Innholdsfortegnelse for October 24, 2025 i The Week Magazine

Is it any surprise that with no more Israeli hostages in hand, Hamas has turned to a campaign of murdering and abusing Gazans? Not if you’ve been following the last two years of history. Finally faced with an ultimatum of releasing its hostages or losing its last patrons, Hamas acquiesced to freeing its captives—and, true to form, immediately seemed to be trying to wriggle out of the rest of the deal. Watching what is happening on the ground in Gaza now, it seems evident that Hamas believes it will find a way to stay in power. If it succeeds, that will be a prescription for a repeat of Oct. 7, 2023. Initially, perhaps, the Israeli captives in its tunnels and dungeons might have seemed to Hamas like bargaining chips it…

What happened A federal judge this week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from conducting mass layoffs of federal workers during the government shutdown, scuttling an administration plan to pressure Democrats into ending the now three-week-old standoff. Workers at the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Health were among those to receive layoff notices, with White House budget director Russell Vought saying that “north of 10,000” federal jobs could be eliminated during the shutdown. The administration sent notices to 1,300 workers at the Centers for Disease Control—including analysts who monitor biological and chemical threats to the U.S.—then a day later scrambled to reverse more than half the firings, saying they were issued in error. At the Education Department, almost all employees in an office overseeing special education for 7.5 million…

■ A Pennsylvania church is defending a pastor who preached a sermon while brandishing an AR-15-style rifle. In a statement, Dauphin County’s Legacy Faith Church confirmed reports that pastor Phillip Thornton waved the firearm around while preaching, and even pointed it at the congregation. But the church insists the rifle was unloaded and that Thornton’s intentions were wholly benign: namely, to “encourage spiritual violence toward unbelief.” ■ The Hawaii State Public Library System has banned the use of the words “censorship” and “banned” from displays for Banned Books Week. Since 1984, the annual event has highlighted attempts to remove books from libraries and schools. But this year, the HSPLS prohibited librarians from explaining why certain books have been pulled from shelves elsewhere in the U.S. and rebranded the event itself…

Chantale Zuzi was considered cursed at birth, said Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. She has albinism, and in the Congolese village where she grew up—and in other parts of Africa—the condition is associated with ghosts, sorcerers, and demons. Zuzi’s grandmother wanted to kill her; her elementary-school classmates thought her pale skin was contagious. When she was about 13, a rival ethnic group murdered her parents. Zuzi and her nine siblings trekked to a refugee camp in Uganda, but she was not safe; albinos are sometimes killed so their body parts can be used in witchcraft. So at 16 she fled alone to Kenya. There, the U.N. Refugee Agency said the threats made her a candidate for resettlement in the U.S. “Being born with albinism was bad luck,” says…

Jason Nark The Philadelphia Inquirer “E-bikes have evolved into e-motorcycles,” and police and lawmakers aren’t keeping up with the need to regulate them, said Jason Nark. The first generation of e-bikes were real bicycles with modest electric pedal assist that helped cyclists go up hills and ride for longer distances. But in the past two years, the market has become dominated by heavy, fat-tired vehicles with electric motors costing from $1,500 to $4,000. These “are basically motorcycles with bike pedals”—and they can go up to three times faster than legal e-bikes. Unlicensed teenagers without helmets and other daredevils are recklessly driving them up to 30 mph on bike paths, hiking trails, and streets. Trauma doctors across the country say there’s been explosive growth in serious injuries and even deaths from…

David Monda Daily Nation Kenya’s peacekeeping experiment in Haiti is finally ending, said David Monda, and it has left a “bitter” taste. It’s been two years since Haiti’s government sent out an SOS pleading for a global mission to tackle the gangs that had overrun the capital and President William Ruto surprised everyone by volunteering Kenya. Ruto had been trying to curry favor with the Biden administration, and it worked—Kenya was rewarded with the official status of a major U.S. ally. Once the Trump administration took over, though, the U.S. turned its back on Haiti. Kenya found itself bogged down 7,500 miles away from home, in a land saturated with “unending trauma” and violence, and almost entirely on its own against the brutal gangs. None of the 15 members of…

President Trump is once again “weaponizing the legal system to fulfill his personal vendettas,” said The New York Times in an editorial. One day after former FBI director James Comey was arraigned in federal court, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on “flimsy charges” relating to mortgage paperwork on a 2020 house purchase in Virginia. Trump wants revenge because James, as attorney general, successfully sued him and the Trump Organization for civil fraud for repeatedly inflating his net worth to get loan, tax, and insurance benefits; the whopping $354.8 million penalty on Trump was later thrown out by an appeals court. In response to Trump’s thirst for vengeance, the Justice Department alleged that James lied to bank officials by listing…

