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      Moldova Referendum on Goal of E.U. Membership Passes by a Thin Margin

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      A referendum that constitutionally enshrines a national objective to join the E.U. passed by a thin margin. The incumbent pro-E.U. president won the most votes in a concurrent election, but faces a runoff.A referendum in Moldova intended to put an end to decades of swerving between East and West yielded a microscopic win on Monday for voters who favor amending the Constitution to lock in alignment with Europe rather than Russia.The result of the referendum held Sunday was so tight, and the mandate for an irreversible path to Europe so thin, that Moldova, a former Soviet Republic and one of Europe’s poorest countries, looked stuck in a mire of uncertainty over its direction.The referendum has been closely watched by Russia, the European Union and the United States. The results highlighted the deep divisions found in many formerly Soviet lands — divisions that Russia has labored to widen and, in the case of Ukraine, Moldova’s neighbor to the east, exploited to set the stage for its full-scale military invasion in February 2022.Moldova’s firmly pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, finished far ahead of 10 rival candidates in an election that was also held on Sunday but she did not win the majority needed to avoid a runoff vote on Nov. 3.In a statement Monday afternoon, she declared victory “in an unfair fight” but warned that “we can only prevent disaster” if voters turned out for the runoff.Despite a slew of advance opinion polls showing that a substantial majority wanted to break out of Russia’s orbit of influence, near-final results announced Monday afternoon by the central electoral commission gave the “Yes” vote 50.46 percent against 49.54 for “No.”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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      14 Book Titles Are Hidden in This Text Puzzle. Can You Find Them?

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      “Today, we’re going to look at life from the inside out and write about ourselves,” said Mr. Wilcox, pausing as several hands shot up. “The floor is open for questions.”“We’re just kids and most of us don’t have any heavy baggage to write about yet,” said Lucy. “I’m super boring just as I am.”“Oh, I’ve always been really good at making a scene and have lots of horror stories,” piped up Graham. “I can give you some of my spare bits and pieces. Maybe just the funny parts.”Mr. Wilcox sighed. “Maybe we need a definition of autobiography so we’re not redefining realness here.”“Today, we’re going to look at life from the inside out and write about ourselves,” said Mr. Wilcox, pausing as several hands shot up. “The floor is open for questions.”“We’re just kids and most of us don’t have any heavy baggage to write about yet,” said Lucy. “I’m super boring just as I am.”“Oh, I’ve always been really good at making a scene and have lots of horror stories,” piped up Graham. “I can give you some of my spare bits and pieces. Maybe just the funny parts.”Mr. Wilcox sighed. “Maybe we need a definition of autobiography so we’re not redefining realness here.”“Today, we’re going to look at life from the inside out and write about ourselves,” said Mr. Wilcox, pausing as several hands shot up. “The floor is open for questions.”“We’re just kids and most of us don’t have any heavy baggage to write about yet,” said Lucy. “I’m super boring just as I am.”“Oh, I’ve always been really good at making a scene and have lots of horror stories,” piped up Graham. “I can give you some of my spare bits and pieces. Maybe just the funny parts.”Mr. Wilcox sighed. “Maybe we need a definition of autobiography so we’re not redefining realness here.” More

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      How to Sell a Haunted House (or Not)

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      Even the most skeptical real estate agents say they think twice about the existence of ghosts, especially after unusual encounters.A real estate agent, Mike Fabbri, still remembers the chill of opening the door of an apartment near Washington Square Park in Manhattan.His client, a media planner in her mid-20s, was on the hunt for a quiet, one-bedroom in Greenwich Village. She walked in and immediately walked out. “She said, ‘I’m fine with a nice ghost, but I felt really evil energy in that apartment,’” Mr. Fabbri recalled.He sympathized. “I said, ‘You know, there are things you can change in an apartment, like the wallpaper. But you can’t change an evil spirit or a demon without priests. Let’s move on.’”Mr. Fabbri helped her find what he called a “charming” unit in a prewar co-op. No ghosts.Haunted houses, if one believes, can be problematic for real estate agents. The New York Times talked to agents who have embraced the macabre or have at least learned how to navigate it, as believers themselves or as sympathizers.They are the kind of agents who confess to would-be buyers that something might be amiss — an acknowledgment that many agents are not necessarily bound to. According to a 2023 Zillow analysis of state laws, only Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York require agents to disclose suspected haunting or paranormal activity.Some houses considered “stigmatized” are the sites of grisly murders or criminal operations. Others have been rumored to harbor ghosts. The rumors aren’t always just rumors, in the experience of Cindi Hagley, a real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay Area.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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      Death Row Inmate in Shaken Baby Case Set to Testify in Texas House

