Aurelia Butler

More stories

  • 150 Shares189 Views

    in Elections

    Leslie Epstein, Writer Who Could Both Do and Teach, Dies at 87

    His Holocaust novel “King of the Jews” was widely praised. He also wrote about his show-business family and taught writing at Boston University.Leslie Epstein, a celebrated novelist and revered writing teacher who was born into Hollywood royalty — his father and uncle collaborated on the script for the classic 1942 film “Casablanca”— died on May 18 in Boston. He was 87.His wife, Ilene, said the cause of his death, at a hospital, was complications of heart surgery.The best known of Mr. Epstein’s novels was “King of the Jews” (1979), a powerful, biting and at times humorous story about the leader of a Judenrat, or Jewish Council, in a Polish ghetto during the Holocaust.Councils of elders, which were established by the Nazis to run the ghettos, provided basic services to the Jews who were forced to live there; they also had to make the morally fraught decision to provide their occupiers with lists of Jews to deport to labor and concentration camps. When Adam Czerniakow, the leader of the Warsaw council, received an order to round up Jews for deportation, he apparently chose to end his life rather than obey.Isaiah Chaim Trumpelman, the protagonist of “King of the Jews,” was modeled on Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, the megalomaniacal leader of the Jewish Council in Lodz, Poland. The character of Mr. Rumkowski had resonated with Mr. Epstein since he read a single paragraph about him in a book about the Holocaust in the 1960s.“He rode around with his lion’s mane of hair and his black cape, put his picture on ghetto money (to buy nothing) and ghetto stamps (to mail nowhere), and decided which of his fellow Jews should or should not be sent to death,” Mr. Epstein wrote, about Mr. Rumkowski, in an essay for Tablet magazine in 2023.Writing about “King of the Jews” in The New York Times Book Review, Robert Alter praised Mr. Epstein’s focus on “the morally ambiguous politics of survival” practiced by Council leaders “who were both violently thrust and seductively drawn into a position of absolute power and absolute impotence in which no human being could continue to function with any moral coherence.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares179 Views

    in Elections

    Senators Visit Canada, Seeking a Reset Amid Trump’s Provocations

    Democrats and one Republican made the trip, seeking to stabilize the U.S.-Canada relationship after President Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and suggested it should become the 51st state.A bipartisan group of senators on Friday arrived in Ottawa seeking to stabilize the United States’ relationship with Canada, determined to mend a once-tight alliance that President Trump has tested in recent months with tariffs and tough talk.Sporting lapel pins of the American and Canadian flags and red and white friendship bracelets, the group — four Democrats and a lone Republican — met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and senior Canadian officials in a bid to defuse the tension that has built up in recent months after economic pressure and political rhetoric from Mr. Trump that many Canadians have viewed as both destabilizing and deeply insulting.“We know how important Canada is to our states and how important the United States and the Canadian relationship is to both countries,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, after a day of meetings with government officials and business leaders.She was part of a delegation that included fellow Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Peter Welch of Vermont, as well as Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, the sole Republican.“We hope that this meeting will continue very positive discussions toward ensuring that some of the cracks that have appeared in the relationship in recent months are healed, and we move forward together,” Ms. Shaheen said.Those cracks include Mr. Trump’s tariffs, which disrupted regional economies dependent on trade with Canada, as well as rhetoric that many Canadians found demeaning. The president’s repeated remarks suggesting that Canada should become America’s “51st state” and that the United States was being exploited by the relationship were initially dismissed as misunderstood humor or unorthodox negotiation tactics. Now, they are widely viewed in the country as disrespectful and damaging to Canadian sovereignty.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares149 Views