Middle age may bring creaky knees and thickening waistlines, but it could also mark the peak of mental sharpness, reports The Times (U.K.). Researchers at the University of Western Australia analyzed decades of psychological data to develop what they call a “cognitive-personality functioning index,” charting how intellect, judgment, and personality evolve across life. They concluded that overall cognitive functioning reaches its high point between ages 55 and 60. Fluid intelligence—that’s the kind you need to succeed on Jeopardy!, involving recall, reasoning, and processing speed—peaks in the early 20s and gradually declines thereafter. But “crystallized intelligence,” or accumulated knowledge and experience, continues to grow. Traits such as conscientiousness and emotional stability also mature through most of adulthood, with moral reasoning and financial literacy peaking later still. That means that middle-aged minds…

(Hogarth, $32) Almost 20 years in the making, Kiran Desai’s latest work stands as “sweet validation of the idea that to create something truly transcendent might take time,” said Alexandra Jacobs in The New York Times. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is “not so much a novel as a marvel,” as it unspools a love story between two Indian expats who meet not in New York City, where they live, but on a train in their native country. As life takes them on sometimes separate journeys and the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss fills the book’s 688 pages with memorable side characters, Sonia and Sunny becomes “among those most rarefied books: better company than real-life people.” There’s a touch of Dickens in this novel, said Matthew…

Electric Spark by Frances Wilson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $29) Frances Wilson’s biography of Muriel Spark is “unputdownable,” said Isabel Berwick in the Financial Times. Wilson focuses on the brilliant Scottish novelist’s artistic origins. Spark was probably a spy, surely an anti-German war propagandist, and this account of her life through age 39 is packed with “scores of extraordinary morsels.” The story here ends with Spark’s conversion to Catholicism and a first novel, and the telling is “so original and engaging” that you’ll hope a second volume is coming. Art Work by Sally Mann (Abrams, $35) Hold Still, Sally Mann’s 2015 memoir, was “more spellbinding than most by full-time writers,” said Alexandra Jacobs in The New York Times. The latest best seller by the esteemed but controversial art photographer is…

Olivia Dean’s top-10-selling second album is “a genuinely lovely collection of would-be classic pop songs,” said Walden Green in Pitchfork. On her current single, “So Easy,” the warm-toned British neo-soul singer declares “I’m the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life,” and that’s about right. She and producer Zach Nahome deftly blend plenty of sounds from the past: “a spare set of bongos from a Laurel Canyon open mic, a buttery Brill Building Rhodes organ, and some well-placed bah-bah-bahs courtesy of Motown girl groups.” But the results sometimes sound like mere background music, and a couple “cross the line from charmingly retro into pastiche.” Still, The Art of Loving “expunges most of the clichés of Dean’s debut album,” said Alexis Petridis in The Guardian, putting mild…

A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city. Kathryn Bigelow’s first movie in eight years “takes the unthinkable and puts it right in front of us,” said Stephanie Zacharek in Time. A nuclear missile fired by an unknown overseas source has been spotted headed toward Chicago, and America’s crisis response team, including the president, has 18 minutes to attempt a defense and decide whether an instant counterstrike is worth risking a potentially apocalyptic escalation. “A real-life horror movie,” A House of Dynamite “lays bare all sorts of global realities we don’t want to think about,” and watching it was “one of the most stressful viewing experiences I’ve had in years.” The movie is playing in theaters for two weeks before it moves to Netflix on Oct. 24, and its…

Famous Last Words: Dr. Jane Goodall The renowned primatologist, who died at 91 on Oct. 1, was the first to sit for this new series, in which subjects give an interview that’s only to be aired posthumously. Sipping a whiskey, Goodall is unsparing in her criticisms of world leaders but encourages the rest of us not to abandon hope. Netflix Stories We Tell Actor-director Sarah Polley grew up hearing rumors that her dad was not her biological father. In this remarkable 2012 documentary, she puts relatives and family friends on camera and probes for the truth. Fandango at Home Meeting Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure as leader of the Soviet Union ended 34 years ago. His sit-downs with Werner Herzog in this 2018 film are as fascinating as you’d imagine, and…

