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    How to Make the Best Lentil Soup

    AdvertisementBy Ali SlagleAli Slagle is a recipe developer and regular contributor to NYT Cooking who specializes in low-effort, high-reward recipes. She is also the author of the cookbook “I Dream of Dinner (so You Don’t Have To).”Published More

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    Your Zodiac Sign Is 2,000 Years Out of Date

    <!–> [!–> <!–> –><!–> [–><!–>Whether you care about horoscopes or not, you probably know your zodiac sign. You’ve probably known it for most of your life.–><!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> [!–> <!–> –><!–> [–><!–> –><!–> –>1. Earth’s wobble<!–> –><!–> [–><!–>The Earth wobbles like a top. A spinning top starts to wobble soon after it […] More

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    Should New York City Ditch Its Party Primaries in Favor of Open Races?

    A panel created by Mayor Eric Adams wants to consider using an “open primary” system for elections in New York City. Here’s how the plan would work.For the last century, New York City has typically elected its mayor the same way. Democrats choose a candidate in their party primary, Republicans choose a candidate in their primary, and the twain meet in November.That may soon change.A special panel appointed by Mayor Eric Adams is formulating a plan that would scrap the current system in favor of an open primary where all the candidates — regardless of political party affiliation — would be on the ballot.Under the proposal, the top two candidates would advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. And all voters would be eligible to participate in the primary election. Right now, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their party’s primary contest.The 13-member panel, a charter revision commission, recently released a 135-page report that details several proposals that could be on the ballot this November. The measures could curb the City Council’s power to reject new housing, among other ideas. Voters would need to approve the proposals, which would be listed as ballot questions, for them to be enacted.The commission has not yet decided whether to put open primaries on the ballot, and during a four-hour hearing on Monday, public opinions were clearly divided.Here’s what you need to know about the proposal:How would an open primary system work?The panel is considering moving to a system where all registered voters could participate in local primary elections, and the top two candidates who receive the most votes would face off in the general election.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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    The Markets Are Balancing on a Knife’s Edge

    The world has been anything but peaceful, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at the markets.The calm in the markets has been unnerving.You might think the world has been enjoying a season so tranquil that the stock, bond and currency markets have fallen asleep.Yet the world has been anything but peaceful lately, whether in the United States, Ukraine or the Persian Gulf. And the Federal Reserve gave the markets another reason for concern on Wednesday when it held interest rates steady. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said that the economy faced the risks of both higher inflation and stagnating economic growth, but that the central bank needed more evidence before it could decide where the greatest dangers lay.“Right now, it’s a forecast in a foggy time,” he said. Even more than usual, the path ahead isn’t clear. Still, there was barely any reaction in market prices. Nor has anything else seriously disrupted major markets.That’s noteworthy, when you consider the crises that are looming: the highest tariffs in decades; a contentious crackdown on immigration and a swelling budget deficit in the United States; and, in the Middle East, an escalating war between Israel and Iran that could sharply reduce global oil supplies.This isn’t to say all markets have been entirely placid. The price of oil has oscillated since Israel launched a barrage of air attacks on Iran last Friday, setting off a new, heightened stage of conflict between the two longtime adversaries. President Trump has warned Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that the United States might intervene directly, saying, “Our patience is wearing thin.” The start of a much bigger war, with the United States joining the Israeli effort to eliminate Iran as a potential nuclear threat, would undoubtedly wake the markets from their apparent slumber.High StakesThe economic risks in the Persian Gulf are enormous. If Iran were desperate enough, in addition to targeting U.S. forces in the region it could throttle the oil supplies that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the strait encompasses one quarter of “total global seaborne oil trade,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and protecting that oil route has been a preoccupation of U.S. military planners since the days of the shah of Iran, who was deposed in 1979.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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    Can Your Spouse Copy Your Snacks?

    B: If you put the concept of grilled cheese into the universe, you must expect a melty, delicious echo to come back to you. So long as he’s making it himself, copying is no crime. But no matter how I personally feel about your peanut butter and banana slices (queasy is the answer), stealing your snack is, well, stealing, and must stop. More

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    I Think My Son Is Gay. Should I Talk to Him About Coming Out?

