All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

THE NEW YORK TIMES – THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025

How China Raced Ahead of the United States on Nuclear Power

The U.S. once led. Now, it’s trying to catch up to China, which has nearly as many reactors under construction as the rest of the world combined.

How Europe Is Trying to Turn Frozen Russian Assets Into Cash for Ukraine

European Union officials could reach an agreement today on a plan for a loan to Ukraine backed by Kremlin money that has been frozen in a Belgian financial institution.

Trump Imposes Sanctions on Russian Oil Companies

President Trump’s move underscores a new degree of frustration with President Vladimir Putin after a plan for the two leaders to meet in Budapest fell apart.

At a Mass Burial in Gaza, Palestinians Mourn the Unknown Dead

Under the terms of a cease-fire deal, Israel and Hamas have been exchanging remains, but Gaza’s medical authorities have not been able to identify many of them.

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER 2025 PREVIEW

HARPER’S MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Why Don’t We Trust The Media?’

Why Doesn’t Anyone Trust the Media?

Anatomy of a credibility crisis by Jelani CobbTaylor LorenzJack ShaferMax Tani

The Goon Squad

Loneliness, porn’s next frontier, and the dream of endless masturbation by Daniel Kolitz

One Four Two Five Old Sunset Trail

On the last days of Gene Hackman by Joy Williams

THE NEW YORK TIMES – WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22, 2025

In a Reversal, Trump Will Not Meet With Putin in Coming Weeks

The back-and-forth was the latest example of President Trump teasing a breakthrough, only to be pulled back by President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

With Cease-Fire, Some Pro-Palestinian Protesters Look Back, Ruefully

Activists welcome the truce. But the backlash to their demonstrations, some said, offered sobering lessons about power and politics.

Trump Is Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases

Senior department officials who were defense lawyers for President Trump and those in his orbit are now in jobs that typically must approve any such payout.

The Louvre’s Attraction Is Its History. That’s Also Its Weakness.

The brazen robbery on Sunday has put a spotlight on security protocols in the sprawling museum, which have been tested over the years by break-ins and thefts.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The New Tools of Power’

The Stagnant Order

And the End of Rising Powers by Michael Beckley

A Grand Strategy of Reciprocity

How to Build an Economic and Security Order That Works for America by Oren Cass

The New Supply Chain Insecurity

Fortress America Is Not a Safer America by Shannon K. O’Neil

The Return of the Energy Weapon

An Old Tool Creating New Dangers Jason Bordoff and Meghan L. O’Sullivan

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER 2025

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The Fire That Fueled The American Revolution

In January 1776, Virginia’s Port City of Norfolk Was Set Ablaze, Galvanizing the Revolution. But Who Really Lit the Match?

Blaming the British for the destruction helped persuade some wavering colonists to back the fight for independence. But the source of the inferno was not what it seemed

After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil

Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild

You Can See the Parthenon Without Scaffolding for the First Time in Decades

The temporary structures will return next month—but in the meantime, visitors will enjoy rare unobstructed views of the ancient hilltop temple in Athens

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 27, 2025 PREVIEW

A wealthy man hogs a dollar bill blanket leaving a common man in the cold.

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest cover features Christoph Niemann’s “Market Shift” – How the wealthy sleep at night.

A “New Middle East” Is Easier to Declare Than to Achieve

As a long-overdue ceasefire takes hold amid the ruins of Gaza, the President’s visit to Jerusalem is more about transactional politics than transformative peace. By David Remnick

Can the Golden Age of Costco Last?

With its standout deals and generous employment practices, the warehouse chain became a feel-good American institution. In a fraught time, it can be hard to remain beloved. By Molly Fischer

Donald Trump’s Deep-State Wrecking Ball

Russell Vought is using the White House budget office to lay waste to the federal bureaucracy—firing workers, decimating agencies, and testing the rule of law. By Andy Kroll

THE NEW YORK TIMES – MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025

Clashes in Gaza Reveal Cease-Fire’s Fragility, With Rougher Road Ahead

Sunday’s violence was short-lived, but analysts expect more clashes between Israel and Palestinian militants to put the truce under strain.

Where Does the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Stand?

Amazon Disruption Forces Hundreds of Websites Offline for Hours

Amazon Web Services, a cloud service provider, said most services were back up. Hulu, Snapchat and the British government’s official site were among those affected.

Colombia’s Leader Accuses U.S. of Murder, Prompting Trump to Halt Aid

President Gustavo Petro said a U.S. strike in the Caribbean had killed a fisherman. President Trump said he would cut aid and impose new tariffs on Colombia.

In China, a Forbidden Question Looms: Who Leads After Xi?

Xi Jinping seems to believe that only his continued rule can secure China’s rise. But as he ages, choosing a successor will become riskier and more difficult.

LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS – AUTUMN 2025

LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS: The latest issue of LARB Alien“, which wades into the unfamiliar. In Greta Rainbow’s “Tourists,” a woman travels to foggy Athens, where she confronts the unknowability of the city and her partner. In Sara Levine’s “Peter and the Women,” Peter (badly, ineptly, inappropriately, indecently) manages the women in his life: his hospice-bound mother and her nurse, as well as his girlfriends and one-night stands. And in Ari Braverman’s “Dogs of the Solar Steppe,” the narrator faces a decade-long punishment, performing domestic labor for a woman called Big Mother. Her former life assumes a “sheen of fantasy,” and the story warns us of “the easy slippage between one state and another.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE – OCT. 19, 2025

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 10.19.25 Issue features Astead W. Herndon on the mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani; Emily Bazelon on the state of the rule of law in the U.S. under Trump; Andrew Ross Sorkin on 1929 and the rise of crypto investing; Parul Sehgal on Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel; and more.

The Battle Inside Israel Over Who Must Fight in Its Wars

The conflict over compulsory service for the nation’s ultra-Orthodox has become a stand-in for a larger struggle over the country’s right-wing, religious turn — and could determine its future.

Lady Gaga Was Always Gothic. Now the World Has Caught Up to Her.

At a moment when other pop stars are flirting with dark spectacle, Gaga’s “Mayhem” tour shows that she has perfected it. By Wesley Morris

What Trump’s War on Sanctuary Cities Is Really About

A movement born in churches to help vulnerable immigrants has become a constitutional battleground in Chicago and Portland, Ore.

Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani

The story of the man most likely to be the next mayor of New York City — and the promise and peril his ascent poses for the Democratic Party.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2025

Shutdown Fight Reopens Debate in G.O.P. Over Health Care

The showdown has highlighted Republicans’ failure to produce an alternative to Obamacare, which many assail but concede is too politically risky to undo.

Wealthy Americans Are Spending. People With Less Are Struggling.

Data show a resilient economy. But that largely reflects spending by the rich, while others pull back amid high prices and a weakening labor market.

It’s 2025, and Democrats Are Still Running Against Trump

In New Jersey, Virginia and beyond, voters see ads linking Republican candidates to President Trump. Some Democratic strategists see a missed opportunity.

Ukraine Braces for New Talks Without the Leverage of New Missiles

President Trump backed off selling Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, opting instead for talks with Russia. Still, Ukraine’s negotiating position has strengthened since the summer.