If it’s still tomato season where you are, “trey jien ban pouh is the dish to make,” said Nite Yun in My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook (4 Color Books). There’s something special about the combination of crisped batter-fried fish, the stewed tomato sauce, and “the tangy sourness” of the fish sauce dressing. The dressing is my go-to for most salads I make, at home and at my San Francisco restaurant, Lunette Cambodia. It’s also a great base for sauces like the one used here. Serve it all with some jasmine rice. Recipe of the week Crispy fish with simmered tomatoes (Trey jien ban pouh) 2 tbsp plus 1 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided4 garlic cloves, minced1 small shallot, thinly sliced (½ cup)2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved1 small red…

For some wealthy travelers, private airline terminals are “reinventing the airport experience,” said Chris Dong in Forbes. Common at major European hubs and gradually multiplying in the U.S., these small, stand-alone facilities offer “members-club-style” coddling at the start and end of a commercial flight. Travelers can be whisked straight from home to the private terminal, relax in a private suite or with cocktails and small bites in a salon-like shared lounge, then hop into a luxury car that zips right to the tarmac before takeoff. Private terminals are opening in Miami and Dallas–Fort Worth next year, joining those in Los Angeles and Atlanta. In Atlanta, one-time use of the salon service costs $1,295, while a $1,250 annual membership lowers the price to $995. And just think: “no long concourses to…

This week’s question: Amazon sparked outrage after it digitally scrubbed James Bond’s signature Walther PPK pistol from 007 promotional images on its streaming platform, leaving the likes of Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan awkwardly brandishing thin air. If Amazon were to further sanitize the superspy series, what new violence-free title might it give an old Bond movie? Last week’s contest: An aggressive squirrel has been terrorizing the residents of San Rafael, Calif., at least two of whom needed emergency medical assistance after being bitten and scratched by the rodent. If Hollywood were to make a horror movie based on this bushy-tailed menace, what would it be titled? THE WINNER: “A Nightmare on Elm Tree” Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind. SECOND PLACE: “Children of the Acorn” Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va. THIRD…

Forbidden fruit, after scientists found that internet users are more likely to click on content if it’s flagged with “trigger warnings” about potentially upsetting or offensive material. “Negative or disturbing information,” said researcher Victoria Bridgland, “tends to stand out and feel more valuable.” Assessments, after President Trump offered quick-fire takes on fellow leaders as they posed for photos at the Gaza summit in Egypt, including UAE veep Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (“bundles of cash”), Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (“beautiful”), and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (“a tough person” who “wants to be left alone”). Exclusivity, after the Kenyan Catholic Church introduced a new brand of altar wine for Holy Mass. “Unfortunately, the former wine is readily available in secular outlets and bars,” said Archbishop Anthony Muheria. “The…

Paris Après moi, moi: French President Emmanuel Macron has reappointed as prime minister his centrist ally Sébastien Lecornu, who had resigned last week after less than a month on the job because of opposition to his Cabinet picks. Lecornu said he recognized that he might not last long this time, either—especially as he reappointed many of the same ministers. The far-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally, angry about being frozen out again, vowed to bring him down quickly with a no-confidence vote. “Lecornu II is a bad joke,” said National Rally leader Jordan Bardella. But Lecornu was able to win the support of the center-left Socialists by agreeing to suspend plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 until after the 2027 election. Vatican City Supporting…

Bruce Springsteen was once afraid of his father, and of turning out just like him, said Eric Cortellessa in Time. When Bruce was growing up, Douglas Springsteen flitted between jobs—cabdriver, prison guard, mill worker—drank heavily, and was prone to explosions of anger and long silences. In working-class New Jersey, therapy wasn’t an option. Decades later, Doug would be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. “My father was a tough guy,” said Springsteen, now 76. “He was tough on me when I was young, but fundamentally, underneath, he was a vulnerable, fragile, sweet-hearted, and soulful man.” His bleakest songs were inspired by Doug, he says; the joyous ones, such as “Rosalita” and “Out in the Street,” were inspired by his mother, Adele, who kept the family afloat working as a legal…

Mark Lee Greenblatt The New York Times The bribery accusations against White House border czar Tom Homan “cry out for an independent investigation,” said former federal inspector general Mark Lee Greenblatt, since no one in the Trump administration seems to care. In 2024, Homan reportedly received $50,000 that undercover FBI agents stuffed into a paper bag in exchange for his promise to help secure government contracts for his benefactors if Donald Trump was elected. When Trump won, his Justice Department shut down the investigation. After the apparent cover-up became public, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued “a flat categorical denial” that Homan had received any money. But Homan himself was cagier, saying, “I did nothing criminal.” Attorney General Pam Bondi has refused to answer questions about whether Homan kept…

