Elections

Memorial Day weekend ticket sales in North America are expected to total $125 million, down 40 percent from last year.Hollywood expected “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” to scorch the box office over the holiday weekend. Instead, the big-budget Warner Bros. prequel iced it over.“Furiosa,” which cost $168 million to make, not including tens of millions of dollars in marketing costs, collected an estimated $25.6 million in the United States and Canada from Thursday night to Sunday. Box office analysts expected the film to take in about $5.4 million on Monday, for a holiday-weekend total of $31 million.That would be the worst Memorial Day weekend result in 43 years after adjusting for inflation — ever since “Bustin’ Loose,” a comedic drama starring Richard Pryor, collected $24 million in 1981. (Box office records exclude 2020, when most theaters were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.)The franchise’s previous chapter, “Mad Max: Fury Road,” took in $45.4 million in 2015, or roughly $61 million in today’s dollars — and that was without the benefit of a holiday weekend.Hollywood had high expectations for “Furiosa,” which Warner Bros. premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; the movie received exceptional reviews. On Sunday, however, it was unclear whether “Furiosa” would manage even first place at the box office. Analysts said the poorly reviewed “Garfield” (Sony), which cost $60 million to make, could inch ahead. It could also be a tie.Sony declared victory, saying it expected “Garfield,” produced and financed by Alcon Entertainment, to be No. 1, with $31.8 million in ticket sales. “With summer holidays beginning this week, the film is well-positioned for a long theatrical run,” Sony said, adding that it had successfully “relaunched” the lasagna-loving character as a movie franchise.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

Over four decades, he produced more than 150 events. Some dealers reported selling more in a weekend at a Smith fair than in a year in their galleries.Sanford L. Smith, an art lover and entrepreneur who created some of New York’s most prestigious art and design fairs, generating millions of dollars in sales and drawing attention to previously overlooked areas of art, died on Saturday at a senior living facility in Manhattan. He was 84.The cause was congestive heart failure, his wife, Jill Bokor, said.Mr. Smith didn’t invent the art fair, but he made his events essential stops for both buyers and sellers. Owners of some Lower Manhattan galleries would spend tens of thousands of dollars to move their wares a few miles north to the Park Avenue Armory, where many of Mr. Smith’s shows were held.Evan Snyderman, an owner of R & Company, a TriBeCa design gallery, said that at Salon Art + Design, one of Mr. Smith’s fairs, “we always reconnect with clients that we don’t see in other places — including New Yorkers who never come downtown.”Some dealers reported selling more art in a long weekend at a Sanford Smith fair than in a whole year at their own galleries.During his years in what he called “show business,” Mr. Smith ran more than 150 fairs, including the Fall Antiques Show, Modernism and the Outsider Art Fair. They were popular (in several cases attracting some 10,000 visitors over a three- or four-day weekend) as well as critical successes. The Times called his 2012 Salon “a museum in the making.” Asked to describe his career in a 2022 interview for this obituary, Mr. Smith said, “I filled holes.” What he meant was that he found gaps in between what other art fairs offered, and created new events to meet those needs. 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 Dublin Airport said that a Qatar Airways flight from Doha landed in Ireland after a dozen people were injured by turbulence.Twelve people were injured on Sunday during turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha that landed safely as scheduled in Ireland, the Dublin Airport said.The plane, a Boeing B787-9, was flying over Turkey when it encountered turbulence, injuring six passengers and six crew members, the Dublin Airport said on social media.The flight landed in Dublin just before 1 p.m. local time and was met by emergency medical workers, the airport said.Passengers were checked for injuries before leaving the plane, and eight people were taken to a hospital.Dublin Airport said that its operations were not affected and that the airline’s return flight to Doha was still scheduled to depart later on Sunday.Qatar Airways said in a statement that “a small number” of passengers on the flight, QR017, had minor injuries.“The matter is now subject to an internal investigation,” the airline said. “The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority.”The flight lasted seven hours and 35 minutes according to Flight Aware, a flight tracking website. The flight continued for more than three hours after passing over Turkey, according to tracking data.The injuries come after a rare death from turbulence occurred during a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday.A 73-year-old man from Britain died and dozens of people were injured during the flight, which left from London and was flying over Myanmar when it hit what the airline described as “sudden extreme turbulence.”The plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, made an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand.Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Sunday that 40 passengers and a crew member who were on the flight were still hospitalized in Bangkok. There were 211 passengers on the 13-hour flight.Though turbulence on a flight can be intense and severe, it is rare for it to result in a death.There were 163 passengers and crew members seriously injured by turbulence on aircraft registered in the United States from 2009 to 2022, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. More

