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Kate Spade, a popular designer and founder of the iconic and accessible brand Kate Spade New York, was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on this week. Her death shocked fans and friends who considered Spade a role model and her line a lifestyle brand — symbolizing both fun and success. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
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Kate Spade, a popular designer and founder of the iconic and accessible brand Kate Spade New York, was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on this week. Her death shocked fans and friends who considered Spade a role model and her line a lifestyle brand — symbolizing both fun and success. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
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U.S. B-52 bombers sent over the disputed South China Sea this week will, for lack of a broader foreign policy, fall short of empowering smaller countries to resist China’s maritime sovereignty claims, analysts say.

The U.S. Air Force flew two bombers Tuesday from a base in the Indian Ocean to near the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands, the Air Force Times online reported. That movement followed seven passages of U.S. naval vessels through the same sea since President Donald Trump took office in 2017.

Washington wants to discourage Beijing from militarizing the Spratly archipelago and other islands in the contested, resource-rich South China Sea, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

China calls the entire 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea its own despite rival claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The U.S. military movement will pester China without emboldening other countries, all with smaller armed forces than the People’s Liberation Army, unless Washington offers the others more naval cooperation or diplomatic and economic support, scholars believe.

“We should certainly expect an increase in U.S. operations meant to show that (Washington) doesn’t recognize China’s unilateral restrictions on waters and airspace around the South China Sea,” said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“But that will only help the regional claimants if it’s part of a larger U.S. strategy, which so far it hasn’t been,” Poling said.

​Ramping up military pressure

The U.S. B-52 flyover followed years of reports that China had built military installations on three Spratly islets and at least one in the sea’s Paracel chain. China has landed military aircraft and deployed missiles, according to some media reports.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday her country was not afraid of the bombers. China cites historical records to back its claim to about 90 percent of the sea that stretches from Hong Kong to Borneo.

Other countries have not publicly leveraged the U.S. moves to advance their own maritime claims, though they resent China’s increased activity from military buildup to increased coast guard presence and annual fishing moratoriums.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry noted this week a strengthening of its relations with the United States in 2018 to date but did not indicate whether the B-52s or U.S. naval movement in the sea would play in its favor.

Taiwan holds the largest Spratly feature, Taiping Island.

“The government’s sovereignty claim hasn’t changed,” ministry spokesman Andrew Lee said Thursday. “But for now, toward either the American or China’s military situation, we will pay close attention to it, but we don’t have a further comment.”

In the Philippines, the armed forces and some lawmakers want more U.S. military support, said Maria Ela Atienza, political science professor at University of the Philippines Diliman.

But President Rodrigo Duterte opposes reliance on the Philippines’ former colonizer, the United States. He set aside the maritime sovereignty issue in 2016 to push for economic ties with China.

The shape of a larger policy

“There could be a greater assertiveness on the part of some of the claimants like Vietnam for the U.S. to play a greater role and for some groups in the Philippines to actually maybe pressure the government to at least be more assertive diplomatically,” Atienza said.

China and the Philippines faced off for four years over Scarborough Shoal, which lies within Manila’s exclusive economic zone but was occupied by Beijing’s ships in 2012.

More confidence in the United States as a defender against China would come from tighter military and even trade cooperation in Southeast Asia, analysts say. Washington needs a “robust diplomatic strategy to isolate China” including economic measures, according to Poling.

Military cooperation such as naval training and use of American weaponry would also inspire the smaller claimant states, scholars say.

But Vietnam is already wary of the United States because it withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement last year, Sun said. Vietnam would have gained as an exporter to the United States.

“I think there’s a question about the credibility and also the sustainability (of Washington),” Sun said. “I think the more U.S. interest being paid to the South China Sea will strengthen other claimant countries’ position, but whether they will base their policy on the current administration flying a B-52 bomber remains to be seen.”
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U.S. B-52 bombers sent over the disputed South China Sea this week will, for lack of a broader foreign policy, fall short of empowering smaller countries to resist China’s maritime sovereignty claims, analysts say.

