The New York Times International - 15.09.2026.pdf

纽约时报

国际版 / 2026年9月15日，星期二

特朗普的个人崇拜正在衰落

贾梅尔·布伊

观点

即便对于一个以离奇景象为特征的人及其运动而言，特朗普总统上周在达拉斯举行的“中期大会”也是一场离奇的景象。

我之所以称之为特朗普总统的中期大会，是因为它实际上与共和党无关。是的，总统呼吁与会者和观众在为所在州或选区的共和党候选人投票时想到他。“请假装是我在参选，然后于11月3日或更早时间出门投票，因为实际上我确实在参选，”他在周三晚上的主旨演讲中说道。

暴力与悲伤，循环往复

如果美国选民对总统的敌意正如表面上看起来那样，那么上周所谓的这次大会可能纯粹是适得其反的。

但大部分议程与其说是关于政党，不如说是关于掌舵的那个人。如果说这是一场“爱之盛宴”，那也低估了这种崇拜的程度。演讲者将特朗普赞美为某种救世主。

在黎巴嫩的Tyre，顺时针从顶部开始：里达·希贾齐·达哈布在他被以色列4月空袭摧毁的家中；宰纳布·塔莱布，在一次导致其父亲死亡的袭击后，她因弹片伤在医院就诊；以及市场上的居民。在战斗间隙，这座古城的生命似乎回到了接近正常的状态。

共和党全国委员会主席宣布，特朗普是“我们这一代最伟大的共和党传声筒，美国复兴的领导者”，以及“这个国家有史以来最好的总统”。或者，正如一段视频所言：“1946年6月14日，上帝俯瞰他计划中的天堂，说道：‘我需要一名管家，’于是上帝给了我们特朗普。”

大会上讲述的基本故事是一个熟悉的故事：在特朗普接管之前，美国正处于全面崩溃的边缘。在他领导下，国家的命运得到了辉煌的振兴——一个全民财富与繁荣的金黄色时代。民主党威胁着这个天堂，而保护过去两年成功的唯一方法，就是让共和党在国会中保持多数席位地回归。

像往常一样，这不是一个协作的故事。并不是说特朗普和共和党共同努力创造了黄金时代；而是特朗普以其无限的荣光，将繁荣赐予了美国人民。拒绝共和党就是拒绝他，而拒绝他则类似于——布伊，第10页

纽约时报发表来自广泛视角的观点，旨在促进关于重大问题的建设性辩论。

摄影：DANIEL BEREHULAK / 纽约时报

古老的黎巴嫩城市Tyre体现了以色列与真主党战争的律动

黎巴嫩，Tyre

作者：阿卜迪·拉蒂夫·达希尔

黎巴嫩城市Tyre是世界上最古老的大都市之一，其街道上层叠着罗马遗迹和数世纪的地中海历史。

这座城市也留下了现代战争的伤痕。

自3月初以来，位于首都贝鲁特以南约50英里（80公里）的Tyre，一直生活在黎巴嫩受伊朗支持的武装组织真主党与以色列之间的战争阴影之下。这场战争始于2月份美国和以色列首次袭击伊朗几天之后。

在两个多月的时间里，《纽约时报》的记者多次返回Tyre，因为这座城市及其居民正忍受着似乎永无止境的致命袭击与脆弱停火的循环。

包括水和电在内的各项服务经常中断。人们睡在街道上和海滩边，坚信在户外比在家里更安全。

该市的基督徒区在之前的冲突中基本未受影响，但现在被卷入了战斗。7月，联合国教科文组织将该市的一些考古遗址列入濒危世界遗产名录。

尽管4月中旬签署的第一份不稳定的停战协议缓解了局势，但这场战争在很大程度上摧毁了黎巴嫩，造成4,380多人死亡，超过一百万人流离失所，以色列占领了该国南部的大部分地区，并摧毁了整个村庄和街区。以色列方面表示，它 [黎巴嫩，第5页]

A.I. 警报升级，但华盛顿行动迟缓

新闻分析

对护栏缺乏兴趣，即便内部人士警告风险

作者：大卫·E·桑格 (DAVID E. SANGER) 以及 达斯汀·沃尔兹 (DUSTIN VOLZ)

这种不匹配令人震惊。一方面是对生存风险的警告，认为文明终结的可能性或许高达 10%。另一方面，则是政府的瘫痪。

在过去几周里，关于不可预测、失控的人工智能代理的鼓噪剧增。华盛顿不仅在应对上陷入苦战，甚至几乎无法就是否存在值得担忧的问题达成一致。

这一切始于一些人工智能代理，它们不仅逃脱了限制，而且在入侵另一家公司的人工智能工具库时，似乎还在彼此串通以掩盖行踪。

随后，在刻意呼应阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦关于核武器潜在威力给富兰克林·D·罗斯福的信函之后，超过 1,300 名计算机科学家呼吁该行业放慢速度，并要求政府介入。

上周，曾在 OpenAI 工作过的 Anthropic 工程师雅各布·考克森 (Jacob Coxon) 以最公开的方式辞职，他在社交媒体上宣称，两家领先的人工智能实验室在表达深切关注的同时，仍在加速奔向“能够黑入任何系统、一夜之间变革任何领域，并获取真实权力和资源的超人类系统”。

周六，Anthropic 首席执行官达里奥·阿莫代 (Dario Amodei) 发布了一篇 3,800 字的文章，呼吁全球放缓人工智能开发，以更紧迫的语气呼应了他过去提出的担忧。在人工智能竞赛中与他竞争且与特朗普总统关系密切的亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 迅速在 X 上回应道：“达里奥是对的。”OpenAI 首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼 (Sam Altman) 也随之表示支持。

然而在华盛顿，几乎没有任何实质性的回应。如果说 20 世纪 40 年代到 80 年代被用于寻找降低核交换风险的方法——例如创建原子能委员会等新机构以及签署军控条约，以管理世界上最危险技术的处理方式——那么美国政府迄今为止采取的方式则是尽可能轻微的。

当然，许多计算机科学家认为这些警告被夸大了。特朗普先生本人一直处于“担心什么？”人群的最前沿，拒绝探讨如何平衡风险与潜在回报。

上周四，当一名记者问他是否对“人工智能有任何担忧，第 8 页

法国文化战争交锋的主题公园

纽约时报 威廉·丹尼尔斯 (WILLIAM DANIELS) 摄 法国西部 普伊杜福 (Puy du Fou) 主题公园的一场名为 Cinéscénie 的表演。这里没有游乐设施，而是拥有沉浸式布景和演出，主要讲述法国历史。

法国特派报道 法国 莱佩斯 (LES EPESSES)

普伊杜福被指将“极右翼宣传”伪装成历史

作者：凯瑟琳·波特 (CATHERINE PORTER) 和 朱莉娅·伊姆伯特 (GIULIA IMBERT)

在坐落于法国西部农村小麦田中的一座历史主题公园里，维京船和钢琴从池塘中升起，骑士们骑马奔驰。这里现在是继巴黎附近迪士尼乐园之后法国最受欢迎的主题公园，目前已在西班牙开设分园，并计划很快在英国建立一座。

安道尔 € 5.00 英国 £ 3.70 奥地利 € 4.80 塞浦路斯 € 3.40 比利时 € 4.80 捷克共和国 CZK 130

但许多法国人讨厌这座名为普伊杜福 (Puy du Fou) 的公园。

批评者称其为“极右翼宣传”的推手。随着极保守主义者自第二次世界大战以来首次接近权力中心，这一指控引起了越来越多的共鸣。批评者指责该公园将历史武器化，以普及其创始人菲利普·德·维利耶 (Philippe de Villiers) 的价值观。德·维利耶曾是一名立法者，支持极右翼政治人物，长期以来一直反对欧盟、伊斯兰教、同性婚姻和移民。

报摊价格

他最近写道，这座公园是国家灵魂之争中一场更大规模的“文化战争”的一部分，且“文化上的胜利先于政治上的胜利”。但他的儿子尼古拉斯 (Nicolas) 自 2012 年起经营该公园，他表示自己的唯一野心是“创作能让人们热爱法国的演出”，并补充道：“对我来说，这就是我唯一的文化战争。”

该公园距离巴黎向西南方向开车四小时路程。普伊杜福在人造河流和池塘之间生长着数以千计的树木，感觉更像是一个国家公园而非游乐园。这里没有嘉年华游乐设施，供应商也很少。相反，泥土小径引导游客前往沉浸式场景以及演出，这些演出大多关于法国历史，在大型户外竞技场和室内剧院中展开，通常持续约半小时。

法国，第 2 页

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期号 No. 44,632

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在法国的普伊杜福公园，从左起：公园总裁尼古拉斯·德·维利耶（中间）正与技术人员交谈；扮演罗马人的演员；观看圣女贞德肖像的游客。尼古拉斯·德·维利耶表示，他的野心是“创作能让人们热爱法国的演出”。

文化战争在法国主题公园中上演

法国，见第1页

上方，游客们正在观看普伊迪福（Puy du Fou）的维京人表演；右侧，游客们在第一次世界大战宣传海报的复制品前休息。一位批评者表示，该公园呈现的是一个正遭受攻击的“永恒的法国”，这呼应了其创始人菲利普·德·维利耶（Philippe de Villiers）的反移民观点。一名游客则表示，该公园的批评者仅仅是因为“它是法国的”而讨厌它。

照片由 WILLIAM DANIELS 为《纽约时报》拍摄

对于大多数人来说，吸引力不仅在于神话般的法国故事，还在于壮观的特效和动物。

在一场关于罗马人的表演中，战车驾驶员驾驶着装饰华丽的马队，围绕着一座埃及方尖碑赛跑，随后方尖碑分裂成一艘巨大的桨帆船。在另一场表演中，包括秃鹫和白头海雕在内的300多只活鸟在观众头顶盘旋。

“机械工程简直不可思议，”来自瑞士的退休医生阿里多·阿格里福格利（Arido Agrifoglio，69岁）说道。他正与妻子西尔维（Sylvie）一起排队观看他们当天的第九场表演。前一天晚上，他们观看了一场舞者、钢琴家和一台钢琴从池塘中升起的表演。

“我经常在想，‘他们是怎么做到的？’”阿格里福格利先生说。

在这座占地250英亩（100公顷）的公园建成之前，菲利普·德·维利耶于1978年在名为普伊迪福的一座废弃城堡旁推出了1场表演。他曾表示，这个名字在古法语和拉丁语中意为“山毛榉之丘”。

当时还是该国精英公务员大学学生的菲利普·德·维利耶，为一场关于该地区在法国大革命期间血腥经历的表演撰写了剧本，当时当地人拿起武器反抗

“这就是在抹除法国大革命并赞美基督教。这就是普伊迪福（Puy du Fou）的秘诀。”

新政府，并遭到屠杀。由于菲利普·德·维利耶（Philippe de Villiers）无法负担演员或舞台工作人员的费用，社区成员纷纷自愿参与。这场名为“电影场景”（Cinéscénie）的演出此后规模不断扩大，至今在夏季仍由数千名志愿者运营。

菲利普·德·维利耶后来成为了该国的文化国务秘书以及一名民选立法者。1989年，在访问了位于佛罗里达州奥兰多的迪士尼世界度假区（Walt Disney World Resort）后，他看到了其中的商业潜力。他在“电影场景”旁边创建了一个由专业人员运营的新公园。他开始为新剧目编写剧本，旨在为这个国家提供他所谓的“奠基叙事”。

他在2025年的著作《群体灭绝》（Populicide）中写道：“我们必须把过去还给法国人。”该书称移民正导致法国的文明崩溃，并在法国成为畅销书。

如今，该公园拥有约3,000名员工，负责运营约20场演出、5家历史主题酒店和26家餐厅。尼古拉斯·德·维利耶（Nicolas de Villiers）表示，2025年公司营收约为3.5亿美元，游客人数创纪录地达到300万。2021年，他在西班牙托莱多开设了一家专注于西班牙历史的公园；2025年，他申请在牛津附近开设英国版公园。（原计划在俄罗斯、俄罗斯占领的克里米亚以及美国开展的项目从未实现。）

随着成功的日益增长，该公园受到了左翼政治家和历史学家的猛烈批评。多年来，他们一直指出演出中的不准确之处，并指责其出于政治原因歪曲历史。这种批评在2022年进一步放大，当时四位历史学家出版了一本名为《虚假的普伊》（Le Puy du Faux）的严厉批判之作，称该公园具有“意识形态色彩”，游客在那里将“一无所获”。

“这就是在抹除法国大革命并赞美基督教。这就是普伊迪福的秘诀，”作者之一、中世纪历史学家弗洛里安·贝松（Florian Besson）说道。

许多演出都以天主教为中心。企图袭击基督教村庄的掠夺性维京人被一位幽灵圣徒阻止，并迅速皈依。罗马人被描绘成残酷的异教统治者——直到他们也皈依之前——他们一直迫害基督教高卢人。

“这是对历史的完全颠倒：基督教是通过罗马传到高卢的，但在这里呈现的却是完全相反的情况，”历史学家、该书合著者波琳·杜克雷（Pauline Ducret）说道。

杜克雷女士表示，公园呈现了一个受到攻击的“永恒法国”——如果不是被维京人攻击，就是被革命军队或德国人攻击——这呼应了德·维利耶先生的反移民观点。

此外，在选择呈现法国历史的哪些部分时也存在问题。批评者指出，这里没有任何内容触及法国最黑暗的时刻：奴隶制、殖民主义，或维希政府（二战期间与纳粹合作的政府）。

菲利普·德·维利耶没有回应采访请求。但他的儿子、46岁的尼古拉斯与我们进行了两次交谈，其中一次是在公园内一家餐厅上方的房间里，那里的服务员会演唱法国民歌。他表示，给公园设定政治目标是“荒谬的”。

“维京人是右翼还是左翼？罗马人是右翼还是左翼？”他说，“这个问题与我们呈现的演出完全不相干。”

但他确实认为公园有助于构建国家的集体记忆。“如果我们作为法国人民想要拥有共同的命运，”他说，“我们需要共同的记忆。”对于省略某些历史章节，他没有表示歉意。

纽约时报

“我们总是倾向于选择荣耀而非耻辱，”他说。

尼古拉斯·德·维利耶表示，他认为近期涌现的针对公园的批评是由嫉妒驱动的，尤其是来自他所称的控制着巴黎戏剧界的左翼精英。

左翼总统候选人弗朗索瓦·鲁芬（François Ruffin）提出了另一种理论。鲁芬先生表示，这种审查随着极右翼国民联盟党（National Rally）的崛起而增加，该党领导人玛丽娜·勒庞（Marine Le Pen）明年有很大机会赢得总统选举。

鲁芬先生在一次采访中表示，当菲利普·德·维利耶（Philippe de Villiers）建立普伊杜福（Puy du Fou）公园时，那里是“一个抵抗据点，旨在延续新保守主义的火种”。鲁芬先生补充道：“如今他们已成为主导力量，成为了大多数，并且有可能在明年夺取政权。”

他表示，普伊杜福仅仅是日益壮大的右翼文化星阵的一部分，而推动这一进程的是法国亿万富翁文森特·博洛雷（Vincent Bolloré），其持股包括出版商、电影公司以及一家右翼电视频道 CNews，菲利普·德·维利耶在 CNews 拥有一个周五晚间的节目。

鲁芬先生认为，这个星阵目前正在赢得法国的“文化战争”。

他呼吁创建一个左翼的普伊杜福，用以上演关于法国大革命以及第二次世界大战期间法国抵抗运动的表演。

在最近一个酷热的日子里，许多家庭在各个表演项目之间奔波。

一些人表示他们喜欢公园传递的历史信息。53岁的保安劳伦特·斯米尔诺（Laurent Smirnow）说，批评者仅仅是因为它“具有法国特色”而讨厌它。

但许多人表示，他们是为了娱乐而来，而不是为了历史课或政治。

57岁的瓦莱丽·比莱（Valérie Billet）与她的姻亲及成年子女在树下休息。

她说，她的姐姐因为德·维利耶先生的政治立场而拒绝来这个公园。

“当我来到这里时，我会将公园与创建它的人分开看待，”身为英语教师的比莱女士说道。坐在旁边的女儿诺尔温（Nolwenn），28岁，低声嘀咕道，公园的偏见很难被忽视。“这绝对是可以感受到的，”女儿说道。

尽管如此，她已经随家人回来过四次了。

他在广岛原子弹爆炸中幸存，并成为棒球巨星

JUI PRESS, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES 1980年的原imoto Isao（原imoto 功）。他在从1950年代末到80年代初的漫长职业生涯中，凭借创纪录的3,085次安打赢得了“安打机器”的绰号。

原imoto Isao (ISAO HARIMOTO) 1940-2026

作者：VICTOR MATHER

原imoto Isao于周三在东京去世，享年86岁。他童年时期在广岛原子弹爆炸中幸存，随后成为了日本棒球历史上安打数最多的人。

他的死讯由日本棒球名人堂之一的明誉会（Meikyukai，或称 Golden Players Club）在医院公布。死因未公开。

原imoto在从1950年代末到80年代初的漫长职业生涯中，凭借创纪录的3,085次安打赢得了“安打机器”的绰号。他曾七次获得联盟打击冠军。

他是唯一一位在日本本土获得3,000次安打的球员。（铃木一朗拥有4,367次安打，但其中3,000次以上是在他转战美国大联盟之后取得的。）

但原imoto绝非简单的轻击球手；在这些安打中，有504次是本垒打，使其在日本历史总榜上排名第七。他还曾盗垒319次，获得过一次最有价值球员（M.V.P.）奖项，并18次入选全明星赛。

在球员生涯结束后，他成为了该项运动一名直言不讳的评论员。

原imoto Isao于1940年6月19日出生在日本广岛，父母是前一年移民而来的韩国人。他的韩国名字是 Jang Hun。

他的母亲 Pak Sun Bun 是一名厨师，父亲 Jang Sang Jeong 则用手推车销售废金属和各种二手物品。

当原子弹在城市中爆炸时，原imoto才5岁，爆炸地点离他居住的地方不远。

“当时有一道闪光和一声巨大的轰鸣，”他在2011年告诉《中国新闻》（The Chugoku Shimbun）报纸。“我意识到的下一件事就是，我的母亲用身体护住我和比我大三岁的姐姐，尽管她的背部被飞溅的玻璃碎片割得血迹斑斑。”

这件事在家里并不经常被提及。

“我的母亲想要忘记；我想她想完全抹除关于那一天的记忆，”他在2020年告诉日本英文报纸《每日新闻》（The Mainichi）。

他说，他在爆炸中失去了一位姐姐 Jang Jeom Ja，而他的母亲烧掉了她所有的照片。直到棒球生涯结束很久之后，他才在公开场合讨论这场灾难。

尽管童年时因此遭受欺凌，且在职业生涯中面临偏见，但他仍为自己的韩国血统感到自豪。

“在日本的许多韩裔人士会融入日本社会，”《你必须拥有“和”》（You Gotta Have Wa, 1989）——这部关于日本棒球最权威的英文著作——的作者罗伯特·怀廷（Robert Whiting）在一次采访中表示。“但原imoto没有。他谈到他的母亲在家里从不讲日语，他对此感到非常自豪。”

原imoto还批评其他隐藏自己族裔身份的韩裔日本运动员。直到晚年，他才成为日本公民。

他在幼年时的一次事故中烧伤了右手，这导致他在五年级开始打棒球时成为了左打者。尽管天赋异禀，但由于被认为是个“麻烦制造者”（无论是否名副其实），他失去了一些进入顶尖高中球队的机会。

1958年，他随一支由韩裔日本高中生组成的队伍首次访问韩国。他见到了祖父母，他后来表示，那是他第一次真正地与自己的韩国之根建立联系。

他严谨、自律的击球方式，以及能够稳定地击出中路球的能力，很快让他进入了顶级联赛。1959年，在效力于总部位于东京的东映飞人队（Toei Flyers）期间，他的打击率达到.275，足以让他被评为年度最佳新人。在接下来的两个赛季中，他的表现大幅提升，打击率分别达到.302和.336。他司职左外野手，防守并非他的强项，但作为击球手，他在二十年间表现强劲且稳定。

他效力过的许多球队在当时的日本联赛中并不属于顶尖之列。他仅在1962年获得过一次日本大赛冠军，当时他的飞人队在七场比赛中击败了阪神虎队。那一年，他还被评为太平洋联盟最有价值球员。（在他效力期间，飞人队采用了现在的名称——日本火腿斗士队。）

原imoto最辉煌的赛季是1970年，当时他的打击率达到.383，击出34支本垒打并贡献100分打点，均创下职业生涯新高。

按照当时日本联赛的标准，他是一名身材高大的球员，身高5英尺11英寸（180厘米），体重187磅（85公斤）。而且他并不害怕那些身材更魁梧的球员，无论对方是美国人还是日本人。

“如果场上发生斗殴，他总是处于冲突的中心，”怀廷说道，“他是个令人畏惧的人；没人想跟他打架。他不怕在场上发脾气，也不怕挑战他人。”

尽管原imoto在打击方面取得了成功，但他始终无法摆脱在日本被视为“坏男孩”的名声。他嗜酒，且卷入过几次斗殴。

他于1976年转会至读卖巨人队，1980年转会至罗ッテ猎户座队。1981赛季结束后，他在41岁时宣布退役。

退役后，原imoto成为一名棒球评论员，以直言不讳著称。

“他似乎没有过滤机制，”怀廷说，“他非常维护日本棒球，并批评那些前往美国打球的球员，认为他们应该忠于日本联赛。”

原imoto曾为韩国棒球组织工作，并帮助该国在1982年建立了国家联赛，但后来他因认为自己受到了轻视而与该组织分道扬镳。

在晚年，公开反对核武器也成了他生活的重要组成部分。

“哪一个更重要：保护人类生命，还是持有核武器？”他在2011年的《中国新闻》（The Chugoku Shimbun）中问道，“这两者截然相反。当人们只是在努力生存时，允许存在能够瞬间毁灭人类的武器，这是不人道的。”

触及皇冠

GMT-MASTER II

劳力士 (ROLEX)

ZUNAIRA SAIFED

一家爱尔兰工厂与俄罗斯武器

上图为位于爱尔兰西部的 Aughinish Alumina，它是欧洲最大的氧化铝精炼厂。左下方的克斯蒂·格里芬（Kirsty Griffin）住在工厂附近，她对铝土矿残渣形成的“泥池”表示担忧。右下方的迈克尔·基恩（Michael Keane）是另一位当地居民，他承认该工厂的建设为该地区带来了就业机会和发展机遇。

爱尔兰，奥基尼什（AUGHINISH, IRELAND）

摄影：PAULO NUNES DOS SANTOS 为《纽约时报》拍摄

该工厂精炼的氧化铝可能会最终用于乌克兰战争中的武器

作者：MEGAN SPECIA 和 JEANNA SMIALEK

这座工业厂房耸立在爱尔兰利默里克郡（County Limerick）香农河口的一片平原上，在原本如画的风景中勾勒出一个冷峻的轮廓。高耸的烟囱直插云霄，喷出阵阵白烟。

大部分地面被染成了锈红色，这是铝土矿的残渣。铝土矿在这里被精炼成氧化铝，然后被运走冶炼成铝。

Aughinish Alumina 工厂目前由俄罗斯公司 Rusal 拥有，已在此屹立四十多年，雇佣了数百名当地员工。它是欧洲最大的氧化铝精炼厂。但在《爱尔兰时报》和一个调查联盟报道称，这里加工的大量氧化铝被运往俄罗斯冶炼厂，而这些冶炼厂将成品铝出售给一家向俄罗斯武器制造商供货的公司后，该工厂受到了审查。

这些发现引发了欧洲的一场激烈辩论，使爱尔兰西海岸这个小地方成为了关于成员国如何避免为俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争提供支持的争端中心。一些欧洲立法者质疑，这里生产的氧化铝是否根本不应该出售给俄罗斯，即使这将给当地工业以及欧洲某种关键原材料的供应链带来损失。

乌克兰驻爱尔兰大使馆在 6 月表示，对“爱尔兰向俄罗斯联邦持续出口氧化铝深表担忧”。乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在次月访问都柏林期间，含蓄地提及了该工厂，称“最终进入俄罗斯的原材料被用来对付我们”，应当予以停止。

在爱尔兰这个拥有军事中立传统的国家，这些指控触动了人们的神经。克斯蒂·格里芬住在俯瞰工厂的山坡上，从她的二楼窗户可以看到那些烟囱。

“我们是一个中立国家，所以这是一个争论点，”她说。她补充说，该工厂还存在其他问题，称当地人在最初方案提出时并不清楚工厂会规模变得多大，并且近年来对铝土矿残渣池表示担忧。

“它确实带来了很多工作，但我们试图守护这个地方，而这一切就在山那边，”她指着周围的风景说道，“如果俄罗斯人明天就得离开那里，那些泥池怎么办？”

对于其他人来说，突然关注该工厂与俄罗斯的联系，感觉就像是他们国家这个安静角落被强行推到了不受欢迎的聚光灯下。

在附近经营一家有机奶牛场的迈克尔·基恩在讨论此事时显得犹豫，他说，部分原因是该厂址曾给当地经济带来福祉并创造了就业。他回忆起在工厂建成前的几十年里，工作机会很少，许多当地人都移民了。然后，建设开始了。

“那就像一场淘金热——他们来自四面八方，不仅来自整个爱尔兰，还来自世界各地，”基恩先生在谈到参与建设的工人时说道。

这座氧化铝厂由加拿大矿业公司 Alcan 建造，于 1999 年出售给一家瑞士公司，该公司随后在 2007 年与俄铝（Rusal）合并，使该工厂归俄罗斯所有。

来自巴西和几内亚矿山的原铝土矿被运至此处，加工成细白粉末。超过一半的成品氧化铝随后被运往俄罗斯，其余则运往欧洲各地的冶炼厂。该工厂还运营着一座发电站，将多余的电力出口到国家电网，并雇佣了 475 名员工以及另外 400 名承包商。

俄铝是全球最大的铝业公司之一，由寡头奥列格·德里帕斯卡（Oleg Deripaska）创立。美国、英国和欧盟因其与克里姆林宫的密切关系而对其实施制裁。德里帕斯卡先生于 2018 年正式辞去公司董事职务，但他持有 En+ 45% 的股份，而 En+ 是俄铝的大股东。在爱尔兰和其他欧洲国家的游说下，美国在 2019 年取消了对俄铝及其他与德里帕斯卡先生相关公司的制裁。

在《爱尔兰时报》于 3 月发表报告后，爱尔兰政府进行了一项正式调查，并已与欧盟官员分享了结果，同时向乌克兰通报了情况，但尚未向公众公开。爱尔兰总理米歇尔·马丁（Micheál Martin）在访问基辅时表示，政府“尚未发现将该氧化铝与俄罗斯武器制造商联系起来的具体或决定性证据”。

但他补充道：“即便如此，政府也没有发现决定性证据证明氧化铝可能没有流向武器制造商。”

在一个农村地区，该工厂为当地经济带来了巨大的福祉，雇佣了 475 名员工和 400 名承包商。

奥基尼什氧化铝公司（Aughinish Alumina）在一份声明中表示，公司“极其严肃地”对待这些指控，并已全力配合政府的调查。该公司表示，该工厂及其母公司“已经制定了一个框架，以进一步增强奥基尼什氧化铝的可追溯性”，这将提供“可验证的证据”，证明其氧化铝与俄罗斯军方没有联系。

据《金融时报》报道，奥基尼什约 52% 的氧化铝销往俄罗斯，34% 销往法国、瑞典和荷兰（合计）。针对该工厂的潜在贸易限制可能会给爱尔兰和欧洲带来严重后果。奥基尼什向西欧最大的两家铝冶炼厂供应产品，这两家冶炼厂的大部分原材料均来自这家爱尔兰工厂。

欧盟发言人里卡多·卡多佐（Ricardo Cardoso）表示，欧盟的执行机构欧盟委员会（European Commission）正在审查爱尔兰政府的报告。

代表利默里克（Limerick）的爱尔兰议员尼尔·柯林斯（Niall Collins）表示，他有信心政府的报告将缓解人们对该工厂的担忧。他说，如果欧洲决定采取措施削减运营，他担心其损害将波及当地以及整个欧洲大陆。

“这不会让俄罗斯关闭，”他说，“但它会让利默里克关闭，并剥夺欧洲的氧化铝供应。”

