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Congolese army says it has foiled a coup attempt. Self-exiled opposition figure threatens president KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s army said it foiled a coup attempt early Sunday and arrested the perpetrators, including several foreigners, following attacks on the presidential palace and the residence of a close ally of Congo’s president that left three people dead in the capital, Kinshasa. https://apnews.com/article/congo-kinshasa-gunfire-1a148e35f0cbbae14b2101413f788708?

Georgia’s president vetoes media legislation that has provoked weeks of protests TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s president on Saturday vetoed the so-called “Russian law” targeting media that has sparked weeks of mass protests. https://apnews.com/article/georgia-media-law-0b626b2cfe22761c03e6cce1b2a59d1a?

Giuliani becomes final defendant served indictment among 18 accused in Arizona fake electors case Arizona’s attorney general says former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been served an indictment in the state’s fake elector case alongside 17 other defendants for his role in an attempt to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. https://apnews.com/article/arizona-fake-electors-charges-2020-election-giuliani-86f4938ff4570a833dd4d1c44705460f?

Helicopter carrying Iran’s hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. https://apnews.com/article/iran-helicopter-raisi-b483ba75e4339cfb0fe00c7349d023b8?

Member of Israel’s War Cabinet says he’ll quit the government June 8 unless there’s a new war plan Benny Gantz, a popular centrist member of Israel’s three-member War Cabinet, threatened Saturday to resign from the government if it doesn’t adopt a new plan in three weeks’ time for the war in Gaza, a decision that would leave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more reliant on far-right allies. Read more.

Jesus is their savior, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president’s backers say he shares faith, values As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian imagery and rhetoric while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians. Read more. ps:Seriously??????????

US prisoners are being assigned dangerous jobs. But what happens if they are hurt or killed? Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of prisoners are put to work every year, some of whom are seriously injured or killed after being given dangerous jobs with little or no training, The Associated Press found. They include prisoners fighting wildfires, operating heavy machinery or working on industrial-sized farms and meat-processing plants. They are part of a labor system that largely denies them rights and protections guaranteed to other American workers. Read more.

Is Eatonville or St. Augustine the right spot for a Florida Black History Museum? After months of lobbying and debate, the choice has come down between Eatonville and St. Augustine, the clear front-runners to be home to the first Florida Museum of Black History. The two appear to be neck-and-neck in the view of a splintered task force which must recommend a site by the end of next month. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/19/is-eatonville-or-st-augustine-the-right-spot-for-a-florida-black-history-museum/?

🎒 Detroit's history of unequal schools Data: Stanford Education Data Archive. Map: Axios Visuals Friday marked the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, and schools are growing more segregated in many U.S. cities. Spotlight: In and around Detroit, a legacy of redlining, systemic racism, population loss are among factors that have perpetuated inequitable school districts. There's a long history of whiter, wealthier schools with more funding per pupil, Axios Detroit's Annalise Frank writes. By the numbers: The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area's students in 2022 were 55% white, 27.4% Black and 7.3% Hispanic. 48% of students were eligible for free lunch, according to the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. The same project zoomed in on Detroit public schools. They were 80% Black — similar to the city's 77% Black population — and 13% Hispanic, 4% white and 87% free-lunch eligible. Between the lines: "We can get lost in the conversation around schools not being diverse" instead of focusing on whether every school has equal access to funding, says Aja Denise Reynolds, a professor at Wayne State in Detroit. "I think that's a better place that we put our energy, versus 'schools aren't diverse.'" Keep reading ... Catch up on Axios' Brown v. Board anniversary coverage.

Bibi blocks meetings with U.S. officials Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Noam Moskowitz/picture alliance via Getty Images Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has banned Israel's intelligence and security chiefs from meeting with U.S. officials and lawmakers multiple times since the war in Gaza began, U.S. and Israeli officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid. Why it matters: Netanyahu seems to be trying to control what American politicians and diplomats hear from Israel — at a time when his government is deeply divided over his war strategy, and relations with the U.S. are growing more tense, the officials said. 👂 What we're hearing: For decades, congressional delegations and senior White House and State Department officials who've visited Israel routinely have met with the heads of its military and security services. But over the past few months, Netanyahu — who is directly in charge of the Mossad intelligence agency and Shin Bet security agency, and must approve their meetings with U.S. politicians and officials — has tried to prevent several such meetings. Three weeks ago, Netanyahu banned the directors of Mossad and Shin Bet from meeting with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the U.S. officials said. Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, requested the meetings during his visit to Israel last month. Netanyahu met with Rubio himself. 🔎 Between the lines: The leaders of those agencies think Israel needs to craft a clearer strategy for post-war Gaza. In the past few days, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and cabinet Minister Benny Gantz have publicly demanded that Netanyahu draft a post-war strategy. Netanyahu rejects the need for a strategy until Hamas is defeated. Keep reading.

