Category Archives: Newspapers

Front Page: The New York Times — April 29, 2023

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Fed Slams Its Own Oversight of Silicon Valley Bank in Post-Mortem

The Federal Reserve faulted its oversight of Silicon Valley Bank, saying it failed to take forceful enough action to prevent its collapse. — CREDITJIM WILSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Federal Reserve released hundreds of pages documenting how bank supervision and regulation failed to prevent the lender’s collapse. The F.D.I.C. released a separate report on Signature Bank.

North Carolina Gerrymander Ruling Reflects Politicization of Judiciary Nationally

The North Carolina Supreme Court reversed itself on Friday on a key voting rights case after its majority flipped from Democratic to Republican. — CREDITSEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES

When it had a Democratic majority last year, the North Carolina Supreme Court voided the state’s legislative and congressional maps as illegal gerrymanders. Now the court has a Republican majority, and says the opposite.

Homeless in the City Where He Was Once Mayor

Craig Coyner’s descent onto the streets of Bend, Ore., came after decades spent fighting as a lawyer and politician for those on the edge of society.

Gov. Hochul Gets a Budget Deal, but No Signature Win

The budget deal contained a series of hard-fought wins for the governor, but left her without a grand policy achievement to trumpet.

Arts & Literature, Books, Newspapers, Previews, Reviews

The New York Times Book Review – April 30, 2023

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The New York Times Book Review (April 30, 2023): On the cover this week – Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America,” a sweeping, important, revisionist work of American history that places Native Americans front and center. Illustrating it is “Les Castors du Roi,” a 2011 painting by Kent Monkman, a Cree artist in Canada’s Dish With One Spoon Territory.

Read Your Way Through Boston

An illustration depicting a snowy street in Boston; a man in the foreground is engrossed in reading his book. — Credit…Raphaelle Macaron

Paul Theroux, the quintessential travel writer, has also enshrined his Massachusetts roots in his writing. Here are his recommendations for those who come to visit.

My father, like many passionate readers, was a literary pilgrim in his native Massachusetts, a state rich in destinations, hallowed by many of the greatest writers in the language. “Look, Paulie, this is the House of the Seven Gables — go on, count them!”

Everything, Everywhere, in One Big Book

This color photo shows a woman flipping pages of a book posed on top of a long low bookcase filled with volumes. Behind the woman, stretching to the top of the photograph are more bookshelves filled with books. — A woman consults a book at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan.Credit…Ángel Franco/The New York Times

In “All the Knowledge in the World,” Simon Garfield recounts the history of the encyclopedia — a tale of ambitious effort, numerous errors and lots of paper.

In ‘Ordinary Notes,’ a Radical Reading of Black Life

The book cover for “Ordinary Notes,” by Christina Sharpe, is lilac with bold black type. A blurry photo of houses at twilight sits along the bottom edge.

The scholar Christina Sharpe’s new book comprises memories, observations, artifacts and artworks — fragments attesting to the persistence of prejudice while allowing glimpses of something like hope.

News, Newspapers, Views

Front Page: The New York Times — April 28, 2023

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U.S. Economy Continues to Grow, but More Slowly

Gross domestic product increased 1.1 percent in the first quarter as consumer spending remained robust despite higher interest rates.

Biden Faces His First Big Choice on Debt Limit

President Biden faces a cascading set of decisions as the nation barrels toward default. He will need to find what, if any, common ground on spending cuts he has with Republicans. — CREDITDOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

After Republicans passed a bill that pairs spending cuts and fossil fuel support with raising the nation’s borrowing cap, the president must decide when and how to negotiate

New York Officials Failed to Address the Housing Crisis. Now What?

The state seemed poised to take the first meaningful action in decades to address its deep housing shortage. But the plans fell apart, in yet another indictment of dysfunction in Albany.

Meet the Climate Hackers of Malawi

On tiny farms they’re testing creative ideas to stay ahead of the cascading threats — heat and drought, cyclones and floods — transforming their world.

Arts & Literature, Books, Newspapers, Reviews

Books: The Top Twelve Best Reviews – April 2023

April 27, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

12 Books to Read: The Best Reviews of April

Pegasus

Shakespeare’s Book: The Story Behind the First Folio and the Making of Shakespeare

By Chris Laoutaris | Pegasus

After William Shakespeare’s death, his colleagues collected his plays in a single, history-making volume. Review by Malcolm Forbes.

Read the review

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

By Jonathan Rosen | Penguin Press

A young man’s ife of brilliant promise was overtaken when his struggle with mental illness took a turn into delusion and nightmare. Review by Richard J. McNally.

Read the review

A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South

By Peter Cozzens | Knopf

The most consequential Indian war in U.S. history didn’t take place on the prairie but among the forsts and marshes of the Deep South. Atrocities were committed by both sides. Review by Fergus M. Bordewich.

Read the review

Knopf

The Earth Transformed: An Untold History

By Peter Frankopan | Knopf

The names and dates of battles that changed history are well-remembered. But what about storms or volcanic eruptions? For eons, human civilizations have shaped—and been shaped by—the natural world. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.

Read the review

News, Newspapers, Views

Front Page: The New York Times — April 27, 2023

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House G.O.P. Passes Debt Limit Bill, Paving the Way for a Clash With Biden

Speaker Kevin McCarthy barely cobbled together the votes to pass his debt limit plan, which would cut spending and roll back parts of President Biden’s agenda. — CREDIT

House Republicans narrowly passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling while cutting spending by nearly 14 percent over a decade. President Biden has vowed to veto the measure.