“For better and for worse—mostly worse—we have inaugurated America’s first personalist system of government. Never have the instruments of governing power been bent quite so aggressively to service the ambitions and wishes of the chief executive. The downside to personalist rule is the absence of constraints when those instincts lead him—and us—in the wrong direction. The personal retribution campaign against his enemies is only one. Holding macroeconomic policy hostage to eccentric theories about trade is another. We live now at the intersection of presidential instinct and personal caprice.” Gerard Baker in The Wall Street Journal…

Editorial The Times of India Witnesses to accidents on India’s dangerous highways are more likely to video the aftermath than help the victims, said The Times of India. The Road Ministry proposes to change that by significantly raising the reward for bystanders who save the life of an accident victim, from about $55 to $280. But that only doubles down on the “faulty logic” behind our “Good Samaritan rules.” The reason people are reluctant to help is that they have a well-founded fear of “police harassment.” Any encounter with the police tends to result in hours of questioning, as officers demand “irrelevant personal details.” At best, Good Samaritans will lose a day of work; at worst, they might end up ensnared in a legal case. We can’t switch on people’s…

Alexandra Jones The Independent Nigel Farage is “trying to out-Trump Trump,” said Alexandra Jones. While campaigning for U.S. president last year, Donald Trump spread the lie that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio town were killing and eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats. The story had all the ingredients a conspiracy theorist needs: It was “visceral, grotesque, hard to disprove, and easy to share.” Now Farage, leader of the far-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party, has come up with a British version of the smear. “Swans are being eaten in royal parks,” he told an interviewer. He pinned the blame on Eastern Europeans, “specifically Romanians.” Well, I happen to be a Romanian, and I can report that we don’t eat swans: “Too chewy.” In fact, there’s no evidence at all for the…

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel wants to alert the world to an overlooked danger, said Nitasha Tiku in The Washington Post: the coming of the Antichrist. In a recent series of “off-the-record” lectures delivered in San Francisco to sold-out crowds, the venture capitalist and GOP megadonor warned that critics of technology, artificial intelligence, and financial innovation are “legionnaires of the Antichrist,” who could usher in the destruction of America “and an era of global totalitarian rule.” The modern version of the biblical Antichrist would be “a Luddite who wants to stop all science, it’s someone like Greta or Eliezer,” he said, referring to Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and AI researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky, who wants to prevent machines from achieving human-level intelligence. By calling for stricter global regulations, he claimed, these…

The Supreme Court thinks licensed therapists should be free to tell gay kids they can and should become straight, said Elie Mystal in The Nation. The justices last week heard arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, in which evangelical Christian therapist Kaley Chiles contended Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban for minors violates her free speech rights. Multiple studies have found that conversion therapy, which is counseling aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity, doesn’t work, and actually worsens depression and trauma. It’s a form of “child abuse” that’s “not regarded as a medically sound practice by any panel of scientific experts.” But the court’s Christian theocrats appeared ready to overturn Colorado’s ban, with Justice Samuel Alito calling it “blatant viewpoint discrimination.” If Chiles were a minister, priest, or parent, she would…

(Grand Central, $33) Jane Leavy knows baseball, and her ideas about how to fix the game she loves “stretch from the attractive to the absurd,” said Justin Driver in The Washington Post. In her “rollicking” new book, the former Post writer and author of three esteemed baseball biographies visits friends and experts throughout the sport to spitball potential reforms. Too few balls in play? Maybe there should be a 30-foot-tall plexiglass wall wrapping the outfield in every major league park to make homers rare. Too few pitchers throwing complete games or lasting more than a season without an arm injury? Let’s limit hurlers to one 95-mph pitch per at-bat and count every additional heater as a ball. In truth, you don’t have to love every idea here. “Leavy aims less…

Sam Sussman is becoming rather famous for claiming he might have a very famous father, said Dwight Garner in The New York Times. In 2021, the young writer published a much-discussed essay in Harper’s about suspecting he could be Bob Dylan’s son. His mother, Fran, had occasionally mentioned an affair she had with Dylan in the 1970s, and she once told her boy that the two reconnected in early 1990. Sussman was born nine months later, and he long wondered if his resemblance to the singer is more than coincidence. He’s has now written an autobiographical novel, Boy From the North Country, in which his stand-in travels home to upstate New York to be with his dying mother. And in a book that’s otherwise too sentimental, the best parts are…

