Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
ICE is ordered to pause most vehicle stopsThe Trump administration has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to largely halt their practice of stopping vehicles while conducting immigration operations nationwide, according to people familiar with the matter. The agency has come under renewed scrutiny over the past week after federal immigration officers killed two people. Both were shot after agents tried to stop their vehicles. In Houston last week, an ICE agent killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52 year-old Mexican man; witnesses say he was shot through the passenger-side window. In Biddeford, Maine, yesterday, agents shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian man. In total, federal agents carrying out Trump’s deportation crackdown have killed six people, nearly all of which involved officers firing at people in vehicles. The pause could make it more difficult for ICE to keep up with pressure from the president to arrest and deport an increasing number of immigrants. In other Trump administration news:
Trump drops his plan for a Strait of Hormuz feeJust a day after declaring that the U.S. would collect a tax from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said today that U.S. forces would instead guarantee safe passage of the waterway to vessels from Persian Gulf states that agreed to invest in America. It is not clear how the new plan will unfold, though, adding more uncertainty in a region crucial to the world’s energy supply. What is clear is that the U.S.-Iran truce is in tatters. The U.S. military bombed more Iranian targets today before beginning the enforcement of a naval blockade of Iran’s ports. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill.
Justices explain $228 million request for securityFor the first time in seven years, sitting justices on the Supreme Court testified today on Capitol Hill. Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett answered questions about the court’s request for $228 million from Congress to upgrade its police force, hire cybersecurity specialists and improve other security measures as threats against justices increase. It was a surprisingly collegial affair. The two justices — Kagan a liberal, and Barret a conservative — were split on the idea of an enforcement mechanism for the court’s ethics policy. But they spoke on personal terms about the need to better protect members of the court, their families and other judges. Here are some takeaways from their testimony.
New York halts construction of large data centersGovernor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order today making New York the first state to temporarily ban the construction of large new data centers. The order, which is set to last one year, blocks the state from approving permits for so-called hyperscale data centers, which use 50 or more megawatts of power. The news was met with criticism from tech business groups and construction unions. Conservationists celebrated the move.
Why do dementia patients go through ‘terminal lucidity’?For years, researchers have been documenting instances in which dementia patients, as they near death, recover mental faculties assumed to be long lost: reaching for a loved one’s hand, making amends for past wrongs, offering thanks. Some scientists have called the phenomenon “paradoxical lucidity,” reflecting one of the main questions of interest: How could the mind resurface in a brain that has been so terribly damaged by disease? Answering that question could change what we know about the brain. More top news
The T. rex is king againA 12-and-a-half-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex fossil — dug up in South Dakota over the last five years and nicknamed Gus — was sold at auction today for $50.1 million. That’s the most expensive commercial dinosaur skeleton ever sold, topping a $44.6 million stegosaurus fossil auctioned two years ago. Gus was named after the man who owned the land where the specimen was found. The auction house said that elements of 183 of the T. rex’s bones were found, out of roughly 300 or more.
Don’t try this at homeTechnology like C.G.I. has shifted the demands for Hollywood stunt workers. But the instructors at the International Stunt School in Seattle believe that a convincing human performance can still improve a film. This summer, the school has been teaching a new class of performers about falls, fights, fire and the artistry of stunt work. If the students are lucky, they can be like the stuntman who stepped in for Edward Norton when his “Fight Club” character had to tumble down a flight of stairs. See how stunt trainees practice.
Dinner table topics
Cook: Summer is better with a berry spoon cake. Read a great mystery novel, like “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” or “Fer-de-Lance.” Reduce your screen time with tips from fellow Times readers. Scoop ice cream like a pro. Take our quiz to see how well you know film adaptations of Greek stories. Play today’s Connections, Spelling Bee and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. |
