For the Actors of ‘Sumo,’ Learning Lines Was Just the Half of It
For the Actors of ‘Sumo,’ Learning Lines Was Just the Half of It
Two men, barefoot and wearing traditional loincloths around their waists, tussled with each other on a stage transformed to look like a sumo ring.
A fighting consultant, who had been observing the rehearsal nearby, stepped in to offer advice: The men’s arm movements were too straight; their motions needed to be smoother and more circular. Moments later, the two actors were at it again: reaching out, shifting their weight and then pushing off each other in a grappling exchange.
New York theatergoers have seen it all, including shows about sports — which are not uncommon. But rarer, nonexistent even, is a theatrical work about sumo wrestling. Now, Lisa Sanaye Dring’s “Sumo” is transporting Off Broadway audiences at the Public Theater to an intimate sumo wrestling facility in Tokyo — known as a heya, or wrestling stable — where bare-chested actors fearlessly slap into each other in a heap of flesh and sweat.
“I’m interested in people who use their bodies differently than I use my body,” Dring said, reflecting on what led her to write “Sumo.” “It feels very much linked to me — the fighting and the human story — because their humanity is inside how they fight.”
The play itself tells the story of Akio, a newcomer to the heya who, because he’s considered rather small by sumo standards, isn’t taken seriously at first. An unranked wrestler trying to prove himself, he endures brutality as he goes about sweeping up rice, bathing the highest-ranking wrestler and doing other servant-like tasks that he has been relegated to performing. Before long, though, he quickly proves himself and rises to become one of the group’s strongest combatants.
Through his journey, theatergoers learn about sumo wrestling’s origins, its spiritual connections to Shinto, the historical Japanese religion, and other aspects of its lore. But the real highlight is seeing the actors grappling, tossing and rolling with one another in the ring in ambitiously choreographed fight sequences that required months of physical training.
Dring and the show’s director, Ralph B. Peña, were initially unsure of how to portray the fights. They first experimented with shadow puppets, but Peña said that “would have been a cop-out.”
As Peña and Dring committed to having the actors wrestle, and doing so smoothly and within budget, they hired two fighting directors — one as an intimacy director and another as a sumo consultant — to ensure safety, accuracy and precision.
“I think it is the hallmark of this particular play,” said the sumo consultant, James Yaegashi, who grew up in Japan and practices martial arts. “The fights aren’t just a cool thing, it’s actually a very integral part to the story.”
Jesse Green, the chief theater critic for The New York Times, wrote in his review that “Peña’s staging, mostly within a simple 15-foot sumo ring designed by Wilson Chin, provides plenty of intense action, which the men’s size and strength make almost elemental, like collisions of planets.”
Dring, who was born in Hawaii and is of Japanese descent, watched a live sumo event in Japan about a decade ago while visiting that country shortly after her mother’s death. The spectacle, she said, helped her feel closer to her ancestors. As she learned more about the sport, she became especially taken with the devotion of sumo wrestlers, who abandon their personal lives to practice the combat form.
“There is a beauty and a spirituality and an honor inside of it,” she said about the deeply ritualistic sport. She tried to work that into her play, which had its premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2023. (The play is a co-production of La Jolla Playhouse and Ma-Yi Theater Company.)
When selecting the cast, Peña said he looked for “quadruple threats,” actors who could sing, act and dance and who possessed the proper body frame. The process, he said, took more than a year, with some candidates coming from Japan and Hawaii. The auditions themselves had physical components, and included testing the actors’ flexibility in a squat-like position. Once the cast of nine had been assembled, actors spent the first few weeks of rehearsals in training that included lower-body exercises to mimic sumo wrestlers’ stances.
“There’s a really American impulse, to be really high in the body,” said Chelsea Pace, the intimacy director, referring to football tackling and rugby. “One of the things we’ve had to come back to time and time again is ‘Drop your weight.’”
Pace said they had incorporated safe words and physical cues for actors to communicate with one another during fights. The actors also have access to sports massages.
“It has been a lifesaver, just because I’ve been in constant physical pain,” David Shih, who portrays Mitsuo, the heya’s highest-ranked wrestler, said with a chuckle.
Shih, who had no prior sumo wrestling experience, had an existing knee injury, and during a recent show, he wore a brace that matched his skin tone. In his free time, he said, he watched videos of real sumo practices to understand the tempo — most matches last only seconds in tournaments known as honbashos.
Both Shih and Scott Keiji Takeda, who plays Aiko, said they had put on weight to prepare for their roles by increasing their dietary intake, though they said they had not been pressured to do so by the play’s leadership team.
“I think it’s helped me feel more like I inhabit the role and that I’m living that lifestyle,” said Shih, who said he had gained about 20 pounds.
The experience has been a learning curve for the actors, and those in the creative team said they had been mindful about adding elements that helped the audience learn more about sumo. In one scene, Mitsuo scolds Aiko for his joyous tone after Mitsuo wins a match. Rikishi — the Japanese term for sumo wrestlers — do not celebrate after a contest, which is an actual tenet of the sport. Narration and visual aids at the start of the play explain what has long been believed to be the sport’s origin: Two deities battled each other centuries ago to determine the fate of Japan.
For added effect, a ceremonial taiko drummer bangs his instrument above the stage at certain intervals. Takeda, who is making his Off Broadway debut, said he had grown to love sumo wrestling more as he began preparing for the role, which gave him a different perspective on the play’s potential appeal.
“It’s kind of bridging the gap,” he said, “between a sporting event and theater.”
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How Trump Has Upended the Presidential Pardon
How Trump Has Upended the Presidential Pardon
President Trump’s willingness to pardon allies has spawned a brisk market for executive clemency. Kenneth P. Vogel, a Times reporter who investigates money, politics and influence, looks at some of the people who want pardons.
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Trump Freeze on Aid to Nuclear Inspectors Undercuts His Iran Policy
Trump Freeze on Aid to Nuclear Inspectors Undercuts His Iran Policy
Starting in late January, President Trump suspended two programs that provide American aid to international nuclear inspectors, potentially undermining his own goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear arsenal.
Though one of the programs has since been restored, the outcome of the actions has been to weaken confidence in an effort that for decades has exposed Iran’s strides toward the production of nuclear weapons. Some experts now worry that the disruptions will scare away talented professionals from the field of nuclear nonproliferation and hinder the global fight against the spread of nuclear arms.
Overall, the freezes have thrown uncertainty and confusion into programs that have had bipartisan support for decades. And now, for the first time, the people relying on global teamwork have to contend with the possibility that other vital collaborations may be discontinued or come under fire.
“These are disastrous policies,” said Terry C. Wallace Jr., a former director of Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico. “They go against science and partnerships that lift a nation.”
The specific pauses in aid, and their partial reversals, were described by current and former U.S. government nuclear experts who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The inspection unit of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is part of the United Nations and based in Vienna, has long received aid from Washington to help it block, counter and respond to a wide range of global nuclear threats. Recently, at four sites in Iran, the team’s sleuths found traces of highly processed uranium, raising new questions around whether Tehran harbors a clandestine nuclear program to make atomic bombs.
Hours after taking office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that halted U.S. foreign aid programs for a 90-day assessment that could lead to their restructuring or termination. Most notably, the freeze has upended humanitarian programs that fight disease and hunger in developing countries.
But the U.S. government nuclear experts said the president’s order also suspended aid from Energy Department labs that support the I.A.E.A. inspector corps. The two frozen programs recruit atomic inspectors, train them, supply them with equipment, teach them advanced methods of environmental sampling and use sophisticated lab devices to examine the samples they gather for clues.
Overall, the two programs act as intermediaries. They connect the Vienna detectives, who inspect nuclear sites around the globe as part of the I.A.E.A’s Department of Safeguards, to America’s network of nuclear labs, including Los Alamos. In essence, they direct world-class expertise and technical aid to Vienna — or did until Mr. Trump cut off foreign aid.
Both American programs, though located at Energy Department labs, are funded by the State Department.
The I.A.E.A. declined to comment on the aid interruptions, as did federal officials. In a statement, the State Department said the Trump administration makes U.S. national security a top priority.
“For that reason,” it added, “certain U.S. assistance to programs that support International Atomic Energy Agency efforts and capabilities to inspect nuclear facilities worldwide, including in Iran, are continuing. The work of the I.A.E.A. makes America and the world safer.” The statement said nothing about the atomic freezes and seemed to imply that some aid programs would be discontinued.