“Madi Diaz has a talent for brief, yet devastating observations,” said Maura Johnston in Rolling Stone. “A songwriter’s songwriter,” the 39-year-old Nashville veteran was Grammy nominated for her previous album, 2024’s Weird Faith, and she has stripped down her sound for this breakup album written after she moved on from exasperation with a failed relationship to acceptance and renewed hope. “Diaz has a rounded, plainly emotional alto that adds pathos to the more downtrodden lyrics,” and though she lets light filter in only on the closing track, the arc of the album and Diaz’s perceptive songwriting “make that movement feel like a victory.” Across its first 10 tracks, “Fatal Optimist offers occasional philosophical gems,” said Marcy Donelson in All Music. “One day I’ll wake up and I’ll be over you—if…

A sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus. Luca Guadagnino’s “pretend-provocative” new campus drama proves to be “a mystery with no curiosity, a cautionary tale with no good advice,” said Amy Nicholson in the Los Angeles Times. Julia Roberts stars as a Yale professor caught in the middle when one of her white male pals on the faculty is accused of sexual misconduct by one of her protégés, a young Black queer woman. Unfortunately, the director of Call Me by Your Name and Challengers doesn’t care what actually transpired between Andrew Garfield’s Hank and Ayo Edebiri’s Maggie. Instead, “Guadagnino’s driving interest is attacking academia as a rat’s nest of egomaniacs and cowards and insular, faux-radical thinking.” After the Hunt “will be derided as little more than an intellectual parlor…

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell indicated this week that the central bank is on track to cut interest rates “despite the recent reacceleration in inflation,” said Colby Smith in The New York Times. Speaking at the National Association for Business Economics, Powell said that while the economy was on a firmer trajectory than expected, the risky job market remains a concern. The Fed appears to be proceeding with its plans even though the government shutdown has delayed important data releases, including the September unemployment number. Bankruptcy: First Brands collapse shakes Wall Street New information is coming to light about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the bankruptcy of First Brands Group, Indian businessman Patrick James’ car parts company, which “acknowledged that more than $2 billion is unaccounted for,” said Alexander Gladstone in…

■ Churning cards for bonus bucks Lucrative sign-up bonuses have created a new side hustle, said David Wignall in The New York Times: credit card “churning” for cash and airline points. Matthew Palm, a television producer, estimates that the 50 cards he has opened in the past seven years “have netted his family more than $40,000.” Unlocking bonuses usually requires reaching a spending threshold, so churners need to manage the cards carefully. But having a very high number of cards doesn’t hurt credit scores and sometimes even puts churners in the “superprime” category. Max Gunara, a 30-year-old business owner with 41 cards and 19 million airline points, says his gains are possible because few other cardholders “take advantage of the benefits” on their cards. All told, he says, “it’s a…

George F. Will The Washington Post Both federal and state courts have ruled repeatedly that local governments can’t keep you from pursuing a livelihood, said George F. Will. But many localities have trouble getting the message. In Clayton County, Georgia, a woman named Khalilah Few “invested more than $30,000 in renovating and renting a new space” for her hair salon. She thought that getting a permit would be “perfunctory.” It wasn’t. In July, the county refused Few a permit “for two reasons, one unintelligible, the other unconstitutional.” The first was that the hair salon was incompatible with the county’s plan for “smart growth.” Why hair salons are not compatible with “smart growth” while pet groomers and dry cleaners are, the county doesn’t say. The second reason is that the county…

Sister Jean was the beloved secret weapon of Loyola University Chicago’s men’s basketball team. The nun was not just the team’s No. 1 fan; she also served as informal athletic scout and spiritual counselor. In 2018, during the team’s rise to the NCAA Final Four, Sister Jean led the players in pregame prayers, asking God to bless their hands. Though Loyola never won the championship, Sister Jean charmed a global audience during March Madness each year. Decked out in Loyola’s maroon and gold, she would reach up from her wheelchair to towering players bending to hug her. She attributed her energy to those players. “These young people keep me young,” she said in 2021, “even though I’m 101.” Sister Jean was born in San Francisco as Dolores Bertha Schmidt, eldest…

“Hamas may play along” for now, said Matthew Levitt in Foreign Affairs, but it is “not done fighting.” It is executing its rivals in Gaza—a campaign Trump greenlit by saying Hamas had to take out “a couple of gangs that were very bad.” It’s not clear when or how it will disarm, and even if it does, it has contingency plans, with Iran reportedly stockpiling weapons in Sudan to ship to it later. The Israelis, though, won’t agree to full withdrawal until Hamas is fully disarmed, said James C. Reynolds in The Independent (U.K.). And Israeli withdrawal from the 53% of the enclave it occupies is “necessary for a comprehensive rebuilding operation.” Under Trump’s plan, an international body will eventually take over to govern Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats—many from the…