The U.S. Air Force flew two bombers Tuesday from a base in the Indian Ocean to near the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands, the Air Force Times online reported. That movement followed seven passages of U.S. naval vessels through the same sea since President Donald Trump took office in 2017.

Washington wants to discourage Beijing from militarizing the Spratly archipelago and other islands in the contested, resource-rich South China Sea, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

China calls the entire 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea its own despite rival claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The U.S. military movement will pester China without emboldening other countries, all with smaller armed forces than the People’s Liberation Army, unless Washington offers the others more naval cooperation or diplomatic and economic support, scholars believe.

“We should certainly expect an increase in U.S. operations meant to show that (Washington) doesn’t recognize China’s unilateral restrictions on waters and airspace around the South China Sea,” said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“But that will only help the regional claimants if it’s part of a larger U.S. strategy, which so far it hasn’t been,” Poling said.

​Ramping up military pressure

The U.S. B-52 flyover followed years of reports that China had built military installations on three Spratly islets and at least one in the sea’s Paracel chain. China has landed military aircraft and deployed missiles, according to some media reports.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday her country was not afraid of the bombers. China cites historical records to back its claim to about 90 percent of the sea that stretches from Hong Kong to Borneo.

Other countries have not publicly leveraged the U.S. moves to advance their own maritime claims, though they resent China’s increased activity from military buildup to increased coast guard presence and annual fishing moratoriums.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry noted this week a strengthening of its relations with the United States in 2018 to date but did not indicate whether the B-52s or U.S. naval movement in the sea would play in its favor.

Taiwan holds the largest Spratly feature, Taiping Island.

“The government’s sovereignty claim hasn’t changed,” ministry spokesman Andrew Lee said Thursday. “But for now, toward either the American or China’s military situation, we will pay close attention to it, but we don’t have a further comment.”

In the Philippines, the armed forces and some lawmakers want more U.S. military support, said Maria Ela Atienza, political science professor at University of the Philippines Diliman.

But President Rodrigo Duterte opposes reliance on the Philippines’ former colonizer, the United States. He set aside the maritime sovereignty issue in 2016 to push for economic ties with China.

The shape of a larger policy

“There could be a greater assertiveness on the part of some of the claimants like Vietnam for the U.S. to play a greater role and for some groups in the Philippines to actually maybe pressure the government to at least be more assertive diplomatically,” Atienza said.

China and the Philippines faced off for four years over Scarborough Shoal, which lies within Manila’s exclusive economic zone but was occupied by Beijing’s ships in 2012.

More confidence in the United States as a defender against China would come from tighter military and even trade cooperation in Southeast Asia, analysts say. Washington needs a “robust diplomatic strategy to isolate China” including economic measures, according to Poling.

Military cooperation such as naval training and use of American weaponry would also inspire the smaller claimant states, scholars say.

But Vietnam is already wary of the United States because it withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement last year, Sun said. Vietnam would have gained as an exporter to the United States.

“I think there’s a question about the credibility and also the sustainability (of Washington),” Sun said. “I think the more U.S. interest being paid to the South China Sea will strengthen other claimant countries’ position, but whether they will base their policy on the current administration flying a B-52 bomber remains to be seen.”
…

China’s trade surplus with the United States rose to $24.58 billion in May, from $22.15 billion in April, according to Chinese customs data published Friday.

China’s export growth in May was 12.6 percent, slightly down from 12.9 percent in April, but well above the 10 percent that economists polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted.

Chinese imports also increased year over year in May, rising 26 percent.

For the first five months of the year, China’s trade surplus with U.S. was $104.85 billion.

Both countries have threatened to hike tariffs on goods worth up to $150 billion each, as President Donald Trump has demanded Beijing open its economy further and address the U.S. large trade deficit with China.

Earlier this week, China warned the U.S. that any trade and business agreements between the two countries “will not take effect” if Trump’s threatened tariff hike and other measures on Chinese goods are implemented.

The warning came after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He ended two days of talks in Beijing aimed at settling the simmering trade dispute, in which Beijing pledged to narrow its trade surplus.

