Members phkrause Posted January 3 Author Members Share Posted January 3 January 3, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the resignation of Harvard’s president — as well as Israel, Robert Menendez and Ukrainian TV news. Claudine Gay Adam Glanzman for The New York Times The new campus politics For the third time in less than a year, the president of a top U.S. university has resigned under pressure. The details differ, but all three cases highlight the ways that the country’s political polarization is roiling elite campuses. These campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, among both professors and students, and have increasingly become targets of criticism from conservatives and some moderates. In today’s newsletter, my colleagues and I will give you the latest news and help put it in context. Yesterday’s resignation came from Claudine Gay, who stepped down after only six months as Harvard’s president. Gay initially survived her uneven response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, including her personal apology for her congressional testimony last month, but she could not overcome continuing evidence of plagiarism in her earlier academic work. Conservative activists, like Christopher Rufo, and The New York Post, the tabloid run by the Murdoch family, helped document and publicize the plagiarism allegations. Gay’s resignation comes less than a month after Elizabeth Magill stepped down as president of the University of Pennsylvania, having served only a year and a half. Like Gay, Magill had apologized for her comments about free speech and genocide during last month’s congressional hearing. The other of the three cases may seem unrelated: Last summer, Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned as Stanford’s president after a university inquiry found that his earlier academic work contained errors — while also finding he personally had not committed the errors and clearing him of other allegations. Some conservatives have argued that Tessier-Lavigne might have survived if he hadn’t previously angered progressive professors on Covid, free speech and other issues. The resignations of Gay and Magill show how the Hamas attacks have scrambled campus politics. Before Oct. 7, the political right was very weak at many universities. Presidents rarely put their standing at risk if they upset campus conservatives. At Harvard, only 17 percent of undergraduates identify as conservative, according to a survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The share is 13 percent at Stanford and 9 percent at Penn. But the slowness of some presidents to denounce the Oct. 7 attacks has led to widespread criticism, including from some moderates and liberals. Jewish groups have accused the universities of tolerating antisemitism in ways that they don’t tolerate other forms of bigotry. As my colleague Nicholas Confessore explained on a recent episode of “The Daily,” the responses to Oct. 7 expanded “the audience of people who might say there is something wrong at these places.” (In a new article, Nicholas notes that conservative activists and liberal professors agree that Gay’s departure represents a victory for the political right in the escalating battle over American higher education.) The resignations of Gay and Magill will not end any of these debates. Campuses remain progressive places, where students and professors will continue to criticize Israel. And they will continue to influence American politics and culture, as they have for decades. But the resignations have shown that university presidents are now navigating an even more complex environment than they were before. Commentary The editorial board of The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper, argued last week that Gay had committed plagiarism — but a sloppy version, in which she did not cite adequately the source of her words, rather than a dishonest version. Gay should remain as president, The Crimson wrote, adding that her loudest critics were “conservative activists intent on discrediting higher education.” “What happened to Claudine Gay is a playbook they will follow again and again,” Natasha Alford of The Grio wrote, referring to Gay’s critics. “They will do whatever it takes to undermine, humiliate and unseat Black people in positions of power they don’t want there.” In Gay’s resignation letter, she wrote that it had been “frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.” “TWO DOWN”: Elise Stefanik, a House Republican who questioned Gay and Magill at the congressional hearing, claimed credit for their resignations. The Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus wrote last month that Gay should resign because staying on would “send a bad signal to students about the gravity of her conduct.” John McWhorter, a Columbia professor and Times Opinion writer, argued that the extent of Gay’s plagiarism, combined with her thin academic record for a Harvard president, merited her resignation. Bret Stephens, a Times columnist, wrote that Harvard’s selection of Gay in 2022 represented higher education’s pivot away from intellectual excellence in favor of social justice. More on the resignation Before the resignation announcement, The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet, published more accusations of plagiarism yesterday. Gay said she quit after “consultation” with members of Harvard’s governing board. The board had affirmed its support for her last month but said it had found “inadequate citation” in her work. Gay was Harvard’s first Black president, and Black leaders — including Randall Kennedy, a Harvard legal scholar — expressed dismay at her downfall. Alan Garber, an economist and physician who is the university’s chief academic officer, will serve as interim president. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War After the blast in Lebanon. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters An explosion in a Beirut suburb killed a top Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, and two commanders. U.S. officials said Israel was responsible. The assassinations heightened fears of a wider war in the region. Israel didn’t warn U.S. officials about the attack in advance, but briefed them as it was underway. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Hamas and another Palestinian group used Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital to command their forces, store weapons and hold hostages. Maersk, the Danish shipping company, said its vessels would stay away from the Red Sea, where the Houthi militia have attacked ships. The Israeli government signaled that it would not immediately challenge the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down its divisive judicial overhaul. The court’s ruling, like the war, will be crucial to Israel’s future and future identity, Steven Erlanger writes. Politics Federal prosecutors charged Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, with taking bribes to help Qatar. He faces similar charges related to Egypt. Speaker Mike Johnson will lead more than 60 House Republicans on a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border today, in a bid to push Democrats to agree to immigration changes. A vital crossing between Mexico and Arizona will reopen tomorrow, the authorities said. It shut last month to help cope with a surge in migration. Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five wrongly imprisoned for rape in the 1990s, took his oath as a member of New York’s City Council. An appeals court ruled that emergency room doctors in Texas are not required to perform emergency abortions, despite federal guidance. 2024 Election Donald Trump appealed a decision that barred him from Maine’s primary ballot. See a map of states with active lawsuits seeking to disqualify Trump. Chris Christie has seized on Nikki Haley’s failure to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War, hoping it will help him win over anti-Trump Republicans. Haley and Ron DeSantis qualified for a CNN debate in Iowa next week. Trump plans to skip it for a Fox News town hall. Vivek Ramaswamy has maintained a grueling campaign schedule in Iowa, while barely shifting his poll numbers. International On Telemarathon. Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times Telemarathon, Ukraine’s single source of television news, was intended to counter Russian war disinformation. Viewers complain that it often paints too rosy a picture. Prince Frederik, who will soon ascend to Denmark’s throne, is part of a generation of royals who have embraced environmental issues. China removed nine high-ranking military figures from its legislature as part of a shake-up by Xi Jinping. Other Big Stories Thousands of American women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills in case they need them someday, a study found. Trends suggest inflation could cool further in 2024 but a few risks linger. Opinions Snow-dependent traditions are becoming a thing of the past, Benjamin Moser writes. The United States owes it to the people of Afghanistan to maintain a diplomatic presence there, Kathy Gannon writes. Katherine Miller and Patrick Healy discuss the Iowa Republican caucus. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS In Cianjur, Indonesia. Contested ground: A disputed study declaring Indonesia home to the world’s oldest pyramid has prompted warnings about the dangers of nationalist mythmaking. Decluttering dating: Overwhelmed by apps, profiles and not-quite-matches? Here’s how to start the year fresh. Eyes on the sky: The Quadrantids meteor shower reaches its peak tonight. Lives Lived: Frank Ryan was a star quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the 1960s. He also earned a doctorate in math, taught at Yale and brought computers to the House of Representatives. He died at 87. SPORTS Women’s basketball: Iowa defeated Michigan State, 76-73. Caitlin Clark, Iowa’s star guard, unleashed a buzzer-beating 3 to win the game. Allegations: Jimmy Kimmel threatened to sue the Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for insinuating that he would be named in documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case. N.F.L.: The league fined the Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper $300,000 for throwing a drink on a Jacksonville Jaguars fan during a game. Soccer: The Spain star Jennifer Hermoso gave evidence in court against Luis Rubiales, the former federation boss who kissed her on the mouth after her team’s World Cup win. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS The skeleton at the David Aaron gallery. via David Aaron Dino debate: Five years ago in the hills of Montana, fossil hunters found the remains of a dinosaur that had many characteristics of a Tyrannosaurus rex — giant legs, small arms and a long tail. But this one was unusually small. The discovery has divided the world of paleontology: Was it a young T. rex, or a different species named Nanotyrannus? More on culture This year’s race for the Best Picture Oscar will be competitive. The Times’s film columnist narrows down the 13 movies with the strongest chances. America Ferrera tells the story behind her “Barbie” monologue. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Testani for The New York Times Whip up a one-pot mushroom and leek pasta. Get fit without going broke with these cheap workouts. Stop murdering houseplants; buy Lego flowers. Detect water leaks with a smart sensor. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was blowpipe. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David P.S. Mike Rosenwald, who has written sparkling obituaries for The Washington Post, is joining The Times’s Obituaries desk. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 4 Author Members Share Posted January 4 January 4, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re trying to make A.I. more comprehensible — and also covering Iran, Donald Trump and a Tetris prodigy. ChatGPT Jackie Molloy for The New York Times First drafts I want to make a confession: I don’t understand a lot of the hype around artificial intelligence. Like a lot of other people, I tried ChatGPT after it was released, and I was impressed. But I’ve been mostly disappointed since then. When I’ve asked it to analyze a data set, its answers have included errors. When I ask about historical events, the information isn’t much better than what’s on Wikipedia. When I ask about recent events, the bot tells me that it doesn’t have access to data after Jan. 2022. I don’t doubt that A.I. will eventually be a big deal. But much of the discussion today feels vague and impenetrable for nonexperts. To get a more tangible understanding, I asked my colleagues Cade Metz and Karen Weise, who cover A.I., to answer some questions. We’ve turned their answers into today’s newsletter. David: Am I wrong to be unimpressed so far? Cade and Karen: A lot of people have told us they share your experience. Our editor recently asked us to list impressive things people were doing with ChatGPT, and we really had to think about it. One example does seem to be writing. We are writers by profession, but writing does not come easily for many people. Chatbots can help get out a first draft. Cade knows a dentist who uses it to help write emails to his staff. Karen overheard some teachers in a coffee shop say they were using it to draft college recommendation letters. A friend used it to produce a meal plan for a weeklong vacation, asking it to propose menus and a grocery list that was a helpful starting point. But the chatbots have an inherent problem with producing wrong information, what the industry calls “hallucinations.” A lawyer representing Michael Cohen, the onetime fixer for Donald Trump, recently submitted a brief to a federal court that mistakenly included fictitious court cases. As it turns out, a Google chatbot had invented the cases. David: What’s an example of something meaningful that people may be able to do with A.I. soon? Cade and Karen: Companies like OpenAI are transforming chatbots into what they call “A.I. agents.” Basically, this is a fancy term for technology that will go out onto the internet and take actions on your behalf, like searching for plane flights to New York or turning a spreadsheet into a chart with just a few words of commands. So far the chatbots have primarily focused on words, but the newest technology will work from images, videos and sound. Imagine uploading images of a math question that included diagrams and charts, and then asking the system to answer it. Or generating a video based on a short description. David: Let’s talk about the dark side. The apocalyptic fears that A.I. will begin killing people feel sci-fi-ish, which causes me to dismiss them. What are real reasons for concern? Cade and Karen: A.I. systems can be mysterious, even to the people who create them. They are designed around probabilities, so they are unpredictable. The worriers fret that because the systems learn from more data than any human could consume, they could wreak havoc as they are woven into stock markets, military systems and other vital systems. But all the talk of these hypothetical risks can reduce the focus on more realistic problems. Already we are seeing A.I. produce better misinformation for China and other nations and write more seductive and successful phishing emails to scam people. A.I. has the potential to make people even more distrustful and polarized. David: The lack of regulation over smartphones and social media has aggravated some big societal problems in the past 15 years. If some government regulators called you into their office and asked how to avoid being so far behind with A.I., what lessons would your reporting suggest? Cade and Karen: Regulators need to educate themselves from a broad range of experts, not just big tech. This technology is extremely complicated, and the people building it often exaggerate both the positives and the negatives. Regulators need to understand, for instance, that the threat to humanity is overblown, but other threats are not. Right now there is very little transparency around almost every aspect of A.I. systems, which makes it hard to keep in check. A prime example: These systems learn their skills from massive amounts of data, and the major companies have not disclosed the particulars. The companies might be using personal data without consent. Or the data might contain hate speech. Related: Research from Stanford University suggests that A.I. tools have not increased cheating in high schools so far, The Times’s Natasha Singer explains. Do you use A.I. in your everyday life? If so, tell us how — with an email to themorning@nytimes that has “AI use” in the subject line. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Iran Explosions A photograph from the blast site released by Iranian state media. Mehr News Agency, via Associated Press Two explosions in Iran killed at least 84 people at a memorial for the slain military leader Qassim Suleimani, Iranian officials said. Iran blamed Israel for the blasts. But experts noted that they were unlike Israel’s other attacks in Iran, which carefully targeted leaders. Israel-Hamas War Hezbollah’s leader vowed revenge for the suspected Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, in Lebanon. The killing deprived Hamas of a key strategist. After the strike, the Biden administration moved to step up diplomacy with Lebanon, to pressure Hezbollah not to escalate the conflict. A dozen nations, including the U.S. and Britain, warned the Iranian-backed Houthi militia of consequences if it continued to attack ships in the Red Sea. The Israeli military said that a hostage was killed during a rescue attempt in Gaza last week, but that it did not yet know whether by Hamas or its own forces. Israel said it dismantled a Hamas-built tunnel under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital in November. Israel’s Supreme Court postponed the enactment of a law that makes it harder to remove a prime minister, a setback for Benjamin Netanyahu. 2024 Election The U.S. Supreme Court. Kenny Holston/The New York Times Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a state court ruling excluding him from Colorado’s primary ballot. Several state capitol buildings were evacuated after bomb threats as a climate of intimidation intensifies ahead of this year’s election. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on presidential ballots as an independent in Utah, the first state to grant him access. President Biden plans to speak about threats to democracy at Valley Forge to mark the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Harry Truman, like Biden, oversaw high prices but low unemployment and strong economic growth. Voters weren’t overjoyed then, either, Nate Cohn writes. More on Politics Unsealed documents offered no new names connected to Jeffrey Epstein but did reveal details about his relationships with Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, will require all school districts to adopt “scientifically proven” approaches to literacy by 2025. More than 1,200 people have been arrested and over 450 have been sent to jail or prison as part of the Jan. 6 inquiry. A lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general against Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s longtime leader, could oust him from the group. Harvard Resignation The word “context” undid Claudine Gay’s Harvard presidency. Her resignation letter, and a letter from Harvard’s board, lacked context, the critic A.O. Scott writes. In an essay for The Times, Gay writes that attacks on her were part of a coordinated attempt to undermine the legitimacy of trusted institutions and ruin their leaders’ credibility. Gay’s brief presidency has ignited discussions about race, and what role it plays in who gets ahead and how they are judged. In Times Opinion, Ross Douthat writes that higher education’s lurch to the left over the past decade has helped radicalize conservatives, while Charles Blow writes that criticism of Gay was a project of defilement meant to reverse progress. International Russia and Ukraine agreed to their biggest exchange of war prisoners in a deal that the United Arab Emirates brokered. How did every passenger of Flight 516 survive the airplane fire in Tokyo? A well-trained crew, an advanced plane and a relative absence of panic. Logging has damaged millions of acres of forests in Ontario and Quebec, making the landscape more susceptible to wildfire and less able to support wildlife, a study found. Other Big Stories At John F. Kennedy Airport. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times Covid cases have risen but without a widespread surge in deaths. “So far, we’re in relatively good shape,” an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins said. Florida’s surgeon general called for a halt in the use of Covid vaccines, citing debunked safety concerns. Federal labor officials accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees who criticized its chief executive, Elon Musk. As bees and other pollinators become more scarce, some flowers are evolving to have less sex. Opinions With A.I., Democrats must not repeat the mistakes of globalization, Representative Ro Khanna writes. The Blue Lives Matter flag divides America against itself, Ezekiel Kweku argues. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Willis Gibson David Macdonald Prodigy: Meet the 13-year-old from Oklahoma thought to be the first person to “beat” Tetris. Social Qs: “My friend offered to dogsit, then backed out when her mother died. Now what?” Tales of the underworld: ValTown, an account on X, spotlights gangs and drug kingpins of the 1980s and 1990s — and how crime and celebrity often intersect. From London to Paris: A European rail renaissance is well underway. Lives Lived: Maurice Hines was a high-wattage song-and-dance man who rose to stardom as a child tap-dancing with his brother, then performed on and off Broadway. Hines died at 80. SPORTS Golf: Rory McIlroy said the Saudi-financed LIV Tour exposed flaws in how the PGA Tour deals with sponsorships and player commitments. Blowout: The Grambling State women’s basketball team beat the College of Biblical Studies by 141 points, a record margin. Teenager: Britain’s newest star is a 16-year-old darts player. There are few people in sports with parallel successes, Victor Mather writes. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Aaron and André Eanes. Amir Hamja/The New York Times Star in the making: For those who don’t follow football, Travis Kelce’s leap into the culture last year — hosting “Saturday Night Live,” dating the world’s biggest pop singer — seemed to come from nowhere. But his success wasn’t a fluke: His business managers, the Eanes brothers, had been slowly constructing it for years. “We positioned Travis to be world famous,” André Eanes said. More on culture Several prominent museums including The Museum of Fine Arts Boston have suffered cyberattacks. Rage Against the Machine will no longer tour or play live, the band’s drummer announced. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Armando Rafael for The New York Times Use your favorite blend of nuts, dried fruit and spices to make energy bars. Work out in Wirecutter-approved leggings. Create a home fitness corner. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was challenge. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David P.S. Tracy Bennett, the editor of Wordle, explains how she approaches her own guesses (when she forgets what word she picked for that day, that is). Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 7 Author Members Share Posted January 7 January 5, 2024 By German Lopez Good morning. We’re covering the coming months of the war in Ukraine — plus, migration, the Middle East and a volcanic moon. In Kyiv. Laura Boushnak for The New York Times Beyond the front lines The war in Ukraine has again entered a new phase. With neither side believing that it can make significant territorial gains, the action has expanded beyond the front lines. Over the past week, Russia has bombed Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and other cities far from the front. The aim is not to gain territory, but to destroy infrastructure and wear down Ukrainians by making their lives harder. By doing so, Russia hopes to undermine the impressive national unity that Ukraine has maintained over the past two years. Ukraine responded with missile attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod. Ukraine has also intensified its use of guerrilla tactics over the past few months. It blew up a train in Russia, used sea drones to attack Russia’s navy in the Black Sea and destroyed infrastructure in the Russian-controlled peninsula of Crimea. Ukraine is trying to demonstrate that it can still make progress, even as it has struggled to retake territory in the largely Russian-controlled Donbas. By The New York Times The attacks are “an acknowledgment of the stalemate,” said Stacie Goddard, an international security expert at Wellesley College. “This is all they can do.” Today’s newsletter explains why these tactics will likely define the war in the coming months. A continued stalemate The new phase is a response to disappointments that both sides have experienced. Russia failed to take Kyiv and topple Ukraine’s government in the early days of the war, and last year failed to expand its territory by much. It now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian land, a large portion of which it seized in 2014, rather than during the current war. Ukraine’s disappointments have been more recent. During a much anticipated counteroffensive that began last summer, Ukraine mostly failed to break through Russian lines in the east and southeast. Leaders on both sides have come to recognize that dislodging a dug-in enemy is extremely difficult. Both sides’ militaries are also depleted. Russia’s army is running short on manpower and equipment. To carry out a new offensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin would most likely need to call a new draft, which might be unpopular and weaken public support for the war. Ukraine’s troops are similarly exhausted, and its supplies are running low. Ukrainian battalions report that they have reduced their artillery firing by as much as 90 percent compared with last summer. “This is perhaps the bleakest time for Ukraine’s military,” my colleague Eric Schmitt, who covers national security, said. Ukrainian officials argue that only more Western support can turn things around. But it is not clear that aid will come. In Europe, far-right parties, which are less supportive of aid, have gained traction. Hungary’s far-right government recently blocked additional E.U. aid for Ukraine, and other countries are now trying to decide whether to offer support through other channels. In the U.S., congressional Republicans have blocked further aid until Democrats agree to changes to immigration policy. And this year’s elections could put Donald Trump, who is skeptical of more aid, in the White House. “For Putin, the main events will be in Washington,” my colleague Julian Barnes said. Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times The coming months A major question about the near term is whether the two sides will move closer to a peace agreement. Putin seems more open to a cease-fire that would let Russia keep the territory it has now, as The Times reported last month. To that end, Russia seems focused on holding its gains and continuing to bomb Ukrainian cities to damage civilian morale. Russia is unlikely to carry out a big offensive, but it might try to make small advances in the parts of the Donbas that it doesn’t already control. U.S. officials have advised Ukraine to rebuild this year, and not to attempt a new counteroffensive. Still, Ukrainian leaders believe that they need to show progress on the battlefield to shore up Western support. At the least, Ukraine is likely to continue its guerrilla tactics, sabotaging infrastructure deep in Russian territory and hitting Russia’s navy. Wars are unpredictable, and a surprising breakthrough from either side remains possible. But the chances have risen that the next 12 months of war will end up in a stalemate. For more: North Korea is giving Russia ballistic missiles for its war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian fighter jets and other military technology, the White House said. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS 2024 Election Ron DeSantis criticized Donald Trump’s abortion stance at a CNN town hall in Iowa, where he made his most forceful attacks yet against the former president. In another town hall broadcast right after, Nikki Haley appeared uncomfortable and on the defensive over a string of recent campaign missteps. In a new ad, Chris Christie said he “made a mistake” when he endorsed Trump in 2016. Trump has used cajoling phone calls and threats on social media to win Republican endorsements. The head of the Teamsters union, which endorsed President Biden in 2020 but has yet to back a 2024 candidate, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Migration Democratic leaders in cities thousands of miles from the border want more federal help to deal with migrant inflows. Mayor Eric Adams sued 17 bus companies that he said had helped Texas officials send tens of thousands of migrants to New York City. The number of migrants from Africa crossing the southern border is on the rise, as smuggling networks capitalize on growing restrictions in Europe. In Eagle Pass, Texas, emergency workers are overwhelmed by calls to assist migrants. Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose border district includes Eagle Pass, once broke with his party on immigration. Now he has swung into line. More on Politics The Trump International Hotel in Washington, since renamed. Kenny Holston for The New York Times Trump’s businesses received at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments during his presidency, most of it from China, according to a report from House Democrats. Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2015, must pay $260,000 to a couple whom she denied a license. Middle East ISIS claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a memorial procession in Iran that killed 84 people. A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed a senior leader of an Iranian-linked militant group. The Iraqi government called the attack “no different from a terrorist act.” Cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have forced more than 150,000 people on both sides to flee their homes. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is beginning a weeklong diplomatic tour of the Middle East. A Palestinian man from East Jerusalem was captured by Hamas on Oct. 7. His family want to know who killed him. More International News The South African athlete Oscar Pistorius left prison on parole after serving more than seven years for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Kim Jong-un’s young daughter, Kim Ju-ae, is most likely to succeed him as North Korea’s leader, South Korean officials believe. A major French retailer announced it would no longer sell PepsiCo products because of “unacceptably” high prices. A recent surge in sightings of Chinese balloons over Taiwan is seen by experts as an intimidation tactic ahead of elections next week. Five years ago, a Lithuanian judge ruled against Soviet officers over a crackdown on pro-independence protesters in 1991. That has made her a target for a Russian court. Other Big Stories In Iowa. Rachel Mummey for The New York Times A sixth grader was killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa. The gunman, a 17-year-old student, killed himself. The government releases monthly jobs figures today. They’re expected to show solid gains in December, with a slight uptick in unemployment. Two subway trains, one out of service, collided in Manhattan, injuring 24 people and derailing the out-of-service train. Use of Paxlovid, which can prevent severe illness and death from Covid, has remained low among high-risk patients. Opinions Big bankers, desperate for a fiscally conservative, socially moderate candidate, wasted money on Nikki Haley, Paul Krugman writes. “Made in the U.S.A.,” which once seemed an archaic rallying cry, is guiding the country toward self-sufficiency, Rachel Slade writes. Modern technology can diminish attention spans. On The Ezra Klein Show, an expert offers advice to counteract attention fatigue. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS A plume of material ejected from the volcano Prometheus. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Io: A NASA mission sent back images of the most eruptive world in the solar system. The silliest goose: A new ChatGPT update made it easier to create images. Some people tried to push the chatbot to its limits. N.Y.P.D.: A police dance team is finding its niche in a department where most clubs pursue traditionally macho pastimes. Lives Lived: Glynis Johns won a Tony in 1973 for her portrayal of a world-weary actress in Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.” Before then, she was best known for her role in the Disney musical “Mary Poppins.” She died at 100. SPORTS N.B.A.: The Los Angeles Lakers’ coach, Darvin Ham, has lost support in the locker room as the team careens toward a low point in the season. N.H.L.: Connor Bedard, the 18-year-old Chicago Blackhawks rookie, became the youngest player named to the All-Star team in the league’s history. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Dmitry Rybolovlev Benjamin Bechet for The New York Times Fraud in the art world: In 2013, the Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev spent $2 billion buying artwork, including Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” and “Tête,” a sculpture by Modigliani. In the years that followed, he began to suspect that a man who had advised him on the sales had been boosting their prices, inventing rejected bids or secretly buying the works himself before reselling them. Now, Rybolovlev has sued the famed auction house Sotheby’s, accusing it of helping the adviser inflate the prices. The trial begins next week in New York. More on culture The Safdie brothers, the filmmaking duo behind “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time,” will no longer make movies together, Bennie Safdie confirmed in a recent interview. Times critics share their picks for the films and performers deserving of Oscar nominations this year. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Linda Xiao for The New York Times Toast rice before cooking to make a delicious butter pilaf. Improve your relationship with food. Clean your humidifier. Meditate with the help of an app. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was optimal. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — German P.S. Adam Kushner, a sharp and curious editor, is joining The Times to help run this newsletter. We’re excited to work with him. