By BY LAUREN MESSMAN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2DyIRYE
Saturday, November 30, 2019
What’s on TV Sunday: Kacey Musgraves’s Christmas Show and ‘Apollo 11’
By BY LAUREN MESSMAN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2DyIRYE
Quotation of the Day: Amazon’s Expansive, Creeping Influence in an American City
By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/2OCLsH8
Plane Crash in Blizzard-Like Conditions Kills 9 in South Dakota, Officials Say
By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/33Fh2Ip
Trump’s Intervention in SEALs Case Tests Pentagon’s Tolerance
By BY DAVE PHILIPPS, PETER BAKER, MAGGIE HABERMAN AND HELENE COOPER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/33zKsrI
Cooking Grease Down a Drain Eyed in Sewage Flood of 300 Homes, Officials Say
By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT New York https://ift.tt/33x8V0N
Leonardo DiCaprio Responds to Brazil’s President About Amazon Fires
By BY AIMEE ORTIZ from NYT World https://ift.tt/2rG0CSX
Mikaela Shiffrin Learns a New Way to Win: Without Her Mother as Coach
By BY BILL PENNINGTON from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/35OTySH
Justin Fields Has ‘Heisman Moment’ in Ohio State’s Win Over Michigan
By BY JEFF ARNOLD from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2R4XJpu
A Leak-Prone White House Finally Manages to Keep a Secret
By BY MICHAEL CROWLEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2OD7lGl
Studying Sea Snakes? Time to Call the ‘Fantastic Grandmothers’
By BY ANNIE ROTH from NYT Science https://ift.tt/2L915Ux
2020 Democratic Candidates Wage Escalating Fight (on the Merits of Fighting)
By BY MARK LEIBOVICH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2R5zTK4
On the Road with Mikaela Shiffrin, the Olympic Gold Medalist
By BY AMY TARA KOCH from NYT Travel https://ift.tt/34AvxyI
A Census Whodunit: Why Was the Citizenship Question Added?
By BY MICHAEL WINES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2XZW3iq
A Pennsylvania County’s Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns
By BY NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/33u7RKY
From a Stall in San Diego, a Somali Tailor Weaves a New Life
By BY BRENT CRANE from NYT Neediest Cases https://ift.tt/2OZmQXX
The Suburbs Are Kicking the Animals Out. Enter the Animal Rescue Squad.
By BY GRAY CHAPMAN from NYT Style https://ift.tt/2Ds4vxA
A Photographer Who Tours With Beyoncé and Jay-Z
By BY KATE DWYER from NYT Style https://ift.tt/2L9Oalj
Spain’s Leftist Outsiders Are on the Verge of Getting Inside
By BY RAPHAEL MINDER from NYT World https://ift.tt/2L4Spyn
How an Anti-Brexit London District Could Help Boris Johnson Triumph
By BY BENJAMIN MUELLER from NYT World https://ift.tt/35K77D5
Friday, November 29, 2019
3 Children in Arizona Are Missing After Vehicle Is Swept Away in Creek
By BY AIMEE ORTIZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/35IJz1a
A Relationship Built on Family and Faith
By BY VINCENT M. MALLOZZI from NYT Fashion https://ift.tt/2OxbnA6
Quotation of the Day: Iraqi Leader Says He’ll Step Down as Unrest Builds
By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/2R5KzbG
Seymour Siwoff, Master of Sports Statistics, Is Dead at 99
By BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2q4R8jP
3 Young People Stabbed on Busy Hague Street, Setting Off Alarm in Dutch City
By BY CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE from NYT World https://ift.tt/2OUYS04
New top story from Time: Why the LDS Church Joined LGBTQ Advocates in Supporting Utah’s Conversion Therapy Ban
When Utah Gov. Gary Herbert proposed a new rule banning licensed therapists from practicing LGBTQ conversion therapy on minors this week, it was supported not only by LGBTQ advocates, but also the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
The support of the LDS church, formerly known as the Mormon church, didn’t come easily. The process of banning conversion therapy has taken months of back-and-forth between church leaders, the LGBTQ community and state policy makers. As recently as a month ago, the church opposed the governor’s rule change.
Troy Williams, the executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Utah, tells TIME that the ban is significant because Utah is “ground zero” for conversion therapy. The idea that sexuality could be changed has pervaded among LDS members since at least the 1960s, when LDS apostles published Miracle of Forgiveness, which described gay sex as a “crime against nature” and said that sexual orientation could be changed through prayer. Researchers at Brigham Young University, which is owned by the church, allegedly used electric shock therapy to attempt to cure homosexuality in the 1970s.
