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Worcester high school student dies of complications from social media challenge, family says

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A Worcester family is in mourning after a 14-year-old high school student died suddenly.

The family says on a GoFundMe page Harris Wolobah passed away after taking part in the “One Chip Challenge” which involves eating an extremely spicy chip made from some of the hottest peppers in the world.

Wolobah went to the nurse’s office after feeling sick on Friday at Doherty Memorial High School, school officials told Boston 25 News. His parents picked him up and drove him home.

Worcester Police confirmed to Boston 25 News that Wolobah passed away in his home on Rustic Drive with Worcester police officers and paramedics at the scene.

“The pain our family is experiencing is unimaginable. Harris was a light that lit up the room with his presence and subtle charm. He was an intelligent, quirky and incredibly talented young man who loved video games and playing basketball!” the Lama & Wolobah families wrote on GoFundMe.

Worcester Police say while there is no official cause of death yet, it appears he did eat the infamously scorching chip earlier in the day.

The Paqui 2023 Carolina Reaper + Naga Viper Pepper Chip contains two of the hottest peppers in the world.

On their website, Paqui asks “How long can you last before you spiral out (Before you eat or drink anything for relief?” along with the social media hashtag “#OneChipChallenge.”

Worcester Schools Superintendent Rachel Monarrez released the following statement:

“It is with a heavy heart I share that we lost a rising star, Harris Wolobah, who was a sophomore scholar at Doherty Memorial High School. As a mother and educator, I cannot imagine how hard this is on his family, friends and teachers. My heart goes out to all who knew and loved him.

“Worcester Public Schools is offering counseling and social emotional support for those who have been impacted by this tragedy. If you are a WPS student or staff member in need of grief support, please let a caring adult know at your school. We are here to help. “It is during the most trying times that the community of Worcester comes together and this is one of those times. May we stay focused on allowing the grief and healing process during this difficult time.”

At Doherty, counselors will be made available to talk to students and staff affected by the teen’s sudden passing.

Last October, school officials in Wellesley sent a letter home to parents warning them about the dangers of the “One Chip Challenge.”

Health officials say the challenge can cause serious side effects including severe coughing, asthma, serious burning of the eyes and mouth, and vomiting.

The chip also causes the tongue to turn blue.

Boston 25 News has learned the medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine exactly how Wolobah died.

If you would like to donate to the family, you may do so by clicking this link.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Menopause Retreats Are the Latest in Wellness Travel

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With a growing number of women approaching the age of hormonal changes — by 2025, approximately 1.1 billion women worldwide will have experienced menopause — the travel industry is catering to a new niche: Women who want help dealing with everything from hot flashes to mood swings, with perhaps some classic spa treatments thrown in.

Menopause-centered offerings vary widely, from mindfulness techniques to herbal remedies to nutritional guidance and exercise. Sometimes, the most important activity is just the chance to bond with other women facing the same issues, experts say. “There’s a great healing and discovery when a group of people are going through a similar circumstance,” said Melissa Biggs Bradley, the founder and chief executive of Indagare, a membership-based travel company that recently announced its first midlife and menopause retreat.

At the Six Senses Hotel & Spa in Portugal’s Douro Valley, I recently took part in a three-day bespoke menopause retreat to deal with my night sweats, migraines, joint pain and mood swings, and to get a greater understanding of the hormonal roller coaster I’ve been on (rooms starting at 850 euros or about $924). After a health screening, I was given a tailored agenda to nurture and balance my aging, changing body. First up was a personalized strength training session — squats, lunges, planks and resistance band exercises — to remedy my joint pain and build bone.

For my excessively dry skin, I was given a collagen-boosting facial — collagen production decreases with the loss of estrogen that accompanies menopause — replete with serums and a mask for hydration. To reduce inflammation, I trembled during a daily cold plunge, followed by 15 minutes in an infrared sauna. The finale consisted of a 30-minute bio-hacking treatment, during which I wore thigh-high compression boots — think pulsating, vibrating currents moving up and down your legs — to enhance lymphatic drainage and relax sore muscles; listened to a guided meditation through headphones while wearing an eye-mask; and experienced infrared light stimulation on my face, which is said to heal the cell renewal process and again, stimulate collagen.

