In 1786, at the beginning of what became known as Shays’ Rebellion, armed rioters shut down courthouses across western and central Massachusetts to prevent judicial proceedings on unpaid debts. In New York City, the Continental Congress sat paralyzed by debates over whether the Articles of Confederation gave it the authority to suppress the uprising. One […]
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 2016, the torrential rains unleashed by Hurricane Matthew flooded my bathroom. Hurricane Irma demolished part of our coastline in 2017, leaving a litter of gutted restaurants in its wake. After Hurricane Michael in 2018, our small airport in the central part of the state transformed into a hub for private pilots […]
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When Rose Wang called the customer service line at Zappos, all she wanted was a quick confirmation that a gift receipt was included with the hot pink Crocs she had ordered for her mother for Mother’s Day. But a few minutes into the call, Ms. Wang, 33, realized something felt different. After helping her with […]
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I was a firefighter for many years. But because it was more than a decade ago, it often seems like another person wore those turnout boots, cinched that ax belt and ran into burning buildings. Yet when the Covid-19 pandemic hit a few months ago, my old first-responder instincts rose up. I wanted to be […]
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CHINLE, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation is a vast, awe-inspiring land of desert crags and canyons, the largest reservation in the country, but today it reverberates with grief and fear. The Navajo have had more people infected with the coronavirus per capita than any state in the country. Decades of neglect, exploitation and discrimination mean […]
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Jane Rosen began yelling sometime in April. By May, it had become routine. The incidents usually occur near her minivan, which she parks alongside Central Park in New York City. As she attempts to enter or exit the vehicle, a cyclist or a runner will whiz by, so close she can practically smell them. “I […]
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I landed in Delhi on a work trip in mid-March and just over a week later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced what was soon recognized as the world’s strictest lockdown. He warned Indians to imagine “a sacrosanct line” around their homes, not to be breached for work or travel of any kind, not even a […]
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The residents of Bernal Heights, a dense little neighborhood built around a grassy hill in the south of San Francisco, have been under lockdown a long time — since March 17, to be exact, when the city became among the first in the United States to shut down. With incomes and freedom lost, and boredom […]
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday turned away a request from a church in California to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at religious services. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the court’s four-member liberal wing to form a majority. “Although California’s guidelines place restrictions […]
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The last two and a half months in America have felt like the opening montage in a dystopian film about a nation come undone. First the pandemic hit and hospitals in New York City were overwhelmed. The national economy froze and unemployment soared; one in four American workers has applied for unemployment benefits since March. […]
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I stood at my patient’s bedside as she picked at the sheets, eyes roving, seemingly unaware of my presence. When I placed my stethoscope on her chest, she started to moan. It was a sad sound, high-pitched and pleading. I set down the stethoscope and touched her hair with a gloved hand. “It’s OK,” I […]
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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to seize private property for President Trump’s border wall, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to survey land while its owners are confined indoors, residents along the Rio Grande say. “Is that essential business?” asked Nayda Alvarez, 49, who recently found construction markers on the land in […]
Read More WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to seize private property for President Trump’s border wall, taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to survey land while its owners are confined indoors, residents along the Rio Grande say. “Is that essential business?” asked Nayda Alvarez, 49, who recently found construction markers on the land in […]
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As political leaders across the United States seek to make informed decisions about when to “reopen” based on inadequate scientific information, 2,500 men in an Ohio prison may hold the key to hold the key to releasing the rest of the country from coronavirus lockdown. Such widespread infection in our crowded prisons is a reminder […]
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NEW DELHI — Its coronavirus cases are skyrocketing, putting it among the world’s most worrisome pandemic zones in recent weeks. Nonetheless, India is reopening, lifting its lockdown at what experts fear may be the worst time. Migrant workers are becoming infected at an alarmingly high rate, leading to fresh outbreaks in villages across northern India. […]
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Like many people, my life in quarantine has included doses of grief, solitude and unpredictability. In early April, a friend recommended that I try QuarantineChat, an app that connects two people who don’t know each other for a phone call. “You’ll love it,” she said. I pocketed the suggestion, and remembered it when my grandmother’s […]
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The Seacoast Repertory Theater revival of “The Marvelous Wonderettes” that opened on May 16 looked like fully produced live theater, because it was. The costumed cast of four was acting and singing up a storm in real time and on real sets, backed by an actual four-piece band. The retro, pastel-colored jukebox musical popped. But […]
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The architect Elizabeth Diller typically works with pen on paper, bringing sketches to her West 26th Street studio, where she and her team at Diller Scofidio + Renfro puzzle over how best to realize those plans. Since that kind of in-person brainstorming is no longer possible, Ms. Diller — and the firm she leads with […]
Read More The architect Elizabeth Diller typically works with pen on paper, bringing sketches to her West 26th Street studio, where she and her team at Diller Scofidio + Renfro puzzle over how best to realize those plans. Since that kind of in-person brainstorming is no longer possible, Ms. Diller — and the firm she leads with […]
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Over 100,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and thanks to social media, many of us who aren’t personally in mourning are digitally connected to someone who is. Especially for people in the hardest-hit areas, death announcements in Facebook statuses, Instagram posts and tweets seem more frequent than they’ve ever been. While social-distancing requirements have […]
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PARIS — Annoyed at their government, the French have taken to the streets brandishing drinks. With bars still closed despite the loosening of France’s coronavirus lockdown, the pre-dinner drinking tradition of the apéro has given way to the apérue: clusters of revelers on the streets, or rues, of Paris, outside establishments that are allowed to […]
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, the TV networks were expecting a strong 2020. The presidential election and Tokyo Olympics would keep people watching, and companies would spend more than usual on commercial time. But with the Summer Games postponed and campaign rallies on lockdown, television advertising revenue is likely to drop 12 percent this year, according […]
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GIUGLIANO IN CAMPANIA, Italy — The lifeguard turned his back to the water and looked for danger on the sand. All around him at the beach club west of Naples, children on their stomachs dug moats while adults reclined on beach chairs, catching rays, eating stuffed shells and reconnecting with friends on the first Sunday […]
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