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 7 Author Members Share Posted January 7 January 6, 2024 By Melissa Kirsch Good morning. What does it take to finally make a New Year’s resolution stick? María Jesús Contreras Unresolved issues How far into the New Year do you progress before you stop greeting people with “Happy New Year”? Is it two weeks? The end of January? Valentine’s Day? I like the practice. We’re all here together, at the threshold of the year that will be. It’s like we’re all co-owners of this new house called 2024, and we’re saying “Welcome!” to one another. How will we furnish it in the months ahead? Some of us are a week into our New Year’s resolutions, perhaps already congratulating ourselves for sticking to whatever it is we resolved. I’m of two minds about resolutions. I like the idea of declaring an intention to make a change. I deplore the idea of setting myself up to fail. My policy on New Year’s resolutions is that they shouldn’t be too punishing and they shouldn’t be too grand. We often use a resolution as a cudgel, as a method to get ourselves back in line, a means of eradicating the parts of ourselves we don’t like. David Sedaris has written about how, every New Year’s Eve, he had watched his mother scribbling furiously on a bunch of index cards. After her death, he discovered that she’d written the same thing on each one: “Be good.” That’s a good encapsulation of all resolutions, isn’t it? Be good. Resolutions tend to be freighted with the implication that the way you are now is not good, or at least not good enough. My resolutions are typically of this variety: self-criticism disguised as self-improvement. Get in shape; stop your profligate spending; be nicer; work harder. If your resolution seems architected by someone who doesn’t like you, there’s still time to reconsider it. My resolution this year is to, whenever possible, shop in person instead of online. I like this resolution because it lines up with other objectives I have concerning my finances, community, sustainability, simplicity. And it’s not totally about me, so it feels a little less dreary and narcissistic than typical resolution fare. It’s also less ambitious, which I hope means that I’m less likely to abandon it. A friend recently reminded me that anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. I’ve built in the “whenever possible” clause with this in mind. I’m going to do my best to buy things in brick-and-mortar shops (or, as Sedaris edited his mother’s resolution to read: “Try to think about maybe being good.”) But when I, inevitably, waver and, say, overnight a bucket of Tide Pods in a moment of desperation, I hope to be able to offer myself some grace. For more I talked a little more about resolutions for a story on The Times’s audio app. If now is not the right time for resolutions, remember you don’t need a holiday to change your life. “Finding time for anything that matters will always be a challenge.” The nicest resolution Margaret Renkl says she has ever made is an alluring one. “Wouldn’t you just rather commit yourself to a small change every day?” The band boygenius reflects on New Year’s resolutions. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE WEEK IN CULTURE Jodie Foster and Kali Reis star in the upcoming season of “True Detective.” Michele K. Short/HBO Jodie Foster will star in Season 4 of HBO’s “True Detective,” which premieres next Sunday. It has a new showrunner — and presents a decidedly more female perspective. Taylor Swift has now spent 68 weeks atop the Billboard 200 album chart, surpassing Elvis Presley’s record for the most weeks at No. 1 as a solo artist. Jelly Roll, the face-tattooed country singer who’s become known as much for emotional openness as for hit songs, talked about the Grammys and his rap past. Ian Wardropper, the director of the Frick Collection, plans to retire after completing a controversial renovation of the museum’s Gilded Age mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Detroit Opera has become a haven for ambitious and experimental art. That transformation would have been impossible without Wayne Brown, its longtime president, who retired at the end of last year. Baldur’s Gate 3 was widely hailed as the best video game of the year. It has succeeded by creating a world, based on Dungeons & Dragons, that lets players do nearly anything they could imagine. Jacob Elordi and Zachary Quinto star in a new thriller, “He Went That Way,” now in theaters. Our critic wasn’t impressed: “Few things in this laboriously quirky picture mesh at all,” Glenn Kenny writes. A woman accused the rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny, also a musician, of drugging and raping her around 2005. Joseph Lelyveld started at The Times as a copy boy and rose to become its executive editor, overseeing an era of growth and ushering in the digital age. He died at 86. THE LATEST NEWS President Biden spoke in Blue Bell, Pa., yesterday. Pete Marovich for The New York Times “Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time,” President Biden said in a speech marking the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, harshly criticizing Donald Trump. The Supreme Court will rule on whether Trump is eligible to appear on Colorado’s primary ballot. The case will be argued in early February, and the court is likely to decide it quickly. The Supreme Court also temporarily revived Idaho’s near-total ban on abortions and agreed to review a Biden administration challenge to the law. Alaska Airlines grounded its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet for inspections after a midair problem that passengers said opened a hole in a plane’s fuselage. Wayne LaPierre, who led the National Rifle Association for more than three decades, announced his resignation ahead of a corruption trial. The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs last month, a sign that growth remains strong. Israel’s defense minister floated a plan in which a “multinational task force” would help Gaza rebuild after the war. A far-right minister criticized it, exposing divisions in the country’s government. A strong winter storm will drop the first significant snow of the season across parts of the Northeast this weekend. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. CULTURE CALENDAR By Desiree Ibekwe 🎬 The Book of Clarence (Friday): This biblical comedy-drama from Jeymes Samuel, director of the 2021 Black western “The Harder They Fall,” is set in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. LaKeith Stanfield plays Clarence, a weed dealer — and twin brother of Thomas, of doubting fame — who pretends to be a new messiah to make some money. Unfortunately, it’s a politically heady time, Romans-persecuting-messiahs-wise. “It’s an ambitious project that manages to be both casually sacrilegious and utterly earnest about its ultimate message of faith,” Wendy Ide writes in Screen Daily. 🎬 The Beekeeper (Friday): When I first saw the trailer for this movie it felt slightly surreal, like one of those fake movies-within-a-movie. Here’s why: Action movie stalwart Jason Statham plays a beekeeper and shadowy organization member on a mission to avenge his friend, a kindly older woman played by Phylicia Rashad, who dies by suicide after losing money in a scam. It seems like action at its most improbable. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT RECIPE OF THE WEEK Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Maeve Sheridan. By Melissa Clark Brothy Thai curry with tofu and herbs January, the icy heart of soup season, is an ideal time to dive deep. Now is exactly the moment to explore soup in all its iterations, from the thick and stewlike to the effervescent and light. And on the lighter side, don’t miss Yewande Komolafe’s spicy, brothy Thai curry with silken tofu and herbs. A fragrant mix of jarred red curry paste enriched with coconut milk and clouds of tofu, it comes together quickly, and it’s easily adaptable. The notes reveal cooks adding more vegetables (bok choy, spinach, mushrooms); substituting green curry paste; even bulking things up with noodles, rice or ground pork. Simmer a potful this weekend, and don’t be shy about making it your own. REAL ESTATE Dizzy Gillespie in 1955. Carl Van Vechten Collection/Getty Images Jazz incubator: The tree-lined streets of Queens gave pioneering Black musicians a home. Renovating a kitchen? Don’t forget the most crucial thing: light. What you get for $825,000: An island retreat in Charleston County, S.C.; a midcentury- modern home in Portland; or an early 19th-century rowhouse in Philadelphia. Too rich: Last year just 16 percent of homes for sale were affordable to people earning the median income in their areas, according to a study. The hunt: A single father sold his family home in Westchester to start over in Manhattan for $900,000, with his college-age son in tow. Which house did he choose? Play our game. LIVING Bliss Katherine Megacakes: The new trend at wedding receptions (and on Instagram) — extremely long, table-length cakes. Tanner Leatherstein: A leather craftsman has attracted a cult following online by burning and slashing luxury items. Seven tips: Forget hyperbaric chambers and infrared light. Here is evidence-backed advice on aging well. Debunked: Experts told us the fitness misconceptions that drive them crazy, including the myth that running is bad for your knees. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Find the right dishwasher detergent If your dishwasher detergent is an afterthought, consider this: Upgrading it is a simple step that can help even not-so-great dishwashers deliver spotless dishes. You may need to try a few different detergents to find the best one for your dishwasher, but we recommend starting with our top pick. Wirecutter tested 24 different kinds of detergent on dishes smeared with everything from baked-on egg to burned-on casserole to day-old oatmeal, and our pick cleared every stubborn stain that came its way, no pre-rinsing required. — Andrea Barnes GAME OF THE WEEKEND Michael Penix Jr. Chris Graythen/Getty Images Washington vs. Michigan, college football championship: Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. appeared unstoppable in his semifinal win over Texas, throwing into impossibly small openings and hitting receivers in stride deep down the field. In Michigan’s semifinal, its defensive front seemed to break through Alabama’s offensive line with ease, notching 10 tackles for losses, including six sacks. Michigan hasn’t faced a quarterback as good as Penix; Washington hasn’t faced a defense as good as Michigan’s. Monday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN For more Coaches who faced each team this season shared their thoughts on how Washington and Michigan match up. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was likelihood. 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 P.S. María Jesús Contreras, the artist who creates the illustrations atop this newsletter every Saturday, has made a video highlighting her work for The Morning over the past year. It’s a delight. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 8 Author Members Share Posted January 8 January 7, 2024 By Ian Prasad Philbrick Good morning. A good year for movies means a competitive awards season, starting with tonight’s Golden Globes. From top, Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer,” Margot Robbie in “Barbie” and Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers.” From top: Universal Picture; Warner Bros.; Seacia Pavao/Focus Features, via Associated Press Time to catch up A great year for movies, as 2023 was, means a lot to look forward to as awards season begins. Things get started tonight with the Golden Globes ceremony, and later this week it’s on to nominations for the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild of America Awards. The big one — the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — will announce its nominations for the 96th Oscars on Jan. 23. To get you ready, we’ve put together a guide to the movies, directors and performances that The Times’s critics think the Academy should recognize this year. And although the Globes have a mixed record of predicting which movies will win Oscars, tonight’s ceremony is a good excuse to look back on some of the year’s best films. The contenders The competition for the best picture Oscar is so fierce this year that Kyle Buchanan, The Times’s awards season columnist, decided to discuss 13 possible nominees rather than his usual 10. “Oppenheimer,” a three-hour biopic about the father of the atomic bomb directed by Christopher Nolan, tops Kyle’s list. Pitted against it, and favored by the Times critics Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson, is another historical epic: “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s study of a murderous campaign targeting members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. Manohla and Alissa are also rooting for Todd Haynes’s “May December,” a tale of two eerily synced women and the anguished man they manipulate. All three films are up for Golden Globes. But, as Kyle notes, “recent best-picture winners tend to tug more at the heart than at the head.” That could augur an upset win for “Past Lives,” a romantic indie film; “American Fiction,” a dramedy; or “Barbie,” which leads the Golden Globes pack with nine nominations. Alissa would also like to see Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which is about coming of age in World War II Japan, in the running — though no animated feature has ever won best picture. Nolan, for “Oppenheimer,” made all three of our critics’ lists of potential best directors. Manohla also likes Wes Anderson for the wry “Asteroid City,” while Alissa is championing Scorsese and Greta Gerwig, for “Barbie.” Kyle has profiled a top contender for best actress: Lily Gladstone, who portrays an Osage woman whose relatives are systematically murdered in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” If nominated, Gladstone would become the first Native American up for the award. And if our critics have their way, she could face Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall,” a courtroom drama about an aspiring writer’s mysterious death. One potential nominee for best actor is Paul Giamatti. His performance as an irritable New England schoolteacher in “The Holdovers” drew on “a deep well of melancholy and thinly disguised tenderness,” my colleague Reggie Ugwu writes. Alissa also shouts out Cillian Murphy, whose craggy, haunted visage captured J. Robert Oppenheimer’s angst. But Colman Domingo — who powers “Rustin,” a biopic about a gay civil rights activist — is Alissa’s and Manohla’s leading candidate. We’ll find out which of our critics’ darlings ended up in contention when Oscar nominations are released later this month. And if all of this sounds like a lot to watch, the good news is that you’ll have until March, when the Academy Awards ceremony will take place, to catch up. For more: Read the rest of the lists from Kyle and Manohla and Alissa. In 2019, Alissa wrote about the expensive Hollywood campaigns that play a surprisingly large role in deciding which movies win Oscars. Stars often use speeches to address political issues. As Hollywood heads into awards season, they must decide what, if anything, to say about the war in Gaza. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS Politics Donald Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis fanned out across Iowa this weekend ahead of the caucuses. The activity belies a stubbornly static Republican race, Shane Goldmacher writes. In a speech in Iowa, Trump referred to those serving sentences in connection with the Capitol attack as “hostages” and called on President Biden to free them. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he took “full responsibility” for the delay in informing the White House of his admission to an intensive care unit. Some Michigan Republican officials moved to oust their party chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, in a vote that she and other state Republicans say was illegitimate. Israel-Hamas War Israel said that it had dismantled Hamas’s military abilities in northern Gaza. The Lebanese militia Hezbollah fired rockets toward a small Israeli military base in northern Israel in what it said was a response to the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut. Under airstrikes, Gazans have been forced to forgo funeral traditions, instead interring their dead hurriedly and without ceremony. For decades, prominent American unions were largely supportive of Israel. Amid a generation shift, some activists are urging their unions to call for an immediate cease-fire. International In Kenya. Luis Tato/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Vatican’s declaration allowing the blessing of same-sex couples has caused a stir among Catholics in Africa, where the church is growing. Rescuers in western Japan pulled a woman in her 90s out from under a collapsed house five days after an earthquake struck the region. Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missiles had killed at least 11 people near the eastern front line. Other Big Stories A sudden hole appeared on the side of a Boeing 737 Max plane midflight on Friday. It comes after years of problems with Boeing’s aircraft. A major snowstorm hit the Northeast, where forecasters expect parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get as much as two inches of snow per hour. Inside a crisis: How Harvard’s board went from standing behind Claudine Gay as the university’s president to pushing her out within weeks. Many colleges are critical of rankings, but they collectively pour millions of dollars into the industry. FROM OPINION Disqualifying Trump from the ballot may bar him from office, but the ideology he represents will continue to consolidate power, Ross Douthat writes. Trump portrays himself as Christlike, even as he bedevils America, Maureen Dowd writes. The Sunday question: Should Claudine Gay have resigned as Harvard’s president? Gay’s failure to immediately condemn antisemitic language “made her a symbol of the progressive groupthink infecting higher education and American institutions more broadly,” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board writes. But the forces behind her resignation — external political pressure — “could set a dangerous precedent” for higher education, The Washington Post’s editorial board writes. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS At Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in New York. Sarah Blesener for The New York Times A mystery: A New York pet cemetery was accustomed to unusual requests. Then came a call from a lawyer in possession of the cremated remains of a mysterious woman. “I Miss the Library”: In September, a small-town public library was forced to close after protests over a drag queen story hour for children. It hasn’t reopened. Vows: Gerry Turner of “The Golden Bachelor” married Theresa Nist in front of 150 guests (and even more TV viewers), before enjoying an intimate off-air reception. Lives Lived: Joseph M. Hendrie was a physicist who led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the United States’ worst nuclear power accident at Three Mile Island. He died at 98. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT TALK | FROM THE TIMES MAGAZINE Eddie Izzard Photo Illustration by Braulio Amado By David Marchese I recently spoke with the comedian Eddie Izzard about his move into politics, coming out as trans, and how losing his mother as a child made him suspicious of love as an adult. In your memoir, you write that “trying to bring my mother back is at the base of everything that I’m doing, and everything that I’ve ever done.” Does that feel liberating? Constrictive? It is an underlying motivation: If I can do stuff that is good enough, maybe Mum will see it on the other side. I don’t believe in the other side, but that is probably a subconscious thing. The conscious thing is more that I’m trying to do things so that I go, “Who did that?” I was trying to impress myself. I say we have to be brave and curious and not fearful and suspicious. How do bravery and curiosity jibe with another thing that you say in your book, which is that you’ve been very suspicious about being in love? Well, there’s loving someone, and then there’s being in love. Being in love seems to be chemical. I think there’s a chemical release, and I don’t trust it for that reason. Can you explain what you mean? I just don’t trust it. It is kind of like crying: You can’t switch off crying. I’m linking together certain things that happen in our bodies that once they switch on, they’re difficult to switch off. You don’t like them because it’s a loss of control? Yes. Do you like loss of control? People like the feeling of letting go. You’ve got to line these people up for me, David: “I love being out of control.” But I would say generally that I’m not into not being in control. But once you’ve lost your mother, you never trust anyone or anything again. Read more of the interview here. More from the magazine Treatment wasn’t helping a patient’s anorexia, so doctors allowed her to stop it, no matter the consequences. But is a “palliative” approach to mental illness really ethical? Read the full issue. BOOKS A collection of original Ron G mixtape covers. Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times Mixtapes and T-shirts: New books take up the task of cataloging hip-hop’s early relics before they slip away. Our editors’ picks: “What’s Cooking in the Kremlin,” which explores the last century of Russian history through food, and eight other books. Times best sellers: “Ruthless Vows,” Rebecca Ross’s sequel to “Divine Rivals” is No. 1 on the young adult hardcover best-seller list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Add nuts and dates to charred broccoli. Reduce stiffness with a foam roller. Clean your water bottle. It’s time. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For Bangladesh is holding elections today. Large strikes by transportation workers are expected to cripple the London Underground for several days this week. Congress returns to Capitol Hill tomorrow to resume negotiations on aid for Ukraine and stricter immigration policy. Trump’s lawyers are expected to argue in an appeals court Tuesday that he is immune from prosecution for seeking to overturn the 2020 election. Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear in a California court Thursday over tax charges. Taiwan will hold presidential elections on Saturday. What to Cook This Week Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. After weeks feasting on cookies, Emily Weinstein sought out recipes with a bit less butter for this week’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter. They include stir-fried shrimp with snow peas and ginger, best made in a wok; baked chicken breasts, soaked quickly in a saltwater brine; and black bean chili with mushrooms. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was probiotic. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. 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. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 8 Author Members Share Posted January 8 January 8, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the debate over standardized tests in college admissions — as well as Israel, artificial intelligence and the Golden Globes. Getty Images A parable for our times Higher education has a standardized-test problem, and it’s not the problem that many people think. During the pandemic, dozens of colleges dropped the requirement that applicants take the SAT or ACT. Although administrators generally described the move as temporary, most colleges have since stuck to a test-optional policy. But the loss of SAT and ACT scores has become a problem, administrators have told me. Without test scores, admissions officers sometimes struggle to distinguish between applicants who are likely to thrive at selective colleges and those likely to struggle. Why? Because high school grades do not always provide enough information, especially because of grade inflation in recent years. As Christina Paxson, the president of Brown University, recently wrote, “Standardized test scores are a much better predictor of academic success than high school grades.” Consider the below chart by my colleague Ashley Wu, based on data from some elite colleges that academic researchers at Brown and Dartmouth released last week. As you can see, standardized-test scores predict college grades more accurately than high school grades do: Source: Friedman, Sacerdote and Tine | Data from the entering classes of 2017 to 2022, excluding 2020. | By The New York Times I understand why many people dislike standardized tests. They’re unpleasant to take, and they have their flaws. The most significant concern is that they may be racially and economically biased. But the emerging data from academic research tells a different story: Standardized tests are less biased than many other parts of the college application process, like extracurricular activities, college essays and teacher recommendations. An admissions system that drops mandatory tests in favor of these other factors gives big advantages to affluent students. Test scores, by contrast, seem to be useful at identifying students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have enormous potential, even if their scores aren’t quite as high on average as the those of well-off applicants. “When you don’t have test scores, the students who suffer most are those with high grades at relatively unknown high schools, the kind that rarely send kids to the Ivy League,” David Deming, a Harvard economist who has studied the issue, told me. “The SAT is their lifeline.” Here’s another chart, which separates applicants by advantaged and disadvantaged high schools, and shows that test scores are not simply a proxy for income or race. Advantaged students who do better on the SAT or ACT do better in college, and the same is true of disadvantaged students: Source: Friedman, Sacerdote and Tine | Data from the entering classes of 2017 to 2022, excluding 2020. | By The New York Times The Times recently started a new feature called Ideas, in which our journalists try to go deep on a major subject. I wrote this week’s installment, about standardized tests. As part of the article, I describe what happened after M.I.T. became one of the few colleges to reinstate their test requirement. Tests scores are not the main factor that M.I.T. uses, but they are part of the process. “Once we brought the test requirement back, we admitted the most diverse class that we ever had in our history,” Stuart Schmill, the admissions dean, said. In M.I.T.’s current first-year class, 15 percent of students are Black, 16 percent are Hispanic, 38 percent are white, and 40 percent are Asian American. And M.I.T. is more economically diverse than many other elite schools. In reporting the story, I came to think of it as a parable for our politically polarized society — and for what happens when empirical evidence contradicts many people’s initial instincts. Responding to the article in a tweet yesterday, Melissa Kearney, a University of Maryland professor, wrote that standardized tests had become “another policy instance where doing what ‘feels good’ turns out to be counterproductive.” You can read the article here. (I recommend the posted comments, in which several Times readers described the transformative role that standardized tests played in their own lives. Click on “Reader Picks,” near the top of the page, to see the comments most recommended by other readers.) Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War The Israeli military said that it had struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing at least seven members, and that it was ready to attack more of the group’s positions. Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank killed about a dozen people, including at least nine Palestinians and an Israeli border police officer. Two journalists, including the son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, were killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the authorities in the enclave. Israel said it was taking a different tactical approach in central and southern Gaza, but officials offered few details. Iran, with its proxies attacking from many vantage points and its revived nuclear program, is posing a new challenge to the West, David Sanger and Steven Erlanger write. Politics Congressional leaders reached an agreement on 2024 spending levels, but it is unclear whether the deal will be cemented in time to avoid a partial government shutdown. With Ron DeSantis focused on the presidential primaries, Florida lawmakers have prepared for a potentially calmer legislative session. Many of the evangelicals who support Donald Trump are not the churchgoing activists who once dominated the Republican Party. The Biden administration is under pressure from lawmakers to block a Japanese company’s acquisition of U.S. Steel. New York In Brooklyn. Desiree Rios/The New York Times Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women in New York City. Proposals to reverse the disparities face deep-rooted obstacles. Wealthy philanthropists have grown wary of donating to causes aimed at addressing the city’s biggest problems, concerned that they cannot be easily fixed. Bernie Wagenblast, the voice of some of New York City’s subway announcements, knew she was a transgender woman. A year ago, she came out. War in Ukraine Russia launched a large-scale air attack against Ukraine, pounding several regions and killing multiple people, Ukrainian officials said. “You can’t get used to people’s pain”: The Times embedded with combat medics in eastern Ukraine. A generation of Ukrainian teenagers, raised during a pandemic and then war, are unsure of their future, The Washington Post reports. Other Big Stories In Sunland Park, N.M. Erin Schaff/The New York Times Marijuana buyers from Texas have transformed a New Mexico community into one of the nation’s cannabis boom towns. This year, the A.I. industry is set to be defined by rapid improvements, including the expansion of chatbots beyond digital text. Passengers on an Alaska Airlines plane that lost a section midair described a mix of horror, confusion and eerie calm. An American company’s moon lander was launched on a new rocket, one of several that could chip away at SpaceX’s dominance. Forecasters said a series of powerful weather systems would bring heavy snow to the Plains and up to four inches of rain to the Northeast. Opinions Trump needs a woman as his running mate to serve as a bridge to female voters who feel put off by his candidacy, Michelle Cottle writes. New York City was once a pedestrian haven. Now that it is dominated by bikes and vehicles, walking has become hazardous, Shaan Sachdev writes. Gail Collins and Bret Stephens discuss the 2024 election and Claudine Gay. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Coats in New York City. Simbarashe Cha/The New York Times Street style: What are people wearing in New York this winter? Capes, knit caps and woolly coats. A nationalist symbol: After nearly 30 years, Quebec still longs for its lost hockey team. 36 hours in Zurich: Enjoy a decadent Swiss breakfast, and visit a jazz bar in a repurposed factory building. Stanley cups: A limited-edition water tumbler has prompted physical confrontations and parking-lot camp-outs at Target stores around the U.S. Metropolitan Diary: A bumpy ride with a happy ending. Lives Lived: Klee Benally was a Navajo activist, artist and punk-rock musician who championed Native American and environmental cause. He died at 48. SPORTS N.F.L. finale: On the last weekend of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers all secured spots in the playoffs. Top teams: The No. 1 seeds belong to the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, while the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills both beat division rivals to earn the No. 2 seeds. See the bracket. Hot seat: The Atlanta Falcons fired their head coach, Arthur Smith. All eyes are now on New England, where Bill Belichick may have coached his final game with the Patriots. M.L.B.: The Los Angeles Dodgers continued bankrolling the offseason by signing Teoscar Hernández to a one-year deal. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Kristian Bush of Billy Pilgrim. Elliot Liss for The New York Times A known unknown: Kristian Bush and Andrew Hyra were college students when they formed the band Billy Pilgrim in the early 1990s. Their debut album featured a single, “Insomniac,” a guitar-driven love song. The song never charted, and the duo stopped playing together in 2000. “Insomniac,” however, took on a life of its own: For nearly three decades it has been a staple of a cappella groups. More on culture “Oppenheimer” won five awards, including best drama movie, at the Golden Globes. See the full list of winners. Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon” became the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe for best actress. Read about the best and worst moments of the night. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … David Malosh for The New York Times Mix together grains, vegetables and tofu, all tossed in a pungent chile sauce. Watch these 30 shows this winter. Give your suitcase a clean. Put your makeup on in good lighting. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was chemical. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Correction: In yesterday’s newsletter we referred incorrectly to the comedian Eddie Izzard. Izzard uses she/her pronouns, not he/him. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 10 Author Members Share Posted January 10 January 9, 2024 By David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick Good morning. We’re covering a major hearing in Trump’s criminal trials — as well as Gaza, Ukraine and 52 places to visit in 2024. Donald Trump Jeenah Moon for The New York Times ‘A critical day’ Donald Trump’s four criminal trials can seem dizzying, including both federal and state cases, across Florida, Georgia, New York and Washington. But it’s worth remembering that the cases have different timetables. And any case that might produce a verdict before Election Day is probably more important than the others. The cases that don’t reach a verdict before November may become moot if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. As president, he could try to end the two federal cases, while many legal scholars believe that the Constitution prevents state prosecutors from pursuing charges against a sitting president. This reality explains why Trump’s defense strategy revolves around delaying the cases. Any case he can push into 2025 may be irrelevant, at least for another four years. Today in Washington, an appeals court will hear an argument that will shape the timing of the case that seems to be furthest along: the federal trial involving Trump’s efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. Trump claims he is immune from prosecution because the charges stem from actions that he took while he was president. Adding to the drama, he has said that he will attend today’s argument in person. “Today is a critical day for determining how Trump’s trials are likely to play out this year,” Alan Feuer, who has been covering the cases for The Times, told us. Whether Trump is convicted of any crimes before Election Day could be a major factor in the 2024 race. A recent poll found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s supporters believe that he should not be the Republican nominee for president if he is found guilty of a crime. A conviction could also affect the general election. “In a close race, it might be decisive even if only a sliver of voters refuse to vote for a felon,” Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, has written. In the rest of today’s newsletter, we walk you through the timing of all four criminal cases. 1. Post-2020 interference The case at issue in today’s hearing — the federal trial involving Trump’s actions after the 2020 election — had been set to begin in Washington on March 4, the day before Super Tuesday. That starting date is on hold while judges hear arguments on whether Trump is immune. If Trump wins at the appeals court, the federal case against him may unravel. If he loses, he is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court. For Trump, even a drawn-out process that ends in defeat could effectively be a victory. “The immunity battle, even if Trump loses on the substance of his arguments, could still determine whether the trial will be held before the election in November,” Alan and Maggie Haberman wrote last week in the Trump on Trial newsletter. (Police officers were called to the homes of the judge overseeing Trump’s election interference case and the special counsel, Jack Smith, after separate false reports of shootings.) 2. Stormy Daniels The other trial that now seems as if it could finish before the election is the case that accuses Trump of falsifying business records to cover up his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels. The trial is set to begin on March 25 and probably would last about a month. The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has indicated that he may accept a later starting date if Trump’s federal trial involving the 2020 election moves ahead. The judge overseeing the Manhattan trial plans to finalize the starting date on Feb. 15. “If it seems that the Jan. 6 trial will be delayed for months, he may well stick with the current schedule,” our colleague Jonah Bromwich, who is covering the case, said. “I think there’s about a 50 percent chance that the Manhattan trial goes forward as scheduled.” 