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Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversaw the Maduro case, dies at 92

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Covered by 10 outlets across the spectrum.

10 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge in Manhattan appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, has died at 92, according to court officials. He had been overseeing the criminal case against Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, which will be randomly assigned to another judge, according to the Washington Examiner. Fox News reports that the court said he died of natural causes. Fox News and Epoch Times report that he also presided over cases involving President Donald Trump, including an attempt to move a New York criminal case to federal court. The Financial Times says he oversaw the Archegos case.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge in Manhattan, died at age 92.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft2Center2Right2Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, ABC News
    Center
    The Hill, Financial Times
    Right
    New York Post, Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News, RedState, The Epoch Times

  2. The court confirmed his death.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    The Hill
    Far Right
    Fox News, RedState, The Epoch Times

  3. He was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1998.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    The Hill
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News, RedState, The Epoch Times

  4. He was overseeing the case against Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft2Center2Right2Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, ABC News
    Center
    The Hill, Financial Times
    Right
    New York Post, Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News, RedState, The Epoch Times

  5. A new judge will be randomly assigned to the Maduro case.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Fox News
Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. The court said he died of natural causes.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  2. He presided over cases involving President Donald Trump, including an attempt to move a New York criminal case to federal court.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    Fox News, RedState, The Epoch Times

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The day Hellerstein died.

    Fox News says he died on Tuesday. The New York Times reports Wednesday morning, and RedState repeats that report.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Judge Alvin Hellerstein died at 92 and had been overseeing the Maduro case. The main difference is emphasis: center and left headlines lead with the Maduro and high-profile case list, while right-side headlines add his Trump-related cases.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    The left-side coverage is one Associated Press report, whose headline leads with his Trump, Maduro and 9/11 cases, and the New York Times headline names only the Maduro case.

    Alvin K. Hellerstein, Federal Judge Who Oversaw Maduro Case, Dies
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines name the Maduro case and, in the Financial Times, the Archegos case, describing a judge who oversaw high-profile matters; neither headline mentions Trump.

    US judge Alvin Hellerstein who oversaw Archegos and Maduro cases dies at 92
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    5 outlets

    Far-right headlines (Fox, RedState, Epoch Times) pair the judge with the Trump and Maduro cases; the Washington Examiner names only Maduro.

    Federal judge who oversaw Maduro, Trump cases dead at 92
    Fox NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right3

    dictatorstunning newsformer Venezuelan dictator

In the outlets’ own words

  • Delegitimizing label

    dictatorMore neutral: former Venezuelan president

    The other outlets describe Maduro as a former president, so calling him a dictator adds a judgement the facts do not require.

    District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was overseeing the trial of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, has died at 92.

    Used byWashington Examiner (Right)

  • Sensational language

    stunning newsMore neutral: news

    Calls the news stunning, a judgement the reporting does not need to make the death clear.

    A bit of stunning news in the legal realm on Wednesday morning, as The New York Times is reporting that…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Delegitimizing label

    former Venezuelan dictatorMore neutral: former Venezuelan leader

    Calls Maduro a dictator, a judgement about his government that Fox News and The Hill do not make; they use president or leader.

    …and, most recently, oversaw cases involving President Donald Trump and former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

    Used byThe Epoch Times (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Maduro case
  • Trump and 9/11 cases
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • CBS NewsLeft

    Alvin Hellerstein, judge in Maduro and Trump cases, dies at 92

    Alvin Hellerstein, a federal judge who for decades oversaw some of the country's most high-profile cases, has died.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    Alvin K. Hellerstein, a federal judge who handled Trump, Maduro and 9/11 cases, dies at 92

    NEW YORK -- Alvin K. Hellerstein, a Manhattan federal judge who presided over matters involving President Donald Trump, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the 9/11 attacks during nearly three decades on the bench, has died. He was 92. …

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by New York Post. It counts once.

  • The New York TimesLeft

    Alvin K. Hellerstein, Federal Judge Who Oversaw Maduro Case, Dies

    Judge Hellerstein died on Wednesday morning, according to a court spokesman. He was appointed in 1998 and was overseeing the trial of Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Maduro case
  • Archegos case
  • high-profile career
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

5 outlets

Leads with

  • Trump and Maduro cases
  • natural causes
  • Clinton appointment

Leaves out

  • Archegos case

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 5 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The New York Times, Oct 28, 12:25 PM EDT

  • Center

    52 min later

    Its first report, Oct 28, 1:16 PM EDT

  • Right

    42 min later

    Its first report, Oct 28, 1:06 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The New York TimesLeftOct 28, 12:25 PM EDT
  2. ABC NewsLeftOct 28, 1:05 PM EDT
  3. Washington ExaminerRightOct 28, 1:06 PM EDT
  4. The HillCenterOct 28, 1:16 PM EDT
  5. Financial TimesCenterOct 28, 1:28 PM EDT
  6. Fox NewsFar RightOct 28, 1:33 PM EDT
  7. RedStateFar RightOct 28, 1:40 PM EDT
  8. New York PostRightOct 28, 2:04 PM EDT
  9. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 28, 2:13 PM EDT
  10. CBS NewsLeftOct 28, 3:16 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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