The crackdown in Anhui has triggered debates about possible abuses of power and whether the law itself is too heavy-handed.

As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark-roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules

At a recent canvassing event for mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in Sunnyside, Queens, a campaign staffer kicked things off by asking how many of the three dozen volunteers on hand were about to go knock doors for him for the first time. Nearly half of the canvassers raised their hands in response. To the surprise of many in New York’s political establishment, Mamdani, 33, has leap-frogged other more-established candidates to become the leading progressive running in the June 24 primary. Polls have shown him consistently ranking as the second-place candidate behind front-runner Andrew Cuomo, and some recent surveys even indicate the ex-governor’s lead over Mamdani is shrinking. A key factor behind Mamdani’s surge is the groundswell of support he has generated from young, left-leaning voters. As of mid-May, his operation had mushroomed to include over 20,000 mostly young volunteers, a bigger field team than any of the other 2025 mayoral campaigns bolster. Waves of newcomers showing up to canvass events has become a trend, especially in recent weeks, according to his team.

Binance’s CEO also has petitioned Trump’s Justice Department for a pardon.

Two dozen demonstrators were later arrested outside the building in Lower Manhattan.

I’m about to spoil the ending of Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning for you, but that’s fine. You don’t go to an M:I movie for things like “a coherent plot” or “fully realized characters.” You go for the stunts, for Tom Cruise breaking into a dead sprint, and for shit to blow up real good.

Those signs of genetic diversity suggest that distinct groups of P. robustus inhabited southern Africa, the scientists conclude. Mating among different groups may have resulted in the range of protein variants observed in the four fossilized teeth, or perhaps the tooth identified as a protein outlier came from another Paranthropus species. Protein analyses of a larger number of P. robustus specimens are needed to explore those possibilities, the researchers say.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing reinstating an 'asset test' that would narrow eligibility for low-income seniors and adults with disabilities.

The Tesla CEO allegedly “got physical” with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

A doctor and researcher, Etienne-Emile Baulieu was world-renowned for the scientific, medical and societal significance of his work on the role of steroid hormones, which led to the abortion pill mifepristone.

MONTREAL — Almost one year after serial killer Robert Pickton died following an assault by another inmate in a Quebec prison, there have been no charges against the alleged assailant and few answers about what happened. Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, after being assaulted at the Port-Cartier maximum security prison 12 days prior. The 74-year-old was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. The Correctional Service of Canada first issued a release on May 20 last year about a “major assault” on an inmate, adding that “the assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken.” The agency later confirmed the injured inmate was Pickton, and that he had died. Quebec provincial police identified the suspect as a 51-year-old inmate, but did not release a name. Earlier this week, the force said its investigation remained open.