Booming business of eternal youth Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios Consumers, especially the rich, are spending big on the colossal, growing longevity industry — spas, food subscriptions, gym memberships and pills, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. 📈 Why it matters: The wellness industry is worth nearly $500 billion in the U.S. and $2 trillion globally, McKinsey says. But there's a growing gap between what's available to wealthy consumers and everyone else. Many new offerings come at sky-high prices. State of play: The wellness market is doubling down on rich customers with exclusive, luxury, hyper-personalized offerings, according to the Global Wellness Institute, an industry research group. Think invite-only Pilates classes at $75 a session, $200,000 facelifts — and elite clubs charging thousands in monthly fees for saunas and ice baths. Equinox, the high-end gym chain, just rolled out a $40,000-per-year longevity add-on. Customers will get access to individually tailored training and nutrition plans, sleep coaching and more. There's a waitlist. Costs are even increasing on the cheaper end: Planet Fitness announced its first membership price hike in 26 years earlier this month. Zoom in: Then there's an even higher tier — Silicon Valley billionaires chasing the fountain of youth. Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Bryan Johnson famously spends $2 million a year on health and longevity treatments, including weekly acid peels and blood transfusions from his teenage son. He eats a strict vegan diet, does daily meticulously planned workouts and takes near-constant blood, stool and urine tests to monitor his health, Bloomberg's Ashlee Vance reports. Tech titans Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have all invested millions in anti-aging startups. 🔮 What's next: As more people have access to personalized fitness data through phones, watches and rings, look for tailored workouts and diets to gain popularity.

The SDA Church are likely one of (if not the only) Church that could enter into a nurturing relationship with Islam. Below is a fairly friendly statement made in the Sabbath Herald about Islam back in 1909. Adventist Review and Sabbath Herald, October 28, 1909 In the pervious article the chivalrous and romantic story of the birth of the Ottoman empire was traced. In this paper will be shown the rapid and remarkable rise of that people to opulence and power, and also the motive force back of this and all Mohammedan movements. Perhaps it will be best to take the last feature first. The Turks hold that they are descended from Japheth, the son of Noah. He was the father of three sons. The Turks teach that to his firstborn Aboul-Turk, he gave the sovereignty of Turkestan. Again: the Turks profess the religion of Mohammed: "The creed of that faith is generally compressed into the well known forumla: "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." But there is another and longer form which reads as follow: -- "I believe in God and his angels, and his books, and his prophets, and the last day, and the predestination of good and evil by God, and the resurrection after death. I bear witness to that there is no God but God, and I bear witness that Mohammed is his slave and his prophet." From the above IT MUST BE PERFECTLY CLEAR that Mohammedanism is very far from being a heathen religion, as some are wont to believe. It teaches belief in God, angels, the prophets, the last day, and the resurrection of the dead. MORE THAN THIS ABOUT ONE HALF OF THE KORAN IS A POLEMIC AGAINST POLYTHESIM AND TRINITARIANISM. In fact the word Allah is an abbreviation of Al-iah, which means the ONE, TRUE, ONLY God. I'm guessing a devout Muslim would really appreciate this Sabbath Herald article. To be honest if any Church could get great with Islam it would likely be the SDA Church. I for one wish them well in this endeavor.