然而，欧洲许多人认为应该采取行动。意大利政治人物、欧洲议会副议长皮娜·皮切尔诺（Pina Picierno）在 5 月写信给欧盟委员会称：“欧盟在资助乌克兰国防的同时，一家俄罗斯所有的公司却在一个成员国境内不受干扰地运营，并向克里姆林宫的军事工业供应产品，这是不可接受的。”

分析人士表示，欧盟在最近通过的制裁方案中并未将氧化铝纳入其中，尽管一些国家未来可能会推动将其纳入。然而，一些障碍可能会阻止这一进程——最显著的是对欧洲自身供应链的影响。

“最大的障碍并非是对俄罗斯某种错位的政治同情，而是欧洲的工业政策，”咨询公司欧亚集团（Eurasia Group）欧洲区董事总经理穆杰塔巴·拉赫曼（Mujtaba Rahman）表示。

拉赫曼先生指出，欧洲一直致力于减少对其他国家的依赖，而破坏其最大的氧化铝精炼厂可能会使该大陆更加依赖贸易伙伴。

梅根·斯佩西亚（Megan Specia）发自爱尔兰奥基尼什，珍娜·斯米亚莱克（Jeanna Smialek）发自布鲁塞尔。

马来西亚通过人工降雨应对山火烟霾

马来西亚，古晋

作者：ZUNAIRA SAIEED

当来自印度尼西亚的烟雾开始飘向她所在的马来西亚婆罗洲地区时，伊莱恩·西姆（Elaine Sim）开始在户外佩戴口罩。随后，她为家里购买了四台空气净化器。最后，她尝试用胶带封住窗户。

印度尼西亚境内数周以来山火肆虐，随着有毒烟霾扩散至邻国，人们担心这将引发一场区域性健康危机。在印度尼西亚境外，受影响最严重的地区可能是马来西亚的砂拉越州，西姆女士就住在该州首府古晋。

“烟霾无处不在，就像在恐怖电影里一样，”她说，“当你走进古晋的酒店和餐厅时，你会发现室内也有烟霾。”

根据监测公司 IQAir 的数据，古晋的空气质量指数最近达到了 457，这一危险水平迫使当局要求民众限制户外活动。他们还宣布塞里安（Serian）镇进入紧急状态，该镇靠近印度尼西亚边境。

本月，马来西亚政府在人工造云（cloud seeding）方面花费了相当于 $100,000 以上的资金，试图让砂拉越部分地区降雨，以改善空气质量。

9 月 6 日，《纽约时报》获得了一次罕见的机会，随一架从古晋空军基地起飞的马来西亚皇家空军运输机参与其中一次任务。我们的目的地在城市以东约 100 英里（160 公里）处，即印度尼西亚边境附近区域。

这架洛克希德 C-130H-30 “大力神”涡轮螺旋桨飞机的载荷是四个大型不锈钢水箱。每个水箱装有 1,200 升（317 加仑）水和 200 公斤（440 磅）盐的混合物，被固定在飞机的中心位置。

盐水有助于云中的水滴合并并扩大，直到它们足够沉重而化为雨滴落下。但气象学家对人工造云的有效性持有分歧，因为很难证明如果没有造云操作，当地原本不会下雨。

机上的官员——包括七名空军军官组成的机组人员、四名天气专家和两名灾害管理官员——正在寻找完美的云层。他们寻找的是高度约四英里、宽度约五英里的云

在马来西亚砂拉越州的一次人工造云行动中，飞机正在喷洒盐水溶液，该地区的空气质量已达到危险水平。

南非音乐之星陷入移民抵制风波

6月，南非斯普林举行的一场反对无证外国人的抗议活动。艺术家和粉丝们开始发声，反对南非境内反移民的热潮。

约翰内斯堡

作者：齐马萨·马蒂瓦内（ZIMASA MATIWANE）

南非歌手 Tyla 在抗议活动后取消了在尼日利亚的一场演出。同样来自南非的 amapiano 明星 Musa Keys 被从津巴布韦的一场音乐节名单中剔除。而来自马里的受人尊敬的音乐家萨利夫·凯塔（Salif Keïta）则因他所谓的“排外暴力”取消了在南非的一场演出。

随着反移民热潮在整个南非蔓延，艺术家和粉丝们开始发声，要求该国解决这一波威胁和暴力行为，这些行为已导致数千人逃离这个非洲最大的经济体。

非洲各国元首谴责了南非，并呼吁非洲联盟追究该国的责任。尼日利亚要求南非向那些被迫离开家园并被遣返的公民提供赔偿。南非最近失去了一个处理电信事务的重要全非洲领导角色，有人认为这是因为该国外交地位受损所致。

而现在，该国的音乐家和演艺人员也面临着抵制。

“这关乎人们团结起来并表示：‘不，我们有发言权，而且这个声音很重要，’”尼日利亚作家兼评论员索罗门·布奇（Solomon Buchi）说道，他是那些在社交媒体上抗议 Tyla 在拉各斯举办演唱会的人员之一。

负责监督艺术与文化的南非政府部长盖顿·麦肯齐（Gayton McKenzie）否认了南非人具有排外心理以及该国艺术家应为此负责的观点。南非政府表示，其目标是打击非法移民，并专注于保护国家边境。

“执行移民法并非排外，”麦肯齐先生说道。他的竞选主张很大程度上基于反移民平台，并帮助推广了口号“Abahambe”（在祖鲁语中意为“让他们走吧”），这一口号在许多反移民抗议活动中被高喊。

席卷南非的反移民情绪包括民团袭击移民社区，并擅自将他们驱逐出境。

暴力行为和激烈的言论导致许多外国人离开南非。根据南非政府的数据，从6月中旬到8月下旬，至少有 86,000 名外国国民被驱逐或遣返。

马里艺术家凯塔先生在 Facebook 的一篇帖子中表示，他不能“忽视有关针对我们非洲兄弟姐妹的排外暴力的报道”。他的经纪人卡罗琳娜·瓦列霍（Carolina Vallejo）确认了他的决定。

现年 77 岁的凯塔先生一直是南非爵士乐和文化节的常客。他与南非的联系可追溯到数十年前，包括 1988 年在伦敦温布利球场举行的纳尔逊·曼德拉 70 岁生日致敬演唱会上的演出，该活动与国际反种族隔离运动相关。

他强调，决定不在南非演出并非是对南非人的拒绝。“我想明确一点——我并没有关闭通往南非的大门，”

他写道，“我关闭的是暴力的大门。”

格莱美奖（Grammy Award）得主 Tyla 在尼日利亚拥有大量追随者，并与该国一些顶尖明星合作，包括 Ayra Starr、Tems 和 Wizkid。但尼日利亚人批评她原定在拉各斯的亮相，指责她保持沉默，而不是利用自己的影响力谴责反移民袭击。

Tyla 尚未公开评论其拉各斯演唱会取消的原因，她的代表也未立即回应置评请求。

布莱辛·杰克（Blessing Jake）花费数月时间在津巴布韦组织一场音乐节，但在 7 月，他开始在社交媒体上看到人们威胁称，如果南非艺术家不从演出名单中剔除，他们将抵制该活动。

Buddie Beats 音乐会原定于维多利亚瀑布举行，杰克先生花费数月时间才确保能邀请到该音乐会最顶级的演出嘉宾，其中包括南非乐队 Mafikizolo。

最终，杰克先生将 Mafikizolo 从演出名单中剔除。他表示，此举导致他损失了数十万美元。杰克先生说，他希望围绕南非艺术家的负面氛围能够尽快得到解决。

“从商业角度来看，”他说，“排外主义的代价非常昂贵。”

马来西亚气象局的人工增雨专家穆罕默德·雷祖安·阿卜杜勒·莫因（Mohammad Redzuan Abdul Moin）当时就在飞机上，他表示， 范围很广。他说，这些参数对于盐颗粒在云层中移动并帮助形成雨滴至关重要。

该飞机在约 7,500 英尺（2,300 米）的高度飞行，远低于商业客机的巡航高度。

低能见度使他们难以发现适合播种的云层。

但一小时后，他们发现了一朵像花椰菜头一样蓬松的白云。

机组人员放下飞机的坡道，打开储罐阀门，开始向云层中喷洒盐水溶液。我们在云层的下部盘旋了约半小时。随后，机组人员对另一朵云重复了这一过程。

当我们回到地面时，这次为期四小时的任务似乎取得了成功，地点在距离印度尼西亚边境约 10 英里的巴当艾（Batang Ai）大坝附近。

“大坝那里下了几个小时的小雨，”砂拉越能源公司（Sarawak Energy）的一名官员乔尼·黄（Jonny Wong Kwie Ji）说道，该公司是负责运营该州大坝的公用事业公司。

但这远非解决霾问题的永久方案。

“即使在人工增雨后下雨，也只能暂时净化空气，”常驻马来西亚首都吉隆坡、研究远程空气污染的斯泰利奥斯·普莱尼奥蒂斯（Stellios Plainiotis）表示。他补充说，持久的解决方案需要控制印度尼西亚婆罗洲的火灾。

摄影：DANIEL BEREHULAK / 纽约时报 从左上角起顺时针方向：5月，在黎巴嫩 Tyre 参加其父亲（一名摄影记者兼急救员，艾哈迈德·哈里里）葬礼的 3 岁女儿玛丽亚姆；5月，在赛达市一个国内流离失所者避难所里的 87 岁扎基亚·阿尔-奥尔；以及 Tyre 港口的渔民。

走进一座被冲突摧残的黎巴嫩城市

黎巴嫩，见第1页

旨在拆除真主党的军事基础设施，并防止其进一步袭击黎巴嫩边境附近的以色列社区。

对于里达·希贾齐·达哈布（Rida Hijazi al-Dahab）来说，推尔（Tyre）的战斗给他的家、他的生意以及他拥有的一切几乎带来了毁灭性的打击。就在第一场停火协议生效前几分钟，以色列的空袭将他咖啡馆所在的住宅区建筑夷为平地。以色列在不久后表示，其在过去24小时内的袭击目标是真主党的地点和人员，但未提供证据。

达哈布先生说，袭击发生时他正站在咖啡馆内，冲击力将他撞在墙上并导致他失去意识。当他醒来时，发现人们正将他从建筑废墟中拉出来，这座建筑是他的祖父在几十年前建造的。

“我们做错了什么，竟要承受这一切？”他在5月的一次采访中问道。

在最近的一个傍晚，当夕阳将金色的光芒洒在推尔的地中海海滨时，水滴从达哈布先生咖啡馆曾经所在地破裂的混凝土中滴落。电线在头顶低低地悬挂着，尘土粘在破碎的墙壁上，他审视着这片毁灭的景象。他说他在这门生意中投入了数千美元，而现在这些钱全部损失了。

“这个社区的生活之烛已被熄灭，”达哈布先生说。

他的社区并非唯一被悲痛笼罩的地方。

在整个推尔，死亡成了这座城市日常节奏的一部分。数周以来，这座城市到处是葬礼，有时一天就有好几场。

对于驻守在全市及周边地区的黎巴嫩民防紧急救援人员来说，伤亡情况尤为严重。据黎巴嫩卫生官员和人权组织称，一些救援人员在所谓的“二次打击”中丧生——当他们冲向现场救治或撤离首轮袭击的死伤者时，遭到了以色列军队的袭击。

在其中许多案例中，以色列表示其袭击目标是武装分子，但未提供证据。在某些情况下，以色列表示正在对这些袭击进行调查。

据黎巴嫩卫生部称，自战争开始以来，已有130多名医护人员丧生。

在推尔，他们的葬礼成了集体哀悼的现场。亲人们俯身在棺材旁，撒下鲜花，分享对逝者的回忆，而此时以色列的战机和无人机有时就在头顶轰鸣。

其中一人是侯赛因·萨蒂（Hussein al-Sati），他在4月与团队响应以色列袭击现场时被杀。在他的葬礼上，他4岁的女儿塔拉（Tala）赞扬父亲的勇敢，称他为“英雄”。

随着哭号声越来越大，哀悼者在棺材周围聚集，她崩溃了。她转向母亲和亲戚，恳求回到贝鲁特。

“我们走吧，”她哭喊道。

暴力来得如此突然，而当它消退时，这座城市会寻找方法缓慢地将自己重新缝合。

餐厅和咖啡馆总是最先重新开业的。人们一边望着平静的海滨，一边享用着沙威玛（shawarmas），试图——哪怕仅在某个下午——假装战争已经暂停。渔民们回来修理船只，为下一次捕鱼做准备。服装店重新开门。家庭回来了，随身携带的几乎只有逃难时带走的那些袋子。

蔬菜市场也重新开业了，但摊位依然稀疏。像50岁的巴萨姆·努韦里（Bassam Nuwayri）这样的商人说，他们经常没什么可卖的，因为整个黎巴嫩南部的农业已遭到毁灭性打击。

“我们永远会回到这里，”他在最近的一个下午说道，“我们必须在自己的土地上坚守。”

暴力来得如此突然，而当它消退时，这座城市将寻找方法缓慢地将自己重新缝合。

并非所有人都能回去。对于许多流离失所的居民来说，Tyre 已成为一个被记忆的地方，而非一个可以回归的家园。

87岁的扎基亚·阿尔-奥尔（Zakia al-Or）在3月战争爆发之初逃离了Tyre。目前，她与几名家人一起住在西顿（Sidon）的一座由旧法院改建而成的避难所里，西顿是一座位于更北方的沿海城市。

她讲述了自己如何追随心爱之人来到Tyre，并在那里抚养孩子。即便在孩子们离开前往黎巴嫩其他地区或移居海外后，她依然留在了那里。

那段生活的大部分已不复存在。她说，她的家在2024年真主党与以色列的战争中被击中，随后在最近的一次冲突中再次遭到袭击并受损。阿尔-奥尔女士描述了一次又一次失去生命片段所带来的情感痛苦，以及她在晚年时如何仅仅希望拥有几年平静的生活。

她说她准备好去任何地方——贝鲁特、加拿大、美国。“战争和绝望永无止境，”她说，“整个国家都笼罩在悲伤之中。”

这种悲伤在Tyre的医院里或许最为明显，每一次袭击都会带来又一名患者，又一个家庭，又一次紧急情况。

数月来，医疗工作者在自己的设施遭到攻击时依然坚守。在医院内部，有一个孩子因为遍布全身的弹片伤口而痛苦地号啕大哭；有一名农场工人，在以色列的袭击中失去了双腿、丈夫以及其他几名家人；还有护士和医生，在破碎的病房和办公室中惊愕地坐着，试图理清还剩下什么。

目前，Tyre的生活节奏已经恢复。在6月真主党与以色列达成又一次脆弱的停火协议后，生活开始缓慢地、小心翼翼地回归。

地中海的海浪拍打着海岸线。一些家庭开始重新享受夏日的乐趣，聚集在彩色的遮阳伞下，分享美食，在水边打排球。在市中心，商人们正缓慢地回归，重建并修复。

在城市郊区以及整个黎巴嫩南部，炮击依然在震动大地，无人机在头顶嗡嗡作响。

对于像咖啡店老板阿尔-达哈布先生这样的居民来说，某种程度上的平凡生活意味着在面对已发生之事的同时，试图在未来的不确定性中寻找出路。

“我失去了一切，”他说。但他补充道，“我还活着，这本身就是一个奇迹。”

莎拉·查伊托（Sarah Chaayto）和胡艾达·萨阿德（Hwaida Saad）参与了报道。

石油出口国的选择日益减少

伦敦

向特朗普总统及其团队。他说，他们被“困住了”。

中东新一轮袭击导致油轮航线日益匮乏

作者：丽莎·弗里德曼（LISA FRIEDMAN）、珍妮·格罗斯（JENNY GROSS）和丽贝卡·F·埃利奥特（REBECCA F. ELLIOTT）

全球最具价值的能源走廊正在收窄。

上周，受伊朗支持的胡塞武装扩大了对红海的控制，威胁到波斯湾原油的一条关键航线。这使得该地区几乎没有其他选择，因为通过霍尔木兹海峡（曾是全球主要的石油运输点）的航运流量仍然受到显著限制，远低于战争爆发前的水平。

长期以来作为中东最重要生产国的沙特阿拉伯，其上月的石油出口量跌至至少 13 年来的最低点。

美国海军能够通过靠近阿曼海岸（与伊朗相对的一侧）的海路，维持原油从霍尔木兹海峡流出。但这需要一项规模庞大且危险的行动。

对于航运公司而言，曾经常规的穿行海峡操作已变成一项高风险尝试。7 月和 8 月，在阿曼附近的水域至少有 23 艘船只遭到袭击。自 2 月底战争爆发以来，中东地区至少有 22 名海员丧生。

海事情报公司 Windward 的分析师米歇尔·维斯·博克曼（Michelle Wiese Bockmann）表示：“这些水域并不安全。”

分析人士表示，进入第七个月的伊朗战争似乎正在失控。在看不到外交解决方案的情况下，作为能源生产中心的中东正面临数十年来最严重的供应危机。

曾在拜登政府担任外交与能源顾问的阿莫斯·霍克斯坦（Amos Hochstein）表示，特朗普政府“一直非常有效地利用各种工具来抑制油价和汽油价格”。但他说，现在可选择的方案越来越少。

经济后果正在累积。在受伊朗支持的胡塞武装升级袭击后，周五的油价一度突破每桶 $108。这比战前水平高出约 50%。美国平均汽油价格已攀升至每加仑 $4 以上——比一年前高出 $1 多。同样在周五，作为卡车运输、农业和工业主要燃料的柴油，在美国的平均价格突破了每加仑 $6。

特朗普先生上周表示，他认为伊朗战争在 11 月美国中期选举之前不会结束，但他声称投票结束后油价将会“暴跌”。分析人士指出，事实上，特朗普政府在结束战争或降低能源价格方面已几乎没有选择。上个月，政府官员对德黑兰实施了严厉的新经济制裁，希望此举能推翻该政权，但并未奏效。

“这一新进展使胡塞武装在面对其死敌沙特阿拉伯时拥有了重要的筹码。”

“他们可以选择轰炸，也可以选择谈判，”研究机构欧亚集团（Eurasia Group）的分析师格雷戈里·布鲁（Gregory Brew）表示。

伊朗提出的要求包括结束美国对伊朗港口的 naval blockade（海军封锁）以及释放海外被冻结的资产。此外，伊朗一直声称将维持对霍尔木兹海峡的控制。

“可能有一个明确的出口，那就是向伊朗投降，”外交关系协会（Council on Foreign Relations）高级研究员埃利奥特·亚伯拉罕斯（Elliott Abrams）表示，他在第一任特朗普政府期间曾担任伊朗和委内瑞拉问题特使。但他补充道，“给总统的问题将是：为了度过选举，你是否愿意做出这样的让步？”

周五，胡塞武装控制了也门战略性的红海港口城市摩卡（Mokha），将由沙特阿拉伯支持的也门政府盟军驱逐出境。就在几天前，胡塞武装导致 73 名平民受伤，并袭击了沙特阿拉伯南部的能源设施。

伦敦政治经济学院专注于中东研究的教授法瓦兹·A·格尔格斯（Fawaz A. Gerges）称，胡塞武装对摩卡的控制对于该武装组织以及伊朗来说都是“改变游戏规则”的事件。

沙特能源部周五表示，其东-西管道（East-West Pipeline）——该管道此前一直被用作霍尔木兹海峡的替代通道——在前一天的袭击中被“多次瞄准”，目前已作为“预防措施”关闭。

KHALED ABDULLAH / REUTERS

在 2 月 28, 美国和以色列首次袭击伊朗后，德黑兰限制了通过霍尔木兹海峡的通行。这使得红海南入口的曼德海峡（Bab al-Mandab Strait）成为了中东石油的备用路线。而现在，胡塞武装在那里拥有了绝对的控制权。

“这一新进展使胡塞武装在面对其死敌沙特阿拉伯，以及全球贸易体系时，拥有了重要的筹码，”格尔格斯先生表示。他补充道，“结果就是，伊朗现在处于更有利的位置，可以增加美国经济和世界的痛苦。”

根据海运数据公司 Kpler 的数据，本月的一周内，只有两艘沙特阿拉伯货船通过曼德海峡离开红海。

沙特阿拉伯还有另一种出口石油的红海方案——通过苏伊士运河附近的一条管道向北输送。但这条经过地中海的路线成本更高，且前往该国大多数客户所在的亚洲方向，航程将增加数周。

Windward 的分析师维泽·博克曼（Wiese Bockmann）女士计算出，除伊朗外，海湾国家 8 月的原油出口量约为战争前水平的三分之二。

根据船舶追踪公司的数据，目前通过霍尔木兹海峡的流量仅为战前每天约 130 艘船的一小部分。9 月份平均每天有 19 艘船通过该海峡，低于 6 月份的最高值 34 艘，当时美国与伊朗之间曾短暂达成一项谅解备忘录。

2025. 年，也门哈拉兹（Haraz）的咖啡农将发酵后的咖啡樱桃铺在干燥床上。港口城市摩卡曾凭借也门咖啡贸易而兴起。

也门战争中被觊觎的咖啡港口

丽莎·弗里德曼（Lisa Friedman）和珍妮·格罗斯（Jenny Gross）发自伦敦报道，丽贝卡·F·埃利奥特（Rebecca F. Elliott）发自纽约报道。希琳·哈基姆（Shirin Hakim）在纽约参与报道。

作者：乔纳森·沃尔夫（JONATHAN WOLFE）

在也门内战中于上周被胡塞武装占领之前，拥有数百年历史的红海港口摩卡（Mokha）曾作为全球咖啡贸易最初的门户之一而闻名。

在16至18世纪的鼎盛时期，这座城市是商人与咖啡馆聚集的富庶中心，该地区在一百多年间垄断了全球咖啡豆的供应。这一遗产延伸到了现代咖啡文化中，这座城市的名字被用于命名咖啡豆、特种产品以及摩卡（mocha）——一种由巧克力和浓缩咖啡调制而成的饮品。

几个世纪前让摩卡能够主导咖啡贸易的特质，也使其在当前也门冲突中成为了一个战略性的——且被觊觎的——奖赏。这场冲突发生在伊朗支持的胡塞武装与沙特支持的、国际认可的政府之间。

“地理位置至关重要，”康涅狄格州耶鲁大学中东历史教授艾伦·米哈伊尔（Alan Mikhail）表示。他指出，摩卡靠近曼德海峡（Bab el-Mandab Strait），这条狭窄的水道位于该市以南约50英里（80公里）处，连接着红海与印度洋，几个世纪以来，这使得摩卡在世界上最重要的贸易走廊之一中拥有影响力。

咖啡之都的崛起

奥斯曼土耳其人在1530年代后期占领了也门，并将摩卡从一个小渔村转变为咖啡超级大国。

咖啡在该地区早已有据可循。学者们认为，大约在一个世纪前，那里的人们率先饮用了现代咖啡饮用者所认知的这种饮料。这种习惯可能始于阿拉伯苏菲派僧侣，他们饮用这种具有刺激性的饮料以在午夜祈祷时保持清醒。到16世纪中期，饮用咖啡在该地区已广泛流行，这里还见证了许多其他咖啡领域的“首次”。

《摩卡的贸易行》（The Merchant Houses of Mocha）一书讲述了该市贸易历史，作者南希·严（Nancy Um）表示：“也门不仅是我们今天所熟知的饮用咖啡这一社交习惯的发源地，也是大规模咖啡种植的发源地，并且真正是向世界供应咖啡的首个供应商。”

在也门，土耳其人在摩卡周围的高地开始进行商业规模的咖啡种植，并将其出口到整个帝国。

马克·彭德格拉斯特（Mark Pendergrast）在其1999年的著作《不寻常的土地》（Uncommon Grounds）中写道，他们还建立了垄断机制，禁止咖啡豆离开也门，除非先经过煮沸或烘烤以防止发芽。

摩卡与曼德海峡的邻近关系对其崛起至关重要，使其通过红海连接地中海，通过印度洋连接亚洲。如今，船只必须经过该海峡才能到达苏伊士运河及更远的欧洲海域。

摩卡由多民族、多信仰的贸易商组成，他们交易金属、纺织品和香料等产品，但在17世纪，随着包括英国和荷兰东印度公司在内的欧洲主要贸易行在此设立据点，这里与咖啡产生了深厚的联系。

到1720年代，咖啡已在加勒比地区和印度尼西亚的爪哇岛种植，摩卡的核心地位随之下降。

严女士表示，其终结之钟在19世纪初敲响，当时英国人占领了东部的港口城市亚丁（Aden），并将其作为在该地区的主要贸易中心。

脆弱的复兴

20世纪50年代，摩卡建立了一个现代港口，但到那时，该地区的咖啡产业已基本消失。

多年来，也门将其大部分可耕地转为种植卡特（khat），这是一种因具有类似安非他明的效果而被咀嚼的植物。这包括该国的咖啡产区，而这些地区目前大部分处于胡塞武装的控制之下。

“当咖啡被取代时，也某种程度上注定了也门的命运，”加州州立大学中东历史副教授易卜拉欣·阿尔-马拉希（Ibrahim Al-Marashi）表示。阿尔-马拉希先生指出，在当地销售和消费的卡特（khat）消耗了家庭储蓄，并拖累了经济。他还表示，这种植物耗水量大，这使得在某些地区控制关键水源的胡塞武装拥有了更大的权力。

然而，近年来出现了一场在摩卡（Mokha）和也门重建咖啡产业的运动。

“多年来，咖啡第一次给了也门人某种希望，”穆赫塔尔·阿尔坎沙利（Mokhtar Alkhanshali）说道，他在也门经营着一家咖啡企业，将大约 6,000 名农民与国际烘焙商联系起来。“而现在，那个本应向世界运送这些咖啡的港口，却成了一个战场。”

犹他州法院系统爆发性别之争

盐湖城

在女性对裁决提出质疑后，该州领导层削减了她们的代表权

作者：凯特·泽尼克（KATE ZERNIKE）

当“为了伦理政府的摩门女性”（Mormon Women for Ethical Government）在唐纳德·J·特朗普首次就职后那段动荡的日子里成立时，其使命是促成和平。

这些女性并非那些编织粉色猫耳帽的左翼人士——大多数成员是忠诚的犹他州共和党人，她们将该团体视为教会教义的延伸：女性照顾社区，而人们则通过与持有不同意见的人对话来学习和成长。

而这种对和平的追求，现在却将她们带入了一场战争。

这场冲突涉及许多其他州也面临的问题——国会选区地图的重新绘制、堕胎，以及最核心的问题：谁有权行使权力——是法院、人民，还是他们选出的代表。

但犹他州的情况很特殊；耶稣基督后期圣徒教会具有父权制色彩，并主导着该州的政治。随着犹他州女性开始发声，包括州长斯宾塞·考克斯（Spencer Cox）在内的男性政治人物——考克斯曾因主张“更好地分歧”而获得全国知名度——却在惩罚她们。

到目前为止，这些女性并未屈服。“为了伦理政府的摩门女性”的共同执行董事艾玛·佩蒂·亚当斯（Emma Petty Addams）引用了教会关于正确行使权力的教义，以此解释其团体的使命：“我们通过悲惨的经验了解到，几乎所有男性的天性和倾向都是，一旦他们认为自己获得了一点权力，就会立即开始行使不义的统治。”

尽管电视和社交媒体上充斥着来自犹他州的“传统妻子”（tradwives）和“妈妈网红”（momfluencers）的形象，但在这个“蜂巢之州”实际上演的却是截然不同的景象。

四年前，摩门女性起诉州议会，指责其拒绝执行选民通过的禁止不公正选区划分（gerrymandering）的法律。随着盐湖城市规模的扩大及其自由主义倾向的增强，该法律几乎肯定会让该州四人的众议院代表团中出现一名民主党成员。该州最高法院在首次出现女性占多数的情况下，一致且坚定地支持了这些女性。

掌控着该州所有全州级公职以及议会绝对多数席位的犹他州共和党领导层，首先以威胁回应，随后通过重组法院来应对。

在过去的一年里，他们将最高法院增加了两个席位，并从12名提名人名单中选择了新法官，而这些人全部为男性。随后，州议会创建了一个新的“宪法法院”来审理针对其自身的诉讼。

为了确保万无一失，该州共和党呼吁选民在今年11月的留任选举中，否决两名面临选举的高级法院女法官。这显然是该党首次在此类选举中开展竞选活动。

随后，州议会和考克斯州长迫使其中一名法官戴安娜·哈根（Diana Hagen）辞职，原因是她的前夫指控她有外遇，尽管调查司法不当行为的州委员会驳回了这一指控，称其“几乎没有可信度”。