    in Elections

    National Security Council Staff Will Be Cut by Half

    The drastic restructuring, revealed by Marco Rubio, the acting national security adviser, is likely to encourage the president’s preferred style of top-down decision-making in foreign affairs.Marco Rubio, the secretary of state who is also serving as the national security adviser, on Friday revealed a significant restructuring of the National Security Council, reducing the size of its staff by at least half, according to a person with knowledge of the move.The dramatic downsizing of the council, a coordinating body across departments that guides the president and his top aides on key policy decisions, comes as Mr. Trump has built his national security and foreign policy teams with officials who largely share his skepticism of foreign interventions, and who will not work aggressively to oppose that perspective.Rather than build decisions from the ground up incorporating an array of sources and offering a significant menu of different viewpoints, the changes are likely to help Mr. Trump conduct foreign policy debates in his preferred style, with advisers taking the president’s desired outcomes and finding a way to comply with them.Some National Security Council officials from other agencies are returning to their original offices, and others are being placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, said the person with knowledge of the move, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Some of the teams on the council that focus on specific regions or issues will be gutted, while others will be collapsed and folded into others. Still other teams will cease to exist.Andy Baker, Vice President JD Vance’s national security adviser, will serve as the deputy for the reconfigured council, alongside Robert Gabriel, whose current title is assistant to the president for policy.The changes were reported earlier by Axios. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The council has a core staff of presidential appointees supported by dozens of specialists who are detailed — or essentially on loan — from other departments and agencies across the government. Presidents have used the council in different ways, but it has had a central role in foreign policy events since its creation in 1947.Mr. Trump’s allies have long argued that the council had grown too large over time.Mr. Trump has also held a deep distrust for and suspicion of the council since the earliest days of his first term, in 2017. People who have worked for him over time say he believes it was the source of significant undermining of his policy views.Mr. Trump’s first impeachment involved testimony before Congress from Alexander S. Vindman, the council’s director of European affairs, who said the president pressed the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, for an investigation into Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his family. At the time, Mr. Biden was one of Mr. Trump’s chief potential rivals in the 2020 election.In early April, Mr. Trump fired several N.S.C. aides after a meeting with the far-right activist Laura Loomer, who presented him with a list of people she suspected of disloyalty. More

  • 113 Shares189 Views

    in Elections

    U.S. Sues Four New Jersey Cities Over ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

    Justice Department lawyers say in a lawsuit that Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Paterson are shielding illegal immigrants from lawful prosecution.The Justice Department has sued four New Jersey cities and their leaders over so-called sanctuary policies that federal lawyers say are hindering the Trump administration’s enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. With their policies, the cities, Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Paterson, are shielding illegal immigrants from lawful prosecution, Justice Department lawyers write in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Newark on Thursday. “While states and local governments are free to stand aside as the United States performs this important work, they cannot stand in the way,” the lawsuit says. “And where inaction crosses into obstruction, local governments break federal law.”The suit was filed a day after a judge dismissed federal trespassing charges that had been filed against Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark this month after his arrest outside a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center where people were protesting. Mr. Baraka said at a hearing last week that he had been “targeted” for selective enforcement. He was named as a defendant in the suit filed on Thursday, as were Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City, Mayor Andre Sayegh of Paterson and Mayor Ravi Bhalla of Hoboken. All are Democrats; Mr. Fulop and Mr. Baraka are candidates in the Democratic primary for governor. Mr. Fulop said he had learned of the lawsuit from a post on the social media app X. “I think it’s a political sideshow,” he said. “It’s a stunt.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 150 Shares99 Views

    in Elections

    La protesta de la CNTE paralizó el AICM en Ciudad de México

    El bloqueo reflejó cómo la presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, está sufriendo la presión de algunos sindicatos y movimientos sociales, mientras una economía débil limita su capacidad para mejorar las condiciones laborales.Una protesta organizada por un poderoso sindicato de maestros mexicanos interrumpió brevemente los vuelos en el principal aeropuerto internacional de la capital el viernes por la tarde. La manifestación en demanda de mejoras salariales provocó escenas de caos y retrasó el viaje de miles de pasajeros, mientras las fuerzas de seguridad se agolpaban en las terminales del aeropuerto en un intento de imponer el orden.La paralización en Ciudad de México comenzó hacia las 2:00 p. m., hora local, y duró unos 20 minutos, mientras cientos de sindicalistas marchaban hacia las entradas del aeropuerto. La protesta también colapsó el tráfico en las calles aledañas al aeropuerto, el cual se encuentra en una zona densamente poblada de la ciudad, y se vio a agentes de policía escoltando a viajeros varados hasta el aeropuerto en camionetas. También agentes antidisturbios fueron vistos dentro del aeropuerto.Aunque la interrupción fue breve, algunos vuelos internacionales que salían de Ciudad de México fueron cancelados o retrasados durante horas el viernes. En el aeropuerto, también conocido como Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez, operan 21 aerolíneas, según su sitio web. El viernes, aerolíneas como Aeroméxico ofrecieron a sus clientes la posibilidad de reprogramar sus vuelos sin costo o pagando solo una pequeña diferencia de precio.La manifestación refleja cómo la presidenta de izquierda de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, está sufriendo la presión de algunos sindicatos y movimientos sociales, mientras una economía endeble y un enorme déficit presupuestario limitan su capacidad para aumentar los salarios y mejorar las condiciones de trabajo de muchos empleados públicos.“No hemos recibido esa atención ni ese respeto en la solución de las demandas, ni siquiera en las más mínimas, de parte del Ejecutivo federal”, dijo Eva Hinojosa Tera, dirigente sindical del estado de Michoacán, en una entrevista radiofónica el viernes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares119 Views