May 19, 2024 Good morning. Today, my colleague Callie Holtermann explains an interesting internet trend among teenage boys. We’re also covering Israel, Indian Muslims and forever renters. — David Leonhardt Evan Jenkins for The New York Times Trending scents By Callie Holtermann Reporter on the Styles desk There’s something going on with the way teenage boys smell. It’s become a cliché for adolescents to douse themselves in Axe body spray at the first sign of puberty. But lately, teen and even tween boys with money to spare are growing obsessed with designer fragrances that cost hundreds of dollars. Ask a teenager why he wants a $200 bottle of cologne, and he might tell you he’s “smellmaxxing,” a term for enhancing one’s musk that is spreading on social media. “I started seeing a lot of videos on TikTok and thought, I don’t want to miss out,” said Logan, a 14-year-old in Chicago who has been putting his bar mitzvah money toward a collection of high-end colognes. He displays bottles from Valentino and Emporio Armani proudly, in front of his lava lamp, and considers his nearly $300 bottle of Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille to be his signature scent. “I don’t think I’ve ever smelled Axe,” he said. Some teens are buying fragrances with their allowance money, while others request them as birthday or holiday gifts from their parents (with varying levels of success). But they’re moving the needle: Teenage boys’ annual spending on fragrance rose 26 percent since last spring, according to a recent survey by an investment bank. For a story in The Times’s Style section, which was published this morning, I talked to adolescents and their parents about the rise of young scent hounds, and why the cosmetic products of adulthood seem to be catching on earlier than ever. Notes of honey I spent a few months speaking to teenagers at fragrance counters around New York and in online cologne forums. What struck me most was the language they used, which sounded more like the stuff of sommeliers than middle schoolers. The scent Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier has “a really good honey note,” said Luke Benson, a 14-year-old who lives in Orlando, Fla., and says he talks about fragrances with his friends at sleepovers. Tom Ford Noir Extreme, on the other hand, is “a lot spicier and a little bit darker.” “I’d never heard him say a designer name of anything,” Luke’s mother, Brooke, told me. Evan Jenkins for The New York Times Other teenagers name-checked obscure legumes used in perfumery or informed me of their distaste for the scent of oud. One paused our conversation to make sure I was familiar with “sillage,” a French term for how heavily a fragrance lingers in the air. (Now I am.) For many boys, the appeal of designer fragrances is in the air of maturity they confer upon their wearer. Young people say the scents make them feel more adult and talk about them in a manner that emulates the older fragrance influencers they follow online. The influencer effect Over the decades, trendy scents like Drakkar Noir and CK One have gone in and out of vogue among late teens and twenty-somethings. But TikTok influencers appear to be motivating even younger boys to seek out more expensive scents. “Social media and TikTok make people want to be more grown up,” Luke said. TikTok’s fragrance influencers recommend scents for different occasions; date night, going to the gym, attending middle school. Most prominent among them is Jeremy Fragrance, an often-shirtless German with nearly nine million followers. In his videos, he sniffs his fans, trying to guess which scents they are wearing. And a younger generation inspired by Jeremy Fragrance is coming up behind him. Jatin Arora, 18, shares daily fragrance reviews with more than a million followers. His collection of nearly 400 bottles includes many free products from brands, which seem to be catching on to the fact that these influencers can get their products in front of younger buyers. Hannah Glover, a middle-school physical fitness teacher in South Carolina, has been a little bewildered to see her 11-year-old students coming to school with $160 bottles of cologne. “These middle school kids are so impressionable,” she said. “I mean, you can sell them anything.” Glover banned spritzing in her classroom, but it wasn’t enough: Glass bottles keep shattering in students’ backpacks and unleashing their scents upon the entire school. “Sometimes I’d rather take the B.O.,” she said. ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s cabinet, threatened to leave the government unless Benjamin Netanyahu answered questions about the future of the war, including a postwar plan for Gaza. Thousands of demonstrators in Tel Aviv called on the Israeli government to negotiate a hostage deal with Hamas. Ambassadors to Israel from the U.S. and other countries gave speeches. A marketplace for survival supplies — including entire aid parcels — has emerged in Gaza. War in Ukraine In Kharkiv, Ukraine. Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times Russian forces have moved closer to the outskirts of Kharkiv, raising fears that the northeastern city — Ukraine’s second-largest — could soon be within artillery range. The new Russian defense minister is a technocrat with no military experience. He is also a true believer in Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical moves. More International News In Noida, India. Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times “It is a lifeless life”: Indian Muslims grapple with vilification under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Unchecked urban sprawl and poor infrastructure have strained Mexico City’s water supply. This summer, one critical system may stop working. In Pakistan, where people are particularly suspicious of the security services, a conspiracy theory took hold that gold-painted street performers in Islamabad were spies. France has issued scratch-and-sniff baguette postage stamps ahead of the Olympics. Politics Increased threats of violence are changing how public officials in the U.S. do their jobs: Some say they are reluctant to take on contentious issues. President Biden will deliver a commencement speech at the historically Black, all-male Morehouse College. The audience represent a slice of the electorate that is drifting toward Donald Trump. The Pentagon is expanding its capacity to wage war in space, a response to advances by China and