Qatari air base plan sparks MAGA backlash The Trump administration is facing blowback from MAGA-world allies after promising Qatar a facility within a U.S. Air Force base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week announced plans for a “Qatar Emiri Air Force facility” at Idaho’s Mountain Home Air Force Base, to be paid for by the Arab nation. Qatar will use the facility to train pilots to fly F-15 jets it’s buying from the U.S. The base will remain under American jurisdiction, but high-profile MAGA figures were infuriated. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon said there “should never be a military base of a foreign power on the sacred soil of America.” Social media influencer and frequent Trump confidante Laura Loomer posted, “Never thought I’d see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from…

Eric Dane knows he is running out of time, said Emily Yahr in The Washington Post. Last year, the actor best known for playing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy felt a weakness in his hand. It was the first symptom of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a loss of muscle control, taking away a person’s ability to walk, speak, and eventually breathe. Dane, 52, went public with his diagnosis in April. “It wasn’t something I wanted to do,” he says, but “it was getting difficult to hide what was going on.” Dane was uplifted by the “outpouring of love” that followed and decided to use his celebrity to draw attention to the disease and help raise funds for a cure. Patients typically live only…

■ Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau were recently spotted engaging in some romance-confirming PDA aboard a yacht off the California coast. The pop star and former Canadian prime minister were cruising in Perry’s 80-foot ship, the Caravelle, last month when they pulled up alongside a whale-watching tour boat and started “making out” on the top deck, a witness who snapped photos of the duo told the Daily Mail (U.K.). Rumors about Perry, 40, and Trudeau, 53, started to circulate in July, when they were seen enjoying an intimate dinner at a Montreal restaurant soon after Perry split from her long-term boyfriend, actor Orlando Bloom. Trudeau has been single since he separated from his wife of 18 years, Sophie Grégoire, in 2023. A source told the Mail that while their hectic…

Andrew Egger The Bulwark If you publicly protest President Trump’s authoritarian actions, said Andrew Egger, you’re an antifa radical who “hates America.” That’s what Republican officials and the White House were saying this week prior to the second nationwide “No Kings” rally, slated for Oct. 18. Millions of normie Americans participated in the first “remarkably peaceful” protest in hundreds of communities across the nation. But House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the No Kings protest will be a “hate America rally,” run by “antifa people.” His top deputy, Rep. Tom Emmer, sneered that the rally was the work of the Democrats’ “terrorist wing.” This unhinged rhetoric is a warning. “When it comes to slowly tightening a lawless grip on a people, one of the authoritarian’s most potent tools is guilt…

■ A British truck driver landed in the hospital after eating nearly 7 pounds of gummy candies. Nathan Rimington of Yorkshire bought a 3-kilogram package of cola-flavored gummies and gave in to his sweet tooth, devouring them all in a three-day binge. “The next day my stomach was in absolute agony,” said the 33-year-old. A day later he “couldn’t even get out of bed.” Doctors determined the gelatin overload had given him diverticulitis, or an inflamed colon. Rimington spent six days in intensive care. “It was my own stupid fault,” he said. ■ A South Carolina couple rigged up a Halloween display that makes their house appear to be engulfed in flames, but it is so realistic that neighbors and passersby keep calling 911. Bright yellow flames appear in each…

Mateusz Zimmerman Onet Warsaw city councilors care about their constituents, but only the drunken ones, said Mateusz Zimmerman. Local lawmakers from the ruling Civic Platform party have forced their own leader, Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, to drop his proposed citywide ban on late-night alcohol sales. Yet Warsaw residents overwhelmingly support the proposal. They’re sick of “late-night brawls outside the liquor store” and bachelor party revelers throwing up in the streets. It’s not as if the city’s leaders hadn’t been fully apprised of the benefits of a ban. Over months of public debate, they heard the “grim reports” of drunk-driving accidents, and they saw the studies that showed that dozens of other Polish cities have reaped “tangible, positive results” from their own bans. The lawmakers, surely influenced if not bought off outright…

“The Trump administration really hates giving foreign aid that serves any kind of humanitarian purpose,” said Paul Krugman in his Substack newsletter. But giving aid to MAGA’s foreign friends is a different matter entirely. The White House this week signed off on a $20 billion lifeline for Argentina, claiming the deal—in which stable U.S. dollars will be exchanged for volatile pesos—was needed to shore up a cash-strapped U.S. ally. A “more cynical” read is that this is about ideology, with Trump wanting to bail out Argentina’s like-minded president, Javier Milei, whose failing “libertarian econo-derp policies” could doom his party in this month’s midterm elections. President Trump explicitly tied the deal to his pal’s electoral fortunes in a White House meeting with Milei, saying, “If he doesn’t win, we’re gone.” An…