At the end, my entire body felt relaxed, but what it all added up to is hard to say. Dr. Lauren Streicher, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University and host of the Menopause Podcast, is skeptical when it comes to claims that spa treatments will reduce the symptoms of menopause. Dr. Streicher warns women to beware of medical claims made by spas. “It’s OK if you want to talk to other menopausal women, share information and get support,” she said. “The problem is when information is presented as if it’s scientific. It can be manipulative to say a smoothie will make your vagina less dry.”

If you’re seeking medical advice about your symptoms — which some destinations offer — Dr. Streicher advises knowing what specifically you are seeking to address, and recommends consulting with a licensed physician if you are considering long-term solutions, such as hormone replacement therapy.

Ms. Biggs Bradley said she decided to offer a menopause retreat because “so many conversations on our trips have steered to the physical changes of the 40s and 50s and how to navigate them. Women were starved for information.”

When it comes to menopause travel, Dr. Heather Hirsch, founder of the Menopause & Midlife Clinic at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and author of “Unlock Your Menopause Type,” sees the greatest benefits in terms of self-care, community and education. “The fact that you’re carving out this time and resources for yourself, which women in midlife don’t do very often, is an important thing,” said Dr. Hirsch.

There are all sort of products claiming to reduce symptoms, and a retreat can be a good way to get ideas and test products before committing to a purchase. These getaways are unlikely to alleviate your consistent, long-lasting symptoms, but Dr. Hirsch said, “even if the infrared mask makes your skin feel great for a few weeks, it is the combination of self-care, community and education that will stay for much longer.”

Here are a few getaways with specific perimenopause and menopause programs. What they all have in common is a focus on facing the inevitable hormonal changes that come with the aging female body.

The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, in Stockbridge, Mass., will be hosting its first menopause-focused retreat from Sept. 15 to 17, called “Unearthing the Wisdom of Menopause Rituals for Self-Care and Discovery.” The weekend — guided by two members of Kripalu’s lead faculty — will focus less on symptoms and more on adjusting to overall bodily change. There will be a combination of discussion, sharing circles, yoga, breath practices, tools from Ayurveda (the holistic approach of India’s ancient medical system), and a fire ritual to celebrate the “journey of transformation.” The retreat includes meals and access to the center’s grounds ($299 plus accommodations; rooms starting at $145).

In the Jaavu Spa at the Amilla Maldives Resort, the four-day Pause menopause retreat is offered three times in September. Led by Claire O’Sullivan, a women’s health and nutrition coach, this retreat is structured around four themes — balance, move, relax and evolve. In addition to one-on-one coaching, the retreat includes treatments such as reflexology and light therapy. There are yoga and meditation sessions, and seminars on intuitive movement, stress reduction and hormone balancing ($5,915, including room, meals and treatments).

Indagare’s Wise Women retreat at Canyon Ranch Berkshires in Lenox, Mass., is the company’s first to focus on midlife and menopause. The five-day retreat, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, will be hosted by Dr. Robin Noble, an OB-GYN, specializing in the menopausal transition. There will be private consultations and daily group sessions addressing the impact of hormonal shifts on sleep, mood, bone and heart health, metabolism, fitness and sexual activity. Each morning, guests have the option to choose among Canyon Ranch’s offerings, such as yoga, hiking, meditation and spa treatments; afternoons and evenings are reserved for cooking classes and workshops on topics such as how to become your own health advocate, optimizing sexual function and strategies for navigating life’s shifting roles (starting at $4,500, including room, meals and activities).