The Dublin Airport said that a Qatar Airways flight from Doha landed in Ireland after a dozen people were injured by turbulence.Twelve people were injured on Sunday during turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha that landed safely as scheduled in Ireland, the Dublin Airport said.The plane, a Boeing B787-9, was flying over Turkey when it encountered turbulence, injuring six passengers and six crew members, the Dublin Airport said on social media.The flight landed in Dublin just before 1 p.m. local time and was met by emergency medical workers, the airport said.Passengers were checked for injuries before leaving the plane, and eight people were taken to a hospital.Dublin Airport said that its operations were not affected and that the airline’s return flight to Doha was still scheduled to depart later on Sunday.Qatar Airways said in a statement that “a small number” of passengers on the flight, QR017, had minor injuries.“The matter is now subject to an internal investigation,” the airline said. “The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority.”The flight lasted seven hours and 35 minutes according to Flight Aware, a flight tracking website. The flight continued for more than three hours after passing over Turkey, according to tracking data.The injuries come after a rare death from turbulence occurred during a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday.A 73-year-old man from Britain died and dozens of people were injured during the flight, which left from London and was flying over Myanmar when it hit what the airline described as “sudden extreme turbulence.”The plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, made an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand.Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Sunday that 40 passengers and a crew member who were on the flight were still hospitalized in Bangkok. There were 211 passengers on the 13-hour flight.Though turbulence on a flight can be intense and severe, it is rare for it to result in a death.There were 163 passengers and crew members seriously injured by turbulence on aircraft registered in the United States from 2009 to 2022, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. More

Aid trucks from Egypt were expected to enter the devastated Gaza Strip on Sunday under a new U.S.-brokered agreement to reopen a vital conduit for humanitarian relief.Egypt has blocked aid from entering the enclave via its territory since Israel’s seizure of the Rafah crossing — which provides access to southern Gaza — in early May. The two sides have traded blame over the crossing’s closure, even as aid has piled up on the Egyptian side. After U.S. pressure, Egypt announced on Friday that it had agreed to divert trucks through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, which is roughly two miles from the Rafah crossing, as a temporary measure.Roughly 200 trucks carrying food and other aid from Egypt were set to enter Gaza on Sunday via Kerem Shalom, according to Ahmad Ezzat, an Egyptian Red Crescent official. COGAT, an Israeli military agency that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, could not be reached for comment.The quantity of food, water and medicines reaching Gazans has plummeted since the war began nearly eight months ago. As a result, the United Nations and aid groups have been warning of widespread hunger in the enclave and urging Israel to open more routes for aid to enter. But in recent weeks, aid shipments into Gaza through the two main land conduits have been interrupted.One of those crossings is Kerem Shalom, which sits at the intersection of Gaza, Israel and Egypt. Israel temporarily closed Kerem Shalom a few weeks ago after a Hamas rocket attack there killed four of its soldiers. Since then Israel has allowed some aid into Gaza though Kerem Shalom, but its distribution has been a point of contention. Israel says that aid agencies must distribute the aid. But the agencies say that the Israeli military’s activity in southern Gaza has made their job nearly impossible.The other major gateway for aid is between Gaza and Egypt, at Rafah. Israeli forces captured the crossing as part of their initial advance toward the city overnight on May 6. Since then, Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian officials have been unable to strike a deal to resume aid shipments there.When the Rafah crossing closed, the Egyptian government also initially held out on sending aid trucks toward Kerem Shalom, in what American and Israeli officials called an attempt to pressure Israel to back down from its operation in Rafah.On Friday, Egypt and the United States announced that Cairo had agreed to temporarily allow food, basic supplies and fuel to move from its territory into Gaza though Kerem Shalom. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president, emphasized that the measure was a stopgap until “a new legal mechanism” could be found on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing.It remains unclear when the Rafah crossing will reopen for aid. U.S. officials are expected to head to Cairo this week to “support efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing,” according to the White House. More