3. Georgia interference In addition to the federal charges related to Trump’s efforts to stay in power, he also faces state charges in Georgia. Fani Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., chose to bring a sprawling racketeering case involving 19 defendants. The complexity is one reason the trial seems unlikely to finish this year. 4. Classified documents Trump faces a federal trial in Florida in which prosecutors accuse him of taking sensitive government documents from the White House and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. It is scheduled to begin on May 20. But that date may change, and the case appears unlikely to end before November. Other cases Trump is also involved in three noncriminal cases: Last fall, a New York judge ruled that Trump had committed fraud by inflating his net worth. The judge will hear arguments about potential financial penalties this week. Last May, a jury in New York concluded that Trump had sexually abused E. Jean Carroll, a writer, in the 1990s, and later defamed her. In September, a judge ruled that Trump had defamed Carroll in another instance, too; a civil trial to determine damages will begin next week. Colorado and Maine have banned Trump’s name from the primary ballot this year, saying that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election amounted to insurrection. Trump has appealed the decisions, and the Supreme Court announced last week that it would hear the Colorado case on Feb. 8. A decision will likely apply to other states that try to ban him. For more The Times is tracking each criminal case against Trump, and the legal website Just Security keeps a running list of key dates. Trump pressured state and federal officials to overturn results of the 2020 election in more than 30 phone calls or meetings, according to a Times analysis. See a timeline of events. More on the 2024 election Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza interrupted President Biden’s speech at a church in Charleston, S.C. The audience responded with chants of “four more years,” and Biden praised the protesters’ “passion.” Biden criticized Trump for saying “we have to get over” school shootings. “We have to stop it,” Biden said at the church, where a white supremacist gunman killed nine people in 2015. Biden rebuked Nikki Haley, without naming her, for her remarks about the roots of the Civil War, saying, “Let me be clear, for those who don’t seem to know: Slavery was the cause.” Mitch Landrieu, Biden’s infrastructure czar, is stepping down to help lead the president’s re-election campaign. With Trump busy in court, his campaign has called on allies like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ben Carson to fill the gaps in Iowa. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War Central Gaza during an escorted tour by the Israeli military. Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times The Israeli military said that it had begun a more targeted phase of its war in Gaza, which it said would involve fewer ground troops and airstrikes. Hezbollah said that one of its commanders had been killed in a strike in southern Lebanon. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Saudi Arabia was still interested in diplomatic ties with Israel, in comments made after meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader. On a three-hour journey with Israeli soldiers through Gaza, Times journalists witnessed the destruction caused by the war. This is what they saw. Politics Ultraconservative House Republicans pledged to vote against the deal that Speaker Mike Johnson made with Senate Democrats fund the government and avert a shutdown. Top aides to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin learned last week that he had been hospitalized but waited two days to tell the White House. Florida Republicans ousted their chairman, Christian Ziegler, more than a month after the police confirmed that he was under criminal investigation for sexual assault. In the Upper Midwest, Iowa has turned increasingly Republican, while Illinois and Minnesota has moved leftward. The movement of college graduates is one of many reasons. Business Federal investigators said that bolts that were supposed to keep a fuselage panel in place may not have been attached before it blew out on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet. United Airlines found loose bolts on similar panels on some planes. U.S. lawmakers asked the Commerce Department to investigate G42, an Emirati A.I. company that works with American tech firms and has ties to China’s military. A commonly prescribed asthma drug can cause aggression and even suicidal thoughts. Many patients were never told. International With Russian forces on the offensive, Ukrainian soldiers and commanders said operating near the front line had never been so dangerous. Brazil had its own Capitol riot last year. But the aftermaths of that attack and Jan. 6 have been very different. Almost all 42 raptor species in Africa suffered declines in recent decades, a study found. Other Big Stories The Peregrine lander. NASA, via Agence France-Press — Getty Images A Pennsylvania company’s lunar lander is unlikely to reach the moon after it malfunctioned shortly after launch. An experimental community on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, offers tiny homes and shared services to homeless people. Pope Francis said surrogate motherhood should be banned for its “commercialization” of pregnancy, calling it “despicable.” School absenteeism has nearly doubled since the pandemic, and officials are doing little to get students back, an investigation by ProPublica and The New Yorker found. Powerful storms will bring heavy rain to the New York area, with the potential for flooding. Blizzard conditions will persist in the High Plains through the Upper Midwest. Opinions Israel’s actions in Gaza increasingly suggest a desire to expel Palestinians from the territory, Peter Beinart argues. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on the Federal Reserve and Michelle Goldberg on Biden’s campaign speeches. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Linda Sharrock Jeenah Moon for The New York Times A comeback: An avant-garde jazz singer lost her voice after a stroke in 2009. She is still performing. Tiny helper: For months, someone — or something — had been tidying up a retiree’s workbench after him. So, he set up a night-vision camera. “Lo and behold,” he said, “I got a video of the mouse.” A Y2K staple: Is it ever OK to wear a matching sweatsuit? As with most things, The Times’s fashion critic says, how you style it is what matters. Lives Lived: Tony Fortuna turned running a dining room into a fine art at each of his Manhattan restaurants, most notably TBar, over his 40-year career. He died at 76. SPORTS College football: The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Washington Huskies, 34-13, to become the national champions after one of the most fraught seasons in recent memory. N.F.L.: The Washington Commanders fired coach Ron Rivera. Former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers will help hire the franchise’s new coach. N.B.A.: The Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is out for the year with a torn labrum, just nine games after his season debut. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Travel in 2024: Every year, the Travel desk offers up a list of 52 places to visit. This year’s list features an elephant rehabilitation program in Kenya, sea-sculpted monoliths in Quebec and a lesser-known home of masterpieces in Tuscany. Here are some more picks: Mustang, Nepal: This ancient Himalayan kingdom is a bastion of traditional Tibetan culture, preserved for centuries by its remoteness. Visitors can take wilderness treks through mountain ranges, and visit the well-preserved medieval fortress of Lo Manthang. Craters of the Moon, Idaho: Thousands of years ago, outpourings of lava created a surreal landscape here, with gaping craters and underground tubes. Calvin Coolidge designated it a national monument in 1924, and for the centennial this year the park will unveil new and rehabilitated trails. Manchester, England: Music is part of the soul of this city, from which Oasis and Joy Division hail. It will soon be home to Britain’s largest arena, Co-op Live, which is set to open in April. (Liam Gallagher and Eric Clapton are booked to inaugurate the space.) Find more inspiration here. More on culture Prince’s breakout film “Purple Rain” is being adapted into a musical. “He’s mad at me for making fun of his topknot”: On his first show of the year, Jimmy Kimmel addressed Aaron Rodgers’s comments connecting the host with Jeffrey Epstein. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Con Poulos for The New York Times Celebrate winter with this beloved recipe for lemony white bean soup with turkey and greens. Try life hacks future you will be grateful for. Use yoga blocks in more ways than one. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were initialization, lionization, nationalization and tantalization. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David and Ian P.S. On Politics, our newsletter covering the 2024 election, is back. Read the first edition, a preview of the Iowa caucuses. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 11 Author Members Share Posted January 11 January 10, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the Democratic Party’s shifting immigration position — as well as extreme weather, Ecuador and psychedelics. Joe Biden at the border last year. Doug Mills/The New York Times A Trump effect Since Donald Trump first ran for president in 2016, the Democratic Party has changed its own approach to immigration. Not long ago, leading Democrats supported immigration enforcement measures like tough border security and deportations. Today, much of the party is uncomfortable doing so. These changes help explain why the issue has become so vexing for President Biden and congressional Democrats. Illegal immigration has surged during Biden’s presidency, partly because of the party’s new approach: Many migrants have come to believe, reasonably, that they will be able to remain in the U.S. so long as they can reach the border. Many voters are unhappy about the situation, and polls suggest that it is a problem for Biden. “Believe it or not, there is something that might hurt President Biden’s re-election chances more than inflation,” Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote. With Congress having returned from its holiday recess, a bipartisan group of senators is negotiating over a bill that would tighten border security (as well as provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan). To help you understand the debate, today’s newsletter will trace the Democratic Party’s changing position. In a follow-up newsletter, I’ll look at public opinion on immigration. Bernie vs. Wall Street Before Trump’s presidency, Democrats tended to combine passionate support for the rights of immigrants already in this country with strong support for border security. Bernie Sanders was an example. He favored pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and opposed long detentions for immigrants arrested at the border. At the same time, Sanders worried about the effects of immigration on workers’ wages. “There is a reason why Wall Street and all of corporate America likes immigration reform, and it is not, in my view, that they’re staying up nights worrying about undocumented workers,” Sanders said in 2015. “What I think they are interested in is seeing a process by which we can bring low-wage labor of all levels into this country to depress wages for Americans, and I strongly disagree with that.” Barack Obama also embodied this nuanced combination. In his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Obama said, “Passions may fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.” It’s hard to imagine a leading Democrat making a similar statement today. Trump’s harsh anti-immigration stance — including lies, racist scapegoating and family separations — sent many Democrats scurrying in the other direction. Much of the party left behind its old approach. By 2020, top Democrats were instead calling for the decriminalization of the border. On Capitol Hill, Democrats spoke more positively about immigration than any party had in the country’s history, according to an analysis of congressional speeches. During Biden’s campaign, he encouraged immigrants to come and later appointed advocates of looser immigration policies to his administration, as Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker has noted. Today, liberals describe border-security measures that the Democratic Party once would have favored as severe, cruel or “Trump-era.” Real-world effects This new stance is rooted in a serious political argument: namely, a humanitarian case for allowing poor people to improve their lives by moving to the U.S. To put it another way, many Democratic politicians favor higher levels of immigration than federal law allows. The shift has had real-world consequences. People in other countries have sensed that the U.S. has become more welcoming, even to migrants without permission to enter. Within weeks of Biden taking office, migration surged. Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection | By The New York Times The surge has clearly had downsides. Dangerous child labor, by migrant children who arrive at the border alone and are often admitted, has increased in the U.S. (This Times map shows where they are living.) Some border communities are overwhelmed. Social services in major cities are strained. Many Democrats, to be clear, are unhappy about these developments. The governors of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and New York have all complained. Mayor Oscar Leeser of El Paso, Texas, said this fall that his city had reached “a breaking point.” Henry Cuellar, a House Democrat who represents a Texas border district, has said that Trump went too far in one direction and Biden has gone too far in the other. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has criticized progressives for ignoring border security. Biden himself seems torn. His administration announced a border crackdown last year and, not surprisingly, migration briefly fell. But the crackdown was modest, and the surge soon resumed. Now, congressional Republicans are insisting on tougher policies as their price for passing more aid to Ukraine. The policies could include more rigorous asylum screenings — to determine which migrants have a credible fear of political repression — and faster deportation for people who don’t qualify for legal entry. Talks between the two parties have made progress, and a deal might happen soon. But obstacles remain. Progressive Democrats genuinely oppose many border-security measures. And some Republicans wonder if they would be better off if the deal collapsed and their party could instead run in 2024 against Democrats’ immigration record. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Trump Legal Cases Federal District Court in Washington. Valerie Plesch for The New York Times A federal appeals court seemed skeptical of Donald Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution over actions that he took while president. The case involves his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate the criminal law,” one judge said. Another judge asked Trump’s lawyer whether, hypothetically, a president could be charged if he ordered Navy SEALs to kill a political rival. (The lawyer said not unless the president had first been found guilty in an impeachment proceeding.) Unusually, Trump showed up in person at the appeals court hearing even though he wasn’t required to be there. Read more takeaways. In a separate case, a defendant charged alongside Trump in Georgia accused Fani Willis, the district attorney, of having a romantic relationship with a prosecutor she hired. More on Politics Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent hospitalization, which he kept secret for days, followed prostate cancer surgery. The White House ordered cabinet secretaries to notify it if they become unable to perform their duties. Amalija Knavs — a former Slovenian factory worker and the mother of a first lady, Melania Trump — died at 78. The Fed’s plan to cut interest rates several times this year will make it a political talking point during the 2024 campaign. Senator Robert Menendez, in a speech on the Senate floor, denied accepting bribes to help Egypt and Qatar and accused the Justice Department of a smear campaign. Weather In Waukee, Iowa. Hilary Swift for The New York Times Millions of Americans were under flood watches or advisories and faced power outages as extreme weather hit swathes of the country. Forecasters warned of flooding in cities along the East Coast, including New York and Philadelphia. Severe thunderstorms and apparent tornadoes ripped across the Florida Panhandle. The High Plains through the Upper Midwest saw blizzard conditions, and an Arctic front in the Pacific Northwest brought several feet of heavy snow. In Iowa, which has presidential caucuses next week, snow and high winds disrupted Republican campaigning. Conditions may improve in some parts of the country today. Here’s what to expect. Israel-Hamas War American and British forces shot down a barrage of missiles and drones in the Red Sea, fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. officials said. The Israeli military said it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in an airstrike. Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza and at least eight others were wounded, including an actor in the Netflix series “Fauda.” Arab governments say in public that they won’t help plan Gaza’s future until there’s a cease-fire. But behind the scenes, they’re already engaged in discussions. International Masked men stormed a TV station in Ecuador, taking hostages as cameras rolled. Violence has erupted across the country after a powerful gang leader disappeared from prison days ago. In France, President Emmanuel Macron named the 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as prime minister. Attal is the youngest and first openly gay politician to hold the position. The United States’ financial retreat from Ukraine could provide cover for European officials looking to reduce backing for the war. New York Members of a Hasidic movement clashed with the police over efforts to fill a secretly built tunnel to its main synagogue in Brooklyn. “We hadn’t realized it was time”: New York City began evicting migrant families because of a 60-day stay limit. City officials manipulated public data for years to hide the realities of the homelessness crisis, an investigation found. Space Satellites in the sky over Austria. Christian Bruna/EPA, via Shutterstock As space companies deploy more satellites, astronomers say they’ve become a nuisance for telescope operators. NASA delayed Artemis II, the first U.S. mission to send astronauts close to the moon in more than 50 years, to 2025. Other Big Stories Last year was Earth’s warmest in a century and a half. A Microsoft lab in Beijing is one of the most important A.I. research sites in the world. As U.S.-China tensions mount, the company’s leaders have debated what to do with it. America’s greenhouse gas emissions fell in 2023 as coal burning plummeted, but not fast enough to meet the nation’s climate goals. Opinions “We have an underfunded immigration apparatus that is swaddled in bureaucracy,” Steven Rattner and Maureen White write. Israel must destroy Hamas, writes Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot, a town less than a mile from Gaza. The United States shouldn’t give up being the world’s police force, Bret Stephens writes. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS In Nucsoara, Romania. Alan Burdick for The New York Times Forest of Immortal Stories: In Romania, a group is trying to save centuries-old beech trees that have long sustained the humans around them. Flag No. 98: Adm. Richard E. Byrd was once known around the world for his expeditions to Antarctica. His son was determined to preserve his legacy. Lives Lived: Herman Raucher turned his teenage memories of a Massachusetts beach town into the hit 1971 movie “Summer of ’42.” He died at 95. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Tennessee Titans fired their coach, Mike Vrabel, after six seasons. M.L.B.: The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco could be barred from entering the U.S. while facing accusations of sexual abuse of a minor. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Breathing exercises. Damien Maloney for The New York Times Now breathe … fast: Many health care professionals are seeking formal training in psychedelic therapy, frustrated with the efficacy of traditional interventions for mental health issues like depression and addiction. A significant question, however, looms for those running training programs: How do you teach an intervention that remains largely illegal? At one program in San Francisco, it involves breathing intensely to create an altered state of consciousness. More on culture “Trump is in court so often he enrolled in PreCheck so he can zip through security”: Late night hosts discussed Trump’s latest day in court. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Johnny Miller for The New York Times Simmer chicken-cilantro meatballs in a coconut milk broth to make this Thai-inspired soup. Knock back a zero-alcohol spirit. Transform your work space with a great desk lamp. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was fidgety. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Correction: Yesterday’s newsletter misstated the number of raptor species in Africa. There are at least 60, not 42. P.S. “The 1619 Project,” a Hulu series based on a 2019 Times Magazine issue, won an Emmy for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 12 Author Members Share Posted January 12 January 11, 2024 By German Lopez Good morning. We’re covering the turnaround in the U.S. murder rate — as well as the Republican primary, Taiwan’s election and Nick Saban. Rachel Wisniewski for The New York Times Record drop In the chaotic early months of the Covid pandemic, when the U.S. was also going through the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, violent crime rose across the country. Murders in 2020 increased at the fastest rate since national statistics began in 1960. Other crimes, like shootings and car thefts, also increased. The surge in violence left some experts worried that the U.S. might be entering another era of high crime, similar to that of the 1960s through the ’90s. But the data over the past year has offered a much more optimistic picture. The number of murders in U.S. cities fell by more than 12 percent — which would be the biggest national decline on record. The spike that started in 2020 now looks more like a blip, and the murder rate is lower than it was during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The recent data also suggests that the violent-crime rate in 2023 was near its lowest level in more than 50 years, as Jeff Asher, a crime analyst, wrote for his newsletter. Source: Jeff Asher, F.B.I. | Data is based on 99 cities; rate for 2023 is an estimate. | By The New York Times Fading shocks To understand why murders and other crimes have declined, it’s useful to look at the likely causes of the increase: the pandemic and the fallout from Floyd’s killing by the police. Covid, of course, upended American life in 2020 and 2021, including in ways that affected crime: Police officers stopped some forms of in-person contact, and more illness contributed to staffing shortages at police departments. Schools, which help keep teens out of trouble, shut down. Some social services and other anti-violence programs also had to scale back. Covid does not explain everything. Many other countries did not report increases in their murder rates during the pandemic. Perhaps something unique to the U.S., such as its abundance of guns, made the country more vulnerable to the disruptions of Covid. Regardless, the reality is this: During Covid, murders increased. As life has returned to normal, they have decreased. The second explanation involves Floyd’s death. High-profile police killings typically strain relations between law enforcement and the public. This leads some officers to pull back from activities that can stop crime. More people become skeptical of working with the police to solve and prevent crimes. And as they lose trust in the police and the justice system, more Americans resort to their own means, including violence, to settle conflicts. A similar phenomenon played out in the mid-2010s. Widely publicized police killings of Black men in Ferguson, Mo.; Baltimore; Chicago; and elsewhere strained relations between the police and their communities, and murders increased. Back then, murders declined after a couple of years, as tensions eased and officials tried to repair police-community relations and improve policing. The same seems to have happened in the last couple of years. Not the ’60s This outcome was not inevitable. The crime surge that began in the early 1960s also seemed connected to societal unrest. But rather than quickly reversing, it continued for decades. One potential difference is that back then the causes were more spread out: the civil-rights unrest of the 1960s; federal scandals, like Watergate, that reduced trust in government in the ’70s; and the crack-cocaine epidemic in the ’80s. Crime is a complicated topic, and an explanation that seems correct in one moment can look less certain after years of scrutiny. There are usually crosscurrents, too. Car thefts, for instance, have remained significantly higher in recent months than they were a few years ago. Still, we know that murders in large U.S. cities fell rapidly last year, and most other forms of crime seem to have fallen as well. Related: Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist and friend of the newsletter, died this week at 75. Rosenfeld was a leading expert on what caused crime trends in the U.S. He helped found the criminology doctorate program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Rosenfeld was an unusually clear communicator for someone of his expertise. He approached questions with an open mind, readily acknowledging that he did not have all the answers. He was also kind, often referring reporters to his less well known colleagues to give them a boost. You can read an obituary in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Republican Primary In the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley called each other liars and largely shied away from discussing Donald Trump. Trump skipped the debate again. He attended a Fox News town hall, where he took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade and suggested he’d chosen a running mate. Read takeaways from both events. Chris Christie dropped out without endorsing a rival. On a hot mic, he predicted that Haley would “get smoked.” Iowa voters discuss a question weighing on Republicans: Will they vote for Trump again? Congress Hunter Biden Valerie Plesch for The New York Times Two House committees voted along party lines to hold Hunter Biden, the president’s son, in contempt of Congress. Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance before the votes. Hard-line House Republicans blocked Republican bills in a protest over Speaker Mike Johnson’s deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown. House Republicans began impeachment hearings against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. They listed policy complaints about border security but no proof of impeachable offenses. Trump Trials Lawyers in Trump’s civil fraud trial will present their closing arguments today. Nathan Wade was largely unknown when the district attorney Fani Willis selected him to lead the criminal case against Trump in Georgia. Now he is accused of being romantically involved with her. Israel-Hamas War The U.N.’s top court began hearings today in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in the enclave. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Palestinian Authority’s leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank to discuss what role the authority might play after the conflict. A spokesman for Hamas said its hostages “will not be returned alive” unless Israeli forces leave Gaza. International In Tainan, Taiwan. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Taiwan is in the final days of its presidential election. Its campaign rallies are boisterous and flashy. The terrorist group Al Shabab captured a U.N. helicopter carrying nine passengers, after it made an emergency landing in an area the group controls. Ecuadoreans are divided over the government’s use of the military to crack down on violence after a gang leader disappeared from prison. Britain’s Post Office wrongly accused hundreds of branch managers of theft. After a TV drama about the scandal, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to exonerate them. A ceremonial spot near a heavily secured courtroom is one of the few places in Guantánamo Bay where the U.S. allows cameras. See what that backdrop can tell you. Tech Google laid off hundreds of workers, seeking to cut costs as it focuses on artificial intelligence. Amazon is also making hundreds of layoffs in its studio division. Education companies say A.I. chatbots will be personalized tutors for students. The hype may be premature. Federal regulators allowed the sale of a financial product that tracks the price of Bitcoin, which could bring more money into crypto. Health A record number of Americans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, the Biden administration said. We’re in a big Covid wave. Tests on U.S. wastewater show just how big. Convenience stores are selling tianeptine, popularly known as gas-station heroin, as part of dietary supplements. Religion The former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official to be prosecuted on charges of sexual abuse, was found not competent to stand trial. An illegal 60-foot tunnel under a Brooklyn synagogue left parts of two buildings potentially unstable, city officials said. Other Big Stories This is Sammie-Sue. Desiree Rios/The New York Times Scientists are scrambling to maintain funding for a yearslong study of nearly 50,000 pet dogs that hopes to uncover insights about aging. Severe weather will again sweep the South, and blizzard conditions are forecast to hit the Midwest. A New York subway train went off the tracks, the system’s second derailment in less than a week. Opinions Biden needs to listen less to the pro-immigration Latino establishment and more to Latino voters, who want tighter border restrictions, Mike Madrid writes. The best way to counter Beijing’s meddling in Taiwan’s elections is by calling attention to it, Nicholas Kristof writes. Here is a column by Charles Blow on Biden’s campaign. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Glide at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times For the ’gram: From the Brooklyn Bridge to a Florida beach, new ice rinks put an emphasis on looking great in photos. Origins: Ancient skeletons give insights into illnesses like multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. Fallen riders: A Facebook page chronicles the deaths of dozens of bike workers who delivered food in New York City. Lives Lived: Adan Canto was a Mexican actor known for his roles in “Designated Survivor” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” He died at 42 of cancer. SPORTS National champion: Nick Saban, Alabama’s football coach, stunned the sports world by retiring yesterday. He was “college football’s greatest coach,” Stewart Mandel writes. N.F.L.: The Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll will not return next season after 14 seasons with the team. N.B.A.: Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs rookie, recorded his first triple-double against the Detroit Pistons. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS James Gandolfini and David Chase on set in 2006. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Garden State: “The Sopranos” was a show about the mafia, about family, about watching the world pass you by as you age. It was also a show about New Jersey, and its creator, David Chase, insisted on filming there. To mark the 25th anniversary of the show’s premiere, Anna Kodé spoke with Chase and his location manager about the stories behind some of the settings — the family’s McMansion, Satriale’s pork store, even the Bada Bing strip club. More on culture A California court ruled that a Pissarro painting should stay with a Spanish museum, not the family of a woman who was forced to surrender it to the Nazis. Elton John is downsizing in his Atlanta home: He’s auctioning 900 items, including costumes and a Banksy. Stephen Colbert joked about Trump’s civil fraud trial. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Johnny Miller for The New York Times Use up leftovers or wilted vegetables with this easy frittata. Eat more salmon — it’s a nutritional powerhouse. Improve your self-care routine. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was rhythmic. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — German Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 13 Author Members Share Posted January 13 January 12, 2024 By David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick Good morning. We’re covering tomorrow’s election in Taiwan — as well as American-led attacks in Yemen, campaigning in Iowa and aliens. Lai Ching-te and Tsai Ing-wen. Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times Chinese democracy Tomorrow is Election Day in Taiwan, where the selection of a new president will shape the island’s relationship with China — and, by extension, shape international affairs. Today’s newsletter offers a guide. We know that many readers have paid little if any attention to the campaign, but it’s been fascinating and has implications for the competition over global influence between the U.S. and China. Background The fate of Taiwan is one of the big unknowns of the 2020s. It is now a thriving democracy of around 23 million people, with average annual income higher than in parts of Europe. Many other countries, including the U.S., treat it almost as an independent nation without formally recognizing it as such. These countries instead maintain the diplomatic fiction that there is “one China,” including both mainland China and Taiwan. Xi Jinping, China’s president, wants to reunify the two and absorb Taiwan in coming years, U.S. officials believe. Xi’s increasing bellicosity has raised fears that China will start a war. Official U.S. policy — known as strategic ambiguity — is to remain vague about how it would respond if China invaded. But President Biden has said publicly that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s aid. When foreign policy experts worry about how a world war might start, they often put Taiwan at the top of the list. (Our colleague Edward Wong told the back story on an episode of “The Daily” last year.) The candidates Tomorrow’s presidential election includes three candidates, one of whom — Lai Ching-te, the favorite and the current vice president — China would clearly like to see lose. Lai’s party, the Democratic Progressive Party, has historically favored independence. (Here’s a new Times story on the party.) During the campaign, Chinese officials have called Lai a “destroyer of peace” and have spread disinformation about him, as Nicholas Kristof of Times Opinion has written. This propaganda sometimes suggests Lai is an American puppet. China has also imposed new trade sanctions on Taiwan and has said Lai’s election could cause a recession, The Economist noted. Most of these Chinese claims are dubious. Lai doesn’t represent a break with current Taiwanese policy, given that his party has run the island for the past eight years. If anything, he has campaigned on a relatively moderate message, trying to appeal both to voters who favor full independence and to those who prefer the current situation. Yesterday, he said he would “maintain the status quo” to “protect the country’s survival and development.” Lai remains the favorite to win. He has led in almost every poll. But the race has recently narrowed and appears close. Hou Yu-ih Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Both of the other candidates are more friendly toward China, and polls suggest voters may be coalescing around one of the two — Hou Yu-ih, a mayor and former police chief, who’s in the Kuomintang. (For history buffs: Yes, there is an irony in the Kuomintang’s friendliness to China, given that it was the political party that ruled China before losing a civil war to the Communists in the 1940s and fleeing to Taiwan.) Hou has also argued that Lai’s election would risk war with China. Hou, by contrast, has promised both to bolster Taiwan’s military and to build closer ties with Beijing. Ko Wen-je Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times The third candidate is Ko Wen-je, a former surgeon who won the Taipei mayor’s race in 2014 despite having no prior political experience. Ko, in 2019, founded the Taiwan People’s Party, which has tried to channel disaffection with the two main parties. He has portrayed himself as an effective technocrat. The issues One striking part of the campaign is that it has often revolved around kitchen-table issues rather than Taiwan’s relationship with China. “China remains a major theme, but not as much as four years ago,” said our colleague Amy Chang Chien, who’s covering the campaign from Taiwan. “The main themes of the election this year are more about bread-and-butter issues, like high housing prices and slow income increases.” Younger voters seem especially disillusioned, as Amy has written. Many are now undecided, and they could swing the election. (The same happens to be true in the U.S. this year.) Taiwan will also be choosing members of its legislature tomorrow, and experts say that divided government is a plausible outcome. The economic concerns are a weakness for Lai, because he is the sitting vice president. His biggest advantage, on the other hand, may be China’s recent actions. It has become more threatening toward Taiwan, including by sending airplanes, balloons and a satellite near the island. China also continues to crack down on Hong Kong, an area Beijing once promised to grant partial autonomy. For any Taiwanese wondering whether there is any middle ground between remaining separate from China and becoming entirely controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong’s experience suggests that the answer is no. More on the election “Frozen garlic!”: Get a glimpse of Taiwan’s loud, proud version of democracy. A counterintuitive take: Jason Willick, a Washington Post columnist, argues that a Kuomintang upset would reduce tensions with China and give Taiwan and the U.S. more time to build military defenses that could prevent an invasion. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Yemen Airstrikes The U.S. and its allies struck more than a dozen targets in Yemen controlled by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia that has attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Red Sea attacks, which the Houthis said were a protest against Israel’s war in Gaza, have disrupted supply chains. The American-led response is an expansion of the war in the Middle East. The Houthis have vowed to retaliate. The U.S. said that the strikes were meant to damage the Houthis’ military capabilities. Read more about the rebel group and why the U.S. is attacking it. President Biden said he “will not hesitate” to act further if the Houthis continue targeting Red Sea shipping. Read his full statement. More on the War At the world’s top court, Israel’s lawyers are responding to claims that the country intends to commit genocide against the Palestinians. The accusation of genocide is “imbued with profound symbolism for both Israelis and Palestinians,” The Times’s Patrick Kingsley writes. A group of students sued Harvard, calling it a “bastion” of antisemitism. 2024 Election Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are campaigning across Iowa in their fight for second in Monday’s caucuses. Temperatures in Iowa for the caucuses are forecast to be below zero. Read more about the severe weather coming for the Midwest and South. People are mocking DeSantis for an awkward handshake with his wife. Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a moderate Republican who once mocked Trump as “crazy,” pledged to support him if he becomes the party’s nominee. Policy jargon, empathy and Lee Greenwood: Explore the candidates’ distinctive styles on the campaign stage. More Politics Hard-line House Republicans are pressuring Speaker Mike Johnson to renege on his spending deal with Democrats, demanding deeper cuts. Johnson said he’s considering it. Trump abruptly spoke on the last day of his civil fraud trial in Manhattan, insulting the judge and defending himself. His legal troubles are giving him a campaign platform. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of evading taxes on income from foreign businesses. The Pentagon’s inspector general will investigate the delayed disclosure of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization. Other Big Stories The U.N. estimates that nearly a quarter of humanity lived under drought in the last two years. Claims of dog illnesses linked to Purina’s pet food caused a stir on TikTok, forcing the company to rebut the rumors. Inflation continued to slow at the end of 2023, new data shows. Opinions A shadow war is raging around Trump among allies hoping to shape his administration — and the country — if he wins, Sam Adler-Bell writes. The West is good at recognizing genocide in retrospect. We shouldn’t turn away from the charge that it’s happening now in Gaza, Megan Stack writes. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on a market crash, Michelle Goldberg on evangelicals and Bret Stephens on Donald Trump. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS South Fork Wind Farm Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times Sea breeze: A groundbreaking wind farm has begun generating power for New York. See how it was built. “I can just chill”: The things that make January dreary are what its fans love. Clown cardio: Fitness and improv unite to form one wacky workout in — where else? — Los Angeles. Lives Lived: Bud Harrelson wasn’t much of a hitter over his professional baseball career. But he was an outstanding shortstop, and in 1969 helped the Mets win their first World Series. He died at 79. SPORTS An exit: Bill Belichick, the most accomplished coach in N.F.L. history, parted ways with the Patriots after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl wins. The partnership unraveled quickly. ESPN scandal: For years, the sports media behemoth submitted fake names to earn more Emmy awards. Alabama: The school has selected three finalists in its search to replace football coach Nick Saban. An announcement could come as early as today. Roll Tide: Alabama football has “been a machine of astonishing consistency, humming for nearly two decades at peak performance,” The Times’s Campbell Robertson writes. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS “Jules.” Linda Kallerus/Bleecker Street Alien affection: A new generation of alien-focused pop culture is shedding suspicion and fear, instead showing an affinity for extraterrestrials. Last year, Marc Turtletaub’s film “Jules” showed a man develop a kinship with an alien whose craft crashes in his backyard, while a new book — “The Little Book of Aliens,” by the astrophysicist Adam Frank — argued that we’re closer than ever to being able to look for possible signs of civilization in outer space. More on culture Indiana University canceled an exhibition by Samia Halaby, a Palestinian artist who has been harshly critical of Israel. Lynn Yamada Davis, whose cooking TikToks delighted millions, died at 67. Late night hosts joked again about Trump’s trials. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … David Malosh for The New York Times Serve cauliflower cheese as a side dish, or a cheap lunch or dinner. Brew full-bodied coffee with a French press. Walk or run with these insoles. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was peaking. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David and Ian Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 14 Author Members Share Posted January 14 January 13, 2024 By Melissa Kirsch Good morning. The Emmy Awards are next week. Does it matter if you like the characters on the nominated shows? María Jesús Contreras Antihero worship The Emmy Awards are on Monday, after being postponed four months because of Hollywood’s labor disputes. I’m tuning in to see the actors and creators of “The White Lotus” and “Succession” walk the red carpet in fancy dress, after which they will, with any luck, make some witty or inspiring speeches when they win their awards. These are two shows that I loved obsessively while they were on, and mourned ridiculously when they were over. One of the most common criticisms I’ve heard from those who can’t stomach these shows is that they’re devoid of likable characters. The navel-gazing vacationers of “The White Lotus,” the scheming Roy family — these people are self-centered, they’re cruel, they’re hardly the type of people you’d choose to spend time with in real life, the complaint goes. Yet if you’re looking for friends, the other nominated shows offer few options. In fact, unless you’re looking to befriend complicated, dangerous men, you’re out of luck. We’ve got “Barry,” (a hit man trying to exit his sordid metier); “Dahmer,” (a biopic on the serial killer); “The Old Man,” (a former C.I.A. operative with a dirty past); “Better Call Saul” (a crooked lawyer connected to a drug cartel); “Shrinking” (an ethically diminished therapist); and “Ted Lasso” (a criminally nice soccer coach). OK, maybe the last one isn’t so bad, but you get the idea. Ethically compromised, if not psychopathic, company abounds. My question for those who don’t care for these shows because of the characters has been, “Why does a character have to be likable in order to be compelling?” Though I’ll admit this posture is a little condescending; it suggests I’m appreciating these shows on some higher aesthetic plane wherein I consider the art alone, without bringing a mundane desire for empathetic connection into the mix. I recently happened on a piece in The Times that made me reconsider my position. In “Are We Too Concerned That Characters Be ‘Likable’?” from 2013, the authors Mohsin Hamid and Zoë Heller each take up the question. Heller dismisses the notion that caring about likability is silly, calling it “faux-highbrow nonsense.” She cites David Foster Wallace, who wrote of John Updike’s 1997 novel, “Toward the End of Time,” that Updike’s characters had become increasingly unlikable, “without any corresponding indication that the author understood that they were repellent.” Wallace didn’t like the narrator of the book, but it was Updike’s apparent endorsement of the narrator’s horribleness that rankled him. As I think more about the characters in “Succession” and “The White Lotus,” I realize it’s not that I’m unconcerned with whether they are likable. The truth is, I think I actually like them. I don’t see their solipsism and immorality as irredeemable, but as magnifications of my own flaws and those of the people I love. I also experience, as Hamid describes it, “a desire, through fiction, for contact with what we’ve armored ourselves against in the rest of our lives.” That kind of contact is exhilarating. Perhaps this is why I experienced such grief when the shows ended, and why I’m looking forward to the Emmy Awards a little like one would look forward to a reunion with old pals. For more Previous coverage of this year’s nominees in The Morning: “Succession,” “The White Lotus,” “The Bear,” “Poker Face,” “Fire Island.” The full list of Emmy nominees. This month marks the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos,” a study of a complicated, dangerous man if ever there was one. From 2013, the actress Anna Gunn on playing an unlikable character on “Breaking Bad.” Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE WEEK IN CULTURE The Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, at the British Museum. Toby Melville/Reuters The British Museum started a search for a new leader, four months after the last director resigned over revelations that a curator had looted items from its storerooms. Franz Welser-Möst, the Cleveland Orchestra’s longest-serving conductor, is beginning to wind down his career. The Field Museum in Chicago covered several display cases that feature Native American cultural items, as a federal law took effect requiring museums to obtain tribes’ consent to display their artifacts. Sinead O’Connor died from natural causes, according to a London coroner’s office. The singer died in July at 56. Video game developers are increasingly selling unfinished games — a practice known as an “early access” release — which helps them finance their work and identify bugs. Álvaro Enrigue has long been obsessed with the first meeting of the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistadors. His new novel, “You Dreamed of Empires,” brings the moment to life. Amalija Knavs, the mother of Melania Trump, died this week at 78. She was a formative influence on the first lady’s sense of glamour. Lois Kirschenbaum was known as a steady presence in the cheap seats at the Metropolitan Opera. So New York arts groups were surprised to learn she had left them $1.7 million in her will. The Directors Guild of America awards nominations were announced, with Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig and Yorgos Lanthimos in the running for the top award. Pete Davidson revealed in his new Netflix stand-up special that he was high on ketamine at Aretha Franklin’s 2018 funeral, Rolling Stone reports. THE LATEST NEWS An American warship launched a missile on Friday. U.S. Central Command, via Reuters The U.S. carried out strikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen for a second day, continuing the effort to degrade the group’s ability to attack ships in the Red Sea. Since the Oct. 7 attacks, President Biden has endeavored to avoid a wider war in the Middle East. Now, the question seems to be: How wide will it get? F.D.A. scientists recommended removing marijuana from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs. Russia has regained the upper hand in eastern Ukraine. Its troops are on the attack as Ukrainian supplies and morale run low. Millions of Taiwan’s citizens lined up at ballot booths today for a presidential election that could shape the island’s tense relationship with China. Heavy snow fell across much of the northern U.S., disrupting schools and making travel precarious. A frigid mass of Arctic air will descend on the country this weekend; see how cold it will be in your area. Microsoft topped Apple as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, driven by the success of its A.I. business. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. CULTURE CALENDAR By Alexis Soloski 📺 “Sort Of” (Thursday): Even the nicest comedies have to end sometime, but three seasons seems too few for this mellow, finely observed series, which aired on the CBC and is now streaming on Max. Gentle, sardonic and imbued with the bittersweet tang of lived experience, the Toronto-set series stars Bilal Baig as Sabi, a queer, nonbinary Pakistani-Canadian nanny. This season finds Sabi wrestling with grief and mental health struggles as they step (in some very cute shoes) more fully into themselves. 📚 “More: A Memoir of an Open Marriage” by Molly Roden Winter (Tuesday): The marriage plot has taken on a few more complications in recent years. This new memoir about the author’s experiments with polyamory explores these twists. I’ll confess that I’m especially interested not only because of a deep curiosity about other people’s intimate relationships, but also because much of its action takes place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, my own neighborhood. This book ought to make the people-watching at P.T.A. meetings a lot more interesting. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT RECIPE OF THE WEEK David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. By Melissa Clark White Beans With Frizzled Onions and Tomatoes Some weekends are made for long, involved cooking projects. But then there are the other, lazier Saturdays when you need a dinner so easy it practically cooks itself — preferably from pantry staples that don’t call for a trip to the store. Ready in 30 minutes, my recipe for rosemary white beans with frizzled onions and tomato is a savory mix of canned cannellini beans, browned onions and fresh or dried rosemary, simmered in olive oil until the beans turn creamy and rich. Serve it with slices of toasted country bread drizzled with more olive oil for a meal you didn’t have to do very much to produce. REAL ESTATE Array Listing Content for Scenic Sotheby's International Realty What you get for $1.3 million: A coastal house in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., an antique rowhouse in Savannah, Ga., and a two-bedroom condominium in Wilmington, Del. On location: A Twitter executive who left during Elon Musk’s takeover had other things on his mind: completing a family dream house in Sonoma County. The hunt: After years in Washington, two empty nesters found more value in Baltimore. Which home did they choose? Play our game. Sarajevo: How two architects created a calm living space in a nerve-racking city. LIVING An ivory and gold ensemble by the designer Annie Reavey, 1971. Vincent Tullo for The New York Times From boots to Banksy: Elton John is downsizing — and his Atlanta penthouse is being emptied in an auction, expected to bring in $10 million. Nal t’eel: Mexican whiskey, made using an ancient variety of corn, is on the rise. End of an era: After 24 years, the Patriots football coach Bill Belichick is on the way out. And so is his trademark hoodie. Eating right: On Monday, our Well newsletter begins a five-day crash course on the Mediterranean diet. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER How to safely use a space heater It’s the time of year when you may be tempted to park yourself in front of a space heater for hours at a time. Modern space heaters, like Wirecutter’s top pick, come with built-in safety features like a tip-over switch and overheat protection. But there are still some things you should do to avoid an electrical fire, such as leaving your heater on the floor, and plugging it directly into a wall outlet rather than a power strip or extension cord. — Thom Dunn GAME OF THE WEEKEND Chris Ochsner/Kansas City Star, via Getty Images Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs, N.F.L. playoffs: At times this season, it seemed as though nothing could slow down the Dolphins’ offense. But what if they’re too cold to move? Mother Nature is most important player in tonight’s first-round matchup, as the temperature in Kansas City is expected to be below zero degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, making it one of the coldest games in N.F.L. history. (With the wind chill, it could feel between -20 and -30 degrees.) That could be bad news for Miami, who have lost the past 10 times they played in a game below 40 degrees, according to SB Nation. 8 p.m. Eastern on Peacock For more This will be the first N.F.L. playoff game to air only on a streaming service. The stakes are high for Peacock. In the Times Magazine, Michael Sokolove has written a profile of the Chiefs head coach, Andy Reid. The Athletic breaks down the key matchups for every wild-card game in the A.F.C. and the N.F.C. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was rollback. 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 Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 14 Author Members Share Posted January 14 January 14, 2024 By Desiree Ibekwe Good morning. Nearly 20 years after “Mean Girls” was released, a new version is in theaters. Bebe Wood, left, Reneé Rapp and Avantika in the new “Mean Girls.” Jojo Whilden/Paramount Pictures Rebooting a classic There’s a stickiness to “Mean Girls” quotes. For a certain generation, long passages can be plucked from the mind and performed, cadence-perfect, on demand. As a child, I watched the movie over and over on DVD, and the words wormed their way into my impressionable mind. My experience is by no means unique. “It became part of my vernacular,” Samantha Jayne told The Times of her teenage reaction to the film, which was released in 2004. “Every single sound bite.” Jayne is a co-director of a new version of “Mean Girls,” which came out on Friday. It’s an adaptation of an adaptation, refashioning songs from the 2018 Broadway musical based on the movie. (It should also be mentioned that the original film was inspired by a nonfiction book.) Like its predecessor, the new “Mean Girls” follows Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a teenager who has arrived at an American high school after being home-schooled by her zoologist parents in Kenya. She is introduced to the terrors of a teenage social hierarchy and drawn into the orbit of a group of popular girls, led by Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Along with adding musical numbers, the filmmakers updated the script to better reflect our times. Some dated and less-sensitive jokes have been retooled. And there’s greater diversity: Karen Smith, played in the original by Amanda Seyfried, is now Karen Shetty, played by the Indian American actress Avantika. In the nearly 20 years since its release, “Mean Girls” has remained unshakably relevant. “It has this little net that catches girls as they pass through preteen and high school age,” Tina Fey, who wrote both the original film and the reboot, said in 2014. It’s clear why the film spoke to people. It took all the things I loved about teen movies — interpersonal drama, clothes, love interests, a morally satisfying ending that lets us know we’re all spring fling queens — and elevated them, putting an intelligent frame around subjects other films might treat as frivolities. Fey’s script is sharply funny and often crude, both silly and sinister. Watching it feels like opening a pink crushed velvet box and finding a knife inside. So, why rehash a story that people still consider relevant and special? If done poorly, the endeavor could be tantamount to desecration. Even done well, it is cause for a fair bit of existential angst — as the trailer told viewers: “This isn’t your mother’s ‘Mean Girls.’” The response appears to be: Why not? “I have other things that I’d like to do,” Fey told The Times. “But I have so much gratitude that this movie seemed to stick with people.” And it seems that fans have little to worry about. In her review, the Times critic Manohla Dargis writes that despite the tweaks, Fey and the directors stay close to the original template — perhaps even too close. “Few stories, it turns out, are as comically and horrifyingly reliable as those set in high school,” Manohla writes. “Few villains are as dependably hissable as a desirable young woman with an ostensibly cold heart.” It may not be your mother’s “Mean Girls,” but it’s pretty close. Read Manohla’s full review here. For more The costume designer for the new “Mean Girls” said social media and fast fashion influenced his choices to give the characters a Gen Z spin. The original is a classic “along the lines of ‘Casablanca,’ renowned for its performances and for its dialogue,” The New Yorker critic Richard Brody wrote on the movie’s 10th anniversary. Rosalind Wiseman defined teen-girl dynamics and inspired Fey’s cult classic. Now, she helps the adult women who can’t escape high school. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS Republican Race Donald Trump Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Ahead of the caucuses on Monday, many Iowa voters are talking about the prospect of World War III and civil unrest. How do the Iowa caucuses work? Watch Astead Herndon, a Times reporter and host of “The Run-Up” podcast, explain. Donald Trump is leading the Iowa Poll by 28 percentage points. See six other numbers that shed light on the dynamics of the Republican primary. College-educated Republican voters have powered Trump’s political recovery inside the party. Politics John Kerry plans to step down as U.S. special envoy for climate by the spring, after three years in the role. The Republican nominee in a special House election to replace George Santos drew scrutiny after her initial financial disclosure was missing required information. Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey’s governor, is running in a race for a chance to replace Senator Robert Menendez. A student Democratic group was pressured not to endorse her main rival. International Lai Ching-te Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Taiwan’s vice president, Lai Ching-te, was elected as the island’s president. He will face difficult questions about how to handle Taiwan’s dealings with Beijing. After American-led strikes against Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen, much of the group’s offensive capability remains intact, U.S. officials said. Russia’s military has regained the upper hand in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s troops struggle. More than 50 million criminal and civil court cases are pending across India, a backlog that could take more than 300 years to clear. A volcano erupted in Iceland, prompting evacuations in a town near where a fissure opened up and spewed lava last month. Scholars long considered Chaná, an Indigenous language in Argentina, extinct. One man has spent nearly two decades trying to resurrect it. Other Big Stories An “Arctic blast” is expected to bring low wind chill temperatures to large parts of the United States. Quaker Oats recalled several more products over possible salmonella contamination after initially recalling 43 products including cereals and snack foods. FROM OPINION Despite strict rules around cigarette ads, no one is stopping influencers from peddling nicotine to children on social media, Emily Dreyfuss warns. It’s a mistake to treat Nikki Haley as an establishment candidate, instead of the Tea Party maverick she is, David Brooks writes. The Sunday question: Is Trump’s lead in the primary safe? Unlike Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who cultivate their messages to try to appeal to voters, Trump “doesn’t have to run in a ‘lane.’ It is enough for him to be himself,” Rich Lowry writes for Politico. But as candidates like Chris Christie drop out of the race, their voters are more likely to back Haley than Trump. If she can keep close behind in the polls, “the GOP race could be blown wide open,” The Globe and Mail’s Konrad Yakabuski writes. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Junjun Chen “Sleepunders”: Some parents, anxious about their child staying in someone else’s home, are picking kids up just before bedtime — or even staying over with them. Not like “The Sopranos”: Hit men are easy to find in the movies and on TV. Real life is another story. Getting real: We asked experts to explain what diets can (and can’t) actually do for our health and long-term weight loss. Vows: They met through a dating app at a time of transitions in their lives. Lives Lived: The immigration lawyer Leon Wildes fought for more than three years to keep the U.S. government from deporting John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono. He died at 90. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT TALK | FROM THE TIMES MAGAZINE Andreas Malm Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado By David Marchese I spoke with the author and radical climate activist Andreas Malm about his upcoming book “Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown.” Explain the term “overshoot.” The simplest definition of “overshoot” is that you shoot past the limits that you have set for global warming. But the term has come to mean something more in climate science and policy discourse, which is that you can go over and then go back down. So you shoot past 1.5 or 2, but then you return to 1.5 or 2, primarily by means of carbon-dioxide removal. And your argument is that overshoot provides cover for business as usual? Yes. What’s happening now is that you see Exxon Mobil or Occidental or ADNOC — these companies are at the forefront of expanding DAC [direct air capture] capacity. So we can continue to have fossil fuels; we’re just going to take down the CO2 that we emit by DAC. It isn’t a reality. Which of your arguments are you most unsure of? I cannot claim to have a good explanation for what is essentially a mystery, namely that humanity is allowing the climate catastrophe to spiral on. One of my intellectual journeys in recent years has been psychoanalysis. Once you start looking into the psychic dimensions of a problem like the climate crisis, you have to open yourself to difficulty in understanding what’s happening. Is it possible for you to summarize your psychoanalytic understanding of the climate crisis? On the far right, you see this aggressive defense of fossil fuels that verges on a desire for destruction, which is part of Freud’s latent theory of the two categories of drives: eros and thanatos. Another category in the psychic dimension is denial. Denial is as central to the development of the climate crisis as the greenhouse effect. Read more of the interview here. More from the magazine There is more speeding, plowing through intersections and intoxicated driving on U.S. roads than we’ve seen in a long time. Why are American drivers so deadly? Read the full issue. BOOKS Hisham Matar Ellie Smith for The New York Times Doomed to fail: In his new novel, Hisham Matar, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his memoir, “The Return,” turns to the untranslatability of exile — and friendship. Our editors’ picks: “The Other Side,” about female artists who embraced spiritualism in the 19th and 20th centuries, and eight other books. Times best sellers: Ashley Elston’s thriller “First Lie Wins” is new on the hardcover fiction best-seller list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Whip up a quick French toast. Find more uses for a butter warmer. Write with a Wirecutter-approved pen. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, the longest-serving monarch in Europe, will formally complete her abdication today. Tomorrow is Martin Luther King’s Birthday. The Republican presidential Iowa caucuses are tomorrow. The Emmy Awards are tomorrow. The ceremony is normally held in the fall, but was postponed because of Hollywood strikes. The global elite will gather in Davos, Switzerland, tomorrow for the start of the World Economic Forum. A trial to determine defamation damages against Trump in relation to the writer E. Jean Carroll is set to begin on Tuesday. The Sundance Film Festival begins on Thursday. What to Cook This Week Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell. The post-holiday lull is a great time to stay in and cook, Emily Weinstein writes in her Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter. If you’re feeling the same way, she has some recipe ideas for you, including blistered broccoli pasta with walnuts, sticky coconut chicken and rice, and a cheesy frittata, which Sohla El-Waylly will teach you to make in this YouTube video. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was megaplex. Can you put eight historical events — including Paris streetlights, the Iowa caucuses and the world’s oldest trees — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. 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. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 15 Author Members Share Posted January 15 January 15, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering tonight’s Iowa caucuses — as well as the Middle East, freezing weather and a beluga whale. Des Moines, Iowa. Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times Three questions So far, the 2024 presidential campaign looks to be the least competitive in decades. The incumbent president is likely to win the Democratic nomination easily, while a former president seems to be running away with the Republican nomination. Of course, this conclusion is based only on opinion polls, rather than actual voting. By tonight, however, voting will have begun, at least on the Republican side, thanks to the Iowa caucuses. Today’s newsletter offers a preview, in the form of three questions. 1. What’s the biggest story tonight? Don’t get distracted by secondary issues. The big question is whether Donald Trump wins the landslide victory that polls have forecast. If he does, it will be the clearest sign yet that he is on pace to join Richard Nixon, Franklin D. Roosevelt and only a handful of earlier politicians who won the nomination of a major party at least three-times. Recent polls have shown Trump receiving around 50 percent of the Republican vote in Iowa, with Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis both at 20 percent or below. The only other significant candidate remaining is Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been polling below 10 percent. Even if Trump fares a little worse than polls indicate, a landslide win would suggest he is the overwhelming favorite for the nomination. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times 2. Who will finish second? “If the polls are even in the ballpark, the only interesting race might be the one for second place,” Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, wrote in his latest newsletter. The best outcome for Trump’s detractors (short of a shocking upset) would be for either Haley or DeSantis to finish well ahead of the other one. That outcome could allow the second-place finisher to emerge as the clear alternative to Trump, with a chance to consolidate the anti-Trump vote starting in New Hampshire, which holds its primary a week from tomorrow. In the short term, Haley may be the bigger threat to Trump because she has a better chance to win New Hampshire. It is home to many highly educated and moderate Republicans, who are Haley’s base. She also has some support among independents, who can vote in New Hampshire’s primaries. As Nate writes: She had already pulled to within striking distance of Mr. Trump there before Chris Christie withdrew from the race. Historically, primary polling is extremely volatile, and the candidates who surge late often keep surging. Ms. Haley might still need just about everything to go right, and a burst of favorable media coverage after Iowa would only help. Beyond New Hampshire, these affluent, moderate Republicans make up a smaller portion of the voters. Even if Haley were to surge in Iowa and then win an upset in New Hampshire, she would remain the underdog. DeSantis, by contrast, now looks weaker than Haley. But if he could somehow revive his campaign with a strong second-place finish tonight, he might be better positioned than Haley in the long term. He can compete for the more conservative, working-class voters that are Trump’s base, and they will likely decide the outcome in many primaries that follow New Hampshire. As Nate notes, Trump’s criminal trials inject more uncertainty into this nomination campaign than most campaigns. If Trump is convicted and Republican voters or delegates sour on him this spring or summer, a strong second-place finisher would be the obvious potential replacement. That runner-up could be either Haley or DeSantis. (Here’s our recent guide to Trump’s trials, with a focus on their timing.) 3. Why aren’t Democrats voting tonight? For decades, Iowa Republicans and Democrats voted in caucuses on the same night. But Democratic officials recently decided to move back their contest and instead start with South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan. This latter group of states is more diverse, and better reflects the rest of the country, than Iowa and New Hampshire. New Hampshire Democrats have decided to fight the change and will hold a primary next week even though the national party has said the result will not count toward the nomination. As my colleague Reid Epstein has explained, “Iowa Democrats, ashamed by a 2020 fiasco that included a dayslong wait for results that were nonetheless riddled with errors, have meekly accepted their fate as primary season also-rans.” The candidates for the Democratic nomination, in addition to President Biden, are Dean Phillips (a member of Congress from Minnesota) and Marianne Williamson (an author who also ran in 2020). More on the campaigns The candidates made their final pitches in Iowa, braving subzero temperatures to court voters at restaurants and rallies. These are forecast to be the coldest Iowa caucuses in history. The campaigns are worried the weather could affect turnout. DeSantis urged his supporters to show up at caucuses despite the forecast. At his only rally of the weekend, in Indianola, Trump intensified his criticism of Haley, saying she was backed by people who “crave to destroy the MAGA movement.” Haley told a crowd in Ames that America needed “a new generational leader that leaves the negativity and the baggage behind.” Some college-educated conservatives are joining blue-collar voters to support Trump. More on Iowa Iowa’s caucuses are not like the traditional election. Meet some of the people whose job it is to sway attendees’ votes. Super PACs have broken records with their spending in Iowa, Politico reports. Jimmy Carter put the Iowa caucuses on the political map. Read a history of the caucuses from The Washington Post. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Middle East The U.S. said it shot down a Houthi missile that was aimed at a Navy ship. Iran has pushed its proxies, including the Houthis, to make trouble for the American military. Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting in Gaza after lawyers at the world’s top court criticized Israel’s offensive. Members of an Israeli group that recovers dead bodies responded to the Oct. 7 attacks. Read their stories. Some progressive Jews are embracing “diasporism” and reimagining their faith outside Israel. War in Ukraine Nadiia Yefremova, 80. Lynsey Addario for The New York Times Some older Ukrainians can’t afford to leave their country. Others say they won’t abandon their homes. The destruction of factories and the government’s wartime powers have curbed the influence of Ukraine’s oligarchs. More International News Copenhagen on Sunday. Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix Foto, via Associated Press In Copenhagen, people celebrated the accession of Denmark’s new king, Frederik X. Guatemala’s new president, Bernardo Arévalo, was sworn in after midnight, despite efforts by opponents to delay the ceremony. India has 50 million criminal and civil cases pending. At the current rate, it would take 300 years to clear the backlog. In Dublin, soaring rents have left many struggling to afford homes. Two-thirds of younger adults in the city live with their parents. Construction is altering the unique cultural identity of Greek islands. Locals are pushing back. Other Big Stories Snowplowing in Des Moines. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times It’s freezing. Find the risk of frostbite where you are and see photos of the severe weather. California reduced incentives for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels. Some renewable energy companies are leaving the state. A majority of New York City seniors are immigrants. Many hoped to make enough to retire in their countries of origin — but they never did. Recent plagiarism controversies at universities like Harvard are prompting questions about the quality of academic research. Opinions To solve the border crisis, the U.S. needs to grow the economy across the Americas and prevent people from becoming migrants in the first place, Andrea Flores writes. The problem with D.E.I. isn’t diversity, equity or inclusion, but the unconstitutional means universities use to advance them, David French writes. The DeSantis campaign is revealing what Republican voters really want, Ross Douthat writes. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Hvaldimir went AWOL. Joakim Eskildsen/Institute, for The New York Times A whale of a controversy: The beluga Hvaldimir escaped captivity and became a celebrity, but some are worried about his welfare. Abergwyngregyn dispatch: Few know Wales for its whiskey, yet the country is experiencing a revival in production. History of hustling: The word “hustle” was first recorded in the 17th century. In the 20th, it took on an economic context in African American communities. Pilgrimage: Chicago’s latest attraction is a rat-shaped hole in a sidewalk. Metropolitan Diary: He got louder and louder. Lives Lived: Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton on the classic 1950s sitcom “The Honeymooners.” She died at 99. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Detroit Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years, defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 24-23. More playoffs: The Dallas Cowboys’ playoff curse continues — the Green Bay Packers upset them, 48-32. And the Houston Texans’ rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud shredded the Cleveland Browns defense, leading his team to a 45-14 win. Frozen: On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins. It was was so cold that Patrick Mahomes’s helmet shattered on a hard hit. College football: Washington hired Arizona’s Jedd Fisch to replace Kalen DeBoer, who just departed to supplant Nick Saban at Alabama. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS A scene from “Pokémon Concierge.” Netflix Relax with Pikachu: Netflix’s “Pokémon Concierge,” at first glance, might seem like childish fare, but it has found an audience among anxious millennials. In it, an overachieving young woman abandons her stressful life to work at an island resort for adorable monsters. It has no plot and incredibly low stakes; the Pokémon here would rather visit a spa than battle one another. It’s “a rare example of a franchise seizing upon how the culture and its fan base have changed,” the Times critic Maya Phillips writes. More on culture The Emmy Awards are on tonight after the ceremony was postponed from the fall because of actor and writer strikes. “Succession” has 27 nominations. See how to watch. Hit men are a staple of Hollywood thrillers. But in real life, murder plots are marred by ineptitude, experts say. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Julia Gartland for The New York Times Roast salmon slathered in a creamy horseradish mayonnaise alongside mustard potatoes. Cook with Wirecutter’s favorite cast-iron skillet. Eat healthier with whole grains. Brave snow with these winter boots. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was actuality. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 16 Author Members Share Posted January 16 January 16, 2024 I’m turning over today’s newsletter to Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, to explain last night’s results in Iowa. — David Leonhardt By Nate Cohn Chief political analyst Good morning. We’re covering the Republican nomination campaign — as well as the Houthis, severe weather and the Emmys. Donald Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times Trump takes Iowa If there was any question whether Donald Trump was on track to win the Republican nomination, it was answered Monday night by the voters of Iowa. The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses delivered him a sweeping victory, offering the most concrete proof yet of his dominance over the Republican Party. With nearly all the votes counted, Trump’s share was 51 percent. Ron DeSantis finished a distant second at 21 percent, with Nikki Haley at 19 percent. (See maps of the results.) The result is not surprising or even unexpected, but Trump’s victory is still noteworthy. A year ago, Iowa looked more difficult for the former president. In an upset eight years ago, Iowa voters rejected Trump in favor of Ted Cruz. And unlike the rest of the country, the Iowa political establishment has refused to get in line behind Trump. Not only did he win in a landslide anyway, but his 30-point margin of victory set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus. Better still for Trump, neither DeSantis nor Haley posted a strong second-place showing that might have bestowed clear momentum for future races. If anything, DeSantis’s second-place finish might dampen Haley’s momentum heading into New Hampshire. How he won Trump’s decisive victory was built on his usual — if still remarkable — strengths among working-class and rural voters, who made up a preponderance of the Iowa electorate. In county after county across the Iowa countryside, Trump obtained more than 60 percent of the vote — and sometimes 70 percent — with his rivals languishing in the teens or single digits. He also excelled among white evangelical Christians and self-described “very conservative” voters — two groups that held him back here eight years ago. It’s a coalition that naturally gives him a commanding advantage in a party that’s disproportionately conservative, working class, evangelical and rural. It was enough for him to win all but one of the state’s counties, with his one defeat by a single vote in Johnson County. A disappointment for DeSantis DeSantis’s finish is a serious setback to his already ailing candidacy. He seemed like a perfect fit for Iowa, as the caucus electorate usually favors ideologically conservative candidates. He followed the winning caucus playbook, including campaigning in all 99 counties and earning high-profile endorsements from the state’s governor, many other elected Republicans in the state and prominent evangelical leaders. None of it seemed to make a difference. The road ahead for him is bleak. No upcoming contest plainly offers DeSantis a better chance of victory, and his poll numbers are even weaker in the states ahead. If he can’t compete in Iowa, it’s hard to imagine where he can. It has raised the question of whether he will continue in the race, though he has said he’s staying in. Either way, Haley has overtaken DeSantis as Trump’s nearest, if still distant, rival. Haley’s path forward For Haley, the third-place finish is a disappointment but not dire. She showed important strength among college-educated, independent and suburban voters, who have long been Trump’s greatest skeptics. She defeated Trump by a comfortable margin in precincts where most residents held a four-year college degree. She also won 64 percent of self-described moderates. Haley’s strength among moderates and college graduates wasn’t enough for second in Iowa, as several late polls suggested, but voters like these will represent a much larger share of later primary electorates. It might just be enough for her to compete in relatively well-educated states with larger numbers of independent voters, including New Hampshire next week — where the polls already show a close and tightening race. But the results also confirmed that her appeal is extraordinarily narrow, all but confined to those moderate and highly educated voters. She routinely failed to reach 10 percent of the vote in rural, working-class precincts. The entrance polls found that she won just 9 percent among voters who never attended college. College-educated and independent voters can only take a candidate so far in a working-class Republican Party. It certainly didn’t take her very far in Iowa on Monday night. There is no path for Haley to win the nomination without greatly expanding her appeal. More on Iowa In his victory speech, Trump struck an uncharacteristically upbeat tone. “I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki,” he said. “I think they both actually did very well.” Haley congratulated Trump but made the case that the country did not want another Trump-Biden election: “Both lack a vision for our country’s future because both are consumed by the past, by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances,” she said. Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur, dropped out of the race after finishing fourth. DeSantis and his allies bashed the news media for calling the race a half-hour after the caucuses began, which they said might have biased Iowans who had not yet cast a vote. Far fewer Iowans voted last night than in 2016. The frigid weather likely kept turnout low. Read five takeaways from the caucuses. Trump’s connection with his supporters is one of the most durable forces in American politics, Michael Bender and Katie Glueck write. Commentary The battle between DeSantis and Haley for second place doesn’t matter: The general election has already started, Times Opinion’s Michelle Goldberg writes. The wishful thinking that someone can stop Trump from winning the nomination is coming to an end, Karen Tumulty writes in The Washington Post. Elevating Haley over DeSantis as the non-Trump candidate only makes a Trump victory easier, Times Opinion’s Ross Douthat writes. Trump’s win “serves as an endorsement of the constant drumbeat for vengeance that Trump has made the centerpiece of his campaign,” MSNBC’s Hayes Brown writes. News organizations were “irresponsible to call the race for Trump before a remotely representative sample of votes had been counted,” Isaac Schorr writes for Mediaite. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Middle East Houthis in Sana, the Yemeni capital. Yahya Arhab/EPA, via Shutterstock Houthi militants in Yemen, undeterred by U.S.-led missile strikes, launched more attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Israeli officials said they were astonished by the scale and quality of Gaza’s tunnel network. Israel said it had concluded its “intensive” ground operations in northern Gaza and would soon end that stage of fighting in the south. Hamas said Israeli airstrikes killed two hostages. The Israeli military cast doubt on the claim. Turkey briefly detained an Israeli soccer player after he displayed a pro-Israel message during a game. His Turkish club suspended him. Weather Freezing temperatures are covering much of the U.S. See maps of the forecast. The weather has prompted schools to close across the South, and Texas has asked residents to limit energy use to prevent the grid from failing. A storm surge on the Maine coast knocked two 19th-century shacks into the sea. See the video. Politics Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin left the hospital after a two-week stay for complications from prostate cancer surgery. The conservative billionaire Charles Koch is quietly backing a commercial fishing group’s Supreme Court case — one that could curtail the government’s regulatory authority. International Cowboys and cattle in Colombia. Federico Rios for The New York Times Colombia created its latest, and perhaps last, national park. It is teeming with wildlife — caimans and anacondas, anteaters and bush dogs. Iran released two journalists whose coverage of a woman’s death in police custody led to nationwide protests. But the authorities extended the sentence of Narges Mohammadi, an activist who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Lava is menacing a town in Iceland. The country’s president said a new period of seismic activity on the island had begun. North Korea has formally abandoned its goal of reunification with South Korea, according to state news reports. Other Big Stories Diabetes is fueling an amputation crisis, especially among Latino men in Texas. A 45-year-old man was shot to death on a subway train in Brooklyn after intervening in an argument over loud music. Opinions Progressives helped Republicans limit free trade. Neither are eager to talk about it, Farah Stockman writes. Negotiating with Russia on a cease-fire deal now would mean the end of war in Ukraine and the beginning of occupation, Nataliya Gumenyuk writes. Tightening the labor market reduces racial inequality, Paul Krugman argues. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS The “Austrian Satellite Reef” exhibition. David Payr for The New York Times A celebration and a plea: A crochet coral reef, sometimes described as the environmental version of the AIDS quilt, thrives with a sea of volunteers. Hot boxing: Can Mike Tyson become a heavyweight in the New York marijuana industry? Lives Lived: Roy Calne was the rare physician to be both a groundbreaking surgeon and researcher. He developed operating techniques involved in organ transplantation, while at the same time working to identify drugs to overcome organ rejection. He died at 93. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cruised past the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-9, and Josh Allen plowed through snow and defenders in the Buffalo Bills’ 31-17 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. 2024 draft: Caleb Williams, the U.S.C. quarterback and projected No. 1 overall pick, declared for the draft. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS The cast of “The Bear.” Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images No shocks: The 75th Emmy Awards, delayed from September because of the Hollywood strikes, took place on Monday night — and there were few surprises. Hulu’s “The Bear” secured six awards, including best comedy; and HBO’s “Succession” also took home six, including the best drama award and best actress and actor in a drama for Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin. Elsewhere, Elton John, with a win for his variety special, joined the EGOT club — an acronym for winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. For more: See a full list of the winners and red carpet looks from the night. More on culture “Happy Days” at 50: The cast, including Henry Winkler and Ron Howard, look back on the show. The chairman of Sinclair television stations bought The Baltimore Sun, the largest newspaper in Maryland. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … David Malosh for The New York Times Treat yourself to a breakfast of spiced Irish oatmeal with heavy cream and crunchy Demerara sugar. Develop healthy habits with these tools. Start thinking about Valentine’s Day with gifts for him and her. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was hoodwink. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 18 Author Members Share Posted January 18 January 17, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering Americans’ views on immigration — as well China’s population, Yemen and New York City’s snow. Border fencing in El Paso, Texas. Todd Heisler/The New York Times A 2024 vulnerability I keep a running list of issues on which either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is out of step with public opinion. For Republicans, abortion now tops my list, followed by Donald Trump’s attitudes toward democracy. For Democrats, I think immigration policy has moved to the top of the list. In a newsletter last week, I described the shift in the Democratic Party’s immigration policy over the past decade. Before Trump ran for president, Democrats tended to combine passionate support for many forms of immigration with a belief in strong border security. But Trump’s harsh anti-immigration stance pushed the party toward the opposite end of the spectrum. Today, many Democratic politicians are willing to accept high levels of undocumented immigration and oppose enforcement measures that the party once favored. Some Democrats, especially on the left, argue that the government doesn’t even have the power to reduce migration much. This shift has created political vulnerabilities for Democrats — because most Americans are closer to the party’s old position than to its new one. Today, I’ll walk through public opinion on the issue. ‘A serious problem’ The first thing to know is that views on immigration aren’t static. During Trump’s presidency, Americans became more favorable to immigration, evidently in reaction to Trump’s opposition to it. Consider this: By the end of his presidency, the number of Americans who favored increasing immigration exceeded the number who favored decreasing it for the first time in six decades of Gallup polling. Source: Gallup | Latest data is from a June 2023 survey of 1,013 U.S. adults. That trend has since reversed, as you can see in the chart. The biggest reason seems to be a surge of illegal immigration during President Biden’s term. One cause of that surge has been the Biden administration’s approach. Many would-be migrants now believe — correctly — that so long as they can reach U.S. soil, they will be able to stay for years. In response, the number of Americans who say that illegal immigration is a serious problem has risen, according to YouGov: Source: YouGov | Latest data is from a December 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults. To reduce these migration flows, congressional Republicans are pushing for new border policies. Democrats often criticize the proposals as extreme, but many are quite popular. Polls frequently find majority support for a border wall, for instance, especially when the question doesn’t mention Trump’s name. In a recent New York Times/Siena College survey of six battleground states, 53 percent of respondents favored a wall, compared with 44 percent who opposed one. A recent Fox News survey (and, yes, other pollsters respect Fox’s polling) found majority support for several other enforcement measures, too: Source: Fox News poll of 1,007 registered voters in December 2023. I don’t mean to suggest that the Democratic Party’s shift on immigration is simply about Trump. It’s part a larger story — namely, the class inversion of American politics, in which the Democratic Party increasingly reflects the views of socially liberal professionals. On immigration, these affluent, highly educated voters tend to favor more open policies, while working-class voters prefer less immigration. Race plays a nuanced role in these views. White voters do tend to be more skeptical of immigration than Asian, Black and Hispanic voters. But a large chunk of voters of color, especially working-class voters, also favor tighter border security than many leading Democrats do. Immigration appears to be one reason, among many, that Biden’s support among voters of color has deteriorated. Source: NYT/Siena College poll of 3,662 registered voters in six battleground states in October/November 2023. During the past few years — as Democrats have changed their approach to immigration — Republicans have made gains with Asian, Black and Hispanic voters. Some of the biggest gains have come in the border areas of Texas (as this Times map shows). Among Hispanic voters, illegal immigration is one of the Democratic Party’s weakest issues, along with crime and the economy, a Times poll in 2022 found; the party’s strongest issues include abortion, climate, student debt cancellation and Trump’s criminal charges. Democrats assumed that a more open immigration policy would help increase their support among voters of color. Instead, the opposite has happened. The rule of law Even with all their current concerns, Americans are not opposed to immigration. Most say that legal immigrants strengthen the country, and many believe the U.S. should remain a haven for people fleeing repression. But most Americans also think that the country’s immigration laws should mean something and that citizens of other countries should not be able to enter this country simply because they want to. Today’s Democratic Party is often uncomfortable taking a firm position on immigration. As a result, the issue has become a problem for Biden’s re-election campaign — and an advantage for Trump. Related: Migrants in New York camped in snow, waiting for identification cards they hoped would help them find work. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS China The Liangma River in Beijing. Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times China’s population has shrunk and its birthrate has continued to fall despite government efforts to encourage women to have more babies. The Chinese economy grew last year, but its longer-term growth is slowing in part because of high debt and a shrinking work force. China has restarted measuring youth unemployment — this time with different criteria that lowered the figure. Middle East The Biden administration plans to return the Houthis to a list of terrorist groups. The U.S. struck Houthi targets in Yemen for the third time, destroying missiles the military said were a threat to ships in the Red Sea. Two missing Navy SEALs were part of an operation to seize Iranian weapons bound for Yemen, the Pentagon said. Iran hit Pakistan and Iraq with airstrikes. Iran said it was targeting terrorists behind recent attacks, but Pakistan and Iraq said the strikes had killed civilians. War in Gaza The Israeli military is trying to take control of the tunnels under Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, The Wall Street Journal reports. The area is crowded with refugees. Qatar said it had brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas that will allow medication to be delivered to hostages in return for additional humanitarian aid to Gaza. 2024 Election As Republican candidates campaign across New Hampshire, Nikki Haley is focusing on independents, who can vote in the primary there next Tuesday. ABC News canceled a debate scheduled for Thursday in New Hampshire, after Haley refused to attend unless Trump also participated. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, is trying to create his own political party in an effort to get on the ballot in six states. White House officials believe a Trump rematch is Biden’s best chance of winning re-election, Peter Baker writes. More on Politics Trump’s lawyers plan to accuse the intelligence community of bias in the classified documents case, court filings show. Donald Trump visited New York for the start of a second defamation suit filed by E. Jean Carroll. In Congress, top Democrats and Republicans agreed on a plan to expand the child tax credit and restore business tax breaks, but the deal faces a difficult path to become law. The Senate took the first step in advancing a stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Business Elon Musk demanded more than $80 billion in additional stock from Tesla’s board and threatened to work on projects elsewhere. A federal judge blocked JetBlue from acquiring Spirit Airlines. The Justice Department had argued against the merger. E.V. batteries struggle in very cold weather, leading to long lines and frustration at charging stations. Other Big Stories Brooklyn. Brittainy Newman for The New York Times New York City went 701 days without significant snowfall. That run ended yesterday. A New Zealand lawmaker quit after video was published of her allegedly shoplifting. Two Malaysian prisoners at Guantánamo Bay pleaded guilty to conspiring in the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia. Opinions The U.S. needs to prioritize its own interests and pressure Israel to avoid a wider war, Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, writes. The charges of genocide against Israel are a moral obscenity that dilute the term’s power, Bret Stephens writes. Popular support for Taiwanese democracy in both the U.S. and Taiwan is risking a Chinese invasion, Michael Beckley writes. All of The Times. All in one subscription. Enjoy unlimited access to everything we offer — with this introductory offer. You’ll benefit from more of the insights that you find in The Morning, every morning. MORNING READS Bobi in February 2023. Patricia De Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 31 years, 5 months: A man in Portugal claimed to have the world’s oldest dog. After widespread skepticism, though, his Guinness record is in doubt. New York: For most of his life, Hakim Jeffrey’s only connections to Representative Hakeem Jeffries were Brooklyn and their names. Then they crossed paths. Lives Lived: Despite working in a political town removed from the coastal entertainment capitals, Tom Shales wielded enormous influence during his three-decade career as The Washington Post’s chief television critic. He died at 79. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ coaching vacancy. And Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach, told players he would return to the team for next season, quieting doubts about his future. Sport switch: The 22-year-old Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is leaving the sport to attempt a career in the N.F.L. Lawsuit: A woman accused James Dolan, the businessman behind Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks, of pressuring her into unwanted sex. Dolan denied the allegations. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS The cast of “Succession.” Aude Guerrucci/Reuters Congrats and goodbye: Between 2010 and 2023, the number of TV shows in the U.S. rose almost every year. But after a year of strikes and shrinking studio profits, Hollywood executives have pulled back. Monday’s Emmy Awards ceremony “felt in many ways like a bookend to the so-called Peak TV era,” The Times’s John Koblin writes. “There is a good chance that television may start to look a lot like television from a couple of decades ago.” More on culture Nelson Mandela’s daughter will auction some of his belongings after winning a legal battle with the South African government, which claimed they were national artifacts. “If you’ve ever wondered what is the polar opposite of M.L.K. Day, it is the Iowa Republican caucus”: The late-night hosts joked about Trump’s victory. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Andrew Purcell for The New York Times Prepare crisp gnocchi with brussels sprouts and brown butter in 20 minutes. Learn a new language. It may by beneficial for brain health in old age. Ride out winter storms with these tools. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram were littleneck and telekinetic. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 19 Author Members Share Posted January 19 January 18, 2024 SUPPORTED BY UPWAY The Supreme Court held oral arguments yesterday on one of the biggest cases of the current term, and my colleague Adam Liptak explains the stakes in today’s newsletter. — David Leonhardt By Adam Liptak Supreme Court Correspondent Good morning. We’re also covering Iran, King Charles III and “The Great Gatsby” musical. The Supreme Court. Kenny Holston/The New York Times The power of experts Now that abortion is restricted and affirmative action is hobbled, the conservative legal movement has set its sights on a third precedent: Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The 1984 decision, one of the most cited in American law but largely unknown to the public, bolstered the power of executive agencies that regulate the environment, the marketplace, the work force, the airwaves and countless other aspects of modern life. Overturning it has been a key goal of the right and is part of a project to demolish the “administrative state.” A decision rejecting Chevron would threaten regulations covering — just for starters — health care, consumer safety, government benefit programs and climate change. (My colleague Charlie Savage has written more on the possible implications.) After three and a half hours of lively arguments on Wednesday that appeared to divide the justices along the usual lines, it seemed that the court’s conservative majority was prepared to limit or even eliminate the precedent. Chevron — and bear with me here, this will hurt only for a minute — established the principle that courts must defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The theory is that agencies have more expertise than judges, are more accountable to voters and are better able to establish uniform national policies. “Judges are not experts in the field, and are not part of either political branch of the government,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in 1984 for a unanimous court (though three of its justices recused for reasons of health or financial conflict). Stevens later said of the opinion, which was easily his most influential, that it was “simply a restatement of existing law.” The decision was not much noted when it was issued. “If Chevron amounted to a revolution, it seems almost everyone missed it,” Justice Neil Gorsuch, the harshest critic of the doctrine on the current court, wrote in 2022, saying that courts had read it too broadly. At first, conservatives believed that empowering agencies would constrain liberal judges. So the Reagan administration, which had interpreted the Clean Air Act to allow looser regulations of emissions, celebrated the decision. Justice Stevens, rejecting a challenge from environmental groups, wrote that the Environmental Protection Agency’s reading of the statute was “a reasonable construction” that was “entitled to deference.” The head of the E.P.A. when the regulation was issued? Anne Gorsuch, Justice Gorsuch’s mother. Most surprisingly, given its current bad odor with the right, Chevron was at least initially championed, celebrated and elevated by Justice Antonin Scalia, a revered conservative figure who died in 2016. “In the long run Chevron will endure and be given its full scope,” he wrote in a law review article in 1989, adding that this was so “because it more accurately reflects the reality of government.” What, then, accounts for the decision’s place on the conservative hit list? After all, as the case itself demonstrates, it requires deference to agency interpretations under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The answers are practical, cultural and philosophical. Business groups on the whole remain hostile to regulation. Many conservatives have come to believe that executive agencies are dominated by liberals under both parties’ administrations — the shorthand for this critique is “the deep state.” Some on the right have become hostile to the very idea of expertise. But the attack on Chevron on Wednesday was mostly fought on the terrain of the separation of powers, with conservative justices insisting that courts rather than agencies must determine the meaning of ambiguous statutes. Still, Justice Samuel Alito, who is likely to vote to overrule the decision, expressed puzzlement on Wednesday about its history. “Chevron was initially popular,” he said. It was seen as “an improvement because it would take judges out of the business of making what were essentially policy decisions. Now, were they wrong then?” Continue reading the main story A MESSAGE FROM UPWAY Discover Upway, your next e-Bike priced just right Upway is the #1 e-Bike provider, offering a range of renowned brands, such as Specialized, Giant, and Aventon, at prices discounted by up to 60% off retail - all delivered to your home 99% assembled within a week, and backed by a 1-year warranty. Upway's mission is simple yet impactful – to make electric mobility accessible to everyone. Don't miss the Winter Sale with up to an extra $1000 off. Exclusively for NY Times readers, use code WINTERWAY for an additional limited-time savings of $100. Shop now THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War In Rafah. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images More than a million people are living in squalid conditions in Rafah, southern Gaza. See how the tent camps there have expanded. Israel and Hamas are battling near a hospital in Khan Younis, also in the south. More on the Middle East The U.S. struck Houthi military sites in Yemen as the group prepared to fire missiles from them, the Pentagon said. Pakistan said its military had carried out strikes inside Iran, a day after Iranian forces conducted an airstrike in Pakistan. Iran’s missile strikes in neighboring countries are a signal to its supporters and a warning to its enemies. 2024 Election Ron DeSantis plans to reduce campaigning in New Hampshire to focus on next month’s primary in South Carolina. His super PAC began laying off employees. Before the New Hampshire primary, Nikki Haley is framing herself as Donald Trump’s top rival. CNN canceled a debate in New Hampshire after Trump and Haley declined to participate, a day after ABC News did the same. The Trump campaign is trying to effectively secure the nomination before Super Tuesday. (“The Run Up” explains why the primary already feels over.) More on Politics Speaker Mike Johnson Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times Senators from both parties think they can strike a deal to secure the southern border and aid Ukraine. But Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that House Republicans might not agree to a compromise. The judge overseeing Trump’s defamation trial threatened to eject him from the courtroom if he kept making disruptive comments. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York proposed a $233 billion state budget that includes more money to help New York City manage its migrant crisis. Business Apple will remove a feature from its watches that detects blood-oxygen levels. It lost a patent case over the technology last year. Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s former chief operating officer, will leave the company’s board of directors after 14 years. Condé Nast announced it would fold the online music publication Pitchfork into GQ, leading to layoffs of employees including Pitchfork’s editor in chief. Google will cut 100 jobs at YouTube, which has struggled to contend with an advertising slowdown and competition from TikTok. Europe King Charles III Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images King Charles III will be hospitalized for prostate treatment. Kate, the Princess of Wales, is in the hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery. Greenland has lost 20 percent more of its ice sheet than previously thought. Climate change is to blame, a study said. Germany, once the main driver of Europe’s growth, is at an economic standstill. Guatemala On the outskirts of Guatemala City. Daniele Volpe for The New York Times A rich family created a utopian enclave outside Guatemala’s capital. Some say it is a testament to inequality. American officials barred a Guatemalan former president from entering the U.S. because of bribery accusations, a signal of support for the new leader’s anticorruption drive. Other Big Stories Some American states are trying to convince “super drivers” — who travel about 110 miles a day on average — to switch to electric vehicles. Cancer deaths in the U.S. are falling, but the number of new cases has increased, according to an American Cancer Society report. Three people died in Portland after a power line fell on a car during severe weather. Bitter cold will return to much of the U.S. tomorrow. Opinions Child care is health care. Congress should support both by funding emergency child care, Molly Dickens and Lucy Hutner write. Bans haven’t lowered the national abortion rate. Abortion opponents must find another way, Daniel Williams writes. Here are columns by Gail Collins on the Republican primaries, Pamela Paul on politicization in public health and Nicholas Kristof on a war with North Korea. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS A 1960s ad. Frito-Lay “L’eggo my Eggo”: The food industry has long advertised its products as impossible to resist. In the Ozempic age, has craveability lost its selling power? Counterfeit coffee: Read how farmers in Hawaii fought companies selling fake Kona beans. Stranded: They booked tickets for a three-year cruise that never happened. Now their lives are falling apart, and they’re seeking criminal charges. Listings: A New Mexico-based homebuilder named layouts after Harriet Tubman and Anne Frank. Then the internet found out. Social Q’s: “An enemy has infiltrated my walking group.” Vows: A founding member of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot got married. The vibe was cozy-goth. Lives Lived: Claire Fagin transformed the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing as its dean, tripling enrollment, establishing a doctoral program and building the school into a world leader in nursing research. She died at 97. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Dallas Cowboys will retain Mike McCarthy as head coach, the team announced. Health emergency: Police officers found the Colts owner Jim Irsay unresponsive during a December incident at Irsay’s house and treated him for a suspected overdose. N.B.A.: Dejan Milojević, the Golden State Warriors’ assistant coach, died yesterday at 46 after suffering a heart attack at a team dinner this week. ARTS AND IDEAS Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada in “The Great Gatsby.” Jeremy Daniel New theater season: “The Great Gatsby” is coming to Broadway this spring as a musical featuring the stars of “Newsies” and “Miss Saigon.” The novel has been adapted many times: It debuted on Broadway in 1926, a year after the book’s publication, and later became a glitzy film, an opera, a seven-hour play and even a video game. Since the novel recently entered the public domain, adaptations are sure to keep coming. There’s already a competing musical called “Gatsby,” with music from Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, in the works. More on culture In a memoir, Crystal Hefner, the third wife of Playboy’s founder, Hugh Hefner, recounts his misogyny. “I didn’t know if they were hugging or burping each other”: Jimmy Fallon joked about Vivek Ramaswamy’s appearance at a Trump rally. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Linda Xiao for The New York Times Cozy up with a winter minestrone that uses cabbage two ways. Cut down on your screen time. Clean your water bottle using these tips to prevent mold. Manage passwords with an app. Organize your pantry. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was invalidly. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. 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 News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 21 Author Members Share Posted January 21 January 19, 2024 Congress averted a government shutdown yesterday afternoon. In today’s newsletter, Carl Hulse, The Times’s chief Washington correspondent, explains why conservative Republicans folded. — David Leonhardt By Carl Hulse Good morning. We’re also covering Israeli women on the front lines, Hunter Biden and travel trends. Speaker Mike Johnson Kenny Holston/The New York Times A calculation Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday did exactly what got his predecessor fired last year: He pushed through legislation to keep the government open with mainly Democratic votes. So is Johnson about to lose his job? Almost certainly not. Ultraconservative House members were sputtering mad that Johnson, the novice speaker, didn’t drive a harder bargain with Senate Democrats on a short-term funding bill to prevent a shutdown this weekend. But they aren’t yet ready to depose him as they did with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October. The main reason is that the right sees him as an honest broker who listens to his members even if they don’t like the deals he ultimately brokers. They trust him as a true conservative. They’re reassured by his deep and public evangelical Christianity. So they felt better about swallowing a spending agreement that seemed inevitable anyway — since it had to be negotiated with Senate Democrats and the White House. Because of the resistance from the hard right, Johnson faced a choice. He could shut down the government and risk public ire or lean on Democrats to help him to keep it open. He chose the latter, calculating that a shutdown would hurt Republicans politically and that he was simply following through on a spending agreement previously struck by McCarthy. Republicans said it wasn’t enough to fire Johnson. “It’s not going to happen,” said Representative Ralph Norman, a hard-liner from South Carolina who opposed the measure. “No one will put the country through that.” The legislation that averted a government shutdown this week was a classic congressional Band-Aid. It keeps the spigot on into early March so lawmakers from both chambers can work on 12 spending bills. Importantly, Johnson won a “majority of the majority” — meaning most Republican votes, which is a marker that congressional observers follow — but just barely. In the end, 107 Republicans backed the bill and 106 opposed it, exposing the depth of his party’s division over the bill. On the Democratic side, 207 supported it, with two opposed. It was not ideal for Johnson. The measure brought grumbling from his allies. “Our speaker, Mr. Johnson, said he was the most conservative speaker we’ve ever had,” said Eli Crane, a Republican from Arizona. “Yet here we are putting this bill on the floor.” The fight to come A bigger challenge is yet to come for Johnson, when Congress takes up border security and aid to Ukraine. It remains unclear whether the two parties can find a compromise on immigration — and whether Donald Trump will urge other Republicans to defeat any bill as a way to prevent President Biden from claiming a bipartisan victory on border policy. Johnson will be under duress from both sides. The White House and even some Senate Republicans will pressure him to allow a vote on a package being negotiated in the Senate. If he does, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, has said she will bring up the motion to topple him. Whatever happens, Johnson does have a plan to restore faith in his conservative bona fides in coming weeks. He has pledged to push provisions restricting abortion rights and purported government overreach. He’s letting committee chiefs pursue investigations of Hunter Biden and other Biden appointees. Democrats have the votes to resist these efforts in the Senate, but the fights could cause a difficult six weeks in the House until the next shutdown deadline. Johnson’s good standing with his caucus wasn’t the only reason that the House passed a spending bill yesterday. The weather also played a role. Members wanted to finish the deal so they could leave Washington before an expected snowstorm. For more President Biden yesterday. Pete Marovich for The New York Times The debate over immigration has hurt Biden’s approval rating. Now, it threatens to damage his foreign policy legacy in Ukraine. Biden said he believed there weren’t any “sticking points” left in negotiations over the southern border and aid for Ukraine, but he added that “a small minority” could try to block a deal. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War Israeli Army soldiers. Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times Israelis debated for years about whether women should fight in the military. Now, female soldiers are on the front lines. Israel has reduced the intensity of its military campaign in northern Gaza. Residents there say the sounds of gun battles and explosions are becoming less frequent. A member of Israel’s war cabinet criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on television, exposing a rift in the government. A map of the “Arab world,” omitting Israel, put a public school in Brooklyn in a political firestorm. More on the Middle East The Houthi militia leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Yahya Arhab/EPA, via Shutterstock The Houthi militia leader vowed to continue attacking ships in the Red Sea. He said a conflict with the U.S. would only strengthen the group. Iran has become the producer of some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the Middle East. Read why Iran is the common link in conflicts from Gaza to Pakistan. Politics Hunter Biden will testify behind closed doors next month as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into his father, top Republicans said. Republicans are racing to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s homeland security secretary, despite no evidence that he committed offenses. Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic congressman who previously managed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, is running for Congress in Ohio as an independent. 2024 Election In a social media post, Trump said that presidents should be immune from criminal charges for anything they do in office. The judge overseeing Trump’s Georgia criminal case ordered Fani Willis, the district attorney, to respond to accusations that she had an affair with a lawyer she hired. A judge said that Trump’s name could stay on Washington State’s primary ballot. After Ron DeSantis accused Fox News of protecting Trump, a host called for DeSantis to leave the primary. The former presidential candidate Andrew Yang campaigned in New Hampshire for Representative Dean Phillips, who is challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination. Policing The Justice Department condemned the police’s delayed response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. A report gave clear direction: Officers must confront a shooter. An officer ticketed drivers despite their connections to the N.Y.P.D. He says he was punished for it. Other Big Stories Spelman College in Atlanta received a $100 million donation, believed to be the largest single gift to a historically Black college. Macy’s announced plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs and to close five stores. Snow is likely from the Midwest to the Northeast today. But warmer weather is on the way. Opinions HBO and Netflix have lost their nerve, Peter Biskind writes. DeSantis wanted to give voters someone who could go further right than Trump but misunderstood what they were looking for, Katherine Miller writes. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on China’s economy and David Brooks on higher education’s administrators. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS Chanelle Nibbelink Falling fares and A.I.: Read what travelers can expect in 2024. A TikTok miner: A woman made headlines after building a tunnel under her home. She is the latest in a long line of people who made a hobby of digging. Newspapermen: Billionaires like Jeff Bezos wanted to revive the news industry’s fortunes. Instead, they’re losing a fortune. Sex education: Emily Nagoski wrote a best seller about women’s sex lives. Then her own fell apart. Modern love: “I have no moral objection to infidelity.” Lives Lived: Peter Schickele composed symphonies, film scores and musical numbers for Broadway. To his resigned chagrin, he was best known as a musical parodist, the supposed discoverer of the fictional P.D.Q. Bach. Schickele died at 88. SPORTS College football: Ohio State hired the former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, a big swing in a desperate moment for the Buckeyes. N.C.A.A.: The Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against the collegiate athletics organization over its transfer rules. Fraud: The Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer is suing a former family friend, charging that he swindled Palmer out of nearly $1 million. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Some cast members of a German version of “Last One Laughing.” Frank Zauritz/Prime Video Make ’em laugh: On the Amazon Prime show “LOL: Last One Laughing,” 10 comedians gather in a room with a goal of making one another laugh; the last one to keep a straight face wins. Despite the simple premise, the show has been a hit, spawning spinoffs in Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Mexico and many more countries. (One place that hasn’t had its own version yet? The U.S.) “The comedy antics — some prepared, some improvised — are often amusing,” Calum Marsh writes. “But it’s the contestants’ strained efforts to suppress their laughter that are really compelling.” More on culture The Brazilian police arrested a man in connection with the killing of Brent Sikkema, a New York art dealer stabbed 18 times in Rio de Janeiro. South Africa’s government is trying to block Nelson Mandela’s daughter from selling his belongings, appealing a court order allowing an auction to go ahead. “He can’t even control an umbrella”: Late-night hosts chided Trump for a lack of self-control. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Testani for The New York Times Stir peas into mushroom risotto for a luxurious vegetarian meal. Make the most of a short workout. Swap out these everyday household essentials. Buy a low maintenance humidifier. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was homepage. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. P.S. Listen to David Leonhardt debate Michael Strain, an economist, about the resolution, “The American dream is in decline.” (It’s also available as a podcast on Apple and Spotify.) Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 21 Author Members Share Posted January 21 January 20, 2024 By Melissa Kirsch Good morning. The seemingly trivial debate over whether or not January is terrible offers an outlet for seasonal frustration, a pressure-alleviating way to spar without stakes. María Jesús Contreras Cold comfort I’m trying to catch some of the optimism from Steven Kurutz’s recent paean to January. Winter friends — those who, contrary to all hedonic and circadian sense, love dark days and black ice — have been forwarding the story to me, triumphant, as if once and for all it’s been settled, the pointless, perennial battle of the seasons. Fortified with talking points, the winter warriors are in my inbox, ticking off upsides: less traffic, fewer obligations, cheaper flights and easier dinner reservations. Everyone just wants to feel better, I get it, but resisting their campaign is a twisted part of coping with the season. I spent the week exchanging snapshots with friends in Mississippi, their mutt cavorting in the snow-covered yard (look how cozy!), my window-ledge pigeons shivering in New York’s 1.7 inches of slush (look how sad!). “We are not the same,” I told my friend Stu when he sent me Steven’s January essay, calling it the best he’d read all year. Another friend asked if I didn’t find the cold and snowfall moody and melancholy, in a good way. I wanted to reply with Roz Chast’s 2018 New Yorker cover, “Cruellest Month,” which depicts a January advent calendar of horrors, each day drearier than the last (Jan. 7: “Sunset at 11 a.m.”). I wanted to make my case about how impossible it is to get anything done when there’s so little daylight, how stiff and clenched people get when rushing to get back indoors. It’s a case that the poets have been making for eons: “Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold,” Shakespeare wrote. “Hideous winter,” he called it. “Beauty o’ersnow’d and bareness everywhere.” But aren’t I the one who’s been listening on a loop to the saddest song I’ve encountered in ages, Feist’s “Hiding Out in the Open”? On the subway, the song on repeat, watching my fellow commuters in their hats and coats, wondering where they’re off to, what’s on their minds, I do feel moody and melancholy, and also connected. You don’t get moody and melancholy and connected in the same way in July, when, “if you’re not happy, it’s your fault,” as another friend recently argued. “I like being inside. I like when people are inside. I like being inside with people,” she put it with finality. I couldn’t argue. I like these things too. Debating one season vs. another is mostly trivial, a way to spar without stakes, a healthy if slightly tedious outlet. I want to be persuaded that these days aren’t just to be endured. I don’t want to be grumpy for 25 percent of the year, which is, I remind myself, 25 percent of my life. This year I finally internalized the wisdom that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes, and got a very warm coat and a very warm sweater; Arctic-grade armor to make going outside less agonizing. Thus equipped, I’ve been questioning something I always believed to be indisputable: that to be a little cold is to be uncomfortable, and must be avoided at all costs. I can’t say I’ve found that I like being chilly, but it’s been an interesting exercise, observing the discomfort and not fleeing it. For more How to stay safe when it’s cold outside. How to cope with drastic seasonal mood shifts. How to dress for the cold: base layers, outdoor running attire, how stylish New Yorkers do it. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE WEEK IN CULTURE Alec Baldwin in 2022. Andrew Kelly/Reuters A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, reviving the case against him in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust.” At the Emmys, Christina Applegate, who has multiple sclerosis, presented an award and “conjured the disarming smile she’s been flashing at America since 1987,” Stella Bugbee writes. One of every 15 vinyl albums sold in the U.S. last year was a Taylor Swift record, Billboard reports. The rapper Lil Nas X has always been a master of the internet. But with his new music video, his attempts to go viral are starting to wear thin, our pop critic writes. In a surprise announcement, Charlotte St. Martin stepped down as president of the Broadway League after 18 years. “I.S.S.,” now in theaters, imagines a tense struggle aboard the International Space Station. Our film critic calls it an “enjoyable, low-wattage thriller.” The Barry Manilow-written musical “Harmony” will end its Broadway run next month. Uniqlo sued the fast-fashion retailer Shein, accusing it of copying Uniqlo’s viral shoulder bag, CNN reports. Pierce Brosnan pleaded not guilty to hiking in a restricted area of Yellowstone National Park. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has been one of Japan’s best-known entertainers for seven decades. At 90, she’s still going strong. THE LATEST NEWS A Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot in Russia, the latest attack aimed at stopping Moscow from fueling its tanks and fighter jets. Louisiana’s legislature passed a congressional map that gives the state a second majority-Black district, obeying a court order. Japan made its first successful moon landing. The robotic craft, called SLIM, touched down near a small crater. (This 3-D map shows the history of less successful attempts.) The company that owns Sports Illustrated announced mass layoffs for the magazine’s employees. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary last year, endorsed Donald Trump. President Biden canceled nearly $5 billion in student debt for teachers, nurses and other public servants. To date, Biden has canceled $136 billion in student debt, working around a court ruling that struck down his broader forgiveness plan. A Ugandan law criminalizing gay sex threatens to reverse the country’s progress against H.I.V., as L.G.B.T.Q. citizens are denied, or fear seeking out, medical care. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. CULTURE CALENDAR By Andrew LaVallee Arts & Leisure Editor 📽️ Academy Award nominations (Tuesday): This is your last weekend to get caught up on seeing “The Holdovers,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest,” “Maestro” and any other Oscar hopefuls you’ve been meaning to get to so that on Tuesday, when the nominees are announced, you can knowingly say things like, “Surely this is his year after the ‘Sideways’ snub,” or, “I knew that movie was going to get two supporting nods.” 📚 “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar (Tuesday): Cyrus Shams is an Iranian American poet and recovering alcoholic in Indiana who has lost both of his parents. His mother was in a plane crossing the Persian Gulf when it was accidentally downed by the U.S.S. Vincennes, and his father died of a stroke. Cyrus becomes fixated on martyrs, particularly when he learns of one who seems to be living at the Brooklyn Museum. It’s the first novel by Akbar, a poet himself. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT RECIPE OF THE WEEK Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. By Melissa Clark Maple Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies Do you adore nubby, gently spiced oatmeal cookies but feel meh about raisins? This is the cookie for you. Instead of the usual dried fruit, these golden beauties are filled with a quick homemade blueberry compote zipped up with lemon zest and sweetened with maple syrup (you can also use your favorite store-bought jam), which stays hidden until someone takes a bite. Make these over the weekend so you can savor them all week long — packed into lunchboxes, dunked and nibbled at teatime or even eaten as a sweet breakfast on the run. REAL ESTATE One of the pods, with its trademark circular window. Noritaka Minami, via SFMOMA Tokyo: Fifty years ago, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was hailed as a marvel of organic architecture. Its legacy lives on in the form of 23 orphaned pods. What you get for $370,000: A one-bedroom condo in Seattle; a renovated ranch-style house in Eagle Bridge, N.Y.; or a home once owned by the boxer Joe Louis in Detroit. Rent or buy? This is about the worst time to buy a home, experts say, while renting an apartment is getting easier. Curb clutter: Designing a child’s room? Start with a good storage plan. The hunt: A retired librarian decided to leave her West Village townhouse in search of a one-bedroom apartment nearby. Which one did she choose? Play our game. LIVING Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times Summer somewhere: In Melbourne, people are dressed in chunky fringed skirts, tattoo-exposing tank tops and blazers. Going viral: The ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ is taking over TikTok. Experts say it probably can’t help you fall asleep. Beyond the tuxedo: Some men are bucking tradition and opting for more customized looks for their wedding. Life in books: Emily Nagoski wrote a best seller about women’s sexuality. Then her own sex life fell apart. Travel: The pandemic-induced backlog to get a U.S. passport seems to have finally cleared. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER A great pair of black tights When the winter wardrobe doldrums hit, a great pair of black tights can come to the rescue. Tights are a sartorial secret weapon, keeping your legs cozy and your options open (miniskirts are back on the menu). But finding the right pair is tricky. For Wirecutter’s guide to the best black tights, we tested 20 pairs by pinching, slipping, rolling and running, and found five options that are miles better than the standard drugstore offerings. My favorite of the bunch are sturdy, soft, non-itchy and — best of all — toasty enough to keep my favorite skirts and dresses in rotation when temperatures drop. — Zoe Vanderweide GAME OF THE WEEKEND Caitlin Clark Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 18 Ohio State, women’s college basketball: Tune into a Caitlin Clark game and you’re bound to see something great. Maybe she’ll score 30 points, or 40; she has done both more than any Division I player in the last quarter century. Maybe she’ll get a triple-double, too. Maybe she’ll hit a shot from the midcourt logo (here’s one from last week), or a game-winning buzzer-beater (here’s one from this month). She’s certainly likely to lead her team to victory. Iowa is 18-1 this year, and in the hunt for one of the few things Clark hasn’t yet achieved: a national title. Sunday at 12 p.m. Eastern on NBC. For more Clark is often likened to Stephen Curry. It’s a fair comparison — their long-range shooting stats are strikingly similar, Ben Pickman of The Athletic found. Legions of girls turn out to see Clark play. Brianna Mac Kay of the Columbus Dispatch spoke with Ohio families excited to attend this weekend’s game. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were effectual and fluctuate. 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 Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 22 Author Members Share Posted January 22 January 21, 2024 By Deb Amlen Good morning. If you’ve ever wanted to try crossword puzzles, but found them intimidating, there’s a community to help you get started. Elena Xausa Puzzles for all New York Times Games — which includes the Crossword, Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections and more — has a devoted fandom. But I think the word “community” is a better way to describe them. I joined The Times in 2011, when Wordplay — the Crossword column I write with Sam Corbin and Caitlin Lovinger — was a blog that presented a well-written analysis of each day’s puzzle, aimed at a small but devoted readership of experienced solvers. My assignment was to bring in a wider group of readers, who might love and respect the puzzle but who thought it intimidating and intellectually out of reach. It was a shame, in my opinion, that these people, who were smart in other aspects of their lives, were missing out on the confidence-building satisfaction of conquering the puzzle and the joy of spotting clever wordplay in the clues. So I made it my mission to find ways to smash through that intimidation barrier. I told my readers that Wordplay was a party, and that everyone was invited. We needed to show new solvers that crossword puzzles were nothing to fear by unlocking the rules of solving them — teaching readers, for example, that a question mark at the end of a clue is an indicator that they should not take it at face value, or that the tense of an answer has to match the tense of the clue. Wordplay began talking directly to beginners, because I knew that every day new people pick up crosswords for the first time. The more experienced solvers rose to the occasion in the comments, and began helping beginners find their way. As New York Times Games has grown, we’ve carried that sentiment forward into the communities surrounding our newer games. Readers who comment on Wordplay, or in the forums for Spelling Bee, Connections and Wordle, are a warm and generous bunch. They greet newbies, help each other solve and even check in on one another if someone hasn’t posted in a while. They have sat down to meals in North Carolina, California and England. When members of the community die, the group mourns their loss together. That sense of community even inspired one solver to take off on a road trip to meet some Spelling Bee friends in real life. One reader commented that she thought the Wordplay column and comment section must be the nicest place on the internet. I can’t think of a higher compliment. The conversation surrounding these games gives our readers a sense of fellowship that can be otherwise hard to find. Perhaps most important, the community provides readers with a chance to do the very thing that inspired New York Times editors of the 1940s to publish a crossword puzzle in the first place: They can talk about something pleasant and, for at least a little while, leave their worries at the door. For more Try this month’s bonus crossword, a 2023 pop-culture lookback by Sam Ezersky, a Times puzzle editor. Our Tiles game has a brand-new palette, Soho, released as part of Well’s six-day challenge to set you up for a more energetic year. Subscribers can select the palette from the settings menu. Sam Corbin, one of the Wordplay writers, reported from the American Dialect Society’s annual gathering to select the word of the year. Elite chess players keep accusing one another of cheating. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS Middle East Iran accused Israel of launching an airstrike in Syria that killed senior Iranian military figures. And U.S. officials said an American army base in Iraq came under attack from Iran-backed militants. Israel’s limited progress in dismantling Hamas has caused frustration and doubt among some army commanders, who believe that hostages can be freed only through diplomacy. A Palestinian American teenager was killed by a barrage of gunfire in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hundreds of ships are sailing thousands of extra miles around Africa at considerable cost to avoid potential Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. More International News At Radio Boiling Over. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is under almost daily bombardment. A radio station serves as a megaphone for residents’ fears and frustration. North Korea’s intensification of nuclear threats has experts wondering whether Kim Jong-un has moved beyond posturing. Rising temperatures, glacier loss and less snow are forcing Swiss farmers to adapt. In Taiwan, growing doubts about the U.S. could be dangerous as China asserts its claim to the island with greater force. Politics Anti-Trump Republicans have rallied around Nikki Haley ahead of New Hampshire’s primary, in a long-shot bid to stop Donald Trump’s march to the nomination. Haley is making her most forceful case yet for the Republican nomination but has little time to make up a lot of ground before New Hampshire, Jazmine Ulloa, Anjali Huynh and Jonathan Weisman write. This week, Bridgeport, Conn. will host another Democratic mayoral primary after a judge threw out the results of the previous one, citing evidence of election fraud. Judges in Trump’s civil fraud and defamation trials took different approaches to reining him in inside the courtroom. Their tactics could offer lessons for the criminal cases ahead. Other Big Stories Replicas of Watertown’s Boston Post cane. In towns in New England, one ritual has endured for over a century: the presentation of ceremonial canes to their oldest residents. A backlash against “wokeism” has led states to ban public university diversity programs. Emails and other documents reveal the tactics behind one strand of the campaign. Harvard released its most detailed account of its handling of plagiarism accusations against Claudine Gay, its former president. FROM OPINION Stop laughing at Trump. His threat to American democracy is too dire to treat him like a joke, David Kamp writes. The hawkish foreign policy of a Haley presidency could be more dangerous than a second Trump term, Ross Douthat argues. Nicholas Kristof’s childhood friend was a good person who committed a monstrous crime. Who’s really responsible for his mistakes? The Sunday question: Is the Republican presidential primary functionally over? Trump’s dominance in Iowa and near total takeover of the G.O.P. nationwide mean the race is likely to end soon, Karen Tumulty writes in The Washington Post. But Haley still has a chance to beat him in New Hampshire, and if Trump is disqualified from the ballot or convicted in court, she could step in as the nominee, CNN’s Frida Ghitis argues. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS In Boston. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press Don’t laugh and drive: Federal officials want states to avoid humorous highway signs. State leaders say they “break through the noise.” American fears: What are people in the country most of afraid of right now? Read a sociologist’s answer. Stardom: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has been one of Japan’s best-known entertainers for seven decades. At 90, she’s still going strong. Vows: Josh Radnor, the star of “How I Met Your Mother,” and Jordana Jacobs, a psychologist, fell for each other while tripping on mushrooms. Lives Lived: Lev Rubinstein was a Russian poet, essayist and political dissident during both the Soviet and Putin eras. He died at 76. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT TALK | FROM THE TIMES MAGAZINE Tom Hanks Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times By David Marchese Tom Hanks is a co-executive producer on the upcoming Apple TV+ World War II miniseries “Masters of Air,” which premieres next week. He talked about that project, and how to depict American history, when I spoke to him in 2022. Your American history projects almost always offer some redeeming idea about the country’s values. But are there certain American stories, which maybe don’t offer anything redemptive, that you wouldn’t be comfortable telling? You have to take into account the economics of what I do for a living. We come along and say we would like $250 million, in the case of “Masters of the Air,” to do a miniseries. About what? Americans bombing Nazis. That’s pretty commercial to me. But how are we going to do that? It’s not just, “Yea, we bombed the Nazis.” Then, we can’t go back and just show white people saving the world, because the Black airmen who got shot down were in these stalags, too. So to answer your question, this stuff costs money, and it has to make money. That means we have to sneak up on the trickier stuff. You talked about an American sense of right and wrong. Has your faith in that been shaken? There are events that shake up those Americans who still believe there is a right way to do things. Now, a certain administration came down the pike, and the people who were screaming seemed to rule the day. Why? Because the people who cared about what’s right didn’t show up. Well, something egregious enough comes along, and guess what? People will show up. When I ask for a memory from your career, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? I’ve been acting for a paycheck since I was 20. I now know what was evident when I was 20 years old is what Spencer Tracy said: “Learn the lines. Hit the marks. Tell the truth.” That’s all you can do. Read more of the interview here. More from the magazine How group chats, which have quietly become the de facto spaces to share dumb jokes, grief or even plans for an insurrection, rule the world. A whale escaped captivity and became a global celebrity. Now, no one can agree about what to do with him. Read the full issue. BOOKS Lori and Sam Sally. via Lori Sally From the Ozarks to ISIS: Jessica Roy’s “American Girls” traces the divergent fates of two sisters through a saga of poverty, misogyny, abuse and terrorism. Winter sizzle: Our romance columnist on warming up with four saucy January releases. Our editors’ picks: “How to Be a Renaissance Woman,” a study of 16th-century beauty and creativity, and eight other books. Times best sellers: Brad Meltzer’s “I Am Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” which was illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos, is new on the children’s picture book best-seller list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Create fluffier muffins. Deal (calmly) with your child’s head lice. Drink beer out of an elegant but affordable glass. Buy a sturdy-yet-comfortable dog harness. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For Paris Fashion Week’s haute couture shows will begin on Monday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce Oscar nominations on Tuesday. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will announce whether the time of its “Doomsday Clock” will change on Tuesday. What to Cook This Week David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. The dark and cold of the winter months can mean a slide into unhealthy dinner practices, Mia Leimkuhler writes in this week’s Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter. To help counter bad habits, she offers up easy recipes that welcome more vegetable content. Add some more kale to Eric Kim’s gochujang potato stew, drizzle the pan drippings from hot honey chicken onto an extra helping of leafy greens or double the amount of arugula in this buttery lemon pasta. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were belonged, boondoggle and boondoggled. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Can you put eight historical events — including the founding of Chicago, the first tomato soup recipe and “The Tale of Genji” — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz. 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. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 22 Author Members Share Posted January 22 January 22, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the recent decline in deaths in Gaza — as well as Ron DeSantis, diversity programs and Princess Diana. In central Gaza. Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times A new phase For more than a month now, the Biden administration and other allies of Israel have been urging its leaders to scale back the war in Gaza. A more targeted battle plan, these allies have said, could reduce civilian casualties while still weakening Hamas. Some Israeli officials have made the same argument. It’s now clear that Israel’s leaders have followed the advice, at least partially. The Israeli military announced a strategic shift two weeks ago. It has reduced the number of troops in northern Gaza. And the most tangible sign of the change is the decline in deaths among Gazan residents, as reported by the Hamas-controlled local government. The number of Gazans dying each day has fallen almost in half since early December and almost two-thirds since the peak in late October. The chart here is based on a New York Times compilation of U.N. reports that rely on information from Gazan officials: Source: Gazan officials | Data is through Jan. 17, 2024. | By The New York Times Over the past week, an average of 151 Gazans, including both Hamas fighters and civilians, have died each day. The breakdown in deaths between fighters and civilians remains unclear — and a matter of debate. Earlier in the war, Gazan officials suggested that more than 70 percent of victims were civilians, while an analysis by an Israeli sociologist put the figure at 61 percent. It seems plausible that the share remains similar today, but also plausible that a lower percentage of deaths are among civilians now that Israel’s attacks have become more targeted and the daily toll has declined. Is it enough? Either way, there are at least three important caveats to mention. First, the death toll in Gaza remains high, and some of the victims continue to be civilians, including children. “We live and witness sadness every day,” Sameer al-Kahlout told Al Jazeera last week, while standing on rubble that he said had been his sister’s home in northern Gaza. She had been hosting another brother and his family when their home exploded. “The Israelis bombed their house without any warning and killed them all,” al-Kahlout said. Critics of Israel’s war strategy say that the recent shift has been too limited and that its military should do much more to reduce the death toll. As a point of comparison, fewer than 50 Gazans (including Hamas militants) were killed each day on average during a 50-day war in 2014. Some of the advocates for a further reduction in fighting are Israelis, including military officials, who believe that destroying Hamas — as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to do — is unrealistic. A smarter approach, according to this view, is to wind down the war and save the lives of the more than 100 Israeli hostages whom Hamas still holds. (My colleagues Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley explained these tensions in this recent story.) Or too much? The second caveat points in the opposite direction. Other Israelis, especially on the political right, believe that the scaling back of the war effort has left their country vulnerable. Last week, Hamas fired at least 25 rockets from northern Gaza toward an Israeli city during a single day. Afterward, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, described the decision to withdraw some soldiers as “a serious, grave error that will cost lives.” As Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon — Times reporters based in Jerusalem — wrote: The rocket barrage also underlined the competing pressures Israeli leaders faced: the widespread popular demand to crush Hamas, the calls from right-wing politicians to be more aggressive in that campaign, the pleas by families of the hostages taken by Hamas to make concessions to secure their return and the outrage across the globe over the carnage and destruction in Gaza. And what now? The third caveat is that the Israeli military faces a difficult decision about how to proceed in southern Gaza. Israel controls much less of the south than the north, and many Hamas fighters are hiding in the extensive tunnel network around Khan Younis, a southern city. Israel has vowed to capture or kill all Hamas leaders involved in the Oct. 7 massacre. By The New York Times Above these tunnels, southern Gaza is packed with civilians, including residents and refugees. More than a million people fled to the south after Israel told them to leave the north for their own safety. In addition to using the tunnels, Hamas fighters are hiding among these civilians. Israel will not easily be able to eliminate the fighters without killing innocent civilians. This dilemma, The Wall Street Journal recently explained: … could culminate in a cease-fire that spares civilians but also allows Hamas to survive and recover, a strategic defeat for Israel. It also risks ending in an even greater bloodbath than in the north. (These Times maps and satellite photos show more detail about the state of the war.) The bottom line: Even with the caveats, the changes in Israel’s war strategy have been significant — and somewhat overlooked. Israel has responded to international pressure in ways that suggest its harshest critics are wrong to accuse it of wanting to maximize civilian deaths. Yet the war is not over. Israel continues to inflict enormous damage on Gaza, and Hamas continues to attack Israel and call for its destruction. The war’s next phase will almost certainly include further tragedy. More on the war Netanyahu repeated his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, rebuffing pressure from President Biden. Cells, décor and diapers: A Times reporter, guided by the Israeli military, toured an underground compound in southern Gaza where officials said hostages were held. Israel’s critics have used the academic term “settler colonialism” to explain the country’s history. Here’s what it means. More on the Middle East The U.S. military said two Navy SEALs have died. They disappeared at sea during an operation to intercept Iranian weapons headed to Houthi fighters. The number of attacks on American troops in the Middle East increases the risk of deaths, a red line that could lead to a wider war, The Times’s Peter Baker writes. The war in Gaza is damaging Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan’s already shaky economies. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Ron DeSantis Ron DeSantis Nicole Craine for The New York Times Ron DeSantis ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He endorsed Donald Trump. (Trump said he would drop the “DeSanctimonious” nickname.) DeSantis was once regarded as Trump’s top challenger. “That early strength meant only that he had more room to fall,” The Times’s Nate Cohn writes about DeSantis’s campaign. DeSantis failed to catch on with Republican voters, even in Iowa, where he visited all 99 counties and spent heavily on ads. Nikki Haley celebrated the demise of the DeSantis campaign. “May the best woman win,” she said of her race against Trump. More on Politics Vice President Kamala Harris started a series of countrywide abortion rights events for the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. California and Oregon told students and workers that they can skip Covid isolation if they are asymptomatic, a departure from C.D.C. guidelines. The White House has named a new lectern in the briefing room after Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Payne, the first Black women to cover the White House. War in Ukraine A strike on Donetsk, a Ukrainian city occupied by Russia, killed at least 25 people, officials said. They blamed Ukraine for the strike. Ukraine could soon run out of money to keep the government running if U.S. and European aid doesn’t arrive, The Wall Street Journal reports. Russian celebrities faced backlash for attending a hedonistic theme party. One went on an apology tour through the war zone. South Asia In Ayodhya, India. Atul Loke for The New York Times Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, inaugurated a Hindu temple on the former site of a mosque, a triumph for Hindu nationalists. Indonesia’s presidential front-runner is related to a former dictator. His rise has set off alarms. Climate The U.S. is pushing African nations to grow more traditional crops like cassava that can better withstand climate change. A growing number of states are incorporating climate change education into school lesson plans. New York may be next. Other Big Stories At least 72 deaths in the U.S. are connected to the recent severe winter storms. During a nationwide backlash against D.E.I. initiatives, some business leaders are moving away from diversity programs that might attract attention. Opinions Iran is too preoccupied with domestic issues — including an economic crisis and uproar over morality laws — to want a wider war in the Middle East, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh argue. The Supreme Court inadvertently created a way for state legislatures to steal a presidential election. The window to fix it is closing, Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman write. Gail Collins and Bret Stephens discuss DeSantis’s exit and Trump’s potential running mate. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS The chaplain Devin Moss. Desiree Rios for The New York Times “You are loved”: An atheist chaplain spent a year ministering to a convicted killer on death row. Together, they wrestled with how to face death without God. Fashion advice: Can you wear a vintage concert T-shirt to the office? Metropolitan Diary: Prince Charming in a pedicab. Lives Lived: Berish Strauch was a plastic surgeon whose pioneering procedures and devices to reattach or replace vital body parts included the first inflatable prosthetic penis. He died at 90. SPORTS N.F.L. playoffs: The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the A.F.C. Championship — their sixth straight — after beating the Buffalo Bills, 27-24. They will face the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Houston Texans on Saturday. More N.F.L.: The Detroit Lions’ historic run continues: They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-23, to reach their first N.F.C. Championship in over three decades. They will play the San Francisco 49ers, who beat the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. College basketball: Tara VanDerveer, the head coach of Stanford, won her 1,203rd game — the most in college basketball history, surpassing Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Tyler Comrie Fictional reincarnation: Princess Diana is ever-present in our culture. In recent years, she has been the subject of movies, television shows and plays — including “Spencer” and “The Crown.” The former princess of Wales, Times critic Jesse Green writes, is entertainment gold: “The perfect combo of stardom, tragedy and unanswerability.” But less than 30 years after her death, Jesse argues that Diana deserves more time to rest in peace. “She is still too blazingly alive to be dragooned into trauma porn,” Jesse writes, “mauled with the excuse of reincarnating her.” More on culture Queen of Sundance? Kristen Stewart starred in two of the festival’s most discussed films so far: “Love Me,” opposite Steven Yeun, and “Love Lies Bleeding,” with Katy O’Brian. This year’s Oscar nominations are announced on Tuesday. This is what to expect. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Jim Wilson/The New York Times Try Marcella Hazan’s five-star Bolognese sauce. Deepen your yoga practice with these books. Eliminate period stress with a menstrual cup. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was nomadic. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 23 Author Members Share Posted January 23 January 23, 2024 By German Lopez Good morning. We’re covering Americans’ gloomy views of the economy — plus the New Hampshire primary, migration and menus. In Manhattan. Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times An economic mystery By many measures, the U.S. economy is strong right now. Unemployment is near its lowest point in decades. Inflation has slowed down. Wages have grown faster than prices since last year. Stock prices have surged. But many Americans are not feeling it, and say the economy is in bad shape. The persistent pessimism has baffled many economists. The situation may be changing. American confidence in the economy has picked up in recent months, surveys show. And President Biden’s campaign hopes the turnaround will boost his re-election prospects. Still, measures of consumer confidence remain lower than normal. Why have Americans resisted the good economic news? Experts have tried to answer that question for months. Today’s newsletter will cover seven of their leading explanations. 1) Inflation The first, and most obvious, explanation is rising prices. Historically, Americans hate high inflation. For one, it is universal; high prices affect everyone. In comparison, high unemployment directly affects only a minority, even during recessions. “When prices rise, it feels like something is taken away from you,” my colleague Jeanna Smialek, who covers the economy, told me. Year-over-year change in the Consumer Price Index | By The New York Times Inflation has cooled recently. But that does not mean that prices have necessarily decreased; they are merely rising much more slowly than they were when the inflation rate was at its highest. Consider: The average price for one pound of chocolate chip cookies peaked in March. But it still costs about $5.10 today, up from $3.50 four years ago. 2) Housing costs Among higher prices, one category stands out for many Americans: housing. It is typically the most expensive thing that Americans own or pay for. As housing costs increase, they can squeeze people’s ability to pay for anything else. And costs have increased. Rents have climbed by about 22 percent since late 2019, and a key measure of home prices is up by about 45 percent. 3) No normalcy During the pandemic, many people looked forward to the day when things would return to normal. So far, they haven’t. Murder rates have fallen in the last two years, but they are still higher than they were before the pandemic. Dangerous driving is more common. Downtown foot traffic remains down in many cities. The upcoming presidential election will likely duplicate the contest from the middle of the pandemic. These factors do not always appear in economic statistics, but they color people’s perceptions of their lives and the economy. 4) Asymmetric polarization Economic confidence surveys capture the political mood. When a Republican is in the White House, Democrats tend to take a more negative view of the economy. And vice versa. But the trend is not symmetrical. Consider this data from the pollster Civiqs: When Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Democrats’ views of the economy soured but remained mostly positive until the pandemic. After Biden defeated Trump, Republicans went from describing the economy in overwhelmingly positive terms to using overwhelmingly negative ones. Source: Civiqs | By The New York Times In other words, Republicans react much more strongly to a president from the opposite party than Democrats do. That disproportionately affects the national mood during this Democratic administration. 5) Bad-news bias The news media often presents a negative view of events, possibly making people feel worse about the state of the world. Rising inflation got a lot of regular, and widely viewed, news coverage. Better economic news, including drops in inflation and low unemployment, has received less attention. Many Americans have heard the bad news but not the good. 6) Social media’s role One does not have to wander deep into social media to find negative commentary on the economy. Memes about the woes of capitalism and anger over high prices are common. Younger Americans tend to get most of their news from social media, and they also have worse views about the economy by some metrics. (The Times looked at the grim view of the economy that is common on TikTok.) 7) Delayed response Maybe the rift between the state of the economy and Americans’ perceptions is less of a mystery than it seems, and the paradox will soon end. People just need more time. After years of uncertainty driven by a pandemic and then inflation, many Americans might want to make sure that things are truly turning around before they buy into any potentially false hopes. One fact supporting this conclusion is that consumer sentiment has started to improve after more than a year of cooling inflation, as Jeanna wrote yesterday. As the challenges that made Americans pessimistic ease, attitudes about the economy could relax as well. Their views could even change in time for the presidential election. For more Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and… seven tech stocks are driving the market. Stocks don’t represent the overall economy, but their surge is probably improving Americans’ economic mood, Paul Krugman writes about the “vibecession” in Times Opinion. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS New Hampshire Primary Nikki Haley Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Trump continues to lead in the polls for the New Hampshire primary, happening today. Nikki Haley’s candidacy might rest on an upset. Trump gave his closing speech at a rally attended by former opponents in the Republican primaries, Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott. Robocalls mimicking Biden’s voice, most likely using A.I., urged residents not to vote. State officials are investigating. The primary’s first votes are already cast: Dixville Notch is home to six registered voters, all of whom backed Haley. Watch this brief video from New Hampshire, in which Nick Corasaniti previews the primary. And test your knowledge of the election with a quiz. Migration Eagle Pass, Texas. Kenny Holston/The New York Times The Supreme Court said Border Patrol agents could remove razor-wire barriers that Texas installed. Senators are working on a border compromise. One sticking point: parole, a form of presidential discretion that lets migrants enter the U.S. Nine Democratic governors, led by Kathy Hochul of New York, urged the Biden administration and Congress to overhaul the immigration system. Some Republicans have proposed building a wall on the U.S. border with Canada. Israel-Hamas War Israel said 24 soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, making it the deadliest day for Israelis in the ground invasion. Israel’s military said it had encircled Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza. See maps of the fighting. The U.S. expanded its attacks on sites controlled by Houthi militants in Yemen. At a meeting in Brussels, European foreign ministers pressed their Israeli counterpart, Yisrael Katz, to agree to the creation of a Palestinian state. International Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik Russia is using North Korea’s newest missiles in its war with Ukraine, U.S. officials said. An appeals court revived a lawsuit filed by Mexico against U.S. gun manufacturers whose weapons are used by drug cartels. Cameroon began the world’s first malaria vaccine program for children, The A.P. reports. A storm diverted dozens of flights in Britain and Ireland, sending passengers to other countries. Health A top cancer center affiliated with Harvard is seeking to retract or correct dozens of studies after an outside scientist discovered faulty data. Twice as many U.S. adults have gotten a flu shot this season as have gotten the latest Covid booster, STAT reports. Other Big Stories Cal State professors reached a tentative deal to raise wages, ending the largest strike by university faculty in U.S. history hours after it began. Many states are expecting significantly warmer weather in the coming days. After a prisoner survived a botched lethal injection, Alabama will try again with an untested method. Elon Musk continued to push back against accusations of antisemitism with a visit to Auschwitz, after which he called himself “aspirationally Jewish.” Dexter Scott King, son of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and longtime leader of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, died at 62. Opinions Boeing shifted away from engineering excellence in favor of cost-cutting and its planes’ safety has suffered, Bill Saporito argues. “No one should be left in agony because of false beliefs,” Maia Szalavitz writes in an essay explaining why people with past addictions can safely use opioids to treat pain. Here’s a column by Jamelle Bouie on Ron DeSantis. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS Hitting their angles. Augustin Lignier Say cheese: A photographer devised a machine that let rats take selfies. The rats didn’t want to stop. Grocery store chic: A social media account documents the designer outfits seen in the produce sections of Palm Beach, Fla. Teen Tiny Memoirs: The Times asked students to tell stories from their lives in 100 words or less. Out of thousands of submissions, these are our editors’ favorites. Lives Lived: Norman Jewison could direct romantic comedies (“Moonstruck”) and musicals (“Fiddler on the Roof”). But he was best known for films that addressed social issues, most notably the Sidney Poitier drama “In the Heat of the Night.” He died at 97. SPORTS N.B.A.: The 76ers star Joel Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points as his team beat San Antonio. But the Timberwolves lost to the Hornets despite a franchise-record 62 points from Karl-Anthony Towns. N.F.L.: The San Francisco 49ers are unsure whether their star wide receiver Deebo Samuel will be able to play in the N.F.C. championship this weekend after injuring his shoulder. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times American tastes: Restaurant menus can be a time capsule of food culture. Last year, Times writers brought back more than 100 menus from their meals across the country to get a sense of the latest trends. They found that yuzu was inescapable; that caviar was popping up everywhere (even in a quesadilla); and that menus themselves have gotten smaller and brighter. See the year in menus. More on culture Netflix’s head of film, who brought in directors like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, is leaving. “DeSantis knew it was time to go four months after the rest of us did”: The late night hosts joked about DeSantis’s departure from the Republican race. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Kate Sears for The New York Times Steam eggs in the microwave for a 10-minute breakfast. Work in comfort with an ergonomic seat cushion. Drink out of a versatile glass. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was flanked. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — German Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 25 Author Members Share Posted January 25 January 24, 2024 In today’s newsletter, Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, explains the meaning of last night’s New Hampshire results. — David Leonhardt By Nate Cohn Chief political analyst Good morning. We’re covering Donald Trump’s win in New Hampshire — as well as the war in Gaza, Boeing and Oscar snubs. Donald Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times A missed opportunity Is the Republican presidential primary over already? Not quite, but it’s a reasonable question after New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary delivered a clear victory for Donald Trump last night. And if your definition of “over” is whether Trump is now on track to win without a serious contest, the answer is probably “yes.” With nearly all the counting done, he won 55 percent of the vote. His only remaining rival, Nikki Haley, won 43 percent. Trump’s 12-point margin of victory is not extraordinarily impressive in its own right. In fact, he won by a smaller margin than many pre-election polls suggested. What makes Trump’s victory so important — and what raises the question about whether the race is over — is that New Hampshire was Haley’s best opportunity to change the trajectory of the race. It was arguably her best opportunity to win a state, period. If she couldn’t win here, she might not be able to win anywhere — not even in her home state of South Carolina, where the race turns next. And even if she did win her home state, she would still face a daunting path forward. Trump leads the national polls by more than 50 percentage points with just six weeks to go until Super Tuesday, when nearly half of all the delegates to the Republican convention will be awarded. Without an enormous shift, he would secure the nomination in mid-March. Haley’s best chance Why was New Hampshire such an excellent opportunity for her? The polls: New Hampshire was the only state where the polls showed her within striking distance. She trailed by a mere 15 points in the state, compared with her 50-plus-point deficit nationwide. She isn’t within 30 points in any other state, including her home state of South Carolina. History: The state has a long track record of backing moderate and mainstream Republican candidates, including John McCain and Mitt Romney. Trump won the state with 35 percent of the vote in 2016, but mostly because the moderate vote was divided. The electorate: Haley fares best among college graduates and moderates, and the New Hampshire electorate is full of those voters. The state ranks eighth in the college-educated share of the population, and unlike in many states, unaffiliated voters are allowed to participate in the Republican primary. The media: New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary receives far more media attention than later contests. It offered the possibility — if only a faint one — that a win could change her fortunes elsewhere. Haley made good on all of these advantages yesterday. She won 74 percent of moderates, according to the exit polls, along with 58 percent of college graduates and 66 percent of voters who weren’t registered Republicans. Conservative votes But it wasn’t close to enough. Haley lost Republicans by a staggering 74 percent to 25 percent — an important group in a Republican primary. Conservatives gave Trump a full 70 percent of the vote. Voters without a college degree backed Trump by 2 to 1. In other Republican primaries, numbers like these will yield a rout. Conservatives, Republicans and voters without a degree will represent a far greater share of the electorate. There is no credible path for her to win the nomination of a conservative, working-class party while falling this short among conservative, working-class voters. Worse, Haley’s strength among independents and Democrats will make it even harder for her to expand her appeal, as Trump and other Republicans will depict her campaign as a liberal Trojan horse. If Haley had won New Hampshire, the possibility of riding the momentum into later states and broadening her appeal would have remained. Not anymore. Instead, it’s Trump who has the momentum. He has gained nationwide in polls taken since the Iowa caucuses. Even skeptical Republican officials who were seen as Haley’s likeliest allies, like Tim Scott or Marco Rubio, have gotten behind the former president in recent days. Whether the race is “over” or not, the New Hampshire result puts Trump on a comfortable path to the nomination. If he’s convicted of a crime, perhaps he’ll lose the nomination at the convention. But by the usual rules of primary elections, there’s just not much time for the race to change. If it doesn’t, Trump could easily sweep all 50 states. Related: “It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee,” President Biden said in a statement. “The stakes could not be higher.” More on the Republican primary Trump called Haley an “impostor” who “had a very bad night” and urged her to drop out. “I don’t get too angry, I get even,” he added. Haley vowed to continue through the South Carolina primary next month. She said the race was “far from over” and challenged Trump to a debate. Read about her options. The old guard of Republicans — families like the Bushes and Romneys as well as Wall Street donors — have become largely irrelevant. See more takeaways from the race. Watch a video of Shane Goldmacher, a Times political reporter, explaining what happened in the primary. Most New Hampshire Republican primary voters said Trump would be fit for the presidency even if he were convicted, The Washington Post reports. A woman with an RV full of Trump merchandise and a man with Trump tattooed on his calf: The Concord Monitor profiled Trump supporters in New Hampshire. More on the Democratic primary Biden won New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, despite not being on the ballot, after his allies organized a write-in campaign. Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman who campaigned heavily there, placed second. Biden criticized Trump at a rally for abortion rights, calling him “the person most responsible for taking away this freedom in America.” Commentary Trump isn’t a sitting president, but he “is functionally an incumbent and voters are reacting to him as such,” Josh Kraushaar of Jewish Insider posted on social media. “The battle is now between the former president and the current one,” The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty writes. “The slog between now and November will be long and grim and bitter.” Still, the New Hampshire results were close enough to suggest “that we were only a few what-ifs away from a more competitive campaign,” Ross Douthat argues in a Times Opinion column. “Trump’s attempts to dismiss Haley might serve to make her more committed to staying in,” Monica Potts of FiveThirtyEight writes. Late night hosts processed the primary. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War Israeli forces said a blast that killed around 20 troops came after militants fired on them while they were demolishing a neighborhood to create a buffer between Gaza and Israel. The U.S. opposes a buffer zone. Palestinian detainees recounted being stripped and beaten by Israeli forces. A U.N. office has said Israel’s treatment of Gazan detainees might amount to torture. U.S. forces again struck the Houthis in Yemen as well as other Iran-linked militias in Iraq. The war has given the Houthis an international audience for their anti-American and anti-Israeli message. Read how the Houthis became an effective militia. International Turkey’s Parliament approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO, leaving Hungary as the lone holdout. In Colombia, gangs are targeting foreign men on dating apps. Dates drug the men so accomplices can rob them. Archaeologists found remnants of sprawling ancient cities in the Amazon. Politics Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat facing corruption charges, said the F.B.I. “ransacked” his home in a 2022 search that found gold bars and half a million dollars in cash. Lawmakers in at least 10 states — including Vermont — have introduced or are planning bills to tax wealth. (Separately, more than 250 billionaires and millionaires recently asked world leaders to tax them more, Quartz reports.) Other Big Stories San Diego on Monday. Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times In San Diego, heavy rainfall shut highways, swept away cars and damaged homes. See how manufacturing or installation flaws could have allowed a panel to fall off a Boeing jet, leaving a hole mid-flight. A New York man was convicted of murder for shooting a woman in a car that mistakenly pulled into his driveway. Opinions Benny Gantz, a centrist former general who has argued that Netanyahu has damaged Israel, could become his replacement. Anshel Pfeffer has a profile. The growing practice of “swatting” public officials — using false emergency calls to draw armed police to their homes — threatens American democracy, Barbara McQuade writes. The allegations against District Attorney Fani Willis jeopardize her case against Trump. She should step aside, Clark Cunningham argues. Here are columns by Bret Stephens on Gaza’s tunnels and Thomas Edsall on Trump. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS San Giovanni Lipioni, Italy. Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times San Giovanni Lipioni: A small Italian town has the oldest average population in an aging nation. It’s trying to lure new residents. An eternal question, answered: How much potato must a chip contain? Rise and dine: Not a morning person? These 24 recipes could help you get out of bed. Look up: Walking with your face buried in a smartphone affects your mood — and your stride. Lives Lived: Charles Osgood hosted “CBS Sunday Morning” for 22 years. But his passion was radio, where he told unconventional stories in unconventional ways, often in rhyme. Osgood died at 91. SPORTS N.B.A.: The Milwaukee Bucks shocked the league by firing their head coach, Adrian Griffin, just 43 games into his tenure, which he finished 30-13. The former Celtics and Sixers coach Doc Rivers is a leading candidate to replace him. Baseball: Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were elected to the Hall of Fame, the organization announced. A unique donation: The former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who now plays for the Houston Texans, gave a large sum directly to the school’s name, image and likeness collective, the first publicly known contribution of the sort. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig. Warner Bros. The race begins: Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” leads the Oscars pack this year, with 13 nominations. “Barbie” earned eight, including for best picture — though its director, Greta Gerwig, and star, Margot Robbie, were notably overlooked. The best picture nominees are an eclectic mix, with foreign films — “Zone of Interest” and “Anatomy of a Fall” — alongside smaller independent movies like “Poor Things” and “The Holdovers,” and epics like Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” See the full list of Oscar nominees. More on culture The Los Angeles Times, losing money, is laying off more than 20 percent of its journalists. A fire in Abkhazia, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Georgia, destroyed thousands of paintings. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Ryan Liebe for The New York Times Simmer cherry tomatoes and raw pasta to make this one-pot spaghetti. Try a power-building workout. Improve your meal prep. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was toothpick. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 26 Author Members Share Posted January 26 January 25, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering Trump’s plans for a second term — as well as Gaza, an execution in Alabama and animal vision. Donald Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times Working the levers My colleagues Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Charlie Savage are writing a continuing series on what Donald Trump plans to do during a second term as president. With Trump on his way to winning the Republican nomination, I want to devote today’s newsletter to a conversation with the three of them. David: One question that some people have is whether Trump would govern as radically in a second term as his rhetoric suggests. After all, he also made sweeping promises when running in 2016, but he often failed to follow through. There is no border wall. He didn’t withdraw from Afghanistan. He didn’t “lock up” Hillary Clinton. The courts rejected his initial Muslim ban and his changes to the census. What’s your view about whether to assume he will really do what he says in a second term? Jonathan: I would challenge the statement that Trump didn’t do a lot of what he promised in his first term. Yes, there were some things he didn’t accomplish, and, yes, he initially appointed people who resisted his requests. But by the end of his first term, Trump had put the U.S. on a course to withdraw from Afghanistan. On immigration, he had all but destroyed the asylum system. On trade, he had implemented tariffs against China and even European allies, and he had withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership — President Obama’s signature trade deal. He’d pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords. I could go on, but you get the point. Maggie: One way to look at this is that Trump would be picking up where he left off when the pandemic changed everything. At the beginning of 2020, Trump had installed a loyalist at the office of presidential personnel, John McEntee, to purge the government of anti-Trump officials and had plans to make it easier to fire civil servants. That was all put on pause, and would resume accordingly. Charlie: Those who stuck with Trump learned a lot about how to work the levers of government over four years and are likely to be more competent than they were at first. For example, you mention that the courts blocked his ban on travel to the U.S. by people from several Muslim countries, but that is only true of the first stabs at it. Eventually, his administration figured out how to rewrite it in a way that the Supreme Court let take effect. His aides would be starting from that level of sophistication in a second term. David: If he is president again, which policy areas do you think will be his biggest initial priorities? Maggie: Immigration is an area where he tried to do a number of things last time, some of which his appointees blocked. One example was releasing undocumented immigrants into sanctuary cities — similar to what Republican governors have done with sending undocumented immigrants to blue states. But lawyers at Trump’s Department of Homeland Security said it couldn’t work. If a second Trump term happens, I think you will see him move quickly on immigration. He has promised crackdowns at the border through use of the Insurrection Act, as well as mass roundups and deportations of undocumented immigrants. He and his allies have also been clear that a big agenda item is eroding the Justice Department’s independence. Charlie: Yes, Trump has vowed to use his power over the Justice Department to turn it into an instrument of vengeance against his political adversaries. This would end the post-Watergate norm that the department carries out criminal investigations independently of White House political control, and it would be a big deal for American-style democracy. Jonathan: The reality is that Trump has spent almost no time thinking about what governing would look like in a second term. To the extent he has thought about it, his mind mostly turns to the Department of Justice and the “deep state” — which he understands as the intelligence community. People close to Trump are already drawing up lists of “disloyal” officials in the national security apparatus who will be targeted for retribution. David: So far, we’ve been talking about the executive branch, but the Constitution includes checks on a president’s power — namely, Congress and the courts. How might they respond? Charlie: The ability of other branches to serve as a check will be diminished. Most of the Republicans in Congress who occasionally stood up to Trump have left government or, by 2025, will have. Think of John McCain, Jeff Flake, Adam Kinzinger, Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. The Supreme Court will be more tilted in Trump’s favor in any second term, thanks to his own appointments in his first four years. As a result, some disputes that he lost last time — such as the immigration case involving so-called Dreamers — would probably come out the other way. Jonathan: I would add that the Senate has been the institution most resistant to Trump, but that, too, is changing. Mitch McConnell is near the end of his career. And the newer Republican senators, like J.D. Vance of Ohio and Ted Budd of North Carolina, are Trump loyalists who replaced Trump skeptics. David: Good point. The main conclusion I take from your reporting is that when Trump tells voters what he plans to do in a second term, we should default to believing him. You can find the full series by Jonathan, Maggie and Charlie here, including articles on immigration, the Justice Department, trade and NATO. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS 2024 Election President Biden Erin Schaff/The New York Times The United Automobile Workers union, which backed President Biden in 2020, endorsed his re-election. Biden joined striking auto workers on a picket line last year. Nikki Haley turned her campaign to South Carolina, where she was governor. Some Republican lawmakers there want her to drop out. More Republicans in Congress are endorsing Trump as he moves closer to becoming the party’s nominee. Trump easily won New Hampshire, but his weakness with independents and college-educated voters could hurt him in a general election. The likely matchup between Trump and Biden is about more than just ideological difference. It is about two disparate visions of America, Peter Baker writes. More on Politics A recording appears to show the chairman of Arizona’s Republican Party trying to bribe Kari Lake, a Trump ally, to drop her Senate bid. The chairman denied the charge, but resigned. The Biden administration asked the Energy Department to study the climate impact of an enormous natural gas facility before it decides whether to approve the project. Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature voted to ban minors from receiving gender-affirming care, overriding the Republican governor’s veto. Israel-Hamas War Israel ordered the evacuation of a small but packed area in southern Gaza to which more than 400,000 people have fled. An attack killed at least nine people at a U.N. facility where Gazans were sheltering, the U.N. said. Families of Israeli hostages are protesting at a border crossing to block aid from entering Gaza. Israel declassified more than 30 secret military and government orders to challenge South Africa’s charge of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. Israel and Hamas continued talks on a cease-fire, but remained far apart on the length of any pause and the fate of Hamas leaders in Gaza. War in Ukraine An image from a video posted to Telegram. UGC, via Associated Press Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a military plane that it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, killing everyone onboard. British officials, still resolute in their support for Ukraine’s war effort, are lobbying Republicans hostile to further aid. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, said he would push lawmakers to let Sweden join NATO. But he repeated the claim that the decision isn’t his, even though his party controls Parliament. More International News Measles is resurgent in parts of Europe, where reported cases rose more than 40-fold last year. A man has been sentenced to death in Japan for killing 36 people in an arson attack on a Kyoto anime studio, The Washington Post reports. A new French memorial has been criticized for glorifying France’s role in abolishing slavery rather than atoning for its history of enslavement. Business Airline executives are frustrated with Boeing over safety, and the company’s stock is down. Katherine Maher, who led the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia, will be the next chief executive of NPR. The usually sleepy Copyright Office has found itself in the middle of a clash between content creators and tech giants over A.I. Other Big Stories In Maui. Brendan George Ko for The New York Times Crews in Hawaii are dumping toxic wildfire debris at a temporary disposal site uphill from a vital coral reef. Alabama plans today to execute Kenneth Smith, an inmate who survived lethal injection, by an untested method using nitrogen gas. The Supreme Court declined to stop the execution. Scientists announced the world’s first successful embryo transfer in a white rhino, offering hope for an endangered subspecies, Reuters reports. Florida’s state university system eliminated sociology as a core course, a month after a state education official said that left-wing activists had hijacked the subject. Opinions Gang violence threatens Ecuador. But so do the disinformation and security crackdown that followed it, Iván Ulchur-Rota writes. Here are columns by Pamela Paul on “Barbie,” Nicholas Kristof on Taiwan’s chip industry and Gail Collins on the New Hampshire results. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS How a pale yellow butterfly might appear to a bird. Birds’ eye: Scientists have a devised a video system that reveals how animals see color. Icon of the Seas: Can the world’s largest cruise ship really be climate-friendly? Another tea protest: An American chemistry professor suggested adding a pinch of salt to create the perfect cup of tea. In Britain, the advice caused a stir. Lives Lived: Carl Andre was a pioneer of Minimalist sculpture. Allegations that he played a role in the death of his wife, the Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta, dogged his career. Andre died at 88. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Los Angeles Chargers announced they had hired the former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. N.B.A.: Doc Rivers is officially the head coach in Milwaukee, a day after the team surprisingly fired its first-year coach, Adrian Griffin. W.N.B.A.: Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 league M.V.P., told the Los Angeles Sparks that she intends to leave this offseason. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Taylor Swift Ed Zurga/Associated Press N.F.L. (Taylor’s Version): Since Taylor Swift began to show up at Kansas City Chiefs games, some football fans have griped that the cameras seem to focus more on her than on the field. In reality, through, Swift occupies a tiny portion of the broadcasts, as The Times’s Benjamin Hoffman found when he analyzed each game she has attended since Christmas. Last week, during the Chiefs’ playoff victory over the Bills, Swift was onscreen for 24 seconds — just a few seconds longer than her boyfriend’s shirtless brother. More on culture Jon Stewart is returning to host “The Daily Show” on Monday nights during the election. “Trump cruised to victory, and just like most cruises, half the people partied while the other half felt really sick”: The late night hosts discussed the New Hampshire primary results. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Julia Gartland for The New York Times Simmer eggplant in tangy adobo sauce for a vegetarian version of a beloved Filipino dish. Jumpstart your life if you’re feeling stuck. Work out with this fitness gear. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were paranoid and raindrop. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 27 Author Members Share Posted January 27 January 26, 2024 A congressional bill that would both strengthen border security and provide aid to Ukraine appears to be in trouble. My colleague Annie Karni, who covers Congress, takes over the newsletter today to give you the back story. — David Leonhardt By Annie Karni Congressional Correspondent, Washington Good morning. We’re also covering the war in Gaza, Mars and Taylor Swift. Mitch McConnell Valerie Plesch for The New York Times Trump’s influence Just as senators were closing in on a deal that Republican negotiators said would constitute the most conservative border security bill in decades, Donald Trump was closing in on the G.O.P. presidential nomination. And his vocal opposition to the compromise, which would also send tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, now threatens the chances of the entire package in a divided Congress. Trump’s twin primary victories have forced Republicans to once again fall in line. Now, he is wielding a heavier hand over his party’s agenda in Congress than at any other time since leaving office. Republicans are “in a quandary,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, told his conference in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, according to lawmakers who attended. What was supposed to be the sweetener for conservatives opposed to sending tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine had become as politically treacherous as the foreign aid itself, he said. Trump’s growing influence was dividing Republicans on an issue that once united the party. A hard line on immigration Trump burst onto the national political scene in 2015 with a dark warning about dangerous immigrants invading the country’s Southern border and with a slogan that outlasted them all, “Build the Wall.” More than eight years later, he is agitating against compromise: “We need a Strong, Powerful, and essentially ‘PERFECT’ Border and, unless we get that, we are better off not making a Deal,” he wrote on social media. With more than half of Senate Republicans now officially backing Trump’s candidacy, those entreaties are becoming harder to ignore as mere prattle from Palm Beach. Senators have been working on a border deal since just before Thanksgiving. But as the complicated talks have dragged on, Trump has begun collecting delegates and pressing for the party to coalesce around him and his agenda. His allies in Congress regard him as the party’s de facto leader and urge their colleagues to fall in line with his policies. Even Republicans who are not die-hard fans of Trump have said in recent days that they will do what they can to support him as the party’s nominee. His policies include severe immigration measures that President Biden and Senate Democrats would never support. Trump and most House Republicans want to block migrants from living and working temporarily without visas in the United States while they await the outcome of their immigration claims. And conservatives seek a revival of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced immigrants to wait elsewhere to see if they would be permitted entry. Speaker Mike Johnson, who talks about immigration regularly with Trump, has said that a Senate deal without those policies would be dead on arrival in the House. The collapse of a deal Yesterday, Republican supporters of a border deal were livid at the notion that Trump might tank their work. “We have to have people here who support Trump, who have endorsed President Trump, go to him and tell him what a compelling case this is,” Thom Tillis, a North Carolina senator, said. Trump has always had far more power to derail things than to help lawmakers find consensus. The former House speaker Kevin McCarthy knew that — and worked hard last year to keep Trump quiet during negotiations with Biden to avoid a federal debt default. Trump didn’t weigh in until after the deal was done. McCarthy was able to pass the bill with a majority of G.O.P. support. But back then, Trump was not yet winning nominating contests, and spending cuts were never the animating issue of his political identity. Attacking Biden’s border policy is already a main plank of Trump’s campaign. He has accused the president of opening the door for terrorists and for fentanyl to pour into the country. A Trump campaign ad claims that Biden’s immigration policies raise “the possibility of a Hamas attack” in the United States. And Trump vows to build “even more wall” along the Southern border. On Thursday, McConnell tried to assure alarmed senators that he was still moving ahead with the border-Ukraine package. Still, the road is less certain than it was last year, before Trump began winning nominating contests. Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican and a staunch Trump supporter, said the breathless atmosphere that enveloped Capitol Hill yesterday was nothing but hot air. “We haven’t even seen the text yet and everyone is panicking,” he said. “Just get it done and see if you got enough votes.” Related: Britain’s government is lobbying Republicans to support Ukraine, fearing that a Russian victory would threaten European security. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Israel-Hamas War The U.N.’s highest court is expected to decide today whether Israel should suspend its war in Gaza. It will not yet rule on a broader genocide charge. The court has no means of enforcement, and Israel would not have to comply. The C.I.A. director plans to renew a push for a cease-fire. The U.S. and Britain imposed new sanctions on Houthi leaders. Trump Trials E. Jean Carroll Brendan McDermid/Reuters Trump briefly testified at his defamation trial. The jury will decide how much he must pay E. Jean Carroll, a writer he defamed after she accused him of rape. Trump’s lawyers pushed to disqualify Fani Willis from overseeing the Georgia criminal case against him, arguing that she created a conflict of interest by hiring a prosecutor they say is a romantic partner. 2024 Election Donald Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times Win or else: Read how Trump’s campaign swept Iowa and New Hampshire. A super PAC supporting Nikki Haley raised more in the second half of 2023 than Trump’s main super PAC. Trump said her donors would be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” The liberal activist group MoveOn will spend more than $32 million this year to back Biden and Democratic candidates for the House and Senate. Establishment Republicans are trying to keep an election-denying congressman out of the Senate race in Montana to increase their chances of beating a vulnerable Democrat. More on Politics Peter Navarro, a former Trump adviser, received a four-month prison sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. A Republican-appointed judge denounced the attempts by prominent Republican politicians to recast Jan. 6 in a positive light. The House Ethics Committee ended its investigation of Representative Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, for pulling a House fire alarm but called his explanation “less than credible.” Senator Chuck Schumer called for a crackdown on ZYN, a nicotine pouch popular with influencers. Read more about nicotine pouches. Alabama Outside an Alabama prison. Edmund D. Fountain for The New York Times Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas, becoming the first state in the U.S. to use the previously untested method. Read more about the execution. The state attorney general called the new method “humane and effective.” Some experts disagree. Tech The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s investments in A.I. start-ups, part of its efforts to curtail the power of big tech. Explicit, fake images of Taylor Swift, most likely generated by A.I., spread across social media. Global Economy The U.S. economy accelerated in 2023, driven by strong consumer spending and a hot job market. Many forecasters had expected a decline. Japan’s stock market, overlooked by investors for decades, is making a comeback as China’s struggles. Other Big Stories Ingenuity NASA/JPL-Caltech Ingenuity, NASA’s tiny helicopter on Mars, ended its mission. It was searching for evidence that life was once on the planet. Someone struck a South Korean lawmaker on the head with a blunt object, leaving her with injuries that weren’t life-threatening. It was the second public attack on a Korean politician in less than a month. Obituary pirates are publishing dubious articles about everyday people’s deaths to capture Google traffic. Arkansas authorities recaptured one of two men who escaped from a jail there. The other remains missing. Opinions People are acutely pessimistic about humanity’s future right now. Periods of panic are a pattern throughout history, Tyler Austin Harper writes. “Killers of the Flower Moon” asks Americans to confront the shame of their colonial history, Maggie Blackhawk writes. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on “Bidencare” and by David Brooks on classic art. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS Grand Anse Beach, Grenada. Tony Cenicola/The New York Times 36 Hours: Scuba dive through an underwater art gallery on Grenada. Live fast, die young: Male antechinus, rodent-like animals from Australia, will forgo sleep for sex during their breeding season — after which they die. Paris: Want to go to the summer 2024 Olympics? It’s going to be really expensive. Lives Lived: Bill Hayes logged 2,141 episodes on “Days of Our Lives” over five and a half decades and recorded a best-selling single, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” in 1955. Hayes died at 98. SPORTS Women’s college basketball: No. 1 South Carolina beat No. 9 L.S.U., the defending national champions, 76-70 on the road. N.F.L.: The Atlanta Falcons hired Raheem Morris — their interim head coach in 2020 — to the full-time position, ending a search originally focused on Bill Belichick. Sports wagers: The former L.S.U. wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested in Louisiana on an underage gambling charge. Australian Open: Novak Djokovic lost today, ending a flawless record. Lawsuit: A former employee of W.W.E. sued Vince McMahon, its longtime chairman and chief executive, accusing him of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times Artificial art: A movie concept artist and an artificial intelligence expert teamed up to test whether A.I. image generators were learning from, and reproducing, copyrighted images. Sure enough, their requests — and subsequent tests by Times reporters — led the systems to generate replicas of images from movies and video games. The A.I. companies say they are exempt from copyright restrictions, under a rule known as “fair use,” though many experts disagree. “What they’re doing is clear evidence of exploitation,” the artist, Reid Southen, said. More on culture Florence Pugh and Kylie Jenner at Valentino in Paris. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Celebrities are in Paris for the fashion shows. See what they’re wearing. “I’m gonna faint. I’m gonna black out”: Natalie Portman and Rihanna discovered they are fans of each other. Watch the video. Some American arts organizations shun the Sackler family for its role in the opioid crisis. British institutions are taking the money. Late night hosts mocked Trump’s testimony. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Sarah Anne Ward for The New York Times Use a cast-iron skillet to make these thick, golden brown sourdough pancakes. Work out even when it feels impossible. Brighten the dark corners of your home with a lantern. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were twitching and witching. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted January 28 Author Members Share Posted January 28 January 27, 2024 By Melissa Kirsch Good morning. Streaming offers an infinity of choices. It also offers the illusion that we’ll find the perfect cinematic solution to whatever is ailing us. María Jesús Contreras Home movies The year continues to get its bearings, to establish itself. Right now, it’s still a collection of post-holiday weeks, getting-going weeks, weeks for planning the year to come. An on-ramp where we get up to speed. Soon we’ll be properly in the flow of traffic, soon we’ll really be on our way. Last week I wrote about seasonal ambivalence, about trying to be comfortable in the cold in-between. My mood was as dark and icy as the weather and I wanted to change it decisively, so I turned to my cultural diet. What would it look like to create a syllabus for optimism? I had a scene in mind: Jill Clayburgh dancing to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in her New York City apartment in Paul Mazursky’s “An Unmarried Woman.” I haven’t seen the 1978 film since I was a teenager, but that scene stayed with me: exuberant, silly, creative, full of possibility. “An Unmarried Woman” is, disappointingly, not available to stream, and I found myself scrounging for YouTube scraps, looking for other movies that would inspire the same mood. I hit the Criterion Channel, thinking perhaps an escape into French cinema would do the trick. I struck out in the hot sun of Roger Vadim’s 1956 “And God Created Woman” and Jacques Deray’s 1969 “La Piscine,” neither offering the complex characters or the coziness I was seeking. Back to New York City in 1978: I hadn’t seen Claudia Weill’s “Girlfriends,” which stars Melanie Mayron as a photographer sorting out her life after her roommate moves out and gets married. I loved it. I tried more movies about women on their own, figuring things out: Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), Parker Posey in Zoe Cassavetes’s “Broken English” (2007). These films were good company, movies about people who are blue but taking measures not to be. They are moody movies, wherein geography figures as largely as the characters, where a change in location occasions a change in perspective. The on-demand availability of (almost!) everything allows us this kind of highly tailored viewing, whereby a restless viewer can fastidiously craft the perfect diet to treat whatever yen or malaise they’re experiencing. This is both wonderful and terrible. Streaming invites a kind of snacking, a standing-in-front-of-the-fridge asking oneself “What am I hungry for?” The result is often a chaos meal, consisting of bites of whatever looks appealing, which don’t always add up to nourishment. I realized in the midst of my selective viewing that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted from the plot points of any particular movie I called up on a streaming service. What I wanted was a nostalgic, real-world experience: wandering in out of the cold of a midwinter’s afternoon, breathing in the stale popcorn-scented air of, say, the Angelika, or any of the city’s independent theaters, buying a ticket to whatever matinee is on, stumbling out afterward, changed. I didn’t want to watch a movie about people with interesting, complicated lives. I wanted to live my own. I want to say that I hurried to the Angelika and took in the next screening, that I vowed to abandon my home viewing for the inimitable splendor of the silver screen. No, I stayed in and rented “Anatomy of a Fall” on a too-small screen with finicky subtitles. It was a new release that I rented for 48 hours — not a selection from the always-on streaming buffet — so I watched it from start to finish, the way the director intended, the way one takes in a film in the theater. I sat down, I engaged with a story, I stayed until the story was complete. This was more satisfying than my scattershot attempts to find the perfect cinematic salve had been. I wasn’t looking for a particular movie or genre, I was looking for simplicity, for an escape from the infinity and loneliness of all this choice. For more “We go to the movies to lose ourselves, to explore a world that partakes of our common reality and also departs from it.” A.O. Scott asks, “Is It Still Worth Going to the Movies?” The trailer for “An Unmarried Woman,” and Vincent Canby’s 1978 review. “Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive feature of human experience.” From 2018, Tim Wu on “The Tyranny of Convenience.” Now playing at the Angelika Film Center. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE WEEK IN CULTURE Greta Gerwig, the director of “Barbie,” and Margot Robbie, the film’s star. Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press “So much more than Kenough”: Hillary Clinton weighed in on Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Oscar nomination snubs for best director and best actress. “I didn’t expect that I would cry the way that I did”: Lily Gladstone spoke with The Times about her Oscar nomination for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” An artist sued the Museum of Modern Art, accusing officials of failing to take corrective action after several visitors groped him during a nude performance for a Marina Abramovic piece in 2010. The American Museum of Natural History will close two halls that display Native American objects, responding to new federal rules requiring tribal consent to exhibit cultural items. Anne Hathaway walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot after learning of a Condé Nast union work stoppage, Variety reports. Melanie, the husky-voiced singer and songwriter who was just 22 when she charmed the crowd at Woodstock in 1969, died at 76. French prosecutors dropped a sexual assault lawsuit against Gérard Depardieu because the statute of limitations had passed. A French actress had accused him of groping her in 2007. Vince McMahon resigned as chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment after a former employee sued him for sexual assault and trafficking. McMahon called the accusations a “distortion of the truth.” THE LATEST NEWS E. Jean Carroll leaving the courthouse in Manhattan yesterday. Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press A Manhattan jury ordered Donald Trump to the pay the writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her after she accused him of rape. The U.N.’s highest court ordered Israel to let more aid into Gaza and prevent genocidal acts there, but did not call for a cease-fire. The court has no mechanism to enforce its rulings. UNRWA, the U.N. agency that aids Palestinians, fired 12 workers whom Israel accused of taking part in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. The U.S. cut off funding to the agency, which is investigating the claims. Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to kill a bipartisan border-security bill, saying the deal senators are negotiating would most likely be “dead on arrival” in the House. Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open for a second time with a decisive, straight sets triumph over Zheng Qinwen. Inflation continued to cool last month, according to the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure. Elon Musk dismantled Twitter’s system for flagging false claims about voting. Now he’s spreading election misinformation with help from the site’s algorithm. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. CULTURE CALENDAR By Desiree Ibekwe 📺 Masters of the Air (Out now): This nine-part Apple TV+ show follows a unit of the U.S. Air Force known as the “Bloody Hundredth,” who flew dangerous daytime missions in Nazi territory during World War II. The show is executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who also worked together on the miniseries “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” Spielberg told The Times that the show is an exercise in keeping the memories of World War II veterans alive: “I see it as a consistent recognition of the courage and sacrifice of the greatest generation,” he said. 📽️ Argylle (Friday): In this movie from Matthew Vaughn, the director of “Kingsman,” an author named Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is pulled into the world of espionage when the plots of her spy novels seem to start unfolding in real life. The movie is based on a very recently published book by an unknown author, who also goes by Elly Conway. This fuzziness caused some to speculate that Conway was, in fact, Taylor Swift. (In this particular case, however, all roads do not lead to Taylor Swift.) Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT RECIPE OF THE WEEK Johnny Miller for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Extra-Crispy Parmesan Potatoes Kenji López-Alt is a master at tweaking classic recipes to make them even better. For his extra-crispy Parmesan-crusted roasted potatoes, he boils the potatoes with baking soda and herbs until tender, then coats them with a slurry of finely ground Parmesan and melted butter. As the potatoes roast, the starch on their exterior binds with the butter and cheese, creating a golden shell with a frico-like crunch. Versatile and irresistible, you can serve them with just about anything — a side dish that’s likely to steal the show. REAL ESTATE Aaron Ross and his mother, Wendy, in the home they rent in Flagstaff, Ariz. John Burcham for The New York Times Housing report: Half of all renters in the United States spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities, a historic high, according to a recent study. What you get for $10 million: An 1856 estate in Keswick, Va.; a six-bedroom compound in Nantucket, Mass.; or an eight-bedroom Colonial Revival house in Hinsdale, Ill. The hunt: A young family chose to move to Denver with a budget of up $1.2 million. Which home did they choose? Play our game. LIVING Holly Stapleton Sex drive: The pill lowers testosterone levels. What does that do to the libido? “Aging like milk”: Some members of Gen Z say they fear their generation is aging more quickly than others. They may simply be getting older. In the spotlight: Influential rappers like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B are destigmatizing motherhood for hip-hop performers. Travel: The Paris Olympics this summer promises to be stunning. The prices already are. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER For better drinking water If you’re concerned about the quality of your tap water, there are plenty of ways to improve it. Almost all pitcher-type filters remove the chlorine disinfectants that can give water an off flavor, and some also reduce lead and industrial compounds. Under-sink filters work faster, last longer, can treat a far wider range of contaminants — including microplastics and so-called forever chemicals — and don’t require advanced plumbing skills to install. Our first suggestion, though, is to test your water with an accurate at-home kit. You may learn (as I did) that your water is already pristine. Or you may uncover a serious problem that takes more than an off-the-shelf filter to solve. — Tim Heffernan GAME OF THE WEEKEND Jared Goff and Dan Campbell. Abbie Parr/Associated Press Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers, N.F.C. Championship: Let’s get this out of the way, because you’re going to hear it a lot on Sunday: The Lions have never been to the Super Bowl. Three years ago, when the team traded away its franchise quarterback, then went 3-13-1, it didn’t appear that streak would be broken anytime soon. But Dan Campbell, Detroit’s head coach, has turned this team around. The Lions defense is the best in the league at stopping the run, while the offense excels at running the ball. And though he isn’t flashy, Jared Goff has been the most accurate passer among all quarterbacks this postseason. Suddenly, a Super Bowl seems within reach. Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Fox For more The Athletic went behind the scenes to learn how Campbell and the Lions’ general manager, Brad Holmes, changed the team’s fortunes. Like the Lions, the 49ers have an elite run offense and defense. That should make this a very physical game, David Lombardi writes. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was function. 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 Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Quote phkrause By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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