On Thursday, Wired magazine reported that the Pentagon was considering parallel moves. The magazine said documents it obtained showed that the Defense Department was weighing whether to slash the number of U.S. programs that work with global partners to curb the spread of chemical, biological and nuclear arms.
Countering Iran’s nuclear advances is among the Trump administration’s top foreign policy objectives. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during his confirmation hearing in January that a nuclear-armed Iran “cannot be allowed under any circumstances.”
It’s unclear whether administration officials understand the depth of the relationship between the United States and the I.A.E.A. American aid helps the Vienna agency develop its inspector corps, whose staff, in turn, can go where American government experts may be unwelcome. The inspectors have exposed Iran’s hidden nuclear progress and helped the Eastern European nation of Moldova seize an illicit shipment of highly enriched uranium, which can fuel atomic bombs. It’s a two-way street.
In addition, the nuclear aid helps place American citizens in jobs at the Vienna agency. By statute, the I.A.E.A. promotes the peaceful uses of atomic energy, including nuclear reactors that light cities. It also has the responsibility to prevent those activities from being used surreptitiously to build atomic bombs.
U.S. programs that counter the global spread of weapons of mass destruction have grown steadily into a vast federal enterprise. The top players now include the departments of State, Energy, Defense and Homeland Security as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which trains people from more than 50 countries.
The programs have helped build supersensitive radiation detectors and promote the fight against atomic theft and sabotage. For this fiscal year alone, the National Nuclear Security Administration, an arm of the Energy Department, laid out a detailed plan to spend $2.5 billion on nuclear nonproliferation.
“These programs enhance U.S. security,” said Laura Holgate, a former American ambassador to the I.A.E.A. and a top adviser to President Barack Obama on nuclear terrorism. She added: “This is not charity. It’s in our self-interest.”
In recent decades, many Republicans have railed against the global nonproliferation apparatus, calling it bloated and ineffective. In April 2020, during his first presidential term, Mr. Trump proposed a budget that would have slashed funding for the Pentagon’s flagship effort to counter the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Early in 2023, the Heritage Foundation published its “Mandate for Leadership,” a force behind its Project 2025 that many Trump loyalists helped write. The document called on the next administration to “end ineffective and counterproductive nonproliferation activities like those involving Iran and the United Nations.”
Mr. Trump’s executive order that halted U.S. foreign aid, signed on Jan. 20, made no direct mention of foreign nuclear aid suspension. And since then, with one exception, no lab directors or federal officials have alluded publicly to the freeze.
In late January, the freeze hit the recruiting program, which is based at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. Its International Safeguards Project Office not only signs up Americans to work as inspectors or associated personnel for the I.A.E.A., but also trains inspectors of all nationalities.
In addition, the program draws on the national lab network to devise inspection gear. Early on, it designed a hand-held device that became an I.A.E.A. favorite.
On Feb. 12, Kimberly Budil, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, referred to the Brookhaven freeze in a House hearing. She said a nonproliferation program in her lab set up through Brookhaven had been suspended pending Trump administration review.
“This is about a $1 million effort,” Dr. Budil told a House subcommittee on energy. “We don’t know if it will be restarted.” The press affairs office at the Livermore lab gave no substantive answers to repeated queries for details on the suspended aid.
As for the Brookhaven suspension, the lab’s office of press affairs; Raymond Diaz, the head of the lab’s International Safeguards Project Office; and the Energy Department declined to comment.
The second American program upended by the freeze is run by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Unlike Brookhaven, it specializes in the use of sophisticated lab equipment to analyze swabs collected by I.A.E.A. inspectors for invisible traces of nuclear materials and readings that might point to illicit atomic work.
The Oak Ridge program is the U.S. intermediary for what the I.A.E.A. calls its Network of Analytical Laboratories, which it relies on to double-check and confirm its findings. Brian W. Ticknor, who runs the Oak Ridge program, declined to comment on the freeze, directing all questions to the State Department.
The current and former government nuclear experts said that the State Department reinstated the entire Oak Ridge lab program in late February. Similarly, they added, the Brookhaven program received a few waivers to resume work on specific efforts related to Iran, but most of its work and funding for other global nonproliferation programs remain on hold.
The experts said they expected that in the coming weeks, the full Brookhaven program would be unblocked. The current holdup at the State Department for approval of that step, they said, was now administrative rather than substantive.
The freeze reversals, they added, were rooted in Trump administration officials’ coming to see the importance of the I.A.E.A. in monitoring Iran’s secretive moves to make atomic bombs.
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Raised in a Civil War, He Makes Games to Bring People Together
Raised in a Civil War, He Makes Games to Bring People Together
Within a modern but nondescript building a few hundred feet from Stockholm’s pretty Riddarfjarden Bay, a frosted glass wall in Josef Fares’s office displays etched characters from It Takes Two, his video game studio’s “Toy Story”-esque cooperative adventure about an adult couple’s broken relationship. Near his desk, in a lighted case, sits a pair of Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves.
“I can relate, you know, to someone who’s speaking his mind,” Fares said.
In an industry where executives have become mired in tech marketing-speak and can be as protected by publicists as Hollywood stars are, Fares stands out. Many gamers know the garrulous designer for his appearance at the glitzy Game Awards in 2017, when he twice dismissed the Oscars with a swear word before raising his middle finger to the camera.
The sentiment could come as a shock from a person who began his artistic career as a moviemaker, including an autobiographical coming-of-age film set during the Lebanese civil war that was Sweden’s entry for best international feature at the Oscars in 2006. But for the past dozen years, Fares’s passion has been video games, especially cooperative experiences that can be played on the couch with a sibling, partner, child or friend.
Fares enjoyed games from the moment he played Pong on an Atari 2600 while living in Beirut; he fell in love in 1988 when he experienced Super Mario Bros. in Stockholm.
After working with a few students to make a game demo in 2009, Fares got excited. That very night he came up with the concept of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, about siblings working together in a time of crisis. His interest in movies dwindled.
“It’s like falling in love with something I can’t quit,” Fares, 47, said. “There’s not a single day in my life that I don’t think about video games.”
During an era of faceless online gaming, Fares has shown time and time again that there is still a market for the communal experience. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2013) became an essential part of the indie game revolution. Hazelight, the studio he began afterward, found immediate success with A Way Out (2018), a cooperative prison-escape experience, and then sold nearly 23 million copies of It Takes Two (2021).
Hazelight’s newest game, Split Fiction, is a rocket-fast roller coaster ride of science fiction, fantasy and collegiality that has received critical praise. During the game’s eight chapters, which can be played online, two daring scribes travel to fantastical, sometimes surreal environments. Fares said there was usually one key word from which a game blossoms. For Brothers, it was “sorrow.” For Split Fiction, it was “friendship.”
Neil Druckmann, the studio director of Naughty Dog whose credits include Uncharted and The Last of Us, called Fares a “high-energy dude” and a “confident artist” who wanted to try things no one had done. He likened Fares’s work to making music.
“There’s a little bit of, like, a hip-hop to it, you know, where you’re kind of sampling these ideas,” Druckmann said. “But he’s making them his own.”
There are regular nods to pop culture and gaming history in Split Fiction, including “Dune,” ****** Bandicoot and Mario Kart. There is both “The Lord of the Rings” and The Legend of Zelda. The list goes on.
In one sequence, Fares borrows a little from the movies “Shrek” and “*****.” As you control a pig that flies by passing gas, colorful confetti, white stars and a rainbow emerge from the porcine behind.
Fares’s personality is regularly described as “eccentric” or “crazy,” and he even pokes fun at his persona. The video of his Oscars outburst — in which he highlighted how video games are an interactive experience — is an Easter egg in It Takes Two.
But on a recent video call, Fares, dressed in a beige, cable-stitched sweater, was reflective. Sitting on a beige couch in Hazelight’s office with his feet up on the cushions, he explained how his parents had tried to emigrate to Sweden from Beirut five times before their application was approved.
They were eager to get their six children to a peaceful environment far away from the constant bombings of Lebanon’s civil war, which took 150,000 lives and created a million refugees between 1975 and 1990.
