Tag Archives: The New York Times

The New York Times Magazine – Dec 10, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (December 8, 2023):

Michael Stipe Is Writing His Next Act. Slowly.

A black-and-white portrait of Michael Stipe.

How do you reinvent yourself after being a global superstar? The former R.E.M. frontman is still figuring that out.

By Jon Mooallem

When Michael Stipe was little, his parents called him Mr. Mouse. He was a scurrier. As soon as he could stand, he ran, and when he ran, he ran until he face-planted. His mother would deposit him in a baby walker, but if Stipe scrambled as fast as he could and hit the threshold of a doorway with a running start, he could topple the walker and eject himself onto the floor. Then he’d spring to his feet and run away.

The Border Where Different Rules Apply

When detained by the U.S. Coast Guard at sea, even children fleeing violence have no right to asylum — and often face an uncertain fate.

By Seth Freed Wessler

Tcherry’s mother could see that her 10-year-old son was not being taken care of. When he appeared on their video calls, his clothes were dirty. She asked who in the house was washing his shirts, the white Nike T-shirt and the yellow one with a handprint that he wore in rotation. He said nobody was, but he had tried his best to wash them by hand in the tub. His hair, which was buzzed short when he lived with his grandmother in Haiti, had now grown long and matted. He had already been thin, but by January, after three months in the smuggler’s house, he was beginning to look gaunt. Tcherry told his mother that there was not enough food. He said he felt “empty inside.”

The New York Times — Friday, December 8, 2023

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Hunter Biden Charged With Evading Taxes on Millions From Foreign Firms

Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, had already been charged with three federal weapons felonies in September.

The Justice Department charged President Biden’s son after a long-running and wide-ranging investigation with substantial political repercussions.

Ukraine Carries On Fight While Pondering an Erosion of U.S. Aid

Ukrainian soldiers firing a self-propelled howitzer in the Kharkiv region on Wednesday.

The government in Kyiv remains hopeful of further American assistance, but it is also looking to other resources — and trying to make clear what could be at stake.

How Israel Is Using Real-Time Battlefield Intelligence to Target Hamas

Israel has recovered a trove of material that its military has used to assess the extent of the group’s attack plans, and its tactics and abilities, information reviewed by The Times shows.

Texas Judge Grants Woman’s Request for Abortion, in Rare Post-Roe Case

A state court judge said a woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition could legally obtain an abortion despite the state’s bans.

The New York Times — Thursday, Dec 7, 2023

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Biden Calls on Congress to Approve Aid to Ukraine: ‘This Cannot Wait’

President Biden urged Congress in a televised speech on Wednesday to pass aid for Ukraine.

The administration has already alerted Congress that money for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year.

Nikki Haley’s Path From Trump Critic to Defender and Back

Nikki Haley has stepped up her criticism of Donald J. Trump’s norm-breaking foreign policy. But as ambassador to the United Nations, she strove to stay on his good side. “I just know that’s who he is,” she said at the time.

As ambassador to the United Nations, Ms. Haley strove to stay in the president’s favor and avoided some battles to change his mind on contentious issues.

Police Trainers Used Sexist Language and Glorified Violence, Videos Show

Street Cop Training, a private police training company, encouraged the use of unconstitutional tactics, a report by New Jersey’s comptroller says.

Jewish American Families Confront a Generational Divide Over Israel

Gen Z and young Millennials often see Israel as an occupying power oppressing Palestinians — a shock to their parents and grandparents, who tend to see it as an essential haven fighting for survival.

The New York Times — Wednesday, Dec 6, 2023

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War Intensifies in Southern Gaza, Where Civilians Say No Place Is Safe

A Palestinian man mourning the loss of relatives killed in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday.

Amid some of the war’s heaviest bombing, Israeli forces battled Hamas deep into the city of Khan Younis, with few signs that Israel was heeding Biden administration calls to show more restraint.

Ukraine Aid Falters in Senate as Republicans Insist on Border Restrictions

Ukrainian soldiers with the 22nd Mechanized Brigade firing at Russian positions in the direction of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, last week. The front line has remained largely static over the past year.

Legislation to send military aid to Ukraine and Israel was on the brink of collapse, after a briefing devolved into a screaming match one day before a critical test vote in the Senate.

How Nations Are Losing a Global Race to Tackle A.I.’s Harms

Alarmed by the power of artificial intelligence, Europe, the United States and others are trying to respond — but the technology is evolving more rapidly than their policies.

Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care

Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.

The New York Times — Tuesday, December 5, 2023

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Israeli Forces Near Major City in Southern Gaza as Civilians Panic

Palestinians carrying the body of a victim in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday.

Israel, escalating its assault against Hamas in southern Gaza, warned civilians there to evacuate, but some said there was nowhere left to go.

Why a Second Trump Presidency May Be More Radical Than His First

The extreme policy plans and ideas of Donald J. Trump and his advisers would have a greater prospect of becoming reality if he were to win a second term.

Donald Trump has long exhibited authoritarian impulses, but his policy operation is now more sophisticated, and the buffers to check him are weaker.

White House Warns Ukraine Aid Is Running Out, Pressing Congress for More

The warning, in a letter to congressional leaders, comes as Republican support for funding Kyiv’s war effort is waning, and an emergency funding package is stalled in Congress.

A Prison at War: The Convicts Sustaining Putin’s Invasion

Nearly 200 inmates left a high-security Russian prison to join the war in Ukraine, seeking redemption, money or freedom. Many were killed or wounded.

The New York Times — Monday, December 4, 2023

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Israel, Expanding Offensive, Tells More Gazans to Evacuate

An Israeli airstrike left a crater on Sunday in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

As its ground forces prepared to move in the south of Gaza, residents there were told to leave their homes, spreading fear and confusion.