On Eve of Trial, Discovery of Carlson Texts Set Off Crisis Atop Fox

The discovery of the texts added pressure on the Fox leadership as it sought to find a way to avoid a trial in the Dominion defamation lawsuit. — CREDITREBECCA NOBLE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Private messages sent by Tucker Carlson that had been redacted in legal filings showed him making highly offensive remarks that went beyond the comments of his prime-time show.

In Searing Detail, Trump’s Accuser Tells Her Story

E. Jean Carroll, who says Donald Trump raped her, told a chilling story on the stand. The former president harangued her from outside the courtroom.

In an Indian Village, Cultivating Girls’ Big-League Dreams

A new $500 million women’s cricket league is offering the kind of opportunities that never existed before in India. The girls of one Punjab village are ready.

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Front Page: The New York Times — April 26, 2023

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Biden Announces Re-election Bid, Defying Trump and History

President Biden is already the oldest president in American history and, if he were to win again, he would be 86 at the end of a second term. — CREDITDOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

While the president once pitched himself as “a bridge” to a new generation of Democratic leaders, he has decided that he is not ready to turn the torch over yet.

Analysis: Biden Faces Headwinds, but Democrats See Reasons for Optimism

President Biden, delivering remarks at the White House last week, announced on Tuesday that he would seek a second term.

President Biden’s poll numbers remain low, but structural advantages have Democrats insisting he is far better positioned than his Republican rivals.

Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist

In the 1950s, when segregation was still widespread, his ascent to the upper echelon of show business was historic. But his primary focus was civil rights.

A Bleak Outlook for Manhattan’s Office Space May Signal a Bigger Problem

Remote work and rising interest rates are dealing a double blow to office landlords, with potentially grave consequences for the city and even national economy.

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Front Page: The New York Times — April 25, 2023

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Ukraine’s Spring Offensive Comes With Immense Stakes for Future of the War

Damage in Izium, Ukraine, last week. A failed counteroffensive could lead to waning Western support in Ukraine. — CREDITMAURICIO LIMA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Without a decisive victory, Western support for Ukraine could weaken, and Kyiv could come under increasing pressure to enter serious peace talks to end or freeze the conflict.

Tucker Carlson, a Source of Repeated Controversies, Is Out at Fox News

Tucker Carlson’s announcement was made less than a week after Fox settled a defamation suit for $787.5 million. — CREDITREBECCA NOBLE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mr. Carlson has been one of the network’s top-rated hosts for many years.

What Tucker Carlson Leaves Behind as He Is Shown the Door

The host’s abrupt dismissal upends Fox News’s prime-time lineup — and the carefully honed impression that the ratings star was all but untouchable.

These Countries Lined Up to Help Ukraine. Now Their Farmers Are Angry.

A grain deal that got Ukrainian exports moving and eased a global food crisis is now fueling protests in Romania and among other staunch supporters of Kyiv.

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Front Page: The New York Times — April 24, 2023

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Biden Opens a New Back Door on Immigration

Leonard Kordonowy, a deacon for St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Fairfield, N.D. The state recently launched plans to tap into a new Biden administration immigration program to bring Ukrainians fleeing the war to work in the local oil industry. — CREDITDAN KOECK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Congress has yet to pass an immigration overhaul, but President Biden has used his executive authority to significantly expand the number of legal immigrants entering the U.S.

Chinese Censorship Is Quietly Rewriting the Covid-19 Story

The shuttered Huanan market in Wuhan in 2021. Scientists say China has kept a tight rein on data from the market, where the first large cluster of coronavirus cases was found. — CREDITGILLES SABRIE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Under government pressure, Chinese scientists have retracted studies and withheld or deleted data. The censorship has stymied efforts to understand the virus.

U.S. Pulls Diplomats From Sudan, and an Exodus Begins

With hopes fading that two warring generals will end their battle anytime soon, diplomats and other foreigners began heading for Sudan’s doors.

Russia’s Technocrats Embraced the West, Then Enabled Putin’s War

The expertise of economic officials who continue to work in the government has helped President Vladimir Putin largely keep the economy afloat in the face of Western sanctions.

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Front Page: The New York Times — April 23, 2023

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E.P.A. to Propose First Controls on Greenhouse Gases From Power Plants

If the proposed regulation is implemented, coal and gas-fired power plants, like the Plant Bowen power station in Georgia, would have to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 2040 — CREDITKENDRICK BRINSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

If the regulation is implemented, it will be the first time the federal government has limited carbon emissions from existing power plants, which generate 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases.

As War Rages in Sudan, Countries Angle for Advantage

Smoke rises over Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, on Friday after almost a week of fighting between warring factions. — CREDITVIA REUTERS

Even before its two leading generals went to war last week, “everyone wanted a chunk of Sudan,” an expert said of the strategically located country rich in natural resources.

Western Weapons Supplies Fall Short of Ukraine’s Needs, Documents Show

Ukraine’s defense minister reported the first U.S.-made Patriot air-defense battery had arrived this week, but secret documents show Kyiv was still waiting for tanks and ammo for its coming counteroffensive.

Sacklers Gave Millions to Institution That Advises on Opioid Policy

Even as the nation’s drug crisis mounted, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine continued to accept funds from some members of the Sackler family, including those involved with Purdue Pharma.