Author: NY TIMES

The New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon went speed dating in a swing state to ask daters fun questions like: How early do you tell a prospective date whether you lean red or blue? When do you talk about your stances on issues like abortion or gender equality? It’s hard enough to find someone you click with. Then add election-year tensions into the mix, and things get even more complicated.Today, the Modern Love host Anna Martin speaks with Astead Herndon, host of the weekly politics podcast “The Run-Up” about the not-so-distant worlds of politics and dating.Links to transcripts of…

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The last time the American economy was posting surprising economic growth numbers amid rapid wage gains and moderating inflation, Ace of Base and All-4-One topped the Billboard charts and denim overalls were in vogue.Thirty years ago, officials at the Federal Reserve were hotly debating whether the economy could continue to chug along so vigorously without spurring a pickup in inflation. And back in 1994, it turned out that it could, thanks to one key ingredient: productivity.Now, official productivity data are showing a big pickup for the first time in years. The data have been volatile since the start of the…

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Jennifer Caldwell was active and energetic, working two jobs and taking care of her daughter and her parents, when she developed a bacterial infection that was followed by intense lightheadedness, fatigue and memory problems.That was nearly a decade ago, and she has since struggled with the condition known as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS. Ms. Caldwell, 56, of Hillsborough, N.C., said she went from being able to ski, dance and work two jobs as a clinical research coordinator and a caterer to needing to stay in bed most of every day.“I haven’t been right since, and I haven’t worked…

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Israeli forces killed three people and detained at least 14 others in an overnight raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.The military said that the Jenin raid had targeted “terrorism” and was part of a broader operation in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority’s news agency, Wafa, said the Israeli forces had stormed two houses in Jenin, resulting in “violent confrontations.” The agency reported that a 26-year-old man had been killed and added that three people had been injured and homes and vehicles damaged.Jenin, a more than 70-year-old refugee camp that is…

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A week after Hamas-led terrorists stormed his kibbutz and kidnapped his wife and three young children, Avihai Brodutch planted himself on the sidewalk in front of army headquarters in Tel Aviv holding a sign scrawled with the words “My family’s in Gaza,” and said he would not budge until they were brought home.Passers-by stopped to commiserate with him and to try to lift his spirits. They brought him coffee, platters of food and changes of clothing, and welcomed him to their homes to wash up and get some sleep.“They were so kind, and they just couldn’t do enough,” said Mr.…

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The marital troubles began after the birth of their daughter and the publication of “The Recovering” in 2018, she writes in the memoir, when she and Mr. Bock became emotionally distant. “Our home was a place in which I’d come to feel alone, and so — in retaliation, or from depletion — I made C feel alone, too,” she writes. “His barbed comments left me so frayed that I stopped trying to detect or soothe the hurt beneath them.”After separating in 2019, she began to take notes for “Splinters” while living in a sublet next to a firehouse, where she…

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“It’s Never Too Late” is a series that tells the stories of people who decide to pursue their dreams on their own terms.Lyn Slater will be the first to tell you her life has been a series of happy accidents and purposeful metamorphoses.“Because I’m constantly reinventing myself, my life is always a surprise. I’m an improvisational person. I don’t plan. I’m very in the moment,” said Ms. Slater, 70, a former professor of social work at Fordham University in New York. “That thinking has served me well. It has created endless adventures, surprises, incredible friendships and profound learning.”Indeed.In 2014, she…

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▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube4. Angélica Garcia: “Juanita”A tip of my cap to Jon Pareles for putting this striking track on a recent Friday playlist: I am now anxiously awaiting whatever the California-based musician Angélica Garcia puts out next. “Juanita” prances with a cumbia-inspired rhythm, but Garcia also creates a haunting, almost sinister atmosphere with buzzing synths and a wrenching vocal performance.▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube5. Yaya Bey: “Chasing the Bus”“I swear to God you gon’ feel it in your body when I leave you behind to go and party,” the Brooklyn-based R&B musician…

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The South Pacific island of Niue is one the most remote places in the world. Its closest neighbors, Tonga and American Samoa, are hundreds of miles away. The advent of the internet promised, in a small way, to make Niue and its 2,000 or so residents more connected to the rest of the world.In the late 1990s, an American businessman offered to hook up the island to the internet. All he wanted in exchange was the right to control the .nu suffix that Niue was assigned for its web addresses. The domain did not seem as lucrative as .tv —…

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