People still yearn for that trace of meanness, that disregard for niceties. Portnoy likes pizza with char on the bottom, pizza that doesn’t flop when you hold it by the crust. He seems to have an almost childish distaste for strong flavors like oregano and Parmesan. Vinyl signs, old photos on the wall, wood paneling … Read more
News that the Trump administration had agreed with Russia to try to negotiate a peace settlement for Ukraine, without including Ukraine in the talks, was a revelation that many believed reversed years of efforts to isolate Moscow. But prominent voices in the right-wing media world interpreted the development this week as cause for celebration. “Every … Read more
Journalists from The New York Times, The New Yorker and ProPublica were among the winners of the George Polk Awards, which were announced on Monday. Long Island University, the home of the awards, selected the winners from 493 submissions of work published in 2024, many of which focused on reports from wars and conflict zones … Read more
In the early 1970s, the madcap advertising executives Ron Travisano and Jerry Della Femina were struggling to find a gimmick to sell an undistinguished brand of pet food. Watching interminable and unremarkable footage of cats eating, Mr. Travisano and an editor, Joe Lione, spotted one that kept opening and closing its mouth in a manner … Read more
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an excerpt from an NBC interview published Friday night that Ukraine had a low chance of surviving Russia’s assault without U.S. support. In the excerpt from “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker,” Mr. Zelensky said: “Probably it will be very, very, very difficult. And of course, in all the difficult … Read more
Barbie Hsu, a Taiwanese actress, television host and pop star who catapulted to Pan-Asian popularity in 2001 as the star of the Cinderella-style teenage drama “Meteor Garden,” died on Feb. 2 in Tokyo. She was 48. Her death was announced to TVBS News in Taiwan by her sister Dee Hsu, who said the cause was … Read more
Paddington was not part of my childhood. I was a Muppet kid, and Fozzie was my comfort bear of choice. Instead, Paddington came to me as an adult. In 2015, an exceedingly polite, marmalade-slurping fellow in a floppy felt hat and blue duffel coat arrived in theaters and offered an uplifting story about tolerance and … Read more
On Dec. 7, Rupert formally filed his petition to strip Prue, Liz and James of their voting power. The three children quickly filed an objection, arguing that their father was abusing the narrow amendment that enables him to make changes to the family trust. Though the public was still unaware of the escalating turmoil roiling … Read more
The divided Murdochs The fight over the Murdoch family trust has deepened old fault lines. Lachlan was convinced that his three oldest siblings, led by James, were plotting to overthrow him when their father dies. Elisabeth, who has historically seen herself as the family’s Switzerland, said that she felt “violated and forsaken” by her father’s … Read more
Voters had delivered the president to the White House for a second term, disregarding news about arrests and indictments of former aides accused of breaking the law to help keep him in power. Now, the newly emboldened president and his top officials had a message for the reporters who covered it all so aggressively: It … Read more