Russia. Other Big Stories In Ithaca, N.Y. Todd Heisler/The New York Times Last year, Tommy Rath was beaten and taken away from a homeless encampment in New York. His vanishing has haunted his family and the city of Ithaca. A record number of migrants to the U.S. has left many with legitimate asylum cases unable to find a lawyer. The Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk defeated the British fighter Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. THE SUNDAY DEBATE Who has the advantage in the presidential debates? Trump. That the debates are occurring at all shows that Biden, trailing Trump in the polls, is desperate. “Time is running out to turn around the public’s dismal view of his presidency,” Liz Peek writes for The Hill. Biden. The low number of debates the candidates agreed to leaves Biden with fewer opportunities to meaningfully gaffe, especially so far out from November. “The guy whose name is on the cover of ‘The Art of the Deal’ just got outmaneuvered,” Jim Geraghty writes for The Washington Post. FROM OPINION We dont always need to use an apostrophe, John McWhorter writes. A.I. chatbots designed to provide lonely people with companionship only discourage them from forming human connections, Jessica Grose writes. Bring back movies dedicated to making us cry, Heather Havrilesky writes. Here are columns by Nicholas Kristof on an invasion of Rafah, and Ross Douthat on Trump’s Manhattan trial. A subscription to match the variety of your interests. News. Games. Recipes. Product reviews. Sports reporting. A New York Times All Access subscription covers all of it and more. Subscribe today. ADVERTISEMENT MORNING READS In the Bronx. David Dee Delgado for The New York Times Bouncing: As New York’s Mexican population has grown, lowriders have put a vivid stamp on the city’s car scene. Renters: Many people have decided that renting forever is their best — or only — option. Food fight: Is a taco a sandwich? It depends on the law. Buzz, chirp, wee-oo: Cicadas sing at volumes similar to an airplane. Listen to some species. Vows: Captain Sandy of Bravo’s “Below Deck Mediterranean” finds love on land. Lives Lived: Brig. Gen. Bud Anderson single-handedly shot down 16 German planes over Europe during World War II. After the war, he became one of America’s top test pilots during the “Right Stuff” era. He died at 102. THE INTERVIEW Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Karsten Moran for The New York Times By David Marchese This week’s subject for The Interview is the marine biologist and climate policy expert Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of the coming book “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.” We talked about how individuals might change their thinking about the climate crisis. Is it your sense that there are people who want to be involved in climate but are paralyzed by fear or despair? First of all, I don’t think there’s any one way we should be communicating about climate. Some people are very motivated by the bad news. Some people are overwhelmed by that and don’t know where to start. I just saw a study that said if we follow the most plausible possible path to decarbonization by 2050, the amount of carbon emissions already in the air will result in something like $38 trillion worth of damages every year. A future like that is going to involve sacrifices. Whether we choose to embrace it as a sacrifice or reframe it like, No, we’re actually helping — What is it that you don’t want to give up? I don’t want to give up the range of possibilities for my kids. I assume you care about other people on the planet, besides your children. You know, I just don’t know how to think about the future. I’ve done a handful of interviews with people who are thinking about the climate crisis, and the fundamental thing I’m trying to understand is how to think about the future, and I don’t feel like I understand. Perhaps it’s worth saying it’s OK not to be hopeful. I feel like there’s so much emphasis in our society on being hopeful, as if that’s the answer to unlocking everything. I’m not a hopeful person. I’m not an optimist. I see the data. I see what’s coming. But I also see the full range of possible futures. I feel like there’s so much that we could create, and the question that motivates me right now is, ‘What if we get it right?’ Read more of the interview here. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Photograph by Peter van Agtmael/Magnum, for The New York Times. Click the cover image above to read this week’s magazine. BOOKS Zoë Schlanger Heather Sten Intelligence: In “The Light Eaters,” the climate reporter Zoë Schlanger looks at how plants sense the world. By the Book: The most interesting thing the artist Kara Walker recently learned from a book? How to skin a man alive. Our editors’ picks: “The Weight of Nature,” about climate change’s impact on our brains, and five other books. Times best sellers: The celebrity memoirs “You Never Know,” by Tom Selleck with Ellis Henican, and Whoopi Goldberg’s “Bits and Pieces” are new this week on the hardcover nonfiction list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Embrace the dark side. Try a goth cake. Go bold with a yellow bag for summer. Treat your acne. Hang outdoor string lights. Read this before deciding to track your child. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For Trump’s defense team presents its case tomorrow in his trial in Manhattan. Taiwan inaugurates Lai Ching-te as president tomorrow. The French Open begins tomorrow. A British court will hear the appeal of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, against extradition to the U.S. Primary elections in Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon are on Tuesday. Kenya’s president begins a state visit to the U.S. on Thursday. Idaho’s Democratic presidential caucus is on Thursday. The Cannes Film Festival announces the winner of its Palme d’Or award on Saturday. Meal Plan Jessica Emily Marx for The New York Times If, like the Cooking editor Margaux Laskey, the weather where you are is unpredictable, you may want to prepare dishes that work whatever the forecast. In this week’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter, Margaux offers such recipes, including a shrimp pasta and grilled soy-basted chicken with spicy cashews. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was tributary. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch

