Aurelia Butler

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    Kenyan Runner Will Try to Become First Woman to Break a 4-Minute Mile

    A study suggested that Faith Kipyegon, the female record-holder, could do it under the right conditions. She is set to try in June.A star runner from Kenya, Faith Kipyegon, is set to try to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes this summer, after a study suggested that she could do so under the right conditions.Kipyegon, 31, set the world record in the women’s mile, running it in 4 minutes 7.64 seconds in 2023. More than 70 years after Roger Bannister, a British medical student, became the first person to break the four-minute barrier, it remains the next frontier for women’s middle-distance running.The attempt is scheduled for June 26 in Paris, Nike, which sponsors Kipyegon, said on Wednesday. In February, a study had predicted that Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic champion in 1,500 meters, known as the metric mile, could run a mile as fast as 3:59.37 by reducing drag with better drafting off pacesetters.Breaking four minutes would require her to run two seconds faster per lap on the four laps around the track, compared to her previous best.Factors ranging from wind and pacing to shoe technology and mental training will all play a significant role.The study predicting that Kipyegon could do it, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, posited that her best chance would involve drafting, or the use of pacesetters running in formation around her to help reduce wind resistance. The study suggested that one female pacer run 1.3 meters ahead of her and another the same distance behind.Nike did not reveal its plans for pace-setting or the use of racing spikes, whose enhanced foam cushioning and carbon-fiber plates have helped make sub-four-minute miles more common in men’s running.The company said the attempt would be made in a controlled environment at Stade Charléty, a stadium in the 13th arrondissement. Kipyegon set the 1,500-meter world record of 3:49.04 at a meet there in 2024. (A mile is a little over 1,600 meters.)Nike created similar experimental conditions on a course in Vienna in 2019, when the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run the 26.2 miles of a marathon in under two hours.Even if she achieved her goal, Kipyegon might not set an official world record. For World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field, to ratify a sub-four-minute women’s mile, rules about pace setting have to be followed.According to the study, Kipyegon would have her best chance at breaking the mark if her pacers were substituted after the first half-mile. That would not conform to pacing rules. Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour marathon was not considered an official record as he used rotating pacers.An official record, however, might not be her priority.“I want this attempt to say to women, ‘You can dream and make your dreams valid,’” Kipyegon said in a statement. More

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    ‘North of North’ Is a Warm Arctic Comedy

    Set in a fictional Inuk community in Canada, this Netflix comedy shows abundant tenderness for its characters but also surprising depth and edge.“North of North,” streaming on Netflix, is a bright Canadian comedy set in a fictional Inuk community in Nunavut, remote and TV-quirky. Gossip travels fast in a small town, and our heroine, Siaja (Anna Lambe, terrific), is giving everyone plenty to talk about.Now that her little girl (Keira Cooper) is in school, Siaja feels a bit lost. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, Ting (Kelly William), who kind of sucks, and while she’s glad her mom (Maika Harper) is sober now, their relationship is patchy, and she has never even met her father.While seal hunting with Ting, Siaja falls off the back of their boat into the icy waters, and she has a mystical and transformative experience. Back on shore, Ting berates her, but this time is not like the other times. This time she leaves. Siaja needs something for herself: a job, yes, but also a purpose. And hey — who are those handsome strangers who just got to town?“North” operates in the ways lots of shows about women in their 20s who pursue self-actualization operate. Siaja’s sexual and romantic high jinx are played for laughs and for growth, and the story finds its true heft in the excavation of her mother’s pain. As Siaja resituates herself within her community, she discovers that she has plenty of natural talent that need only be cultivated and directed.She initially scrambles in her new gig as an assistant to the capricious head of the community center (Mary Lynn Rajskub, very fun). “Just make sure you look busy when Helen comes in,” one co-worker warns.“When does Helen come in?” Siaja asks.“When you least expect it,” says another.The show’s abundant warmth and its tenderness for its characters suggest a slightly hokier, cornier show. But the edge and depth of “North” do emerge over its eight episodes, in both the casual cruelty within Siaja’s marriage and in snappy humor. (“You’re an ambassador?” “A brand ambassador.”)On the whole, this is a cozy sweetheart show with lots going for it. There is one aspect, though, that casts a grotesque shadow over everything. It occurs at the end of the pilot, so this is a spoiler, but only barely.One of those handsome strangers in town is Alistair (Jay Ryan), and when Siaja first meets him, she is drunk and spiraling, and he is hot and friendly, so they impulsively make out a little. But lo: Alistair is actually her father. Aaaaaaaahhhh! Save it for “The White Lotus”! The show treats this as merely cringe, but it lands as inescapably disturbing. More

