Aurelia Butler

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    Judge John Hodgman on Knowingly Mispronouncing Words

    Once you’ve been corrected, is it OK to keep going?Maggie writes: My sister, cousin and best friend all pronounce the Spelling Bee’s pangram as “pan-a-gram.” I have nicely pointed out their mistake, but they continue to gleefully mispronounce it. They don’t care that they’re wrong. Make them stop.For those who only read this column and then throw the magazine (or their phone) away, I’ll explain. In The Times’s Spelling Bee game, a pangram is a word formed using all seven letters in the puzzle. More generally, a pangram is a sentence which uses every letter of the alphabet, just like this one (if I had included Q, X and Z) does! “Pan-a-gram,” by contrast, means nothing — yet. But the gleefully wrong tend to get their message out a lot faster these days than we snobs, so “panagram” may eventually win a spot in our living dictionary. Until then, I rule in your favor. You should never speak to these people again. As those of us who play it understand: The Spelling Bee is more important than any sister, cousin, friend or thing on earth. More

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    Where the Gaza Cease-Fire Deal Goes Now Is Uncertain. Here’s What to Know.

    As negotiators are holding discussions on multiple tracks, Palestinians and Israelis are in limbo.Nearly a week after the first stage of Israel and Hamas’s cease-fire expired, both Palestinians and Israelis are in limbo, uncertain how long the truce will hold.The Trump administration, the Arab world, Israel, Hamas and others are now wrangling over the future of the Gaza Strip in a complex series of negotiations — some of which are unfolding along different channels, adding to the confusion.Here’s a look at the state of the cease-fire talks and who is involved.Israel and Hamas are negotiating through mediators.In mid-January, after 15 months of devastating war, Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce that would free hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on southern Israel, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.But the agreement did not end the war. Instead, the two sides committed to a complex, multiphase plan meant to build momentum toward a comprehensive cease-fire. They were supposed to negotiate terms for the full truce during the first stage, which lasted six weeks.Last weekend, the six weeks elapsed with little apparent success toward that goal, despite efforts by Qatar and Egypt, who have been mediating the talks. (Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly.)Released Palestinian prisoners celebrating as they arrived in the Gaza Strip in February.Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesWe 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

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    Who’s Got Trump’s Ear on Tariffs? Lutnick or Navarro?

    Corporate leaders and investors continue to be caught off guard by the president’s trade policy, especially as deal talks heat up. Looking for tariff relief? Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, appears to be one to call.Tierney L. Cross for The New York TimesWho’s in the room President Trump’s tariff policy has given corporate chiefs and investors a serious case of whiplash. While the markets cheered on Wednesday’s delay on auto sector levies, setting off an impressive late-day rally, the move also adds to the confusion about what comes next.The latest: There’s increasing buzz that agricultural products are next in line for tariff relief, as the president faces intense lobbying from his party. And the release on Wednesday of the Fed’s beige book survey of regional activity showed that companies were growing worried that the levies would push up prices.One school of thought on Trump’s tariff plans: they could level the field before negotiations. Trump himself sees them as a tool to bolster the U.S. economy.A way to think about this is to look at the people in his orbit. On tariffs, there are two key, and seemingly polar opposite, figures.There’s Howard Lutnick, the former head of Cantor Fitzgerald who is a moderate on trade and now commerce secretary. And there is Peter Navarro, a longtime Trump lieutenant and a proponent of high tariffs who is generally opposed to trade deals.Who has more influence? For now, it seems to be Lutnick. Trump’s announcement of a one-month pause on tariffs on cars coming through Canada and Mexico wouldn’t have surprised anyone who heard Lutnick’s comments earlier in the day.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

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    Adrienne Adams Enters Mayor’s Race to Defeat Eric Adams (No Relation)