在盐湖城的一次采访中（这是她辞职后的首次采访），哈根法官承认，针对女性的恶意可能并非源于性别歧视。但她指出，法院在2024年关于不公正选区划分的裁决中一致反对州议会，而当年首席法官（一名男性）在面临留任选举时，并没有出现要求否决他的竞选活动。

“这一点，”哈根法官说，“我实在无法用其他方式来解释。”而对于其他女性来说，这无需争论。

“他们不喜欢比赛结果，所以在中场引入了裁判，以便做出有利于自己的判决。”

“犹他州人不习惯女性拥有权力，”犹他州立大学女性领导力项目主任、同时也是耶稣基督后期圣徒教会和共和党成员的苏珊·马登（Susan Madsen）表示。她说，现在“是女性在发出自己的声音”。

共和党人表示，性别与他们的决定无关。考克斯先生指出，他在2023年任命两名女性时，创造了如今已不复存在的最高法院女性多数局面。今年6月，当他宣布最高法院的下一批人选时，他表示25名申请者中只有4名女性，而其中两人“完全不合格”。

“如果这让我变成了一个厌女者，我想我愿意承担这个名号，”他说，“但我认为这是一种疯狂的叙事。”

在动荡的犹他州政治斗争中，考克斯州长的角色充满了讽刺意味：他刚刚启动了最新的政治文明尝试，推广一本新书《出口：如何在轻蔑时代成为和平缔造者》（Off Ramp: How to Be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt）。此前，他在担任全美州长协会主席期间发起了标志性的“更好地分歧”（Disagree Better）倡议，在全国各地与民主党同行进行公开对话。

但在犹他州，他取消了提名法官委员会必须保持党派平衡的要求，并赋予自己任命该委员会成员的唯一权力。

“他们不喜欢比赛结果，所以在中场引入了裁判，以便做出有利于自己的判决，”犹他大学法学教授、非党派组织“平等犹他”（Co-Equal Utah）创始人特内尔·布朗（Teneille Brown）说道。该组织由担心司法受到政治干预的律师们发起。“他们不仅挑选了裁判，还挑选了挑选裁判的人。”

这场斗争始于2018年，当时犹他州选民勉强通过了一项由公民发起的投票提案。该提案旨在建立一个独立的重新划分选区委员会，禁止绘制有利于任何单一政党或候选人的地图，并要求选区在地理上紧凑，不得将市政当局划分为不同选区。当时的地图是由立法机关在2000年人口普查后绘制的，它将该州人口最多且民主党人最集中的盐湖县拆分到了该州的四个国会选区中。

立法机关在反杰利蝾螈（anti-gerrymandering）提案生效前将其废除，并批准了一张再次拆分盐湖县民主党多数地位的新地图。

（图片说明：在盐湖市，致力于伦理政府的摩门女性组织（Mormon Women for Ethical Government）在共同执行主任艾玛·佩蒂·亚当斯（Emma Petty Addams，左起第二位）家中。戴安娜·哈根（Diana Hagen，右）在旨在将其罢免的运动中于5月辞去了犹他州最高法院的职务。）

“致力于伦理政府的摩门女性”组织加入了州妇女选举联盟的诉讼。该组织并非轻率做出这一决定；该组织在全国范围内的成员已增长至约7,000人，但此前除了发表声明和组织“缝纫抗议”（quilt-ins）外，未采取过任何更具政治色彩的行动。

亚当斯夫人表示，加入诉讼符合该组织的原则。

“杰利蝾螈破坏了一切，”亚当斯夫人说，“它在物理上撕裂了社区，破坏了信任。如果你观察政治局势，发现永远没有机会出现一个代表你的人，你就会对代议制政府失去信心。”

共和党人坚持认为，只有立法机关才能绘制选举地图。州最高法院在2024年一致表示反对，理由是犹他州宪法声明“人民是所有政治权力的源泉”，并拥有“改变或改革其政府的权利”。

共和党领导人立即召集立法机关举行特别会议，以批准一项他们自己的投票提案，该提案将修改州宪法，赋予立法机关废除公民发起投票提案的权力。州最高法院同样否决了该项措施。

法院在那个夏天的早些时候就已经激怒了共和党议员，因为法院以违反州宪法（该宪法保障男女平等权利）为由，阻止了立法机构禁止堕胎的禁令。

到去年11月，当一名女性下级法院法官迪安娜·吉布森（Dianna Gibson）准备审议拟议的选区划分图时，共和党人威胁说，如果她做出不利于他们的裁决，就将弹劾她。尽管如此，吉布森法官最终还是选择了女性团体提交的地图。

她的裁决书长达91页，但共和党议员仅用了20分钟就宣布他们已经起草了弹劾令。

在匿名电话向法院威胁要杀死或强奸吉布森法官后，执法官员为她提供了安全护卫，并在她家周围安装了摄像头。司法部门发表声明警告称，“任何旨在通过制造恐惧来影响裁决的行为”——无论来自议员还是匿名公民——都是违法的，并敦促“所有犹他州人支持司法部门”，以保护“公正且不偏不倚的司法行政”。

州长和立法机构并未因此退缩，而是创建了宪法法院，以便立法机构能够绕过通常受理针对其案件的法院——即吉布森法官所在的法院。

随后，立法机构将四个案件移交给新法院：堕胎案；选区重新划分案；一起由青少年发起的案件（他们称立法机构发放了过多的石油、天然气和煤炭许可证，违反了他们的宪法“生存权”）；以及另一起由原告发起的案件（他们称立法机构在保护大盐湖方面做得不够）。

共和党人在4月的党代会上宣布了一场反对保留吉尔·波尔曼（Jill Pohlman）和哈根（Hagen）法官的运动。（法官由任命产生，但在任职前三年后必须接受留任投票。）随后在5月，一份报告洗清了哈根法官关于不忠指控的违规行为，但共和党领导人又要求进行另一次调查。

哈根法官随后辞职。

“外界有很多疑问，”考克斯先生告诉记者。

“这对我们所有人来说都是沉重的打击，”犹他州女性律师协会前主席艾希莉·佩克（Ashley Peck）表示。

在采访中，哈根法官表示，她听到许多男性和女性都对她所谓的“性别动态”感到困扰。但她更多地谈到了这对法院公正性的损害。

她说：“当公职人员不再批评我们的法律推理，而是指责我们是活动家，或者指责我们无视宪法或我们的誓言时，这会削弱公众的信心。”

领导推动法院变革委员会的州参议员托德·韦勒（Todd Weiler）对立法机构的动机坦诚相待。

“是否存在‘操纵法院’（court-packing）的成分？既有也有没有，”韦勒先生说。“我承认，这个决定在一定程度上是出于政治动机。”

但他说，议员们通常操纵法院是为了夺走对方政党的席位。

在这种情况下，他说，“法院里的每一个人都是由共和党州长提名，并由共和党占据绝对多数的参议院确认的。”

8月，州长提名了两名男性来接替哈根法官和因健康原因退休的首席法官马修·杜兰特（Matthew Durrant）。参议院预计将在下个月前批准他们，以便州最高法院能及时审理由摩门女性组织和女性选民联盟提起、挑战宪法法院的最新案件。

立法机构还为自己准备了后手：如果最高法院支持女性一方而反对宪法法院，一项新法律将生效，创建另一个版本的宪法法院。在这种情况下，立法机构不仅可以决定针对其诉讼的审理地点，还可以指定审理这些案件的法官。

共和党在中期选举前拥抱新一轮“红色恐慌”

HAIYUN JIANG / THE NEW YORK TIMES 上周在达拉斯举行的共和党中期大会上，从左至右依次为卫生部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪、副总统JD·万斯和议长迈克·约翰逊。

特朗普正主导一项行动，旨在将民主党竞争对手贴上“危险共产主义者”的标签

作者：TIM BALK

上周在达拉斯举行的特朗普总统中期大会上，共和党演讲者们接二连三地转向一种带有冷战色彩的牵强论调。

来自路易斯安那州的议长迈克·约翰逊声称：“明年共产主义者将进入国会——这正是如此可怕之处。”路易斯安那州代表、众议院共和党第2号人物史蒂夫·斯卡利斯则发表了令人难以信服的言论，称民主党内部发生了一场“布尔什维克革命”。

而作为这场新“红色恐慌”的头目，特朗普先生在登台后，一次又一次，一遍又一遍地重复毫无根据的指控，称民主党人正以共产主义者的身份参加中期选举。

“如果他们赢了，这里将变成一个共产主义国家，”他预测道。在这次大会上，演讲者提及“共产主义”或“共产主义者”的次数至少有60次。

尽管今年的民主党初选季带来了左翼势头的激增，且在科罗拉多州、密歇根州、纽约州、宾夕法尼亚州和佛罗里达州，有少数竞选国会议员的民主社会主义者取得了胜利，但没有任何一个可靠的中期选举候选人认同自己是共产主义者。而且，在美国联邦层面的政治中，任何共产主义运动几乎都没有势头。

尽管如此，面对严峻的政治环境以及可能失去国会一院或两院的局面，特朗普先生和共和党人近几个月来一直试图将民主党人描绘成共产主义者，这种指控与民主党实际的政纲几乎没有交集。

在面对选民对总统与伊朗战争的广泛不满，以及高昂的汽油和食品价格时，共和党人一直在寻找一个强有力的攻击切入点。他们认为，左翼国会候选人的出现提供了一个机会，可以用来构建“民主党已脱离主流”的论点。

“斯大林。毛泽东。卡斯特罗。民主党，”共和党全国委员会上个月在社交媒体上写道，“领导者不同，目标一致。”

这些攻击是否会对中期选举产生影响仍远未明确。一些民主党人表示担心，党内民主社会主义的兴起可能会给共和党将其描绘成极端分子的努力提供助力，且不断提及共产主义可能会模糊部分选民的认知。与此同时，特朗普先生过于激进的措辞可能会削弱这一论点的力度。

特朗普先生和共和党人指出了民主社会主义者在民主党初选中的一系列胜利——包括6月份在坚定的民主党阵地纽约州的一系列结果，以及上个月在保守倾向的佛罗里达州一场令人震惊的参议院爆冷胜出——以此指责其对手持有激进信念。

或许自20世纪50年代或60年代以来，还没有哪个美国政党在谈论共产主义上花费如此之多的时间。在特朗普先生的描述中，共产主义对国家构成了最严重的威胁。他说，这比第一次世界大战、1941年的日本袭击珍珠港或2001年的9月11日袭击更为严重。

在7月于佐治亚州举行的一次集会上，他在一段离奇的插话中表示，共产主义者甚至想要摧毁美国的标志性建筑。

“他们试图拆除拉什莫尔山（总统山）——他们想把它炸掉，”他声称道，但并未详细说明。

在某些方面，极左翼领导人确实为这一论点提供了养分。

2020年，进步主义运动的领导人、自称民主社会主义者的佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）曾赞扬古巴共产主义革命的部分内容。而达里亚利扎·阿维拉·切瓦利埃（Darializa Avila Chevalier）——一名在6月纽约初选中击败一名民主党众议员的民主社会主义者——曾经营一个社交媒体账号，在该账号上转发过一篇建议公共图书馆应收藏更多马克思主义文献的帖子。

在阿维拉·切瓦利埃和其他两名自称民主社会主义者横扫纽约众议院初选的两天后，一群中间派众议员签署了一封信，声明：“我们是资本主义者，而非社会主义者。”

众议员唐·戴维斯（Don Davis）是一名在北卡罗来纳州一个关键选区寻求连任的中间派民主党人，他在一次采访中表示，他签署这封信是因为他选区内的选民一直对共产主义表达焦虑。

“从该选区最北端到中部，一直到北卡罗来纳州东部最南端，我都听到了这种声音，”他说，“毫无疑问，是的，确实存在真正的担忧。”

上个月，当左翼浪潮席卷佛罗里达州，民主社会主义者安吉·尼克松（Angie Nixon）在美国参议院席位的民主党初选中获胜时，更多立法者以及资深民主党战略家詹姆斯·卡维尔（James Carville）也同意签署该信函。

民调显示，大多数美国人对社会主义持负面看法，而对共产主义的看法则糟糕得多。即便特朗普将民主党人误标为共产主义者，一些民主党人自己也开玩笑地模糊了界限，将一名民主社会主义众议院候选人获胜的纽约市区域称为“共产走廊”（Commie Corridor）。

加利福尼亚州共和党前执行主任乔恩·弗莱希曼（Jon Fleischman）表示，“当总统在许多关键问题（尤其是经济问题）上的支持率低于50%时，你的选择就很有限了。”但他补充说，将民主党人描述为共产主义者在战略上是“聪明的”，并且会“让人们惊恐”。

希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）在“Pivot”播客中告诉卡拉·斯威舍（Kara Swisher），共和党指责民主党人是共产主义者的宣传在政治上将“非常有效”。她表示，共和党在将其作为核心攻击手段之前，极有可能已经进行了测试。

共和党一直在寻找强有力的攻击线索，以应对广泛的选民不满并以此攻击民主党。

“左翼人士必须准备好回答这个问题，”克林顿夫人说道。

部署关于共产主义的夸张警告已成为特朗普先生演讲中的常态。

“这些不仅仅是像税收或监管分歧那样的政治分歧，”特朗普先生在7月4日那个周末于拉什莫尔山发表的一场阴郁演讲中说道，他在演讲中十多次提到共产主义。“共产主义是对美国自由的致命威胁。它是对我们国家最大的威胁，包括第一次世界大战、第二次世界大战、珍珠港事件甚至 9 / 11。”

前佛罗里达州共和党众议员卡洛斯·库尔贝洛（Carlos Curbelo）表示，共和党通过将美国左翼领导人与拉丁美洲的威权共产主义政府联系起来，提升了他们在佛罗里达州西班牙裔选民中的地位。但库尔贝洛先生怀疑，总统关于共产主义的指控在其他选民中是否会同样有效。

来自内布拉斯加州一个摇摆选区且即将退休的共和党众议员唐·培根（Don Bacon）表示，民主社会主义者是“一个很好的竞争对手”。但他对总统将他们贴上共产主义者标签的做法表示质疑。

“当你随意抛出标签时，人们不知道这是否属实，”培根先生说道。这位国会议员补充说，特朗普先生如果能突出左翼民主党人的政策立场或过去煽动性的言论可能会更好：“我会引用这些人的原话。”

一些民主党人表示，共和党人是在采取“稻草人论证”。

来自纽约布鲁克林、自称民主社会主义者的布拉德·兰德（Brad Lander）在6月的初选中击败了一名民主党众议员，他表示，民主社会主义者“在许多情况下”一直是“共产主义最激烈的反对者”。

“民主社会主义者希望将民主扩展到劳动人民生活的更多领域，”他说道。

马里兰州民主党众议员杰米·拉斯金（Jamie Raskin）表示，特朗普先生没有资格就共产主义向民主党人说教，并指出总统倾向于接纳领导中国共产党的中国国家主席习近平以及朝鲜威权领导人金正恩。

特朗普先生赞扬他与金正恩的“良好关系”，称他们在他的第一个任期内“坠入了爱河”，且这位朝鲜领导人曾给他写过“优美”的信件。

特朗普先生表示，他计划在年底前再次与金正恩会面。

泰勒·罗宾逊（Taylor Robinson）参与了报道。

一所昂贵幼儿园的迅速崛起与陨落

上图为纽约的一所 Guidepost 蒙特梭利学校的操场。右侧的格恩先生（Ray Girn）与妻子共同经营该品牌旗下的连锁学校，他表示公司确实犯了错误，但否认了将公司商业模式比作庞氏骗局的批评。 LIAM KENNEDY 为《纽约时报》拍摄

JORDAN VONDERHAAR 为《纽约时报》拍摄

教育公司倒闭后，管理不善与疏忽的故事浮出水面

作者：CLAIRE SUDDATH

十年前，一位名叫格恩先生（Ray Girn）的蒙特梭利教育爱好者有一个愿景。他希望通过建立一个以科技初创公司速度增长的营利性学校连锁机构，将高质量的、以儿童为中心的教育带给尽可能多的婴儿和幼儿。

他谈到要为学前教育实现“像共享出行应用或 Airbnb 那样”的成就，并从包括风险投资和私募股权公司在内的投资者那里筹集了 3.35亿美元 来实现这一目标。

一段时间内，以 Guidepost 蒙特梭利为品牌的格恩先生的学校似乎取得了成功，拥有 150 个校区，服务于数万名儿童。但这些学校同时也产生了惊人的 4.4亿美元 亏损。其母公司 Higher Ground Education 于 2025 年 6 月申请破产，并关闭了约 60 所学校。

在俄勒冈州，家长们在周日下午收到一封电子邮件通知，告知他们就读的学校实际上已不复存在。在威斯康星州，一位父亲去 Guidepost 送 5 个月大的儿子，结果发现学校已经关闭。在加利福尼亚州，一位母亲得知孩子就读的 Guidepost 已被出售，且其蒙特梭利课程将被人工智能取代。

Guidepost 的教师和家长在 Facebook 和 Reddit 群组中发布了大量令人惊恐的故事——关于疏忽和虐待的指控。在现在大家都知道该公司管理多么混乱之后，这些指控显得更加合理。

营利性教育投资项目因令投资者失望并让家长愤怒而臭名昭著。但即便在这种背景下，Guidepost 的故事依然令人震惊。“学校有时会关闭，但通常不会这么多，也不会如此突然地全部关闭，”布鲁金斯学会通用教育中心主任丽贝卡·温索普（Rebecca Winthrop）表示。

是什么导致了这样的崩溃？二十多位前教师、管理人员和公司员工告诉我，他们对该公司的商业模式深感担忧。其中七人独立地将其描述为金字塔骗局。“我们在内部称之为‘蒙特梭利庞氏骗局’，”Guidepost 在加州橙县的第一所学校的教师亚历克斯·理查森（Alex Richardson）说道。

当 Higher Ground 开设新的 Guidepost 学校时，经常收到房东支付的大额预付款，用于改善其物业。只要公司持续扩张，从外部看似乎在蓬勃发展。但当到了偿还房东的时间，且增长不再可行时，公司便崩溃了。到最后，部分 Guidepost 校区每月亏损 $50,000。

格恩先生目前仍活跃在教育行业。去年，他与妻子丽贝卡·格恩（Rebecca Girn）——Higher Ground 的另一位创始人兼总法律顾问——在德克萨斯州奥斯汀市郊的一栋改造后的牧场风格房屋中接待了我，他们已经在那里开设了另一所名为 Fulcrum 的学校。他们的三个孩子也是该校的学生。

当我们见面时，格恩先生，47, 给人一种亲切感，声音略带鼻音，笑容极具感染力。格恩女士，42, 身材较小，较为安静，显然已经习惯了被丈夫打断。他们坚决否认与庞氏骗局的类比，并告诉我他们为自己所建立的事业感到自豪。“你不能在意那些批评者，”格恩先生说，“我们对此不道歉。”

我们交谈了几个小时，在这次对话中，格恩先生提及了尤利乌斯·凯撒、柏拉图、美国国父、环保主义、俾斯麦时期的德国以及泰勒·斯威夫特。随着交谈的深入，很明显，Guidepost的兴衰是一个典型的美国故事：一个自信远超能力的魅力创始人，以及支持他的财力雄厚的投资者。但这一次，受害者不是某个失败的应用程序或某个导致部分客户受损的科技平台，而是孩子们。

Guidepost并非格恩先生第一次以不可持续的速度经营的学校连锁机构。早在2003年，当时身为加拿大人的格恩先生还是多伦多大学心理学和哲学专业的学生，一位朋友建议他去橙县一家名为LePort Montessori的学校工作。该校由一名富有的减重手术医生彼得·勒波特（Peter LePort）创立，他曾任安·兰德研究所（Ayn Rand Institute）的董事。格恩先生没有受过正式的教育培训，但他曾在校园里经营一个专注于兰德思想的俱乐部。这对勒波特先生来说已经足够了，于是他聘请格恩先生协助创办一所新的小学。

格恩先生开始痴迷于蒙特梭利教学法，该方法鼓励孩子自主引导学习，教师则充当引导者。他曾在一次安·兰德研究所的会议上说：“这是人类教育所能达到的最接近完美的境界。”他认为，传统学校扼杀了孩子天生的学习热爱，而日托计划尤其具有压迫性。他说：“他们简直是将孩子关在栅栏后面，让他们在摇椅、高脚椅和围栏之间移动。”而蒙特梭利法可以解放他们。

2009年，格恩先生成为了LePort的首席执行官。他设想将公司转变为一家全国连锁机构（他说：“我们曾有机会成为SpaceX的育儿服务提供商”）。但相比勒波特先生能接受的程度，他更专注于增长。2016年，格恩先生被解雇。

他决定再次尝试，这一次要建立一个由他掌控的学校连锁体系。他和格恩夫人成立了Higher Ground，并聘请了数名LePort的公司员工。一些LePort的家长很快也随之而来，其中包括Learn Capital的创始合伙人格雷格·莫罗（Greg Mauro），这是一家以支持教育初创公司而闻名的风险投资公司。Learn Capital投资了约100万美元，格恩先生开设了他的前两所Guidepost学校。三年之内，该公司就拥有了27所学校。

Guidepost的员工将这些早期的学校描述为经过深思熟虑的规划。白墙教室里配备着迷人的、适合幼儿尺寸的浅色原木家具。“每个人都如此投入，”基安娜·科梅塔尼（Kiana Kometani）说道，她在2019年成为了加州福尔森市一家Guidepost学校的首任校长。教师们谈论着如何培养每个孩子的求知欲，在他们学会系鞋带之前就赋予他们自主权。

格恩先生是一位出色的推销员。他向家长承诺了一件罕见的事情：既有高端幼儿园的严谨教育，又有商业日托中心的营业时间。大多数Guidepost学校位于富裕地区，吸引了那些能够负担得起相当于一辆小型轿车学费的双薪家庭。

“Guidepost迎合的是高知识分子类型的人，”艾米莉·特卡齐布森（Emily Tkaczibson）说道，她每月支付约$4,000，让两个孩子在俄勒冈州蒂加德的一所Guidepost学校就读。“我们会向任何人推荐这所学校。”另一位在蒂加德的家长马修·埃斯皮（Matthew Espie）认为自己很“幸运”，因为他的小儿子在等待名单上仅等了10个月就获得了入学资格。

然而，有迹象表明该公司试图在太短的时间内做太多事情。格恩先生将业务扩展到海外，在2019年于香港和中国大陆开设学校。橙县的教师理查森先生说，大约在那个时候，有三个中国幼儿来到他的学校，原因从未被解释。他们中没有人会说英语，而Guidepost的教师也不会说普通话。

“有一个幼儿会站在那里哭，一遍又一遍地重复同一个词，”理查森先生说道。“我们后来才知道她是在喊妈妈，但当时我们并不知情。我们无法理解她的意思，所以没法帮她。”

经营一所幼儿园成本高昂。需要租赁并装修建筑，购买教室材料，以及雇佣教师和管理人员。在一家 Guidepost 分校招收足够多缴纳学费的学生之前，母公司 Higher Ground 必须为其提供资金支持。

劳动力通常是最高的一项支出。各州的法律有所不同，但处理婴儿和幼儿的业务通常被要求维持一定的比例：每 3 到 5 名 2 岁以下儿童配备一名护理人员，每 8 到 10 名学龄前儿童配备一名护理人员。而接受过专业蒙特梭利培训的教师，其薪资可比同行高出数万美元，几乎是日托工作人员的两倍。

学前教育，第 8 页

顽固的通胀使美联储面临加息压力

面对诸多新风险，交易员押注借贷成本将上升

来源：美国劳工统计局。

纽约时报

作者：科尔比·史密斯（COLBY SMITH）

美国8月份的通胀率依然顽固地保持在高位，这为美联储在本周会议上提高利率提供了理由。

周五公布的消费者价格指数（CPI）报告显示，整体通胀率在0.4 percent上涨后，年率仍维持在3.4 percent的高位。剔除波动较大的食品和能源项目的“核心”通胀率在8月份上涨了0.3 percent，较去年同期上涨2.4 percent。

这些数据正严重影响美联储定于周二和周三举行的政策审议。政策制定者在今年夏天规定，如果通胀不能很快放缓，他们准备好提高利率。官员们尚未精确定义“很快”是指什么，但许多人已经失去了耐心。

美联储首选的通胀衡量指标是个人消费支出（PCE）价格指数，该指数将于Sept. 30.公布。数据显示，美联储在五年多时间里一直未能实现2 percent的目标。官员们还密切审查CPI报告和其他指标，以全面了解背景情况。由于核心指标被认为是追踪通胀持续性的可靠方式，因此受到了最多的关注。

政策制定者还在消化诸多新风险。由于伊朗战争继续干扰供应，全球油价已回升至每桶$100以上。特朗普总统重新引发了与加拿大的贸易战。且上周他承诺，如果共和党在11月的中期选举中继续控制国会，将向每位美国成年人发放一张$5,000支票，这种对经济活动的刺激可能会进一步推高通胀。

在周五数据公布后，联邦基金期货市场的交易员目前认为，美联储本周加息0.25个百分点的概率为90 percent。自1月以来，利率一直维持在3.5 percent至3.75 percent的区间。

德意志银行首席美国经济学家马修·卢泽蒂（Matthew Luzzetti）上周表示：“目前的经济增长依然非常稳健。劳动力市场已经反弹，且在边际上似乎在收紧。通胀在很长一段时间内持续高于目标，而前瞻性通胀指标表明这种超标将继续。”他补充道，“在这种背景下，且美联储的政策并非明显限制性，我认为下周加息的理由非常充分。”

在选举前几个月加息无疑会加剧与特朗普先生的紧张关系。本月，总统威胁称，除非美联储大幅削减利率，否则将停止大范围的美国贸易。而削减借贷成本甚至不在考虑之列。

尽管如此，这并未阻止政府尝试使用自己的工具来压低借贷成本。财政部长斯科特·贝森特（Scott Bessent）在过去一个月里采取了一系列干预措施，试图抑制长期国债收益率，但收效甚微。10年期国债收益率目前的交易价格略低于5 percent。

但对于美联储主席凯文·M·沃什（Kevin M. Warsh）来说，进入此次会议的赌注异常之高。上月底，在一些质疑出现后，沃什先生在怀俄明州杰克逊举行的央行年度会议上发表了一篇备受关注的演讲，旨在强调他打击通胀的决心。

他表现出了足够的加息开放态度，以至于投资者迅速押注美联储将在9月加息。但沃什先生上个月故意没有明确说明具体什么因素会促使他向该方向倾斜。

他说：“我的标准是：我们必须确信潜在通胀正朝着我们的目标移动，且速度清晰且足够快。否则，我们还有工作要做。”

沃什先生试图避免的是重演他在7月份美联储上次会议后所面临的反应。当时，他未能为维持利率不变提供充分的理由，并就他计划如何履行将通胀率恢复至目标值的承诺播下了混乱的种子。这引发了长期借贷成本的抛售，而这种趋势此后仅在加剧。

沃什先生本周作为主席的任务将是协调他的同事，同时为美联储的决定提供一个清晰的逻辑依据。长期支持提高利率的决策者认为，美联储目前的政策设置并未抑制需求。他们表示，提高利率不仅会加速通胀率回归到2%的目标，还能确保人们对通胀的预期不会突然转向更高。

如果美联储本周加息，沃什先生还将面临压力，需要就可能需要的紧缩幅度设定一些参数。然而，经济学家在这一方面不知道该期待什么，因为沃什先生一直坚定地承诺，不对他认为美联储下一步应该怎么做提供具体指引。

巴克莱银行的经济学家普贾·斯里拉姆（Pooja Sriram）认为，美联储今年将加息两次，分别在9月和12月。

她说：“一次加息真的解决不了任何问题，尤其是如果你担心通胀向2%目标移动的速度不够快的话。”

一次加息，更不用说一系列调整，都将违背特朗普先生明确表达的意愿。但许多投资者警告称，如果美联储此时不采取行动，市场的反应将会更加负面。

贝森特先生还试图反驳他与沃什先生之间存在紧张关系的说法；正如财政部长和美联储领导者长期以来所做的那样，他经常与沃什先生共进早餐。

“他们想把斯科特·贝森特和凯文·沃什对立起来；那是胡扯，”贝森特先生在上周接受史蒂夫·班农（Steve Bannon）采访时说道，他指的是有关他与美联储主席不和的报道。“凯文和我认识20年了。认为我不知道美联储主席在想什么，简直是荒谬。”