“The first 10 years of my life was very violent and very harsh,” said Fares, who added that the formative experience built his self-assurance.
In 2005, Fares documented his childhood in the midst of war through “Zozo,” a movie that depicted bombs exploding, apartments blowing up and lives eliminated. Oddly but effectively, a shellshocked child befriends a chick he finds on his rooftop.
Fares himself had a chicken as a ****, a friend he could talk to amid the real-life devastation he witnessed. When he left it with older chickens, the chick was attacked and killed. “It was traumatic,” he said, a terribly disquieting moment.
Several of Fares’s other movies featured his brother, Fares Fares, an actor who went on to appear in the television series “Tyrant,” “Westworld” and “The Wheel of Time.” And as he did with “Zozo,” also Fares’s nickname, he has placed portions of his life in Hazelight’s games, sometimes bravely. At the end of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, there is an emotional burial.
“I actually buried my own little brother,” Fares said. “He died in his birth. So he was still a baby. And for some reason, me and my sister went to bury him.”
It is here that Fares talked quietly about the need for family and friends. All of Hazelight’s games are cooperative endeavors, played best with two people sitting near each other on the couch. The studio tries to balance its desire for challenging gameplay with its concern of causing too much strife, and the automatic save points in Split Fiction come frequently.
“We build up a super hard trust between two people,” Fares said. “And then you all of a sudden, you might trash it and you might have to go against each other. There’s something interesting about that to create this kind of tension between two people.”
Earlier in the day, before work, Fares had driven his two young daughters to school. He was now readying to pick them up. Mio and Zoe, the two characters in Split Fiction, are named after his children, he said, “so I can have them with me even when I’m working.” In the game, Mio is introverted and Zoe is extroverted; unlike his children, they do not immediately care for each other’s company.
Early on, after each voices a distaste for the other’s favored writing genre, the authors are forced to jump from one moving space vehicle to another, all while under attack. The scene is backed by a sci-fi soundtrack with high-tension synths by the musician Gustav Grefberg, who has scored all of Hazelight’s games as well as Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Grefberg believed in Fares’s vision as soon as he saw a prototype of Brothers. “I begged Josef to work with him,” Grefberg said.
Moved by Fares’s excitement and confidence, Grefberg wanted to join a team that had so many new ideas. An annual game jam at Hazelight known as “Freaky Week” generates free-flowing ideas from across the 83-person company.
Beyond Fares’s intensity — “When Josef says he wants more action, he says it as if it’s almost like an emotional word,” Grefberg said — he is deeply philosophical. The colleagues have had wide-ranging conversations about the meaning of meditation, Zen concepts and spirituality. That does not mean Fares has lost his ambition. He may even return to filmmaking, if he can find the time.
“I believe Split Fiction could potentially be a great movie,” he said.
The game already has audiences transfixed.
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Why You Should Sign Up for an I.R.S. Identity Protection PIN
Why You Should Sign Up for an I.R.S. Identity Protection PIN
Here’s a terrible thing that happens: Thieves pretend they’re you, file a tax return in your name very early in the year, claim a **** refund and run away with the money.
When you try to file your own return, the Internal Revenue Service rejects it. After all, according to the agency’s system, your taxes have already been filed.
Months, and sometimes years, of hellish red tape ensues.
The I.R.S. has a tool called an identity protection PIN, or IP PIN, that can prevent this nightmare in most instances. You register and hand over some personal information so the government can verify you. Then you get a six-digit IP PIN to use when filing your taxes each year.
Easy enough, right? But my inbox is filled these days with deep wariness. For weeks now, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has deployed individuals inside the I.R.S. to poke at its computer systems.
Readers worried about the possibility of those people breaking something and exposing data accidentally to wider numbers of people. Or that they would inadvertently create vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. They also said they were worried that Elon Musk or others on his team could use the I.R.S. data for nefarious purposes.
I’ve gone ahead and gotten my IP PIN anyway. So has James E. Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a former cybersecurity executive who is on an I.R.S. advisory panel.
In these highly uncertain times, we can’t be sure who will do what to whom next.
But we can know what has already happened to data that the federal government stores. In 2015, the White House revealed that hackers had stolen vast troves of sensitive information about 21.5 million people from the federal Office of Personnel Management. Last year, a former I.R.S. contractor was sentenced to five years in jail for leaking data on thousands of wealthy citizens, including President Trump, to The New York Times and ProPublica.
“Any place that stores your personal information, whether the U.S. government or the corner grocery store, is at risk — *******,” Mr. Lee said.
So if DOGE represents added risk, why not add protection?
It’s not a rhetorical question to plenty of readers, so let’s start with an explainer on how the I.R.S.’s IP PIN system works.
To begin, you’ll need an online account with the agency if you don’t have one already and complete a brief identity verification process. During that process, you’ll hand over information that the federal government most likely already has — and thus, like any such data, is already there for the taking if thieves or bad internal actors want to put it to nefarious uses.
Once you’re registered, generating the IP PIN is quick and easy. You don’t need to save or remember it, either; you can log back in to get it when you need it. (This PIN is different from the five-digit PIN that some people use to file their taxes electronically, and you can have both types.)
Then you submit the IP PIN when filing your taxes. The IP PIN will change once per year. The I.R.S. has a thorough F.A.Q. about the IP PIN system on its website.
Now consider the downside of not protecting yourself. If thieves file a return in your name — and it has happened to hundreds of thousands of people — you won’t get any tax refund owed to you for a good long while. And to get that money, you’ll spend a lot of unquality time with the I.R.S. re-establishing yourself.
And then there’s this: My colleague Andrew Duehren recently reported that the I.R.S. is preparing to reduce its work force by as much as 50 percent. Good luck to anyone trying to fix an identity theft problem if that happens. It could easily take a couple of years.
I worry more about the risk of tax-refund fraud than I do about DOGE employees’ work inside the I.R.S. Most of my personal data is already out there somewhere on the dark web or hackable in various places anyway.
As the former I.R.S. taxpayer advocate Nina E. Olson, now the executive director of the nonprofit Center for Taxpayer Rights, told me via email this week, there are still laws about disclosure of taxpayer data. That’s why that I.R.S. contractor went to jail.
If DOGE employees or Mr. Musk himself breaks those laws, there will be consequences. And if there aren’t, we will be in a great deal more existential trouble as a country.
Ms. Olson said she was going to get her own IP PIN. I wondered if Danny Werfel, the last I.R.S. commissioner under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., had already done so.
He didn’t want to say when we talked this week. He has a longstanding practice of not getting too personal, lest he look like he’s endorsing a piece of tax-filing software, say.
“But I’m a very cautious taxpayer,” he said. “I’ll put it that way.”
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Curtis Sittenfeld Goes Home Again
Curtis Sittenfeld Goes Home Again
There really was a woman who photocopied her butt at a workplace in the 1980s.
Curtis Sittenfeld, 49, heard about the incident when she was a girl and filed it away. Four decades later, the Great Butt Xeroxing makes an appearance in her new short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.”
She mentioned it one day last week when she met up with her oldest childhood friend, Anne Morriss, in Cincinnati, where they had both grown up. Ms. Sittenfeld, who lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters, was back in town while on tour for her latest book. Ms. Morriss, a leadership coach in Boston, was there to celebrate her mother’s 83rd birthday.
“It happened in my mother’s real estate office,” Ms. Morriss said. “I remember processing it with you. And you had questions!”
“It’s all I think about,” Ms. Sittenfeld replied.
Why did she do it? The mysteries of human behavior, along with the mortification that often follows an ill-considered act or remark, are of special interest to Ms. Sittenfeld, who made her name 20 years ago with her debut novel, “Prep.” She’s the patron saint of women who wish the floor would open and ******** them whole.
“People will have very different reactions to my writing,” she said. “People will be like, ‘I felt so frustrated by this character — they were so neurotic or cringey, and I wanted to reach into the story and shake their shoulders.’ Or people will be like, ‘I felt like you were inside my brain.’”
The two friends lined up behind a gaggle of schoolgirls at Graeter’s Ice Cream, a local favorite. They ordered cups of mocha chip (for Ms. Sittenfeld) and chocolate chip (for Ms. Morriss) and strolled to a park, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm day.
They sat on a bench and watched a group of middle-school-age girls in Uggs and leggings who were making a video of themselves doing a TikTok dance. The girls ran to their phones to watch the recording, deleted it, and did the dance again.
