Elections

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

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

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

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 [email protected]. 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

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

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

El expresidente dice que le gusta tejer una trama al saltar de un tema a otro. Pero hay quienes ven algo más preocupante en sus divagaciones.Uno de los principios del mundo Trump es que ser considerado aburrido es un pecado más mortal que estar equivocado.En campaña, el expresidente Donald Trump a menudo lo interpreta como que debe salirse del guion y desviarse del mensaje. Sus críticos dicen que esos desvíos son una señal preocupante de su incoherencia y plantean dudas sobre su edad y su salud cognitiva. Muchos de sus partidarios y aliados consideran que su forma circular de hablar, que él llama “la trama”, es entretenida y no alarmante. El debate partidista sobre las implicaciones del discurso serpenteante de Trump solo se ha intensificado en la fase final de la contienda.Aquí cuatro ejemplos de las divagaciones de Trump en esta última semana.Niños en edad escolar le preguntaron por los héroes de su infancia. Él terminó hablando del muro fronterizoEra una pregunta suave, de un niño de 10 años. La respuesta de Trump fue más bien un tiro sin rumbo.Un grupo de niños hizo preguntas a Trump el viernes en Fox & Friends. Cuando le pidieron que nombrara a su presidente favorito cuando era niño, Trump citó primero a quien había sido elegido cuando él tenía 34 años (Ronald Reagan). Luego se aventuró en terrenos sorprendentes, incluido el tema favorito de todos los niños, el acuerdo comercial revisado del TLCAN, conocido como el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos, México y Canadá.DANIEL: Presidente Trump, soy Daniel. Y tengo 10 años. Y soy de Tennessee. ¿Cuál era su presidente favorito cuando era pequeño?DONALD TRUMP: Me gustaba Ronald Reagan. Pensaba que era… mira… no me encantaba su política comercial. Yo soy muy bueno en comercio, he hecho grandes acuerdos comerciales para nosotros, e, TLCAN. Ese no era su punto fuerte, pero Ronald Reagan tenía una gran dignidad. Podías decir: “Ahí está nuestro presidente”, más que cualquiera de los otros. Realmente, cualquiera de los otros. Los grandes presidentes… bueno, Lincoln fue probablemente un gran presidente. Aunque siempre he dicho, ¿por qué no se resolvió? ¿Sabes? Soy un tipo que… no tiene sentido que tuviéramos una guerra civil.BRIAN KILMEADE, copresentador de Fox & Friends: Bueno, la mitad del país se fue antes de que él llegara.TRUMP: Sí, sí. Pero casi dirías, como, ¿por qué no fue eso —como ejemplo, lo de Ucrania nunca habría sucedido y Rusia si yo fuera presidente. Israel nunca habría ocurrido. El 7 de octubre nunca habría ocurrido. Como sabes, Irán estaba en bancarrota, querían hacer un trato. Les dije: “Nadie compra petróleo a Irán, están, están acabados, ya saben, no pueden hacer tratos con Estados Unidos”. Nadie compraba petróleo a Irán. Vinieron, querían hacer un trato y ahora tienen 300.000 millones de dólares en efectivo. Biden ha estado —y ella, ella es, no sé si estuvo involucrada en ello, pero ella es, ella es terrible. Oye, mira, recuerda esto, ella era la zarina de la frontera, nunca fue allí.Era la zarina de la frontera y la Patrulla Fronteriza, lo único que tienes que recordar, es que la Patrulla Fronteriza dio el respaldo más fuerte que nadie haya visto jamás: él es el mejor que hay y que nunca ha habido —es el mejor presidente, el mejor en la frontera, y ella es terrible. Esa era su política. Y estos tipos son geniales, por cierto. Son geniales— los conoces bien del programa. Tenemos el mejor respaldo y eso realmente lo dice todo. Y creo que la frontera es más importante que la inflación y la economía.Ya sabes, veo tus encuestas donde dicen que la economía y la inflación son lo primero y lo segundo. Y luego dicen —siempre dicen, como lo tercero— creo que la frontera es lo más importante. Fui elegido en 2016 por la frontera. Hice un gran trabajo. Ni siquiera pude mencionarlo después porque a nadie le importaba porque lo hice —se arregló. Teníamos