As Mr. Musk entered President Trump’s orbit, his private life grew increasingly tumultuous and his drug use was more intense than previously known. As Elon Musk became one of Donald J. Trump’s closest allies last year, leading raucous rallies and donating about $275 million to help him win the presidency, he was also using drugs far more intensely than previously known, according to people familiar with his activities. Mr. Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it. It is unclear whether Mr. Musk, 53, was taking drugs when he became a fixture at the White House this year and was handed the power to slash the federal bureaucracy. But he has exhibited erratic behavior, insulting cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged interview. At the same time, Mr. Musk’s family life has grown increasingly tumultuous as he has negotiated overlapping romantic relationships and private legal battles involving his growing brood of children, according to documents and interviews. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Musk announced that he was ending his stint with the government, after lamenting how much time he had spent on politics instead of his businesses. Mr. Musk and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment this week about his drug use and personal life. He has previously said he was prescribed ketamine for depression, taking it about every two weeks. And he told his biographer, “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.” Image Mr. Musk, wearing a MAGA hat, with a small child standing behind the president. President Trump spoke about government spending alongside Mr. Musk and his son, known as X, in the Oval Office in February.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times The White House did not respond to questions about whether it had asked Mr. Musk to take drug tests. As a large government contractor, his aerospace firm, SpaceX, must maintain a drug-free work force and administers random drug tests to its employees. But Mr. Musk has received advance warning of the tests, according to people close to the process. SpaceX did not respond to questions about those warnings. Mr. Musk, who joined the president’s inner circle after making a vast fortune on cars, satellites and rocket ships, has long been known for grandiose statements and a mercurial personality. Supporters see him as an eccentric genius whose slash-and-burn management style is key to his success. But last year, as he jumped into the political arena, some people who knew him worried about his frequent drug use, mood swings and fixation on having more children. This account of his behavior is based on private messages obtained by The New York Times as well as interviews with more than a dozen people who have known or worked with him. This year, some of his longtime friends have renounced him, pointing to some of his public conduct. “Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behavior more and more,” said Philip Low, a neuroscientist and onetime friend of Mr. Musk’s who criticized him for his Nazi-like gesture at a rally. And some women are challenging Mr. Musk for control of their children. Image Mr. Musk in a white tux with Grimes in a black-and-silver dress. Mr. Musk and Claire Boucher, the musician known as Grimes and the mother of three of his children, at the Met Gala in 2018. Credit...Damon Winter/The New York Times One of his former partners, Claire Boucher, the musician known as Grimes, has been fighting with Mr. Musk over their 5-year-old son, known as X. Mr. Musk is extremely attached to the boy, taking him to the Oval Office and high-profile gatherings that are broadcast around the world. Ms. Boucher has privately complained that the appearances violate a custody settlement in which she and Mr. Musk agreed to try to keep their children out of the public eye, according to people familiar with her concerns and the provision, which has not been previously reported. She has told people that she worries about the boy’s safety, and that frequent travel and sleep deprivation are harming his health. Another mother, the right-leaning writer Ashley St. Clair, revealed in February that she had a secret relationship with Mr. Musk and had given birth to his 14th known child. Mr. Musk offered her a large settlement to keep his paternity concealed, but she refused. He sought a gag order in New York to force Ms. St. Clair to stop speaking publicly, she said in an interview. A Ketamine Habit Mr. Musk has described some of his mental health issues in interviews and on social media, saying in one post that he has felt “great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress.” He has denounced traditional therapy and antidepressants. He plays video games for hours on end. He struggles with binge eating, according to people familiar with his habits, and takes weight-loss medication. And he posts day and night on his social media platform, X. Mr. Musk has a history of recreational drug use, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. Some board members at Tesla, his electric vehicle company, have worried about his use of drugs, including Ambien, a sleep medication. In an interview in March 2024, the journalist Don Lemon pressed him on his drug use. Mr. Musk said he took only “a small amount” of ketamine, about once every two weeks, as a prescribed treatment for negative moods. “If you’ve used too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done, and I have a lot of work,” he said. He had actually developed a far more serious habit, The Times found. Mr. Musk had been using ketamine often, sometimes daily, and mixing it with other drugs, according to people familiar with his consumption. The line between medical use and recreation was blurry, troubling some people close to him. He also took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms at private gatherings across the United States and in at least one other country, according to those who attended the events. Image Donald Trump speaking to crowds at a lectern while Elon Musk jumps with arms upraised. Elon Musk at a Trump rally last year in Butler, Pa.