反对加息的论点基于这样一个假设，即通胀将在今年下半年减速，从而给美联储延迟采取行动提供灵活性。纽约联邦储备银行行长、政策制定委员会副主席约翰·C·威廉姆斯（John C. Williams）支持这一观点，认为政策处于“良好状态”。尽管如此，他明确表示，如果数据不配合，他将支持提高利率。

美联储理事克里斯托弗·J·沃勒（Christopher J. Waller）最近也暗示，他倾向于本周维持利率稳定，但前提是通胀继续冷却。

8月的数据挑战了通胀确实在冷却的说法。

消费者价格指数（C.P.I.）报告中一个备受关注的子集被称为“超级核心通胀”，它追踪除能源和住房以外的服务价格。该指标在8月加速至0.5%，比一年前增长了3%。

能源价格是整体通胀的主要驱动因素。汽油成本在8月上涨了3.9%。用于家庭取暖的燃料油价格涨幅更高，达到了10.1%。这也推动了机票价格的上涨，机票价格在7月跳涨了2.7%。与去年同期相比，机票价格上涨了近25%。

然而，特朗普先生首轮关税的影响似乎已经消退。在去年的冲击之后，商品价格似乎已经稳定。家用装饰品自去年此时以来上涨幅度不足1%。服装价格全年上涨3.6%，但8月与7月相比持平。不过，这些价格是在特朗普先生针对加拿大进口商品实施最新一轮惩罚性关税之前记录的。

华盛顿对人工智能担忧反应迟缓

人工智能，见第1页

位于旧金山的 OpenAI 办公室。该公司首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）也加入了对不受控制的人工智能技术危险性的担忧之声。 LUCAS EOGUA 为《纽约时报》拍摄

关于人工智能会导致人类灭绝，”他对此不以为意。

“不，我没有，”他说。“我的担忧是，如果我们不能在人工智能领域获胜，我们将陷入非常不利的境地。”

总统迅速转向了白宫——以及那些将呼吁减速和监管视为重大战略错误的人——所认为的决定性因素：如果美国犹豫不决，中国将取而代之。

“我们现在领先中国相当长的一段时间，”特朗普先生说道，并提到中国领导人习近平本月将访问华盛顿。但与其讨论与中方探讨双边人工智能协议，他转而谈到了他认为将成为此次访问亮点的一场国宴。“我认为那将会很棒，”他补充道。

在这个充满人工智能惊喜的夏天，“棒”并不是最常用的词。

硅谷最恐惧的末日场景包括这样一种可能性：人工智能系统变得如此先进，以至于它们学会了自动改进自身，这一过程被称为“递归自我改进”。另一个相关的担忧源于 OpenAI 和其他人工智能实验室发生的一系列事件，即智能体突破约束，并决定以一种在人工智能行业术语中被称为与人类意图“不一致”的方式来完成其编程任务。另一个担忧是，人工智能可能会使不法之徒——或鲁莽的政府——能够制造致命病原体，获得核指令与控制系统的访问权限，或发起不可阻挡的网络攻击，从而威胁到大规模生命损失或社会崩溃。

计算机科学家建议美国人不要将人工智能仅仅视为一种工具，而应将其视为类似于另一种物种，无论好坏，世界都将不得不与其共存。

白宫拒绝让其关键的人工智能政策制定者接受采访。但白宫表示，政府继续在创新与安全之间寻求平衡，并回避了任何具体细节。

（《纽约时报》已起诉 OpenAI 和微软，指控其在人工智能系统相关的新闻内容上侵犯版权。两家公司均否认了这些指控。）

特朗普先生在初夏签署了一项行政命令，建立一个自愿系统，让前沿人工智能实验室提交其新模型进行为期 30 天的安全审查。但该系统漏洞百出。（开源模型——即中国公司大量生产、且可由公司、科学家或可能是恐怖组织根据具体需求定制的模型——不受此审查限制。）

在上周五为纪念 9 月 11 日袭击 25 周年举行的众多纪念活动中，与那个时代的对比十分显著。美国脆弱性的暴露促使副总统迪克·切尼（Dick Cheney）制定了后来被称为“1%原则”的策略。

在担心巴基斯坦科学家可能帮助基地组织开发核武器的驱动下，该原则主张，即使风险很小，政府也必须采取行动，因为后果将极其严重。

在这种情况下，1% 看起来像是一个相当不错的概率：在 Anthropic 领导“对齐”科学（旨在限制代码使其与人类目标一致）的埃文·胡宾格（Evan Hubinger）上周写道，未来十年发生大规模灭绝的风险在 10% 以上。

无法得知这一估算是否正确。但正如巴尔的摩约翰·霍普金斯大学助理教授、即将出版的著作《艰苦的斗争：超级智能、超级大国与世界的命运》（The Bitter Struggle: Superintelligence, Superpowers, and the Fate of the World）的合著者本·布坎南（Ben Buchanan）所言：“我毫不怀疑这项技术将继续迅速提升，从而引发关于生物风险和失去控制的紧迫问题。”

他说：“我们正处于一个指数级发展的时期，应对方式只有两种：要么太早，要么太晚。而世界已经错过了‘太早’的机会。”

担心抢在特朗普之前 特朗普先生对人工智能生存危机的淡漠态度，影响了他的政府以及他依然牢牢掌控的共和党。

在上周于华盛顿举行的一次会议上，政府官员和企业高管在几乎每一个小组讨论中都谈到了人工智能的前景——涵盖从下一代军事行动、间谍活动到关键基础设施网络安全的所有领域。虽然会议提到了对手利用人工智能带来的风险，但很少讨论放缓或监管这项强大技术的必要性。

白宫国家网络主任肖恩·凯恩克罗斯（Sean Cairncross）在上周四的比林顿网络安全峰会（Billington Cybersecurity Summit）上表示，政府正“试图在创新端快速运行与确保系统安全及负责任地处理这项技术之间取得平衡，也就是说，不让它落入那些会对我们造成伤害的人，即我们的对手手中”。

凯恩克罗斯先生没有直接回应人们对人工智能飞速发展日益增长的恐惧，也没有提及近期出现的恶意代理程序脱离控制并入侵其他网络的事件。

前官员表示，白宫及政府其他部门的一些人士确实认为有必要在应对人工智能安全风险方面采取更积极的措施，但他们不想与特朗普先生产生冲突。

曾在网络安全和基础设施安全局（CISA）担任政策副主管直至今年6月离职的迈克尔·加西亚（Michael Garcia）表示：“人们担心抢在总统之前采取行动。”

加西亚先生说：“我们看到科技公司高管在听说潜在的新政策时会打电话给总统表达不满，随后导致政策被修改或被否决。这不可避免地导致在制定可能迫切需要的国家安全新政策时出现惯性迟缓。”

事实上，风险投资家、曾担任特朗普影响力巨大的人工智能主管的大卫·萨克斯（David Sacks）在接受福克斯新闻（Fox News）采访时，将考克森（Coxon）先生的警告斥为一场旨在“恐吓公众”并导致政府实施繁琐监管的协调媒体行动。而芯片巨头英伟达（Nvidia）的首席执行官黄仁勋（Jensen Huang）则表示，新一轮的恐惧是由网络安全行业制造出来的。

在国会山，情况也大差不差。据两党议员及其助手称，直到上周，许多立法者对人工智能的关注仅限于公众对建设数据中心的反感，而这在中期选举前已成为一个具有政治敏感性的议题。

过去审查人工智能潜在后果的努力虽然引发了听证会以及两党发出的警示性担忧声明，但除此之外几乎没有实质性进展。

一场“囚徒困境”

在上周考克森先生（Mr. Coxon）辞职后，民主党人和部分共和党人被惊醒，摆脱了之前的慵懒状态。他们密集地表达了担忧，并提出调查人工智能公司及模型推进速度的建议。据 Politico 报道，其中一项建议是，如果民主党在明年夺回众议院，将成立一个关于人工智能的特别委员会。

随着该议题在即将到来的中期选举中重要性日益增加，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）上周在一次私人筹款活动上警告称，人工智能可能是“危险的”，并恳请民主党就安全和经济风险制定一个“非常明确的计划”。

在上周四 Anthropic 发布的一份报告之后，国会的信函变得更加紧迫。该报告显示，包括中国、俄罗斯、伊朗和也门在内的全球各方行为体，一直在利用其各种 Claude 模型来开发网络攻击、监视异见人士，以及制造导弹、炸弹和无人机。报告还记录了几起试图研发生物武器的潜在案例，而这被认为是与人工智能相关的最严重的生存威胁之一。

人们本以为这份报告会促成行动：它将外国敌对势力与针对美国目标的攻击结合在了一起，尽管 Anthropic 拦截或阻碍了报告中记录的许多滥用案例。

然而，尽管警钟长鸣，立法者们在如何监管人工智能模型或构建这些模型的公司方面，还远未达成一致。

短期内通过实质性立法的前景似乎十分渺茫，部分原因是许多人将此问题视为由美中人工智能竞赛所造成的“囚徒困境”。由于人工智能的主导权是本世纪最重要的国家安全问题，如果两国能在限制方面进行合作，无疑对双方都有利。但他们可能不信任对方会遵守此类协议。而且无论如何，与核军备控制不同，这种合规性几乎无法验证。

一些特朗普政府的官员承认，人工智能极大地提高了风险。网络安全与基础设施安全局（CISA）代理局长尼克·安德森（Nick Anderson）表示，在人工智能时代，数字化威胁已变得更加紧迫，需要迅速采取行动。

“我们知道最糟糕的情况会是什么样，”他说。

在比林顿（Billington）会议上，安德森先生向政府官员和网络安全高管组成的听众发出了严厉警告：如果不对美国采取更多保护措施，末日情景可能会成为现实。

“你们所有人都得回家面对自己的家人，面对自己的朋友，”他说，“并向他们解释，你们明明知道最糟糕的情况会是什么样，而我们为什么没有做得足够多。”

一所昂贵蒙特梭利幼儿园的迅速崛起与衰落

学前教育，见第 7 页

左图：亚历克斯·理查森（Alex Richardson）在 2019 年被 Guidepost 雇佣时，没有照顾幼儿的经验。右图：格恩夫妇在德克萨斯州创办的 Fulcrum 学校中用于教授数学的珠算教具，他们的三个孩子也是该校的学生。 STELLA KALININA 为《纽约时报》拍摄 JORDAN VONDERHAAR 为《纽约时报》拍摄

通常公认的蒙特梭利培训组织有两个，此外还有其他帮助维持标准的团体。但该标签并未注册商标，最终，任何想要称自己为蒙特梭利学校的机构都可以这样做。Higher Ground 创建了自己的项目——准备就绪蒙特梭利学院（Prepared Montessorian Institute）。这使得该公司能够雇佣传统教师并在岗培训，主要通过在闲暇时间可以免费参加的在线课程进行。

即便有了这些劳动力成本的节省，新学校仍需要时间才能盈利。为了提供帮助，Higher Ground 在签署租赁合同时，经常要求房东预付给公司数十万美元或更多资金。格恩女士告诉我，这笔资金“不仅用于建设，还用于财务启动，因为学校在头两年是亏损的”。格恩先生补充道：“我们实际上没有投入一分钱。我们只需要在第三年支付更高的租金即可。”

但这一计划只有在学校顺利向满员目标推进时才有效。当 2020 年疫情袭来时，美国儿童看护行业几乎崩溃，Guidepost 也不例外。到那一年年底，许多学校仅部分满员，公司亏损达 5500 万美元。

格恩先生面临一个选择。他可以缩减公司规模，关闭表现较差的分校，在病毒消退前专注于表现最好的学校。或者，他可以开设更多学校，利用房东预付的资金维持运营。他选择了扩张。

“他们开一家学校，然后匆忙开设更多学校，以获取新资本，”在 Higher Ground 以多种身份工作过五年的戴安娜·勒西尔（Diana Le Sieur）说道。

负责管理福尔瑟姆（Folsom）Guidepost 分校的 Kometani 女士表示，格恩先生曾在一次区域员工会议上解释过这一策略。“我记得他谈到每开一家新学校能拿到多少钱，”她说，“那是数百万美元。”

员工们开始开关于庞氏骗局的玩笑。当我在德克萨斯州告诉格恩先生，他的几位前员工声称他实际上在运行一个金字塔骗局时，他将其斥为夸张之词。“唯一能证明这一点的是某些房东，”他说。不过，他承认这种做法在财务上是不负责任的。“我们加速了一些开业进程，以便更快地获得现金，”格恩先生说，“这是错误的一部分。”

根据破产申请文件，该公司在 2020 年开设了 33 所学校，次年又开设了 21 所，而累计亏损增长至 1.546 亿美元。

格恩先生依然坚信疫情提供了一个机会。在新冠疫情期间，如此多的幼儿园和日托中心关闭，导致需要儿童看护的家庭数量远超能提供服务的场所。Guidepost 可以填补这一空白。

凭借这一说辞，该公司从投资者那里筹集了约 1 亿美元，其中大部分来自 Learn Capital 或 Venn 增长伙伴公司（Venn Growth Partners）——后者是一家持有 7% 股份并拥有一个董事会席位的私募股权公司。在 2022 年初，黑石集团（Blackstone）对 Higher Ground 的估值为 10 亿美元。到 2023 年，该公司又开设了 50 所 Guidepost 学校，从房东那里获得了另一波现金流入。

但格恩先生没有考虑到疫情后的劳动力市场。工人要求提高工资以跟上通货膨胀；与此同时，他的投资者抱怨学校在薪酬上的支出过多。到 2023 年底，亏损已膨胀至 3.648 亿美元。

Higher Ground 进行了两轮公司裁员。一些 Guidepost 学校规定，如果家长预付学费，可以获得学费折扣。在其中一家分校，预付高达 $75,000 的家庭有机会赢得一次巴黎之旅。据格恩夫妇称，他们向公司提供了超过 500万美元 的贷款，而格恩夫人还递延了另外 100万美元 的薪水。

格恩先生坚称，他的学校一直拥有充足的资源。但来自多个州的 Guidepost 员工告诉我，他们的学校经常出现“师生比失调”的情况，教室里的教师太少。

曾在华盛顿州经营一家 学校的赖莉·科尔文（Rylie Colvin）表示，她经常被要求将两个班级的幼儿合并到一个房间，并让一名员工当天回家，以降低工资成本。“我们讨论的是 1½-year-olds。对于这么小的孩子，师生比过高是非法的，”科尔文女士说。“更不用说我们告诉家长们我们提供个性化的蒙特梭利教学计划——结果却只是把他们随便扔进任何一个房间。”

亚利桑那州斯科茨代尔的一名 教师艾丽尔·贝克（Ariel Baker）表示，她的学校人员短缺到教师不再休息午餐或定期更换尿布。在其中一个婴儿教室里，一名助理教师因粗暴对待婴儿而被解雇。贝克女士说，她询问这些事件是否已上报州政府。“我被告知，‘没有什么好报告的’，”她说。

“确实存在我们犯了严重错误的情况，”格恩先生通过短信表示。“当我得知某个问题时，我的感受非常深刻且私人，就像那是我的孩子一样，并确保我们面对并解决了它。”

他辩称，在 150 所学校中，“将几个严重的孤立事件拼凑成一个暗示系统性疏忽的叙事”是不准确的。

但在全国范围内，家长们正变得不满。根据公司文件，在 2023, 约 15 percent 的 家庭在仅 90 天后就接走了孩子。

格恩夫妇能看出情况正在恶化。“人们会报名，然后我们就失去了他们，”格恩夫人说。她视察了一些陷入困境的学校，并对所见之物感到震惊。“我一家接一家地去那些我认为是垃圾的学校，我想，这里必须完全从零开始重建。”

到 2024, Higher Ground 与房东协商的优惠条款迅速到期。“这是一个时机问题，”格恩先生说。“我们开得太多了，而且所有问题一次性爆发。”

在 2024 年 8 月，Higher Ground 停止支付所有学校的租金。弗吉尼亚州和德克萨斯州的两名房东更换了建筑物的锁，导致学校在没有通知的情况下关闭。其他场地所有者提起诉讼。在接下来的几个月里，Higher Ground 的许多高管辞职。在 2025, 2 月，格恩夫妇辞职。该公司于同年 6 月申请破产，欠租金额高达 6.11亿美元。

最终，80 多所 学校被出售给一家新实体—— Global Education。该公司总部位于奥斯汀，雇佣了许多曾就职于 Higher Ground 的员工。该公司的投资者包括 Learn Capital 以及前投资银行家徐（Steve Xu），他曾参与早期在香港和中国内地开设 学校的尝试。

格恩先生知道社交媒体上的活动。他告诉我他读过一些帖子。

“外面很多人恨我入骨，认为我是恶魔的化身，”他说。但他坚持认为批评者是错误的。是的，他的公司崩溃了。是的，孩子们失去了他们的学校和老师。但他辩称， 能如此迅速地成长——以及投资者愿意给他这么多钱——的原因之一是它提供了一项迫切需要的服务。

最初在破产中幸存的 分校仍在继续关闭。本月底，包括格恩夫妇的孩子曾就读的那所学校在内的三所南加州学校将关闭。

“现在正值学年开始，所有这些家庭都得匆忙在其他学校寻找名额，”安德鲁·奎林（Andrew Quillin）说道，他 2 岁的女儿原定在拉古纳希尔斯（Laguna Hills）的一所 Guidepost 学校就读。“这简直疯了。”

我和格恩先生坐在他新开学校的教室里，谈到了他旧有学校的没落。在离开 Higher Ground 几个月后，格恩夫妇在德克萨斯州丘陵地带（Texas Hill Country）买了一处房产，将其改造成了一所某种意义上的五室学校。墙上贴满了地图，一间卧室被改成了图书馆，客厅则成了教室。学费为 $23,000。课程由格恩夫妇自行开发。

这里看起来温馨且诱人。而且周围有四英亩的土地，有充足的扩张空间——尽管格恩女士坚称她不想扩张。当我询问格恩先生的看法时，他笑了。

“我们会回来的，”他说。“我们有一个世界需要拯救。”

观点

最左侧，为罗马尼亚边境附近霍雷斯蒂村的一所学校——霍雷斯蒂小学（Primaria Horesti）学生准备的早餐桌。中间，安德烈·莫拉里（Andrei Morari）和叶卡捷琳娜·萨莫尼（Ecaterina Samonii）。左侧，去年九月在加加乌齐亚的一块政治广告牌。上面写着：“他们在请求你的投票，但谁在幕后操纵？”较小的人物则在说，“投票给我！”

在俄罗斯与欧洲的断裂带上

大国之间正在分道扬镳。当你被夹在中间时会发生什么？摩尔多瓦正处于一个新地缘政治现实的震中。

文字与摄影：弗兰基·米尔斯 (Frankie Mills)

本篇随笔属于“新世界失序”系列，该系列旨在探讨战后国际体系的瓦解，以及在美国退居二线之际，各国如何进行调整。

摩尔多瓦，基希讷乌。去年秋天一个阴郁的早晨，我在摩尔多瓦这座低调的首都基希讷乌，拜访了安德烈·莫拉里 (Andrei Morari) 和叶卡捷琳娜·萨莫尼 (Ecaterina Samonii) 的家。厨房桌上煮着红茶，两只猫在下方发出呼噜声。他们的家中散落着各种纪念品，包括一座安德烈从莫斯科带回的小列宁像，他曾在那里留学攻读历史。

就在两天前，摩尔多瓦举行了议会选举，总统玛雅·桑杜 (Maia Sandu) 将此次选举称为该国历史上“最重要”的一次：这是在俄罗斯和欧洲之间做出选择的最后机会。桑杜女士领导的亲欧政党与亲俄政党都主张，投票给对方将把国家拖入邻国乌克兰的战争之中。

公寓里的气氛沉闷。亲欧的行动与团结党击败了爱国选举集团。安德烈和叶卡捷琳娜说，他们两个都没投票。他们表示，自己关心的是更好的医疗保健、年轻人更多的机会以及负担得起的房租和暖气，而不是摩尔多瓦是与布鲁塞尔还是莫斯科结盟。

安德烈出门上班了，我和叶卡捷琳娜继续安静地喝茶。我们聊到了在一个通用罗马尼亚语和俄语两种语言的国家中，应对日常生活时的复杂之处，以及那些仅能使用其中一种语言的人所感受到的孤立感。她描述了一种幻灭感，对于那些认为自己既不属于欧洲也不属于俄罗斯的人来说，摩尔多瓦在试图确定转向哪个方向（欧洲或俄罗斯）时的努力让他们感到如此。

安德烈和叶卡捷琳娜在不愿做出选择方面并非孤例。尽管此次选举意义重大，但他们仍属于在2025年9月选举中弃权的48 percent的选民。前一年关于加入欧盟的全民公投结果同样模糊，揭示了一个复杂的情况：50.35 percent赞成，49.65 percent反对。

“摩尔多瓦应该有一个中间地带，就只是作为摩尔多瓦存在，”叶卡捷琳娜说，“做一个好的摩尔多瓦，保持原样。”

摩尔多瓦夹在罗马尼亚和乌克兰之间，人口约为240 万 people，拥有苏联时期的历史。自90年代初独立以来，它一直被描绘成必须在欧洲和俄罗斯之间做出选择。但它一直存在于两者之间，即便这种选择在背景中暗流涌动，它依然维持着一种微妙的平衡。

当俄罗斯在2022, 2月发动对乌克兰的全规模入侵时，计算方式改变了。摩尔多瓦成为了新地缘政治现实在欧洲的断裂带。俄罗斯在邻国进行着一场常规陆战，而随着美国对乌克兰和北约的支持出现动摇，欧洲加强了对乌克兰对抗俄罗斯的直接支持。

对于生活在一个小国中、被卷入这场地缘政治失序中的普通人来说，“选择”意味着什么？当中间地带消失时，一个国家会发生什么？随着欧洲和俄罗斯渐行渐远，一个与双方都有深厚联系的国家该如何规划航向？

去年秋天我两次访问摩尔多瓦，花大约一个月时间在全国旅行。我访问了那些因人们移民（主要前往俄罗斯、罗马尼亚和意大利）而萎缩的村庄；访问了当地人支持亲俄政党的乌克兰族裔地区；还访问了一个由法国汇款大量资助的村庄，那里的居民为了表达敬意，建造了一座埃菲尔铁塔的复制品。

秋意席卷大地，沿途可见枯萎的向日葵，以及挂满苹果和李子的树木。当我穿梭于各地时，我不禁在想，在一个信息和世界观在不同村庄之间如此迥异——甚至连当地学校教授的语言都不同的国家，共识是否可能实现。

人们经常向我描述对“中间道路”的渴望——在这样一个世界里，被夹在竞争大国之间、且在历史上依赖其中一方来支撑摇摇欲坠的经济的摩尔多瓦，可以根据自己的选择与任何一方结盟，并以一种尊重其复杂且多层次文化的方式进行。

摩尔多瓦与罗马尼亚有着深厚的历史和语言纽带。对于某些人来说，

上方为摩尔多瓦基希讷乌市外的彼得鲁·科斯廷苏联露天博物馆。下方为德米特里·伊亚努尔，他手里拿着据称是落在加加乌齐亚（靠近乌克兰边境）他家附近的俄罗斯无人机残骸。

纽约时报

国际版

A.G. SULZBERGER 出版人

JOSEPH KAHN 执行主编 MARC LACEY 管理主编 CAROLYN RYAN 管理主编 SUZANNE DALEY 副主编

KATHLEEN KINGSBURY 评论版编辑

MEREDITH KOPIT LEVIEN 首席执行官 MICHAEL GREENSPON 高级副总裁兼总经理 HELEN KONSTANTOPOULOS 副总裁，国际发行 HELENA PHUA 执行副总裁，亚太地区 SUZANNE YVERNÉS 国际首席财务官

AI 垃圾软件现已无处不在，但没人在使用

保罗·福特 (Paul Ford) 特约撰稿人

据一项估计，去年苹果 App Store 中可用的移动应用程序数量增长了 30%。但下载量仅增长了 3%。

不仅仅是应用程序。广义上的软件——所有由代码构成的东西——突然间以海量且堆积如山的方式出现。得益于人工智能，你现在可以用自然语言命令计算机编写代码，而且它通常能完成得非常出色。这些能力几乎每周都在提升。

但你上一次对手机上的某个新应用或游戏感到惊叹是什么时候？像 Slack 那样席卷整个行业的应用程序，或者像《糖果传奇》(Candy Crush) 那样主导我们地铁通勤时间的软件，现在都去哪了？从现在起，难道就只剩下这些应用垃圾（app slop）了吗？AI 是否杀死了“杀手级应用”？

这似乎是一个自然的结论，但我认为我们正走向一种截然不同的数字化革命。我们不应该期待一批由 制造的软件来取代我们所有现有的工具。毕竟，除非必须，否则人们不喜欢切换到新软件。 的真正优势可能在于创造许多扮演更温和、更具体角色的新事物：减少那些在我们的生活中不断累积的微小摩擦来源。

驱动技术创新的风险投资几乎全部被投入到了 中。非“AI优先”的产品（例如传统游戏或任务管理工具）看起来像是风险投资。为什么要投资于一种即将消失的文化？如果 让软件变得廉价且丰富，且数字产品易于克隆，那么竞争将变得困难。软件曾是终极的“护城河”——但现在它开始看起来像是一种大宗商品。这就是为什么 App Store 现在充斥着缺乏想象力的应用，而非令人兴奋的新尝试的另一个原因。

这触及了 编程以及广义上 的一个根本问题：它非常擅长复制那些看起来和感觉起来都像前作的东西。它可以制作一个 PowerPoint 演示文稿，甚至在人类的时间投入和指导下，制作一个简陋版本的 PowerPoint 软件本身。但要创造一些全新的、从未有人见过的东西，需要花费更多时间——有时与 出现之前所需的时间一样长。

仅仅因为 正在革新编程，并不意味着它会自动革新我们的应用程序。

大多数企业利用 提高生产力的尝试都失败了——根据去年发表的一项麻省理工学院 (M.I.T.) 的研究，失败率可能高达 95%。一名老板召集团队——假设是一家金融服务公司或咨询公司——要求他们使用 来改进销售流程或跟踪客户关系，但在经历了大量的试错之后，结果并不理想。考虑到 公司预计的数十亿美元估值，这一发现相当尴尬，但我通过与业内数十人的交流所了解到的一切，都没有反驳这一结论。人们希望一个大胆的 驱动的未来就在眼前。他们被诱惑了。他们个人经常使用 工具。但公司的内部尝试却行不通。

我认为， 的卓越之处在于让你能够接触到以前无法触及的计算领域。你可以使用 来开发复杂的商业模型、机器学习系统或在 Web 浏览器中运行的高级软件。在大型语言模型出现之前，这些都是完全正常的事情，但它们需要特定的技能，且往往是高薪软件开发者的领域。

我并不因此责怪程序员，甚至不责怪老板。我责怪那些大型 公司，他们如此匆忙，以至于在发布模型和工具的新版本时，经常不提供手册，甚至没有清晰的 YouTube 教程。当项目失败时，隐含的意思是人类只需要停止手头的所有其他工作，更努力地给模型输入提示词（prompt）。

但对于一个古老的行业来说，这是一个很难学会的技巧。科技行业喜欢表现得好像自己是像宙斯额头里蹦出来的一样突然出现，但实际上它已经七十岁了，而且出人意料地固执。在人工智能工具能够完全取代传统的软件开发方法之前，还需要很多年时间。尽管每个人都希望这场革命能如此剧烈，但它才刚刚开始。

我知道这是事实，是因为我看到了许多只能在某些方面带来微小改进的新软件。图书管理员正在利用人工智能构建更好、更易访问的历史档案；小说家正在“编写”部分代码并为开源项目做出贡献；资金不足的医疗保健初创公司正在快速搭建定制工具，以帮助人们应对保险公司。这些东西都没有出现在最大的科技新闻网站首页，而且其中大部分可能不会让任何人赚到一分钱。它们是极其普通的软件，而非革命性或变革性的。我认为我们正在见证一场文化上的“清嗓子”——人们在笔记本上涂写，将想法表达出来。

我必须承认，有一段时间，像我这样的软件开发人员角色看起来像是完蛋了。我们怎么能与不知疲倦的机器人竞争？但我们的行业正慢慢意识到，开发真正前沿的软件仍然需要人类思考并协作，以最大限度地发挥他们的技能并实践各自的工艺。人工智能可以编写非常优秀的软件，但它也让人们能够轻易地把别人的工作做得糟糕，这也是为什么所有那些项目都会失败的部分原因。既然现在每个人都能写代码，那么为什么许多人不应该写代码，就变得更加清晰了。