Moscow is again amassing forces near the border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. His comments came as officials said that a Russian strike had killed at least 14 people in Kharkiv.President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday that Moscow’s forces were massing for a new ground offensive on the northeast of his country, a day after a Russian missile strike on a hardware superstore in the city of Kharkiv killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, according to Ukrainian officials.“Russia is the only source of aggression and constantly tries to expand the war,” Mr. Zelensky said in a speech delivered in English inside the ruins of a publishing house in Kharkiv that was destroyed last week in a Russian strike.“Russia is preparing for offensive actions” around 60 miles northwest of Kharkiv, he said, adding that Moscow is gathering “another group of troops near our border.” Mr. Zelensky gave no further details about the potential attack.Moscow surprised Ukraine on May 10 when its troops poured across the northeastern border, punching through Ukrainian defenses and seizing villages close to the frontier. That forced the government in Kyiv to rush in reinforcements in a bid to halt the Russian advance.One target for an assault, based on Mr. Zelensky’s comments, could be the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, which has seen frequent cross-border fire but no ground attacks since Russian forces attempted to seize its main city, also called Sumy, at the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. They were later forced to withdraw after fierce fighting. Ukraine’s military has previously warned of another Russian border assault in the northeast.The May incursion was the most significant in months of fighting, and military experts say that a key Russian objective was to expand the length of the battlefield, which already stretches hundreds of miles, and in that way force Ukraine to spread its troops more thinly. In doing so, Moscow apparently hoped to extend its existing advantage in terms of the size of its military, the experts say.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

Disasters over the weekend that claimed at least 34 lives prompted condolences, arrests and finger-pointing. But systemic change remains elusive, analysts say.Seven newborn babies lost their lives after their New Delhi neonatal clinic was engulfed in flames. What remained of the two-story building on Sunday morning was its burned facade, a charred spiral staircase and oxygen cylinders covered in soot.Hours earlier, in the western Indian city of Rajkot, an amusement park of trampolines and bowling lanes had turned to an inferno. The families of people who had come to enjoy a discounted offer of all-you-can-play to celebrate the start of summer vacation were left trying to identify bodies among the at least 27 dead, many of them children too charred to be recognizable.As after every such deadly episode, political leaders were quick with messages of condolence, announcements of arrests, creations of inquiries — and finger-pointing. But to analysts and experts who had warned for years about India’s abysmal fire preparedness, the back-to-back disasters on Saturday were the latest reminder that systemic change to make the country safer was still missing.Building safety compliance remains abysmal across India, the world’s most populous nation. The fire services have long faced huge gaps in the numbers of stations, personnel and equipment. Government audits after mass-casualty disasters unearth glaring shortcomings, with little follow-up.Though the number has gone down over the past decade, more than 20 fire-related deaths occur every day in India, according to government statistics. Many of the fires — particularly in crowded urban centers — are caused by short circuits, an alarming prospect as India faces an intense period of heat waves that strains electrical wires.R.C. Sharma, a former fire service chief in Delhi, said that one major problem is that fire regulations go unenforced. Another is that fire-response resources have failed to keep up with urbanization that is happening rapidly and often without regard to safety.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

