Elections

A senior U.S. military commander was traveling to Israel on Thursday, officials said, as fears ran high that Iran would soon launch a strike to avenge the killings of several senior commanders.Iran’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to punish Israel for an April 1 strike in Syria that killed several senior Iranian commanders. U.S. officials have said they are bracing for a possible Iranian response, and Israel has put its military on alert.A day after President Biden warned that Iran was threatening a “significant” attack, Defense Department officials said that the top American military commander for the Middle East, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, was traveling to Israel. He will coordinate with Israel on what is expected to be imminent retaliatory action by Iran, as well as discuss the war in Gaza, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Israel’s military declined to comment on the general’s visit.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel was facing “challenging times” on Thursday, noting that “in the midst of the war in Gaza” his country was “also prepared for scenarios involving challenges in other sectors.”“We have determined a simple rule: Whoever harms us, we will harm them,” he said while visiting an air base, using language that in recent days has been used to refer to threats from Iran and its proxies.While President Biden has become increasingly critical of Mr. Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza — threatening to withhold U.S. assistance unless Israel does more to protect civilians — he emphasized on Wednesday that American support for Israel in the face of an Iranian threat was unconditional.“As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” he said at a news conference.Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken also “made clear that the U.S. will stand with Israel against any threats by Iran and its proxies” when he spoke by phone on Wednesday with Israel’s defense minister, the State Department said.As Iran and Israel have traded fresh threats in recent days, diplomats have been trying to reduce tensions and avert a wider regional war.The foreign minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, spoke to her Iranian counterpart “about the tense situation” in the Middle East on Thursday, according to her office.“Avoiding further regional escalation must be in everyone’s interest,” it said in a statement. “We urge all actors in the region to act responsibly and exercise maximum restraint.” More

Esto es lo que hay que saber:¿Por qué son importantes estas elecciones en México?¿Quiénes son las candidatas a la presidencia de México?¿Cuáles son los principales temas de las elecciones?¿Quién se espera que gane?¿Cuándo se sabrán los resultados de las elecciones del 2024 en México?¿Cómo puedo saber más?¿Por qué son importantes estas elecciones en México?Las votaciones del 2 de junio serán históricas de distintas maneras.Serán los mayores comicios del país en cuanto a votantes y cargos. Se espera que casi 99 millones de personas emitan su voto para elegir más de 20.000 cargos locales, estatales y en el Congreso, así como la presidencia del país.Y, por primera vez en su historia, el país elegirá a una presidenta, ya que las dos principales candidatas que postulan al cargo son mujeres.El presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, no tiene permitido volver a contender, según lo establecido por la Constitución, y ha respaldado con fuerza a su protegida y correligionaria del partido Morena, Claudia Sheinbaum, quien promete continuar con la agenda del actual mandatario. Su principal competencia es Xóchitl Gálvez, una crítica del gobierno de López Obrador que promete que hará que vuelvan los pesos y contrapeso al gobierno.La ganadora será responsable de nominar a un nuevo juez de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación. Si gana Sheinbaum, se espera que elija a alguien de su partido, lo cual podría cambiar el equilibrio de la corte en un momento en que ha servido de contrapeso al gobierno actual.¿Quiénes son las candidatas a la presidencia de México?Las dos principales contendientes son Sheinbaum, física y otrora jefa de gobierno de la Ciudad de México, y Gálvez, exsenadora y empresaria tecnológica que a menudo se ha identificado con una agenda progresista.Varios factores le dan la ventaja a Sheinbaum y el partido Morena. En gran medida, tal vez se deba a los altos índices de aprobación de López Obrador. Sheinbaum ha prometido seguir con la agenda de López Obrador, en parte al consolidar algunos de sus principales proyectos de infraestructura, llevando a cabo sus medidas de austeridad y mantener sus programas de bienestar social.

