The New York Times — Thursday, March 14, 2024

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Inside the Blunders That Plunged the College Admission Season Into Disarray

The Education Department was supposed to make applying for federal financial aid easier. Instead, it got worse.

House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale From Chinese Owner or Ban the App

The legislation received wide bipartisan support, with both Republicans and Democrats showing an eagerness to appear tough on China.

They Sell Candy Instead of Going to School. New York Isn’t Stopping Them.

Letting children work in the train system during school hours breaks several laws and rules. But a series of agencies said it was not their place to stop the practice.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – March 14, 2024

Volume 627 Issue 8003

Nature Magazine – March 13, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Burning Question’ – How drought conditions are driving overnight fires in North America…

A better way to charge a quantum battery

Batteries that store photons in atoms or molecules could retain their efficiency with wireless charging.

Geologists reject the Anthropocene as Earth’s new epoch — after 15 years of debate

But some are now challenging the vote, saying there were ‘procedural irregularities’.


Will these reprogrammed elephant cells ever make a mammoth?

The de-extinction company Colossal is the first to convert elephant cells to an embryonic state, but using them to make mammoths won’t be easy, say researchers.

The New York Times — Wednesday, March 13, 2024

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Special Counsel Who Investigated Biden Offers Fierce Defense of Report

At a hearing, Republicans peppered Robert K. Hur about his justifications for not charging the president, and Democrats rebuked him for broad assertions about Mr. Biden’s memory.

Trump Courts Black Voters Even as He Traffics in Stereotypes

The former president traffics in stereotypes about Black Americans, yet he is counting on them, and aggressively courting them, in seeking to return to the White House.

Jamming’: How Electronic Warfare Is Reshaping Ukraine’s Battlefields

Drones have become a critical weapon for both sides, but a lack of coordination among troops has put Ukraine at a disadvantage.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – March 18, 2024

A skier skis from snow onto grass.

The New Yorker (March 11, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Peter de Sève’s “Downhill” – The artist depicts carving up the slopes, straight into spring.

Among the A.I. Doomsayers

A large robotic foot hovers above a figure.

Some people think machine intelligence will transform humanity for the better. Others fear it may destroy us. Who will decide our fate?

By Andrew Marant

Katja Grace’s apartment, in West Berkeley, is in an old machinist’s factory, with pitched roofs and windows at odd angles. It has terra-cotta floors and no central heating, which can create the impression that you’ve stepped out of the California sunshine and into a duskier place, somewhere long ago or far away. Yet there are also some quietly futuristic touches. High-capacity air purifiers thrumming in the corners. Nonperishables stacked in the pantry. A sleek white machine that does lab-quality RNA tests. The sorts of objects that could portend a future of tech-enabled ease, or one of constant vigilance.

Have the Liberal Arts Gone Conservative?

A column with a pencil tip.

The classical-education movement seeks to fundamentally reorient schooling in America. Its emphasis on morality and civics has also primed it for partisan takeover.

News: Rise Of The Far-Right In Portugal Elections, Cease-Fire Talks In Gaza

The Globalist (March 11, 2024): We get the latest results from Portugal’s elections and ask what’s next for the nation’s government as the far-right gains ground.

Plus: we discuss the likelihood of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza before Ramadan, get the headlines from the Balkans and find out who wins big at the 2024 Academy Awards.

The New York Times — Monday, March 11, 2024

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Wyoming Banned Abortion. She Opened an Abortion Clinic Anyway.

The only abortion clinic left in the state has been protested and set on fire, rebuilt and opened as Wyoming grapples with what it means to be conservative in a post-Roe nation.

With Haiti in Chaos, a Humanitarian Crisis Is Rapidly Unfolding

As gangs have united in concerted attacks against the state, the prime minister is stranded in Puerto Rico, and food, water, fuel and medical care are in short supply.

As Israel’s Ties to Arab Countries Fray, a Strained Lifeline Remains

The United Arab Emirates has maintained its links to Israel throughout the war in Gaza, but the relationship, built on a U.S.-brokered deal, is under pressure as anger against Israel grows.

California: Elk At Point Reyes National Seashore

CBS Sunday Morning (March 10, 2024): We leave you this Sunday Morning with majestic Tule Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, in California. Videographer: Lance Milbrand.

Tule elk are endemic to California and the most specialized elk in North America, given that they live in open country under semi-desert conditions, whereas the species as a whole typically occupies temperate climates and utilizes heavy cover at least seasonally.

Point Reyes National Seashore is a vast expanse of protected coastline in Northern California’s Marin County. Beaches here include Wildcat Beach, with the cliffside Alamere Falls. On a rocky headland, the 1870 Point Reyes Lighthouse is a viewpoint for migrating gray whales. The Phillip Burton Wilderness features extensive trails through grassland, firs and pine forest, and up to the peak of Mount Wittenberg. 

Vancouver Island: Pacific Rim National Park, Canada

TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (March 9, 2024): The west coast of Vancouver Island is full of spectacular landscapes, from barren coastlines to world famous hiking trails, its a coastal adventure destination. Accessible only by boat or plane, this rarely seen gem of nature is full of marine wildlife and coastal caves with subsea reefs.

The magnificent Pacific Rim National Park is the only national park entirely on Vancouver Island, providing protection for substantial rain forests and an amazing marine environment on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The full force of the mighty Pacific Ocean mercilessly pounds the constantly changing shores of this rugged coastline.

Sunday Morning: Stories And News From Zürich 

Monocle on Sunday, March 10, 2024: Eemeli Isoaho, Juliet Linley and Benedikt Germanier join Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, to discuss the weekend’s hottest topics.

We speak to Monocle’s senior foreign correspondent, Carlota Rebelo, for the latest on Portugal’s elections and Monocle’s editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, joins us from London. Plus: authors Alex Dahl and Thomas Enger join Tyler in Zürich to discuss Norwegian crime fiction.

The New York Times — Sunday, March 10, 2024

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How Trump’s Justice Dept. Derailed an Investigation of a Major Company

The industrial giant Caterpillar hired William Barr and other lawyers to defuse a federal criminal investigation of alleged tax dodges.

Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its Money Stays Close to Home.

After making billions in tax-deductible donations to his philanthropy, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX gave away far less than required in some years — and what he did give often supported his own interests.

Crowdfunding, Auctions and Raffles: How Ukrainians Are Aiding the Army

Fund-raisers are borrowing heavily from business techniques to keep donations flowing to the military. The latest trend? Broad approaches that rely on networks of friends and acquaintances.

The 10-Year-Old Boy Who Has Become the Face of Starvation in Gaza

The harrowing image of a skeletal Yazan Kafarneh circulated widely on social media and has served as a graphic warning about the enclave’s dire food situation.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious