Category Archives: Views

The New York Times — Saturday, April 20, 2024

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Ukraine Aid Bill Clears Critical Hurdle in the House as Democrats Supply the Votes

Democrats stepped in to support bringing the aid package to the floor, in a remarkable breach of custom on a key vote that paved the way for its passage.

Modi’s Power Keeps Growing, and India Looks Sure to Give Him More

Few doubt the popular prime minister will win a third term in voting that starts Friday. His strong hand is just what many Indians seem to want.

Israel’s Strike Was Smaller Than Expected, and So Was Iran’s Reaction

The relatively limited scope of the attack, as well as a muted response from Iranian officials, may have lowered the chances of an immediate escalation, analysts said.

An ISIS Terror Group Draws Half Its Recruits From Tiny Tajikistan

Young migrants from the former Soviet republic were accused of an attack on a concert hall in Moscow that killed 145 people.

The New York Times — Friday, April 19, 2024

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Chinese Exports Are Threatening Biden’s Industrial Agenda

The president is increasingly hitting back with tariffs and other measures meant to restrict imports, raising tensions with Beijing.

Colleges Warn Student Demonstrators: Enough

After years of tolerating unruly protests, some schools are starting to suspend and expel students, raising questions about where they should draw the line.

What Can ‘Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country?

Clerics in Indonesia are issuing fatwas, retrofitting mosques and imploring congregants to help turn the tide against climate change.

The New York Times — Thursday, April 18, 2024

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Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran

Israeli officials say they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened.

Senate Dismisses Impeachment Charges Against Mayorkas Without a Trial

Democrats quickly swept aside the articles of impeachment accusing the homeland security secretary of refusing to enforce immigration laws and breach of public trust, calling them unconstitutional.

Inside the Late-Night Parties Where Hawaii Politicians Raked In Money

After the state passed a law barring government contractors from donating to politicians, fund-raising parties showed just how completely the reform effort failed.

The New York Times — Wednesday, April 17, 2024

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Israel Weighs Response to Iran Attack, With Each Choice a Risk

In debating how to respond to last weekend’s Iranian airstrike, Israel’s war cabinet is choosing between options that could deter future attacks or de-escalate hostilities, but all carry drawbacks.

Supreme Court Appears Skeptical of Using Obstruction Law to Charge Jan. 6 Rioters

The justices considered the gravity of the assault and whether prosecutors have been stretching the law to reach members of the mob responsible for the attack.

The House Republican Going After Universities on Antisemitism

Representative Virginia Foxx is a blunt partisan. But her life in rural North Carolina informs her attacks against these schools, starting with whether Harvard is truly “elite.”

Ideas & Research: Harvard Magazine May/June 2024

May-June 2024 | Harvard Magazine

HARVARD MAGAZINE May/June2024 :

Plants on a Changing Planet

Benton Taylor with cottonwood saplings in a greenhouse at the Arnold Arboretum

How long will the world’s forests impound carbon below ground?

by Jonathan Shaw

MARYVILLE, Tennessee, lies near the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a range home to more tree species than exist in all of Europe. Benton Taylor grew up amidst this abundance, but as a boy, he barely noticed the plants. In the nearby national park, a family friend was raising—together with a menagerie of other mammals—a pair of bears orphaned as cubs. Taylor dreamed of studying these apex denizens of the forest, who forage at the top of the food chain. But as his education and understanding grew, his curiosity shifted to seed-dispersing animals, plants, and the soil and nutrients that sustain them: a trip down the trophic pyramid, driven by an appreciation of forests as ecological systems in which plants are primary producers. “Now I’ve half moved into the basement,” jokes the assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, whose research encompasses the strategies plants use to obtain essential nutrients such as nitrogen, and how that, in turn, affects their ability to store another vital element with a global climate impact: carbon.

Diversifying Diet – A little-known diet improves cardiovascular health through several distinct mechanisms. 

by Nina Pasquini

An illustration of foods included in the portfolio diet.

DIVERSIFYING one’s assets is useful not only in finance but also in diet, according to an October study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH). Though not many people have heard of the “portfolio diet”—consisting of plant-based foods proven to lower unhealthy cholesterol, such as nuts, oats, berries, and avocados—it is one of the easiest ways to improve long-term cardiovascular health. “The idea was that each of these foods lowers cholesterol quite minimally, but if you make a whole diet based on these different foods, you will see large reductions in [unhealthy] cholesterol,” said Andrea Glenn, an HSPH postdoctoral research fellow in nutrition and the lead author of the study. The more of these foods one eats, the higher the protection—but one need not include them all to reap the diet’s benefits, she said. “Like a business portfolio, you can choose the ones you want.”