Ms. Sittenfeld, who was wearing New Balance sneakers and a blue heathered sweater, and Ms. Morriss, with her Hillary Clinton bob and silk scarf, didn’t look like they had inspired the haughty queen-bee characters in “Prep.” But Ms. Morriss insisted they had been “mean girls” back in middle school.
“Were we mean girls?” Ms. Sittenfeld said. “Obviously, I am a little defensive, but in middle school I would say that we were popular more than mean.”
Then she pondered her statement, as though cross-examining her own recollections.
“Actually,” she continued, “I’m sure we were mean. I unearthed some diaries recently. I read them to my own children, and one of my kids was like, ‘You should write an essay called ‘Diary of a ******* Kid.’”
Cracking open another childhood trauma, Ms. Sittenfeld recalled a time in eighth grade when she and Ms. Morriss had stopped being friends for a while. The split occurred during what Ms. Sittenfeld described as her own “social downfall.”
It came about because she had committed the faux pas of skipping a friend’s slumber party. After that, she found herself exiled from her usual peer group and sitting with the student council boys at lunch. She eventually felt so isolated that she ended up leaving the Midwest for the Groton School, an elite boarding academy in Massachusetts that provided her with material for “Prep.”
“You were curious about the world in a way that the rest of us weren’t,” Ms. Morriss said.
Ms. Sittenfeld took a moment to consider this.
“Let’s be honest,” she said. “I do not think that I seemed brilliant as a child — and frankly, it’s not like I think I seem brilliant now. Sometimes I’ll encounter writers and they’re so smart, and they’ve read everything there is, and it’s almost like they have an inaccessible intelligence. I would not say that I have an inaccessible intelligence.”
‘The Messiness of Life’
In “Prep,” Ms. Sittenfeld focused on a girl who pinballs between a hunger to be noticed and a desire to disappear. In the eight books she has published since, she has mined the terrain of female self-consciousness and status anxiety across all life stages.
In “Show Don’t Tell,” the story that opens her new collection, she examines the unspoken rivalry between a pair of students, a woman and a man, at a top graduate writing program. When they meet up at a hotel bar nearly 20 years later, the woman is the author of five best-sellers and the man is the winner of prestigious literary prizes.
“He’s the kind of writer, I trust, about whom current students in the program have heated opinions,” Ms. Sittenfeld writes. “I’m the kind of writer their mothers read while recovering from knee surgery.”
But here’s the thing about American women recovering from knee surgery: They are shaping the country’s political, social and cultural debates. Pundits want to know why a majority of white women voted for Donald J. Trump. Documentaries tell cautionary tales of affluent women who fall down social media rabbit holes leading to wellness influencers promoting dubious health regimens. Ms. Sittenfeld chronicles this demographic from within, not as an impartial observer.
“I’m not an ornithologist — I’m a bird,” she said, quoting Saul Bellow. And she isn’t bothered by fancy male critics who might be inclined to dismiss the people and subject matter at the heart of her work. “If I have an opinion, I should write a 1,000-word essay,” she said. “If I want to explore the messiness of life, I should write fiction.”
For years her books have captured the concerns of a group that has lately become a cultural fixation, middle-aged women who wake up one day and realize their lives aren’t exactly what they’d planned. After reading “All Fours” by Miranda July or watching Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” some are having frank conversations about sex and marriage; others are simply spiraling.
Ms. Sittenfeld’s heroines seem to want more than they should while bumping up against the limiting forces of age or wilted ambition. She has explored such women in best-sellers and two works selected for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Hollywood executives who optioned her books have suggested casting stars like Anne Hathaway and Naomi Watts.
Her two teenage daughters have made it clear that they’re not particularly impressed by her career. “They see me as kind of ridiculous,” Ms. Sittenfeld said. “My 15-year-old will sometimes be like, ‘I can’t believe you write books, you seem so apart from the world.”
It helps that she lives in Minneapolis, where her husband teaches media studies, and which feels so distant from the hothouse worlds of Brooklyn and Hollywood. “Sometimes in interviews people will say to me, ‘Do you feel a lot of pressure in writing your next book?’ And I’ll think, Who would I feel pressure from?” Ms. Sittenfeld said. “Nobody cares what I’m doing.”
Still, the older Ms. Sittenfeld gets, the clearer she feels about what she wants to do in her work.
“Are you watching ‘Somebody Somewhere’?” she asked Ms. Morriss, referring to the HBO show starring Bridget Everett as a woman who returns to her hometown in Kansas. There’s a moment in the show, Ms. Sittenfeld recalled, in which the main character and her petite sister are talking about “the pencil test.”
“You put a pencil under your breast, and if it falls out it means you have perky breasts,” Ms. Sittenfeld said. “Then Bridget Everett’s character takes a big salad dressing bottle and wedges it under her enormous boobs. That is the tone of the storytelling I want to do. It’s not the person with the pencil falling out, but the person with the salad dressing bottle staying under her boobs.”
She added, “Isn’t it so weird and undignified to be a person?”
‘So Authentic’
Shortly before 6 p.m., Ms. Sittenfeld stepped into the Mercantile Library, where she was scheduled to give a talk. The library’s executive director, John Faherty, greeted her with some praise for her new book, while noting that its depictions of marriage were a bit dark.
“I was going to call you up and say, ‘Are you OK?’” he said.
“That’s not a blurb for the paperback,” Ms. Sittenfeld replied.
She and Mr. Faherty had become close through various book talks at her hometown library over the years. “I did an event here in 2016 for ‘Eligible,’” she said, referring to her modern-day retelling of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” which she set in Cincinnati. “John got everyone Skyline chili.”
“I was told you can do gender reveal parties at Skyline now,” she added, referring to the restaurant chain.
“Do they say ‘boy’ with a hot dog?” Mr. Faherty asked. “I’m afraid to ask what’s for a girl.”
“The absence of a hot dog?” Ms. Sittenfeld said with a laugh.
She grabbed her phone and opened a text from her 15-year-old daughter. “We watch ‘Severance’ as a family and she was like, ‘Can I watch it by myself?’” Ms. Sittenfeld said.
“Say no and she’ll watch it anyway,” Mr. Faherty suggested.
The thrum of voices was getting louder as the crowd assembled. Ms. Sittenfeld swapped her normal New Balance sneakers for what she called her “fancy sneakers,” which were almost identical but with blue floral decals. She went to the bathroom to apply makeup — “just a little foundation,” she said.
In the main room, Ms. Sittenfeld and Mr. Faherty sat perched in front of some 225 people, an audience that included Ms. Sittenfeld’s 77-year-old mother. Ms. Sittenfeld described the sorts of questions that come up in her new book: If you eat a cup of sauerkraut with a dollop of Thousand Island dressing for lunch every day and your spouse finds that disgusting, is it his fault or yours?
The audience tittered. An older woman in a lilac sweater buried her face in her hands, giggling. When Mr. Faherty seemed on the verge of giving away a plot point, a spoiler-averse audience member shouted, “We haven’t read the book yet!” In the front row, someone knocked over a cup of wine and then got on her hands and knees to mop it up.
When Ms. Sittenfeld wrapped up her talk, readers rushed forward to ask for selfies and autographs. In Ms. Sittenfeld’s books, her characters realize over and over again that there is no escaping the embarrassment of being alive; there’s only finding somebody who will respond tenderly or, at least, with a good-natured laugh. The ache of that recognition filled the room.
Readers toted copies of “Prep” and “American Wife” that looked as if they’d been through the washing machine. One declared she had driven three hours to get there; another boasted of a book club made up of Ms. Sittenfeld’s devoted fans.
Ms. Sittenfeld’s third grade teacher, Bobbie Kuhn, sitting in the second row, said of her former student: “She’s just as authentic as she was.”
It’s the type of compliment Ms. Sittenfeld is used to receiving.
“People will be like, ‘You’re so authentic,’ which probably means you’re saying something wrong,” she said, laughing. “It’s like somebody saying you’re brave. You’re kind of like — oh no!”
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While Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 Can Peacefully Coexist, Upcoming Battlefield Game Could Crush Call of Duty
While Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 Can Peacefully Coexist, Upcoming Battlefield Game Could Crush Call of Duty
Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2 have found a civil way to coexist with each other. Both games have found their niche despite being quite similar, and things are going smoothly for them.