THIS DAY IN HISTORY May 19 1935 Lawrence of Arabia dies T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Trem... read more 19th CENTURY 1836 Young Cynthia Anne Parker kidnapped during Native American raid 21st CENTURY 2018 Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle 1970s 1975 New York City's Chinatown shuts down to protest police brutality Africa 2016 EgyptAir flight 804 disappears over the Mediterranean Sea Art, Literature and Film History 1897 Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde is released after two years in prison Cold War 1967 Soviets ratify treaty banning nuclear weapons from outer space EUROPEAN HISTORY 1536 Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, is executed U.S. Presidents 1864 President Lincoln proposes equal treatment of soldiers' dependents World War II 1943 FDR and Winston Churchill plot D-Day

🗳️ Empty studio for CNN debate Image: CNN CNN announced that during its Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27 (40 days from now!): "To ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted in the debate, no audience will be present." Why it matters: No peanut gallery was a major demand of Biden advisers. They believe an empty TV studio will "deprive their GOP rival of a major advantage," Politico reports, since Trump supporters laughed, roared and jeered at last year's CNN town hall in New Hampshire. The empty studio also precludes protesters. 📺 You'll be able to watch free: CNN said the debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will "stream without a cable login on CNN.com. CNN will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and cable news networks in the United States." Each of the two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 were carried by at least 16 networks, according to Nielsen. The first debate was seen by 73 million viewers, the second by 63 million. (AP) ABC said on Wednesday when announcing the other debate President Biden and former President Trump have agreed to: "ABC News will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and streaming news networks." ABC's debate is Tuesday, Sept. 10, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Trump, speaker plot 2025 Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Kevin Dietsch and Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson are talking at length about plans for next year — a strong signal that the former president sees Johnson as more than an interim caretaker. Why it matters: MAGA hardliners want Johnson gone next year. That would trigger a nasty leadership fight, whether or not House Republicans keep the majority, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke and Sophia Cai report. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has been quietly positioning himself to replace Johnson as party leader. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Axios: "Everyone that's gonna be voting for President Trump hates Mike Johnson." 🔎 Behind the scenes: Trump and Johnson are aiming to avoid the legislative scramble of Trump's early days in the White House after his win in 2016, sources told Axios. The two have discussed budget priorities, and how congressional Republicans could help pass Trump's second-term agenda. They've discussed using budget reconciliation to get around the need for 60 Senate votes to pass legislation on their agenda — including energy and tax policy — if Republicans sweep the House, Senate and the White House. 👀 Between the lines: Johnson's style has helped him get away with some policy differences with Trump, people close to the two said. The speaker gives Trump ample heads-up when he plans to bring legislation to the floor, and walks Trump through his thinking when the two disagree.

Less luxury By Sami Sparber, Brianna Crane and Erin Davis Data: Zillow; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Texas is one of three states in the U.S. with fewer "million-dollar cities" than a year ago, data shows. Why it matters: Luxury real estate prices are rising elsewhere, largely because the wealthy are best positioned to buy in a market with low inventory and high mortgage rates. Reality check: Competition is cooler in Texas' major metros, where the stock of homes for sale has bounced back faster than in other parts of the country. State of play: Typical home values fell below $1 million in Sunset Valley and Volente near Austin, per a recent Zillow report, another sign of the metro's backslide from the pandemic housing boom. Meanwhile, homes in Bellaire, a city within Houston, jumped into luxury territory. By the numbers: Bellaire is among the 14 Texas cities where homes are typically worth at least $1 million, a tally that's down from 15 a year earlier, per Zillow. Eight of the areas are in Dallas-Fort Worth, led by Westlake and Highland Park. The list also includes three cities in the Austin area, San Antonio's Hill Country Village and Round Top, the antiquing haven tucked between Austin and Houston. The big picture: Persistent demand for homes outside of downtowns is partly why the number of million-dollar cities nationwide climbed from 491 to 550 in the last year, says Stephanie Anton, a Texas-based president at The Corcoran Group. The other side: Hyperlocal factors like low lake levels in Volente, which is nestled along Lake Travis, can temper housing demand, Anton tells Axios. What they're saying: "For affluent consumers, real estate isn't just a shelter decision," says Anton, who compares their motivation to buy a new home with purchasing a designer handbag. "It's about signaling who you are" and acquiring something unique.

Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools. A mile of Alabama country road, and a history of racism, separate the two schools. At the stop sign between them, even the road’s name changes. Threadgill Road, christened for a civil rights hero, becomes Whiskey Run. Black students take Threadgill to one campus; white students turn off Whiskey Run toward the other. https://www.propublica.org/article/camden-alabama-segregated-schools-brown-v-board? Illinois School Districts Sent Kids to a For-Profit Out-of-State Facility That Isn’t Vetted or Monitored Two years ago, Illinois lawmakers tried to help students with extreme needs who had a limited number of schools available to them. https://www.propublica.org/article/illinois-shrub-oak-schools-students-special-education?