Memorial Day is the starting gun of a new season. Here’s a guide on how to spend the summer months. Memorial Day is a starting gun. While other holidays can be like a finish line — the culmination of so much energy — Memorial Day marks the beginning. The whole summer stretches out in front of us, a track shimmering in the sun.If you’re not yet sure how to spend the long weekend, or the next few months, don’t worry. The Morning has compiled the best ideas and recommendations from The Times to get you ready for the summer. Starting now.For your time outdoorsHere’s motivation to get you back in your garden, or to start a new one.Make your outdoor space work for you with these design ideas.A friend of mine recently lamented not having summer break as an adult. Here are ideas to relax even if you work full-time, like her.Outdoor activities — in the mountains or in your backyard — mean a greater chance of injury. Know your first aid basics.Pools are open and families are hitting the beach this Memorial Day. Try these workouts in the water.More people are building ponds in their backyard for swimming. See some examples.The joy of gardening.Ike Edeani for The New York TimesFor your travelsIf you’re flying this weekend with some time to kill, test your airport I.Q. with this quiz.If you want some entertainment for a long road trip, here’s a collection of great audiobooks, organized by length.Europe is anticipating yet another season of heat waves. Read how locals, and tourists, are preparing.Here are the best beaches in the U.S. and Mexico for each activity, like swimming, surfing or sand-castle building.Fifty years after working at a Massachusetts hotel, a writer examines what’s changed.Stay at one of these five waterside hotels.For your leisureRead the best fiction and nonfiction of the year (so far).Watch these films this weekend — whether in a movie theater or on your couch.Play these video games if you don’t want to leave your house.Laugh with these new stand-up specials.THE LATEST NEWSIsrael-Hamas WarThe Israeli military continued its operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, despite an International Court of Justice order to immediately suspend its campaign there.Some in Rafah have chosen not to evacuate, while others have fled and then returned after being unable to find safety elsewhere.In an Israeli prison infirmary, a Jewish dentist aided a seriously ill Yahya Sinwar. Years later, Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, was an author of the Oct. 7 attack.War in UkraineVladimir Putin, likely feeling confident about the war and his hold on power, has overhauled his Defense Ministry.Russia is carrying out arson attacks on sites in Europe in a low-level sabotage campaign to undermine support for Ukraine.Some American precision-guided weapons have proved ineffective against Russian electronic warfare, classified Ukrainian reports show.A military branch of professional musicians travels Ukraine’s front lines and taps into a tradition of music as resistance, The Washington Post reports.More International NewsIn Papua New Guinea.Andrew Ruing, via ReutersAt least 670 people are thought to have died after a landslide in Papua New Guinea, a local U.N. official said.“They knew that’s where they were supposed to be”: A family member of a missionary couple who were killed in gang violence in Haiti spoke with The Wall Street Journal. Read about why aid groups stay in the country.In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses wide-reaching welfare programs to create loyal voters.PoliticsJohn FettermanKenny Holston/The New York TimesSenator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, is picking fights with the progressives he once courted on issues including Israel and immigration.Rates of violent crime in most U.S. cities are down from pandemic-era highs. But rising property crime has made lawlessness an election issue.In Montana, the voting intentions of an influx of wealthy out-of-state newcomers hang over this year’s Senate race.President Biden told West Point’s graduating class that they owed an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not to their commander in chief. See a video.Other Big StoriesSevere storms are likely across portions of the U.S., while summer heat settles in across the South.At least five people have died and three others have gone missing on Mount Everest since the beginning of the climbing season.THE SUNDAY DEBATEShould Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack?Yes. The flags in support of rioters on Jan. 6, waved on Alito’s properties, add to the Supreme Court’s crisis of confidence. This incident “is a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining a clear separation between personal beliefs and judicial responsibilities,” Aron Solomon writes for The Hill.No. Justices have expressed political opinions publicly before, such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg about Donald Trump. “In all matters of public interest, justices have opinions — and they are appointed to some extent due to their opinions,” Michael Broyde writes for CNN.FROM OPINIONThe Fresh Air Fund in New York City teaches children about nature — and invites them to dream big, the editorial board writes.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