    Ms. Adams, the New York City Council speaker, is trying to position herself as a principled alternative to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams.Adrienne Adams, the first Black leader of the New York City Council, said on Wednesday that she would join the already crowded race for mayor with less than four months before the June primary.She is hoping to position herself as a principled and scandal-free alternative to the incumbent, Eric Adams, and the race’s presumptive favorite, the former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. With little name recognition outside of New York’s political circles and an unproven ability to raise large sums of money quickly, Ms. Adams is already at a disadvantage.But numerous Democratic leaders, including the state attorney general, Letitia James, urged Ms. Adams to run. The pressure from the group of Black women, labor and civic leaders grew as Mr. Adams’s legal and ethical troubles mounted and it became clear that Mr. Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace after a series of sexual harassment allegations, was about to enter the race.“New Yorkers can’t afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our city’s independence. It’s time to stand up,” Ms. Adams said in a statement announcing her candidacy. “I never planned to run for mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests.”Ms. Adams, who represents a section of southeast Queens, will kick her candidacy off Saturday afternoon at Rochdale Village, a sprawling middle-class co-op complex in Jamaica, Queens. The choice of locale is representative of how Ms. Adams will try to build her base, hoping to target Black and Latino women.If she were to win, Ms. Adams would make history not only as the first female mayor, but also as the first person to successfully make the transition from Council speaker — leading the city’s legislative branch — to becoming its chief executive. Her entry into the race was reported by Politico.During her time leading the Council, Ms. Adams, who is considered a moderate Democrat, gained a reputation for being able to work with what was the most ideologically diverse ideation of the body in recent memory.“I’m a public servant, mother, Queens girl and I’m running for mayor,” she said. “No drama, no nonsense. Just my commitment to leading with competence and integrity.”Ms. Adams, who often mentions that she is the first mother and grandmother to be speaker, said she was headed to retirement and more time with her family until the mayor’s legal troubles made her reconsider.The deciding factor was when four top deputy mayors announced their resignations after the Justice Department moved to dismiss Mr. Adams’s five-count federal indictment. Mr. Adams was accused of offering to use his position to aid President Trump’s immigration agenda in exchange for a dismissal of his case.Ms. Adams, who is not related to the mayor, is one of nine major Democratic candidates to challenge Mr. Adams in the June primary. More

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    A Skeptical G.O.P. Senator Makes His Peace With Kennedy

    After voting to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor and Republican of Louisiana, is embracing the “gestalt” of Kennedy’s measles response.Perhaps no vote was as agonizing for Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican and medical doctor, than his vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump’s health secretary. Mr. Cassidy wondered aloud for days how Mr. Kennedy, the nation’s most vocal and powerful critic of vaccinations, might handle an infectious disease crisis.Now, as a measles outbreak rages in West Texas, Mr. Cassidy has found out. It all comes down, he said, to “the gestalt.”On Monday, days after the Texas outbreak killed an unvaccinated child, Mr. Cassidy, the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, was clipping down a Capitol corridor when he was asked about Mr. Kennedy. He pointed to a Fox News Digital opinion piece in which Mr. Kennedy advised parents to consult their doctors about vaccination, while calling it a “personal” decision.“That Fox editorial was very much encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he said.Reminded that Mr. Kennedy had described it as a personal choice, Mr. Cassidy thought for a moment. “If you want to like, parse it down to the line, you can say, ‘Discuss with your doctor,’” Mr. Cassidy said. “He also said, ‘We’re making vaccinations available. We’re doing this for vaccination. We’re doing that for vaccination.’ So if you take the gestalt of it, the gestalt was, ‘Let’s get vaccinated!’”Mr. Cassidy’s assessment — that the whole of Mr. Kennedy’s message was more than the sum of its parts — reflects how the measles outbreak has put a spotlight on how Mr. Trump’s unorthodox choice to run the country’s top health agency has brought a once-fringe perspective into the political mainstream, creating discomfort for some Republicans.As the founder and chairman of his nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, and later as a presidential candidate, Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly downplayed the benefits of vaccination. He has also repeatedly suggested that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism, despite extensive research that has found no link.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

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    NYT Crossword Answers for March 6, 2025

    Kiran Pandey breaks the rules, and I am here for it.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — A crossword constructor needs to adhere to a lot of rules in order to make a good puzzle. There’s the “no fewer than three-letter words” one, the “be fair to the solvers” one, the “don’t duplicate words” one and many more.Kiran Pandey, the constructor’s of today’s crossword, has broken, or at least stretched, some of those rules, and I can honestly say that I am here for it. (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, that’s a good thing.) No one makes me smile more when it comes to crossword puzzles than a rule breaker.This grid may be a bit tougher for newer solvers because there is no revealer or hint about the theme, but once you get it, you may laugh as much as I did. Mr. Pandey capped off this experience with his very funny constructor notes below.Today’s ThemeSome of the entries in Mr. Pandey’s puzzle are duplicates, which, as we know, is a big no-no in crosswords. That is, unless there is a good reason for it: The second word in each pair is incomplete, and our job is to figure out what to add to it in order to make sense of the answer.Side note: This is not a rebus puzzle. There is no need to try to squeeze anything into squares.For example, the word BORN is an answer at 16A and 17A. That can’t be right, but let’s look at the clue for 17A: [Like one with renewed beliefs]. That would make 17A BORN (AGAIN), although it could also be (RE)BORN.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

