Decades after the unexplained deaths of two American climbers in Argentina, a camera belonging to one of them was found in the snow. The film held astonishing images, but the mystery endures.
After a week of heated negotiations, the U.N. Security Council approved a measure that called on Israel and Hamas to pause the fighting to allow for the delivery of more humanitarian aid.
The case will instead first be heard by a federal appeals court, which has put it on a fast track, scheduling arguments for Jan. 9.
Hunter Biden Text Cited in Impeachment Inquiry Is Not What G.O.P. Suggests
A 2019 message from the president’s son alluded to giving his father half his salary. The back story offers unflattering insights into the Biden family but does not support assertions of corruption.
A World Leader on Ukraine, the U.S. Is Now Isolated Over Gaza
The United States finds itself in a defensive crouch and at odds with even staunch allies like France, Canada, Australia and Japan.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (December 22, 2023): The latest issue features MAGIC: The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, by Roland Lazenby; My Jewish Charlie Brown Christmas – The Peanuts special is the most overtly Christian TV holiday classic. So why does it speak to me so deeply?; Seven Fishes (Not Seven Dishes) for Christmas Eve – A modern Italian American take on the Feast of the Seven Fishes offers a streamlined menu any family can pull off….
Roland Lazenby’s big biography of Magic Johnson gives us a wealth of detail, a huge cast of characters and, in a way, the tapestry of our time.
By Thomas Beller
MAGIC: The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, by Roland Lazenby
I once asked a portrait photographer why no one ever smiled in her pictures, and she replied, “A smile is a mask.”
I thought of this aphorism as I read Roland Lazenby’s 800-page biography of Magic Johnson. Sports Illustrated declared his smile to be one of the two greatest smiles of the 20th century. (The other was Louis Armstrong’s.) As Missy Fox, the daughter of his high school coach, says in the book, “That is the one thing he’s always had, that smile.”
My Jewish Charlie Brown Christmas
The Peanuts special is the most overtly Christian TV holiday classic. So why does it speak to me so deeply?
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a one-of-a-kind wonder when it premiered in 1965 and remains so almost 60 years later. Unlike the other jingle-belled baubles that TV throws down the chimney each year, it is melancholy and meditative. The animation is minimalist and subdued, full of grays and wafting snowflakes. I could wrap myself in the Vince Guaraldi jazz score like a quilt.
The timing for a vote on the Security Council resolution was unclear. Diplomats were focused on who would oversee the inspection of aid entering the enclave.
Key Hamas Plotters of Oct. 7 Elude Israel’s Grip on Gaza
Israel has battered Gaza in its quest to destroy Hamas, without finding the commanders it has named as its most important targets.
Live from the Jungle: Migrants Become Influencers on Social Media
TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are transforming global migration, becoming tools of migrants and smugglers alike.
Democrats Keep Hoping It’s Curtains for Trump. He’s Still Center Stage.
As Donald Trump faces a new threat to his political future, this time over the question of ballot eligibility, Democrats again find themselves looking toward American institutions to stop him.
The militia, which has targeted ships it says are connected to Israel, has vowed not to stop until the siege in Gaza ends and claims that a new U.S.-led maritime task force cannot deter the attacks.
Trump Cases Crashing Into Supreme Court Could Reshape 2024 Election
The ruling that Donald Trump is not eligible for the ballot in Colorado is the latest election-related issue likely to land before the justices. The implications for 2024 could be profound.
Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues
Dentists and lactation consultants around the country are pushing “tongue-tie releases” on new mothers struggling to breastfeed.
The decision, the first by a court to find that Donald Trump is ineligible to hold office again because he engaged in insurrection, is likely to put a monumental case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A man was abducted by a Chinese gang and forced to work in a scam operation. He gathered financial information, photos and videos and shared the material with The New York Times.
In Iceland, a Fiery Show of Lava and Smoke
Icelanders had been girding for an eruption. When it happened, they wanted to see it.
The American defense secretary reiterated “unshakable” support for Israeli security, but said protecting Palestinians was a “moral duty and a strategic imperative.”
If companies want to leave Russia, the president is setting the terms — in ways that benefit his government, his elites and his war.
Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples
A church official said the blessings amounted to “a real development” that nevertheless did not amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage.”
Chimps Can Still Remember Faces After a Quarter Century
Long-term memories may have been vital to our own evolution, suggests a new study of chimpanzees and bonobos.
Agents worried as millions poured in. Hamas bought weapons and plotted an attack. The authorities now say the money helped lay the groundwork for the Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
This is the inside story of how the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion — shooting down compromise and testing the boundaries of how the law is decided.
Six million have died, and more than six million are displaced after decades of fighting and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, drawing in neighbors, mercenaries and militias. An upcoming election is inflaming tempers.
The European Union’s willingness to open accession talks will lift morale, but the more immediate prospects for financial support from allies is sobering.
In lawsuits, five women say eXp Realty long ignored complaints that two male agents were preying on their female peers at alcohol-fueled work events.
Private Gun Ownership in Israel Spikes After Hamas Attacks
In a country already bristling with armed soldiers and reservists, a new sense of insecurity is pushing civilians to seek more personal weapons.
Jury Orders Giuliani to Pay $148 Million to Election Workers He Defamed
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, wrongfully accused by Rudolph W. Giuliani of having tried to steal votes from Donald J. Trump in Georgia, were awarded the damages by a federal court in Washington.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