May 18, 2024 Good morning. I’m off for the next two Saturdays, so today my colleague Elisabeth Egan is filling in with a story about her lunch with Reese Witherspoon, ahead of the announcement of Reese’s 100th book club pick. —Melissa Kirsch María Jesús Contreras The book club queen By Elisabeth Egan Writer at the Book Review I’d never eaten Nashville hot chicken before, and I’d never met Reese Witherspoon. But there we were — she, in a blue and white pinstripe Oxford and jeans; me, in forgettable clothing, having rolled up to Witherspoon’s office with a borrowed suitcase. You can’t very well greet the actor who played Elle Woods toting luggage with a visible burn mark across the top. (Related: Never use your carry-on as an ironing board.) I’ve been following Witherspoon’s inroads in the book world ever since I saw her in “Wild” (2014) and knew, just by the gritty, vulnerable way she embodied Cheryl Strayed that she was a fellow book lover. In 2017, Witherspoon started Reese’s Book Club, which focuses on fiction by women, about women, and reliably sends its monthly picks onto the best-seller list. Last year, print sales for the club’s selections outpaced those of Oprah’s Book Club and Read With Jenna, according to Circana Bookscan, adding up to 2.3 million copies sold. I’ve enjoyed many of Witherspoon’s picks and interviewed a number of Reese’s Book Club’s authors — including Alka Joshi, Nina Simon and Celeste Ng — for the Book Review. I wanted to talk with her, reader to reader, and the lead-up to her 100th pick seemed like the perfect time. Over lunch, Witherspoon told me that she likes to read in the morning, after exercising. (I read instead of exercising.) She organizes her books by color and prefers physical copies to digital ones. She wears reading glasses, 1.5 strength — a tidbit that didn’t make it into my story but gave me a certain middle age presbyopic nerd thrill. (By the way, the hot chicken was delicious.) “I read a lot on airplanes, while I’m traveling,” Witherspoon said. “Do you know what’s interesting? It’s hard for me to read on vacation, maybe because reading is my job.” I can relate. Many of us professional readers lament the lost luxury of enjoying books “like a normal person” instead of guzzling straight from the faucet, always a gulp away from losing the plot (literally). I know what you’re thinking: Boohoo. And you’re right! What struck me about Witherspoon’s comment was the reminder — so obvious I didn’t even ask a follow-up question — that reading is supposed to be a hobby, belonging in the same category as listening to music, dabbling in watercolor and baking bread. Why has it become so much more complicated than other pastimes? Why do so many readers turn to the “experts” — big-name book clubs, critics, BookTok — for help figuring out what to read next? Don’t get me wrong: I love being a part of the engine that fuels these recommendations, and Witherspoon clearly does too. But I still believe in the power of standing in a bookstore or library, running your fingers over the spines. Witherspoon said her original goals for Reese’s Book Club were to narrow the choices for busy readers and to “bring the book club out of your grandma’s living room and online.” Indeed, there are 882 comments beneath the club’s Instagram post about its May pick, “How to End a Love Story,” so she appears to have been successful in this regard. Now, she said, “My dream is that it gets a little bit off the digital world and back into your living room.” Even Witherspoon, doyenne of digital book clubbing, has an IRL club of her own. I second this approach. The digital world is an excellent place to get ideas and talk (or type) about books. But, to me, the difference between scrolling through videos of book hauls and talking about a great novel with a friend is the difference between walking on a treadmill and hiking in the woods. On my way home from Nashville, I popped into the airport outpost of Ann Patchett’s bookstore, Parnassus. I didn’t buy anything; my suitcase was already straining at the zipper from the six novels I packed for my 24-hour trip. (Recommendations for beach reads, coming soon!) I also didn’t impose my opinions on strangers, as I’m wont to do in the Hudson Booksellers at my home airport. I just stood there, flipping through paperbacks, enjoying the particular soundtrack of a store on a busy concourse. Wheels rolling, credit cards tapping, rushed customers asking where to find what they needed — Kristin Hannah, Fareed Zakaria, Sarah Maas, a book light, a birthday card, a bathroom. Over and over, the clerk murmured, “Will that be all?” and “Have a safe trip.” Eventually, feeling like the luckiest person who ever read under the covers by flashlight, I joined the throng of travelers and headed to my gate. By the time I finished my book, I was home. For more Here’s my full story on how Witherspoon built a literary empire. Parnassus isn’t the only literary destination in Nashville. I also visited The Bookshop, in East Nashville, a small, quiet gem dominated by one of the most gorgeous literary tablescapes I’ve ever seen. For a complete list of Reese’s Book Club’s picks, go here. Still not sure what to read next? The New York Times Book Review can help. ADVERTISEMENT THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV Nicola Coughlan in the new season of “Bridgerton.” Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix When stars of “Bridgerton,” which returned this week for Season 3, are promoted from the supporting cast, their styles are transformed. Fans call this the “Bridgerton glow-up.” Alissa Wilkinson reviewed the new Amy Winehouse biopic, “Back to Black.” “Some of the movie’s choices,” she writes, “seem aimed at rewriting her history without her consent.” The Cannes Film Festival started this week. These are the best red carpet looks. The Times joined five British “Doctor Who” fans to watch the new season. “It’s a lot more goofy than what you traditionally get,” one viewer said. The CBS sitcom “Young Sheldon” ended this week, despite still being popular. Aging child actors and the plot constraints of the show it spun off from help explain why. Alice Munro The author Alice Munro died at 92. Her short stories showed “that the humble facts of a single person’s experience, subjected to the alchemy of language and imagination and psychological insight, could provide the raw material for great literature,” Gregory Cowles writes in an appraisal. Earlier this year, the author Ben Dolnick wrote a guide for those who want to get into Munro’s work. Art The portrait of King Charles III, painted by the British artist Jonathan Yeo. Henry Nicholls/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images King Charles III’s very red portrait, unveiled this