The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa, in Fairfield, Iowa, offers a Menopause Program using ayurvedic treatments. A five-day program, offered year-round, begins with a private wellness consultation, including an ayurvedic pulse assessment from which a treatment plan is created. Guests spend several hours a day in herbal body treatments to restore balance and remove impurities. There is time for yoga and meditation, and personalized sessions with resident experts to monitor progress and devise a take-home plan to help maintain daily routines for nutrition, herbal therapies, yoga and meditation. The Raj offers the choice of eating at a table with other guests or dining alone (starting at $3,900, including room, meals and treatments).

Targeted at “active, performance-minded women in and beyond the menopause transition,” the weekend-long Feisty Menopause retreat — from Nov. 16 to18 — will take place at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Led by a fitness coach-trainer and an orthopedic surgeon, it will welcome two dozen women seeking to address the health and fitness goals that shift during menopause so they can stay active and avoid injury. The gathering will focus on exercise, strength-training and nutrition, and includes a full body musculoskeletal analysis to look at movement patterns and areas of weakness. Activities also include suspension yoga, which is performed in a fabric sling, resistance and barbell training, and even time for dancing (starting at $2,500, including accommodations and some meals).

Les Margeurites is a five-day retreat based at a boutique hotel in Alet-les-Bains in southwestern France. The retreat is facilitated by a nurse and a therapist, who are working to change the narrative around perimenopause and menopause — not just the hormonal changes, but also how they impact women’s lives and relationships. Capped at six women, the retreat will include workshops and coaching sessions, plant-based meals to build estrogen, meditation, massage, tincture-making with an herbalist and yoga. Retreats will be held in November, and in April and September 2024 (starting at 1,350 British pounds, or about $1,698, including room and meals).

In 2005, Paula Gallardo and Tania Smith co-founded Mamaheaven, a retreat for new mothers. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and they are now running Menoheaven, twice-yearly retreats in October and May that gather up to 12 women at the Florence House, a Victorian inn one hour south of London. With a naturopath, nutritionist and yoga teacher leading discussions, the retreat aims to “destigmatize and demystify” the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. This three-day retreat includes sharing circles, organic meals, healing massages, yoga, cold-water swimming and workshops that cover topics from stress and sleep to libido and brain-fog (starting at 550 British pounds, including room and meals).

The Preidlhof spa hotel in South Tyrol, Italy, has a weeklong Menopause-Wellness retreat offered during the months of February, March, June and September. The program includes 22 treatments — ranging from massages and acupuncture to deep breathing and holistic coaching sessions. The retreat offers medical wellness sessions, and spa treatments accompanied by real-time biofeedback and data analysis to assess biological age. There are dance and voice classes, forest bathing (a form of meditation in nature) and many outdoor trails nearby (1,987 euros, not including room and meals; room and meals starting at 212 euros).

Camiral, a wellness resort located an hour from Barcelona, will offer its five-day Renew and Harmonize Retreat, in March 2024. Each day focuses on a theme: Reconnect highlights the body-mind connection; Energize focuses on movement, strengthening and ways to alleviate menopausal symptoms; Nourish concentrates on ways to nourish the body to maximize bone density and cardiac health; Recover concentrates on mindfulness and stress reduction; and Grow features treatments and a debrief with a nutritionist around managing hormonal changes. The retreat is led by a fitness specialist, a physician and a nutritionist, and includes treatments such as cryotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (starting at 2,128 euros, including room and meals).

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023.

A Curtain Call for Racing Season in Upstate New York

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You might think of Saratoga Race Course as a theater.

There is the backstage area, known in racing as the backstretch. In the morning, well-to-do horse owners mix with trainers, exercise riders and grooms as they prepare for the afternoon show. Horses are washed and brushed. Tours come through with curious fans eyeballing the whole scene.

On the other side of the curtain is the racetrack, where expensive thoroughbreds race for tens of thousands of dollars, or more, 10 times a day, and the grandstand, which has its own mingling of hard-core horseplayers alongside local families on a cheap day out.

