Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Trump’s immigration spiesDays after federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the Trump administration began a clandestine surveillance operation against several left-leaning political groups there. It was looking for evidence that they had bankrolled or otherwise supported “violent opportunists and agitators” on the streets, documents show. The government used an array of invasive tactics to gather information on climate, labor and socialist groups and their members, none of whom were accused of crimes. The tactics included:
So far, the organizations have not faced any charges. Yet prosecutors have shown a grand jury a PowerPoint slide asserting that the groups were part of a conspiracy to impede the work of immigration agents in Minnesota. In other immigration news: The Department of Homeland Security paid $464 million to buy 10 airplanes that it said were urgently needed for deportation flights. Yet it has barely used any of the planes. Supreme Court transformed by pandemicDuring Covid, the Supreme Court held oral arguments by phone. The public could listen in, and the justices tweaked their protocol to give each person a turn at questioning, in order of seniority. Years after returning to the courtroom, oral arguments sound totally different than they did before the pandemic, according to a new study. Adam Liptak, The Times’s chief legal correspondent, teamed up with scholars to analyze some 16 million words uttered over 1,425 oral arguments in the past two decades. One thing’s very clear:
The voices have shifted, too. Justice Clarence Thomas, who once went a decade without asking a question, became a regular participant. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined the court in 2022, quickly became the most talkative member in living memory. Around the same time, Chief Justice John Roberts grew taciturn. Related: Trump suffered stinging losses — on tariffs, the Federal Reserve and birthright citizenship — but said none of the rulings would stand in his way. Is he defying the court, or pursuing lawful alternatives? That’s the subject of today’s installment of The Docket newsletter.
California asks, ‘Are Jews an ethnic group?’When it comes to collecting data, the State of California recognizes nearly 50 racial and ethnic identities. Now it’s considering one more: Jewish. A new bill would require state agencies to include an optional box for Jewish ethnicity on all demographic forms, including college applications and public assistance programs. If it passes, California would become the first state to officially treat Jewishness as something more than a religion. It’s a disputed solution to a very real problem: The precise nature of “Jewishness” has long perplexed the courts, the culture and even the White House. Related: A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit accusing Harvard of enabling antisemitism. He said the incidents were “isolated and episodic.”
Dr. Phil hypes Greenland’s oilGreenland, fretting over melting glaciers, declared a few years ago that it would suspend oil exploration. But a Texas-based company called Greenland Energy snagged a license before the policy changed, and now says it may be on the cusp of a major discovery. If that’s true, and if long-term oil-pumping makes economic sense (two enormous ifs!), it could throw Greenland on a path toward petrostatehood. Trump acolytes as varied as the TV personality Dr. Phil and the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, are talking up the wildcat oil project. But locals are lining up against it, and this week Greenland’s government said it’s unlikely any drilling would be authorized before 2028. More top news
Horror’s money shot“The Evil Dead” is one of the greatest horror-movie franchises in the past half century. But unlike “Alien” or “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” its stylistic signature is not a monster, a weapon or a setting. It’s a camera shot. You’ve seen it before, careening wildly around trees …
and flying straight into people’s mouths.
Once you know to look for it, you’ll see it everywhere. (Including on reruns of David Letterman, who spoofed it with his so-called “Thrill Cam.”) Our critic set out to understand: What makes the shot so unsettling?
A Madden-ing omissionMadden’s popular N.F.L. video games are designed to feel real. Its latest version, which drops today, incorporates new short-yardage plays, detailed player tattoos and signature throwing styles. For many years, the distinctive tagline for its developer, EA Sports, was “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.” Madden left them out. But a nonprofit group, aiming to spread awareness of the risks of football, has found a way to incorporate them. A free modification lets users (virtually) experience the blurred vision, light sensitivity and nausea that are hallmarks of traumatic brain injury. Dinner table topics
Cook our flavor-packed salmon with freshly grated tomatoes and butter. Wash your face. Your skin needs it, and with the right cleanser, it can be a delight. (For an extra kick, a topical vitamin C serum helps keep skin glowing.) Test your knowledge of tomatoes by taking our quiz. Try a foldable phone, if you can stomach the price. They’re finally worth buying. Eat outdoors in New York City. Roadway dining structures, ubiquitous during Covid, are making a year-round comeback. Write with a fantastic pen on a notebook that’s every bit as deserving. Sit back and admire these brilliant photos from yesterday’s solar eclipse. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