“We are pleased that the new rule will mirror the legislation that was drafted and introduced earlier this year. We have no doubt the adoption of this rule will send a life-saving message to LGBTQ+ youth across our state,” Williams said in a statement released after the announcement.
When the rule goes into effect, as early as January 2020, Utah will be the 19th state to ban the practice.
While the LDS church has repeatedly affirmed that it does not condone or implement conversion therapy—which GLAAD defines as “any attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression”—LDS teachings are still regarded as largely conservative on LGBTQ issues. The church has described same-sex couples who marry as apostates; until this year, their children could not be baptized without approval from church leadership. Last month, LDS President and Apostle Dallin H. Oaks described gender as “biological sex at birth”—a definition which excludes people who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Asked for comment, the LDS church pointed TIME to its statement in support of the governor’s proposed ban.
LGBTQ advocates strongly tied the ban to efforts to address the rising suicide rate in Utah and prominent youth suicides. In the last three years, the church has invested in suicide prevention resources and campaigns.
Bryan Schott, the managing editor of UtahPolicy.com who has spent two decades covering politics in Utah, says that two major factors may have led the church to change its mind. Schott says that there’s growing concern about suicide in Utah, which has the sixth-highest suicide rate in the nation, and the LGBTQ advocates raised compelling evidence that attempts to change sexual orientation harms LGBTQ youth. Additionally, the rule now explicitly leaves room for discussions of morality.
“When they are presented with evidence, they can be very reasonable,” Schott says of the LDS church.
It was not always clear that Utah would ban conversion therapy. A first attempt to ban the practice appeared as a bill in the Utah legislature in winter 2019, but stalled after it was radically limited by social conservatives on the state House Judiciary Committee. With the alterations, the legislation would only place narrow limitations on healthcare practitioners, banning them from promising to change sexual orientation, or administering painful treatments—such as electric shock therapy. Negotiations between the governor’s office, LGBTQ advocates and the LDS church continued until the governor proposed a new solution: He offered to amend the state’s professional licensing rules to bar conversion therapy by licensed counselors, a move that would not require legislators’ approval.
The LDS church had chosen to neither oppose nor support the legislative bill banning the practice earlier this year. However church leaders at first opposed Herbert’s proposed rule change. In October, the church said that it is “ambiguous in key areas and overreaches in others.” It sent a letter to the state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, which was obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune. The letter argued that the ban’s definition of gender identity change was too broad and that it could curb what it describes as legitimate therapeutic practices.
It became clear that the church had reversed it position on Tuesday when it endorsed the rule change after the governor added language that made clear that patients could continue to discuss “moral or religious beliefs or practices” with a healthcare provider. A press release from the governor’s office announcing the conversion therapy ban included a statement from Marty Stephens, director of government relations for the LDS church. Stephens thanked the governor, his staff and the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for “finding a good solution which will work for all concerned.”
Williams says that part of the effort to pass the enact the ban in Utah was maintaining an an “active dialogue” with representatives from the LDS church. Williams says that while there are still religious conservatives in Utah who strongly support conversion therapy, he felt encouraged by the outpouring of support he received from LDS families.
“The most powerful protective factor we have to prevent suicide are strong family bonds. And when those family bonds are fractured by these kind of culture wars, then young people are at risk,” says Williams.
When asked if he felt the rule changes went far enough to limit conversion therapy, Williams insists that it went far as legally possible without infringing on individual rights.
“They’re not exceptions, they’re clarifications. That’s the important part,” Williams says of the passage. “And yeah, clergy are exempt. Life coaches are also exempt. Because the state doesn’t regulate churches, the state doesn’t regulate life coaches… right now, the state only regulates state licensed therapists. Right now, a lot of people are coming to me and saying that’s not enough. That’s what’s consistent with the first amendment and the Constitution of the United States.”
Williams says that the inclusion of the provision clarifying that that the rule likely was the reason the LDS church was willing to approve of the ban. However, he says that it does not impact the effectiveness of the ban, noting that LGBTQ rights advocates had worked with the Human Rights Campaign to ensure the language was “consistent with the national LGBTQ movement.”
Shmoo Cake, Persians and Spudnuts: Touring Canada’s Regional Cuisine
By BY IAN AUSTEN from NYT World https://ift.tt/35P2Y0q
New top story from Time: A Shorter Holiday Shopping Season This Year Means a More Intense Scramble
(NEW YORK) — The mad scramble between Thanksgiving and Christmas just got six days shorter.
Black Friday once again kicks off the start of the holiday shopping season. But with six fewer days than last year, it will be the shortest season since 2013 because Thanksgiving fell on the fourth Thursday in November — the latest possible date it could be. That means customers will have less time to shop and retailers will have less time to woo them.