Fans arrive in the early morning hours to stake out a picnic table, whose value soars nearly to priceless by the time racing starts. On a big day, space is at a premium, with the well-heeled and dressed-up sitting in private boxes with names like Whitney and Phipps on them and the less fortunate scrambling for a place at the rail.

Once a four-week sprint, Saratoga’s race meeting has grown so popular that it has been expanded to nearly eight weeks, with the country’s most important summer racing. The biggest race, the Travers Stakes on Aug. 26, was won by Arcangelo, the Belmont Stakes winner, defeating Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner, and National Treasure, the Preakness winner.

Still, the celebratory mood has been dampened by the deaths of a dozen horses, which has sparked medical reforms and consideration of a change to the track’s surface.

The meet ends on Monday with the Hopeful Stakes, for 2-year-olds whose owners are dreaming of next year’s Triple Crown and Travers.

Shane Bryan – Aviation Professional – Launches His Debut Novel -“Cleared for Time Travel” – Immediately Garners Rave Reviews

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“From beginning to end, the plot builds continuously from scene to scene. The story has elements of an amateur sleuth who battles the acceptance of her father’s past. Jackie is firmly grounded, independent and a strong woman who has to trust her gut when given foreign details about her existence.” – Lettie C.

Mesa, Arizona, September, 3, 2023, There are thousands of books published each year, amongst them are only a small number of truly mesmerizing plots and characters. First time author, Shane Brian, hit it out of the park with his debut novel, “Cleared for Time Travel”. His book follows the story of two sister’s living in their dream town of Bluefin Cove, Maine. They enjoy their community involvement, small town gossip, and down east Yankee hospitality until a research vessel locates their father’s missing jetliner, which disappeared off of coastal radar in 1971.

As the wreckage is recovered from the seafloor, the United States Government informs Jackie and her sister, Candice, of a deep, dark family secret about their father’s work with the government and the airline, Americonic International Airlines.

Jackie’s normal everyday life is quickly diverted to a new foreign destination with the help of Agent Taylor, who works for a top-secret organization within the US Government. She must endure the turbulence and accept her challenges in order to save her dad from disappearing in the Atlantic.

Join the sisters as they depart on a journey to discover the untold truth of classified information that has been in a holding pattern since 1971. “Fasten your seatbelts, we’ve been cleared to time travel.”

Editorial Reviews really tell the story. This is what Norma O, had to say, “A wonderful experience for this reader. The book would not leave my hands until I finished reading to the last page. The main character is strong and an intelligent woman who wants to find the truth about her father and herself.”  

Sherri B. had this to say, “Very interesting concept with a turn or a twist every few pages. The characters are developed to the point where I felt as if I was in the story myself. I would recommend this book to all readers as the story is exciting to the end.”

About the Author:

Shane Bryan was born and raised outside of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. In the beautiful East Valley near the majestic Superstition Mountains. Shane considers aviation his first love. From a small age, he could tell the airline and aircraft type of most commercial jets that flew overhead. If he isn’t spending time at the airport for a well-established airline, he is spending time with family and friends.

Shane will be appearing at a Barnes & Noble Bookstore book signing event on September 30th, 11am to 2 pm, at 1446 N. Litchfield Road, Goodyear, AZ 85395

For complete information visit:  https://authorsb.com/

Media Contact:

Shane Brian
Attn: Media Relations
Mesa, AZ
602-571-9193
AZ7372021@gmail.com

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Book&Bilias Publishing Announces Global Release of “We the Other People: The Beggars of the Mercury Lights” by Author William Castaño-Bedoya

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A New Voice in American Social Literature Explores the Complex Link Between Political Power and Invisible Poverty in Today’s Society

Coral Gables, Florida, September 2, 2023, Book&Bilias Publishing is delighted to introduce the highly anticipated novel, We the Other People: The Beggars of the Mercury Lights, authored by William Castaño-Bedoya. This thought-provoking work offers profound insights into political power, resilience, and social injustice.