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      Robert Roberson, whose execution was postponed last week, has been subpoenaed to appear on Monday before a committee of the State House.Robert Roberson, the Texas death row inmate whose execution in a strongly disputed shaken baby murder case was postponed last week, is scheduled to testify on Monday before a committee of the State House.A subpoena for his testimony, issued in a novel last-minute legal maneuver, halted his execution just before it was set to be carried out on Thursday evening. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that by issuing the subpoena, a bipartisan group of Texas House members had raised legal questions about the separation of powers that needed to be resolved.The Texas House and Mr. Roberson’s lawyers had hoped he would appear in person before the Legislature’s committee on jurisprudence. But over the weekend, the office of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, representing the Department of Criminal Justice, stepped in and said that, “in the interest of public safety,” Mr. Roberson would only be made available by video conference from prison.The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that as long as Mr. Roberson was able to give testimony in response to the subpoena, it would not involve itself in the dispute over how he would testify. So Mr. Roberson’s appearance seemed likely to take place by video conference, aides to the Texas House said, though negotiations over the matter were continuing.Mr. Roberson’s lawyers have argued that his autism, which was diagnosed after the murder conviction, would make any attempt to judge his credibility by video conference “profoundly limited.” And they said that having him appear remotely without his lawyers by his side would deprive Mr. Roberson of access to counsel during the questioning.Mr. Roberson’s case has drawn extensive national attention. A broad range of supporters — including a majority of the Republican-controlled Texas House, the novelist John Grisham and the detective who helped convict Mr. Roberson — have raised questions about the conviction, which relied in part on a finding of shaken baby syndrome.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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      First Sickle Cell Gene Therapy Patient, 12, Leaves Hospital

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      After 44 days, Kendric Cromer, 12, left the hospital. While his family feels fortunate that he was the first to receive a treatment, their difficult experiences hint at what others will be up against.Kendric Cromer, 12, left Children’s National Hospital in a wheelchair on Wednesday, wearing a T-shirt and cap printed with designs from the anime series “Naruto” and a black face mask. Staff lined the hallway, cheering and waving noisemakers. He had just become the first patient to receive a gene therapy for sickle cell since it was approved — a therapy that is expected to free him from the ravages of the disease.After 44 days in the hospital, he was a bit dazed.“I thought I would have sickle cell for the rest of my life,” he said. The disease had deprived him of his childhood, making everyday activities, like playing basketball or riding a bike, impossible because they could bring on searing pain, often resulting in hospitalizations.But despite the celebratory atmosphere, Kendric and his parents are still shuddering over what they endured during his hospital stay.Nothing, absolutely nothing — not all the discussions with doctors, not all of their reading and highlighting of texts, not the 13-page consent form that included organ damage and even death as possible outcomes — prepared them for what he would go through.About 100,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease. For the 20,000 or so with the most severe disease, gene therapy may be their only hope of living a normal life. The disease is caused by a mutation in hemoglobin genes that leads to crescent-shaped red blood cells, which tend to get stuck in blood vessels, causing episodes of excruciating pain. The blockages can damage organs, cause strokes and shorten lives.Until recently, most saw no way out.Then, last December, the Food and Drug Administration approved a $3.1 million sickle cell gene therapy by Bluebird Bio of Somerville, Mass., and a $2.2 million treatment by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston. That potentially gives patients like Kendric, if their insurance will pay for the therapy, a path to a life that is not shadowed by the ravages of the disease.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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      Chappell Roan’s Rocket-Ship Year