The White House renewed a threat last week to raise duties on $50 billion of Chinese technology-related goods over that dispute.
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China’s trade surplus with the United States rose to $24.58 billion in May, from $22.15 billion in April, according to Chinese customs data published Friday.

China’s export growth in May was 12.6 percent, slightly down from 12.9 percent in April, but well above the 10 percent that economists polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted.

Chinese imports also increased year over year in May, rising 26 percent.

For the first five months of the year, China’s trade surplus with U.S. was $104.85 billion.

Both countries have threatened to hike tariffs on goods worth up to $150 billion each, as President Donald Trump has demanded Beijing open its economy further and address the U.S. large trade deficit with China.

Earlier this week, China warned the U.S. that any trade and business agreements between the two countries “will not take effect” if Trump’s threatened tariff hike and other measures on Chinese goods are implemented.

The warning came after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He ended two days of talks in Beijing aimed at settling the simmering trade dispute, in which Beijing pledged to narrow its trade surplus.

The White House renewed a threat last week to raise duties on $50 billion of Chinese technology-related goods over that dispute.
…

No Turkish troops or allied Syrian fighters will deploy inside the strategic Syrian town of Manbij following a Turkish-U.S. deal that is expected to see the local U.S.-backed Kurdish militia pull out of the area, the head of the local military council said Thursday.

The comments by the head of the Manbij Military Council, who goes by the name Mohammed Abu Adel, came following his meeting with a U.S. delegation to the town that included the commander of the U.S.-backed anti-Islamic State coalition Maj. General James Jarrard and veteran Middle East diplomat William Roebuck.

Abu Adel said the delegation told his council that details of the U.S.-Turkey deal are still being firmed up, and that they will keep the local council and the U.S.-backed leadership in Manbij updated.

He said according to details discussed with the U.S. delegation, joint U.S.-Turkish patrols will only take place along already-delineated front lines between the strategic town and other Turkish-controlled areas to the west.

“If the patrols are only on the front lines, we don’t have a problem with that,” said Abu Adel. “But not inside the town.”

Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official, said the U.S. delegation gave guarantees that no Turkish or Turkey-backed Syrian forces will enter Manbij. She didn’t elaborate.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S-led coalition.

Abu Adel said the Turkey-backed Syrian forces will have no role in the town.

The delicate U.S.-Turkey deal has been long in the making. It could ease tensions between Washington and Ankara, NATO allies whose relations have soured over their respective Syria policies. The deal could also force a realignment of troops along the volatile Syria-Turkey frontier, meeting a long-standing Turkish demand to push the Kurdish militia known as YPG east of the Euphrates River.

Abu Adel called the deal “political” and meant to deal with the balance of power in northern Syria but didn’t elaborate. He said there will be no changes to the local military council he heads, suggesting that changes may come in the local civil administration.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror group tied to a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey’s borders.

Soon after the deal’s announcement, the YPG said it would pull its advisers out of Manbij.

Other details of the deal remain unclear. The United States and Turkey offered differing descriptions of what the deal entailed, how it would be carried out and when.

Turkish officials suggested a plan had been hashed out in which the withdrawal would be complete within six months, with Kurdish fighters giving up their weapons as they leave Manbij. A Turkish official said Turkey would review the withdrawal before a new council is set up to administer the multiethnic town, which has been run by the Manbij Military Council and an affiliated civil administration since 2016.

U.S. officials wouldn’t discuss whether the Kurdish troops would have to give up their weapons and insisted the plan included only “estimated timelines” based on events on the ground and no hard deadlines. U.S. officials said joint U.S.-Turkish patrols will be dispatched along a pre-existing demarcation line around Manbij in a trust-building exercise to pave the way for a withdrawal.

Asked if his council has made any demands in the talks between the Americans and the Turks, Abu Adel said: “We are all right. We want nothing and if we are left alone, we will be all right.”
…

No Turkish troops or allied Syrian fighters will deploy inside the strategic Syrian town of Manbij following a Turkish-U.S. deal that is expected to see the local U.S.-backed Kurdish militia pull out of the area, the head of the local military council said Thursday.