未来可能不是由几个运行在几个巨型平台上的巨型应用产生海量收入；相反，它可能是无数个小应用，专门为教会、互助小组、公司部门或垒球联赛而构建。我将期待这样一个未来，当人们问起“人工智能本应为我们带来的伟大软件在哪里？”时，答案是：“无处不在。”

保罗·福特（PAUL FORD）是人工智能驱动的软件加速平台 Aboard 的创始人兼总裁，也是《Aboard 播客》的共同主持人。

在俄罗斯与欧洲的断裂带上

MILLS，FROM PAGE 9

摄影：FRANKIE MILLS 为《纽约时报》拍摄 顶部：摩尔多瓦纳斯拉夫恰（Naslavcea）郊外一个村庄的70岁生日派对。部分居民是乌克兰裔，但持有复杂的亲俄观点。左上：霍雷斯蒂（Horesti）一所学校的篮球课。右上：该校教师维拉·丹尼莱斯库（Vera Danilescu）。

包括桑杜（Sandu）女士在内的部分人士认为，如果独立加入欧盟失败，与罗马尼亚重新统一将是“B计划”。但该国在苏联时期的数十年经历也导致了严重的俄罗斯化，尤其是在某些地区。

甚至在乌克兰战争爆发之前，中间道路就已经在缩窄，变成了走钢丝。面对摩尔多瓦向欧洲靠拢的举措，俄罗斯采取了进口禁令作为回应，这被广泛视为经济勒索。2013, 在摩尔多瓦准备与欧盟签署协会协议前夕，俄罗斯禁止进口摩尔多瓦葡萄酒；随后在2014. 协议签署后，又禁入了水果、蔬菜和肉类。当欧盟准备开启正式的入盟谈判时，更多的禁令接踵而至。

此外还有德涅斯特河沿岸（Transnistria），这是该国东部的一个分离主义地区。自20世纪90年代初一场短暂但血腥的独立战争以来，俄罗斯军队一直驻扎在此。俄罗斯表示，摩尔多瓦政府任何试图改变德涅斯特河沿岸现状（该地区是一个由莫斯科支持但未予承认的自封共和国）的努力，都将被视为战争挑衅。

欧盟表示，德涅斯特河沿岸不应成为摩尔多瓦加入该集团的障碍。但该国亲欧人士明白，他们必须谨慎行事。例如，塞尔维亚的入盟进程已经停滞，原因就是其继续与俄罗斯接触并拒绝对其实施制裁。

我在摩尔多瓦走访的每一个地方都发现，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰并不一定会让加入欧盟变得更有吸引力。在某些地方，这场战争被简单地解释掉了。

地缘政治的束缚同样体现在个人身上。在全国各地，人们为了寻找工作而移民，留下孩子由单亲父母或祖父母在人口稳步减少的村庄中抚养。从经济价值来看，人是摩尔多瓦仅次于农业的最大出口产品。该国在欧洲的海外侨民比例排名最高。官方统计数据显示，自独立以来，约 30 percent to 35 percent 的人口已经离开；而我交谈过的人认为，这个比例更接近 50 percent。

霍雷斯蒂是一个靠近罗马尼亚边境的村庄，是深刻感受到这一转变的地方之一。在 2004 和 2024. 之间，这里失去了超过一半的人口。这所小学的学生人数已低于维持运营所需的法定最低限额。如果学校关闭，这个村庄很可能也会随之消亡。在学校楼上的一条孤单走廊里，挂着一张地图，上面写着已经离开该国学生的姓名，这揭示了这里的人们都去了哪里：大部分去了俄罗斯，其次是零星分布在欧盟国家。

我看着老师们试图在学生心中培养摩尔多瓦的爱国情怀，为这些学生将来离开的那一天做准备。他们将那一天视为几乎不可避免的必然。

在一个教室里，大约 10 和 11 岁的女孩们排成一排朗诵诗歌。“即便我走遍远方，跨越整个世界，”其中一人读道，“我依然选择我的村庄。”

在加告齐亚的一个小村庄奇斯米乔伊（Cismichioi），我见到了教师兼前记者德米特里·伊亚努尔（Dmitri Ianul）和他的妻子因娜（Inna），后者在当地的一家杂货店工作。德米特里说，就在前一周，这对夫妇在深夜被橱柜中震动的玻璃惊醒。在边境另一侧，俄罗斯正在轰炸乌克兰最西端的港口雷尼（Reni），那里距离奇斯米乔伊仅 20 分钟车程。

他们说，第二天邻居们就迅速地对这场冲突不屑一顾：不过是乌克兰人再次内斗而已。德米特里表示，即使是那些偏离航线并坠落在村庄外的俄罗斯无人机，也几乎没有改变这里人们的想法。

今年 8 月，摩尔多瓦记录到 17 起领土内的无人机入侵事件——这是战争爆发以来单月最高数字。我写信给德米特里，询问这是否对人们的看法产生了影响。他回信说，人们仍然认为这些无人机是由亲欧政治家发射的诱饵，目的是为了证明国家背离俄罗斯的转向是合理的。

德米特里强烈支持与欧洲建立更紧密的联系，他表示，他的几位邻居告诉他，如果摩尔多瓦加入欧盟，他们将永远离开这里前往俄罗斯。他们担心欧盟会将摩尔多瓦当作欧洲废弃物的倾倒场，用 L.G.B.T.Q. 宣传来改造这个国家，并且人们将不再拥有耕种自己土地的权利。

在我访问摩尔多瓦的每一个地方，显而易见的是，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰并不一定会让加入欧盟变得更有吸引力。在像奇斯米乔伊这样的一些地方，战争被简单地解释掉了。另一些人告诉我，这感觉就像是在两个糟糕的选项中选择一个较轻的，而他们对被强迫做出决定感到愤慨。

在 1 月份接受一个英国播客采访时，桑杜总统表示，如果举行全民公投，她将支持与罗马尼亚重新统一。“对于像摩尔多瓦这样的小国来说，要作为一个民主国家、一个主权国家生存下去，当然还要抵御俄罗斯，正变得越来越困难，”她说。

无论向哪个方向迈出一步，都不可避免地会扩大这个身份构成复杂国家的裂痕。问题可能就在于此：两个选项，两个截然不同的方向，而在一个像大多数地方一样，情况远比简单的“是”或“否”更具层次感且更碎片化的国家里，这种选择极其困难。

有一天，在基希讷乌的一家咖啡馆里，安德烈（Andrei）一边喝着土耳其茶一边说：“应该有另一种方式来寻找这种共同的背景，寻找这段共同的历史，并基于‘开放’的理念来构建身份。也许我们应该在某种程度上思考一下，如何在不选择左右、不选择黑白的情况下构建我们的未来。”

但对于处于大国之间边境地带的国家和人民来说，一个秩序渐失的世界意味着更少的不确定性，以及更大的压力去结盟——或屈服于——任何能最好保证安全与主权的选项。关于联盟的问题不再是原则性的，而变成了生存性的。

上周，一架俄罗斯无人机击中了摩尔多瓦与乌克兰之间位于敖德萨的一个过境点，造成两人死亡。应该有另一种方式。但在一个日益不可预测的世界中，安全正成为首要任务。

弗兰基·米尔斯（FRANKIE MILLS）是一位常驻格鲁吉亚第比利斯的记者和摄影师。

特朗普崇拜正在衰落

DAMON WINTER / THE NEW YORK TIMES

布伊，

亵渎，这不仅证明了决心的缺乏，更证明了信仰的缺失。

这一切中最奇怪的时刻，是特朗普带领观众向他本人宣誓，其中还包括一项在必要时承诺作弊的承诺。

请举起你们的右手。我向美国历史上最伟大的总统宣誓。他如此地爱我们，以至于他甚至无法呼吸。我会带着我的家人、我的朋友们出去，我会不择手段地去做——我不在乎我是否登记在册，我要像他们那样拼命地作弊。从来没有比他们更大的骗子了。他们不在乎。我要出去，我要找我的朋友、我的家人。我们将在11月3,投票，或者在此之前投票。

我认为美国主流政治中从未发生过这样的事情。就好像共和党已经简单地屈服于这样一个事实：它只不过是一个围绕着一名年迈的名人房地产开发商而建立的个人崇拜。

现在，这一切的核心赌注在于激励特朗普的选民在中期选举中出来投票。具体而言，是指那些低频且联系较弱的选民，他们只有在总统出现在选票上时才会出来支持，而在其他时候则弃选。其逻辑是，如果这些人能来到投票站，那么共和党或许能够克服其深重的劣势。

这种劣势确实很深。在最权威的民调中，特朗普的支持率已跌至30%出头的低位。通用选票（generic ballot）——用于衡量各党派在即将到来的选举中的相对位置——显示民主党拥有约7个百分点的优势。民主党的参议院候选人不仅在北卡罗来纳州和密歇根州等摇摆州领先，在德克萨斯州、阿拉斯加州、俄亥俄州和爱荷华州等共和党倾向的州也处于领先或势均力敌的状态。

共和党在参议院遭受决定性失败，并在众议院遭受潜在灾难性失败的可能性是真实存在的。从共和党的角度来看，任何能够将损失降至最低的举措都是合理的。那么问题来了：这次中期大会合理吗？

如果目标是向公众展示共和党——正如副总统JD·万斯在其主旨演讲中所主张的那样——是一个代表“常态”的政党，那么会议中那种像邪教般的氛围让这一目标难以实现。如果目标仅仅是激励那些投票倾向较低的特朗普选民，那么这同样像是一场豪赌，因为这类人群甚至可能根本不知道这次大会，更不用说观看它了。

事实上，如果有人在关注，那也是那些已经倾向于投票的美国人。他们看到的是一场一次又一次地强调“投票给任何共和党人就是投票给特朗普”的奇观。如果全美潜在的选民对特朗普的敌意确实如表面上看起来那样深，那么这次大会可能产生了明显的反作用。

共和党不仅没有提高投票率，反而可能刚刚提醒了广大选民：如果他们想要制约特朗普，就需要投票反对他的政党。

上周的一场苹果活动，展示了iPhone Duo，一款折叠设备。它将于下月上市，售价$1,999，旨在与三星售价$1,900的Galaxy折叠屏手机竞争。

苹果追求“惊艳感”

iPhone Duo在闭合状态下有一个外屏，可作为普通的矩形手机使用；打开后则会露出一个更大的内屏。

科技修复

折叠屏 iPhone 以吸睛设计和惊人价格令人印象深刻

作者：布莱恩·X·陈 (BRIAN X. CHEN)

苹果公司上周推出了一款像书一样可以展开以扩大屏幕尺寸，并能折叠起来放入口袋的 iPhone。这是近二十年来 iPhone 在物理设计上最大的改变。

但尽管折叠屏手机已经出现多年，却并不特别受欢迎。它们价格昂贵，使用起来笨拙，且耐用性不如普通智能手机。那么，苹果为什么要制造这样一款手机呢？

简单的答案是，如今折叠屏手机的新颖设计有助于重新确立手机市场的高端地位。它们旨在从一片标准化的、千篇一律的智能手机海洋中脱颖而出。

典型的矩形智能手机这些年来已经变得如此成熟，以至于价格在 $1,000 以上的最贵型号与较便宜的型号几乎无法区分。（在派对上，拿着一部有三个摄像头而非两个摄像头的手机可能无法给人们留下深刻印象。）

相比之下，折叠屏手机则能吸引注意力。而且考虑到其价格，它们必须如此：苹果的 iPhone Duo 将在 10 月上市，售价为 $1,999，旨在与三星售价 $1,900 的 Galaxy 折叠屏手机竞争。

“每当某种东西具有排他性、限量且奢华时，消费心理会自动产生渴望，”市场研究公司 IDC 的总监纳比拉·波帕尔 (Nabila Popal) 表示。“这就像手袋一样。为什么有人买香奈儿而不是别的？不是因为皮革，而是为了展示他们拥有香奈儿且买得起。”

苹果及其竞争对手正在走一条电视制造商在约十年前走过的路。当高清电视成为商品化产品时，任何人只需花费低至 $500 就能买到一台屏幕大且清晰、亮度高的电视。为了寻找更多增加利润的方法，松下、LG 和索尼等公司尝试了一些古怪的新设计，比如带有曲面显示屏和 3-D 电影播放功能的电视，

并为此开价 $3,000。

苹果的折叠屏手机上市之际，人们需要额外的说服力才会升级到新手机。大多数消费品，尤其是电子产品的成本已大幅飙升。

为了应对由人工智能热潮引发的行业性内存芯片短缺，苹果今年将其许多热门产品（包括 Mac 和 iPad）的价格提高了多达 29%。苹果新款 iPhone 18 Pro 手机的售价将为 $1,199，比去年的型号增加了 $100。芯片短缺还迫使各公司提高了视频游戏机和手机的价格。

折叠屏手机在手机市场中的份额不足 2%，可能是今年唯一会增长的手机行业领域。IDC 表示，预计由芯片短缺引发的价格上涨将导致今年全球智能手机销量下降 17%——这是历史上最剧烈的年度下降。然而，该研究公司表示，由于 iPhone Duo 的到来，折叠屏手机的销量可能会增长 12%，达到 2290 万 部。

尽管如此，即使对于像苹果这样有影响力的公司来说，折叠屏手机也可能难以推销。消费者通常避免购买折叠屏手机，不仅是因为成本，还因为其权衡取舍。它们的可弯曲屏幕不如由硬玻璃保护的普通手机显示屏耐用。折叠起来后，在口袋里可能会感觉更厚重、更沉。

科技研究出版物《新消费者》(The New Consumer) 的作者丹·弗罗默 (Dan Frommer) 表示，他长期以来一直对折叠屏手机的实用性持怀疑态度，因为包括 TikTok 和 Instagram 上的纵向视频在内的许多在线内容，都是为普通智能手机的小矩形屏幕制作的。“它们已经被这样使用了 19 年了，”弗罗默先生说。“你实际上需要一个正方形的大屏幕做什么？”

苹果的 iPhone Duo 似乎解决了此前折叠屏手机的一些缺陷。该设备的名称是指其拥有两块屏幕。在闭合状态下，它拥有一块 5.4 英寸（13.7 厘米）的外屏，用户可以将其作为普通的矩形手机使用；展开后则会露出一个 7.6 英寸的内屏。较大的内屏显示的图片与传统手机屏幕具有相同的宽高比。苹果还表示，该手机的折叠内屏采用了比竞争对手更坚韧的材料。

在我的测试中，iPhone Duo 展开后极其纤薄，厚度仅为 0.2 英寸。我很喜欢 Netflix 的视频能够铺满全屏，而不是像其他折叠屏手机那样在两侧显示黑边。闭合时，这款手机感觉很精致，大小约相当于一本护照。与我测试过的其他折叠屏手机相比，它在口袋里的厚重感也较低。

内屏采用了哑光质感以减少眩光。尽管如此，我偶尔还是能注意到屏幕折叠处中心的折痕。我并不在意，但这可能会让挑剔的人感到困扰。

为了将手机做得如此纤薄，苹果也不得不舍弃一些组件——iPhone Duo 缺少了售价 1,199 美元的 iPhone 18 Pro 手机所配备的高级摄像头系统。它也没有用于解锁设备的面部扫描仪，而是依赖于手机侧面的指纹传感器。

尽管弗罗默先生预测苹果的折叠屏手机并不适合他，但他承认自己无法抗拒在店内尝试一台。

“当苹果制造某种产品时，它自带的一种吸引力会促使人们至少去看看，”他说。

为什么 Z 世代告别了“喂？”

“……这个，”然后我会发送语音消息，”沃尔什说道。

来电显示和对垃圾邮件机器人的担忧解释了问候语的转变

作者：ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA

当艾薇盖尔·沙龙（Avigail Sharon）接听来自她最亲密朋友之一的电话时，她不会说“喂？”（Hello?）。

“我总是说‘Bello’，”21 岁的沙龙说，“刚开始我们会用‘小黄人语’交流。”

她的父母不理解这种为《小黄人》系列电影创造的方言。她说，面对父母时，“我总是说‘嗨’（Hi）。”

对于她 22 岁的朋友索菲亚·佩雷斯（Sophia Perez）来说，陌生号码接通后没有任何问候语。“我觉得，老实说，我会接起电话然后保持沉默，”她说，“等着对方先开口。”

她解释说，这种行为是对有关垃圾邮件机器人的报道的一种反应，这些机器人可能会记录并滥用她的声音进行诈骗。当时正从波士顿前往纽约市拜访佩雷斯的沙龙心领神会地了点头。

在一个来电显示已经演变为头像、化名、昵称和特殊铃声的时代，接电话时随口说一句“喂？”似乎几乎是多余的。

由此产生的是一种特有的惯用语，对于那些在 20 世纪 90 年代来电显示普及前后出生的人来说，这标志着一种关系等级制度。

“Hello”现在正趋向于成为一种“濒危”用语，仅保留给较为正式的电话。而对于关系更亲近的人，问候语则类似于“嗨”（Hi）、“哟”（Yo）、“怎么了？”（What's up?）、“你在哪儿？”（Where are you?），或者对于最亲密（或根据情况而定，最敌对）的人——“嗯？”（Yeah?）。

最后几首提及这个词的主流流行歌曲，如阿黛尔的《Hello》以及 Lady Gaga 和碧昂丝的《Telephone》，现在都已经发行超过十年了。如果有人认为这个问候语——这个源自 19 世纪托马斯·爱迪生首次对着电话说出该词的、某种程度上的随意遗留——现在显得过时，也是可以理解的。

在纽约周围确实是这种氛围。20 岁的大学生艾迪·索伯利（Addie Sauberli）经常用“你在哪儿？”来接听最亲密朋友的电话——她说，这样想是因为她更愿意和他们见面面对面交谈。

“当我给你打电话时，我会说‘Allll-looooo’，”她 20 岁的朋友索尼娅·阿彭（Sonia Appen）说。

“是的，我们有特殊的打招呼方式，”索伯利点头说，“天呐，最可怕的是在有人开口之前有一段长时间的停顿，你会想，谁会先说‘嗨’？”

对于一些人，尤其是以冷漠眼神著称的 Z 世代来说，面对陌生来电时，他们的反应相当于一个空白的表情——没有任何形式的问候。

语言学研究员、数字通信专家格里芬·巴塞特（Griffin Bassett）表示，这种问候礼节的转变——尽管缺乏定量数据的支持——很可能是智能手机的产物。以及在此之前的固定电话来电显示。

但巴塞特说，当这些信息与在同一设备上展开的电子邮件、短信或社交媒体动态无缝结合时，在对话开始时就再也没有必要“建立共同基础”了。相反，他表示，这就像我们所有人都在参与一个模糊且异步的“对话线程”。

一群 17 岁的青少年证实，电话甚至不是他们与朋友沟通的首选方式。

“我觉得我使用语音消息比打电话更多，”来自巴尔的摩的玛丽·简·沃尔什（Mary Jane Walsh）说。

“是的，我也是，”来自洛杉矶的玛丽·潘妮（Marie Penny）说，“因为这比打字快，而且通常我有很多话要说。比如，是一个很长的故事。”

这些独白之前也没有任何正式的问候语。“或者我会发短信说‘你绝对猜不到……”

“有时我直接就开始讲故事——就像直接切入正题，”同样来自巴尔的摩的肯尼·哈里斯（Kenny Harris）说。

来自丹佛的劳伦·奥康纳（Lauren O'Conner）表示，语音消息优于长短信，因为它不会给误解故事语气留下空间。

在一项研究中，心理学家梳理了 14 年间 2,000 多名年龄在 10 到 94 岁之间的人员的录音。他们发现，总体而言，人们在日常生活中的用词量在减少；每天平均说话的词数从 2007 年的近 16,000 个下降到 2019 年的 13,000 个以下。

不过，25 岁以下的人群流失的词汇量更多。该研究的共同作者、密苏里-堪萨斯城大学心理学与咨询副教授瓦莱里娅·普费弗（Valeria Pfeifer）表示。

她说：“年轻人不太倾向于使用程式化的礼貌用语，比如‘你好吗？’（How are you?），这句话就占用了三个完整且冗长的单词。”

迈卡·迈尔（Myka Meier）在询问大约 36 名 15 和 16 岁的青少年如何接电话时，她说，“大约三分之一的人表示他们不打招呼”。

接电话的礼仪，或者说礼仪的缺失，是家长在博蒙特（Beaumont）为孩子报名参加社交礼仪课时经常提到的担忧。博蒙特是迈尔参与创办的一所纽约学校。

一些以冷漠眼神著称的 Z 世代，在面对陌生来电时，其反应相当于一种空白的表情——完全没有问候。 EFE AHWOREGBA

接电话的礼仪是那些为孩子报名参加社交礼仪课程的家长们经常提及的一个担忧。

当她在礼仪课上询问青少年为什么接电话时不打招呼时，“他们说他们不信任电话另一端的人。”她补充道，在我们这个充斥着 AI 垃圾内容、钓鱼短信和数字诈骗的世界里，这种本能是可以理解的。

即使是在更年轻的一代中，缺失“你好”这一环节也很常见。在美国各地，家长们一直在让孩子们接触座机电话那令人怀旧的“叮铃叮铃”声。

许多家长报告说，他们的孩子在拿起通常没有来电显示功能的座机电话后，会对着听筒在沉默中沉重地呼吸，等待对方先开口说话。

今年春天，密歇根州有两个孩子的母亲梅根·普雷斯（Megan Prais）为她 7 岁和 9 岁的孩子威拉（Willa）和阿洛（Arlo）订购了一部紫色唇形电话。

当他们接到第一个电话时，“他们不太明白，你知道的，比如要说‘喂？’”，她说，“他们直接拿起电话就开始说话了。”

Meta推出数字助手

旧金山

作者：ELI TAN

Meta 上周推出了 Muse，这是一个人工智能代理，可以通过代表用户自主使用软件应用程序和网站，充当个人数字助手。

这是大型科技公司首次推出面向大众市场的代理（agent）。研究人员预测，这种类型的 AI 将比简单的聊天机器人更先进。许多代理已经能够完成办公室职员的工作，例如填写电子表格。但虽然像 OpenClaw 这样的 代理在开发人员和程序员中很受欢迎，但它们尚未被广泛采用。

该公司表示，用户可以像对待聊天机器人一样与 Muse 对话，并指示它通过应用程序或 Meta 旗下的 WhatsApp 发送电子邮件、预订旅行、进行在线购物等。Muse 还能连接到 的其他应用（如 Instagram 和 Facebook）以进一步了解用户。此外，它还可以链接到 Spotify、Ticketmaster、Shopify、Gmail 和 OpenTable 等第三方应用。

首席执行官马克·扎克伯格（Mark Zuckerberg）将 Muse 描述为 的下一个突破，它能“全天候 24 / 7 代表你工作，帮助你实现目标，改善生活、健康、人际关系和财务状况”。

Muse 是由 超智能实验室（ Superintelligence Labs）创建的首批重要消费级 产品之一。扎克伯格于去年成立该实验室，旨在推动公司在 竞赛中前进。 一直在投入数十亿美元开发基础 模型并建设数据中心，以便在快速演进的技术前沿与谷歌（Google）、OpenAI、Anthropic 等公司竞争。

到目前为止， 的尝试有成有败。其 智能眼镜等产品已售出数百万副，但同时也引发了隐私担忧。今年 7 月，在关于版权和隐私的广泛批评之后，该公司暂时下架了 Instagram 的 图像生成器。

Muse 应用程序是免费的，但有使用限制，用户每月可以支付 $20 或 $100 来提高限额。该代理仅限成年人使用。

Meta 推出的 Muse 可为您发送电子邮件或预订行程。

当用户将 OpenTable 或 Ticketmaster 账户与 Muse 关联时，如果 认为用户可能会感兴趣，它可以发送关于即将到来的演唱会门票或餐厅预订的消息，并支持一键预订。 还连接了 Stripe 和 Shopify，使其能够代表用户进行购买。Meta 表示， 是首个涵盖在 Stripe 保修和退货政策下的 AI 代理，以防止其在购买时出现错误。

由于 AI 并非万无一失， 表示该代理“有时会犯错”，但其设计旨在“帮助用户在不感到压力的情况下保持控制”。这家硅谷公司创建了一个计划，让人们可以通过报告 的漏洞来获得奖励。 还表示， 收集的个人数据以及代理本身都安全地存储在其云服务器和硬件中。

该代理由 Spark 提供支持，这是 在 4 月份发布的 AI 模型。该模型是 在亚历山大·王（Alexandr Wang）领导下开发的第一个模型，这位 29 岁的首席 AI 官是扎克伯格先生去年夏天为了重组该部门而聘请的。

Spark 落后于 Anthropic 和 OpenAI 的领先模型，但 计划最快在下个月发布一个更强大的模型，内部代号为 Watermelon。

表示，还计划为 增加更多功能，包括将其与智能眼镜集成。

体育

MICHELLE V. AGINS / THE NEW YORK TIMES SHURAN HUANG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES 亚历山大·兹维列夫（Alexander Zverev，左上）在周日赢得美国网球公开赛男子单打冠军后。他在决赛中以 6-4, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 击败了本·谢尔顿（Ben Shelton，右上）。兹维列夫在今年赢得了两个大满贯冠军，且无需击败卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯或亚尼克·辛纳。

经过漫长等待，兹维列夫为令人印象深刻的一年画上圆满句号

网球曾将他抛在身后，但如今他已斩获两座大满贯冠军

作者：马修·富特曼 (MATTHEW FUTTERMAN) 来自 THE ATHLETIC

五年来，亚历山大·兹维列夫和达尼尔·梅德韦杰夫一直是那些出生于 20 世纪 90 年代的球员一代中，处于男子网球“三明治夹心层”地位的代表人物。

在职业生涯初期，他们曾向这项运动的顶端攀升。在某些方面，他们将强力发球与反击防御相结合的打法具有革命性。

兹维列夫和梅德韦杰夫击败了那些单一依赖强发球的球员，并挑战了诺瓦克·德约科维奇、拉斐尔·纳达尔和罗杰·费德勒；梅德韦杰夫击败了前者赢得了 2021 年美国公开赛冠军，并曾登顶世界 No. 1。

但大多数时候，他们被挡在大满贯冠军的大门之外，别无选择，只能等待“三巨头”退场，以便他们能够接管这项运动。

然而，“三巨头”直到 30 岁后期才肯让步。

对于兹维列夫——这个同辈球员中最优秀且最稳定的选手——来说，这段时间足够长，长到让他感受到了来自卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯和扬尼克·辛纳的后辈冲击。这两位球员比这位出生于俄罗斯父母、拥有强力发球的 29 岁德国人分别小 7 岁和 4 岁。他们迫使他采取一种能够与前辈名将们在底线多拍对攻中抗衡的网球风格。

结果是，他在大满贯赛事的后期阶段遭遇了一系列惨败，在 14 个月前温布尔登网球公开赛第 1 轮出局后，兹维列夫陷入了低谷。

“这不仅仅是在网球场上的感觉，而是一种整体的生活感受，”他在去年夏天早些时候说道，“目前对我来说，很难在网球场之外找到快乐。”

多年来，兹维列夫一直是这项运动中一个充满争议的人物。他曾两次被指控家庭暴力，但他多次否认这些指控。

一次是指控来自 2020, 年的一位前女友，但她并未提起诉讼。ATP 巡回赛认为没有“充分证据”支持她的指控，因此没有对他进行处罚。

在另一起由一位与其育有孩子的前女友提起的案件中，他在德国达成了一项和解协议，但并未承认有错。

一年后，他说自己在网球场上感到孤独，且找不到答案。他在重大赛事中的成绩正朝着错误的方向发展。不久之后，他来到了纳达尔的训练学院，寻找他以及他的两位主教练（他的父亲和兄弟）似乎无法提供的答案。

阿尔卡拉斯和辛纳实在太强了。他们赢得了 2024 和 2025. 年所有的大满贯冠军。他们年轻，且比兹维列夫、梅德韦杰夫和斯特法诺斯·齐齐帕斯更出色——这三个人曾被视为这项运动的继承者，但现在正逐渐淡出。而且，阿尔卡拉斯和辛纳看起来在很长一段时间内都不会离开舞台。兹维列夫无法破解他们的打法。

事实证明，他不需要破解。

在周日以 6-4, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 击败本·谢尔顿夺得美国公开赛男单冠军后，兹维列夫评估了自己在目前顶尖球员中的地位。

“现在，此时此刻，大概是的，”他说，“如果他们两个都健康且都处于巅峰状态？也许不是。”

他补充道：“如果每个人都健康，我认为扬尼克更领先。”