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicChappell Roan has become one of the biggest breakout pop stars of the past year, and made it happen in novel fashion: creating grand-scale, 1980s-influenced pop refracted through a queer lens; building a drag-inspired performance character; and calling into question the way that fans worship their heroes while rapidly accumulating fans online and in real life.Her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” continues its rise toward the top of the album chart, more than a year after its release. And her festival performances have become wildly viral events. Roan’s ascent has tested the boundaries of contemporary pop, and also may create a template for a next generation of stars.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about the fits and starts of Roan’s early career, the events that propelled her to fame and the ways in which she is remaking the star-fan dynamic.Guest:P. Claire Dodson, associate director of culture at Teen VogueConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More

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      Vietnam Revives Power-Sharing Arrangement With New President

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      The move restores a “four pillar” government structure that divides top-level duties to avoid the rise of a single strongman.Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a new president on Monday, restoring a power-sharing arrangement among four high-level leaders that has defined the country’s approach to Communist government for decades.The assembly’s announcement that Luong Cuong, a Vietnamese Army general, would be president calms speculation about the country’s top leader, To Lam, and whether he would try to retain the presidency after rising to become general secretary of the Communist Party in August.Under the country’s “four pillar” structure, established in part to avoid the rise of a single strongman, decision-making roles are split among the general secretary, president, prime minister and head of the National Assembly.Vietnam’s president typically oversees the military and usually comes from within its ranks. But from 2018 to 2021, Nguyen Phu Trong, who was general secretary from 2011 until his death in 2024, also served as president.Mr. Lam had been named president in May and initially held both roles. As minister of public security before that, he helped lead an anti-corruption campaign that pushed out several high-level figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers.It was unclear whether he would seek to keep two positions and consolidate power ahead of the National Party Congress scheduled for 2026, when the country’s next leaders will be chosen.In a speech opening the assembly’s session on Monday, Mr. Lam praised his Communist Party colleagues for reaching an agreement at a moment when “the global and regional situation has had many complex developments, with unprecedented and unpredictable issues, posing many significant challenges to the task of building and defending the nation.”“The passing of comrade general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a great loss, leaving deep sorrow among the people and soldiers across the country,” he said. “In this context, our party has shown steadfast resolve, maintaining a unified bloc in will and action, quickly consolidating the leadership of the party and state with high consensus.”In his own introductory speech, Mr. Cuong promised to “resolutely and persistently safeguard national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.”Analysts said a return to Vietnam’s four-pillars arrangement could help minimize political infighting as another generation of leaders seek to fulfill Vietnam’s long-held ambitions of becoming a wealthy nation with high-end manufacturing and a larger role on the world stage.“This could help mitigate factional tensions by ensuring that the military has a prominent role in the nation’s leadership,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research organization in Singapore.He added, “This will help stabilize the system after a period of significant turbulence.” More

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      Yahya Sinwar Is Dead, but a Palestinian State Still Seems Distant

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      A two-state solution remains the goal of the United States and the West, but many in the region say the devastation in Gaza and the lack of effective Palestinian leadership make it a remote prospect.The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has raised hopes in the Biden administration that it could help pave the way for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.But in many ways the goal of an independent Palestinian state seems further away than ever. In Gaza, there has been death and destruction on a devastating scale. There is a lack of a clear and solid Palestinian leadership. And Israel is grappling with its own trauma over the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7.President Biden is hoping Mr. Sinwar’s death can bring about a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages, while producing a path toward negotiations on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel — the so-called two-state solution. But it is unclear who can speak for Hamas now in Gaza, or even if the group really knows where all the hostages are or how many remain alive.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to continue the war against Hamas as he prosecutes another conflict against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and also to retaliate against Iran. Since Oct. 7, he has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a two-state solution, and the stability of his coalition government is dependent on far-right ministers who oppose a Palestinian state of any kind.Yahya Sinwar, center, in Gaza City last year. Mr. Sinwar’s death is unlikely to spark moves toward Palestinian statehood, analysts say.Fatima Shbair/Associated PressAll that makes the prospect of Israel agreeing to a serious negotiation on a Palestinian state extremely unlikely, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a Gazan scholar who is a visiting professor at Northwestern University.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