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    The Physics of Perfect Pour-Over Coffee

    Scientists used fluid dynamics to learn how to get the most flavor from pour-over coffee.More than a billion cups of coffee are consumed daily: French-press, espresso, cold brew, whatever it takes.Arnold Mathijssen, a physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, is partial to pour-over coffee, which involves manually pouring hot water over ground beans and filtering it into a pot or mug below. Surely, he figured, applying the principles of fluid dynamics to the process could make it even better.With two students of similar mind, Dr. Mathijssen began studying how to optimize the pour in a pour over. Their science-backed advice: Pour high, slow and with a steady stream of water. This ensures the greatest extraction from minimal grounds, enhancing the coffee’s flavor without added beans or cost.The findings, published this month in the journal Physics of Fluids, highlight how processes that unfold in the kitchen — from making foie gras to whipping up a plate of cacio e pepe — can inspire new scientific directions. In turn, science can enhance the art of cuisine.“Kitchen science starts off with a relatively low entry barrier,” Dr. Mathijssen said. “But it’s more than just cute. Sometimes fundamental things can come out of it.”Dr. Mathijssen primarily studies the physics of biological flows, such as the way bacteria swim upstream in blood vessels. But when he lost access to his lab during the Covid-19 shutdown, he started playing with his food — literally. He shook up bottles of whiskey, tested the stickiness of pasta and slid coins down slopes made of whipped cream and honey. The interest culminated in a 77-page review, structured like a menu, of the physics involved in making a meal.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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    Climate Activists Interrupt New York City Ballet Performance

    Protesters interrupted an all-Balanchine program on the company’s spring season opening night, which coincided this year with Earth Day.A small group of climate change activists interrupted a New York City Ballet performance at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center on Tuesday, the opening night of the company’s spring season.The protest occurred shortly before 9 p.m., as dancers and orchestra musicians performed Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux,” the third ballet on an all-Balanchine program for the opening night, which coincided this year with Earth Day.A woman began yelling from the balcony. Then, she shouted, “We’re in a climate emergency,” and unfurled a banner from a balcony.“Our country has become a fascist regime, and we are enjoying this beauty,” said the protester, according to videos of the incident.The dancers and musicians continued to perform through the demonstration for about five minutes. Some members of the audience booed the protesters and demanded their removal.The curtain came down, an announcer said the show would be paused because of the disruption and security officers removed several protesters from the auditorium. About five minutes later, “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” restarted from the beginning and the performance did not face further interruptions, City Ballet said in a statement.Activists had also gathered outside the theater before the performance, holding signs reading “Koch killing the planet” and “No billionaire ballet on Earth Day,” according to photos posted online.The theater is named after David H. Koch, a billionaire who donated vast sums to support the arts but was for some a polarizing figure because of his campaign to counter the science of climate change.The climate advocacy group Extinction Rebellion, which has organized similar protests, said in a social media post Tuesday night that the demonstration was meant to highlight the Koch family’s support for conservative causes and efforts to block policies to fight climate change.The protest follows similar episodes at other high-profile performances. Last year, three climate change protesters disrupted a Broadway performance of “An Enemy of the People,” starring Jeremy Strong. And in 2023, climate activists interrupted a performance of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” at the Metropolitan Opera. A protester shouted “The spring is tainted,” and dropped a banner that read “No Opera on a Dead Planet.” More

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    ‘Andor’ Season 2 Premiere Recap: Rebel Rebel

    The “Star Wars” series, back for its final season, shows how a revolution takes hold and how even in times of radical change, people have to keep living their lives.Episodes 1-3: ‘BBY 4’Want to escape from the real world by watching a “Star Wars” TV show? Can I interest you in Season 2 of “Andor,” which begins this week with stories about refugees being evicted from a safe haven, resistance fighters tearing each other apart, and the obscenely powerful plotting to destroy a whole planet?Maybe a touch too real? I get it. But let me add that the first three episodes of the season, the show’s last, are remarkably entertaining and thoughtful television. It’s provocative stuff, but satisfyingly stirring.This series is about how a revolution takes hold, in fits and starts, with a lot of disagreement about how to proceed. Season 2’s first set of episodes also shows how even in times of radical change, people have to keep living their lives.In Season 1, the show’s creator, Tony Gilroy, divided his saga into multiepisode arcs, each presented in a slightly different style. Gilroy and Disney+ are retaining that structure for Season 2 and leaning further into the “movie of the week” concept by releasing three episodes at a time.But the first thing fans may notice about the opening three episodes (of 12 total) is how they jump around between locations and genres, to tell essentially four different stories, all set over the course of a few days one year after Season 1 ended. The date is “BBY 4,” four years before the Battle of Yavin, the big space-fight in the original “Star Wars” that ends with the Death Star exploding. Reminder: That triumphant rebel attack was made possible by the events of the film “Rogue One,” for which “Andor” is a prequel. (Rampant franchise expansion can make for confusing timelines.)The series’s namesake, the mercenary-turned-rebel Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), bounces between two of these stories. The new season gets off to a strong start in its opening sequence, in which Cassian steals an imperial fighter ship, posing as a test pilot. After a lot of dramatic buildup to him getting into the pilot’s seat, Cassian pushes the wrong button and goes rocketing backward instead of forward. He then accidentally engages the ship’s blasters, shooting laser bolts indiscriminately around the hangar. It’s a funny bit of slapstick, but also exciting, filled with the fine design and special effects “Star Wars” is known for.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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    Wildfire Burns in 3,200 Acres of New Jersey Forest Area

