Elections

The astronauts of the Polaris Dawn mission, after traveling through heavy radiation and high orbits, are getting ready to open the hatch of their SpaceX vehicle.Early Thursday morning, four private astronauts circling far above Earth will try something daring — let all the air out of their spacecraft.That will be a prelude for two of the astronauts, who will then venture outside for the first commercial spacewalk ever, an event that is to be the highlight of the Polaris Dawn mission led by Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur.When is the spacewalk and how can I watch it?The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 2:23 a.m. Eastern time. SpaceX plans to broadcast live coverage starting one hour before the spacewalk begins.If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Friday at the same time.What will happen during the spacewalk?Because there is no airlock in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft used for the flight, the only way to perform a spacewalk is to let all the air out of the spacecraft, and then open one of the hatches. That requires all four crew members to wear spacesuits.NASA and Soviet astronauts conducted spacewalks in a similar manner in the 1960s.As the Crew Dragon swings around Earth in an elliptical orbit that swings as close as 120 miles to the surface and as high as 460 miles, Mr. Isaacman and Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, will exit the capsule for about 15 to 20 minutes each.They will pass through the hatch at the top of the Crew Dragon with the help of a handrail that SpaceX has named Skywalker, moving around carefully and deliberately. The two will not be outside the spacecraft at the same time.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

Russia has received new shipments of Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missiles, according to a new report.North Korea has continued to supply advanced short-range ballistic missiles to Russia in defiance of sanctions meant to prevent Pyongyang from developing such weapons and Moscow from importing them, according to a report by a weapons research group.Remnants of four of the missiles, which are called Hwasong-11, were examined in Kyiv on Sept. 3 by investigators from Conflict Armament Research, an independent group based in Britain that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars around the world.That team decoded production markings on several parts from each missile collected by Ukrainian authorities.A Hwasong-11 missile used in an Aug. 18 attack on Kyiv had markings showing that it was made this year. Internal parts from three others, which were used in attacks in July and August, lacked markings that would indicate when they were manufactured.The researchers released those findings in a report on Wednesday.In early January, the White House accused North Korea of providing ballistic missiles to Russia, but subsequent shipments had not been previously reported.The Hwasong-11 missile has a range of about 430 miles and can be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, according to a U.S. Army report. It is visually similar to the Russian Iskander short-range ballistic missile and may have been made with foreign assistance, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.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

Defying expectations, a Supreme Court decision curtailing race-based admissions still had a relatively small impact at some highly selective schools like Harvard, even as other schools saw big changes.The predictions were dire. In the course of a bitterly contested trial six years ago, Harvard University said that if it were forced to stop considering race in admissions, the diversity of its undergraduate classes would be badly compromised.Now, a year after the Supreme Court struck down the school’s admissions system, effectively ending affirmative action in college admissions everywhere, the numbers are in for the first class to be admitted, and the picture is more nuanced and complex than predicted.The proportion of Black first-year students enrolled at Harvard this fall has declined to 14 percent from 18 percent last year, according to data released by the institution on Wednesday — a dip smaller than the school had predicted, but still significant.Asian American representation in the class of 1,647 students remained the same as last year, at 37 percent. Hispanic enrollment has gone up, to 16 percent from 14 percent. Harvard did not report the share of white students in the class, consistent with past practice, and it is hard to make inferences because the percentage of students not disclosing race or ethnicity on their applications doubled to 8 percent this year from 4 percent last year.The post-affirmative-action demographic breakdowns have been trickling out over the last three weeks, and overall Black students appear to have been most affected. The percentages of Black students declined sharply at some elite schools, although surprisingly, they held steady at others. The suit against Harvard had accused it of discriminating against Asian Americans to depress their numbers, while giving preferences to members of other minority groups. Admissions experts suggested even before the new numbers came out that the most coveted schools, like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, would be best positioned to maintain their Black enrollment because the students who were admitted to them were very likely to accept. So in that view, they are unicorns, part of a highly selective ring of schools that scooped up the top students and remained relatively unaffected by the ban on race-conscious admissions.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 Australian breaker who was mocked at the Olympics for her kangaroo-hopping routine is now atop the official world rankings. Here’s how it happened.The breaker known as Raygun did terribly at the Olympics, losing all three of her head-to-head battles, each by scores of 18-0. Her unusual routines also made her an unexpected face of the Paris Games and earned her mockery worldwide.But she did receive one accolade this week. Somehow, improbably, B-girl Raygun — yes, the same Raygun who hopped like a kangaroo in her Olympic routines — is now the No. 1 ranked women’s breaker in the world.Raygun is the nom de break of Dr. Rachael Gunn, a 36-year-old professor from Australia. While other Olympic breakers spun dazzlingly on their heads and backs in this year’s Games, Raygun thrashed about on her side, reached for her toes, and hopped around in a salute to the kangaroos of her native country. Fans around the world, many being exposed to breaking competition for the first time as the sport made its Olympic debut, were baffled, amused, and in some cases outraged.Raygun’s total score of 0 points put her in last place among the 16 breakers in the main Olympic competition.So, in the latest world rankings, how could Raygun be in the No. 1 spot? After receiving a barrage of questions, the World DanceSport Federation, which oversees the sport internationally, released a statement Tuesday explaining the seeming incongruity.The ranking is based on events over the past year, the federation explained. During that time, the majority of breakers were focused on qualifying for the Olympics.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