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times The Food and Drug Administration has formally approved the use of ketamine only as an anesthetic in medical procedures. Doctors with a special license may prescribe it for psychiatric disorders like depression. But the agency has warned about its risks, which came into sharp relief after the death of the actor Matthew Perry. The drug has psychedelic properties and can cause dissociation from reality. Chronic use can lead to addiction and problems with bladder pain and control. By the spring of last year, Mr. Musk was ramping up criticism of President Joseph R. Biden Jr., particularly his policies on illegal immigration and diversity initiatives. Mr. Musk was also facing federal investigations into his businesses. Regulators were looking into crashes of Tesla’s self-driving cars and allegations of racism at its factories, among other complaints. The Latest on the Trump Administration Trump Gives Clemency to More Than Two Dozen, Including Political Allies Trump Commutes Federal Life Sentences of Larry Hoover, Chicago Gang Leader Create your free account and enjoy unlimited access — free for 7 days. Start free trial Deal Maker or Duped? Trump’s Embrace of Putin Shows Few Results. A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He’s Exiting Washington 16 States Sue Trump Over $1.4 Billion in Science Cuts Canada Wants to Kill 400 Ostriches. Kennedy and Dr. Oz Want to Save Them. Trump Loses Another Battle in His War Against Elite Law Firms House Bill Takes Aim at Tax Break for Sports Owners U.S. Ships Championed by Trump Cost 5 Times as Much as Asian Ones “There are at least half a dozen initiatives of significance to take me down,” he wrote in a text message to someone close to him last May. “The Biden administration views me as the #2 threat after Trump.” Trump Administration: Live Updates Updated May 29, 2025, 11:35 p.m. ETMay 29, 2025 A pro-Trump Kennedy Center executive says he was fired for his Christian beliefs. Trump nominates a former far-right podcast host to head a federal ethics watchdog. JD Vance’s campaign plane is being used for migrant deportation flights. “I can’t be president, but I can help Trump defeat Biden and I will,” he added. He publicly endorsed Mr. Trump in July. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Around that time, Mr. Musk told people that his ketamine use was causing bladder issues, according to people familiar with the conversations. On Oct. 5, he appeared with Mr. Trump at a rally for the first time, bouncing up and down around the candidate. That evening, Mr. Musk shared his excitement with a person close to him. “I’m feeling more optimistic after tonight,” he wrote in a text message. “Tomorrow we unleash the anomaly in the matrix.” “This is not something on the chessboard, so they will be quite surprised,” Mr. Musk added about an hour later. “‘Lasers’ from space.” After Mr. Trump won, Mr. Musk rented a cottage at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s Florida resort, to assist with the transition. Mr. Musk attended personnel meetings and sat in on phone calls with foreign leaders. And he crafted plans to overhaul the federal government under the new Department of Government Efficiency. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Family Secrets Mr. Musk has also been juggling the messy consequences of his efforts to produce more babies. By 2022, Mr. Musk, who has married and divorced three times, had fathered six children in his first marriage (including one who died in infancy), as well as two with Ms. Boucher. She told people she believed they were in a monogamous relationship and building a family together. But while a surrogate was pregnant with their third child, Ms. Boucher was furious to discover that Mr. Musk had recently fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his brain implant company, Neuralink, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Musk was by then sounding an alarm that the world’s declining birthrates would lead to the end of civilization, publicly encouraging people to have children and donating $10 million to a research initiative on population growth. Privately, he was spending time with Simone and Malcolm Collins, prominent figures in the emerging pronatalist movement, and urging his wealthy friends to have as many children as possible. He believed the world needed more intelligent people, according to people aware of the conversations. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Mr. Collins declined to comment on his relationship with Mr. Musk, but said, “Elon is one of the people taking this cause seriously.” Image Children sitting on a carpet with adult figures seated around them in a reception room. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, met in Washington this February with Mr. Musk and Shivon Zilis, the mother of some of Mr. Musk’s children.Credit...Press Information Bureau / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images Even as Mr. Musk fathered more children, he favored his son X. By the fall of 2022, during a period when he and Ms. Boucher were broken up, he began traveling with the boy for days at a time, often without providing advance notice, according to people familiar with his actions. Ms. Boucher reconciled with Mr. Musk, only to get another unpleasant surprise. In August 2023, she learned that Ms. Zilis was expecting a third child with Mr. Musk via surrogacy and was pregnant with their fourth. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Ms. Boucher and Mr. Musk began a contentious custody battle, during which Mr. Musk kept X for months. They eventually signed the joint custody agreement that specified keeping their children out of the spotlight. By mid-2023, unknown to either Ms. Boucher or Ms. Zilis, Mr. Musk had started a romantic relationship with Ms. St. Clair, the writer, who lives in New York City. Ms. St. Clair said in an interview that at first, Mr. Musk told her he wasn’t dating anyone else. But when she was about six months pregnant, he acknowledged that he was romantically involved with Ms. Zilis, who went on to become a more visible fixture in Mr. Musk’s life. Image A woman in a dress at a gala. Ashley St. Clair, center, was asked to keep her child’s paternity a secret.Credit...Jason Alpert-Wisnia/Sipa USA, via Reuters ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Ms. St. Clair said that Mr. Musk told her he had fathered children around the world, including one with a Japanese pop star. He said he would be willing to give his sperm to anyone who wanted to have a child. “He made it seem like it was just his altruism and he generally believed these people should just have children,” Ms. St. Clair said. Ms. St. Clair said that when she was in a delivery room giving birth in September, Mr. Musk told her over disappearing Signal messages that he wanted to keep his paternity and their relationship quiet. On election night, Ms. St. Clair and Mr. Musk both went to Mar-a-Lago to celebrate Mr. Trump’s victory. But she had to pretend that she hardly knew him, she said. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT He offered her $15 million and $100,000 a month until their son turned 21, in exchange for her silence, according to documents reviewed by The Times and first reported by The Journal. But she did not want her son’s paternity to be hidden. After she went public in February, ahead of a tabloid story, she sued Mr. Musk to acknowledge paternity and, later, to get emergency child support. Mr. Musk sought a gag order, claiming that any publicity involving the child, or comments by Ms. St. Clair on her experience, would be a security risk for the boy. ‘No Sympathy for This Behavior’ Some of Mr. Musk’s onetime friends have aired concerns about what they considered toxic public behavior. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT In a January newsletter explaining why their friendship had ended, Sam Harris, a public intellectual, wrote that Mr. Musk had used his social media platform to defame people and promote lies. “There is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality,” Dr. Harris wrote. Later that month, at a Trump inauguration event, Mr. Musk thumped his chest and thrust his hand diagonally upward, resembling a fascist salute. “My heart goes out to you,” he told the crowd. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.” Mr. Musk dismissed the resulting public outcry, saying he had made a “positive gesture.” Dr. Low, who is chief executive of NeuroVigil, a neurotechnology company, was outraged by the performance. He wrote Mr. Musk a sharp email, shared with The Times, cursing him “for giving the Nazi salute.” ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Image Mr. Musk holding up a chain saw onstage. Mr. Musk was given a chain saw by the Argentine president, Javier Milei, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times When Mr. Musk didn’t respond to the message, Dr. Low posted his concerns on social media. “I have no sympathy for this behavior,” he wrote on Facebook, referring to the gesture as well as other behaviors. “At some point, after having repeatedly confronted it in private, I believe the ethical thing to do is to speak out, forcefully and unapologetically.” The next month, Mr. Musk once again found himself under scrutiny, this time for an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. As he walked onto the stage, he was handed a chain saw from one of his political allies, Javier Milei, the president of Argentina. “This is the chain saw for bureaucracy!” Mr. Musk shouted to the cheering crowd. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Some conference organizers told The Times that they did not notice anything out of the ordinary about his behavior behind the scenes. But during an onstage interview, he spoke in disjointed bouts of stuttering and laughing, with sunglasses on. Clips of it went viral as many viewers speculated about possible drug use.

New York’s Empire State Development is letting the owner of the Atlantic Yards avoid millions of dollars in monthly penalties for missing a decade-old affordable housing deadline.

A Texas public library did not violate patrons' right to free speech by removing books due to their content, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled on Friday.

Hope you like satellite internet.

How the DOGE-triggered attack on government research left America in the dark.

The deputy director also took aim at former FBI boss James Comey, describing him as a “big child”.

City council in Williams Lake, B.C., is looking to impose a state of local emergency over an increase in street disorder and violence — but the proposal has received pushback, and it's unclear if the B.C. government would fully support it. Coun. Scott Nelson put forward a motion on Tuesday to ask staff for options regarding a state of local emergency in response to "increased threats to public safety" in the city of around 20,000 people located 324 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Nelson and the city's mayor, Surinderpal Rathor, say that there has been a sharp increase in public drug use, mental health challenges and fires in the city's downtown core, and the motion gives the city options to deal with it.

Thanks to the president's latest flurry of pardons, he's now pardoned most of the Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century.

A 1,000-page report by the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah, which found care safe and effective, stands out from others: It’s both independent and an actual review of the evidence.