在网球最顶级的赛事中获胜，通常取决于在关键时刻能打出一些惊人的正手、反手和发球。兹维列夫长期以来一直能做到这一点，尤其是他的发球，是比赛中最高效且致命的武器之一；此外还有他的反手，它极其稳定，且长期以来被证明是那些不属于纳达尔的强力左手正手的克星。

但这同样关乎于保持健康、出场，并能够应对大满贯赛场上最高水平网球所带来的残酷考验。今年，兹维列夫在这些方面的表现比阿尔卡拉斯、辛纳和德约科维奇更多且更好。

现在，他拥有两座大满贯奖杯作为证明。令人惊讶的是（尽管或许并不出人意料），兹维列夫在今年无需击败阿尔卡拉斯或辛纳，就成功拿到了这两座奖杯。

首先，阿尔卡拉斯在4月因手腕受伤而退赛。这导致他缺席了法网和温网。直到这次美网他才再次出赛，而在本届赛事最精彩的一场比赛中，谢尔顿击败了他。

至于辛纳，在法网期间，他没能顶住巴黎历史上罕见的春季热浪。在距离直落两盘晋级出第二轮仅剩一局时，他体力不支，无法移动，此后仅再赢下一局。而德约科维奇则在次日落败。

兹维列夫意识到，他要么发起进攻，要么就将出局。

兹维列夫设法生存了下来。在最炎热的日子里被安排在夜场比赛在一定程度上有所帮助。当他进入决赛时，网对面是弗拉维奥·科博利，一位处于上升期但状态不稳的意大利选手，世界排名第14位。兹维列夫虽有波动，但最终挺了过来，在五盘大战后举起了他的首座大满贯奖杯。

“如果你管我叫赢得大满贯的最差球员，我现在一点也不在乎，”他在获胜后说道。

一个月后的温布尔登网球锦标赛上，辛纳在决赛中以四盘击败了他。但兹维列夫给辛纳带来了巨大压力，让对方赢得十分艰辛。

一个月后，辛纳宣布他正在康复治疗膝伤，将缺席辛辛那提公开赛。两周后，在赛事开始前几天，他退出了美国公开赛。兹维列夫因此上升为头号种子。

现为2号种子的阿尔卡拉斯被安全地分在签表的另一侧。兹维列夫无需在决赛前面对他。但阿尔卡拉斯已经缺阵近五个月，即使对于像阿尔卡拉斯这样出色的球员来说，进入决赛似乎也希望渺茫。事实上，一场在深夜与谢尔顿进行的近五小时激战证明这太吃力了。

德约科维奇在第一轮被淘汰，他的身体状况下滑，在赛事的第一个夜晚以五盘败北。

与此同时，兹维列夫再次在一次大满贯签表中艰难前行。过程并不总是那么流畅。在第一轮与意大利选手洛伦佐·索内戈的比赛中，他距离被淘汰仅差两分。

在第二轮中，他再次经历了五盘大战，在凌晨2:15击败了法国选手昆廷·哈利斯。兹维列夫说，在第二场比赛后，他和团队坐在更衣室里开玩笑，讨论他打得多么糟糕，但不知怎么地竟然还留在比赛中。他生存了下来。再一次，他让自己处于有利位置，去收拾一个顶级名将纷纷出局的签表残局。

值得称赞的是，兹维列夫听取了他在马略卡岛纳达尔学院访问纳达尔及其叔叔托尼·纳达尔时得到的建议。他们向他解释了纳达尔如何在11次交手中击败他7次，而兹维列夫此前基本横扫了所有其他左手球员。

如果他想在顶尖水平中保持竞争力，并有希望挑战阿尔卡拉斯和辛纳，他就必须采取同样的策略。他不能再打得那么被动，不能只靠底线拉锯，等待完美的进攻机会或对手失误。

这项运动已经进入了一个“首击网球”和在底线死角进行防守（包括反转局面）的era。兹维列夫要么发起进攻，要么就将出局。在上赛季末，兹维列夫向自己和所有人承诺，无论胜负，他都将这样打球，而且他很少背离这个计划。

不出所料，兹维列夫又给了球迷一个对他感到沮丧的新理由。在整个赛事期间，他养成了一个习惯，在发球前过度拍球，尤其是在第一次发球失误后，因为此时没有25秒的发球时钟来约束球员。卡伦·哈恰诺夫在半决赛输给兹维列夫后对此表示不满。

“这不仅让我心烦，当然很多球员都这样，因为这太浪费时间了，”哈恰诺夫说。“你不知道怎么准备接发球。你觉得准备好了，然后又是12次拍球，你知道的，所以你得再次做分腿步。你试图让自己进入状态，但每一分都这样。”

那将是另一场博弈。而现在，兹维列夫抓住了一个同行们未能把握的机会。

他适应了新时代。他变得更强。他保持了健康。他坚持出现。在今年，这就足够了。

迷你纵横字谜

9 / 15 / 2026 作者：乔尔·法利亚诺 (JOEL FAGLIANO)

1 “这太简单了！”（俚语表达） 5 一英里中的 5,280 英尺 6 测试中的 F 等级 8 “饶了我吧！” 9 人行横道上的“禁止通行”标志

向下 1 品牌名中带感叹号的驱虫喷雾 2 加利福尼亚州的 ____ 滩 (Long ____) 3 史酷比帮中聪明的成员 4 “我们开始吧” 7 结论

上一道谜题的答案

两星不触

在网格的每一行、每一列和每个区域中各放入两颗星。任何两颗星都不能接触，包括对角线接触。 版权所有 © 2024 www.krazydad.com

密码解密

上一批谜题的答案

VGKG'P BTIQVGK BN MIK "GPPGTQDBJ IDJP." VIU GPPGTQDBJ BKG QVGE DM D'WG TGWGK TGGNGN BTE?

谜题作者：本·巴斯 (BEN BASS)

昨天的答案 1. 布达佩斯 2. 贝尔格莱德 3. 哥本哈根 4. 布加勒斯特

肯肯数独 (KenKen)

在网格中填入数字，确保每行或每列中数字不重复，且每个粗线框内的数字通过框内指定的加、减、乘或除法运算，得出所示的目标数字。4x4 网格使用数字 1-4。6x6 网格使用数字 1-6。

纵横字谜 / 编辑：威尔·肖茨 (Will Shortz)

横向 1 Laffy ____，一种名称押韵的糖果 6 扑克买入金 10 比喻意义上的“心灵之窗” 14 惊吓 15 反派的藏身处 16 American Girl 玩具 17 例如，一个在网络上疯传的令人尴尬的广告活动 19 麦当娜的歌曲 "La ____ Bonita" 20 与……约会 21 皮格莱特和普心的有袋类朋友 22 “好吧，既然那样……” 24 Clic Stic 和 Wite-Out 的品牌 26 20 世纪 80 年代电视剧中“谁开了枪……？”悬念的核心人物 27 哥伦比亚玉米面蛋糕 29 圣何塞，____ 黎加 30 Oculus Rift 或 Meta Quest 3 32 混乱的反义词 36 发短信时的“我认为……” 37 例如，开始了一局 21 点 38 18 轮大卡车

39 非语言地同意 41 红色根茎蔬菜 44 高中里的一种集会 45 建造，如建筑物 47 《The Pitt》中的许多角色 49 “快点！” 51 举行提名大会的团体 52 常用于替代纸质菜单的可扫描方块 55 _-Wan Kenobi 56 响，如铃铛 57 小狗的吠叫 59 帕丁顿熊的原籍国 63 在漫画中，灯泡代表什么 64 20 世纪 60 年代儿童电视节目中的傀儡龙 67 底部沉重的水果 68 布兰妮·斯皮尔斯的 "____! ... I Did It Again" 69 表现优于 70 女儿的兄弟 71 考试 72 待炸的薯条

谜题设计：内特·卡丁 (NATE CARDIN)

纵向 1 止咳糖浆剂量 2 农地计量单位 3 从两侧较短过渡到顶部较长的发型 4 Ultimate ____（团队运动） 5 同意之词 6 也 7 使用音标字母表的团体 8 加时赛的原因 9 搞砸的事 10 关于维基百科内容的冲突 11 马里奥的恐龙伙伴 12 《实习医生格蕾》的女演员庞培奥 13 在 Urban Dictionary 中可见的方言

18 投币式游戏机存放处 23 一种高脂肪饮食 25 具有 Pro、Air 和 mini 版本的平板电脑 26 潦草地写（下） 27 骑士的装束 28 R.I. 中的 “R” 29 “蚂蚁爬木头”中的 “log” 30 攀爬格架的植物 31 “光”绝地武器 33 火车站 34 美甲师的锉甲板 35 穿（鞋带） 40 受过良好教育的人 42 重新填满，如玻璃杯 43 愈合的覆盖物

46 “把__脱掉，伙计！” 48 导致犯错 50 一小块火热的肉桂糖 52 不建议用于耳道的棉签 53 牛仔竞赛 54 刚从洗碗机里拿出来的 57 例如 Grindr 和 Tinder 这两个应用 58 腐烂的迹象 60 “____，布鲁图？” 61 《蚁人》主演保罗 62 让你惊叹“什么……？！”的景象 65 ____ v. Wade（1973 年最高法院裁决） 66 拒绝

在 http: / nytimes.com / games 在线体验我们所有的游戏，以及 Wordle、Spelling Bee、纵横字谜等 10,000 多个往期谜题。关于谜题的讨论，请访问 http: / nytimes.com / wordplay。

秋季电影节的可见与不可见

上图为汤姆·克鲁斯在亚历杭德罗·G·伊纳里图执导的《Digger》中，该片将跳过秋季电影节巡展。左图为关于伊丽莎白·霍姆斯（Elizabeth Holmes）的《You Can See Everything》，该片在特柳赖德电影节引发了广泛关注；而下图由杰里米·斯特朗饰演马克·扎克伯格的《The Social Reckoning》也将跳过电影节。 华纳兄弟

利亚·加洛 / 索尼影业

本季大片及其明星缺席，但仍有惊喜出现

作者：妮可·斯佩林

特柳赖德电影节通常会有一两个惊喜：比如奥普拉·温弗瑞出现在观众席中，或者最后一刻增加的一部特别影片。但很少有秘密放映的宣布能像上周结束的第53届电影节那样，引发数日之久的疯狂猜测。

特柳赖德电影节首次要求将手机装入 Yondr 安全袋中，关于这部电影的消息直到放映前几小时才泄露，放映地点位于科罗拉多山脉箱形峡谷内的一家电影院。即便如此，当得知喜剧演员内森·菲尔德（Nathan Fielder）和兰斯·奥本海姆（Lance Oppenheim）执导了《You Can See Everything》——一部关于 Theranos 创始人、被判定欺诈投资者的伊丽莎白·霍姆斯的纪录片时，观众仍未对接下来的内容做好准备：这是一次打破类型界限的实验，瞬间成为了全球头条。

对于一个感觉比往常更沉闷的电影节来说，这次放映提供了一剂急需的强心针。特柳赖德电影节通常是奥斯卡季的预兆，此次放映的影片虽然反响良好，但知名度可能不如往年。因此，用独立工作室 A24 制作的《You Can See Everything》这样一部注定会引发热议的影片来为电影节收尾，在缺乏大制片厂作品的情况下，无疑对特柳赖德电影节有所帮助。

今年，没有一家大制片厂将其作品带到秋季巡展：在为期三周的时间里，希望将自己的电影打造为年度最佳作品的制片人和发行商通常会在该时间段内举办的一到三个电影节中首次亮相。特柳赖德电影节、威尼斯国际电影节和多伦多国际电影节通常意味着一次疯狂的全球之旅，旨在选出最有可能竞争奥斯卡的候选作品。

特柳赖德电影节执行总监朱莉·亨辛格（Julie Huntsinger）对此表示理解：“我认为当预算达到一定水平时，将电影带到电影节的风险是相当大的。”

事实上，尽管亨辛格做出了最大努力，华纳兄弟还是跳过了特柳赖德电影节，并选择不放映其耗资 1.25亿美元 的汤姆·克鲁斯电影《Digger》，该片由《荒野生存》导演亚历杭德罗·G·伊纳里图执导。（据亨辛格称，伊纳里图表示该片有一个巨大的反转，他不希望在 10 月 2. 日电影上映前一个月被揭露。华纳兄弟拒绝置评。）

同样在未经过电影节首映而直接发行的是索尼影业由编剧兼导演亚伦·索金（Aaron Sorkin）执导的《社交网络》续作《The Social Reckoning》；以及 Netflix 耗资 2亿美元 的《The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth》，布拉德·皮特将在片中再次饰演他在《好莱坞往事》中的好莱坞特技演员角色。

今年 5 月，制片厂同样远离了戛纳电影节，而那里曾是《壮志凌云：独行侠》（2022）和《印第安纳琼斯与水晶头骨王国》（2008）等大片首映的地方。去年，华纳兄弟选择在不参加电影节巡展的情况下，揭晓其最终获得最佳影片奖的《One Battle After Another》。

“显然，电影的知名度越高、明星光环越强，且预期越高，观众的期待值就会被推向顶峰，”资深营销专家盖里·里奇（Gerry Rich）表示，他的著作《追逐好莱坞：营销主管的突破课程》（Chasing Hollywood: A Marketing Chief's Lessons on Breaking Through）将于下月出版。“你必须确保能够满足这些期待，因为如果表现不佳，你将面临巨大的补救压力。我们近期见过不少例子，一些知名度极高的电影最终却没能达到预期。”

拥有大牌明星的电影本身就能吸引大量关注。虽然眼光敏锐的电影节观众可以成为影片的拥护者，但他们同样也会对其进行剖析。再加上社交媒体能迅速决定一部作品的成败，在上映日期之前表现不佳的风险，往往远高于被冠以“电影节宠儿”之名的回报。

近期的例子包括《小丑：双重妄想》（Joker: Folie à Deux, 2024）和《别担心亲爱的》（Don't Worry Darling, 2022），这两部电影在威尼斯首映时反响平平。去年，迪士尼的传记片《斯普林斯汀：将我从虚无中救赎》（Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere）在特柳赖德首映，尽管这位摇滚巨星本人出席了电影节，但结果依然令人失望。

即使是预算较低的电影也——

希望将其作品打造为年度最佳的电影制作人，通常会在一个、两个或全部三个电影节上进行首映。

——不能免于审查。虽然在电影节上获得最高评价的电影可以产生足够的讨论度，从而推动其在整个奥斯卡竞选中脱颖而出，但任何评价中庸或反应两极分化的作品都可能迅速失败。

Focus Features 副主席杰森·卡西迪（Jason Cassidy）对此表示赞同。他承认，他的公司并非将所有电影都送到电影节。

事实上，由安德鲁·加菲尔德（Andrew Garfield）主演、于周五上映的时代剧《起义》（The Uprising），以及由黛西·埃德加-琼斯（Daisy Edgar-Jones）主演、将于 10 月 16 日上映的《理智与情感》（Sense and Sensibility）新改编版，都将完全跳过电影节巡展。

“我们在电影节上关注的通常是‘发现’，”卡西迪说。“那些没人知道，但观众在看到后被震撼的作品，因为他们之前没怎么听说过。我认为这些才是最令人们兴奋的。”

在今年的特柳赖德电影节上，Focus 首映了《埃尔西诺》（Elsinore），这是一部鲜为人知的情感剧，由安德鲁·斯科特（Andrew Scott）饰演伊恩·查尔森（Ian Charleson）。查尔森或许因《烈火之车》而闻名，他在与艾滋病抗争的同时饰演了哈姆雷特。这部电影让观众们泣不成声，斯科特的表演立即引发了关于奥斯卡的讨论。而斯科特与温弗瑞（因参加小组讨论而到访）在放映后自发地拥抱，这一幕被视频记录并传遍互联网，也起到了推波助澜的作用。

对于制片厂的专业厂牌以及像 A24 和 Neon 这样的独立发行商来说，电影节仍然是发行活动的生命线。

由约翰·马尔科维奇（John Malkovich）和萨姆·洛克威尔（Sam Rockwell）主演的黑色喜剧《野马九号》（Wild Horse Nine）在威尼斯和特柳赖德都赢得了热烈的掌声，并将于本周抵达多伦多。

这部由马丁·麦多娜（Martin McDonagh，作品包括《三块广告牌》和《伊尼舍林的精灵》）执导的电影，目前在奖项预测网站 Gold Derby 的最佳影片竞争者名单中名列前茅。

“电影节是热爱电影的人聚集的地方，他们希望在电影院与其他观众一起获得愉悦的体验。对于制片厂或电影制作人来说，没有比面对这样的观众更好的首映场所了，”迪士尼旗下的专业制片厂 Searchlight 的总裁马修·格林菲尔德（Matthew Greenfield）表示，该厂牌是《野马九号》的出品方。

对于电影制作人来说，被认为有资格在特柳赖德这样的电影节获得展映名额——这是一个比同行展映电影数量少得多的精选聚会——是最高级别的认可。

资深导演丹尼·博伊尔（Danny Boyle）表示，特柳赖德在任何人之前就接受了他的剧情片《墨水》（Ink），该片讲述了鲁珀特·默多克和《太阳报》的崛起，这在恰到好处的时机给予了他一份极其宝贵的信心投票。

博伊于 2008 年首次带着后来获得奥斯卡奖的《贫民窟的百万富翁》来到特柳赖德。他说：“你会对是否有人喜欢这部作品感到非常不安，所以当你听到一个享有盛誉的电影节认可它时，这并不意味着你会放松——因为你总是处于焦虑之中——但你确实会认为，‘我们属于这里’。”

史密森学会负责人面临“压力攻势”

朗尼·G·邦奇三世上周宣布将卸任史密森学会秘书长。白宫将其描述为一名“狂热的党派分子”。 J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / 美联社

朗尼·G·邦奇三世面临保守派的愤怒，但受到许多历史学家的赞誉

作者：扎卡里·斯莫尔（ZACHARY SMALL）、 格雷厄姆·鲍利（GRAHAM BOWLEY） 以及罗宾·波格雷宾（ROBIN POGREBIN）

据历史学家和同事透露，到朗尼·G·邦奇三世上周宣布将卸任史密森学会秘书长时，白宫已使其几乎不可能留任。

自第二任期开始以来，特朗普总统就通过行政命令将史密森学会作为目标，指责其具有自由主义偏见，并策划具有反美观点的展览。白宫将邦奇描述为“一名民主党捐赠者和狂热的党派分子”。在邦奇表示将辞职后，白宫未立即回应置评请求。

“随着史密森学会成为文化战争的战场，他经历了一场不断升级的压力攻势，”马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的历史学教授塞缪尔·J·雷德曼（Samuel J. Redman）表示，他曾撰写大量关于史密森学会的文章。“朗尼·邦奇以坦诚、勇敢和深思熟虑的方式领导史密森学会，这充分体现了他在该机构的长期经验及其娴熟的外交手腕——但显然，这只能起到有限的作用。”

作为史密森学会首位黑人秘书长，邦奇在9月8日（即他宣布卸任当天）接受《纽约时报》采访时，承认他在该职位上所面临的困难。

“我必须坦白，这压力很大，”他说。

邦奇的支持者表示，在他的领导下，史密森学会维持了其作为讲述美国历史、文化和技术创新故事的美国首要场所的地位，并继续享有两党支持以及国会数十亿美元的资金支持。

但一些人担心，邦奇的离职将使特朗普政府能够施加更大的影响，特别是通过任命志同道合的人来领导该机构并填补其强大的董事会（Board of Regents）空缺。

“他赢得退休的消息将引发许多人对史密森学会未来的担忧，”美国历史学会执行主任莎拉·韦克塞尔（Sarah Weicksel）表示。“这证明了邦奇致力于保护史密森学会的独立性，以及美国人了解其过去完整历史的能力。”

邦奇经常受到保守派评论家的攻击，批评者对他离职的决定表示赞赏。

保守派传统基金会（Heritage Foundation）的高级研究员迈克·冈萨雷斯（Mike Gonzalez）表示，他的离职早已迟到。

“我们只能希望下一任史密森学会秘书长是一个能认真对待其使命的人，”他说，“一个热爱美国并理解这个国家在250年历史中所取得成就的人。”

来自密苏里州的共和党参议员乔什·霍利（Josh Hawley）在社交媒体上庆祝邦奇的离职。

“总算摆脱了，”他在X上写道。“他应该把薪水还给美国人民。”

然而，许多其他人则对他所谓的标志性成就发表了评论，包括在2016年熟练地与国会两党合作，促成了史密森学会国家非裔美国人历史文化博物馆的开馆。2019年，在成功建立这座新博物馆后，他被任命为史密森学会秘书长，该学会包含21座博物馆、研究中心以及国家动物园。

“他是一个明白黑人历史就是美国历史的人，”哈佛大学教授亨利·路易斯·盖茨二世（Henry Louis Gates Jr.）说道。

与邦奇共事过的人对他离职感到惋惜。

“对于朗尼离开史密森学会，大家普遍感到叹息和悲伤，”直到今年仍担任史密森学会旗下国家肖像馆策展事务主任的里亚·L·康姆斯（Rhea L. Combs）表示。她补充道：“他富有远见且深思熟虑的领导力，对于提拔年轻的博物馆专业人士至关重要。”

加利福尼亚州参议员亚历克斯·帕迪利亚（Alex Padilla）是负责监督史密森学会的参议院委员会中排名最高的民主党人，他赞扬邦奇“将真相和准确性置于政治之上”。

知名艺术家们也表达了同样的观点。电影导演艾娃·杜弗奈（Ava DuVernay）在的一份声明中表示，她对政治在邦奇离职过程中可能扮演的角色感到遗憾。

“对于那些关心美国真实历史而非幻想的人来说，他的退休是一个巨大的损失，”杜弗奈在声明中说道。“他受到了那些比起理解美国历史，似乎更感兴趣于控制美国历史的人的羞辱性对待。”

年轻女性终获认可

10月9日起在曼哈顿美国民间艺术博物馆展出：一件被认为出自费思·特朗布尔（Faith Trumbull，1743-75）之手的康涅狄格州场景“针线画”。她启发了弟弟约翰，后者后来成为一名画家。 照片由美国民间艺术博物馆提供

从左至右：“采样布”，丽贝卡·卡特与安·卡特合作（1779-88）；“伊诺克·H·隆纪念碑”，玛丽·B·丹福斯（1823）；朱莉安娜·卡彭特，“两半球地图”（1825）。下方：“年轻的非裔美国女孩”（约1840年）。

美国女孩的手工艺因预见了后来的趋势而受到赞誉

作者：塞莉亚·麦基（CELIA MCGEE）

在美国文化的传统起源叙事中，一个自豪的年轻国家所拥有的独特资产——其自然美景——促使艺术家们走向了大自然。

托马斯·科尔（Thomas Cole）19世纪的浪漫主义风景画为哈德逊河派以及弗雷德里克·丘奇（Frederic Church）和阿尔伯特·比尔施塔特（Albert Bierstadt）的宏大画布开辟了道路。随后出现的是印象派较为宁静的基调，以及抽象表现主义将自然景观替换为人性动荡内心世界的尝试。绝大多数艺术家均为白人男性。

但如果故事并非始于他们，而是始于早期的女性艺术家，她们在不同的、家庭内部的领域中识别并认同美国地域的特质，情况会是如何？

这个问题正是“定位少女时代：早期美国‘女学生’艺术中的地域与身份”展览的灵魂所在。该展览将于10月9日在曼哈顿美国民间艺术博物馆开幕。博物馆副馆长兼展览共同策展人埃米莉·格瓦尔特（Emelie Gevalt）表示，该展览通过扩展时间线来认可年轻女性创作者（包括有色人种年轻女性——无论她们是被奴役、被绑定服务，还是在自由黑人社区学习缝纫），从而重新校准美国艺术史，“这提出了一个问题：谁的故事被讲述了，而谁的故事没有”。

该展览的前提是，从殖民时代到新国家成立初期，由女孩和年轻女性创作的针线画、刺绣采样布、水彩习作、精绘且缝制的地图、彩绘家具以及其他形式的装饰艺术，预示了风景画的出现。展览展示了近100件作品作为证据。

弗吉尼亚州诺福克克莱斯勒艺术博物馆的美国艺术策展人、本次民间艺术展的共同组织者卡罗琳·卡尔普（Caroline Culp）表示：“我们希望它能阐明年轻女性对这个国家一些建国叙事和建国神话所做出的贡献。”

此次展览是在与建国150周年纪念的对话中构思的，旨在通过消除艺术与装饰艺术之间的等级区分，并挑战所谓“女学生艺术”某种程度上低人一等的形象，从而为美国艺术提供一种更广泛的艺术表达感。

在随展书籍中，一件气势磅礴且华丽的壁炉装饰画《波士顿公园景观》绝非稚嫩之作，它由来自著名反君主制家庭的18岁少女汉娜·奥蒂斯（Hannah Otis）于1750年左右完成。

这件作品由羊毛、丝绸、金属线和珠子在亚麻布上完成，其人物形象（包括一名可能是黑人奴隶的马夫）散布在细致观察的绿植与动物之间。规模更大的则是匿名作品《钓鱼女士场景》（“Fishing Lady’ Scene”），创作于1747至1750年之间，描绘了理想化乡村环境中的求爱场景。其古灵精怪、娇俏的情调，有力地反抗了当时殖民文化中弥漫的社会动荡与政治不安——当时的殖民地仍处于英国帝国统治的压制之下，并与被其试图驱逐的原住民处于激烈的冲突之中。

“这些如此宏大的作品及其对空间的处理，竟然被斥为纤弱女性气质的练习，这让我觉得非常奇怪，”艺术史学家、《刺绣景观：英国北美地区的女性、艺术与环境，1740-1770》（“Embroidering the Landscape: Women, Art and the Environment in British North America, 1740-1770”）一书的作者安德里亚·帕帕斯（Andrea Pappas）表示。她补充道：“景观在美学艺术中一直占据着特殊地位，而这些作品证明了这一传统可以追溯到更早的时期。”

无数年轻女性在接受正统教养时刺绣的采样布（samplers）中，充满了对周围环境细致观察且具有空间逻辑的建筑和景观元素。许多作品中描绘的乔治亚风格建筑，捕捉到了一个初创国家在艰难建立过程中城市化的冲动。而农场庄园的详细肖像则预示了农业耕作向西推进的趋势。随着被认为对女性教育至关重要的艺术指导深入人心，即使是古老的家族树图案，也经常延伸为完整的景观图像。

在新共和国诞生之初，1788年，来自罗德岛州普罗维登斯的10岁女孩丽贝卡·卡特（Rebecca Carter）细致地记录了地标性建筑罗德岛州议会大厦的砖墙立面，并将其与繁茂的自然图案、整洁的字母以及庆祝性的押韵诗——“荣誉与名望，将为精巧的议会大厦加冕”——相结合，将其转化为关于公民美德和新兴社区的宣言。“丽贝卡·卡特于1788年创作”这几个字装饰在一个宽大的花瓶上，这是一种自我身份的宣告。

随着数十年的流逝，绘画刺绣越来越多地将美国景观作为美德象征性女性形象——自由女神——的背景；唯一能与之媲美的，是对乔治·华盛顿死后崇拜的针线致敬之作，其范围从军事纪念到对弗农山庄的崇拜式描绘，而后者则将其奴隶制经济边缘化。

在当时看来，这些作品最卓越之处在于，几乎毫无例外地标有创作者的名字，使她们从不被记载的历史匿名状态中被拯救出来。“很多时候，”卡尔普（Culp）说，“这是我们唯一能遇到这些姓名和身份的情况：在当时的人口普查中，女性被计作男性户主家庭中无名的成员。”

展览强调，更值得关注的是那些由有色人种年轻女性签名或被归于其名下的作品。她们将创造天赋应用于此类针线活，挑战了负面刻板印象以及绘画刺绣中固有的种族偏见——在这些偏见中，黑人形象被微缩化或被安置在画面的边缘。

“这些是对人性与才华的主张，”宾夕法尼亚大学艺术史教授、2023年由Gevalt在AFAM组织的《无名人物：早期北美艺术中的黑人存在与缺失》（“Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in Early North American Art”）目录撰稿人格温多林·杜波依斯·肖（Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw）表示。“对于自由黑人女性来说，这是她们要求被中产阶级接纳的一种主张。”

对于《定位少女时代》（“Locating Girlhood”）中对艺术史的重新排列，新传记《光辉之国：艺术家弗雷德里克·丘奇如何将世界带给美国，将美国带给世界》（“Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World”）的作者维多利亚·约翰逊（Victoria Johnson）评价道：“这是一个非常迷人的前提。”

她指出，托马斯·科尔的妹妹莎拉在一定程度上得到了艺术家的认可，他的女儿艾米莉因其水彩画和瓷器绘画也同样如此；此外，苏西·巴斯托、伊丽莎白·格雷托雷克斯和菲德莉亚·布里奇斯等艺术家在哈德逊河画派的第一代和第二代期间也十分活跃。约翰逊补充道：“美国国家认同的定义一直与北美大陆的自然美景相关联。我们可以在这一传统中看到‘女学生’艺术。”

对于艺术家约翰·特朗布尔来说，他最著名的或许是那幅气势磅礴的绘画《独立宣言》（约 1817 年），描绘了将《独立宣言》草案提交给国会的场景。与姐姐费思·特朗布尔在同一个家庭长大对他产生了深远的影响。费思。

“风景画在美国艺术中一直占据着特殊地位，而这些作品证明其历史可以追溯到更早的时期。”

他写道，其姐姐精通于如 1754 年左右的旧约场景《押沙龙被吊死》这样迷人的刺绣作品，这激励了他自己成为一名艺术家。“但他们中只有一个人被送到英国学习，”格瓦尔特（Gevalt）说道，“那就是约翰。”

她和卡尔普（Culp）都致力于将这些女性艺术家重新纳入历史记录，并拒绝接受那种认为她们是在临摹广泛流传的版画、赞美古典古代的复制品或流行植物插图的观点。

随着 19 世纪的到来，针织艺术——旨在培养社交修养，为年轻女性准备婚姻，并将她们培养成共和国未来领导者的潜在母亲——被整合到全国激增的“女师学校”（dame academies）和女子神学院的课程中。在这些学校里，古典语言、自然哲学、天文学、化学、数学以及地理学“科学”等学科的引入，最终使刺绣教学被边缘化。

但寻找自我认同的兴趣并未消失。制图具有绘制新领土的诱惑力，或者在浩瀚的宇宙中勾勒出地缘政治或其他方面的地域特性。

格瓦尔特表示，制图被作为艺术和智力追求教授给年轻女性，“它出现于人们对新国家地理及其个人在其中位置产生兴趣的时期。”刺绣和手工着色的地图（其中一些最早呈现在采样布上或制作成地球仪）起到了引领作用。

1825 年，来自纽约州霍默（Homer）的 15 岁少女朱莉安娜·卡彭特（Juliana Carpenter）雄心勃勃地在两英尺多长的纸上用钢笔和水彩绘制了一幅“两半球地图”。她不仅自豪地将因这项成就而获得的表扬条贴在左上角，而且果断地在作品中心插入了一幅自己的水彩微型肖像。

摇滚之友

书评

《这就是全部吗： The Strokes 乐队（以及摇滚乐） 永无止境的兴衰》 作者：史蒂文·海登 (Steven Hyden)。Da Capo 出版社。275 pp. $30.