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Why does this election matter?Who are the candidates?What are the main issues?Who is expected to win?When will we learn the result?Where can I find out more?Why does this election matter?Mexico’s vote on June 2 will be a landmark election in several ways.It will be the country’s largest election in terms of voters and seats. Nearly 99 million people are expected to cast a ballot for more than 20,000 local, state and congressional posts as well as for the presidency.And for the first time in the country’s history, Mexico will elect a female president, as the top two candidates running for the office are women.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cannot run again under the constitution, and he has strongly backed his protégée and fellow Morena party member, Claudia Sheinbaum, who pledges to continue the current leader’s agenda. Her primary opponent is Xóchitl Gálvez, a strong critic of the López Obrador administration who vows to return checks and balances to government.The winner will be responsible for nominating a new Supreme Court judge. If Ms. Sheinbaum is elected, she is expected to nominate an ally of her Morena party, which could shift the court’s balance at a time when it has stood as a counterweight to the López Obrador administration.Who are the candidates?The top two candidates are Ms. Sheinbaum, a physicist and former mayor of Mexico City, and Ms. Gálvez, a former senator and outspoken tech entrepreneur who has often adhered to progressive politics.Several factors favor Ms. Sheinbaum and her Morena party; above all, perhaps, is Mr. López Obrador’s high approval rating. Ms. Sheinbaum has pledged to continue Mr. López Obrador’s agenda, in large part by consolidating some of his major infrastructure projects, carrying out his austerity measures and preserving his social welfare programs.

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Dr. Cameron Clifford, a dentist in Edmond, Okla., said his son Cal, 9, has been infatuated with octopuses since he was 3 years old. “Every birthday, every Christmas, every holiday, he would always say: ‘All I want is an octopus,’” Dr. Clifford said.For a while, the family nurtured Cal’s interest by buying him octopus toys and octopus T-shirts, dressing him as an octopus for Halloween and taking him to aquariums to see live octopuses.Then, last October, Dr. Clifford sprang for the real deal.He ordered his son a California two-spot octopus to keep as a pet in a tank in his bedroom. It arrived via UPS in a bag of water packed inside a cardboard box on Oct. 11, Cal’s ninth birthday. Cal named it Terrance.When the Clifford family welcomed Terrance, they did not realize she was a female octopus, who would give birth to 50 hatchlings.Michael Noble Jr. for The New York TimesUnbeknown to the family, Terrance was a female, who released what Dr. Clifford described as “a chandelier” of puffy little eggs in December. He assumed the eggs were unfertilized until one night in February, when, while cleaning the tank, he picked one up and examined it closely.“I accidentally popped it, and this droplet comes out and spreads out these tiny tentacles and does three swim strokes across my viewpoint,” he said. “It was absolutely shocking.”

@doctoktopus #octopus #aquarium #fyp #saltwateraquariu #biology #marinebiology #shrimpdaddy #surprise ##cephalopod ♬ original sound – TikToktopus 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

The event’s musical guest, Paul Simon, even learned a little Japanese for the occasion.It was all very polite.Ambassadors, billionaires, a smattering of Biden family members and even one former president were all in attendance at the fifth state dinner President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, have held since taking office.The gauzy celebration leaned heavily into Japanese fans, cherry blossoms and other tokens of the softer side of the U.S.-Japan relationship. The substance of the state visit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was focused on finding ways to counter China, but the style of the dinner was all about highlighting a capital city that owes its springtime resplendence, in large part, to the diplomatic overtures of the Japanese.President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida raising a toast during the dinner.Haiyun Jiang for The New York TimesAs the dinner got underway in the East Room, Mr. Biden toasted “to our alliance, to our friendship.” He kept things similarly light earlier in the evening when he greeted Mr. Kishida at the White House, replying, “Thank you,” to a question from a reporter about expectations that Iran would retaliate against Israel for its strike on an Iranian target in Syria.Mr. Kishida also leaned into the idea of friendship.“The Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States. Rather, it unites us,” Mr. Kishida said during his dinner toast, noting that President Kennedy once said the same thing 60 years ago. “I like this line. I use it so many times that my staff tried to delete it.”Naomi Biden Neal, the president’s oldest granddaughter, and Peter Neal. The couple were married at the White House in 2022.Shuran Huang 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

