Category Archives: Newspapers

The New York Times — Friday, August 4, 2023

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Trump, Arraigned on Election Charges, Pleads Not Guilty

Former President Donald J. Trump was arraigned in a Washington federal courtroom on four charges tied to his efforts to stay in power.

The former president appeared in federal court in Washington after being indicted over his efforts to overturn his defeat in 2020. His first pretrial hearing was set for Aug. 28.

The Charges That Were Notably Absent From the Trump Indictment

Rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This week’s indictment asserted that as violence erupted that day, President Donald J. Trump “exploited the disruption.”

An indictment this week did not accuse former President Donald Trump of inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol, but it did show that some close to him knew violence might be coming.

Trump’s 2024 Campaign Seeks to Make Voters the Ultimate Jury

Donald J. Trump has long understood the stakes in the election: The courts may decide his cases, but only voters can decide whether to return him to power.

Pastor or Traitor? Ukrainians Shun a Church Seen as a Kremlin Tool.

The village parishioners’ decision to oust their priest reflects a broader push within Ukraine to reduce the influence of an Orthodox church that answers to Moscow.

The New York Times — Thursday, August 3, 2023

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Trump Election Charges Set Up Clash of Lies Versus Free Speech

Throughout his careers in business and politics, former President Donald J. Trump has sought to bend reality to his own needs.

The indictment of former President Donald J. Trump over his efforts to retain power accuses him of conspiracies built on knowing falsehoods. His supporters say he is protected by the First Amendment.

From Right-Hand Man to Critical Witness: Pence at Heart of Trump Prosecution

Former Vice President Mike Pence has stopped short of making a broad-based condemnation of Donald J. Trump, whom he served for four years.

Mike Pence is playing an extraordinary role in a historic criminal case against his onetime benefactor and current rival, whose angry supporters once threatened Mr. Pence’s life.

Trump Indictment Leaves Alleged Co-Conspirators Facing Tough Choices

The special counsel’s decision not to charge six people said to have played critical roles in the effort to keep Donald Trump in office seemed to give them a chance to cooperate with prosecutors. Some appear to be unwilling.

Jury in Pittsburgh Synagogue Trial Condemns Gunman to Death

The verdict, after nearly 10 hours of deliberations, was met with a mix of solemnity, gratitude and relief among the survivors and families of those killed in the 2018 attack.

The New York Times — Wednesday, August 2, 2023

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Trump Is Indicted in His Push to Overturn Election

In sweeping terms, the indictment described how former President Donald J. Trump and six co-conspirators employed a variety of means to reverse his defeat in the election almost from the moment that voting ended.

The former president faces three conspiracy charges and a count of attempting to obstruct an official proceeding in his campaign to use the levers of government power to remain in office.

Trump’s Case Has Broad Implications for American Democracy

Former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Erie, Pa., on Saturday.

The third indictment of the former president is the first to get to the heart of the matter: Can a sitting leader of the country spread lies to hold onto power even after voters reject him?

A Craigslist for Guns, With No Background Checks

A federal gun law passed last year gave the Biden administration a powerful new tool to increase background checks on “private” firearms sales. Will the administration use it?

Putin’s Crackdown Leaves Transgender Russians Bracing for Worse

A new law underscores how Vladimir V. Putin is increasingly using the war in Ukraine as justification for greater restrictions on L.G.B.T.Q. life, portraying it as a consequence of deviant Western values.

The New York Times — Tuesday, August 1, 2023

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Biden Shores Up Democratic Support, but Faces Tight Race Against Trump

A New York Times/Siena College poll found that President Biden is on stronger footing than he was a year ago — but he is neck-and-neck in a possible rematch against Donald Trump.

A Spending Boom Fuels Russia’s Wartime Economy, Raising Bubble Fears

Red Square in Moscow this month. A state-led spending boom has propped up Russia’s economy, despite the country facing the most far-reaching campaign of sanctions imposed by Western nations in modern history.

The economic strength has helped to maintain popular support for Vladimir Putin’s war, but some have warned the state-led spending is threatening the country’s financial stability.