Adobe Analytics predicts a loss of $1 billion in online revenue from a shortened season. Still, it expects online sales will reach $143.7 billion, up 14.1% from last year’s holiday season
The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, baked the shorter season into its forecast, but it says the real drivers will be the job market. It forecasts that holiday sales will rise between 3.8% and 4.2%, an increase from the disappointing 2.1% growth seen in the November and December 2018 period that came well short of the group’s prediction.
Last year’s holiday sales were hurt by turmoil over the White House trade policy with China and a delay in data collection by nearly a month because of a government shutdown. This year’s holiday forecast is above the average holiday sales growth of 3.7% over the previous five years.
NRF expects online and other non-store sales, which are included in the total, to increase between 11% and 14%, for the holiday period.
Black Friday is expected to once again be the largest shopping day of the season, followed by the last Saturday before Christmas, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending across all types of payments including cash and check. Thanksgiving Day isn’t even on the top 10 holiday shopping days, according to MasterCard.
The 2019 holiday season will be a good measure of the U.S. economy’s health. Many retail CEOs describe their customers has financially healthy, citing moderate wage growth and an unemployment rate hovering near a 50-year low.
“The overall picture is positive,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy. “People are spending out of positive cash flow as opposed to borrowing.”
Economic growth has moderated since earlier this year, with growth at just 1.9% in the July-September quarter, down from 3.1% in the first three months of the year. Analysts blame at least part of that on the U.S.-China trade war, which has forced many companies to delay plans to invest and expand.
That’s left consumers as the main drivers. So far, Americans have kept up their spending, allaying fears of a recession.
With more holiday deals happening earlier to compensate for the late start, many have already started to shop. More than half of consumers have already started their holiday shopping and nearly a quarter of purchases have already been made, according to the annual survey released by the NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey of 7,917 adult consumers was conducted Oct. 31 through Nov. 6.
“This is further evidence that the holiday season has grown far beyond the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF, in a statement.
New top story from Time: North Korea May Deploy a ‘Super-Large’ Rocket Launcher Soon
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday the latest test-firing of its “super-large” multiple rocket launcher was a final review of the weapon’s combat application, a suggestion that the country is preparing to deploy the new weapons system soon.
South Korea’s military earlier said North Korea fired two projectiles, likely from the same “super-large” rocket launcher, on Thursday. It expressed “strong regret” over the launches and urged North Korea to stop escalating tensions.
On Friday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency confirmed the launches were made with the presence of leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials.
“The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said.
It said Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over the results of the test-firing.
Analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said North Korea appears to be entering the stage of mass-producing and deploying the rocket launcher. He wrote on Facebook that the weapons system may already have been deployed.
Thursday’s firing was the fourth test-launch of the rocket launcher since August.
Some experts say the flight distance and trajectory of projectiles fired from the launcher show they are virtually missiles or missile-classed weapons. The projectiles fired Thursday flew about 380 kilometers (235 miles) at a maximum altitude of 97 kilometers (60 miles), according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called the projectiles ballistic missiles.
North Korea has fired other new weapons in recent months in what some experts say is an attempt to wrest concessions from the United States in stalled nuclear diplomacy while upgrading its military capabilities.
A U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to scrap its nuclear program in return for political and economic benefits remains largely stalemated since the February collapse of a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam.
Most of the North Korean weapons tested since the Vietnam summit were short-range. Attention is now on whether North Korea resumes nuclear and long-range missile tests if Trump fails to meet a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to offer new proposals to salvage the negotiations.
Trump considers North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests a major foreign policy win.
Meet the Man Loosening Bank Regulation, One Detail at a Time
By BY JEANNA SMIALEK from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2Y7bFkt
Thursday, November 28, 2019
En Escocia se juega el destino del brexit y el del Reino Unido
By BY STEPHEN CASTLE from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2L5WW3T
Art Basel Miami, Where Big Money Meets Bigger Money
By BY BRETT SOKOL from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2R1xi3P
Families of Hillsborough Victims Are Again Left Without Answers
By BY RORY SMITH from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2R1RyCo
What’s on TV Friday: ‘Atlantics’ and ‘The Report’
By BY GABE COHN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2ryami6
Espionage and Interference? Australia Grapples With Its China Relationship
By BY DAMIEN CAVE AND JAMIE TARABAY from NYT World https://ift.tt/2XXDMSN
Los peores regalos de tecnología (y cómo mejorarlos)
By BY BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2L0vuEw
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Fossil fuels helped to catapult Norway from a stable but small fishing and timber economy into one of the wealthiest and most progr...
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