The first lady was glittering in crystals — four days after Melania Trump stepped out in pink at a Palm Beach fund-raiser. Together, the pictures offer a harbinger of what is to come.There were cherry blossoms. There were silk and glass butterflies. There were toasts. There was an entree inspired by a California roll and a performance by Paul Simon. But before that, there was the photo op, and the fashion.On Wednesday evening, as the Bidens hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and his wife, Yuko Kishida, at the fifth state dinner of the Biden administration, Dr. Jill Biden, wearing an evening dress from Oscar de la Renta, stood with her husband to greet their guests of honor at the North Portico.Designed by Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, the dress flowed in a watery fade from sapphire blue to light silver and was covered in hand-embroidered floral geometric beading.Why did it matter? It wasn’t as symbolically obvious as the cherry blossom print gown worn by Naomi Biden or Hillary Clinton’s heavy silk caftan, but in opting for de la Renta, the first lady was not simply supporting an American company that represents the melting pot myth of the country. She was connecting to a longstanding relationship: Oscar de la Renta has dressed almost every first lady since Jackie Kennedy; Dr. Biden first wore the label for her inaugural state dinner in 2022.On a night meant to underscore another powerful relationship — that of the United States and Japan — and reaffirm the strength of that mutual commitment through political stagecraft, the label was an apt choice.And it suggested that Dr. Biden, who has not always seemed interested in the game of fashion diplomacy, is gearing up with every means at her disposal to help amplify her husband’s message, not just as president but as the Democratic presidential nominee as he faces off against an opponent who revels in the reality TV nature of politics — complete with costumes.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

A Virginia grand jury found that the administrator had not acted on reports from staff members that the 6-year-old had brought a firearm to Richneck Elementary.The shooting of an elementary teacher by a 6-year-old student in Newport News, Va., last year was preceded by a “shocking” series of lapses by the school’s assistant principal at the time, according to a report by a special grand jury that was released on Wednesday.Despite having been told that same day that the student was “in a violent mood,” and having received several reports that he was carrying a firearm, the assistant principal turned down a school counselor’s request for permission to search the student, the grand jury said in its report.Less than a half-hour later, the student’s teacher, Abigail Zwerner,, was in the classroom with him and 15 other first graders when he pulled out 9-millimeter Taurus handgun and shot her from less than six feet away just before 2 p.m.The bullet passed through her hand and struck her chest. The gun, which was loaded with seven more rounds, jammed after the first shot. The boy later said that he had found it at home, in his mother’s purse.While her students sheltered in a neighboring classroom, Ms. Zwerner stumbled down the hallway and passed out in front of the door to the principal’s office. She survived.“I told you — I tried to keep you safe,” said one of the shooter’s friends, who had told one of Ms. Zwerner’s colleagues at Richneck Elementary School about the gun, according to the report.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

Dan Caprera’s puzzle contains more than you think.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — If you are here because some of the entries in your puzzle don’t make sense, welcome. I’ll just scoot over, and you can sit next to me. Let’s figure it out together.I like crosswords that have some sort of visual element, and Dan Caprera’s puzzles tick that box for me. This is his fifth grid in The New York Times, and each one has had some sort of extra layer.The road to uncovering the special element in today’s puzzle may be difficult, but don’t worry: This too shall pass. And after you find your way, look back and stare at your completed grid for a while. You may want to keep a pen and paper nearby.There’s more about this puzzle in the theme section. I’ll see you on the other side.Today’s ThemeI don’t usually begin with the revealer, but for this puzzle I think it will help.At 44A, the clue reads “With 46-Across, some areas in Clue … or a hint to the first, fourth, twelfth and fifteenth rows of this puzzle.” The combined answer to 44A and 46A is SECRET PASSAGES.If you have never played Clue or don’t remember the setup, the board includes SECRET PASSAGES that allow a player to move across the board to a room in the opposite corner instead of rolling the dice.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