“I love humanity. My problem is humans.” Sean Penn, quoted in The New York Times “Most people would rather obey the law than say, ‘No, two plus two equals four.’ That’s what authoritarian leaders count on.” Filmmaker Raoul Peck, quoted in the Los Angeles Times “If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.” Thomas Jefferson, quoted in The San Diego Union-Tribune “Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?” Jane Goodall, quoted in Dawn (Pakistan) “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Martin Luther King Jr., quoted in…

■ China tightens online censorship The Chinese government is stepping up political censorship by cracking down on “excessively pessimistic” influencers and bloggers “whose weary posts are resonating widely in a country where optimism is fraying,” said Lily Kuo in The New York Times. In recent weeks, the Cyberspace Administration of China has removed several social media accounts that question marriage and child-rearing, and draw attention to the country’s widening wealth gap; even posting the phrase “hard work is useless” can now get a user banned from Chinese platforms. Regulators have billed the crackdown as a safeguard against the spread of polarization and a way to punish “those who are peddling despair for clicks,” but outside analysts believe Beijing is afraid that online discontent will turn into viral criticism of the…

Astronomers have spotted a colossal “rogue planet” that appears to be growing by 6.6 billion tons every second—the fastest rate ever recorded. Cha 1107-7626 lies about 620 light-years away in the constellation Chamaeleon and is up to 10 times more massive than Jupiter. Unlike most planets, it isn’t tethered to a star but drifts freely through space, surrounded by a vast disc of gas and dust from which it continues to feed. Scientists used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to pinpoint a hot spot on the planet’s surface where matter is being pulled in. The observations show that Cha 1107-7626 is currently slurping up matter roughly eight times faster than it was just a few months ago—an intense burst normally seen only in young stars. “Every time that we…

Journalist Gilbert King is the author of Devil in the Grove, a Pulitzer Prize–winning 2012 account of a battle for justice led by Thurgood Marshall. King’s new book, Bone Valley, is adapted from his acclaimed podcast about a Florida man wrongly imprisoned for 36 years. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946). A sweeping American tragedy about power, corruption, and the cost of truth, following Willie Stark, a fictional populist governor, and the reporter chronicling Stark’s journey. The prose is musical, the moral vision unsparing. I reread it before starting a new project to reset my compass—and to remember that the bar for narrative ambition can be impossibly high. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor (1952). This darkly comic tale of faith, fraud, and obsession feels both Southern Gothic…

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7 “Is it trivial to think of flowers in times like these?” asked Kelly Presutti in Art in America. Certainly not if the blossoms were painted by Rachel Ruysch, a Dutch artist who outsold Rembrandt in her day but has not been the subject of a major museum exhibition until the current traveling show, now at its final of three stops. Ruysch (1664–1750) painted floral still lifes “with an exquisite touch,” and “pure pleasure abounds” in any stroll through the show. But Ruysch also seemed to understand that beauty is “a reminder of our vulnerability,” of the fleetingness of life. In a typical Ruysch painting, “stems are snapped, leaves yellow and wilt,” and “a lizard prepares to pounce on a nest of freshly…

Hannah Frances “belongs in a wise old souls hall of fame,” said Chris DeVille in Stereogum. Like Sharon Van Etten or Joni Mitchell, the Vermont-based singer-songwriter “can summon tenderness and ferocity, hope and despair” in a single line. On her sixth album, Frances is focused on healing from family dysfunction, and though her voice sounds as old as folk, the music “evokes many generations of proggy, jazzy indie rock.” Many of the songs push forward “with both anxiousness and fluidity, soaring on eagles’ wings and then crashing downward.” To convey roiling emotions in the song “Surviving You,” Frances combines “noisy, pulled-apart” rock elements and nervous split-screen storytelling, said Matt Mitchell in Paste. “When Frances aches, we ache.” Abandonment and healing are recurring themes, and the words are layered atop “soups…

A victim of government terror pursues vengeance. Despite the title, “you can’t find a more controlled film,” said Robert Daniels in RogerEbert.com. From the opening scene of Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner, when a family driving at night accidentally runs over a dog, “we’re fully in the Iranian auteur’s grasp.” The mishap sends the father to a garage where an employee susses him out to be the intelligence officer who tortured him in prison. Yet Accident “isn’t a vindictive picture.” Instead, said Nick Schager in The Daily Beast, when the ex-prisoner, Vahid, kidnaps and prepares to bury his presumed abuser, he suddenly suffers doubts about whether he has the right man, transforming the film into “both a nail-biting thriller and a messy moral drama.” Vahid begins visiting and picking up…