una gran frontera. Luego la echaron a perder y tengo que volver a hacerlo. La diferencia es que esta vez es mucho peor. Porque están dejando entrar en el país a millones de personas que no deberían estar aquí.LAWRENCE JONES, copresentador de Fox & Friends: presidente, tenemos una divertida…TRUMP: pero lo arreglaremos.JONES: tenemos a un niño de 6 años de Massachusetts y quiere saber cuál es tu animal favorito.Cuando se le preguntó por la inflación, se refirió a su enfado con la experiencia universitaria de Alexandria Ocasio-CortezEl martes, John Micklethwait, editor en jefe de Bloomberg News, preguntó a Trump sobre el dólar y si sus políticas harían subir la inflación. Trump produjo una novela verbal, cuyo primer capítulo se refería más a los estudios universitarios de la representante Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez que a la macroeconomía.Trump con el editor en jefe de Bloomberg, John Micklethwait, durante una entrevista en Chicago el martes. Jim Vondruska para The New York TimesTRUMP: Sí, tuve cuatro años sin inflación. Tuve cuatro años sin inflación. Tuve cuatro años. Es mejor que eso. Y Biden, quien no tiene ni idea de dónde demonios está, ¿ok? Biden estuvo dos años sin inflación porque lo heredó de mí. Y entonces empezaron a gastar dinero como marineros borrachos. Gastaron tanto dinero. Era tan ridículo el dinero que gastaban. Estaban gastando en la Nueva Estafa Verde, una Nueva Estafa Verde, el Nuevo Trato Verde. Lo concibió AOC, más tres. Ni siquiera estudió medio ambiente en la universidad. Fue a una buena universidad. Salió. Simplemente dijo: la Nueva Estafa Verde. Se limitó a nombrar todas estas cosas.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 fascinating Broadway revival of the bombastic 1994 musical blows it up even further.Despite Norma Desmond, who famously declares in the film “Sunset Boulevard” that it’s not her but “the pictures that got small,” the opposite is true on Broadway these days. In musicals especially, video and projections have grown ever more dominant. Perhaps it is not so much an irony as an inevitability, then, that at the St. James Theater, where a revival of the musical based on “Sunset Boulevard” opened on Sunday, the pictures — live video streamed onto an LCD screen more than 23 feet tall — are so big they almost blot out the show below.But alas, only almost.For despite many fascinating interventions by the director Jamie Lloyd and his technical team, and the fact that it is based on one of the greatest of movies, the musical remains too silly for words. In that sense, and others, Norma would have loved it.Which isn’t praise. You will recall that Norma (Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls) is deluded: a washed-up silent film star who, in her 50-ish dotage, haunts a grand, ghostly Los Angeles mansion with only her grim manservant and a recently dead chimpanzee for company. By 1949, when the musical starts, she has barely left the premises for decades, let alone made a movie; still, she believes that she, and the silents, could achieve a marvelous comeback if only Cecil B. DeMille would direct her in the epic version of “Salome” she has written.The rest is madness. She conscripts Joe Gillis, a hunky, seedy, unsuccessful screenwriter, to polish her draft and, soon enough, other things. Joe (Tom Francis) seesaws between his luxurious life as Norma’s kept man and the more idealistic promptings of Betty Schaefer, an ambitious studio underling he at first brushes off as “one of the message kids.” Still, when Betty (Grace Hodgett Young) urges Joe to adapt a story of his called “Dark Windows,” they fall in love, while the servant, Max von Mayerling (David Thaxton), offers a dark window of his own into Norma’s modus operandi with men. (Razor and gun included.) None of this ends well, or rather it does not begin well, as the tale is narrated postmortem by Joe’s corpse.The 1950 film, directed by Billy Wilder, stands at a wry remove from these tawdry proceedings, with a cool appreciation but no embrace for human pathos and the hysteria of Hollywood dreams. Norma is a drama queen, Joe a gigolo, Betty a simp and Max a goblin. We know nothing of their emotions beyond what their actions show us.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