The New York Times — Monday, December 4, 2023

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Israel, Expanding Offensive, Tells More Gazans to Evacuate

An Israeli airstrike left a crater on Sunday in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

As its ground forces prepared to move in the south of Gaza, residents there were told to leave their homes, spreading fear and confusion.

What the Scale of Displacement in Gaza Looks Like

Eighty percent of Gazans are displaced from their homes as Israel orders more evacuations. See where thousands have been sheltering amid the war’s destruction.

Ego, Fear and Money: How the A.I. Fuse Was Lit

The people who were most afraid of the risks of artificial intelligence decided they should be the ones to build it. Then distrust fueled a spiraling competition.

‘Medical Freedom’ Activists Take Aim at New Target: Childhood Vaccine Mandates

Mississippi has long had high childhood immunization rates, but a federal judge has ordered the state to allow parents to opt out on religious grounds.

Sustainability: Forests On Papua Island In Indonesia

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (December 3, 2023) – Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost province, encompasses the western half of New Guinea and several other islands. An area of cultural and biological diversity, its rainforests and mountains are inhabited by indigenous Melanesian tribes and diverse wildlife including tree kangaroos and birds of paradise. Whale sharks swim amid the hard coral gardens of Cenderawasih Bay National Park, a dive site off the north coast. 

Autumn Tours: Saiho-ji Moss Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Yurara Sarara Films (December 3, 2023) – Saihō-ji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in Matsuo, Nishikyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple, which is famed for its moss garden, is commonly referred to as “Koke-dera”, meaning “moss temple”, while the formal name is “Kōinzan Saihō-ji”

Sunday Morning: Stories And News From Zürich

Monocle on Sunday, December 3, 2023 – Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, brings us a festive programme as our Christmas market takes place in Zürich. Featuring Florian Egli and Damita Pressl plus Monocle’s Andrew Tuck and Georgina Godwin.

The New York Times — Sunday, December 3, 2023

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Israel Orders Evacuations Amid ‘Intense’ Attacks on Southern Gaza

Two men sit in the back of a hatchback car with the hatch open and their feet outside.

Beleaguered Gazans, having fled the territory’s north, emerged from a night of bombardment wondering where to go next for safety.

Drunk and Asleep on the Job: Air Traffic Controllers Pushed to the Brink

A nationwide shortage of controllers has resulted in an exhausted and demoralized work force that is increasingly prone to making dangerous mistakes.

Divided by Politics, a Colorado Town Mends Its Broken Bones

Two years after death threats and aspersions roiled little Silverton, the town has found a semblance of peace and a lesson for a ruptured nation.

A Russian Village Buries a Soldier, and Tries to Make Sense of the War

In Russia, the pain and loss of the war in Ukraine are felt most profoundly in small villages, where a soldier’s burial produces not just grief but a yearning to find meaning in his death.

The New York Times Magazine – Dec 3, 2023

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (December 2, 2023): The latest issue features Sunday Night Lights – How America’s most spectacular TV show gets made; The Chicken Tycoons vs. the Antitrust Hawks – As part of a broader campaign against anticompetitive practices, the Biden administration has taken on the chicken industry

Behind the Scenes of the Most Spectacular Show On TV

Camera operators hovering above a crowd in sports jerseys.

Months of preparation, hundreds of staff, convoys of cutting-edge gear: inside the machine that crafts prime time’s most popular entertainment.

By Jody Rosen

Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the N.F.L.’s defending champions, is a very loud place. Players say that when the noise reaches top volume, they can feel vibrations in their bones. During a 2014 game, a sound meter captured a decibel reading equivalent to a jet’s taking off, earning a Guinness World Record for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.” Chiefs fans know how to weaponize noise, quieting to a churchlike hush when the team’s great quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, calls signals but then, when opponents have the ball, unleashing a howl that can even drown out the sound of the play call crackling through the speaker inside the rival quarterback’s helmet.

