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      How Bad Do You Want It, Ladies?

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      Usually, I get political wisdom from Rahm Emanuel, not his brother Ari.But a quote from Ari, the Hollywood macher, to Puck’s Matthew Belloni about the gender chasm in 2024 caught my eye.“This election is gonna come down to probably 120,000 votes,” Ari said. “You probably have 60 percent of the male vote for Trump, and the female vote is 60-40 for Kamala. It’s a jump ball. We’re gonna find out who wants this more — men or women.”Are we back to the days of Mars versus Venus? Or did we never leave?It is the ultimate battle of the sexes in the most visceral of elections. Who will prevail? The women, especially young women, who are appalled at the cartoonish macho posturing and benighted stances of Donald Trump and his entourage? Or the men, including many young men, union men, Latino and Black men, who are drawn to Trump’s swaggering, bullying and insulting, seeing him as the reeling-backward antidote to shrinking male primacy.Drilling into the primal yearnings of men and women — their priorities, identities, anger and frustration — makes this election even more fraught. When I wrote a book about gender in 2005, I assumed that, a couple of decades later, we’d all be living peacefully on the same planet. But no Cassandra, I. The sexual revolution intensified our muddle, leaving women in a tangle of dependence and independence in the 21st century. The more we imitated men, the more we realized how different we were.Progress zigzags. But it was dispiriting to see the fierce backlash to Geraldine Ferraro, Anita Hill and Hillary Clinton’s co-presidency and candidacy.In Kamala Harris’s case, the backlash is evident even before the election. Surveys reflect the same doubts about a woman in the White House that I saw covering Ferraro in 1984. Many men — and many women — still wonder if women are too emotional to deal with world leaders and lead the military.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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      Video of Ballots Being Destroyed Was Faked by Russia, Federal Officials Say

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      The video, which purported to show mailed-in ballots in Pennsylvania being ripped up, was part of Moscow’s efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election, the officials said.Federal officials said on Friday that a video showing mailed-in ballots in Pennsylvania being destroyed was a fake, created by Russia as part of Moscow’s efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election.The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has issued repeated warnings about Russia’s attempts to sow chaos and undermine faith in the integrity of the presidential vote. The video falsely showing destroyed ballots was part of that campaign, the office said in a joint statement with the F.B.I. and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.In the statement, intelligence officials said they expected both in the approach to the election and in the weeks after that Russia would “create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans.”The video, which purported to show ballots in Bucks County, Pa., being ripped up, was quickly called out as fake by local Republican and Democratic election officials.“This type of behavior is meant to sow division and distrust in our election systems, and makes a mockery of the people working incredibly hard to ensure a free and fair election is carried out,” county officials said in a statement.U.S. intelligence officials have previously said that Moscow favors the election of Donald J. Trump. In recent weeks, Russians have been spreading fake videos to undermine the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris. One such video, which made false abuse accusations against her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, was identified by intelligence officials this week as being a Russian government operation.In the same briefing, intelligence officials said Russia was planning to work to increase Americans’ doubts about the November election and potentially foment violence, stoking concerns about the integrity of the vote.The fake video showing ballots being destroyed appears to be a first step in those efforts to raise voter concerns.The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which helps local officials safeguard voting systems, has been holding regular briefings with officials about foreign efforts to influence the election, urging them to aggressively respond to attempts to spread disinformation about the integrity of the vote.Russia has pushed a variety of videos during the election, some trying to undercut American support for Ukraine and others making more direct attacks on Democrats. Moscow’s attempts to spread disinformation initially appeared to have been knocked off-balance when President Biden dropped out of the race and threw his support to Ms. Harris. But more recently, those efforts have focused on attacking Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz, and the pace of Russian activity began increasing in October, according to government and industry officials. More

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      Why Did Israel Attack Iran?