作者：彼得·C·贝克 (PETER C. BAKER)

音乐记者史蒂文·海登在研究 The Strokes 乐队 25 年职业生涯的著作《这就是全部吗》(Is This It) 中，其核心讲述的是一个简单的故事。在世纪之交的曼哈顿，五个英俊（而且是那种颓废的英俊）的年轻人聚集在一起，录制了一张近乎完美的专辑，里面全是短促、尖锐的摇滚歌曲，讲述着关于年轻、渴望以及对人生前途迷茫的心境。

这些歌曲听起来既熟悉——带有浓厚的地下绒布乐队 (Velvet Underground)、汽车乐队 (the Cars) 和纽约娃娃乐队 (the New York Dolls) 的色彩——又显得陌生。这就像是纽约市中心的摇滚乐，由一群来自外星文明的艺术家精心创作，他们从未真正听过这类音乐，只是读过数百万篇相关的描述。（是的，这是一种赞美。）

这张名为《这就是全部吗》(Is This It) 的专辑引发了一场关于 The 乐队将“拯救摇滚乐”的炒作浪潮。无论这意味着什么，The 实际上从未真正做到这一点，之后再也没有发行过一张被所有人公认为完美无瑕的专辑（尽管他们后来又创作了六张），也没有像他们早期的神话预言那样变得极其辉煌。这些“失败”成了他们故事的重要组成部分，使得他们在评论家以及他们自己的描述中，成为了一个奇怪的交叉点——介于传奇与传奇般的失望之间。

海登本人是一个狂热的 The 粉丝，他很好地讲述了这个故事，尽管并没有挖掘出太多新素材；他所呈现的关于 The 的几乎所有信息都源自现有的新闻报道，且他并未对此掩饰。他试图做出的贡献更多体现在框架层面。The 让他得以思考过去 25 年的文化变迁。为什么在 2001, 左右，这么多作家觉得摇滚乐需要被拯救？为什么 The 是能够拯救它的乐队？而为什么这件事没有发生？

此外：取而代之的是发生了什么——对于音乐的“主流”、对于“边缘”，以及连接两者的网络发生了什么？为什么乐队——不仅仅是 The ，而是所有乐队——失去了他们的文化主导地位，而个人艺术家又为何取代了他们的位置？

海登的答案大多令人信服，且大多值得深思。一个显著的缺陷是他从未探讨 The 在 Z 世代粉丝中的受欢迎程度——从所有迹象来看，这种受欢迎程度是巨大的——而这些粉丝对该乐队早期的职业生涯轨迹几乎没有认同感。

The 乐队 2003, 年的照片。他们凭借首张录音室专辑《这就是全部吗》(Is This It) 引发了一场炒作浪潮。 摄影：托尼·塞尼科拉 (TONY CENICOLA)

（公平地说，他最近在他受欢迎的 Substack 专栏“邪恶发言者” (Evil Speakers) 中探讨了这个话题。）如果这本书是你了解 The 的唯一信息来源，你可能会惊讶地发现，他们目前在推广多年来最优秀的音乐作品时，体育场门票依然被抢购一空。

但这本书最重要的是，它很有趣。在书的开头，海登提出了“摇滚之友”的概念：一个会向你推荐唱片、追溯影响谱系、带你去参加演唱会并告诉你相关典故的朋友。“一个好的摇滚之友能为你展示世界，”他写道。

海登在这里就是一个好的摇滚之友。我指的不仅仅是他似乎听过 The 的每一首 B 面单曲，读过每一次采访，分析过每一句歌词。我的意思是，他愿意且渴望将所有关于 The 的事物与……其他所有事物联系起来。

一支摇滚乐队的完美成员人数是多少？一支在精神上属于“九十年代”的乐队与一支在精神上属于“2000年代”的乐队之间有什么区别？（对海登来说，The 坚定地属于前者。）为什么我们喜欢我们所喜欢的东西？这些答案随着时间的推移是如何变化的？

对于海登来说，摇滚乐——就像所有音乐一样——不仅仅是我们通勤或健身时用来消遣的填充物。它是一面观察世界和观察我们自己的镜子，而他想向你展示如何透过这面镜子去观察。

如果你读到了这里，那么很有可能你和我一样，已经是一个无可救药的 The Strokes 乐队迷了。对于那些深陷 The Strokes 魅力的人来说，

海登的书提供了充足的乐趣——当然，其中就包括怀旧的乐趣。（自 The Strokes 的主唱朱利安·卡萨布兰卡斯第一次唱出“在很多方面 / 他们终有一天会想念 / 那些美好的旧时光”以来，真的已经过去 25 年了吗？）

但我希望这本书也能找到其他读者。不是为了将他们转化为 The Strokes 的粉丝，而是为了向他们展示拥有一个热爱摇滚的朋友是什么感觉。我记得自己曾被一些书籍深深吸引，这些书最重要的是记录了作者的痴迷。通常这些痴迷并非我自身的——比如篮球、飞钓、爵士乐。其中一些成了我的痴迷，或者至少成了我的兴趣。另一些则不然。但即便如此，这些书通过实例教会了我，无论我最终决定深入钻研什么，该如何深入地去钻研。

我知道，在今天，这种服务更多地由在线视频提供，尤其是在涉及音乐时。但有些东西丢失了：10 次中有 9 次，那种深度并不那么深。这种“作为朋友的书籍”能被拯救吗？也许可以。在阅读《Is This It》时，我发现自己正如此希望。

彼得·C·贝克（Peter C. Baker）是小说《Planes》的作者。他编辑《Tracks on Tracks》，这是一份关于人们如何体验歌曲的时事通讯。

左图，在加拿大安大略省的港口城市桑德贝（Thunder Bay）的喷泉中玩耍。中图，Zack Kruzins，Such a Nice Day Adventures 的创始人，他带领划桨之旅。右图，大波塔日国家纪念地（Grand Portage National Monument）保护着该地区皮草贸易的中心。

探索大湖区最荒野的海岸

上方照片：在安大略省的罗斯波特（Rossport）出发，开启一段在苏必利尔湖上的多日旅程。左下方照片：在安大略省的普卡斯夸国家公园（Pukaskwa National Park）徒步时欣赏风景。 摄影：ERIN SCHAFF / 纽约时报

在苏必利尔湖上，一段从明尼苏达州到安大略省的旅程充满了冒险

作者：STEPHANIE PEARSON

苏必利尔湖凶猛、迷人，且不可轻视。其表面积覆盖 31,700 平方英里，是世界上最大的淡水湖，面积大致相当于奥地利。这里纯净的水域以寒冷著称，天气模式经常引发不可预测的风暴。自从孩提时代在明尼苏达州杜鲁斯（Duluth）的湖岸边打水漂起，我就一直敬畏并恐惧这座湖，并用一生试图更好地了解它。

这片 82,100 平方公里的广阔水域拥有崎岖的北岸，那是一片生长在加拿大地盾岩石地形上的北方森林，从杜鲁斯延伸 624 英里（1,000 公里），跨越边界抵达安大略省的苏圣玛丽（Sault Ste. Marie）。今年夏天早些时候，内陆大规模的山火造成了烟雾弥漫，影响范围远至纽约。但这座湖的海岸线幸免于难。

这条荒野海岸线如此辽阔，没有单一的游览方式。维京游轮公司（Viking）提供一段从多伦多到杜鲁斯的 15 天行程，费用为 \$18,000。此外，还可以选择驾驶自己的游艇、帆船或皮划艇。不过对于大多数美国人来说，最好的选择是从杜鲁斯向北行驶，沿着鲍勃·迪伦在 1964 年专辑《公路 61 重访》（Highway 61 Revisited）中使其永恒的那条道路前行。

61 号公路在跨越边界后变成了加拿大横贯公路

山势变得更高，森林变得更茂密，“驼鹿出没”的道路标志也变得更多——这正是人们不应被当地人称之为“大湖”的壮丽景色所分心的原因。

沿途有十几个州立、省立和国家公园——足以探索一整个夏天。我在 7 月初用一周时间完成了旅程，沿着明尼苏达州湖岸线行驶 385 英里，穿过港口城市桑德贝（Thunder Bay），进入荒原般的安大略省，抵达普卡斯夸国家公园，然后转身原路返回——将一些最棒的景点留到了最后。

从杜鲁斯到加拿大边界：早上 7 点离开杜鲁斯后，我向东北行驶 50 英里到达鹅莓瀑布州立公园（Gooseberry Falls State Park），体验一次清晨无人打扰的游览。这里的吸引力何在？在于鹅莓河上连续落下的三级汹涌瀑布。

我徒步走到一片雪松林，在瀑布底部感受水雾，然后沿着 1.3 英里的河景小径（River View Trail）走到湖边，此时阳光正将水面上的薄雾驱散。在鹅卵石海滩上，我遇到了两名穿着泳衣、坐在毯子上的女性。她们来自明尼阿波利斯郊区的埃迪纳（Edina），是高中毕业生，在东迁上大学前进行最后一次公路旅行。“感觉就像我们在另一个国家一样，”从未见过湖区北岸的克莱尔·贝斯特（Claire Best）说道。

再向北行驶 70 英里，曾经的渔村大马雷（Grand Marais）是许多美国人的折返点。它坐落在一个受保护的港口，到处是像 Java Moose 和 Angry Trout 这样的咖啡馆和餐厅。在北屋民俗学校（North House Folk School）这个水边校园里，它庆祝着自己的原住民和斯堪的纳维亚遗产，游客可以在这里学习如何建造桑拿房、制作阿尼什纳比（Anishinaabe）风格的珠饰莫卡辛鞋，或乘坐双桅帆船出海。

离开大马雷（Grand Marais）后，交通变得稀疏，向北行驶35英里便是大波塔日国家纪念地（Grand Portage National Monument），这是一个精心维护的湖滨公园。它是美国国家公园管理局首个由部落国家——苏必利尔湖奇佩瓦族大波塔日带（Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa）共同管理的单位，且完全位于其传统家园之内。该公园保存了五大湖皮草贸易的核心枢纽。在一条被原住民使用了数世纪以进入内陆湖泊的8.5英里长小径的尽头，一座被高墙环绕的重建仓库坐落在岸边。

在围墙堡垒内的主建筑中，西北公司（North West Company）的合伙人们曾使用进口瓷器享用丰盛的餐点。这家总部位于蒙特利尔的皮草贸易网络成立于1779年。在噼啪作响的火堆旁，我见到了卡尔·科斯特（Karl Koster），他是一名公园护林员兼独木舟制造者，身着劳工时期的古装。他在这座纪念地工作了近三十年，他告诉我，从这个地点出发，可以通过划船和陆路搬运（portage）到达大西洋和太平洋。

“那时这里还不算在北方，”他说，“在皮草贸易时代，这里是世界的中心。”

国家公园的边界 在边境以北36英里处是桑德贝（Thunder Bay），它是安大略省西北部最大的城市，一个原住民人口不断增长的粗犷工业港口城镇。

这座城市焕发活力的滨水区——以维多利亚女王的三子命名为亚瑟王子登陆区（Prince Arthur's Landing）——在码头、一座历史悠久的火车驿站以及餐厅和博物馆之间，展开为一条两英里长的绿色地带。在伸入湖中的岬角上，坐落着一座供该市第一民族、因纽特人和梅蒂斯居民使用的露天仪式亭。在我抵达的那个酷热的夏夜，晚上9点太阳依然高悬，孩子们在喷泉中嬉戏，而晒红了皮肤的水手们则在伸展腿部并购买冰淇淋。

横跨海湾望向

上方的加拿大横贯公路（Trans-Canada Highway）接续自美国的61号公路，周围环绕着茂密的森林。

西布利半岛（Sibley Peninsula）的标志性景观是？“沉睡巨人”（The Sleeping Giant），这是一系列陡峭的平顶山，其排列方式使得从远处看去，它们诡异地像一个沉睡的人类。根据奥吉布瓦人的传说，这个形象是精神实体纳尼布-朱（Nanibou-jou），在一名奥吉布瓦凡人揭露了其脚下白银的秘密位置后变成了石头。

在沉睡巨人省级公园（Sleeping Giant Provincial Park）中，可以通过往返近15英里的“巨人之巅小径”（Top of the Giant Trail）登上巨人的头部。

沿着加拿大横贯公路向东北方向行驶约200英里前往普卡斯夸国家公园（Pukaskwa National Park），道路穿过云杉林，跨过深邃的河谷，抵达

山脊之巅，那里的停车区可俯瞰苏必利尔湖国家海洋保护区（Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area）。这个呈扇形的保护区成立于2015年，面积达4,200平方英里，包含数百个岛屿。

国家公园及其往返之旅 “我从小就认为，‘谁想住在安大略省北部？’”普卡斯夸公园的经理凯伦·布莱克本（Karen Blackbourn）说道。该公园占地725平方英里，大部分是荒野。“但当我第一次看到苏必利尔湖时，我被震撼了。”

布莱克本女士对偏远地区并不陌生，她此前在加拿大公园管理局（Parks Canada）工作，地点是马尼托巴省丘吉尔附近没有道路且遍布北极熊的瓦普斯克国家公园（Wapusk National Park）。

我们沿着37英里长的海岸小径（Coastal Trail）徒步，路过散落的驼鹿粪堆，攀登陡峭的岩石斜坡，经过古老的纸桦林。这是探索普卡斯夸荒野的仅有的两条途径之一。另一种方式是划皮划艇游览其70英里长的未开发海岸线。这两种选择都没有道路进入，也没有手机信号。

该公园每年约有17,000名游客。大多数旅行者关注森林景点以及露营地中的五个A型帐篷避难所，周围环绕着通往空旷沙滩的徒步路径。附近的游客中心坐落在一个受保护的入口湾，游客可以在这里毫无顾虑地划租来的独木舟。

我们的目标是往返徒步 12 英里，前往一座横跨白河（White River）、长 100 英尺的吊桥。这座桥距离海岸步道（Coastal Trail）终点还不到一半，但它是一个极具视觉冲击力的交汇点。我们大约在两个半小时后到达。我站在穿孔钢结构桥面中央，被脚下 75 英尺深处黑岩峡谷中汹涌的白浪所吸引。

这座桥也标志着我此次旅程的转折点。次日清晨，我开车回到罗斯波特（Rossport），在那里我见到了扎克·克鲁津斯（Zack Kruzins），他是一名皮划艇向导，也是“如此美好的一天冒险公司”（Such a Nice Day Adventures）的创始人。

划行条件非常完美，水面平静。我和一群经验丰富的当地皮划艇爱好者跟随克鲁津斯先生经过夸里岛（Quarry Island）的一处悬崖，那里有筑巢的游隼在发出尖叫。

我们向巴特尔岛（Battle Island）划去，那里距离岸边近 6 英里，悬崖高处有一座现已自动化的灯塔。1975 年，一场 11 月的大风暴引发了巨浪——正是这场风暴导致“埃德蒙·菲茨杰拉德号”（Edmund Fitzgerald）沉没，导致全部 29 名船员遇难，这场灾难被歌手戈登·莱特富特（Gordon Lightfoot）在歌曲中纪念——巨浪击碎了灯塔的窗户。在岛屿的东海岸线外，躺着

长 181 英尺的“安大略号”（Ontario）残骸，该船在 1899 年一场异常的 8 月暴风雪中沉没。

鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）在他 1964 年的专辑《公路 61 重访》（Highway 61 Revisited）中使这条路永恒。

西方的地平线上是圣伊格纳斯山（Mount St. Ignace），全高 1,854 英尺（565 米）。它矗立在圣伊格纳斯岛之巅，该岛是苏必利尔湖国家海洋保护区中最大的岛屿。我曾划过南岸的其他岛链，但在这一群岛中，除了灯塔、“安大略号”沉船的碎片和少数几艘经过的船只外，我们没有看到任何人工建筑。

回到岸边后，我开始开车回家，并在向西 106 英里的“沉睡巨人”（Sleeping Giant）停留。最终，我并没有完全徒步到顶峰，在巨人的后脑勺某处中止了任务，以便在关闭前前往位于西布利半岛（Sibley Peninsula）尽头的银小岛杂货店（Silver Islet General Store）。

这家商店成立于 1871 年，为在银小岛矿场（Silver Islet Mine）水下矿井工作的矿工提供服务——这里就是“沉睡巨人”传说中真实的宝藏所在地。现在，这家店成了夏季的标志性场所，拥有一个码头和一家供应当地食材糕点的茶馆。我在温暖的阳光下，俯瞰着码头，吃着大黄脆皮甜点，喝着冰茶。

在我离开商店时，充满活力的共同所有者杰夫·科科拉（Jeff Korkola）从高架子上取出一份 1883 年的库存清单给我看，记录了一批价值 $2,538.26 的煤炭货款，但那批煤从未到达。

他解释说，这些煤是用来驱动水泵以防止矿井进水的。没有煤，矿井就被淹没了，他告诉我，“世界上最富有的银矿就这样关闭了”。

但我旅程的高光时刻可能出现在安大略省的尼皮贡湾（Nipigon Bay），这里在雷湾（Thunder Bay）以东 50 英里，因为每一次苏必利尔湖的冒险至少需要一次完美的桑拿。我在一个名为“赛普拉斯睡眠桶”（Cypress Sleeper Barrels）的豪华露营绿洲找到了我的桑拿。客人们睡在优雅的、像霍比特人一样在温哥华岛定制的木桶房里。

我的注意力被新月形海滩边缘的一个较小的木桶吸引了——那是木材加热的桑拿房。我在炉子上泼水，等待蒸汽和热量将我包围。

当我感觉自己快要融化时，我跑过沙滩，然后涉水至腰深，潜入那冰冷得令人麻木的水中。

我想不出还有什么比这更完美的方式来全身心地拥抱苏必利尔湖。

卡地亚（Cartier）

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走进荒野

这是一个深受喜爱且总能带来新鲜演绎的故事。卡地亚的动物系列珠宝长期以来一直赞美动物形态，揭示来自荒野世界的美感。从20世纪初的鸟类和昆虫，到1914年标志性豹系列的引入，卡地亚在创作捕捉野生力量的图腾动物作品方面拥有传奇传统。通过精湛的工艺和珠宝艺术，这些生物在身体上栩栩如生，将自然界难以捉摸的优雅凝练成人类创作的杰作。

卡地亚创作了五个诗意的寓言，将其标志性的豹与珠宝作品中的野生动物相结合。随后，每个卡地亚寓言都被转化为一幅手工制作的场景画。请继续阅读，探索其中两个故事，以及赋予这些故事生命的艺术家。

豹与虎

太阳在平原上落下，如此异域风情。瞧，豹子出现了，凶猛而迷人。在巨大的乳木树巢穴的叶片后，她扑向一只气宇轩昂的强壮老虎。“我要去见我的爱人——她很难取悦。我看起来足够优雅——足够自在吗？”她审视着他，评判他的风格：“说实话，让我们增强，或许精炼一下？”她抚摸他的脊背，条纹阵列变成了带有丰富镶嵌的金色衣裳。他伫立在那里，威严、荣幸且优雅。由卡地亚赋予，一种高贵的价值就此确立。

纸上风景

在《豹与虎》中，艺术家安妮·费特（Anne Féat）使用传统的纸艺媒介创作了一幅场景画。经过300多小时的手工制作，《豹与虎》凝练了野生猫科动物在日落时的邂逅。“这两只动物需要以各自的方式与景观建立亲密联系，”费特说，“让风景既能提升它们，又能与它们的思想、情感和个性产生共鸣。”

对于费特来说，纸是一种活的材料，她与之进行对话。“我珍爱的纸张是在一家印度工作室按照古老技术手工制作的，”她解释道。“在工作室里，纸张经过细致的绘制、绘画、贴金，最后用手术刀连续数小时进行精细的刻划，创造出一个时间仿佛静止的空间。这是一种即兴、耐心以及与作品建立亲密联系的艺术。”

这个寓言以老虎被卡地亚的灵兽改变而告终，赋予他大师级珠宝匠的精致。 “我的目标是通过我的作品捕捉并传达这种光芒，”费特说。“珠宝中纯净的线条和众多的宝石启发了我的刻划与切割，让卡地亚的豹与虎栩栩如生。”

环绕之鳞与条纹

卡地亚将水生鳄鱼与林间之虎赋予闪耀的生命，使其在圆环中化身为手镯与戒指。这些令人惊叹的作品介于写实与抽象之间，将精雕细琢的动物头部与柔软流畅的身体完美结合。

鳄鱼头部采用了品牌标志性的白、绿、黑配色，镶嵌着钻石与缟玛瑙，双眼则是闪烁的祖母绿。流畅的表带利用几何形状与图案来唤起这种猛兽柔软的动作，其紧闭的下颚经过巧妙设计，正好衔住尾端。

老虎的头部颠覆了天然色彩，以耀眼的白色和蓝色调来表达，由钻石、蓝宝石和杜莫蒂尔石英打造。其柔软的身体将老虎那令人敬畏的对称美延伸至由金镶嵌蓝宝石和杜莫蒂尔石英组成的可活动链节中。

从灵感设计到在贵金属底座中挑选、镶嵌和抛光每颗宝石的精密技术，珠宝商的所有专业技艺（savoir-faire）共同创造出一件散发着存在感与生命力的作品。“通过设计、材质与执行的相互作用，”卡地亚形象、风格与传承总监皮埃尔·雷内罗（Pierre Rainero）表示，“卡地亚在质疑人们对动物的感知，并为探索形式开启了非凡的可能性。”

很久以前，那些野性且自由的灵魂在自然生物中找到共鸣的人们，将动物选作图腾。直到今天，动物的面孔依然能唤起人们的惊叹、魔力与无尽的着迷。

卡地亚的工匠们长期以来一直追求这些形象的独特魅力，创造了老虎、鹦鹉、鲤鱼、鳄鱼和犀牛等现代标志。雷内罗说：“每一种生物，每一件作品，都揭示了其自身的象征力量，反映了一种态度、一种性格特质或一种心境。”

这些解剖学上精准的头部通过璀璨的珠宝得以升华：鹦鹉采用了红珊瑚和绿色祖母绿石榴石；犀牛采用了橙色锰铝榴石、烟晶和蛋白石；鲤鱼则采用了蓝宝石、海蓝宝石和杜莫蒂尔石英。

每一个动物头部都讲述着一名工匠的工艺故事：从将每颗宝石精心镶嵌进铂金、白金或黄金中的珠宝匠，到利用卡地亚标志性铺镶技术打造老虎皮毛、鳄鱼鳞片或鲤鱼唇边的专家，再到塑造并镶嵌犀牛石英角或鹦鹉珊瑚与缟玛瑙羽冠的宝石切割专家。这些动物伙伴半是装饰，半是灵宠，邀请佩戴者以此表达关于自身的讯息。

野性肖像

豹与斑马

黄昏的萨瓦纳，如此清澈温暖， 卡地亚之豹，窥见条纹身影翩翩。 一只斑马，气喘吁吁，似在苦恼， 为了再一次幽会，他迟到且懊恼。 “噢，我跑得极快——但这是我的劫难： 我的大脑里，完全没有时间观念……” 豹子停下脚步，随后得意地问： “你是否考虑过用一块表，来规划你的行程？” 当她靠近这位新结识的朋友， 钻石、缟玛瑙与生灵交融相守： 豹与斑马，共同化作一件瑰宝。 散发出无法衡量的野性魅力。

玻璃之光

卡地亚的寓言讲述了卡地亚的创意——即“豹”——与一只野生动物之间的邂逅，在本篇故事中，是一只在时间管理上有困难的斑马。玻璃镶嵌大师米里亚姆·休伯特（Myriam Hubert）用一件令人惊叹的镜面、大理石纹和彩色玻璃作品捕捉了这个故事，光线在其中变幻并被引导。休伯特表示：“卡地亚的动物系列启发了我，因为它将动物呈现为真实的个体，充满了存在感和情感。我发现这种对待动物世界的细腻方式与我自己的作品产生了强烈共鸣。”

作为对品牌艺术之门（métiers d'art）工艺、创意和专业知识（savoir-faire）的颂歌，休伯特的作品唤起了卡地亚自身的专业造诣。她说：“对我而言，玻璃镶嵌与珠宝有很多相似之处，因为两者都赞美材料的珍贵品质。就像珠宝一样，每一块玻璃根据角度、光线和观察方式的不同，会呈现出不同的颜色和反射。”

最终的成品耗时约 250 小时手工打造，包括通过可更换的玻璃将画面改编成一部定格动画电影。休伯特说：“玻璃是一种历史悠久的古老材料，但它通过当代工艺和创新不断自我重塑。珠宝的历史则更为悠久，并以同样的方式不断演进。在这两个领域中，每一个细节都由手工耐心地完成，投入到每件作品中的时间是其价值的核心部分。”

卡地亚

永恒的吸引力

在经历了一系列冒险之后，卡地亚之豹是否从此过上了幸福的生活？只要卡地亚熟练的工匠们继续用贵金属和宝石塑造她的模样，她定将永生。这款奖章形状的 Panthère 珠宝腕表诞生于瑞士拉绍德封（La Chaux-de-Fonds）的卡地亚艺术之门（Maison des Métiers d'Art），其灵感源自古老的浮雕艺术。作为时间的守护者，豹子被重新构思为具有图形感和雕塑感的形态，由宝石镶嵌师用缟玛瑙、绿榴石和钻石点缀，并由漆艺师绘制斑点。“直到下次相见，”豹子似乎在这样说着，她被珠宝艺术捕捉，却从未被禁锢。

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...

The New York Times

INTERNATIONAL EDITION | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2026

The cult of Trump is waning

Jamelle Bouie

OPINION

Even for a man, and a movement, defined by bizarre spectacles, President Trump's "midterm convention" in Dallas last week was a bizarre spectacle.