****** Ops 6’s multiplayer fails to live up to expectations. Image Credit: Activision
However, after looking at the leaks from the upcoming Battlefield game, it seems like Call of Duty might be pushed out of the picture since the latter is already faltering in a lot of places and players do not have any other military shooters to go to.
Call of Duty’s reign over multiplayer military shooters might be coming to an end
Battlefield’s reentry into the military shooter space might push Call of Duty out. Image Credit: Activision
Call of Duty’s multiplayer has been a fan favorite for a very long time now, but in the recent past it has been faltering. Players are not getting the same joy out of some of the recently released games, including ****** Ops 6, due to a lot of reasons. It is riddled with careless bugs.
The leaked footage of the upcoming Battlefield game looks incredible, and if EA somehow manages to strengthen its anti-cheat system, it will obliterate Call of Duty.
Activision has had a strong anti-cheat system, something EA usually falters in; however, ****** Ops 6’s anti-cheat system is not at all good, and the developer does not even care to come up with a fix anytime soon. EA could benefit from this move and learn from its past mistakes.
More leaked new Battlefield gameplay [Hidden Content]
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) March 7, 2025
Looks like Battlefield is back on the map now
— jordychinchin (@jordychinchin) March 7, 2025
Looks cool. They better deliver this time around.
— Stan Tanev (@stantanevhr) March 7, 2025
It would not be wise to form definitive opinions based on the leaks; however, it is fair to draw a comparison between Battlefield and Call of Duty games since they have shared a long history of rivalry.
Battlefield needs to deliver this time around
EA needs to tackle things better than Activision. Image Credit: Activision
Battlefield’s multiplayer has had a tough time in the past, largely because Call of Duty was at its best during those times, and it was very difficult to take on such a challenging rival.
However, the quality of CoD has degraded massively in the last few years, and it only seems to be going further down. Despite a lot of hype, ****** Ops 6, CoD’s latest release, failed to offer good multiplayer gameplay since it had a lot of imbalances and the anti-cheat system was not up to the mark.
Battlefield now has the chance to win, only if it manages to rectify its past mistakes and carefully navigate through things that failed with ****** Ops 6. It is not always necessary to learn from one’s own mistakes; sometimes others’ mistakes end up teaching more. Are you excited about the upcoming Battlefield game? Let us know in the comments below.
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I’m a Photoshop pro – here are 5 things I love about the new iPhone app and 3 things I don’t
I’m a Photoshop pro – here are 5 things I love about the new iPhone app and 3 things I don’t
Photoshop is in trouble. Attacked on all sides by the best photo editing apps with powerful image editing features – Canva and Instagram chief among them – the pressure has been on to deliver a Photoshop mobile app deserving of the name.
Lest we forget, Photoshop celebrated its 35th birthday earlier this year, making it one of a very small number of brands to have simultaneously become an enduring household name even as the tectonic plates of content production have shifted dramatically beneath it.
And so, finally, the new Photoshop for iPhone is here. A free app – albeit one improved by the presence of a paid-for Creative Cloud account), Adobe makes some big claims. It delivers Photoshop’s core imaging and design tools as well as some surprisingly powerful pro features, layer masking and blending among them, as well as the generative AI features that are making a splash on the desktop version.
So, as someone who opens Photoshop on a near-daily basis for commercial photography, here’s how the new Photoshop for iPhone tickles my fancy after hours of tinkering and prodding…
Photoshop for iPhone: The likes
1. It’s easy to learn
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
I’ll never admit it, but I don’t know everything about Photoshop. And in an app that can’t offer the usual tooltips when you hover over an unfamiliar icon, Photoshop for iPhone has am slight learning curve, even if you understand the core terminology and principles.
Thank goodness, then, for the dozen or so video tutorials you can access when you first open the app. These take the form of talking-head videos describing various actions, such as working with layers, masks and selections, as well as videos provided by creators as they describe their process to building various collages and concepts.
Of these, the latter are particularly useful as they come with the source files, allowing you to see how a final image comes to be – useful if you don’t a file of your own to hand.
2. All the core features are there
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
Blimey. A quick feel around Photoshop for iPhone’s clean-looking interface reveals a really full set of tools. There are no fire-and-forget filters here – if you want to apply a split-tone look to an image, you’re going to have to get up to your elbows in hue and saturation sliders.
That’s a book of two chapters, of course – on the one hand it takes longer, and more practice, to get the effect you want. On the other, all those years I’ve spent laboriously learning how to do things in Photoshop translate like-to-like.
3. It can handle some surprisingly big files and tasks
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
Although Adobe is careful not to claim that Photoshop for iPhone has brought over every tool in the Photoshop chest, the app makes it clear – this is for ambitious types.
So, obviously, I fired a 1GB file over AirDrop to try and bring the whole thing to its knees. Just to make sure it didn’t work, and thus give me something to complain about, the file was a high-res, TIFF-format image in the ProPhoto colorspace. To my immense surprise, the file promptly loaded and looked… fine.
As we’ll come to in a bit, not everything makes the journey betwixt Photoshop desktop and Photoshop for iPhone, but if you’ve got big images, captured on modern cameras, you’ll be able to bring work-in-progress onto your iPhone to work on them.
And, not only is it compatible with layers – finally – it’s also compatible with layer groups, which means you can work up some surprisingly complex image constructions using the same device you use to watch TikToks on the toilet.
4. It’s got Adobe Camera Raw
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
This is another big one – import a raw file into the iPhone for Photoshop app and you’ll be greeted with a different-looking-but-still-all-there version of Adobe Camera Raw, allowing you to prepare a file for further editing via a surprisingly full set of options.
Highlights, shadows, whites and ******* all get their own sliders, as does color balance, complete with its own white balance picker. Texture, clarity, dehaze and vignette control are all there, as is a one-tap lens corrections button.
Once you’re finished, you can finish importing your image either as a standard layer or, get this, as a smart object, letting you step back into ACR if you want to fine tune things further.
5. Generative fill has made it, which is… good?
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
Getting images share-ready just got faster, thanks to Adobe’s much-vaunted Generative AI features that also make an appearance in the new Photoshop app.
Lean on Photoshop for iPhone’s automated features and you’re in for an impressive experience – the app was uncannily good at automatically detecting and selecting foregrounds, backgrounds, people and skies. And with the annoying legwork of making selections turned into a one-tap process, removing and replacing objects from your work is equally quick.
I found generative AI – replacing skies and such, removing the odd person – to work as well on iPhone as it does on the desktop – which is to say, impressive, with occasionally hilarious outtakes.
Photoshop for iPhone: the dislikes
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
It strikes me as strange that an app which prides itself on being the fullest-fledged version of Photoshop that Adobe could manage is missing a few tools which, least for this snapper, are part of my daily arsenal.
For example, I think it’s impressive that Photoshop for iPhone can open a multi-layered, 1GB TIFF file with a load of adjustment layers, but less impressive that when some of those adjustment layers are levels adjustments, there’s no way of editing them. It seems strange – curves has made it, so why not levels?
And although Photoshop for iPhone does a generally decent job of automatically selecting objects, things are a bit trickier if you want to make your selections freehand, as there’s no paths tool. Not only no paths tool, but if an image has paths already in it, there’s no way of accessing them within the app.
You could make the very sensible argument that creating a spot-on bezier curve is hard enough with a mouse or trackpad, of course, and that trying to perfect a bendy path with a fingertip would be a surefire track to PTSD, but it would be nice as an inclusion.
While I’m here, Photoshop’s handy collection of filters are also missing, so if you were looking for a chance to learn, for example, frequency separation, you’ll need to stick with your desktop.
2. It’s free, but only just
(Image credit: Adobe / Future)
Real talk: getting an app with the power that Photoshop for iPhone has and then grousing that it costs money is like getting breakfast cooked for you by a Michelin starred chef and then complaining about the language – this is an incredibly powerful app that produces near-desktop results from a device that fits in your pocket.
If you’re a high-end content creator, or want to tip-tap away at an image before transferring it seamlessly to your desktop, Photoshop for iPhone just set a new standard.
Still, if you want the full version – which includes omissions from the free version including generative fill (the free version gives you 10 free generative credits, the paid-for one 100), object select, the magic wand tool and a few others, you’ll need to stump up $69.99 / £69.99 a year.