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      Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, the Israeli military said.The strikes, which residents in the capital, Tehran, reported hearing, came weeks after Iran fired a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. Iran said it fired the missiles at Israel in response to Israel’s killing an Iranian commander and several leaders of Iranian-backed groups in the region.The recent exchanges between Israel and Iran have bucked both countries’ longstanding practice of avoiding direct military clashes.Information about how the strikes were carried out and what they targeted is still emerging.But here’s a look at everything we know about the Israeli military action against Iran and the events that brought the countries to this point.Here’s what you need to know:What happened?How have Israel and Iran arrived at this point?What were Israel’s potential targets?What are Israel’s military capabilities?What is the U.S. government’s stance?What happened?The Israeli military said in a statement at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday that it was “conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” adding that it was acting in response to more than a year of attacks on Israel by Iran and its allies across the Middle East. It has rarely, if ever, acknowledged Israeli military activity on Iranian territory.Residents of Tehran reported hearing explosions in and around the city.Israel did not immediately say where or how the strikes were being carried out. More

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      Musk Wins Appeal Over Tweet He Had to Delete About Union Push

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      The Fifth Circuit court ruled that the 2018 post was protected speech. It also vacated an order to reinstate a pro-union Tesla worker who was fired.A federal appeals court handed Elon Musk a victory in a freedom-of-speech case on Friday by overturning an earlier ruling in a dispute between the billionaire and the National Labor Relations Board.In March last year, three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the board’s finding that Tesla illegally fired an employee involved in union organizing, and that Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, had illegally threatened workers’ stock options in a post on Twitter if they chose to unionize. The opinion allowed the labor board to enforce its 2021 order requiring Tesla to reinstate, with back pay, the employee, Richard Ortiz, and Mr. Musk to delete the 2018 post.Mr. Musk challenged the panel’s ruling, and on Friday the full court ruled, 9 to 8, that the labor board had improperly ordered him to delete the social media post. “The agency exceeded its authority,” the 11-page ruling said. “We hold that Musk’s tweets are constitutionally protected speech.”“Deleting the speech of private citizens on topics of public concern is not a remedy traditionally countenanced by American law,” the ruling added.The court sent the matter of Mr. Ortiz’s firing back to the labor board to review, saying the board had failed “to consider the fact that the actual decision maker in Ortiz’s firing harbored no anti-union animus.”The judges did not rule on whether Mr. Musk’s online comment constituted a National Labor Relations Act violation for illegally threatening workers. (The board has held that it did.)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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      Trump Fumes Over Magazine Report at Rally With Slain Soldier’s Family

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      Former President Donald J. Trump gave a fiery rebuttal on Friday to two damning quotations attributed to him by The Atlantic magazine, which accused him of disparaging fallen veterans and of making a racist remark about a murdered Mexican-American soldier.During a campaign stop in Texas, Mr. Trump vehemently denied being opposed to paying for the funeral of Specialist Vanessa Guillén, a Fort Hood soldier who was murdered in 2020, when Mr. Trump was president, because of the cost. He was joined at the event in Austin, Texas, by some of Specialist Guillén’s relatives.An article published on Tuesday in The Atlantic magazine said Mr. Trump had expressed sticker shock when he asked an aide if his administration had received a bill for the funeral expenses for Specialist Guillén. While hosting her family at the White House in April 2020, Mr. Trump had offered to help cover any expenses not picked up by the military.“It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” the article quoted Mr. Trump saying.On Friday, the former president said Specialist Guillén’s family had stepped forward to help vindicate him.“You know, I have these people saying all this bad stuff,” Mr. Trump said. “Then, all of a sudden, the family that they’re talking about comes out of nowhere and says, ‘President Trump was perfect. What he did was so great. He got us the money.’”A memorial for Specialist Vanessa Guillén in Houston, Texas, in 2020.Pool photo by Marie D. De JesusWe 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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      Republican Legal Challenges to Voting Rules Hit a Rough Patch

