Daily Star

Ban for jean-ius

- By ALEXANDER BROWN alex.brown@dailystar.co.uk

A UNIVERSITY professor who claims that women who wear jeans give birth to transgende­r children is facing a teaching ban.

Academic Rejit Kumar made the remark to a class of students at Kasaragod college, southern India, and is to be banned from lecturing on anything but his speciality, botany. ®

ANDY Warhol’s art dealer has died after a raging inferno at Trump Tower in New York.

The fierce blaze ripped through an apartment at the landmark skyscraper where the US President has his own £71million penthouse. Todd Brassner, 67, was found unconsciou­s by fire crews and died in hospital a short time later. Burning debris fell on to the streets from his 50th floor home as 200 firefighte­rs tried to contain the blaze, which destroyed the entire apartment.

Emergency services had to close off three blocks of central Manhattan around the 58-storey tower as the fire raged.

Despite the damage caused by the blaze, Donald Trump managed to congratula­te himself in the wake of the tragedy. He tweeted: “Fire at Trump Tower is out. Very confined (well built building).

“Firemen (and women) did a great job. THANK YOU!”

Despite several more tweets last night, Trump failed to mention Mr Brassner’s death.

New York Fire Department Commission­er Daniel Nigro hit out at safety precaution­s at the tower as he revealed that six firefighte­rs suffered injuries as they tackled the blaze.

He said: “It was a difficult fire. The apartment was large and 50 storeys up.”

Mr Nigro also revealed that the upper storeys were not fitted with sprinklers as they were not required in New York City high-rises when Trump Tower was completed in 1983.

Mr Brassner, who sold prints for Andy Warhol and was mentioned in the late artist’s autobiogra­phy, had lived in the apartment for more than 20 years.

 ??  ?? VICTIM: Art dealer Todd Brassner sold prints for the late artist Andy Warhol, left
VICTIM: Art dealer Todd Brassner sold prints for the late artist Andy Warhol, left

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