A Desperate Push to Save Florida’s Coral: Get It Out of the Sea

Teams dedicated to ocean restoration are urgently moving samples to tanks on land as a marine heat wave devastates entire reefs.

The Country That Bombs Its Own People

Visual evidence, data and interviews show that the Myanmar military’s campaign of terror, which began after a coup sparked widespread resistance, is getting worse.

The New York Times — Monday, July 31, 2023

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Trump Crushing DeSantis and G.O.P. Rivals, Times/Siena Poll Finds

The twice-indicted former president leads across nearly every category and region, as primary voters wave off concerns about his escalating legal jeopardy.

Who Paid for a Mysterious Spy Tool? The F.B.I., an F.B.I. Inquiry Found

A branch of the hacking firm NSO in Sapir, Israel. The Biden administration put the company on a Commerce Department blacklist in 2021.

After a Times report, the bureau canceled its contract with a government contractor that used the tool on its behalf. But questions remain.

Amid the Counterattack’s Deadly Slog, a Glimmer of Success for Ukraine

Recapturing the village of Staromaiorske was such welcome news for the country that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced it himself. But formidable Russian defenses have stymied progress elsewhere.

Heat Is Costing the U.S. Economy Billions in Lost Productivity

From meatpackers to home health aides, workers are struggling in sweltering temperatures and productivity is taking a hit.

The New York Times — Sunday, July 30, 2023

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The Secret History of Gun Rights: How Lawmakers Armed the N.R.A.

They served in Congress and on the N.R.A.’s board at the same time. Over decades, a small group of legislators led by a prominent Democrat pushed the gun lobby to help transform the law, the courts and views on the Second Amendment.

A Climate Warning from the Cradle of Civilization

How extreme temperatures and dwindling water are pushing the Fertile Crescent toward the brink.

U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations

American intelligence officials believe the malware could give China the power to disrupt or slow American deployments or resupply operations, including during a Chinese move against Taiwan.

New York City Had a Migrant Crisis. It Hired a Covid Expert to Help.

DocGo, a medical services company, received a $432 million no-bid contract to move hundreds of asylum seekers outside the city. Many say they have been threatened, mistreated and lied to.

The New York Times — Saturday, July 29, 2023

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New Trump Charges Highlight Long-Running Questions About Obstruction

Former President Donald J. Trump alone on a stage with a blue curtain behind him.

The accusation that former President Donald J. Trump wanted security camera footage deleted at Mar-a-Lago added to a pattern of concerns about his attempts to stymie prosecutors.

Fighting for Anthony: The Struggle to Save Portland, Oregon

The city has been stepping up efforts to take down tents and relocate people to shelters. But many of them simply packed up their belongings and pitched tents elsewhere.

The city has long grappled with street homelessness and a shortage of housing. Now fentanyl has turned a perennial problem into a deadly crisis and a challenge to the city’s progressive identity.

Wall St. Pessimists Are Getting Used to Being Wrong

The S&P 500 is up more than 19 percent this year, but some still warn that the future may not be as rosy as that implies.

The New York Times Book Review — July 30, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – JULY 30, 2023:

On this week’s cover, we feature biographies of composers Arnold Schoenberg and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that emphasize the extent to which each was a singular genius attuned to his culture and times; our reviews are by Anthony Tommasini (formerly The Times’s chief classical music critic) and the composer John Adams.

Masterpieces Galore: When Mozart Met the Enlightenment

This painting shows the profile of a man with brown hair and a dark brown collar. The background is black. Some of the painting appears to be unfinished.

In Patrick Mackie’s “Mozart in Motion,” the socially observant composer embraces modernity.

Musicians tend to be wary of ascribing specific meanings to music or making too much of a piece’s extra-musical associations. In one of his Norton Lectures at Harvard in 1973, turning to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, Leonard Bernstein asked the audience to forget all about “birds and brooks and rustic pleasures” and instead concentrate on “pure” music. He then demonstrated how every phrase of the entire first movement is derived from little motifs of notes and rhythms in the first four bars of the score.