Don’t sniff – that’s cheaper than Canva, and while Canva is undoubtedly the better tool for whizzing up social media templates, for photographers there’s no contest. And bear in mind – if you already have a Creative Cloud subscription, this is included for free.
3. It’s not on Android yet
I’ll be honest, I don’t actually care about this one as I’m on iPhone, but if you’re in the 70% of the smartphone market that uses Android, you might.
While it’s (probably) more efficient to develop an app for Apple’s closed system of app stores and hardware, there will be plenty of content creators out there screaming for a decent image editor, and Adobe hasn’t done them a favor here.
Still, Adobe has promised that an Android version is coming “later this year”, so Android fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for it.
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Russian strike on Ukrainian town kills 11 as US cuts intelligence sharing with Kyiv
Russian strike on Ukrainian town kills 11 as US cuts intelligence sharing with Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian strike on a town in Ukraine’s embattled Donetsk region killed at least 11 people, officials said Saturday, as a wave of heavy aerial attacks continued into the second night following a U.S. decision to stop sharing satellite images with Ukraine.
Thirty people were also reported injured in multiple strikes late Friday that damaged eight apartment blocks in the town of Dobropillya, which is close to the front where Russian troops have been making steady advances. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said a Russian drone damaged a Ukrainian fire truck while rescuers fought to extinguish the burning buildings.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least five children were among the injured. “Last night, the Russian army fired two ballistic missiles at the center of Dobropillya,” he said. “After emergency services arrived at the scene, they launched another strike, deliberately targeting rescuers. It is a vile and inhumane intimidation tactic to which the Russians often resort.”
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The attack took place just 24 hours after Russia hit Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones, hobbling its ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses.
The barrage came after the U.S. suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration.
When asked Friday by a reporter during an Oval Office exchange if Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking advantage of the U.S. pause on intelligence-sharing to attack Ukraine, Trump responded: “I think he’s doing what anybody else would.”
Zelenskyy did not reference the intelligence-sharing deal, but did seem to appeal to other statements Trump made Friday related to financial sanctions against Moscow. Writing on social media, the U.S. president proposed imposing large-scale banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and final peace settlement was reached.
Zelenskyy welcomed the prospect of additional sanctions on Moscow, saying, “Everything that helps Putin finance the war must be broken.”
Ukraine’s air force reported Saturday that Russian troops launched three Iskander missiles and 145 drones over the country overnight. The bombardment contained a mix of attack and decoy drones intended to confuse air defenses. One missile and 79 drones were shot down, while 54 more drones were lost without causing damage, the Ukrainian air force said.
Among the targeted areas was Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv, where three people died after a Russian drone hit a civilian workshop, emergency services said.
Meanwhile, Russian troops shot down 31 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the country’s Krasnodar region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.
Falling debris from one drone sparked a blaze at the KINEF oil refinery in Russia’s northern Leningrad region, local Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko said in a statement. No casualties were reported.
___
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Low-volatility ETFs outperforming S&P 500 for first time in years
Low-volatility ETFs outperforming S&P 500 for first time in years
Low-volatility stocks have recently been outperforming the S&P 500 (^GSPC) — up nearly 4% since the beginning of 2025 — after a lackluster past few years. Yahoo Finance’s Madison Mills takes a closer look at this trend in several low-volatility ETFs in today’s Chart of the Day.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here.
This post was written by Sydney Strauss
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These U.S. States Face Big Electricity Bill as Canada Refuses to Pause Tariffs
These U.S. States Face Big Electricity Bill as Canada Refuses to Pause Tariffs
Three U.S. states are set for higher electricity bills after Canada declined to follow President Donald Trump’s lead and pause its tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and his administration’s jabs at the Commonwealth nation, confirmed he will still slap a 25 percent tariff on electricity sent from Canada to the United States starting on Monday.
Ford was asked if he had changed his mind after Trump’s sudden U-turn.
“Canadians love Americans. I love Americans. It’s been 20 years of my life. But in saying that, no, we’re going to put a 25 percent tariff on electricity coming from Ontario to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,” Ford said Thursday during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s The Claman Countdown.
The move came as Trump backtracked on Thursday afternoon and announced a one-month pause on Canada and ******** tariffs after a week of one-again, off-again moves by the newly installed president.
“Isn’t this a shame. It’s an absolute mess,” Ford said of the situation the supposed allies find themselves in. “He’s created chaos,” Ford continued, seemingly referencing Trump. “He ran on a mandate to lower costs, lower inflation, create more jobs. It’s the total opposite; people are going to be losing their jobs in the U.S. and in Canada.”
Ford had earlier pleaded on CNN for Trump to drop the tariffs completely and “end this.”
Before Trump’s tariff suspension, however, Ford had said that either way, the ********* tariffs would be imposed. “We have to follow through,” Ford told Global News.
Canada is the U.S.’ largest trading partner in energy. According to Ford, 1.5 million residents will be affected across Minnesota, Michigan and New York, and will likely be hit with higher costs and a more unreliable grid.
“The market is going downhill quicker than the American bobsled team right now, and it’s unacceptable,” Ford told host Liz Claman on Fox.
“The situation he has put American families in, ********* families and around the world, it’s just going to hurt.”
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Here’s how many you should be able to do
Here’s how many you should be able to do
How many push-ups can you do — and how does that stack up with others your age?
That was the question posed by “FOX & Friends,” which invited viewers to send in their own videos showing their push-up prowess.
In a Thursday morning segment, “FOX & Friends” hosts Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade competed in an on-air push-up challenge of their own, both successfully reaching their age goals.
Dementia Risk Could Be Lowered By Doing This For 5 Minutes A Day: Study
“While every body is different, the number of push-ups you can do is often a good indicator of someone’s muscular strength and endurance,” Regis Pagett, founder and owner of R Personal Fitness in New York City, told Fox News Digital.
In a Thursday morning segment, “FOX & Friends” hosts Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade competed in an on-air push-up challenge of their own, both successfully reaching their age goals.
Based on data from Mayo Clinic, below is a breakdown of how many push-ups men and women should be able to complete based on age.
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People in their 30s should be able to do at least 19 (women) and 21 (men).
People in their 40s should be able to do at least 14 (women) and 16 (men).
People in their 50s should be able to do at least 10 (women) and 12 (men).
People in their 60s (both genders) should be able to do at least 10 push-ups.
Weight-bearing exercises like push-ups can help increase bone density, which is particularly important as people age, according to Pagett.
“This is a major benefit of exercises with high resistance,” he told Fox News Digital.
Weight-bearing exercises like push-ups can help increase bone density, which is particularly important as people age, a fitness expert noted.
“Strength in the upper body and core are two things that translate to everyday life, and the ability to push yourself off of the floor regularly is one that many people take for granted.”
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Push-ups mainly work the pectoral muscles (chest), with the triceps being secondary in the motion, with the core (abdominals) supplying the strength to hold the body straight through the motion, according to Pagett.
A previous Harvard study showed that the ability for men to do 40 or more push-ups at 50 years old decreases the chance of cardiovascular disease by 96% compared to men who could do 10 or less, Pagett noted.
For those looking to work up to doing push-ups, one option is to start by doing them on the knees.
“The study also found that every push-up done after 10 had a decreased chance of cardiovascular disease,” he added.
For those looking to work up to doing push-ups, Pagett recommends starting by doing them on the knees.
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Another option is to do “negative push-ups,” in which the person starts from a tall plank position and slowly lowers the body to the floor.
With incline push-ups, the person can use an elevated surface and work their way down to the floor.
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“You can also start by incorporating chest press with dumbbells, or adding the chest fly and/or tricep extension into your gym routine,” Pagett suggested.
Original article source: Push-ups by age: Here’s how many you should be able to do
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A year later, Cozy Inn’s lawsuit costs Salina $536 thousand
A year later, Cozy Inn’s lawsuit costs Salina $536 thousand
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) — In 2024, the owner of Salina’s Cozy Inn restaurant opened a lawsuit against the city of Salina. After a year of legal squabbling, the arguments remain largely the same. However, costs are mounting and this is causing some controversy.
For the people in and around Salina, the century-old restaurant is gaining traction but is now being thrown into uncertainty.