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      The legal wars over election rules are raging even as voters around the country cast ballots. And several recent efforts by groups aligned with former President Donald J. Trump to challenge voting rules have been coming up short in federal and state courts.Judges in a number of political battlegrounds and other states have rejected legal challenges this month to voter rolls and procedures by Republicans and their allies.The Nebraska State Supreme Court ruled that election officials cannot bar people with felony convictions from voting after their sentences are served.A Michigan state judge rejected a Republican attempt to prevent certain citizens living abroad, including military members, from being eligible to cast an absentee ballot in that swing state.And a federal judge in Arizona rejected a last-minute push by a conservative group to run citizenship checks on tens of thousands of voters.“They are hitting quite a losing streak,” said David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, who advises both Democratic and Republican election officials on rules and procedures and has been tracking election-related litigation.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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      Mega-Donors Pour $8 Million Into Late Push Against N.Y. Abortion Measure

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      A late-stage effort to defeat a New York State ballot measure that would enshrine a right to abortion into the State Constitution has been bolstered by $8 million in donations from a handful of conservative donors.The Vote No on Prop 1 political action committee received $6.5 million from Dick Uihlein, a scion of one of the founders of Schlitz beer and the founder of the shipping company Uline. Along with his wife, Mr. Uihlein has given generously to former President Donald J. Trump, as well as to groups opposed to gay and transgender rights. Last year, Mr. Uihlein spent $4 million to defeat Ohio’s abortion amendment, providing the bulk of the funding against the measure.The committee also received $1 million from Thomas J. Tisch, a financier who was a key supporter of Lee Zeldin’s unsuccessful bid for governor of New York in 2022.The late infusion of cash is expected to amplify opponents’ messaging surrounding the measure, known as the Equal Rights Amendment.Conceived of as a way to safeguard abortion after the fall of Roe v. Wade, the initiative would also expand legal protections to people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability and national origin.Democrats had hoped that the ballot initiative could help boost turnout by energizing voters who care about abortion rights. Public sentiment in New York appeared to be on the ballot’s side: A recent Siena College poll shows that some 69 percent of New Yorkers approve of the amendment.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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      Phil Lesh’s Life in Pictures

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      Phil Lesh, the bassist and a charter member of the Grateful Dead who was 84 when he died on Friday, will be remembered as a versatile musician and a pioneer for his instrument of choice.Lesh co-wrote songs and was an occasional lead vocalist across his 30-year career with the rock band. But his skill at soaring improvisation and his chemistry with the band’s lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, ensured that Lesh would also be seen as a main character.Here are some snapshots from Lesh’s life and career.Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty ImagesPhil Lesh, Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia in 1965 as the Warlocks before they became the Grateful Dead.Ron Rakow/Retro Photo ArchiveLesh on Ashbury Street in 1968.Associated PressThe Grateful Dead with reporters in San Francisco in 1967.Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty ImagesFrom left, Bill Kreutzmann on drums, Lesh and Weir at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York in 1967.Leni Sinclair/Getty ImagesFrom left, Garcia, Lesh and Weir in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1967.Malcolm Lubliner/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty ImagesSan Francisco, 1968.Chris Walter/WireImage, via Getty ImagesThe Dead in 1970, clockwise from top left: Weir, Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron McKernan, Mickey Hart and Garcia.Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty ImagesSan Francisco, 1970.Bettman/Getty ImagesThe Dead in the late ’60s.Ed Perlstein/Redferns, via Getty ImagesFrom left, Garcia, Weir and Lesh in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1975.Ron Rakow/Retro Photo ArchiveLesh at Hollywood Bowl, 1974.Mark Sullivan/Getty ImagesLesh, at right, with David Crosby, left, and Ned Lagin, who both played briefly with the Dead.Ed Perlstein/Redferns, via Getty ImagesSan Francisco, 1978Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis and VCG, via Getty ImagesWeir and Lesh.Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis and VCG, via Getty ImagesWeir and Lesh at a recording studio in San Rafael, Calif.Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis and VCG, via Getty ImagesThe Dead in 1982, from left: Brent Mydland, Lesh, Kruetzmann, Weir, Garcia and Hart.Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesRed Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado in 1987.Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesHart, Wier and Lesh with the mascot of the San Francisco Giants in 2011.Jason Henry for The New York TimesLesh at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif.Associated PressThe Dead at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2015.Jason Henry for The New York TimesLesh at Terrapin Crossroads in 2015.Astrida Valigorsky/Getty ImagesAt the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, N.Y., last year. More