The novel traces the Newman family’s journey through economic hardship, despair, and transformation, delving deep into themes of conservative values and social inequality. It explores the impact of extremism and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, all while avoiding an excessive emphasis on the politicization of human suffering.

Set against the backdrop of a turbulent political landscape, We the Other People resonates with the current sociopolitical climate in America, reflecting the challenges and opportunities the nation faces at this pivotal moment in its history.

In the words of Castaño-Bedoya, ‘I aimed to craft a narrative that speaks to the heart of the social issues we confront today through the Newman family’s journey.’ This novel extends an invitation to readers to delve into the depths of human resilience and discover the potential for positive change.

Key Features of We the Other People:

  • Available in both English and Spanish versions on leading online platforms, ensuring accessibility to readers worldwide.
  • Offered in multiple formats, including hardcover, paperback, and eBook, allowing readers to choose their preferred reading experience.

About the Author:

William Castaño-Bedoya is an exceptional American writer born in Armenia, Colombia, and raised in Bogotá. After immigrating to the United States in the 1980s and becoming an American citizen, he now resides in Coral Gables, Florida. With a background in marketing, he transitioned to a full-time writer in 2018. His writing delves into the intricacies of human existence, addressing themes such as social injustice, complacent conformity, and the struggle for survival.

Castaño-Bedoya’s works include We the Other People: The Beggars of the Mercury Lights, The Galpon, Flowers for Maria Sucel, and Ludovico’s Monologues.

To obtain the complete press kit in English or Spanish, as well as images from the book, author photographs, and both Spanish and English eBook versions, simply visit:

https://bookandbilias.us/mediakitcentral-wtpo and click on the “Download” button.

We the Other People is also available on Amazon here.

Media Contact: For media inquiries and/or interviews.

Book&Bilias Publishing USA
Attn: Camila Castano
Coral Gables, Florida
+1 786 351-7570 (For text messages)
literaryworld@bookandbilias.us

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Russia Attacks Ukrainian River Port, Injuring at Least 2

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Russian forces launched waves of drones at the Odesa region of southern Ukraine in an hourslong overnight assault, officials said on Sunday, the latest bombardment to target port infrastructure since Moscow pulled out of a deal allowing safe passage for Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s South Military Command said that at least two civilians were injured and that port infrastructure on the Danube River had been hit in the attack, which lasted more than three hours and involved more than two dozen drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 22 out of 25 attack drones and the State Emergency Service posted photos of firefighters in the Odesa region trying to extinguish a blaze.

The officials did not specify where exactly the strikes landed but local Ukrainian media reported explosions in the port city of Reni on the Danube, just across the water from Romania.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, condemned the overnight attack. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, he accused Russian forces of targeting port infrastructure “in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world.”

The Danube delta became an immediate alternative waterway for grain ships after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain agreement in July, threatening all ships moving to and from Ukraine and resuming its blockade of major Ukrainian ports along the sea, such as Odesa.

But Russia soon began attacking the smaller ports on the Danube as well, bombing Ukrainian grain-loading facilities there. In mid-August, granaries and warehouses in Reni and Izmail, another port on the river, were damaged as a result of Russian attacks.

In an attempt to get exports moving again, Kyiv established a temporary corridor hugging the western Black Sea coast from Ukraine to Turkey, to allow passage for civilian ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

A handful of vessels have used the corridor in recent weeks, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Saturday that two more ships had successfully navigated passage. He later hailed Odesa as “a port on which the lives of various nations depends” in his overnight address, just hours before the latest strikes.

The attacks in the Odesa region came amid international efforts to revive the grain deal. Russia has been touting what it casts an alternative to the agreement, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and helped stabilize food prices across the world but which Moscow complained was carried out unfairly.