The comments by the head of the Manbij Military Council, who goes by the name Mohammed Abu Adel, came following his meeting with a U.S. delegation to the town that included the commander of the U.S.-backed anti-Islamic State coalition Maj. General James Jarrard and veteran Middle East diplomat William Roebuck.

Abu Adel said the delegation told his council that details of the U.S.-Turkey deal are still being firmed up, and that they will keep the local council and the U.S.-backed leadership in Manbij updated.

He said according to details discussed with the U.S. delegation, joint U.S.-Turkish patrols will only take place along already-delineated front lines between the strategic town and other Turkish-controlled areas to the west.

“If the patrols are only on the front lines, we don’t have a problem with that,” said Abu Adel. “But not inside the town.”

Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official, said the U.S. delegation gave guarantees that no Turkish or Turkey-backed Syrian forces will enter Manbij. She didn’t elaborate.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S-led coalition.

Abu Adel said the Turkey-backed Syrian forces will have no role in the town.

The delicate U.S.-Turkey deal has been long in the making. It could ease tensions between Washington and Ankara, NATO allies whose relations have soured over their respective Syria policies. The deal could also force a realignment of troops along the volatile Syria-Turkey frontier, meeting a long-standing Turkish demand to push the Kurdish militia known as YPG east of the Euphrates River.

Abu Adel called the deal “political” and meant to deal with the balance of power in northern Syria but didn’t elaborate. He said there will be no changes to the local military council he heads, suggesting that changes may come in the local civil administration.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror group tied to a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey’s borders.

Soon after the deal’s announcement, the YPG said it would pull its advisers out of Manbij.

Other details of the deal remain unclear. The United States and Turkey offered differing descriptions of what the deal entailed, how it would be carried out and when.

Turkish officials suggested a plan had been hashed out in which the withdrawal would be complete within six months, with Kurdish fighters giving up their weapons as they leave Manbij. A Turkish official said Turkey would review the withdrawal before a new council is set up to administer the multiethnic town, which has been run by the Manbij Military Council and an affiliated civil administration since 2016.

U.S. officials wouldn’t discuss whether the Kurdish troops would have to give up their weapons and insisted the plan included only “estimated timelines” based on events on the ground and no hard deadlines. U.S. officials said joint U.S.-Turkish patrols will be dispatched along a pre-existing demarcation line around Manbij in a trust-building exercise to pave the way for a withdrawal.

Asked if his council has made any demands in the talks between the Americans and the Turks, Abu Adel said: “We are all right. We want nothing and if we are left alone, we will be all right.”
…

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano may be disrupting life in paradise with its bursts of ash and bright-orange lava, but it also has scientists wide-eyed, eager to advance what’s known about volcanoes.

The good news is: Volcanoes reveal secrets when they’re rumbling, which means Kilauea is producing a bonanza of information.

While scientists monitored Big Island lava flows in 1955 and 1960, equipment then was far less sophisticated. Given new technology, they can now gather and study an unprecedented volume of data.

“Geophysical monitoring techniques that have come online in the last 20 years have now been deployed at Kilauea,” said George Bergantz, professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington. “We have this remarkable opportunity … to see many more scales of behavior both preceding and during this current volcanic crisis.”

Starting May 3, Kilauea has fountained lava and flung ash and rocks from its summit, destroying hundreds of homes, closing key highways and prompting health warnings. Kilauea is one of five volcanos that form the Big Island, and is a “shield” volcano — built up over time as lava flows layer on top of layer.

Technically speaking, it has been continuously erupting since 1983. But the recent combination of earthquakes shaking the ground, steam-driven explosions at the top, and lava creeping into a new area some 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the summit represents a departure from its behavior over the past 35 years, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Ohio’s Denison University.

What’s happening now is a bit more like the Kilauea of nearly a century ago. In 1924, steam explosions at the summit lasted for more than two weeks.

Scientists are looking into what caused the change and whether this shift in the volcano’s magma plumbing system will become the new normal.

Radar allows researchers to measure the height of ash plumes shooting from the summit, even when they occur at night. Plume heights are an effect of how much heat energy is released and the explosion’s intensity.

