Aurelia Butler

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    David Hogg, Parkland Survivor and D.N.C. Vice Chair, Hopes to Unseat Democratic Incumbents

    David Hogg, a young liberal activist and now a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, is leading an effort to unseat the party’s older lawmakers in primaries.Less than three months after the young political activist David Hogg was elected as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is undertaking a new project that is sure to rankle some fellow Democrats: spending millions of dollars to oust Democratic members of Congress in primary elections next year.Mr. Hogg, 25, who emerged on the political scene as an outspoken survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., said his party must squelch a pervasive “culture of seniority politics” that has allowed older and less effective lawmakers to continue to hold office at a moment of crisis.And so he is planning through a separate organization where he serves as president, Leaders We Deserve, to intervene in primaries in solidly Democratic districts as part of a $20 million effort to elect younger leaders and to encourage a more combative posture against President Trump.In an interview, Mr. Hogg said he understood that he would face blowback for his decision to serve simultaneously as a top official in the party — which is typically focused on electing Democrats over Republicans — and as a leader of an effort to oust current Democratic lawmakers.“This is going to anger a lot of people,” Mr. Hogg said of his efforts, which he began to brief allies, some lawmakers and party officials on in recent days. He predicted “a smear campaign against me” that would aim to “destroy my reputation and try to force me to stop doing this.”“People say they want change in the Democratic Party, but really they want change so long as it doesn’t potentially endanger their position of power,” he said. “That’s not actually wanting change. That’s selfishness.”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 16, 2025

    Life may flash before your eyes as you solve Kathy Bloomer’s puzzle.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Puzzlers, I don’t lie to you. If I make a rookie mistake while solving, I am willing to acknowledge it in this column. So you can trust that I’m being sincere when I tell you that I nearly had to tap out of today’s crossword, constructed by Kathy Bloomer, and it was only dumb luck (with a little skill, sure) that got me to the finish line.No amount of shadowboxing (an apt verb for crossword grids, eh?) could have prepared me for such an opponent. Ms. Bloomer’s clever twists and misdirections — her 8D, if you will — are formidable; some of these entries actually made me gasp. One solution didn’t even make sense to me until a colleague explained it, at which point I gasped.But don’t let my preamble discourage you; if anything, I hope it heightens the thrill of the challenge. No answers in this crossword will be spoon-fed to you, even if the theme suggests otherwise.Today’s ThemeIt’s not the [Places to find the items at the ends of 4-, 8- and 14D] that you should pay attention to, but the phrases in which they appear, because that’s where the wit of this theme really shines. At 23D, that revealer clue solves to CEREAL AISLES.And indeed, in three “aisles” of this grid, there are cereal-based puns on common expressions. One who [Came out in favor of a certain breakfast product?], at 4D, ENDORSED CHEX rather than checks. At 14D, [Doing some shopping for breakfast?] may be described as GETTING ONE’S KIX — in aisle 66, perhaps? And the [Sugary bulk breakfast purchase?] at 8D is a WHOLE BAG OF TRIX, out of which you may well pull a rabbit, since it’s the cereal’s mascot. Don’t get too excited about this last joke: It’s the reason they chose a bunny in the first place.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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    Hong Kong Suspends Packages to the U.S., Wading Into the Trump Trade War

    The move comes before President Trump’s planned imposition of new tariffs on small packages sent to the United States from Hong Kong and China.Wading into the trade war, Hong Kong said on Wednesday that its postal service will no longer send packages to the United States.It is the city’s first move in a spiraling tit-for-tat trade war between China and the United States that is reordering global shipping routes.President Trump this month ordered the closure of a loophole that allowed retailers to send clothes and goods from China and Hong Kong, a special administrative region, to the United States without having to pay tariffs. After that change takes effect on May 2, United States Customs and Border agents will begin to collect previously exempted tariffs on shipments worth less $800.Hongkong Post said it would immediately stop accepting surface postal items containing goods to the United States. It said it was taking the action in response to President Trump’s tariffs.“The U.S. is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively,” the postal service said in a statement posted to the Hong Kong government’s website.The postal service said it would contact senders who posted packages with goods that have not yet been shipped, to return the packages and refund their postage.“The public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the U.S.’s unreasonable and bullying acts,” it said. More

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    Biden Condemns Trump Over Social Security in First Speech Since Leaving Office

    In Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s first extensive speech since he left office, he accused the Trump administration of “taking a hatchet” to the Social Security Administration.In his first expansive public comments since leaving the White House, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke out against the Trump administration’s cuts to the Social Security Administration.AJ Mast for The New York TimesJoseph R. Biden Jr. forcefully defended Social Security in a speech to disability advocates in Chicago on Tuesday, condemning the Trump administration for “taking a hatchet” to the Social Security Administration.In his first expansive public comments since leaving the White House, Mr. Biden said that President Trump had taken aim at Social Security, doing “damage and destruction” to a program that millions of Americans depend on.“Social Security deserves to be protected for the good of the nation as a whole,” Mr. Biden said, adding that Trump officials are applying a Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things” to the government. “Well, they’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.”Mr. Trump has promised not to cut Social Security benefits for the 73 million Americans enrolled, but offices around the country have been flooded with calls and questions from Americans who are worried that changes to their benefits and to their local Social Security offices may be imminent.At local offices, many staff members have taken buyouts or early retirements promoted by the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts, leading to longer phone waits and lines. The Social Security Administration has said it wants to shed thousands of jobs at its headquarters.Mr. Biden said that during his own administration, the Social Security Administration cut wait times, improved antifraud measures and made the appeals system for benefits more uniform.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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    4 Injured in Dallas School Shooting, Authorities Say