Precise details of the Russian proposal remain scant, but President Vladimir V. Putin is scheduled to discuss the matter with Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Monday when the two leaders hold bilateral talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Here’s what else is happening in the war:

  • Ukrainian officials said a Russian strike had hit a residential building in the eastern town of Vuhledar on Saturday, killing a man and his wife. The prosecutor general’s office said on Telegram that the couple’s 19-year-old daughter and another resident of the town were injured.

Israel’s Netanyahu says he wants Eritrean migrants involved in violent clashes to be deported

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African migrants.

The remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.

The violence on Saturday returned to the fore the issue of migrants, which has long divided Israel. Its resurgence comes as Israel is torn over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, and supporters cite the migrant issue as a reason why the courts should be reined in, saying they have stood in the way of pushing the migrants out.

“We want harsh measures against the rioters, including the immediate deportation of those who took part,” Netanyahu said in a special ministerial meeting called to deal with the aftermath of the violence. He requested that the ministers present him with plans “for the removal of all the other illegal infiltrators,” and noted in his remarks that the Supreme Court struck down some measures meant to coerce the migrants to leave.

Under international law, Israel cannot forcibly send migrants back to a country where their life or liberty may be at risk.

Netanyahu said Sunday he didn’t think deporting supporters of the Eritrean government would be a problem.

About 25,000 African migrants live in Israel, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who say they fled conflict or repression. Israel recognizes very few as asylum seekers, seeing them overwhelmingly as economic migrants, and says it has no legal obligation to keep them.

The country has tried a variety of tactics to force them out, including sending some to a remote prison, holding part of their wages until after they agree to leave the country or offering cash payments to those who agree to move to another country, somewhere in Africa. Critics accuse the government of trying to coerce the migrants into leaving.

Migrants’ supporters say Israel, a country founded upon the ashes of the Holocaust and built up by Jewish refugees, should welcome those seeking asylum. Opponents claim migrants have brought crime to the low-income southern Tel Aviv neighborhoods where they have settled.

The clashes came as Eritrean government supporters marked the 30th anniversary of the current ruler’s rise to power, an event held near the Eritrean embassy in south Tel Aviv. Eritrea has one of the world’s worst human rights records and migrants in Israel and elsewhere say they fear death if they were to return.

Critics see Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan as a power grab meant to weaken the courts and limit judicial oversight on government decisions and legislation. Supporters say it is meant to restore power to elected legislators and rein in what they say is an interventionist and liberal-leaning justice system.

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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Turkey’s Women’s Volleyball Team Inspires Pride

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As the volleyball game neared its end, thousands of fans watching on giant screens in an Istanbul park rose to their feet and fell silent. The ball soared, a Turkish player set it up near the net, and her teammate spiked it. Her Italian opponents blocked the shot but knocked the ball out of bounds, handing victory to the Turks and causing the crowd to erupt into chants of “Turkey! Turkey! Turkey!”

The nail-biter victory on Friday by Turkey’s national women’s volleyball team in the Women’s European Volleyball Championship was the most recent conquest by the country’s most successful major sports team, a record that has turned it into a rare source of national pride that holds appeal across the country’s social divides.

While some ultraconservatives have attacked the women as an affront to Islamic values, their fans laud them as paragons of female empowerment in a country where many women feel they have yet to achieve social equality. And the team’s successes are a welcome bright spot for Turks struggling with sky-high inflation, political polarization and a slow recovery from devastating earthquakes in February that killed more than 50,000 people.

Affectionately referred to as “the Sultans of the Net,” the team won the Volleyball Nations League championship in July in Arlington, Texas, and became the world’s top rated women’s national team, according to FIVB, the sport’s international governing body. On Sunday, they face Serbia in the final match of the European championship in Brussels.

At home, the team’s games are aired live by the state broadcaster and its players exude star power. Legions of followers on social media celebrate their accomplishments, track their frequent hair-color changes and speculate about their romantic entanglements.