week, was very polarizing. It wasn’t the first: Read a brief history of contentious royal paintings, including one with a shirtless Prince Phillip. “Yves Klein and the Tangible World,” on display now at the Lévy Gorvy Dayan gallery in Manhattan, gathers 30 large-scale pieces with roots in performance art. Other Big Stories A small band of New Yorkers gathered, as they do almost every spring, to throw a birthday party for their former neighbor, Katharine Hepburn. The Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi earned three Michelin stars for a restaurant in Paris. Now, he’s expanding his ambitions back to Japan. Barbara Hannigan, the rare artist to have a career as both a soprano and a conductor, will lead the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. On Billie Eilish’s third album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” she takes up the craft of the love song, with her own peculiar twists. New York has spent over $100 million subsidizing Broadway — including popular musicals like “The Lion King” and “Wicked” — to help the industry through the pandemic. Some say the program lavishes taxpayer money on shows that don’t need it. THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War President Biden and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in 2022. Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden wants a three-way diplomatic accord among the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia. But Israeli officials are resisting their part of the deal: a cease-fire in Gaza and steps toward a Palestinian state. In Gaza, Israeli troops recovered the bodies of three hostages whom Hamas captured during the Oct. 7 attacks. Faculty at U.C.L.A. voted not to rebuke the university’s chancellor over how he handled counterprotesters’ attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment. Other Big Stories Workers at two Mercedes-Benz factories in Alabama voted against joining the United Automobile Workers, setting back the labor union’s efforts to gain ground in the South. The man who bludgeoned Nancy Pelosi’s husband after breaking into their San Francisco home in 2022 received a 30-year prison sentence. TikTok added guardrails on weight- and dieting-related posts. Its algorithm will no longer shows users videos about “extended intermittent fasting,” excessive exercise and more. A subscription to match the variety of your interests. News. Games. Recipes. Product reviews. Sports reporting. A New York Times All Access subscription covers all of it and more. Subscribe today. CULTURE CALENDAR By Alexis Soloski 🎥 “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Friday) Few action franchises have run so long or at such high octane as “Mad Max.” Set in a postapocalyptic Australia, the movies have spent 45 years furnishing audiences with trucks, guns, thrills and some very big booms. In 2015, the franchise gave its wasteland a feminist gloss with “Mad Max: Fury Road,” starring a ferocious Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa. And maybe we did need another hero, because that character has returned, now played by the wide-eyed Anya Taylor-Joy. In this prequel, Taylor-Joy, covered in grit, grease and dirt, plays a younger Furiosa, newly kidnapped and desperate to find her way home. ADVERTISEMENT RECIPE OF THE WEEK Julia Gartland for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Potato Chip Omelet Most three-ingredient recipes are pretty ho-hum; basic dishes to satisfy your hunger but not necessarily whet your appetite. Ferran Adrià’s potato chip omelet is a salty, crisp-edged exception. Calling for just eggs, potato chips and good olive oil, this minimalist combination is a riff on a classic Spanish tortilla, but without any chopping required. Add a sprinkle of smoked pimentón or sliced chives for color and verve, or some grated Manchego for creaminess. Or leave it be; it’s a perfectly simple dish all by itself. REAL ESTATE Rachel Watts and her dog Winnie near the banks of the Hudson River. Tony Cenicola/The New York Times The hunt: A New Yorker took her $400,000 budget to the Hudson Valley. Which home did she choose? Play our game. What you get for $400,000: A 1924 bungalow in Lexington, Ky.; a four-bedroom house in Blairstown, N.J.; or a Colonial Revival house in Buffalo. For sale: The loft-style SoHo building where John Lennon and Yoko Ono once lived. LIVING Sonia Pulido Sex and relationships: Experts say communication is essential for true intimacy. But what if your significant other won’t open up? Skin care: Some pimple patches are more helpful than others. Visiting Italy? Try these essential pasta dishes, recommended by the experts. Forget weekend escapes: How to, realistically, care for yourself as a caregiver. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER ‘Do I really need a portable air purifier?’ Even if your home has a modern HVAC system, Wirecutter experts say there’s real value in having a portable air purifier, too. Running one on high for a few minutes cleans a room quickly. This can make a big difference during moments of increased air pollution — throughout a heavy pollen season or if food burns in the kitchen, for example. It can keep air squeaky clean running on auto. And during an acute weather event, like wildfire smoke invading your home, an air purifier is an important part of protecting yourself. — Annemarie Conte GAME OF THE WEEK Manchester City teammates celebrate in London on May 14. Kin Cheung/Associated Press English Premiere League soccer: The race for the Premiere League title comes down to the final weekend of the season. Manchester City, which has dominated English soccer in recent years, can capture its fourth straight title with a win over West Ham — a feat no Premiere League team has ever achieved. But second-place Arsenal still has a shot. If Man City loses, and Arsenal beats Everton, the London squad would win its first title in two decades. Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Man City plays on NBC, and Arsenal on USA. For more “City winning the league is just what happens. To be bothered by it would be like getting annoyed by the colour of the sky,” Charlie Eccleshare writes in The Athletic. Arsenal should be proud of its performance this season, with or without a title, Art de Roché writes. On the field, this was a banner year for the Premiere League. Behind the scenes, though, it was a mess of lawsuits, infighting and looming government regulation. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was objected. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa Correction: The sports section in Thursday’s newsletter repeated N.B.A. and N.F.L. news from the previous day’s newsletter. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch

THIS DAY IN HISTORY May 18 1980 Mount St. Helens erupts At 8:32 a.m. PDT on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens, a volcanic peak in southwestern Washington, suffers a massive eruption, killing 57 people and devastating some 210 square miles of wilderness. Called Louwala-Clough, or “the Smoking Mountain,” by Native Americans, Mount St. Helens is located... read more 21st Century 2012 Facebook raises $16 billion in largest tech IPO in U.S. history American Revolution 1783 United Empire Loyalists reach Canada Art, Literature and Film History 1593 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe 1980 Ian Curtis of Joy Division dies by suicide Civil War 1863 The Siege of Vicksburg commences Crime 1926 Popular evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears India 1974 India joins the nuclear club Native American History 1871 Chief Satanta attacks wagon trains, killing teamsters RELIGION 1920 Pope John Paul II born U.S. Presidents 1860 Abraham Lincoln nominated for presidency at Republican Convention U.S. Government 1896 Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson World War I 1917 U.S. Congress passes Selective Service Act

The Supreme Court will soon decide Moody v. NetChoice, LLC & NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton, addressing whether social media platforms can ban content based on political or religious views. View the full article

Eatonville seeks $15 million in tourist tax for Black history museum bid A group hoping to persuade the Legislature to award the Florida Museum of Black History to the historic town of Eatonville has made another move to strengthen its bid, seeking $15 million in tourist-tax revenue for the project. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/17/eatonville-seeks-15-million-in-tourist-tax-for-black-history-museum-bid/?

🥖 1 for the road: Paris friendliness pledge Photo: Adam Davy/PA via Getty Images France is determined to shake its clichéd reputation for rudeness to welcome more than 1 million Summer Olympics visitors set to inject $12 billion into the economy, Axios' Ivana Saric reports. 🤝 More than 1,600 Parisian businesses signed a hospitality charter with various commitments to simplify travelers' experiences and promote sustainability. 📜 Participating businesses will clearly display the languages spoken by staff, and offer menus and information in multiple languages. Workers are being trained by the city to answer tourists' questions, The Washington Post reported.

"Dumpster fire" hearing spurs groans about Congress' new low House members in both parties are cringing at a turbulent Oversight Committee hearing that was bedeviled by members insulting each others' appearances, constant heckling and allegations of drinking. https://www.axios.com/2024/05/17/oversight-merrick-garland-contempt-hearing?