Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who represented the last, best hope for a faction of Republicans hoping to move the party beyond Donald Trump, announced today that she was ending her presidential campaign after a string of resounding primary losses.
She pointedly declined to endorse Trump, instead challenging him to win over her supporters. Haley’s departure makes the contest many Americans had hoped to avoid — a rematch between Trump and President Biden — an inescapable reality.
Haley had spent the past several months inching up in polls and attacking Trump as an aging, mentally unsound agent of chaos. But her failure to truly threaten his campaign underscored how out of touch she was with today’s Republican Party.
Nevertheless, Haley’s modest chunk of support — a group that leans moderate and is college educated — could help decide the race in November. My colleagues talked with nearly 40 Haley supporters to see what they’re thinking.
National Guard troops will patrol New York’s subway
Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor, announced today that she would deploy 750 National Guard soldiers and 250 personnel from the State Police and the M.T.A. to the New York City subway system, where they will patrol platforms and help check bags for weapons. The show of force, Hochul said, is intended to help commuters and visitors feel safer.
The deployment will add to an already large presence in the subway, where Mayor Eric Adams ordered an additional 1,000 officers last month after a January spike in thefts. Violent crimes remain relatively rare, but three recent homicides have raised urgent questions about safety for many riders.
Truce talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled
Hamas in recent days backed away from a proposed agreement to pause the war in Gaza for six weeks, during which it would release dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for a substantial number of Palestinian prisoners. The prospects of a deal before Ramadan, as U.S. officials had hoped for, have dimmed.
One official in the region said the main point of difference was that Hamas wanted Israel to commit to a permanent cease-fire in exchange for three phases of hostage releases. Israel instead wants to focus on an agreement for the first phase only, a position the U.S. supports.
In other news from the region,the Houthi militia claimed responsibility for an attack on a commercial vessel off the coast of Yemen that killed at least two sailors.
Haiti is engulfed in crisis
Armed gangs have gone on a rampage this week around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, clashing with police, allowing prisoners to escape and attacking the airport. The violence has made it effectively impossible for the country’s de facto leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, to return from a trip abroad. The gang leaders are demanding that Henry resign.
The standoff has raised pressure on the U.S., which has traditionally held immense sway in Haiti’s politics. The Biden administration is not calling for Henry to immediately resign, a State Department spokesman said, but is “urging him to expedite the transition to an empowered and inclusive governance structure.”
It can be tough to make movies about real people
This year’s Oscar nominees are packed with history: “Oppenheimer,” about the man who helped create the atomic bomb; “Maestro,” about the composer Leonard Bernstein; and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” about the murders of Osage people. And that’s just in the best picture category.
Such movies can cause disagreements between the filmmakers and the subjects or their families. Annette Bening was nominated for best actress for her bullheaded performance in “Nyad,” but at one point, its subject, the long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, told the filmmakers, “I’m more likable than this.”
In related news, the Oscars red carpet will go back to red again this year.
García Márquez’s last, nearly lost, novel
Toward the end of his life, when his memory was in pieces, Gabriel García Márquez spent years struggling to finish “Until August,” a novel about the secret sex life of a married, middle-age woman. Eventually, he gave up. “He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed,” his younger son said.
But after much debate, García Márquez’s sons defied their father’s request. This month, a decade after his death, “Until August” will be published — adding to the rich and controversial history of works released posthumously, despite authors’ wishes.
Hotels are betting on sleep tourism
The hospitality industry has long tried to sell restful getaways: Since the ’60s, some luxury hotels have offered pillow menus or white noise machines. But these days, hotels are going far beyond those basics to attract customers looking primarily for a good night’s rest.
Some hotels are now offering A.I.-assisted beds that adjust to your movement, on-call hypnotherapists and “cocoon” guest rooms, including one inside a stainless steel sculpture that strips away all of the amenities and encourages guests to “achieve a meditative stillness.”
Have a restful evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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