Category Archives: Newspapers

The New York Times Book Review – April 23, 2023

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The New York Times Book Review – April 23, 2023:

With His Tale of Shipwreck, David Grann Is Steady as He Goes

This illustration shows a sailing ship being tossed in heaving seas. The art is stylized, with mostly black, white and subtle blue lines, and the image is mirrored, so the same picture appears twice, once right-side up and the other upside down.
Credit…Naï Zakharia

The author’s latest book, “The Wager,” investigates the mysteries surrounding an 18th-century maritime disaster off Cape Horn.

There were multiple moments while reading David Grann’s new book, “The Wager,” about an 18th-century shipwreck, when it occurred to me that the kind of nonfiction narratives The New Yorker writer has become known for share something essential with a sturdy ship.

‘Biography of X’ Rewrites a Life Story and an American Century

The book jacket of “Biography of X,” by Catherine Lacey, is a deep red with a small, scrambled photograph of a woman’s face in the center.

Catherine Lacey’s new novel follows a polarizing artist through a fractured country.

The narrator of “Biography of X,” the new Catherine Lacey novel, is a journalist named C.M. Lucca who worked for a Village Voice-like newspaper in New York City during the 1980s. C.M. has a cool tone and a lonely intelligence; she’s a solitary spirit. 

These Police Chiefs Are Working to Change Perceptions

A sea of uniformed police officers throng Fifth Avenue; an American flag waves in the background.
Police officers from across the country line Fifth Avenue for the funeral of the N.Y.P.D. officer Wilbert D. Mora, 2022.Credit…Karsten Moran for The New York Times

In “Walk the Walk,” Neil Gross profiles three departments around the country experimenting with genuine reform.

WALK THE WALK: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture, by Neil Gross

Front Page: The New York Times — April 21, 2023

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As Xi Befriends World Leaders, He Hardens His Stance on the U.S.

President Xi Jinping of China with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil last week in Beijing.
CREDITPOOL PHOTO BY KEN ISHII

China has rebuffed calls to restart high-level talks with the United States, raising the risk of confrontation in contested areas like the Taiwan Strait.

In a Nation Armed to the Teeth, These Tiny Missteps Led to Tragedy

Lisa Johnson-Banks held a framed memorial of her son, Omarian Banks, in Riverdale, Ga., on Thursday. She said her son posed no threat on the March 2019 night that he was shot at the wrong apartment door.
CREDITALYSSA POINTER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

A workman knocking on the wrong door. A cheerleader mistaking another car for her own. Small errors can have large consequences in a nation bristling with guns.

Israel’s Right-Wing Government Has Jewish Democrats at a Loss

American lawmakers defending Israel have often fallen back on what they call the countries’ shared democratic values. But defending the current far-right government is proving a lot harder.

SpaceX’s Starship ‘Learning Experience’ Ends in Explosion

The first flight of the most powerful rocket ever was not the success that Elon Musk and his company hoped for, but the launch achieved several milestones toward future journeys.

Front Page: The New York Times — April 20, 2023

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India Is Passing China in Population. Can Its Economy Ever Do the Same?

An auto rickshaw factory in Aurangabad, India, on Tuesday.
CREDITATUL LOKE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

India has a young, vast work force that is expanding as China’s ages and shrinks. But the country’s immense size also lays bare its enormous challenges.

Supreme Court Delays Decision on Abortion Pill, Preserving Access for Now

A federal judge in Texas recently declared that the F.D.A.’s approval of an abortion pill, mifepristone, was invalid.
CREDITANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES

The drug will remain widely available as the justices extended their deadline to Friday on whether to uphold the F.D.A.’s approval of the pill.

3 Nuclear Superpowers, Rather Than 2, Usher In a New Strategic Era

China is on track to massively expand its nuclear arsenal, just as Russia suspends the last major arms control treaty. It augurs a new world in which Beijing, Moscow and Washington will likely be atomic peers.

Sudan’s Generals Dined With Peace Negotiators, Then Started a War

What led the two generals, recently allies, to turn their forces on each other — devastating a country of 45 million people?

Front Page: The New York Times — April 19, 2023

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Fox Will Pay $787.5 Million to Settle Defamation Suit

“The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” a lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems, Justin Nelson, in a red tie, said on Tuesday in Wilmington, Del.
CREDITPETE MAROVICH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The settlement with Dominion Voting Systems was the latest extraordinary twist in a case that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news.

Russian Court Rejects Wall Street Journal Reporter’s Appeal

The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich attending a court hearing of the Moscow City Court, on Tuesday.
CREDIT

It was the first time that Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American, has been seen clearly since he was detained last month and accused of espionage.

Inside the Online Market for Overseas Abortion Pills

For-profit sellers are meeting the demand for unregulated abortion pills — one that will only grow if legal access in the U.S. is further restricted.

How Mexico Became the Biggest User of the World’s Most Notorious Spy Tool

A Times investigation reveals the story behind how Mexico became the first and most prolific user of Pegasus. It’s still using it, despite promising to stop.

Front Page: The New York Times — April 18, 2023

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As Migrant Children Were Put to Work, U.S. Ignored Warnings

When Antonio Diaz Mendez arrived in the U.S. from Guatemala at age 14, he was already deep in debt and largely on his own.
CREDITKIRSTEN LUCE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The White House and federal agencies were repeatedly alerted to signs of children at risk. The warnings were ignored or missed.

Hospitals and Aid Groups Become Targets as Sudan Fighting Intensifies

A satellite image of a damaged hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, on Monday.
CREDITMAXAR TECHNOLOGIES, VIA REUTERS

Civilians are caught in the cross-fire, and two rival generals vying for power made it clear their forces had no intention of standing down.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Revolutionizes NATO Military Strategy

Shocked by Russian atrocities, NATO is becoming the war-fighting alliance it was during the Cold War, committed to defending “every inch” of its territory from Day 1.

