Elections

Profits at the Crown Estate doubled thanks to offshore wind deals, while visitors to royal palaces are almost back to prepandemic levels.New reports on the finances of Britain’s royal family and its ancient property portfolio have revealed a double dose of good news for the household, which has been destabilized by illness and injury in recent months.Profits from the Crown Estate, which oversees the royal family’s massive land and property holdings, jumped to £1.1 billion (about $1.4 billion) from £442.6 million in the previous year, according to the estate’s annual report, mainly thanks to deals involving the leasing of seabed sites to offshore wind producers.As a result, the money the royal family receives from the government — known as the sovereign grant — will rise to £132 million in 2025-2026, up from £86.3 million in recent years.For centuries, net profits from the Crown Estate have been passed to the government, in return for a fixed yearly payment to fund the royal family and its duties. Since 2012, this payment has taken the form of the sovereign grant, which is calculated as a percentage of the estate’s profits.King Charles previously requested that the anticipated surge in profits from the wind power deals be used for the “wider public good.” As a result, the previous government agreed to reduce the sovereign grant to 12 percent of net profits from this year onward, down from 25 percent. If the grant had remained at 25 percent, the king would have received £275 million instead of £132 million, a huge rise that could have jeopardized the royal family’s popularity at a time when much of Britain is still mired in a cost-of-living crisis.The chief executive of the Crown Estate, Dan Labbad, wrote in the annual report that the profit boost was “short term in nature,” adding that over the coming years “revenue and valuation will normalize.”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

Shaun Phillips makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Some solvers may refer to the arcade game hiding in the theme of today’s crossword, constructed by Shaun Phillips, with words from another recent puzzle’s theme: “What a racket!” If you are one of those people, I share your skepticism. The game is almost certainly rigged against us.But for the purpose of solving Mr. Phillips’s crossword — his first for The New York Times — I recommend leaving your suspicions at the door. I can assure you that this grid is every bit as delightful as it presents itself to be, and that solving it is within your grasp.Today’s ThemeYou’ve heard of the long arm of the law. How about the long arm of the crossword? That’s what you’ll find in this puzzle, if you look closely: the arm of a CLAW MACHINE GAME (35A), reaching from the top of the grid to grasp a little cluster of black squares below it. A synonym for [“Wait!”] is HOLD ON A MINUTE (5D), a hopeful directive to the claw as it grasps a prize, maybe for long enough to reach the deposit slot. Oh, and as for a [Professional who might expect to do well with a 35-Across?], that would be a CRANE OPERATOR (10D).I can proudly state that I have won prizes from at least two CLAW MACHINE GAMEs. Granted, I have lost countless more to their pits, but I choose to focus on the claw-sitive. And is the [Setting for a 35-Across] really called an AMUSEMENT ARCADE (54A)? That seems redundant. But maybe there are plenty of serious arcades where business is conducted. “Step into my claw-ffice,” and so on.Tricky Clues8A. [Some experts on viruses] of a computer nature are TECHIES — not to be confused with experts on a certain sci-fi series, known as Trekkies.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

Two Republican operatives who played senior roles helping the presidential campaign of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have taken on leadership roles in a new pro-Trump super PAC that could spend tens of millions of dollars in the presidential race and has ties to Elon Musk.The aides, Generra Peck, who initially managed the DeSantis campaign, and Phil Cox, a former head of the Republican Governors Association who ran the DeSantis political operation in the years before his run, are quietly guiding the group, America PAC, according to three people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.The super PAC has acquired an air of mystery in the Trump orbit, with other outside groups largely in the dark about its plans. The involvement of Mr. Cox and Ms. Peck may help legitimize it within the Republican establishment as it aims to become one of the leading groups on behalf of Mr. Trump. Ms. Peck and Mr. Cox are two of the party’s most prominent operatives and now lead a public affairs firm, P2 Pathway Public Affairs, and their involvement also helps unify the DeSantis and Trump orbits even further.Also involved, according to a separate person briefed on the matter, is Charlie Spies, a senior election lawyer for the Republican Party. Mr. Spies, Ms. Peck and Mr. Cox declined to comment.The group has taken pains to be secretive. Joe Lonsdale, an Austin-based tech entrepreneur, has played a key role in the group, recruiting many of his friends — including the Jimmy John’s founder, John Liautaud; Antonio Gracias, a former director of Tesla; and the Craft family of Kentucky — to help fund the effort. Mr. Musk, who recently endorsed former President Donald J. Trump and is a friend of Mr. Lonsdale, has described himself as having “created” the group and is expected to donate, but the amount remains unclear.Ms. Peck rose to prominence as the initial campaign manager for Mr. DeSantis’s bid. By the end of the Republican primary race, she had drawn criticism for the Florida governor’s failure to live up to expectations. Mr. Cox worked for outside groups backing Mr. DeSantis during the primary contest.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