What the Scale of Displacement in Gaza Looks Like

Eighty percent of Gazans are displaced from their homes as Israel orders more evacuations. See where thousands have been sheltering amid the war’s destruction.

Ego, Fear and Money: How the A.I. Fuse Was Lit

The people who were most afraid of the risks of artificial intelligence decided they should be the ones to build it. Then distrust fueled a spiraling competition.

‘Medical Freedom’ Activists Take Aim at New Target: Childhood Vaccine Mandates

Mississippi has long had high childhood immunization rates, but a federal judge has ordered the state to allow parents to opt out on religious grounds.

The New York Times — Sunday, December 3, 2023

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Israel Orders Evacuations Amid ‘Intense’ Attacks on Southern Gaza

Two men sit in the back of a hatchback car with the hatch open and their feet outside.

Beleaguered Gazans, having fled the territory’s north, emerged from a night of bombardment wondering where to go next for safety.

Drunk and Asleep on the Job: Air Traffic Controllers Pushed to the Brink

A nationwide shortage of controllers has resulted in an exhausted and demoralized work force that is increasingly prone to making dangerous mistakes.

Divided by Politics, a Colorado Town Mends Its Broken Bones

Two years after death threats and aspersions roiled little Silverton, the town has found a semblance of peace and a lesson for a ruptured nation.

A Russian Village Buries a Soldier, and Tries to Make Sense of the War

In Russia, the pain and loss of the war in Ukraine are felt most profoundly in small villages, where a soldier’s burial produces not just grief but a yearning to find meaning in his death.

The New York Times Magazine – Dec 3, 2023

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (December 2, 2023): The latest issue features Sunday Night Lights – How America’s most spectacular TV show gets made; The Chicken Tycoons vs. the Antitrust Hawks – As part of a broader campaign against anticompetitive practices, the Biden administration has taken on the chicken industry

Behind the Scenes of the Most Spectacular Show On TV

Camera operators hovering above a crowd in sports jerseys.

Months of preparation, hundreds of staff, convoys of cutting-edge gear: inside the machine that crafts prime time’s most popular entertainment.

By Jody Rosen

Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, the N.F.L.’s defending champions, is a very loud place. Players say that when the noise reaches top volume, they can feel vibrations in their bones. During a 2014 game, a sound meter captured a decibel reading equivalent to a jet’s taking off, earning a Guinness World Record for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.” Chiefs fans know how to weaponize noise, quieting to a churchlike hush when the team’s great quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, calls signals but then, when opponents have the ball, unleashing a howl that can even drown out the sound of the play call crackling through the speaker inside the rival quarterback’s helmet.

The Chicken Tycoons vs. the Antitrust Hawks

A photo illustration of a chicken in a suit.

As part of a broader campaign against anticompetitive practices, the Biden administration has taken on the chicken industry. Why have the results been so paltry?

By H. Claire Brown

At Kentucky Fried Chicken, sales tend to peak at the same time every year: Mother’s Day. This has been the case since the 1960s, when the chain began to experiment with TV advertising. In a spot from that era, a man in an office answers a phone call from an anonymous male narrator who asks, “Sir, do you have any idea what your wife has to do to run your house?” Cut to a sped-up montage of an impeccably dressed 30-something as she dusts, irons, vacuums and balances the checkbook. Newly enlightened, the husband shows his appreciation by stopping at Kentucky Fried Chicken on his way home. Cut to a close-up of a happy wife biting into a drumstick. “Colonel Sanders fixes Sunday dinner seven days a week, and it’s finger-lickin’ good.”

The New York Times — Saturday, December 2, 2023

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Israel Resumes Offensive in Gaza Strip After Truce With Hamas Ends

Palestinians mourned relatives on Friday at a funeral in Khan Younis, in Gaza’s south.

Talks on extending a weeklong cease-fire broke down, with each side blaming the other. The truce had included the release of hostages held in Gaza for people in Israeli prisons.

George Santos Is Kicked Out of Congress in a Historic Vote

After his expulsion on Friday, George Santos quickly left the Capitol, telling reporters, “to hell with this place.”

Nearly half of the G.O.P. House delegation voted to expel Mr. Santos, a remarkable rebuke of a colleague who had survived two prior expulsion bids.

Blinken Urges Israel to Take Concrete Steps to Aid Civilians as More Hostages Are Freed

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Israeli officials and a Palestinian leader on Thursday to seek improved conditions for Gaza’s civilians and to try to exert influence over Israel’s expected military offensive.

A Tense Climate Summit Begins Against a Backdrop of War and Record Heat

World leaders at climate talks in Dubai invoked faith, science and economics in their calls for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

The New York Times Book Review – December 3, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (December 3, 2023): This week features the Holiday Books issue that lands with a thump, a 56-page behemoth crammed with reviews, coffee-table book spreads, recommendations from our genre columnists, a children’s book gift guide and our 100 Notables list. 

100 Notable Books of 2023

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Each year, we pore over thousands of new books, seeking out the best novels, memoirs, biographies, poetry collections, stories and more. Here are the standouts, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

How a Good Book Became the ‘Richest’ of Holiday Gifts

As Christmas came to be celebrated in the home, choosing the right volume was a way to show intimate understanding of the person opening the package.

By Jennifer Harlan

As long as people have been buying gifts for the holidays, they have been buying books. Books offer infinite variety, are easily wrapped, can be personalized for the recipient and displayed as a signifier of one’s own identity. They are, in many respects, the quintessential Christmas — or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or other December celebration — gift.