“It’s been there for over 100 years and it’s been pretty popular,” Tabatha Kirchner said.
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Kirchner grew up in Salina and recalls the Cozy Inn’s status as a center of attention for the city.
“When I get on TikTok, there can be videos on my ‘For You’ page of people going to Cozy Inn from all over,” she said.
The restaurant’s legal team cites free speech laws as the basis for their case.
“This case is incredibly important and raises very important First Amendment issues. It’s about protecting Steve Howards and the Cozy Inn’s ability to speak their mind and paint their mural,” Sam MacRoberts, litigation director for the Kansas Justice Institute, said.
Salina officials declined an on-camera interview but did answer questions. They said they value transparency but remain hesitant to provide any official statement regarding the ongoing lawsuit.
“This case isn’t about money. This question really is about the First Amendment and protecting Steve Howard’s one-of-a-kind mural,” MacRoberts said.
Despite the circumstances, Salina residents are optimistic that the restaurant will maintain its status as a city attention-grabber.
“Like I said, as it’s getting more popular on Facebook, For You Pages on TikTok, Instagram, it’s definitely drawing a lot more people in,” Kirchner said.
The case is still open, and litigation remains ongoing. Legal representatives say it’s unclear when a judgment will be made.
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Mystery substance coats cars, homes throughout St. Louis and metro-east. What is it?
Mystery substance coats cars, homes throughout St. Louis and metro-east. What is it?
Some St. Louis and metro-east residents had a frustrating start to their Friday morning when they found their cars coated with a gray, muddy substance.
A meteorologist says the dusty film likely was carried via winds from the American southwest and deposited on areas that saw light rain in the morning.
Eastern New Mexico and Texas have experienced high winds and dust storms this week, whipping dirt into the upper atmosphere, said Marshall Pfahler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis.
The fine dust particles drifted toward the St. Louis region in winds and then fell to the ground and onto vehicles during a spotty, light rain Friday morning.
“It definitely traveled a way to get here,” said Pfahler, who lives in St. Louis. “I woke up this morning and I had little dirt spots all over my car.”
If it had rained harder, the residue would have washed right off, he said.
Rodney Rednour of Marissa said his truck and vehicles throughout the were covered with the dust Friday morning throughout the southeastern St. Clair County town.
“I’ve never seen this before,” he said. “I don’t know what it is.”
But he was relieved to hear the National Weather Service’s report that the prime suspect in this mystery is a bunch of dust.
Pfahler noted it was just the right combination of atmospheric conditions to whip up the dust, haul it to the St. Louis area and then allow it fall back to Earth. He doesn’t believe the dust from about 1,000 miles away is hazardous.
“It’s more of an annoyance for people to have to wash their cars,” he said.
Jannie McCready, the city administrator for Tilden, said the dust explanation makes sense to her because as she drove to work Friday morning in a light rain, she had to turn on her windshield wipers to clear the “milky mud” coating her window. She also saw the material on her office windows.
Kaydence Hook, who works at the Casey’s convenience store in Tilden, said vehicles all over town were coated with the dust.
The car of Marissa man John Schulte after many residents woke up to their vehicles and windows covered in a mysterious substance. Schulte says the downpour occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday.
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Porter, Lee in contention at LPGA Hainan
Porter, Lee in contention at LPGA Hainan
Australia’s Cassie Porter slipped with an even par 72 but is still in contention heading into the final round of the LPGA’s Blue Bay tournament along with compatriot Minjee Lee.
Tour rookie Porter overcame illness to share the halfway lead after opening rounds of 69 and 68 on China’s southern island of Hainan.
She couldn’t quite match those efforts on Saturday, but did storm home at the finish with birdies in three of her last four holes to end on her morning mark of seven-under.
Porter will resume on Sunday in a three-way share of second place, two shots off the lead held by Japan’s Rio Takeda, who shot a three-under 69 on Saturday.
Lee stormed up the leaderboard with one of the best rounds of the day, a four-under 68 that left her three shots off the pace at six-under, in a four-way tie for fifth.
The 28-year-old cancelled a single bogey with a birdie and earned her four-under score with two eagles, on the par-5 eighth, and the par-4 15th.
Takeda, 21, is eyeing her second LPGA victory after winning the Toto Japan Classic four months ago in a six-hole, sudden-death playoff.
Americans Gigi Stoll and Auston Kim shared second place with Porter, after rounds of 68 and 70 respectively.
Local favorite Yin Ruoning of China, the world No.4, shot a 71 but was 10 shots off the pace.
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‘Musk? He’s horrendous’: Martha Lane Fox on diversity, tech bros and International Women’s Day | Martha Lane Fox
‘Musk? He’s horrendous’: Martha Lane Fox on diversity, tech bros and International Women’s Day | Martha Lane Fox
As Elon Musk grinned in the Oval Office, one of Britain’s most influential tech investors looked on in horror. “He is absolutely horrendous. I have said it multiple times: I think it is horrifying what is happening,” says Martha Lane Fox.
For the British peer and ex-Twitter board member, the sight of Musk holding forth from the bully pulpit of Donald Trump’s White House shows the Silicon Valley dream has gone sour.
“The richest man in the world, who can stand there alongside the president, and kind of carte blanche make jokes about how he’s carving up people’s jobs in the government. Then he can be there with a chainsaw laughing on stage…
“It is really, really alarming, and I find it extremely unpleasant at a values-based level – but also, just how can we be watching this in plain sight? It makes me feel very anxious. I think it is gross.”
In an interview with the Observer to mark International Women’s Day, the president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warned the diversity pushback orchestrated by Trump and his tech bro acolytes will not only damage society, but also the economy at large.
What Musk is doing is really alarming. How can we all be watching this in plain sight? I think it is gross
Since his return to the White House, the US president has shut down all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, while Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is ripping up funding schemes.
Some of the world’s biggest companies are following suit. Amid a wider pushback against everything from environmental targets to sustainable development, among the most prominent taking part are US finance and tech companies, including Goldman Sachs, Accenture and Amazon, while *** businesses such as GSK have also fallen in line.
“He needs to be contained,” Lady Lane Fox says of Musk’s role in the rollback. “I find it extraordinary that the richest man in the world is trampling all over these things and that we still have kind of fanboying from the tech sector. It’s already been corrosive for society, and I would argue it is going to continue to be.”
For businesses, she says the bottom line is that companies that take diversity seriously appeal to the widest possible employee talent pool and are better placed to target a broad range of customers. This, she adds, is about profit as much as social justice. However, she has a broader concern about the future.
“The first thing, it’s financial. But the second thing, it’s about power and money – like everything, right?
“If you’re looking at a sector like the digital sector, where there’s the growth in jobs, growth in opportunity – it is the growth sector in the economy. Yet you are not including a whole bunch of people in that. Then you are going to be creating inequality. Full stop. So it’s financial and it’s a question of social justice.”
Given the close ties between Britain and the US, there is a view that where corporate America treads, the *** naturally follows. But there are signs that some *** businesses – and even the British operations of some US companies – are prepared to stand apart.
The accountancy firm Deloitte instructed staff working on contracts for the US government to remove pronouns from their emails, while also announcing the end of its DEI programme. But its *** boss told staff its British operations remained “committed to [its] diversity goals”.
“It feels as though global companies rooted in the US are making a politically motivated slight shift in emphasis and tilt, through to rowing back everything. And it does feel a bit more tempered here,” says Lane Fox.
*** businesses have an opportunity to do something different, she says, which could bring financial benefits. “I think we’ll build more robust companies, attract talent and have a much better shot at building the most resilient companies of the future.”
For almost three decades, Lane Fox has built a career – and multimillion-pound fortune – in tech. She made her first big money floating Lastminute.com, the online travel site co-founded alongside fellow Oxford graduate Brent Hoberman in 1998.
Elon Musk holds court with his son X in the White House’s Oval Office in February. Photograph: Abaca/Rex/Shutterstock
She joined the board of Twitter – now X – in 2016, landing herself a huge payday in Musk’s $44bn hostile takeover in 2022, before he dissolved the board and appointed himself the sole director.
Seeing Musk in the Oval Office, parading his son X on his shoulders, made her question the gender divide. “Can you imagine if that was a woman? Can you imagine what that would look like? I mean, I just think the whole thing is really gross.”