    I’d love to be able to have honest conversations about what he’s going through.I am the mother of two delightful teenage boys in the throes of navigating all the challenges that youth brings. Over the past few years, it has become evident to me that my younger son is most likely gay. I believe I am the only person in the family to have noticed his interest in rainbow flags or his outrage at injustices to the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community, among other, subtler, indications.I’ve always thought it quite unfair that only those who fall under the L.G.B.T.Q.+ umbrella have the onerous burden of “coming out.” Last summer my son weathered the heartbreak of a dear friend, likely a crush, moving away. For Valentine’s Day, a female classmate asked my son out, and he turned her down. His life is getting increasingly complicated. I don’t want to push him to come out before he’s ready, but I’d love to be able to have honest conversations about some of what he’s going through. My question is: Should I wait and let him come out when he’s ready, or is there a way I can save him the trouble? What is the most thoughtful way to approach this? — Name WithheldFrom the Ethicist:I get why you want to spare him the awkward dance of coming out, but for many young people, it’s a way to claim an identity on their terms. (For many parents, in turn, it involves pretending that the declaration comes as news.) Pressing fast-forward could leave him with the sense that he has lost a measure of agency — that a big moment has been pre-empted. It could also make him feel exposed or rushed. There are all sorts of ways that you can indicate your loving acceptance and reassure him that you’ll be a soft place to land. Indeed, I’m sure you’ve already done so. When he’s ready, you’ll be there — arms open, heart steady, no script needed.Readers RespondThe previous question was from a reader wondering whether to disclose the toxic products used on the shared lawn when selling a condo. The reader wrote: “I am hoping to sell my condo. I live in a homeowner’s association that still uses many toxic landscaping products. … Several residents have worked over the past two years, without success, to change the association’s landscaping practices. What is my obligation to disclose these harmful products to prospective buyers, especially those with young children and pets?”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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    Is Peeing ‘Just in Case’ Bad for Your Bladder Health?

    Q: A urologist recently told me I shouldn’t go to the bathroom “just in case.” Is that true?As children, many of us were encouraged to pee before we left the house or whenever a bathroom was nearby. There was a good reason: using the bathroom “just in case” can help prevent accidents among children prone to “holding it.”Urologists call this practice “convenience” or “proactive” voiding, and people of all ages do it, often before heading out the door or going to sleep.An occasional “just in case” bathroom break won’t do much harm, said Dr. Ariana Smith, a professor of urology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. But doing it several times a day, she said, can increase the likelihood of bladder issues by disrupting the natural feedback loop between your bladder and your brain.How does peeing ‘just in case’ affect bladder health?To understand why proactive voiding can be harmful, it helps to know how the bladder works. As your kidneys filter blood to remove waste, they produce urine, which is carried to your bladder. Women can typically hold up to 500 milliliters of urine, or around two cups, in their bladders; men can store 700 milliliters, or nearly three cups.We generally feel the urge to use the bathroom well before we hit that limit, when our bladder contains between 150 and 250 milliliters of liquid. As the bladder fills up, it sends nerve signals to the brain, letting us know it’s time to go.The experts we spoke with said that when you pee “just in case,” your bladder starts alerting your brain too early, before having the standard amount of urine. This disruption can reduce “the volume your bladder can hold over time,” said Siobhan Sutcliffe, an epidemiologist and professor of surgery at Washington 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

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    Google AI Mode for Search Has Arrived. Proceed With Caution.

    AI Mode excels at tasks like product research for online shopping. But it falls short on basic web searches.Last week, I asked Google to help me plan my daughter’s birthday party by finding a park in Oakland, Calif., with picnic tables. The site generated a list of parks nearby, so I went to scout two of them out — only to find there were, in fact, no tables.“I was just there,” I typed to Google. “I didn’t see wooden tables.”Google acknowledged the mistake and produced another list, which again included one of the parks with no tables.I repeated this experiment by asking Google to find an affordable carwash nearby. Google listed a service for $25, but when I arrived, a carwash cost $65.I also asked Google to find a grocery store where I could buy an exotic pepper paste. Its list included a nearby Whole Foods, which didn’t carry the item.I wasn’t doing traditional web searches on Google.com. I was testing the company’s new AI Mode, a tool that is similar to chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, where users can type in questions to get answers. AI Mode, which is rolling out worldwide in the coming weeks, will soon appear as a tab next to your Google.com search results.The arrival of AI Mode underscores how new technology is redefining what it means to search for something online. For decades, a web search involved looking up keywords, like “most reliable car brands,” to show a list of relevant websites.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