Corporate sponsorships and state support have flowed in. In 2021, when Turkey granted citizenship to the Cuban-born player Melissa Vargas, she received her new Turkish ID card from none other than President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“They are fighters,” said Ceren Duyan, a biologist at a biotech company who watched Friday’s game in the park. “When we see women do good things in sports or anywhere else, we see that we too can be powerful.”

The volleyballers’ rise comes amid an international reckoning with how female athletes are treated compared with their male counterparts. Last month, the head of the Spanish soccer federation was suspended after giving a female player an unwanted kiss on the lips. In July, the BBC apologized after one of its reporters asked the captain of the Moroccan national women’s soccer team if any of its players were gay.

Turkey’s team has largely avoided such controversies, although the players’ personal styles have linked them to some of Turkey’s deepest divisions.

While its people are predominantly Muslim, Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, its first president, as a secular state. Much of Turkish politics revolves around struggles between those who treasure the country’s secular legacy and those pressing to expand Islam’s role in public life. The latter camp includes Mr. Erdogan, Turkey’s predominant politician for two decades.

The players are clearly in the former camp.

They do not cover their hair or wear clothing that conceals their bodies, as most devout Muslim women do. Instead, they appear in the standard uniform of shorts and tank tops, and some sport tattoos. Ms. Vargas, the team’s top scorer, has recently appeared on court with her hair dyed electric blue or bleached blond, with a blue lightning bolt over her ear.

After a victory on Wednesday against Poland, one player, Zehra Gunes, told Turkish reporters that the team was advancing Ataturk’s vision for Turkey.

“As Turkish women, we try to be role models for future generations by holding a light on the path that Ataturk showed,” she said.

Another star player, Ebrar Karakurt, received floods of hateful and homophobic messages after posting photographs of herself on social media in affectionate poses with other women, and an Islamist newspaper called her “a national shame.”

In 2021, when the team was competing in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a prominent preacher sharply criticized the team for not adhering to his conception of how a Muslim woman should behave.

“Girl of Islam! You are not the sultan of the courts; you are the sultan of faith, virtue, chastity and decency,” the preacher, Ihsan Senocak, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

A spokesman for Turkey’s volleyball federation eventually responded to the hubbub, praising Ms. Karakurt for having the “the spirit of a fighter to represent her country.”

“Everyone’s private life concerns them only,” the spokesman said. “All the rest is hokum.”

Ms. Karakurt has recently struck back at her critics in her own way.

Last week, an X user named Abdulhamid responded to one of her posts, saying, “As the Muslim Turkish nation, we continue to put up with you.”

After Friday’s victory, Ms. Karakurt posted a photograph of herself holding a sign that read, “Cut the crap, Abdulhamid.”

The team’s successes resonate because Turkey has long seen sports as a way to assert itself globally.

“It was always the motive of Turkish sports to be successful in international encounters to prove that we are legitimate — as powerful, as successful, equals to our Western peers,” said Daghan Irak, a senior lecturer in media communication at the University of Huddersfield in Britain. “It is a very important part of our society’s psyche in terms of sports.”

Mr. Erdogan and his government may not appreciate everything about the team’s public profile, Mr. Irak said, but the president most likely appreciates their inspirational value.

“Obviously, Erdogan is more interested in the national pride this team generates than the lifestyle questions,” Mr. Irak said.

Mr. Erdogan, an avid soccer player in his younger years, has not attended any of the team’s games. But he did call Eda Erdem, the team’s captain, after its first game in the Tokyo Olympics to say he had been watching.

“You made us sentimental, you made us teary,” Mr. Erdogan said, passing his greetings “to all the girls.”

After the team won a tournament this summer, an opposition lawmaker, Gulcan Kis, filed an inquiry to the Parliament asking why Mr. Erdogan’s sports minister had not attended any games and suggested it was to avoid angering conservatives.

“Is the targeting of the national women’s volleyball team by religious scholars the reason for your absence from the final game?” Ms. Kis asked.