After American’s Killing in Syria, F.B.I. Builds War Crimes Case Against Top Officials

The inquiry aims to hold to account Syrian officials considered key architects of a brutal system of detention and torture that has flourished under President Bashar al-Assad.

Front Page: The New York Times — April 17, 2023

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Sudan Fears ‘Ghost of Civil War’ as Explosions Rock Capital

The Khartoum International Airport in Sudan on Sunday.
CREDITPLANET LABS, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

The civilian death toll is climbing and concern over a broader conflict is growing as rival generals vie for control of Africa’s third-largest country.

Two Children, a Burst of Gunfire and the Year That Came After

When a gunman opened fire in two classrooms in Uvalde, Texas, 19 children died. Two fourth graders wounded in the massacre are still trying to recover.

Google Devising Radical Search Changes to Beat Back A.I. Rivals

The tech giant is sprinting to protect its core business with a flurry of projects, including updates to its search engine and plans for an all-new one.

When Freezing Sperm Makes a Patriotic Statement

Some Ukrainian soldiers are trying to ensure that even if they die in the war, their partners can still build families. They also want to send Russia a message of defiance.

Front Page: The New York Times, Sunday, April 16, 2023

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Pentagon Leaks: New Twists in a Familiar Plot

A Ukrainian artillery team unloading artillery shells. The leaked Pentagon documents warned of looming shortages of the munitions, but Ukrainian officials have been saying that publicly for months.
CREDITFINBARR O’REILLY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Some in Ukraine even welcomed the disclosures as confirming what they have been saying for months — that its forces desperately need more weapons and munitions.

Rival Generals Unleash Fighting in Sudan, Dashing Dreams of Democracy

Heavy smoke billows above buildings in the vicinity of the Khartoum airport on Saturday.
CREDIT

One of Africa’s largest countries is spinning out of control, as weeks of mounting tensions between two military leaders erupted in battles in the capital, Khartoum, and in other cities.

A Beauty Treatment Promised to Zap Fat. For Some, It Brought Disfigurement.

CoolSculpting is among the most popular fixes for unwanted bulges. But the risk of a serious side effect appears to be higher than previously known.

How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives

Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors. The campaign that followed has stunned political leaders across the spectrum.

Front Page: The New York Times — April 15, 2023

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Airman Charged in Leak of Classified Documents

People gathering outside the federal courthouse in Boston where Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, was charged Friday with two counts related to the leaking of hundreds of U.S. classified documents.
CREDITSOPHIE PARK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Jack Teixeira, 21, was granted a top-secret security clearance in 2021, which was required for his job, the Justice Department complaint said.

Unemployment Is Low. Inflation Is Falling. But What Comes Next?

Employers have added back all 22 million jobs lost in the early weeks of the pandemic, and three million more besides.
CREDITSCOTT MCINTYRE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Despite hopeful signs, economists worry that a recession is on the way or that the Federal Reserve will cause one in trying to rein in inflation.

China’s Car Buyers Have Fallen Out of Love With Foreign Brands

Domestic companies are now selling more vehicles than their multinational rivals, which have failed to keep up with Chinese consumers’ demand for electric cars and S.U.V.s.

Ghosts Past and Present Cross Paths as War Comes to Nuclear Wasteland

Not everyone evacuated when the Chernobyl nuclear plant melted down in 1986. The few who stayed lived through another calamity when Russian troops marched in.

The New York Times Book Review – April 16, 2023

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The New York Times Book Review – April 16, 2023:

She Taught Us to Do Nothing. Now Jenny Odell Wants to Save Time.

This image shows the hands of a clock set into a circle of melting ice, suggesting time is fluid and ephemeral.
Credit…Ricardo Tomás

The author’s new book, “Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock,” urges readers to revise their conceptions of time and the world to nurture hope and action for a better future.

In Russia’s War in Ukraine, ‘Nature Has Also Suffered.’

This is a black-and-white photo of a series of manmade wooden columns sticking out of a tranquil body of water.
Early-1900s wooden poles used for salt mining on the Kuialnyk Estuary, on the northwest coast of the Black Sea.Credit…Yevhen Samuchenko

A book of photographs taken before February 2022 reveals formerly breathtaking landscapes that may never be the same.

A Time-Travel Novel Whose Thrills Go Beyond the Speculative

In this abstract illustration, three figures in an astral plain try to hold onto the flow of time, which is artistically rendered as a colorful, flowing stream.
Credit…Changyu Zou

In Jinwoo Chong’s debut novel, “Flux,” a time-warping discovery impacts the lives of three people coping with personal and systemic traumas.

Front Page: The New York Times — April 14, 2023

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F.B.I. Arrests National Guardsman in Leak of Classified Documents

Law enforcement personnel outside the home of Airman First Class Jack Teixeira’s mother in North Dighton, Mass., on Thursday. The F.B.I. had been zeroing in on him for several days.
CREDITHALEY WILLIS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Authorities say Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, posted sensitive materials in an online chat group.

VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS

The Airman Who Gave Gamers a Real Taste of War

CREDITWCVB-TV, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

The group liked online war games. But then Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old National Guard airman, began showing them classified documents, members say.

Abortion Is Back at Supreme Court’s Door After Dueling Orders on Pill

The justices are poised to consider whether the most common method of ending pregnancies can be sharply curtailed in states where abortion remains legal.

Politics Rooted in Protest Fuels ‘the Justins’ of Tennessee

The young Black Democrats expelled from the legislature bring an activist approach, and model themselves after civil rights leaders of the past.