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    ‘Sumo’ Review: Wrestling With Angels and Demons

    An Off Broadway play opens a window on the spiritual and physical trials of the ancient Japanese sport.Lisa Sanaye Dring’s “Sumo” offers New Yorkers who are little exposed to that ancient Japanese discipline an opportunity to learn about it in an atmosphere of authenticity and respect. The director Ralph B. Peña’s visually splendid staging, with the athletes’ nearly naked bodies deployed as living sculpture, immerses us in the pageantry and poetics of a spiritual practice that is also a sport and a big business.But what’s authentic and respectful may not always feel satisfying emotionally, and “Sumo,” a Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse production that opened Wednesday at the Public Theater, rarely rises to the dramatic heights it seeks. For long stretches, it feels more like a fuzzy nature documentary than a play.Not that it lacks events. In a fictional Tokyo heya, or wrestling stable, a rigid hierarchy based on competitive achievement is brutally enforced. The main enforcer is Mitsuo (David Shih), who is one tournament away from reaching the sport’s highest level. Stratified beneath him are Ren (Ahmad Kamal), Shinta (Earl T. Kim), Fumio (Red Concepción) and So (Michael Hisamoto), each wearing the traditional loincloth and carrying the privilege of his respective rank — or lack thereof. The lowest man, So, spends a lot of time serving the rice and sweeping the ring.Yet there is someone beneath even him. Naturally, that’s the unranked newcomer, Akio (Scott Keiji Takeda): an 18-year-old from a troubled background who, though small by sumo standards, has dreamed of becoming a wrestler since childhood. In the way of such stories, his ambition must be humbled. As he scrubs Mitsuo clean in the tub, he scrubs himself of arrogance, pain and desire.“You reek of need,” Mitsuo says, before violently pouring hot tea down his back.The best plays set in the world of men’s sports, like Kristoffer Diaz’s “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” about American wrestling, take the rituals of their milieu and the abuse of athletes within it as givens: starting points for the story, not the story itself. At most they suggest a connection to a general atmosphere of toxic masculinity or the relentless pummeling of no-holds-barred capitalism.Each of the sumo wrestlers gets a back story in Lisa Sanaye Dring’s play, including one involving Red Concepción, left, and Ahmad Kamal.Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesWe 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

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    D.C.’s Planned Removal of Black Lives Matter Mural Reflects Mayor’s Delicate Position

    Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision comes amid calls by the president and other Republicans for more federal control of the city.On Wednesday morning in downtown Washington, D.C., Keyonna Jones stood on her artwork and remembered the time when she and six other artists were summoned by the mayor’s office to paint a mural in the middle of the night.“BLACK LIVES MATTER,” the mural read in bright yellow letters on a street running two city blocks, blaring the message at the White House sitting just across Lafayette Square. In June 2020, when Ms. Jones helped paint the mural, demonstrations were breaking out in cities nationwide in protest of George Floyd’s murder. The creation of Black Lives Matter Plaza was a statement of defiance from D.C.’s mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, who had clashed with President Trump, then in his first term, over the presence of federal troops in the streets of her city.But on Tuesday evening, the mayor announced the mural was going away.Ms. Jones said the news upset her. But, she added of the mayor in an interview, “I get where she is coming from.”The city of Washington is in an extraordinarily vulnerable place these days. Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation that would end D.C.’s already limited power to govern itself, stripping residents of the ability to elect a mayor and city council. Mr. Trump himself has said that he supports a federal takeover of Washington, insisting to reporters that the federal government would “run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely, flawlessly beautiful.” In recent days, the administration has been considering executive orders in pursuit of his vision for the city.Potential laws and orders aside, the administration has already fired thousands of federal workers, leaving residents throughout the city without livelihoods and, according to the city’s official estimate, potentially costing Washington around $1 billion in lost revenue over the next three years.Given all this, Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, described her decision about Black Lives Matter Plaza as a pragmatic calculation.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