    Three students were wounded by gunfire and a fourth also was injured when gunfire erupted at Wilmer-Hutchins High School on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.Three students were wounded in a shooting on Tuesday at a Dallas high school where, almost exactly a year ago, a student was shot in the leg by a classmate, the authorities said.A fourth student suffered a “musculoskeletal injury” to his lower body during the shooting on Tuesday, said Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire-Rescue, who said that all four victims were male. Three of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 18, while the fourth student’s age was not immediately known.The authorities said that they were searching for a suspect, whose identity was known to investigators.The injuries ranged in severity, some of them serious, according to emergency medical workers, who responded around 1:10 p.m. local time to Wilmer-Hutchins High School, about 10 miles southeast of downtown Dallas.The gunfire erupted inside the school, which is part of the Dallas Independent School District, sending it into a lockdown and drawing a large number of officers from several law enforcement agencies to the campus.“Today, as we all know, the unthinkable has happened,” Stephanie S. Elizalde, the school district’s superintendent, said during a news conference. “And quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar, and it should not be familiar.”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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    Stocks Edge Higher Amid Trump Tariff Uncertainty

    The Trump administration’s chaotic tariff rollout continues to spur volatility in the markets.Stocks inched higher in early trading on Tuesday, as the Trump administration’s chaotic tariff rollout continues to spur volatility in the markets.The S&P 500 opened up 0.5 percent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq also gained slightly. President Trump’s whipsawing tariff policies are still driving sentiment on Wall Street, especially in sectors facing the threat of more levies or potential reprieves.Here’s what else to know:Bank stocks rose on Tuesday, as major U.S. lenders reported their latest earnings. Bank of America surpassed Wall Street’s profit and revenue expectations, and its shares rose about 5 percent Tuesday morning. Citigroup’s profits also beat estimates, sending its stock more than 2 percent higher.Tariff threats are taking center stage in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors, after the Trump administration on Monday took steps that appeared likely to result in new tariffs on pharma products and semiconductors. Shares in drugmaker Eli Lilly were up slightly on Tuesday morning, while Novartis stock was trading roughly flat. Shares in chip giant Nvidia were nearly 2 percent higher, after the company on Monday said it would invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.Shares in Boeing, the aviation giant, fell about 1.5 percent on Tuesday following a report from Bloomberg News that China had instructed its airlines to halt deliveries of Boeing planes after the Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on Chinese goods.In the auto industry, shares in General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis — which jumped on Monday after Mr. Trump signaled that he might offer car companies some relief from tariffs — were mixed on Tuesday morning. Shares in General Motors and Ford both fell more than 1 percent, while Stellantis rose about a half percent. The sector, which is grappling with a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles, is bracing for new levies on imported car parts.The U.S. dollar, long a haven in global financial markets, has been falling against other major currencies. But an index that tracks the currency against a basket of major trading partners stabilized early Tuesday, ending a five-day slide. More

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    Trump Tariffs Could Raise iPhone Prices, But Affordable Options Remain

    Even if gadget prices surge, we have plenty of cheaper options, like buying last year’s phone model instead of the latest and greatest.On Friday, amid a tariff-induced frenzy that drove hordes of consumers to panic-buy iPhones, President Trump announced a tariff exemption on electronics like smartphones and computers. For a moment, widespread anxiety about a potential $2,000 iPhone dissipated.But two days later, the Trump administration said smartphones and computers were likely to be hit with new tariffs targeting semiconductors, or chips. More expensive iPhones could come after all! Talk about whiplash.Don’t panic. Even if tariffs did cause the iPhone’s price to surge, we would have plenty of cheaper options, like buying last year’s phone model instead of the latest and greatest.The most important lesson we can learn from the turmoil: The only consistent way to save money on tech is to use devices for as long as possible, which requires maintaining them as you would a car, and upgrading only when you must.“Buy the best and drive it into the ground,” said Ramit Sethi, a personal finance expert. “Holding that item for longer will bring down the overall cost of ownership.”There remains lots of uncertainty around future costs of tech hardware in general. Nintendo this month canceled plans to start taking orders for its game console, the $450 Nintendo Switch 2, to evaluate the impact of tariffs on pricing and availability. Costs of some accessories, like phone chargers, power bricks and cases, have already risen on Amazon.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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    Santa Lives in Rovaniemi, Finland. Some of His Neighbors Are Not Thrilled.

    After dinner at the Bull Bar and Grill in the small Finnish city of Rovaniemi, Mariel Tähtivaara, a law student, popped into a supermarket to grab some dessert.As she perused the chocolate mousses, a short woman with dark hair walked up to her, shaking a milk carton.“Excuse me,” she said in English with a Spanish or maybe Italian accent. “But can you tell me if this has lactose?”Ms. Tähtivaara scanned the label — in Finnish — and told her no.Then, as Ms. Tähtivaara was moving through the cookie and cracker aisle, a man with his wife and small child, puffed up in heavy jackets for a winter holiday, held up a cracker package.“Do these have cheese in them?” he asked.She saw more tourists in snowmobile suits lingering by the cashier. Before they could make eye contact, she got out of there.“I was thinking: Here we go again,” she said.These were small impositions, but enough was enough. If you’re blond and therefore identifiable as a likely native of Rovaniemi, you can barely move around a supermarket during tourist season — and it’s all Santa’s fault.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