Politics

ANJAR, Lebanon — Hilda Doumanian stood in the main hall of the Anjar museum, scanning the glass cases holding items her ethnic Armenian forebears salvaged from their lands before they escaped to Lebanon more than eight decades ago. “This appears to be our fate: to be forcibly displaced every few decades,” she said, walking up to one of the displays: A collection of rust-encrusted kitchenware and bundles of braided silk from a village loom. Ancient-looking rifles. Religious vessels. Bibles so old their pages appeared more suspended dust than paper. “The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century,” she said, slowly shaking her head in resignation, referring to the 1915 genocide by the Ottoman Empire. “Now in the 21st century we see the first genocide, and it’s Armenians ag...

SAN FRANCISCO —  For one last day, Dianne Feinstein reigned.She reigned over this lovely, enchanted, vexing and deeply troubled city. The city where she was born, the city that nurtured and sustained and tortured her, and sometimes broke her heart.Dignitaries arrived and tributes flowed from around the country as those closest to the late U.S. senator and former mayor gathered for a final remembrance outside San Francisco’s majestic City Hall.President Biden, in taped remarks, extolled Feinstein’s character and steel-rod spine. “She was always tough, prepared, rigorous and compassionate,” Biden said. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer hailed her as “one of the Senate’s great deal-makers.”“There are many adjectives that rightly describe Dianne Feinstein,” he said. “Strong. Unflappabl...

MEXICO CITY —  Branding the scourge of fentanyl deaths the “top of the agenda,” America’s senior diplomat on Thursday implored Mexico to help stop the flow of the drug into the U.S., but it was unclear whether he received a meaningful commitment from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, in Mexico City for a series of high-level security and economic talks, said in a news conference he had “no doubt about Mexico’s commitment to working collaboratively ... a commitment in words and deeds.”But López Obrador has been slow to acknowledge the depths of the fentanyl crisis, preferring until recently to blame U.S. consumption and not the role of Mexico in production and supply of the synthetic opiate, which is fabricated using chemicals from China.Mex...

The Biden administration announced an additional $9 billion in student debt relief for tens of thousands of borrowers Wednesday, days after federal student loan payments resumed after a three-year pause during the pandemic.The move gives relief through fixes to income-driven repayment plans and public service loan forgiveness, and by canceling debt for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, the White House said in a statement.Here’s what you need to know.What does it mean? The measure will forgive some $9 billion in federal student loans to about 125,000 borrowers. The latest round of relief is part of the Biden administration’s changes to federal programs to address bureaucratic obstacles and widespread breakdowns that prevented some borrowers from having debt waived; those and...

LONDON —  For many under-18s in Britain, it’s a rite of passage: loitering outside the corner store, mustering the pluck to try to buy a package of cigarettes without their underage status being detected.But under a proposal this week by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, those now 14 or younger would never be allowed to smoke legally. In an echo of a law enacted in New Zealand in December, England would increase the legal smoking age, currently 18, by one year, every year, beginning in 2027.The announcement of one of the most stringent policies on tobacco globally was made to great fanfare by Sunak, who used his speech at the Conservative Party Conference — arguably the most important prime ministerial vehicle on the British political calendar — to unveil his plans. Although Brits have broadly e...

FIFA, global soccer’s governing body and arguably the most powerful sports organization in the world, announced this week it was lifting a ban that kept Russian teams from participating in international competitions, clearing the way for the country’s men’s and women’s teams to take part in their respective U-17 World Cups.FIFA’s decision came a week after the executive committee of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body and one whose influence in the sport is eclipsed only by FIFA, moved to lift its own boycott of Russian teams, imposed after the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia celebrated the announcements Thursday by sending a missile into a cafe and grocery store in a tiny village in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, killing at least 51 civilians.The fact that the missil...

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and the major Hollywood studios are wrapping up their first week of negotiations since the 160,000-member performers union went on strike in mid-July, but the sides aren’t yet close to a deal, sources familiar with the talks said Friday.The two groups met three days this week at SAG-AFTRA’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, and have agreed to resume talks on Monday. The sessions have been productive, these sources said, providing an opportunity for ranking company executives to hear directly from union leaders, including SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, who has been sharply critical of industry leaders.Friday marked the 85th day of SAG-AFTRA’s strike against the major entertainment companies.“This is the fight for our lives — and for our art,” actor ...

The press should borrow a lyric from “The Sound of Music” and ask itself: “How do you solve a problem like Donald?” Or, put another way, how should journalists cover Trump’s unprecedented campaign for president while under indictment for trying to overturn an election and more?The question concerns not just Trump but also politics and campaigns more broadly in an age of fragmented media and polarized politics. The answer requires recognizing journalists’ altered role and fulfilling it with more care, preparation and diligence.Many confronting the challenge of covering Trump conclude that, as a recent column in the Arizona Republic put it, “It’s time to stop giving Trump airtime.” The larger point is that the media shouldn’t give exposure to people they know are going to make provably false...

WASHINGTON —  The Palestinian militant offensive against Israel on Saturday — possibly the deadliest and largest ever — will dramatically alter diplomatic and political calculations in the Middle East and deprive Washington of whatever leverage it has in influencing Israel, diplomats and analysts say. Vowing “mighty vengeance,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched massive airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to the militant attacks that left hundreds dead and many abducted. Netanyahu declared his country at war and a full-scale but perilous ground incursion, 18 years after Israel withdrew from Gaza, is not out of the question, experts say.The looming and urgent question then will be whether fighting extends farther into the volatile region, involving Lebanon o...

Local leaders in Southern California swiftly denounced Hamas militants and increased security around Jewish institutions Saturday hours after a deadly attack killed at least 700 Israelis in the Middle East, with more than 400 in Gaza killed in counterattacks.“I join voices across the nation condemning this horrific attack on Israel,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Saturday in a statement. “The Los Angeles region has the second largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and many families are anxiously awaiting developments as they unfold. My thoughts are with those families this morning. Angelenos stand with those under siege mourning loss. May their memories be a blessing.”Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that the department added extra patrols to areas of the city...