    The fire in the Pine Barrens led to the evacuation of 3,000 residents and the shutdown of a stretch of the Garden State Parkway.A fast-moving wildfire in the Pine Barrens section of southern New Jersey spread to 3,200 acres of the heavily forested area by the evening, prompting the shutdown of a 17-mile stretch of one of the state’s busiest highways, the authorities said.The smoky blaze, in Ocean County, threatened at least 1,320 structures, forced the evacuation of 3,000 residents of Ocean and Lacey Townships and caused the Garden State Parkway to be shut down between exits 63 and 80, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in a statement.Embers from the fire, which began Tuesday morning, jumped over the parkway at about 6 p.m., sparking several small blazes near a defunct nuclear power plant known as Oyster Creek, according to state officials. The plant, owned by Holtec International, shut down in 2018 and is being decommissioned.Patrick O’Brien, a Holtec spokesman, said the fires closest to the facility had been “completely and safely extinguished.”Even if a blaze were to reach an area where spent nuclear material is stored in secure casks, it poses no risk, according to Mr. O’Brien and Shawn M. LaTourette, commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Protection.All the buildings at the Oyster Creek site are “designed and constructed to withstand fires,” Mr. O’Brien said in a statement.

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    Critics Call Rubio’s Overhaul Plan a Blow to U.S. Values

    Human rights, democracy, refugees, war crimes.Those are some of the key responsibilities of a State Department office that Secretary of State Marco Rubio intends to shutter as part of a larger reorganization plan for his agency that he unveiled on Tuesday.The official goal of the office — the under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights — is to help countries “build more democratic, secure, stable, and just societies.”In a post on Substack on Tuesday, Mr. Rubio called the change a blow against rogue liberal bureaucrats, saying the office had become “a fertile environment for activists to redefine ‘human rights’ and ‘democracy’ and to pursue their projects at the taxpayer expense” even when they conflict with the president’s goals.The office’s nine bureaus will be pared down and in most cases merged into other parts of the department under Mr. Rubio’s plan. Bureaus slated for elimination include those focused on conflict, global criminal justice and combating antisemitism.Two of the bureaus, including a smaller democracy and human rights bureau, will continue to exist under a new Office of the Coordinator for Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs. But that office will no longer be led by an under secretary.On Tuesday, a State Department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, cautioned that the changes did not mean the end of values-based initiatives in U.S. foreign policy, arguing that the goal was a “nimbler” department.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 April 23, 2025

    Brandon Koppy makes space for us.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I’ve come to expect a trouncing from Wednesday puzzles — last week’s installment by Kathy Bloomer being an especially pronounced instance. So I was surprised to find myself breezing through today’s, constructed by Brandon Koppy. The puzzle has its fair share of midweek “crunch” (a term of art for challenging crossword fill), but is otherwise guileless.The theme is light and relatively easy to apprehend. In other words, there isn’t much gravity to it.Today’s ThemeThe exact origins of GALAXY BRAIN (61A), as in [Having ideas far too profound for anyone else to comprehend], are hard to pinpoint. The term often refers to a stock-image meme of a man’s brain expanding panel by panel, until it seems to radiate with cosmic energy. As it relates to this puzzle, GALAXY BRAIN gives you the power to see words about the galaxy in each of the themed entries.The [Honor for “Dune” and “American Gods”] at 18A is the NEBULA AWARD. At 25A, [Swifties vis-à-vis Taylor Swift] are STAR-STRUCK. The song described in 37A’s [Grammy-winning Soundgarden hit of 1994] was BLACK HOLE SUN. And the [Canadian province on the Gulf of Maine] at 52A is NOVA SCOTIA.Tricky Clues31A. In academic contexts, a score of 30 percent might be a failing grade. But when it comes to leaving a TIP, [30% is a very good one].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