“It’s one of the key factors that dictates how far ash will be dispersed,” said Charles Mandeville, volcano hazards coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey. The other is where the winds are blowing. Such knowledge is useful in alerting the public.

Scientists can also monitor where gas is emerging, as well as determine its composition and volume. They can even measure the subtle rise and fall of the ground over a broad area and time — down to seconds — which suggests when and where magma is pooling underground.

Discovering variations or correlations between past and present activity provides more clues on what’s happening. It also helps scientists understand past lava flows, anticipate what could occur next, and pinpoint signs or patterns before an eruption.

“You’re sort of zeroing in on finer and finer levels of detail into how the volcano works,” said Michael Poland, a U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist. “The more stuff you put on the volcano to make measurements, the more you realize there’s stuff going on that you never knew.”

Better technology has also meant U.S. Geological Survey scientists have been able to accurately forecast Kilauea’s behavior as it sputters over Puna, the island’s most affected district.

“They’ve been spot on,” said Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at Concord University in West Virginia. “It’s incredible — they’re looking at things happening below the surface, using the monitoring equipment that they have, the knowledge they have of past eruptions, and have been able to get people to not be in a deadly area.”

This is unfortunately not always possible, as nature can be unpredictable. On June 3, Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire sent a mixture of hot gas, rock and other material racing down its slopes and inundating the valley, killing nearly 100 people.

Krippner compared the Guatemala eruption to opening a can of soda after shaking it vigorously. Volcanic gas underneath created bubbles that expanded, increasing pressure that blew magma apart when it reached the surface, spewing cooled lava rocks ranging from the size of sand grains to boulders.

Explosions can be bigger, or occur differently, than expected, and that presents a learning opportunity for scientists, who work on computer models to map out areas that may be at higher risk in the future. “Looking at the footage afterward, we can start to tease out how these things actually work,” Krippner said, as it’s often too dangerous for experts to physically get close to an eruption.

Volcanic eruptions happen fairly regularly — as many as 60 occur worldwide each year — but many are in isolated areas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

After Kilauea’s 1924 summit explosions, the volcano entered a decade of piddly rumblings, followed by 18 years of silence. Experts say Kilauea may be heading toward years — even decades — of little or no activity.

For now, volcanologists feel a “tremendous amount of responsibility” to learn as much as possible from the volcano, Poland said. Its latest activity has destroyed about 400 homes — including about 280 over the last several days — and displaced thousands of residents. Lava from Kilauea has also downed power lines and knifed across highways.

“It’s coming at a great cost in terms of impact on the lives and livelihoods of so many people — we owe it to the people of Puna to make sure that we learn the lessons the volcano is teaching us,” Poland said.
…

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano may be disrupting life in paradise with its bursts of ash and bright-orange lava, but it also has scientists wide-eyed, eager to advance what’s known about volcanoes.

The good news is: Volcanoes reveal secrets when they’re rumbling, which means Kilauea is producing a bonanza of information.

While scientists monitored Big Island lava flows in 1955 and 1960, equipment then was far less sophisticated. Given new technology, they can now gather and study an unprecedented volume of data.

“Geophysical monitoring techniques that have come online in the last 20 years have now been deployed at Kilauea,” said George Bergantz, professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington. “We have this remarkable opportunity … to see many more scales of behavior both preceding and during this current volcanic crisis.”

Starting May 3, Kilauea has fountained lava and flung ash and rocks from its summit, destroying hundreds of homes, closing key highways and prompting health warnings. Kilauea is one of five volcanos that form the Big Island, and is a “shield” volcano — built up over time as lava flows layer on top of layer.

Technically speaking, it has been continuously erupting since 1983. But the recent combination of earthquakes shaking the ground, steam-driven explosions at the top, and lava creeping into a new area some 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the summit represents a departure from its behavior over the past 35 years, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Ohio’s Denison University.

What’s happening now is a bit more like the Kilauea of nearly a century ago. In 1924, steam explosions at the summit lasted for more than two weeks.

Scientists are looking into what caused the change and whether this shift in the volcano’s magma plumbing system will become the new normal.