The Chicken Tycoons vs. the Antitrust Hawks

A photo illustration of a chicken in a suit.

As part of a broader campaign against anticompetitive practices, the Biden administration has taken on the chicken industry. Why have the results been so paltry?

By H. Claire Brown

At Kentucky Fried Chicken, sales tend to peak at the same time every year: Mother’s Day. This has been the case since the 1960s, when the chain began to experiment with TV advertising. In a spot from that era, a man in an office answers a phone call from an anonymous male narrator who asks, “Sir, do you have any idea what your wife has to do to run your house?” Cut to a sped-up montage of an impeccably dressed 30-something as she dusts, irons, vacuums and balances the checkbook. Newly enlightened, the husband shows his appreciation by stopping at Kentucky Fried Chicken on his way home. Cut to a close-up of a happy wife biting into a drumstick. “Colonel Sanders fixes Sunday dinner seven days a week, and it’s finger-lickin’ good.”

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From Zürich

Monocle on Saturday, December 2, 2023: Join Juliet Linley and Georgina Godwin for a look through the week’s news and culture from Monocle’s Christmas market in Zürich with special guests Deputy Head of Radio, Tom Webb, and Editorial Director, Tyler Brûlé.

The New York Times — Saturday, December 2, 2023

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Israel Resumes Offensive in Gaza Strip After Truce With Hamas Ends

Palestinians mourned relatives on Friday at a funeral in Khan Younis, in Gaza’s south.

Talks on extending a weeklong cease-fire broke down, with each side blaming the other. The truce had included the release of hostages held in Gaza for people in Israeli prisons.

George Santos Is Kicked Out of Congress in a Historic Vote

After his expulsion on Friday, George Santos quickly left the Capitol, telling reporters, “to hell with this place.”

Nearly half of the G.O.P. House delegation voted to expel Mr. Santos, a remarkable rebuke of a colleague who had survived two prior expulsion bids.

Blinken Urges Israel to Take Concrete Steps to Aid Civilians as More Hostages Are Freed

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Israeli officials and a Palestinian leader on Thursday to seek improved conditions for Gaza’s civilians and to try to exert influence over Israel’s expected military offensive.

A Tense Climate Summit Begins Against a Backdrop of War and Record Heat

World leaders at climate talks in Dubai invoked faith, science and economics in their calls for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – Dec 4, 2023

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BARRON’S MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 4, 2023 ISSUE

Nvidia Stock Is Still Undervalued. So Are These 2 Smaller AI Plays.

Nvidia Stock Is Still Undervalued. So Are These 2 Smaller AI Plays.

Nvidia is the clear—and most obvious—beneficiary from the AI buildout but there are two other companies that are less well known to investors that should equally benefit in the year ahead.

Microsoft Got an AI Boost. It’s Far From Over.

Microsoft Got an AI Boost. It's Far From Over.

Nvidia may be first on the list of AI beneficiaries, but Microsoft is a clear No. 2.

Even Millionaire Retirees Have Credit Card Debt

Even Millionaire Retirees Have Credit Card Debt

A subset of affluent borrowers hold dangerous debt, according to a new study.

The New York Times Book Review – December 3, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (December 3, 2023): This week features the Holiday Books issue that lands with a thump, a 56-page behemoth crammed with reviews, coffee-table book spreads, recommendations from our genre columnists, a children’s book gift guide and our 100 Notables list. 

100 Notable Books of 2023

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Each year, we pore over thousands of new books, seeking out the best novels, memoirs, biographies, poetry collections, stories and more. Here are the standouts, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

How a Good Book Became the ‘Richest’ of Holiday Gifts

As Christmas came to be celebrated in the home, choosing the right volume was a way to show intimate understanding of the person opening the package.

By Jennifer Harlan

As long as people have been buying gifts for the holidays, they have been buying books. Books offer infinite variety, are easily wrapped, can be personalized for the recipient and displayed as a signifier of one’s own identity. They are, in many respects, the quintessential Christmas — or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or other December celebration — gift.