Make It New and Difficult: The Music of Arnold Schoenberg

This painting shows a balding middle-aged man, in suit, vest and tie, from the waist up. The suit jacket and vest are beige and white; the tie is dark brown.

John Adams reviews “Schoenberg: Why He Matters,” in which Harvey Sachs explores the artistic, academic and spiritual life of a 20th-century cultural giant.

In 1955 Henry Pleasants, a critic of both popular and classical music, issued a cranky screed of a book, “The Agony of Modern Music,” which opened with the implacable verdict that “serious music is a dead art.” Pleasants’s thesis was that the traditional forms of classical music — opera, oratorio, orchestral and chamber music, all constructions of a bygone era — no longer related to the experience of our modern lives. Composers had lost touch with the currents of popular taste, and popular music, 

The New York Times — Friday, July 28, 2023

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Trump Faces Major New Charges in Documents Case

The revised indictment added three serious charges against former President Donald J. Trump, including attempting to “alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal evidence.”

The office of the special counsel accused the former president of seeking to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago. The manager of the property, Carlos De Oliveira, was also named as a new defendant.

Justice Dept. Opens Civil Rights Investigation of Memphis Police

Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, announced on Thursday an investigation into the practices of the Memphis Police Department.

The department will examine allegations of pervasive problems with excessive force and unlawful stops of Black residents that were amplified by the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification

Elite colleges have long been filled with the children of the richest families: At Ivy League schools, one in six students has parents in the top 1 percent.

Amid Shared Pain Over Synagogue Massacre, Divisions on Death Penalty

Since the 2018 attack that left 11 people dead, Jews in Pittsburgh have weighed whether the government should seek the execution of the killer.

Books: The Top Ten Best Reviews – July 2023

Wall Street Journal Books & Art (July 26, 2023) – A wild rowboat race across the Atlantic, the overlooked triumphs of the 20th president, notes on life behind home plate and more. A selection of July’s most noteworthy books, as discussed by The Wall Street Journal’s reviewers.

After the Funeral and Other Stories

By Tessa Hadley Knopf

Moments of “intense insight and recognition” animate a dozen new stories from a master of the form. Review by Sam Sacks.

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Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s

By Alan Paul St. Martin’s

Even after the loss of two of their founding members, the Georgia-based band created a country-blues sound that captivated audiences. Review by Gavin Edwards.

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Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic

By James R. Hansen Pegasus

Tom McClean faced frostbite, nonstop gales and waves that looked like skyscrapers. A 15-foot shark followed him for days. He named it Bluey. Review by Bill Heavey.

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The Controversialist: Arguments with Everyone, Left Right and Center

By Martin Peretz Wicked Son

The pugnacious editor and publisher looks back on his career putting the New Republic at the center of a generation’s political conversation. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.

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Credible: The Power of Expert Leaders

By Amanda Goodall | PublicAffairs

Should a doctor run a hospital? An engineer a tech company? Workers seem to value a boss with skill and knowledge in the core business. Review by David A. Price.

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End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration

By Peter Turchin Penguin Press

The widening wealth gap in the U.S. has been fueled by elite overproduction—a combination that, to some, can only signal an imminent state breakdown. Review by Dominic Green.

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The Man Who Organized Nature: The Life of Linnaeus

By Gunnar Broberg Princeton

The Swedish naturalist Linnaeus bestowed an orderly taxonomy on the natural world, but his love of animals and plants was quirky and personal. Review by Christoph Irmscher.

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The People’s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him

By Amul Thapar Regnery Gateway

A federal judge argues that when we follow the arguments of Supreme Court Justice Thomas in applying the Constitution, the weak and the powerless stand to benefit the most. Review by David J. Garrow.

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President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier

By C.W. Goodyear Simon & Schuster

James Garfield’s ambitious career—from janitor to Union general, then from Congress to the presidency—was cut short by an assassin. Review by Richard Norton Smith.

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