Radar allows researchers to measure the height of ash plumes shooting from the summit, even when they occur at night. Plume heights are an effect of how much heat energy is released and the explosion’s intensity.

“It’s one of the key factors that dictates how far ash will be dispersed,” said Charles Mandeville, volcano hazards coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey. The other is where the winds are blowing. Such knowledge is useful in alerting the public.

Scientists can also monitor where gas is emerging, as well as determine its composition and volume. They can even measure the subtle rise and fall of the ground over a broad area and time — down to seconds — which suggests when and where magma is pooling underground.

Discovering variations or correlations between past and present activity provides more clues on what’s happening. It also helps scientists understand past lava flows, anticipate what could occur next, and pinpoint signs or patterns before an eruption.

“You’re sort of zeroing in on finer and finer levels of detail into how the volcano works,” said Michael Poland, a U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist. “The more stuff you put on the volcano to make measurements, the more you realize there’s stuff going on that you never knew.”

Better technology has also meant U.S. Geological Survey scientists have been able to accurately forecast Kilauea’s behavior as it sputters over Puna, the island’s most affected district.

“They’ve been spot on,” said Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at Concord University in West Virginia. “It’s incredible — they’re looking at things happening below the surface, using the monitoring equipment that they have, the knowledge they have of past eruptions, and have been able to get people to not be in a deadly area.”

This is unfortunately not always possible, as nature can be unpredictable. On June 3, Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire sent a mixture of hot gas, rock and other material racing down its slopes and inundating the valley, killing nearly 100 people.

Krippner compared the Guatemala eruption to opening a can of soda after shaking it vigorously. Volcanic gas underneath created bubbles that expanded, increasing pressure that blew magma apart when it reached the surface, spewing cooled lava rocks ranging from the size of sand grains to boulders.

Explosions can be bigger, or occur differently, than expected, and that presents a learning opportunity for scientists, who work on computer models to map out areas that may be at higher risk in the future. “Looking at the footage afterward, we can start to tease out how these things actually work,” Krippner said, as it’s often too dangerous for experts to physically get close to an eruption.

Volcanic eruptions happen fairly regularly — as many as 60 occur worldwide each year — but many are in isolated areas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

After Kilauea’s 1924 summit explosions, the volcano entered a decade of piddly rumblings, followed by 18 years of silence. Experts say Kilauea may be heading toward years — even decades — of little or no activity.

For now, volcanologists feel a “tremendous amount of responsibility” to learn as much as possible from the volcano, Poland said. Its latest activity has destroyed about 400 homes — including about 280 over the last several days — and displaced thousands of residents. Lava from Kilauea has also downed power lines and knifed across highways.

“It’s coming at a great cost in terms of impact on the lives and livelihoods of so many people — we owe it to the people of Puna to make sure that we learn the lessons the volcano is teaching us,” Poland said.
…

New York City’s chief medical examiner has ruled fashion designer Kate Spade’s death a suicide by hanging.

The determination was released Thursday, two days after the 55-year-old Spade was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment.

A housekeeper discovered her body in her bedroom. Police say she left a note that pointed to “a tragic suicide.”

Spade’s husband and business partner says she suffered from depression and anxiety for many years.

Andy Spade said in a statement Wednesday that his wife was seeing a doctor regularly and was taking medication to treat her disease.

He said she “sounded happy” the night before and her death was a complete shock.

Andy Spade said his main concern is protecting their 13-year-old daughter’s privacy as she deals with “unimaginable grief.”
…

New York City’s chief medical examiner has ruled fashion designer Kate Spade’s death a suicide by hanging.

The determination was released Thursday, two days after the 55-year-old Spade was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment.

A housekeeper discovered her body in her bedroom. Police say she left a note that pointed to “a tragic suicide.”

Spade’s husband and business partner says she suffered from depression and anxiety for many years.

Andy Spade said in a statement Wednesday that his wife was seeing a doctor regularly and was taking medication to treat her disease.

He said she “sounded happy” the night before and her death was a complete shock.

Andy Spade said his main concern is protecting their 13-year-old daughter’s privacy as she deals with “unimaginable grief.”
…