At the tail end of the hottest summer in recorded history, as wildfires tear through California and a hurricane heads toward Louisiana, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump failed to say how they would fight climate change during their debate Tuesday night.It was the final question posed during the 90 minute exchange, about an issue that moderator Linsey Davis of ABC News noted was “important for a number of Americans, in particular younger voters.”The outcome of this presidential election could be critical to determining whether the United States, the world’s biggest historic source of the greenhouse gasses that are dangerously warming the planet, cuts its pollution enough to keep global warming within relatively safe limits. Scientists say the window for action is rapidly closing.Ms. Harris acknowledged the problem, noting “the former president has said that climate change is a hoax and what we know is that it is very real.”“We know that we can actually deal with this issue,” she said, but did not offer any specifics about how she would. Instead, Ms. Harris made a largely economic argument, noting that federal subsidies for clean energy, which includes wind and solar power, have created new jobs and spurred manufacturing.And, in an unusual turn, Ms. Harris boasted that under the Biden administration, gas production has reached record highs. It’s a point that until very recently the administration had been reluctant to emphasize. The burning of fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change and at the United Nations climate talks last year, the United States joined nearly 200 other countries in a pledge to transition away from coal, oil and gas.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

He had announced a short farewell tour earlier this year and said he would retire after more than 50 years in the music business.Frankie Beverly, the lead singer and songwriter of the soul and funk band Maze, who wrote and performed songs including “Golden Time of Day,” “Joy and Pain,” “Happy Feelin’s” and others that provided the soundtrack to countless summer cookouts and family reunions for more than five decades, died on Tuesday. He was 77.His death was announced in a statement by his family posted to his Instagram account. A cause of death was not given.“He lived his life with pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better,” the statement said. “He lived for his music, family and friends.”Earlier this year, Mr. Beverly announced a farewell tour with a handful of dates. He said he would go on the road one last time and then retire.Frankie Beverley in 1987. David Corio/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images“Thank you so much for the support given to me for over 50 years as I pass on the lead vocalist torch to Tony Lindsay,” Mr. Beverly said in a statement to Billboard at the time. “The band will continue on as Maze Honoring Frankie Beverly. It’s been a great ride through the decades. Let the music of my legacy continue.”It would be difficult to count the number of artists who have cited Mr. Beverly’s music as inspiration or sampled from his ever-expanding playbook of infectious melodies and harmonies, but many have lovingly covered his work — some with more fanfare than others.Mr. Beverly’s 1981 song “Before I Let Go,” which The New York Times described in 2021 as having a unique ability to gather and galvanize, was covered by Beyoncé on her live album “Homecoming” in 2019.In 1970 in Philadelphia, Mr. Beverly formed the group “Raw Soul” and soon moved to San Francisco. Marvin Gaye eventually took the group under his wing, according to Mr. Beverly’s official website. Mr. Gaye also suggested the group change its name to Frankie Beverly and Maze.Earlier this year, Mr. Beverly had announced a farewell tour with a handful of dates. Getty ImagesThe group released a debut album in 1977 under Capitol Records and released at least eight more albums, not including live recordings, over the next few decades, including “Silky Soul” in 1989 and “Back to Basics” in 1993.A full obituary will follow. More

Former President Donald J. Trump was not happy that Taylor Swift endorsed his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, though perhaps he was not surprised.“She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday morning on Fox News. Ms. Swift, one of the most successful musical artists in the world, endorsed President Biden in 2020. Mr. Trump said in the interview that he preferred Brittany Mahomes, a fitness entrepreneur who is married to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and was reported to have liked a social media post supporting Mr. Trump. Ms. Swift and Ms. Mahomes are friends, as are Mr. Mahomes and his teammate, Travis Kelce, who is dating Ms. Swift.“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better, if you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said. “She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan.”“I think Brittany’s great,” he went on. “Brittany got a lot of news last week. She’s a big MAGA fan. That’s the one I like much better than Taylor Swift.”Ms. Mahomes has not endorsed Mr. Trump.Ms. Swift’s endorsement disgruntled a number of Trump supporters, including Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, who responded on X, the social media platform he owns.“Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” Mr. Musk wrote.Ms. Swift had signed her endorsement on Instagram with the words “childless cat lady,” a reference to past comments by Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Mr. Trump’s running mate. More

new video loaded: More