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey announced that he would resign in August. Gov. Philip D. Murphy will choose someone to serve the remainder of his term.Democrats have spent months engrossed by the slow-motion downfall of Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. But no sooner had he announced his resignation on Tuesday than their focus jumped to another question: Who would serve out his Senate term?Party leaders had already been swapping names for weeks. Among them are a trio of prominent Black women; New Jersey’s first lady; and Representative Andy Kim, the Democratic nominee in November’s general election to replace Mr. Menendez on a more permanent basis.The decision will fall to Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat in his second term, and advisers said he was winnowing his own list.Here is what we know so far:Menendez will vacate his seat in AugustMr. Menendez, 70, has been under intense pressure to resign since a Manhattan jury convicted him last week on all counts in a sweeping bribery scheme involving Egyptian intelligence, bars of gold and a Qatari sheikh.On Tuesday, Mr. Menendez relented rather than face a possible vote to expel him from the Senate. He told Mr. Murphy in a letter that he would resign effective Aug. 20, giving the governor about a month to line up a replacement.Whoever Mr. Murphy selects will serve until Mr. Menendez’s current term, his third, expires on Jan. 3.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 early-morning raid took place on Long Island’s North Shore at the house of Ms. Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun.Before dawn on Tuesday, F.B.I. agents swept into a small cul-de-sac on Long Island’s North Shore to search a five-bedroom house where a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Kathy Hochul lives with her husband.The basis for the search at the $3.5 million home of Linda Sun, the former deputy chief of staff, and the crimes under investigation remain unclear. Neither Ms. Sun, 40, nor her husband, Chris Hu, 41, have been accused of wrongdoing. Neither could be reached for comment and they did not respond to voice mail and text messages.A spokesman for the F.B.I. confirmed that agents from the bureau’s New York office had “conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity” at the expansive red brick house in a gated community in Manhasset, but would not comment further. The U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn obtained the warrant for the search, according to people with knowledge of the matter; a spokesman for that office also declined to comment.No arrests were made at the family’s home, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The property was owned by Ms. Sun and Mr. Hu until they transferred it to a trust early this year.Ms. Sun, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Barnard College and a Master of Arts from Teachers College at Columbia University, has worked in state government for nearly 14 years, holding a variety of positions, according to her LinkedIn profile.She began her state career in the legislative branch as chief of staff to an assemblywoman, Grace Meng, who is now a congresswoman, and then worked in various positions in the administrations of both Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Ms. Hochul, according to the profile.Ms. Sun’s roles included business development; Asian American affairs; and diversity, equity and inclusion. She left the executive chamber after roughly 15 months, moving on to a position in the Labor Department in November 2022. Five months later, she left the state to serve as campaign manager for Austin Cheng, a Democrat who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress on Long Island.Avi Small, the press secretary for Ms. Hochul, declined to comment.Mr. Hu operates a liquor store in Flushing, Queens, Leivine Wine & Spirits, and has incorporated several other businesses over the last decade, including a company he created in 2020 during the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic called Medical Supplies USA LLC. He also created Golden Capital Group LLC in 2016 and LCA Holdings LLC in 2023, although the nature of those business could not be immediately determined.It is unclear when the F.B.I. agents first arrived at the gated community where Ms. Sun and Mr. Hu live, which is called Stone Hill, but a security guard there said that agents were there twice.Reporting was contributed by More

Kimberly Cheatle renunció este martes a su cargo tras los fallos de seguridad que permitieron que un hombre armado disparara contra el expresidente Donald Trump en un mitin al aire libre.[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]La directora del Servicio Secreto, Kimberly Cheatle, renunció el martes, después de las fallas de seguridad relacionadas con el intento de asesinato contra el expresidente Donald Trump y los llamados por parte de legisladores de ambos partidos para que renunciara al cargo.En un correo electrónico enviado al personal del Servicio Secreto el martes, Cheatle dijo que uno de los principales deberes de la agencia es proteger a los líderes de la nación y que “no cumplió con esa misión” al no proteger de la manera adecuada un mitin de campaña de un hombre armado el 13 de julio.“No quiero que las solicitudes de mi renuncia sean una distracción del gran trabajo que todos y cada uno de ustedes hacen en favor de nuestra misión vital”, dijo Cheatle en el correo electrónico, que fue revisado por The New York Times.Cheatle decía que estaba profundamente comprometida con la agencia, pero añadía: “A la luz de los acontecimientos recientes, he tomado con gran pesar la difícil decisión de renunciar como directora de ustedes”.En un comunicado divulgado el martes, el presidente Joe Biden le agradeció a Cheatle que respondiera a su llamado para dirigir la agencia. “Como líder, se necesita honor, valentía y una integridad increíble para asumir la plena responsabilidad de una organización encargada de uno de los trabajos más difíciles en el servicio público”.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

New York City voters will most likely be confronted in November with a referendum that may dilute the City Council’s power on public safety issues.Earlier this year, at a small meeting at City Hall between Mayor Eric Adams and leaders of an anti-crime group, two attendees complained about a New York City Council bill requiring the police to document more interactions with the public. They suggested that the mayor convene a charter revision commission to lessen the likelihood of similar legislation passing again.Three weeks later, the mayor formed the commission, tapping several of the community leaders and other loyalists to serve on it.On Tuesday, that commission did exactly what it set out to do.The commission proposed hampering the City Council’s ability to pass legislation affecting the public safety operations of the Police Department, the Department of Correction and the Fire Department.The proposed amendment to the City Charter, which is effectively the city’s constitution, would force the City Council to wait 45 days, instead of the current three days, to hold hearings on proposed public safety legislation once it is announced. After those hearings, the Council would have to wait at least another 50 days before voting on the matter. State law currently requires the Council to wait seven days after a bill is finalized before voting on it, according to a Council spokesman.Should the commission approve the proposed referendum on Thursday, as it almost certainly will, city residents will have the opportunity to vote on it in November.Thanks to the complicated mechanics governing ballot referendums, the mayor’s proposal is expected to push off the ballot a City Council proposal designed to limit the mayor’s power — a result that the Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, does not believe was accidental.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