    in Elections

    These Are the U.S. Universities Most Dependent on International Students

    The Trump administration’s threat to block Harvard from enrolling international students would remove more than a quarter of the university’s student body, a share large enough to rock its campus and, potentially, its tuition revenue.The move, frozen within 24 hours on Friday by a federal judge, also highlights the risk other universities face from an administration that has shown deep hostility toward higher education. N.Y.U., Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Carnegie Mellon have even larger international student shares than Harvard does.This metric that once reflected their international renown — and financial strength — now looks like a vulnerability. More

  • 150 Shares119 Views

    in Elections

    Gloves Lincoln Wore to Ford’s Theater Sell for $1.5 Million at Auction

    More than 100 relics connected to President Abraham Lincoln brought in $7.9 million, auctioneers said. The proceeds will help a presidential foundation repay a loan.A pair of leather gloves worn by President Abraham Lincoln to Ford’s Theater on the night of his assassination fetched $1.5 million at auction this week, part of a trove of relics from his life and death that a debt-saddled presidential foundation had put on the block.One of two handkerchiefs that Lincoln had with him on that fateful date in American history, April 14, 1865, sold for $826,000, according to Freeman’s | Hindman in Chicago, the auction house that handled Wednesday’s sale.Like the gloves, which a friend of the Lincolns had framed for display on his dining room wall, the handkerchief was described in an auction catalog as having been potentially stained with the president’s blood.And a cufflink-style gold and onyx button with the letter “L” on it, which a doctor removed to check for Lincoln’s pulse as he lay on his deathbed, went for $445,000.The auction of the items from the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, which was conducted in person, online and by phone, raised nearly $7.9 million, the auctioneers said.The total included a 28 percent buyer’s premium, which auction houses tack onto the hammer price to help cover expenses from sales.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 88 Shares149 Views

    in Elections

    Markets Drop on Trump’s Latest Tariff Threats

    President Trump said he would impose steep tariffs on goods from the European Union and targeted Apple with a tax on foreign-made iPhones.Stock markets dropped on Friday after President Trump threatened the European Union and Apple with steep tariffs.The S&P 500 fell about 1 percent in early trading in New York. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost a similar amount, with shares of carmakers, banks and tech companies among the hardest hit.Apple’s stock fell nearly 3 percent, a move erasing tens of billions of dollars in market value from the tech giant.On Friday morning, President Trump wrote on social media that trade negotiations with the European Union were “going nowhere” and called for a 50 percent tariff on all goods imported from the bloc starting June 1.“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.In a separate post, he said that he wanted iPhones sold in the United States to also be made in the country. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,” he said.The S&P 500, the benchmark stock index in the United States, was already on track for its worst week since the beginning of April, when Mr. Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries. After he paused those tariffs for 90 days to give time for negotiations, the market turmoil eased somewhat, but traders have remained jittery.This week, the Trump administration’s bill to cut taxes raised concerns about U.S. debt levels, keeping markets on edge.U.S. government bond yields, which had been rising in recent weeks on worries over debt and deficits, reversed course, a sign that fears about the economic effects of an escalating trade war were driving trading on Friday. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to 4.52 percent.Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Fox News Friday morning that the president was frustrated with trade talks with the European Union and that he hoped the new threat would “light a fire under the E.U.”Several analysts said they didn’t expect the 50 percent tariffs to be put in place for long, if at all, because they would also harm the U.S. economy. Instead, they argued that these threats would lead to an agreement, after a similar pattern of U.S. talks with other countries, such as China.“Experience in recent months suggests that an agreement will ultimately be reached,” economists at Commerzbank wrote, adding that they expected the existing 10 percent “base line” tariff to remain on most products.The United States imported goods worth more than $600 billion from the European Union last year.“This latest pronouncement is likely just another step in the volatile trade negotiations,” Salomon Fiedler, an economist at Berenberg, said of Mr. Trump’s tariff comments. “Given the damage the U.S. would do to itself with this tariff, he will probably not follow through.” More