“Everyone making wine in New England,” said John McCarroll in Wine Enthusiast, “is winging it at a level unmatched in the rest of the wine world.” The region is new to the craft, and the hybrid grapes that fare best there also have short histories. But mad experimentation by many talented winemakers is producing some excellent results, including these “absolute treasures.” 2023 Marzae Wines C. Cornuta ($29). From a couple who represent “the tip of the spear” for natural wine makers in Massachusetts, this orange wine is “spicy and balanced, and a great introduction to New England wine.” 2023 Chertok Wines Eve Pink ($35). This Vermont rosé combines herbal notes with “mouthwatering acidity,” and “feels made for big feasts.” 2023 Domaine La Garagista Lupo in Bocca ($48). “A crash course…

North Carolina after Helene A year after a deadly hurricane devastated western North Carolina, “the Blue Ridge Parkway is again open, and the mountains are ready to show off,” said Lindsey Liles in Garden & Gun. Only a 30-mile stretch of the scenic 460-mile road remained closed as peak foliage season arrived this week, and even a small section of that stretch was open to allow visitors access to a popular orchard. Thanks to communities “working tirelessly to rebuild,” the region has recovered dramatically, said Graham Averill in Outside. In Pisgah National Forest, hundreds of miles of trails for hikers and bikers have been restored. In Asheville, the area’s flagship city, more than 85% of hospitality businesses have reopened, and the hard-hit River Arts District has even welcomed back the…

As the government shutdown drags on, bars and pubs across Washington, D.C., are displaying their unique talent for “turning deadlocks into drink deals,” said Anvee Bhutani in The Wall Street Journal. In a move that’s part business strategy, part gallows humor, several establishments have begun offering discounted meal-and-drink combos and aptly named specialty cocktails to furloughed federal workers. Soon after the shutdown began, the Crown & Crow restaurant boasted a new “Executive Dysfunction” menu, complete with a “Hard Times” cocktail, an “Affordable Beer Act,” and a “Emergency Shot” for $5 each; a sign outside welcomes patrons with the uplifting message “If the government won’t serve you, we will.” In the nation’s capital, where drinking is both “pastime and professional currency,” government shutdowns hit the hospitality industry particularly hard. The chief…

Since 1989, the nonprofit Foster Parrots (fosterparrots.com) has provided sanctuary for abused and abandoned pet parrots, feeding them customized diets and helping them live better lives. Mostly native to the Southern Hemisphere, parrots can live up to 80 years, and while large numbers of baby parrots are bred annually across the U.S., the birds’ natural tendencies, from vocalizing to aggression, make them commonly abandoned pets. They also naturally flock and mate but in captivity often spend their whole lives alone. Much of Foster Parrots’ sanctuary, on the site of a former Rhode Island chicken factory farm, burned down in a 2021 fire that killed 90 parrots. A new sanctuary, now close to completion, will be a sprawling home for roughly 400 birds. The facility will also feature a medical clinic…

Saahil Desai The Atlantic The most “dangerous moment” in a Waymo comes at the end of the ride, said Saahil Desai. It’s when you, the human, “have to place your hand on the door handle, look both ways, and push the door open.” We’ve heard a lot about the risks of AI. But Waymo, Google’s autonomous vehicle line that “has come to dominate the world of robotaxis,” is AI done right. Unlike chatbots, the AI in self-driving cars has to work reliably every time. “I like to tell people that if Waymo worked as well as ChatGPT, they’d be dead,” one expert quips. Fortunately, the self-driving technology works much better. In recent months, three Waymo-related accidents have involved a passenger flinging the door open and hitting someone riding a bike…

Ophelia Bauckholt was a Wall Street analyst with a passion for helping people, said Shaila Dewan in The New York Times. How did she end up entangled in an AI-obsessed ‘murder cult’? A 10-YEAR-OLD BLUE Toyota Prius was rocketing through northern Vermont on the afternoon of Jan. 20 when a U.S. Border Patrol agent pulled it over for an immigration inspection. Law enforcement officers had been watching the two people inside the car for the better part of a week, since a hotel employee reported that they were armed and dressed in tactical gear. Shortly before the Prius was stopped, officers watched them buy aluminum foil at a Walmart and wrap it around their phones. Now, on a stretch of highway flanked by snow-crusted ground and hardwood forest, one of…