Although Yahya Sinwar was a major target of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the soldiers who killed the militant chief had not expected to run across him, Israeli officials said.
The killing of Hamas’s leader may allow Israel to claim victory and agree to a cease-fire, and new Hamas leadership could be more open to compromise. But neither side is likely to immediately change course.
After two assassination attempts and amid threats from Iran, Donald Trump relies for his safety on the same agencies that he has long assailed as part of a hostile deep state.
Never before has a presidential nominee openly suggested turning the military on Americans simply because they oppose his candidacy. With voting underway, Donald Trump has turned to dark vows of retribution.
The United Nations says “the targeting of health and relief operations is broadening” in Lebanon. Hospitals say they have been forced to close or are struggling to operate.
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.
Defections from Black and Latino voters are making Kamala Harris more dependent on white, suburban voters — and complicating her path to victory.
Attention Kmart Shoppers: It’s Closing Time
As the last full-size Kmart in the continental United States prepares to close, shoppers reminisced about the store that once sold everything, everywhere.
Major studies of Albert Einstein’s work contain minimal, if any, reference to the role of German mathematician Emmy Noether. Yet, she was crucial in resolving a paradox in general relativity through her theorem connecting symmetry and energy-conservation laws, published in 1918. When Noether died in 1935, Einstein called her “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began”. In this book about her for the general reader, physicist Lee Phillips brings Noether alive.
Silk Roads
Sue Brunning et al. British Museum Press (2024)
The first object discussed in this lavishly illustrated British Museum exhibition book reveals the far-ranging, mysterious nature of the Silk Roads. It is a Buddha figure, excavated in Sweden from a site dated to around ad 800, and probably created in Pakistan two centuries earlier. No one knows how it reached Europe or its significance there. As the authors — three of them exhibition curators — admit, it is “impossible to capture the full extent and complexity of the Silk Roads in a single publication”— even by limiting their time frame to only five centuries.
The Last Human Job
Allison Pugh Princeton Univ. Press (2024)
A century ago, notes sociologist Allison Pugh, people doing their food shopping gave lists to shop workers, who retrieved the goods then haggled over the prices. The process epitomized what she terms connective labour, which involves “an emotional understanding with another person to create the outcomes we think are important”. A healthy society requires more connective labour, not more automation, she argues in her engaging study, which observes and interviews physicians, teachers, chaplains, hairdressers and more.
Becoming Earth
Ferris Jabr Random House (2024)
According to science journalist Ferris Jabr, his intriguing book about Earth — divided into three sections on rock, water and air — is “an exploration of how life has transformed the planet, a meditation on what it means to say that Earth itself is alive”. If this definition sounds similar to the Gaia hypothesis by chemist James Lovelock and biologist Lynn Margulis, that is welcome to Jabr, who admires Lovelock as a thinker and personality. He also recognizes how the 1970s hypothesis, which evolved over decades, still divides scientists.
Into the Clear Blue Sky
Rob Jackson Scribner (2024)
Earth scientist Rob Jackson chairs the Global Carbon Project, which works to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve air and water quality. His book begins hopefully on a visit to Rome, where Vatican Museums conservators discuss the “breathtaking” restoration of the blue sky in Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgement, damaged by centuries of grime and visitors’ exhalations. But he ends on a deeply pessimistic note on a research boat in Amazonia, which is suffering from both floods and fires: the “Hellocene”.
Both parties are frenetically chasing votes in the counties that could very well decide the election. In many places, inexperienced conservative groups are going up against a more tightly organized Democratic operation.
Donald J. Trump is feeling aggrieved, unappreciated by donors and fenced in by security concerns in the final stretch of the race.
California Tries ‘Trump-Proofing’ Its Climate Policies
A second Trump administration would be expected to shred climate polices. California officials are devising ways to insulate its environmental regulations.
Vice President Kamala Harris is on track to win a majority of Black voters, and has brought many back to her party since taking over for President Biden. Still, a significant gap in support persists.
The Times reviewed the minutes of 10 meetings among Hamas’s top leaders. The records show the militant group avoided several escalations since 2021 to falsely imply it had been deterred — while seeking Iranian support for a major attack.
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (October 12, 2024): Explore the vibrant blend of modernity and tradition in cities like Hong Kong, showcasing its futuristic skyline and cultural heritage. Throughout this 4 hour marathon, prepare to whisked away to other global cities like New York, Sydney, and Rome, highlighting their unique character, architectural feats, and rich histories.
BBC (September 30, 2024): Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music documents the extent of the historic injustice suffered by the music industry’s Black artists, including the disparity of profits received by them, despite having created the records that have driven the fabric and culture of popular music – from jazz and rock and roll to soul and rap.
Features interviews with Black titans of the music industry Cadence Weapon, Chaka Khan, George Clinton, Monie Love, Nile Rodgers, Gloria Gaynor, Ice T, Master P, and Smokey Robinson.
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (September 21, 2024):Experience the thrilling journey through Egypt’s timeless allure, where you’ll discover ancient temples and pyramids while unravelling the secrets of mummification.
Witness how these grand traditions continue to resonate in modern Egypt, where ancient rituals blend seamlessly with contemporary faith, as the living pay tribute to the deceased with heartfelt prayers, vibrant processions, and the promise of a celestial afterlife.
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