally Delivered: 'It's Like He Came Back to Me'

John Gonsalves' widow received letter intended for late husband's mother

(Newser) - A letter sent from a US soldier stationed in Germany to his mother in Massachusetts has been delivered 76 years after it was sent, per the AP . Army Sgt. John Gonsalves, 22 at the time, wrote to his mother in Woburn in December 1945 after the official end of WWII,...

Daily Beast: Associate's Letter Just Threw Gaetz Under the Bus

Congressman paid for sex with multiple girls, including a minor, Joel Greenberg confesses in note

(Newser) - Word on the DOJ investigation into GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz and associate Joel Greenberg over possible violations of federal sex-trafficking laws has been quiet over the past couple of weeks. That changed Thursday with an update from the Daily Beast . It got its hands on three drafts of a confessional...

She Laid Her Husband to Rest. 3 Days Later, a Racist Letter

'How cruel could you be?' Claudia Choi asks after anti-Asian note is sent to her grieving mother

(Newser) - When Byong Choi died of tuberculosis at age 83 last month, the Korean American's family had to put off his funeral in Orange County, Calif., until March 19 because of COVID restrictions, reports the Washington Post . Three days after they finally laid him to rest, a "disturbing and...

Biden Has One Adjective for Letter Trump Left Him

'Generous'

(Newser) - The outgoing President Trump did maintain one tradition: He left a letter in the Oval Office for his successor. What it says is unknown, with USA Today reporting a White House rep said only, "It's a letter between 45 and 46." President Biden elaborated slightly Wednesday night...

Only Known Letter by 2 Great Artists Sells for Big Bucks

1888 letter was written weeks before Van Gogh, Gauguin's relationship soured

(Newser) - The Vincent Van Gogh Foundation has purchased the only known letter signed by artists Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin at an auction in Paris. The cost of the four sheets of paper: $237,700, per Reuters . The artists penned the letter to fellow painter Emile Bernard in early November...

Obama, Biden Have Same Word for GOP Super PAC Ad

'Despicable'

(Newser) - Barack Obama has remained relatively quiet on the political scene in the years since he left the Oval Office—but he's voicing his displeasure with an ad attacking his former VP. CNN reports that the law office representing Obama sent a cease-and-desist letter Wednesday to a GOP super PAC...

Missing for 30-Plus Years, $1.3M Columbus Letter Found

Copy of note sent to Spain's King Ferdinand was stolen from Italy in the '80s

(Newser) - In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue; in 1493, he wrote a letter about his trip across the sea to Spain's King Ferdinand, and two editions of it were printed to spread across Europe. Only about 30 copies of the first edition of the Plannck I letter still exist,...

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