The Gravity of Groups

Mina Cikara in a classroom with two groups of students

Mina Cikara explores how political tribalism feeds the American bipartisan divide.

by Max J. Krupnick

The New York Times — Tuesday, April 16, 2024

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Israel Weighs Response to Iran’s Attack as Allies Push for Restraint

The Israeli war cabinet met again on Monday to discuss the strike, with some hawkish members of the prime minister’s government calling for a swift and forceful retaliation.

With Nuclear Deal Dead, Containing Iran Grows More Fraught

The U.S., Europe, Russia and China worked together on a 2015 deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program. The arrangement’s unraveling and the spike in superpower tensions make this a dangerous moment.

Chinese Company Under Congressional Scrutiny Makes Key U.S. Drugs

Lawmakers raising national security concerns and seeking to disconnect a major Chinese firm from U.S. pharmaceutical interests have rattled the biotech industry. The firm is deeply involved in development and manufacturing of crucial therapies for cancer, cystic fibrosis, H.I.V. and other illnesses.

Prospective Jurors Are Dismissed in Dozens as Trump’s Trial Begins

Jury selection began in the Manhattan criminal case, but many who might weigh Donald J. Trump’s fate told a judge that they could not be impartial.

The New York Times — Monday, April 15, 2024

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Biden Seeks to Head Off Escalation After Israel’s Successful Defense

The president told Israel that the interception of nearly all of the Iranian drones and missiles used to attack it constituted a major victory, and so further retaliation might not be necessary, U.S. officials said.

Iran’s Strikes on Israel Open a Dangerous New Chapter for Old Rivals

Experts say Tehran does not want a broader war. But it is far from clear whether Iran or Israel will choose to escalate a conflict that has become more direct and out of the shadows.

Inside Donald Trump’s Embrace of the Jan. 6 Rioters

The former president initially disavowed the attack on the Capitol, but he is now making it a centerpiece of his general election campaign.

Protests, Traffic, Crowds: Court Braces for a Trump Trial Like No Other

Strict security measures — and plenty of headaches — are expected as the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president gets underway in Manhattan.

The New York Times — Sunday, April 14, 2024

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Israel Reports Light Damage After Iran Launches Large Strike

Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel overnight. The U.S. military shot dozens of them down, but most were intercepted by Israel’s military.

‘Waiting for My Time to Come’: Ukraine’s New Draft Law Unsettles the Young

Reporters from The New York Times spoke to men who could be affected by the change.

How the War in Gaza Mobilized the American Left

As the death toll in Gaza climbed, the pro-Palestinian movement grew into a powerful, if disjointed, political force in the United States. Democrats are feeling the pressure.

The New York Times — Thursday, April 11, 2024

After Trump Broadside, Surveillance Bill Collapses in the House

Right-wing lawmakers blocked a move by Speaker Johnson to extend a key foreign intelligence surveillance tool after former President Donald J. Trump urged lawmakers to “kill” the law underlying it.

Trump Allies Have a Plan to Hurt Biden’s Chances: Elevate Outsider Candidates

The more candidates in the race, the better for Donald J. Trump, supporters say. And in a tight presidential contest, a small share of voters could change the result.

E.P.A. Says ‘Forever Chemicals’ Must Be Removed From Tap Water

The rule applies to a family of chemicals known as PFAS that are linked to serious health effects. Water utilities argue the cost is too great.

The New York Times — Wednesday, April 10, 2024

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Iran Smuggles Arms to West Bank, Officials Say, to Foment Unrest With Israel

The covert operation, described by U.S., Iranian and Israeli officials, is heightening concerns that Iran is seeking to turn the West Bank into a flashpoint in its shadow war with Israel.

As Kushner’s Investment Firm Steps Out, the Potential Conflicts Are Growing

Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners has invested more than $1.2 billion, much of it in firms abroad, drawing new scrutiny as his father-in-law, Donald Trump, again seeks the presidency.

England Limits Youth Gender Medications, Part of Big Shift in Europe

Five European countries have recently restricted hormone treatments for adolescents with gender distress. They have not banned the care, unlike many U.S. states.