But while railing against Musk in a personal capacity, the BCC president does not suggest this approach is for everyone. “It is really tricky to navigate. You have a responsibility to your customers and your employees that might be different to our personal view sometimes.”
Government regulation to enshrine diversity targets is also a bad idea, she says, preferring instead that companies report their progress. “Keeping it in the light, keeping up the reporting, is important – keeping up good investors, looking at the right metrics and investing in the right companies all helps.”
However, not enough progress is being made. Analysis this week showed that worsening unemployment and workforce participation for women has pushed the *** behind Canada to its lowest global ranking for workplace equality among large economies in a decade.
The gender pay gap has been declining slowly over time, but average pay is still 7% less for women than for men. It is a challenge Lane Fox is all too aware of. “Look at the data and it is really freaking depressing – and it is not moving,” she says.
“What worries me is that it’s far too easy to find numbers that I thought we were moving on from.
“In this week of International Women’s Day, we see representation at the executive level has gone back. I see progress on boards is still good at the FTSE 100 level, but bad at FTSE 250 and 350 level.
“I know there will be people in the sector thinking: ‘Oh, here she goes again.’ That’s true of many women [that people think that]. But it is so important to keep making these arguments.”
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Newman teacher not afraid of greatness after Shakespeare mentorship
Newman teacher not afraid of greatness after Shakespeare mentorship
Newman Senior High School teacher Rachel Vonk recently swapped her usual role as an educator for that of a student, diving into the world of Shakespeare.
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#Newman #teacher #afraid #greatness #Shakespeare #mentorship
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WA election 2025: 7NEWS kicks off live coverage as results roll in
WA election 2025: 7NEWS kicks off live coverage as results roll in
7NEWS’ live coverage has kicked off as results roll in for WA’s 2024 State election. WATCH IT AS IT HAPPENS HERE.
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#election #7NEWS #kicks #live #coverage #results #roll
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Two teenagers arrested in Amen Teklay ******* probe
Two teenagers arrested in Amen Teklay ******* probe
Police Scotland
Amen’s family and friends paid tribute to a “kind and “bright” boy
Two boys, age 14 and 15, have been arrested in the police investigation into the ******* of Amen Teklay in Glasgow.
Amen, 15, was found seriously injured after violence on Clarendon Street, in the city’s St George’s Cross area, at about 22:30 on Wednesday.
Emergency services attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police Scotland said the pair had been arrested in connection with the death and its inquiries were ongoing.
The force said the killing was an isolated incident and detectives were keeping an “open mind” to all motives.
A police cordon was set up on Clarendon Street in the west end of Glasgow
It is understood that Amen, who is originally from Eritrea, lived with his father in Glasgow and had recently been granted ‘right to remain’ status in the ***.
His sister Delina Teklay, 17, said Amen had hopes of gaining *** citizenship and becoming either a basketball player, a doctor or an engineer.
She told BBC Scotland News that Amen was “not just my brother, he was my best friend”.
She said he was a “really sweet person, so kind and so bright”.
Amen attended St Thomas Aquinas secondary school in Jordanhill.
Headteacher Claire McInally said his death was a “shock to the school community”.
JATV Goals Youth Group
Amen Teklay died in the street after a violent incident in Glasgow
Police Scotland launched a major investigation into Amen’s *******.
Det Supt Cheryl Kelly said that “answers lie with the local community” and officers were reviewing CCTV and carrying out door-to-door inquiries.
She said: “Our thoughts are with Amen’s family and friends at this distressing time. We will continue to provide specialist support for them.”
The force has urged anyone with information to contact them via a major investigations public portal.
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Tom Kitten claims All-Star Mile, pouncing on cult hero Mr Brightside to win nail-biter
Tom Kitten claims All-Star Mile, pouncing on cult hero Mr Brightside to win nail-biter
Four-year-old Tom Kitten showed he has now truly come of age, cutting down cult hero Mr Brightside in a nail-biting finish to the Group 1 $2.5 million All-Star Mile at Flemington.
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S.Korea's Yoon free after court quashes detention
S.Korea's Yoon free after court quashes detention
Impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol has left prison a day after a Seoul court cancelled his arrest to allow him to stand trial without being detained.
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Pilbara teams make waves at WA Country Water Polo Championships
Pilbara teams make waves at WA Country Water Polo Championships
Teams from Karratha and Port Hedland went head-to-head with the State’s greatest players for the WA Country Water Polo Championships in Busselton across February 28-March 2.
The Karratha women’s side started strongly with a focus on defence in round one against Peel, winning 7-4.
The Hedland women’s team weren’t so lucky, with Busselton beating them 11-7 in round one.
Day two saw both Pilbara women’s teams clash, with Karratha keeping up their strong defence against Hedland throughout the match, winning 7-9.
“Karratha’s Caitlin McCarthy was confident in attack, scoring three goals against Peel and another four against Hedland,” Karratha Water Polo Association media liaison Meredith Bailey said.
“Lara Zimmerman joined the squad on day two, scoring a collective nine goals on the day and helping solidify the attack.”
On day two, the Karratha men’s side had a strong start against Busselton in a 15-5 win, with Matthew Hankin scoring four goals.
Performing exceptionally, the Karratha men’s side won every game and secured their spot in the finals early.
“The grand final against Geraldton on Sunday was intense, with the final buzzer sounding at 12-12, going into penalty shootouts,” Ms Bailey said.
“It all came down to the final seconds where Geraldton’s goalie Jack Dechamp was too good for our boys, taking the win 12-15.
“Tim Bailey provided some drama for the weekend, receiving a head knock during play in the game against Bunbury on Saturday, resulting in three stitches and medical advice to no longer play in the competition.
“He ended up jumping in during the grand final, and scored three goals for his team, much to the delight of the crowd.”
Camera IconThe Karratha men’s team at the WA Country Water Polo Championships. Credit: Supplied
The championships gave players a chance to push for selection in the WA Country side ahead of the national Country Water Polo Championships, played under the eye of national-level officials and referees.
From the Karratha men’s side, Alex Gunnell and Matt Hankin were recognised throughout the tournament as top players, receiving a place in the All Stars team.
Caitlin McCarthy and Caitlyn Marshall from the Karratha women’s team also secured All Stars team spots.
Camera IconKarratha player Cooper Regan dives for the ball against Busselton. Credit: Supplied
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Google Pixel 9a Design, Colour Options Spotted in Leaked Renders and Marketing Images
Google Pixel 9a Design, Colour Options Spotted in Leaked Renders and Marketing Images
Google Pixel 9a could be launched globally in the coming days, according to recent reports, and the company’s next midrange smartphone has surfaced online. Tipster Evan Blass (@evleaks), who has a good track record of leaking details of unreleased smartphones, has shared design renders showing the Pixel 9a in four colourways, along with marketing images that give us a look at the smartphone’s features. The Google Pixel 9a was recently spotted on the US FCC website, and the smartphone is expected to offer support for satellite connectivity.
Google Pixel 9a Design (Leaked)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) the tipster shared four images of the purported Pixel 9a. These images match the design seen in numerous leaks that show the Pixel 9a sporting a dual rear camera setup without a raised camera module, unlike the other models in the Pixel 9 lineup. The images show the rear panel and the sides of the smartphone.
Leaked Google Pixel 9a renders Photo Credit: X/ Evan Blass (@evleaks)
The Pixel 9a is expected to arrive in Iris, Obsidian, Peony, and Porcelain colourways, and all four options are seen in one of the leaked renders. The handset is seen with several water droplets on the rear panel, which appears to be a reference to its IP rating — previous reports suggest the successor to last year’s Google Pixel 8a will arrive with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
In addition to the renders, the tipster also shared marketing images of the purported Google Pixel 9a, while additional pictures show the handset in the Iris (Purple) colourway. These images tease the smartphone’s support for using Google Gemini with the company’s apps (such as Google Calendar), Pixel drops, as well as camera and ecosystem features.
According to previous reports, the Pixel 9a will be powered by Google’s Tensor G4 chip, paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of inbuilt storage. The handset is expected to feature a 48-megapixel primary rear camera. It will reportedly run on Android 15, and pack a 5,100mAh battery with support for 23W (wired) and 7.5W (wireless) charging.
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#Google #Pixel #Design #Colour #Options #Spotted #Leaked #Renders #Marketing #Images
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