But the squabbles have not hurt the popularity of women’s volleyball, or the vast infrastructure supporting it. The national women’s league is hugely competitive and rich in sponsorships. And the Education Ministry runs a “Sultans of Tomorrow” program to introduce the game to girls in provincial cities.

The success of the national team has attracted a new generation of girls to the game, said Neslihan Demir, who retired from the team in 2017.

“All the little girls in Turkey want to play volleyball now since they are watching their big sisters as role models,” she said.

The players’ broad social acceptance has encouraged parents to let their daughters play, too, she said.

Ms. Demir recalled meeting a family who asked her whether their 9-year-old daughter could become a Sultan of the Net.

“Start at once,” she told them.

Safak Timur contributed reporting.

Tropical Storm Idalia Turning Away From Bermuda

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The remnants of Hurricane Idalia were dissipating on Saturday and pulling away from Bermuda, days after it made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast and swept across the Southeast.

On Friday, the storm, which was once a powerful Category 4 hurricane, had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone.

At 5 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, the storm was about 125 miles east of Bermuda, and tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 205 miles from its center, the Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

Idalia had sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, the Hurricane Center said.

Swells generated by Idalia will affect the southeastern U.S. coast and Bermuda through the weekend, the Hurricane Center said, adding that they would likely cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Bermuda, a British territory in the North Atlantic with about 65,000 residents, is nearly 900 miles east of South Carolina.

It has been a busy week in the Atlantic.

Idalia was one of several other storm systems: Tropical Storm Katia, which formed on Saturday, was expected to weaken on Sunday; Hurricane Franklin, which became an “extratropical” cyclone on Friday; Tropical Storm Jose, which was absorbed by Franklin; and Gert, which regenerated into a tropical storm on Friday and was expected to be absorbed by Idalia.

Idalia made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday in a sparsely populated area of the Big Bend region, where the state’s peninsula meets the Panhandle.

It was the first major storm to hit Florida this hurricane season. While it swamped the fishing villages and beach towns along the coast, the damage did not appear to be as bad as had been feared.

Rebecca Carballo, Eduardo Medina, Johnny Diaz and Mike Ives contributed reporting.

Jimmy Buffett Dead at 76

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Reporters News Wire
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Mr. Buffett’s 1974 release “Living and Dying in ¾ Time” included a version of the comedian Lord Buckley’s “God’s Own Drunk.” “Come Monday,” a lovelorn track from the record, became his first Top 40 hit.

“A1A” (also from 1974) was named for the oceanfront highway that runs along Florida’s Atlantic coastline. The album was Mr. Buffett’s first to contain references to Key West and maritime life, but it was 1977’s platinum-selling “Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes,” with the blockbuster hit “Margaritaville,” that finally catapulted him to stardom. “Fins,” another major single, was released in 1979.

A series of popular releases followed, culminating in 1985 with “Songs You Know By Heart,” a compilation of Mr. Buffett’s most beloved songs to date. The record became the best-selling album of his career.

Mr. Buffett also opened the first of his many “Margaritaville” stores in 1985. That was the year that the former Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit, then a member of the Coral Reefer Band, coined the term Parrot Heads to describe Mr. Buffett’s staunch legion of fans, the bulk of whom were baby boomers.

A supporter of conservationist causes, Mr. Buffett moved away from the Keys in the late ’70s because of the area’s increasing commercialization. He initially relocated to Aspen, Colo., before making his home on St. Barts in the Caribbean. He also had houses in Palm Beach, Fla., and Sag Harbor, on eastern Long Island.

In addition to touring and recording, activities he pursued into the 2020s, Mr. Buffett wrote music for movies like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Urban Cowboy.” He also appeared in movies and television shows, including “Rancho Deluxe,” “Jurassic World” and the “Hawaii Five-O” revival in the 2010s, where he starred as the helicopter pilot Frank Bama, a character from his best-selling 1992 novel, “Where Is Joe Merchant?”

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