I say President Trump's midterm convention because it wasn't really about the Republican Party. Yes, the president made his appeal to attendees and viewers to think of him when they cast a ballot for the Republican candidate in their state or district. "Please pretend that I'm running and get out

Violence and grief, on repeat

If U.S. voters are as hostile to the president as they appear to be, then last week's so-called convention may have been simply counterproductive.

and vote on Nov. 3 or sooner, because in actuality I really am running," he said during his keynote address on Wednesday night.

But much of the programming was less about the party than it was about the man at its helm. And to say that it was a

lovefest is to understate the extent of the worship. Speakers praised Trump as something like a savior.

In Tyre, Lebanon, clockwise from top: Rida Hijazi al-Dahab in his home, which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in April; Zainab Taleb, who was in a hospital with shrapnel wounds after an attack that killed her father; and residents in the market. During lulls in the fighting, life in the ancient city seems to return to something close to normal.

Trump, declared the chairman of the Republican National Committee, is "the greatest Republican messenger of our lifetime, the leader of America's comeback" and "the best president this country has ever had." Or, as one video put it, "On June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker,' so God gave us Trump."

The basic story told at the convention was a familiar one. The United States was on the verge of total collapse before Trump took over. Under him, there has been a glorious revitalization of the nation's fortunes — a golden age of wealth and prosperity for all. Democrats threaten this paradise, and the only way to protect the success of the past two years is to send Republicans back to Congress with their majorities intact.

As usual, this isn't a collaborative story. It is not that Trump and the Republican Party have worked together to produce a golden age; it's that Trump, in his infinite glory, has bestowed prosperity on the American people. Rejecting Republicans is rejecting him, and rejecting him is akin to BOUIE, PAGE 10

The New York Times publishes opinion from a wide range of perspectives in hopes of promoting constructive debate about consequential questions.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL BEREHULAK/THE NEW YORK TIMES

The ancient Lebanese city of Tyre embodies the rhythms of Israel's war with Hezbollah

TYRE, LEBANON

BY ABDI LATIF DAHIR

The Lebanese city of Tyre is one of the oldest metropolises in the world, its streets layered with the remains of Roman ruins and centuries of Mediterranean history.

The city has also been scarred by modern war.

Since early March, Tyre, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the capital, Beirut, has lived in the shadow of the war between Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group in Lebanon, and Israel. The war began days after the first U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

For more than two months, reporters from The New York Times repeatedly returned to Tyre, as the city and its people endured a seemingly endless cycle of deadly strikes and tenuous cease-fires.

Services, including water and electricity, were frequently interrupted. People slept on the streets and along the beach, convinced that they would be safer in the open air than in their homes.

The city's Christian quarter, largely spared in previous conflicts, was drawn into the fighting. In July, UNESCO added some of the city's archaeological sites to its list of World Heritage sites in danger.

The war, though tempered by a precarious truce that was first signed in mid-April, has broadly devastated Lebanon, killing more than 4,380 people and displacing over a million, with Israel occupying large parts of the country's south and destroying entire villages and neighborhoods. Israel has said that it LEBANON, PAGE 5

A.I. alarm grows, but Washington is slow to act

NEWS ANALYSIS

There is little interest in guardrails, even as insiders warn of risks

BY DAVID E. SANGER AND DUSTIN VOLZ

The mismatch is striking. On one side, warnings of existential risk, maybe a 10 percent chance of the end of civilization. On the other, government paralysis.

The drumbeat about unpredictable, out-of-control artificial intelligence agents increased dramatically in the past several weeks. Washington not only struggled to respond. It barely could agree on whether there was much of anything to worry about.

It started with A.I. agents that not only escaped their confines, but appeared to conspire among themselves to hide their tracks as they hacked into another firm's library of artificial intelligence tools.

Then, in a deliberate echo of Albert Einstein's letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt about the potential power of nuclear weapons, more than 1,300 computer scientists called for the industry to slow down, and for the government to step in.

Last week, Jacob Coxon, an Anthropic engineer who previously worked for OpenAI, resigned in the most public way, declaring on social media that the two leading A.I. labs were professing deep concern while still speeding toward “superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.”

On Saturday, Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, released a 3,800-word essay calling for a global slowdown of A.I. development, echoing more urgently concerns he had raised in the past. Elon Musk, the billionaire rival in the A.I. race who remains close to President Trump, quickly responded on X: "Dario is right." Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, also chimed in with support.

Yet in Washington, there has been almost no substantive response. If the 1940s through the 1980s were consumed by finding ways to reduce the risk of a nuclear exchange — creating new institutions like the Atomic Energy Commission and arms control treaties to govern how the world's most dangerous technology would be handled — the approach of the U.S. government so far has been the lightest possible.

There are many computer scientists, of course, who believe these warnings are overinflated. Mr. Trump himself has been at the forefront of the “what-meworry?” crowd, refusing to engage on how to balance the risks with the possible rewards.

Last Thursday, asked by a reporter about whether he had "any concerns A.I., PAGE 8

French theme park where culture war is fought

WILLIAM DANIELS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Cinéscénie, a performance at the Puy du Fou theme park in western France. Rather than rides, it has immersive sets and shows, mostly about French history.

FRANCE DISPATCH LES EPESSES, FRANCE

Puy du Fou is accused of peddling ‘far-right propaganda’ as history

BY CATHERINE PORTER AND GIULIA IMBERT

In a historical theme park set among the wheat fields of rural western France, Viking boats and pianos emerge from ponds, and knights ride on horseback. Now France's most popular theme park after Disneyland's sites near Paris, it has opened an outpost in Spain and aims to build one in England soon.

Andorra € 5.00 Britain £ 3.70 Austria € 4.80 Cyprus € 3.40 Belgium € 4.80 Czech Rep CZK 130

But many in France hate the park, called the Puy du Fou.

Critics have called it a peddler of "farright propaganda," an accusation that has gained in resonance as ultraconservatives edge closer to power for the first time since World War II. The critics accuse it of weaponizing history to pop-

NEWSSTAND PRICES

He recently wrote that the park is part of a larger “cultural battle” for the country’s soul, and that “cultural victories precede political victories.” But his son Nicolas, who has run the park since 2012, said his only ambition is “to create shows that make people love France,” adding, “For me, that is my only cultural battle.”

The park is four hours southwest of Paris by car. With thousands of trees, growing amid man-made rivers and ponds, the Puy du Fou feels more like a national park than an amusement park. There are no carnival rides and few vendors. Instead, dirt paths lead visitors to immersive sets as well as performances, mostly about French history, that unfold in large outdoor arenas and indoor theaters, and usually last around half an hour.

FRANCE, PAGE 2

ularize the values of its founder, Philippe de Villiers, a former lawmaker who supports far-right politicians and has long campaigned against the European Union, Islam, gay marriage and immigration.

France € 4.80 Israel NIS 18.00 / Israel / Eilat NIS 15.25 / Germany € 5.00 Friday 36.00 Friday 30.51 Greece € 3.40

Italy € 4.80 Luxembourg € 5.00 Morocco MAD 35

Portugal € 4.80 Spain € 4.80 Switzerland CHF 6.50

The Netherlands € 4.80 Tunisia Din 8.00 Turkey TL 190

U.A.E. AED 18.00 US Military (Europe) \$ 2.50

Issue Number No. 44,632

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At the Puy du Fou in France, from left: Nicolas de Villiers, center, the park's president, speaking to technicians; actors portraying Romans; guests viewing a portrait of Joan of Arc. Nicolas de Villiers said his ambition is "to create shows that make people love France."

French theme park where culture war is fought

FRANCE, FROM PAGE 1

Above, visitors watching Puy du Fou's Viking show and, right, relaxing in front of reproductions of World War I propaganda posters. One critic said the park presents an “eternal France” that is under attack, an echo of the anti-immigration views of its founder, Philippe de Villiers. One guest said the park’s critics only “hate it because it’s French.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILLIAM DANIELS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The draw, for most, is not just the mythic French stories, but the spectacular special effects and the animals.

In a show about the Romans, chariot-eers race teams of festooned horses around an Egyptian obelisk that later splits into a giant galley boat. In another show, more than 300 live birds, including vultures and bald eagles, wheel over spectators' heads.

"The mechanical engineering is incredible," said Arido Agrifoglio, 69, a retired doctor from Switzerland, lining up with his wife, Sylvie, for their ninth show of the day. The night before they'd watched a performance in which dancers, a pianist and a piano rose out of a pond.

"I often wonder, 'How did they do that?' Mr. Agrifoglio said.

Before the 250-acre (100-hectare) park existed, Philippe de Villiers launched a single show in 1978 beside a ruined castle called Puy du Fou, which he has said is Old French and Latin for "hill of beech trees."

Then a student at the country's elite university for civil servants, Philippe de Villiers wrote the script for a performance about the region's bloody experience during the French Revolution, when locals took up arms against the

"It's the erasure of the French Revolution and the praise of Christianity. That right there is the Puy du Fou recipe."

new government and were massacred. Since Philippe de Villiers couldn't afford to pay actors or stagehands, community members volunteered. The show, called the Cinéscénie, has since expanded, and is still run by thousands of volunteers in summer.

Philippe de Villiers went on to become the country's secretary of state for culture, and an elected lawmaker. In 1989, after a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., he saw the business potential. He created a new park next to the Cinéscénie, staffed by professionals. He set about writing the scripts for new shows that would offer the country what he called its "founding narrative."

"We must give the French back their past," he wrote in his 2025 book "Populicide," which said immigration was causing civilizational collapse in France, where the book was a best seller.

Today, the park has around 3,000 workers staffing around 20 shows, five history-themed hotels and 26 restaurants. The company earned roughly \$350 million in 2025 with a record-breaking three million visitors, Nicolas de Villiers said. In 2021, he opened a park in Toledo, Spain, that focuses on Spanish history, and in 2025, he applied to open a British version near Oxford. (Projects planned in Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the United States never came to fruition.)

With its mounting success, the park has come under intense criticism from left-wing politicians and historians, who have for years pointed out inaccuracies in its shows, and accused it of warping history for political reasons. That criticism was amplified in 2022, when four historians published a scathing book called “Le Puy du Faux,” or The Puy of Falsehood, that calls the park “ideological,” where visitors will “learn nothing.”

"It's the erasure of the French Revolution and the praise of Christianity. That right there is the Puy du Fou recipe," said Florian Besson, one of the authors and a medieval historian.

Many of the shows center on Catholicism. The marauding Vikings set on attacking a Christian village are stopped by a ghostly saint and swiftly converted. The Romans are portrayed as cruel pagan overlords who — until they, too, converted — persecuted the Christian Gauls.

"It's a complete reversal of history: Christianity came to Gaul from Rome, yet there it is presented exactly the opposite way," said Pauline Ducret, a historian and co-author of the book.

The park presents an “eternal France” that is under attack, Ms. Ducret said, if not by Vikings, then by a revolutionary army or Germans — an echo of Mr. de Villiers’s anti-immigration views.

Then there are the choices of which parts of French history to present. There is nothing, critics point out, that touches on France's darkest moments: slavery, colonialism, or Vichy — the government during World War II that collaborated with the Nazis.

Philippe de Villiers did not respond to interview requests. But his son Nicolas, 46, spoke to us twice, once in a room above a restaurant in the park where waiters sing French folk songs. He said that prescribing political aims to the park was “ridiculous.”

"Are Vikings right wing or left wing? Were Romans right wing or left wing?" he said. "That question is completely out of step with the shows we present."

But he does see the park as helping to build the country's collective memory. "If we want as a people in France to have a common destiny," he said, "we need common memories." And he made no apologies for omitting certain historical chapters.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"We always prefer glory against shame," he said.

Nicolas de Villiers said he believed the recent deluge of criticism about the park was motivated by jealousy, particularly from the left-wing elite that he said controls the theater scene in Paris.

François Ruffin, a left-wing presidential candidate, offered another theory. The scrutiny, Mr. Ruffin said, rose with the fortunes of the far-right National Rally party, whose leader, Marine Le Pen, has a strong chance of winning the presidency next year.

When Philippe de Villiers built Puy du Fou, it was “a pocket of resistance, keeping the flame of neoconservatism alive,” Mr. Ruffin said in an interview. “Today they have become dominant, the majority, and potentially poised to take power next year,” Mr. Ruffin added.

The Puy du Fou is just one part of a mounting right-wing cultural constellation, he said, driven by the French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, whose holdings include publishers, film companies and a right-wing television channel, CNews, on which Philippe de Villiers has a Friday night show.

That constellation is now winning France's "culture war," said Mr. Ruffin.

He has called for the creation of a left-wing Puy du Fou that would mount shows about the French Revolution, and about the French resistance during World War II.

On a recent sweltering day, families raced from one show to the next.

Some said they liked the park's historical message. Critics only "hate it because it's French," said Laurent Smirnow, 53, a security guard.

But many said they had come for the entertainment, not the history lessons or the politics.

Valérie Billet, 57, took a break under a tree with her in-laws and adult children.

Her sister refused to come to the park because of Mr. de Villiers's politics, she said.

"When I come here, I detach the park from the man who created it," said Ms. Billet, an English teacher. Sitting nearby, her daughter Nolwenn, 28, muttered under her breath that the park's biases were hard to ignore. "It's something you can definitely feel," the daughter said.

Still, she'd been back with her family four times.

He survived Hiroshima bombing to become a baseball star

JUI PRESS, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
Isao Harimoto in 1980. He earned the nickname "Hit Machine" for collecting a record 3,085 of them in a long career that stretched from the late 1950s to the early '80s.

ISAO HARIMOTO 1940-2026

BY VICTOR MATHER

Isao Harimoto, who survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing as a child and went on to have more hits than anyone else in the history of Japanese baseball, died on Wednesday in Tokyo. He was 86.

His death, in a hospital, was announced by the Meikyukai, or the Golden Players Club, one of Japan's baseball halls of fame. No cause was given.

Harimoto earned the nickname “Hit Machine” for collecting a record 3,085 of them in a long career that stretched from the late 1950s to the early ’80s. He won seven league batting titles.

He was the only player to collect 3,000 hits in Japan. (Ichiro Suzuki had 4,367, but more than 3,000 came after he moved to the American major leagues.)

But Harimoto was far from a slap hit-ter; 504 of those hits were home runs, putting him seventh on the all-time list for Japan. He also stole 319 bases, won an M.V.P. award and was an 18-time All Star.

After his time as a player, he became an outspoken commentator on the game.

Isao Harimoto was born on June 19, 1940, in Hiroshima, Japan, to Korean parents who had emigrated the year before. His Korean name was Jang Hun.

His mother, Pak Sun Bun, was a cook and his father, Jang Sang Jeong, sold scrap metal and various secondhand items from a cart.

Isao was 5 when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city, not far from where he lived.

"There was a flash and an enormous roar," he told The Chugoku Shimbun newspaper in 2011. "The next thing I knew, my mother was shielding me and my sister, three years older, with her body, though her back was covered in blood due to flying shards of glass."

The event was not frequently discussed in his home.

"My mother wanted to forget; I think she wanted to completely erase her memories of that day," he told The Mainichi, a Japanese English-language newspaper, in 2020.

He lost a sister, Jang Jeom Ja, in the bombing, and his mother burned all the photographs of her, he said. He himself did not discuss the cataclysm publicly until well after his baseball career.

He was proud of his Korean heritage despite being bullied for it as a child and facing prejudice during his career.

"A lot of ethnic Koreans in Japan assimilate into Japanese society," Robert Whiting, the author of "You Gotta Have Wa" (1989), the definitive book in English about Japanese baseball, said in an interview. "Harimoto did not. He talked about the fact that his mother never spoke Japanese in the house, and he was very proud of that fact."

Harimoto was also critical of other athletes in Japan with Korean backgrounds who hid their ethnicity. Only late in life did he become a Japanese citizen.

He burned his right hand in an accident as a young child, an event that contributed to his becoming a left-handed hitter when he took up baseball in fifth grade. Despite his talent, he lost a few chances at places on top high school teams because of a reputation as a troublemaker, deserved or not.

In 1958, he visited South Korea for the first time with a team of Korean-Japanese high school students. He met his grandparents and, he later said, truly connected with his Korean roots for the first time.

His rigorous, disciplined approach to batting, and an ability to consistently hit up the middle, soon brought him to the top leagues. In 1959, playing with the Tokyo-based Toei Flyers, he hit .275, good enough to be named rookie of the year. He got much better over the next two seasons, hitting .302, and then .336. He played left field, and fielding was not his strong suit, but as a hitter, he performed strongly and consistently for two decades.

Many of the teams he played on were not among the elite in the Japan leagues. He was part of a Japan Series-winning team only once, in 1962, when his Flyers beat the Hanshin Tigers in seven games. That was also the year he was named the Pacific League's most valuable player. (The Flyers adopted their current name, the Nippon Ham Fighters, during his time with the team.)

Harimoto's most spectacular season was 1970, when he hit .383 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI, all career highs.

He was a large player by the Japan leagues' standards at the time, listed at 5-foot-11 (180 centimeters) and 187 pounds (85 kilograms). And he was not afraid of players, American or Japanese, who were bigger still.

"If there was a brawl on the field, he was always in the middle of it," Whiting said. "He was a scary guy; no one wanted to fight him. He wasn't afraid to show his temper and challenge people on the field."

Despite Harimoto's batting success, he never could shake a reputation in Japan for being a bit of a bad boy. He enjoyed a drink and was involved in a few fights.

He moved on to the Yomiuri Giants in 1976 and the Lotte Orions in 1980. He retired after the 1981 season at 41.

After his playing days were over, Harimoto became a commentator on the game with a reputation for saying what he thought.

"He didn't seem to have a filter," Whiting said. "He was very protective of the Japanese game and critical of players who went to the States to play, thinking they should be loyal to the Japan leagues."

Harimoto worked for the Korea Baseball Organization and helped establish that country's national league in 1982, though he later split with the group over slights he believed he had received.

Speaking out against nuclear weapons was also a big part of his later life.

“Which is more important: protecting human lives or holding on to nuclear weapons?” he asked in The Chugoku Shimbun in 2011. “These two things are poles apart. It’s inhuman to permit the existence of weapons that can annihilate people in an instant, when they’re just trying their best to live.”

REACH FOR THE CROWN

THE GMT-MASTER II

ROLEX

ZUNAIRA SAIFED

An Irish factory and Russian arms

Aughinish Alumina, above, in the west of Ireland, is Europe's largest alumina refinery. Kirsty Griffin, below left, who lives near the factory, has expressed concern about the "mud pools" of bauxite residue. Michael Keane, below right, another local resident, acknowledged that the construction of the plant had brought jobs and opportunities to the area.

AUGHINISH, IRELAND

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAULO NUNES DOS SANTOS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Alumina refined in plant may end up in weapons used in the Ukraine war

BY MEGAN SPECIA AND JEANNA SMIALEK

The industrial plant rises over a flat stretch of the Shannon estuary in County Limerick, Ireland, a harsh silhouette against an otherwise picturesque landscape. Tall chimneys jut skyward, puffing plumes of white smoke.

Much of the ground is stained a rusty red, the residue of bauxite ore that is refined into alumina here before being shipped off to be smelted into aluminum.

The Aughinish Alumina plant, currently owned by the Russian company Rusal, has stood here for more than four decades and employs hundreds of local people. It is Europe's largest alumina refinery. But it has come under scrutiny after The Irish Times and an investigative consortium reported that a large quantity of the alumina processed here was being shipped to Russian smelters, which sell finished aluminum to a company that supplies Russian weapons manufacturers.

The findings ignited a heated debate in Europe, casting this small place on Ireland's west coast into the center of a dispute over how member states could avoid feeding Russia's war in Ukraine. Some European lawmakers questioned whether the alumina produced here should be sold to Russia at all, even if that would come at a cost to local industry and to the European supply chain of an essential raw material.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Ireland said in June that it had “serious concern regarding the continued export of alumina from Ireland to the Russian Federation.” And President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a veiled reference to the plant during a visit to Dublin the following month, saying “raw material that ends in Russia is used against us” and should be halted.

In Ireland, a country with a tradition of military neutrality, the accusations struck a nerve. Kirsty Griffin lives on a hillside overlooking the plant, and its chimneys are visible from her upstairs windows.

"We are a neutral nation, so it's a bone of contention," she said. She added that there were other issues with the plant, saying locals didn't know how big it would become when it was first proposed and had raised concerns in recent years about the bauxite residue pools.

"It did bring a lot of jobs, but we are trying to mind this place, and we have all this just over the hill," she said, gesturing to the landscape. "If the Russians have to leave there in the morning, what happens to the mud pools?"

For others, the sudden focus on the plant's links to Russia has felt like an unwelcome spotlight on their quiet corner of the country.

Michael Keane, who owns an organic dairy farm nearby, was hesitant to discuss the situation, he said, partly because the site had been a boon to the local economy and created employment. He recalled how, in the decades before the plant's arrival, there had been few opportunities for work and many locals had emigrated. Then construction began.

"It was like a gold rush — they came from everywhere, all over Ireland and around the world, as well," Mr. Keane said of the workers taking part in the construction.

The alumina plant was built by Alcan, a Canadian mining company, and was sold in 1999 to a Swiss company that merged with Rusal in 2007, placing the plant under Russian ownership.

Raw bauxite from mines in Brazil and Guinea is brought here for processing into a fine white powder. Just over half of the finished alumina is then shipped to Russia, and the rest to smelters across Europe. The plant also operates a power station that exports surplus electricity to the national grid, and it employs 475 people and an additional 400 contractors.

Rusal is one of the world's largest aluminum companies, founded by the oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The United States, Britain and the European Union imposed sanctions on him for his close ties to the Kremlin. Mr. Deripaska officially resigned as the company's director in 2018 but owns 45 percent of En+, the majority shareholder of Rusal. After lobbying by Ireland and other European nations, U.S. sanctions against Rusal and other companies linked to Mr. Deripaska were lifted in 2019.

After The Irish Times published its report in March, the Irish government conducted a formal investigation, which it has shared with E.U. officials and has briefed Ukraine on, but has not made public. Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, said on a visit to Kyiv that the government “has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer in Russia.”

But he added, "That said, neither has it found definitive evidence that alumina may not be going to weapons manufacturers."

In a rural area, the factory has been a boon to the local economy, employing 475 people and 400 contractors.

In a statement, Aughinish Alumina said it took the accusations “with the utmost seriousness” and had cooperated fully with the government’s investigation. It said that the plant and its parent company “have developed a framework to provide further enhanced traceability of Aughinish’s alumina” that would provide “verifiable evidence” that its alumina had no link to Russia’s military.

Some 52 percent of Aughinish alumina goes to Russia and 34 percent to

France, Sweden and the Netherlands combined, according to The Financial Times. Potential trade restrictions on the plant could prove consequential for Ireland and Europe. Aughinish supplies two of Western Europe's largest aluminum smelters, which get the majority of their raw material from the Irish plant.

Ricardo Cardoso, an E.U. spokesman, said that the European Commission, the executive arm of the bloc, was reviewing the Irish government's report.

Niall Collins, an Irish lawmaker who represents Limerick, said he felt confident that the government report would ease concerns about the plant. If Europe decided to take measures to curtail operations, he said, he was afraid the damage would be felt locally and across the continent.

"It's not going to close down Russia," he said. "It would close down Limerick, and it would deny Europe its alumina supply."

Many in Europe, however, have argued that action should be taken. Pina Picierno, an Italian politician and vice president of the European Parliament, wrote in May to the European Commission, "It is unacceptable that, while the E.U. funds Ukraine's defense, a Russian-owned company operates undisturbed within a member state, supplying the Kremlin's military industry."

The European Union did not include alumina in its most recently passed sanctions package, though some nations could push for its inclusion in the future, analysts said. Yet, obstacles could prevent that — most notably, the effects on Europe's own supply chains.

"The biggest obstacle isn't any misplaced political sympathy for Russia; it's European industrial policy," said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the consultancy Eurasia Group.

Mr. Rahman noted that Europe had been pushing to cut dependencies on other nations and that disrupting its largest alumina refinery could leave the continent more dependent on trading partners.

Megan Specia reported from Aughinish, Ireland, and Jeanna Smialek from Brussels.

Making rain to combat wildfire haze in Malaysia

KUCHING, MALAYSIA

BY ZUNAIRA SAIEED

As the smoke started wafting into her corner of Malaysian Borneo from Indonesia, Elaine Sim started wearing a face mask outdoors. Then she bought four air purifiers for her home. Finally, she tried to seal her windows with tape.

Wildfires have been raging across Indonesia for weeks and have raised fears of a regional health crisis as the toxic haze has spread into neighboring countries. Outside Indonesia, perhaps the worst-affected area is the Malaysian state of Sarawak, where Ms. Sim lives in the capital, Kuching.

"The haze is everywhere, like in a horror movie," she said. "When you walk in hotels and restaurants in Kuching, you can see the haze inside, too."

The Air Quality Index in Kuching recently reached 457, according to monitoring company IQAir, a hazardous level that forced the authorities to ask people to limit outdoor activities. They also declared a state of emergency for the town of Serian, near the Indonesian border.

This month, the Malaysian government has spent the equivalent of more than \$100,000 on cloud seeding in an effort to make it rain in parts of Sarawak and improve the air quality.

On Sept. 6, The New York Times gained rare access to one of these missions, aboard a Royal Malaysian Air Force transport plane that took off from an air force base in Kuching. Our destination was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the city, areas near the Indonesian border.

The payload of the Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules turboprop was four large stainless steel tanks. Each tank, holding a mixture of 1,200 liters (317 gallons) of water and 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of salt, was strapped to the center of the plane.

Saltwater helps water droplets in the cloud merge and expand until they become heavy enough to fall as raindrops. But meteorologists are divided over the effectiveness of cloud seeding because it is difficult to prove that it would not have rained anyway without the seeding.

The officials on board — a crew of seven air force officers, four weather experts and two disaster management officials — were on the hunt for the perfect cloud. They were looking for clouds about four miles tall and about five miles

Spraying a saltwater solution from a plane during a cloud-seeding operation in Sarawak State, Malaysia, where the air quality has reached hazardous levels.

South African music stars caught in migration backlash

A protest against undocumented foreigners in Spring, South Africa, in June. Artists and fans are beginning to speak out against the anti-immigrant fervor in South Africa.

JOHANNESBURG

BY ZIMASA MATIWANE

The South African singer Tyla canceled a performance in Nigeria after protests. The amapiano star Musa Keys, also South African, was removed from a festival lineup in Zimbabwe. And Salif Keïta, a revered musician from Mali, canceled a show in South Africa over what he called “xenophobic violence.”

As anti-immigrant fervor swells across South Africa, artists and fans are beginning to speak out, demanding that the country address the wave of threats and violence that has caused thousands of people to flee the continent's largest economy.

African heads of state have condemned South Africa and called on the African Union to hold the country accountable. Nigeria is demanding that South Africa compensate citizens who fled their homes and were repatriated. South Africa recently lost an important continentwide leadership role dealing with telecommunications, and some say it was because of the country's damaged diplomatic standing.

And now the country's musicians and entertainers are facing backlash, too.

"It's about coming together as a people and saying, 'No, we have a voice, and that voice matters,' said Solomon Buchi, a Nigerian writer and commentator who was among those who took to social media to protest the Tyla concert in Lagos.

Gayton McKenzie, the South African government minister overseeing arts and culture, rejected the idea that South Africans were xenophobic and that the country's artists should be blamed. The South African government says it targets illegal immigration and is focused on protecting the country's borders.

"Enforcing immigration law is not xenophobia," said Mr. McKenzie, who campaigned largely on an anti-immigration platform and who helped popularize the slogan “Abahambe” (meaning “let them go” in Zulu), which is chanted at many anti-immigrant protests.

The anti-immigrant sentiment that has swept across South Africa includes vigilante groups raiding immigrant communities and taking it upon themselves to kick them out of the country.

The violence and heated rhetoric have made many foreigners leave South Africa. At least 86,000 foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated from mid-June to late August, according to the South African government.

Mr. Keïta, the Malian artist, said in a Facebook post that he could not “ignore the reports of xenophobic violence against our African brothers and sisters.” His manager, Carolina Vallejo, confirmed his decision.

Mr. Keïta, 77, has been a mainstay of South African jazz and cultural festivals. His ties to South Africa stretch back decades, including a performance at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1988, an event linked to the international anti-apartheid movement.

He stressed that his decision not to perform in South Africa was not a rejection of South Africans. "To be clear — I am not closing the door on South Africa,"

he wrote. "I am closing the door on violence."

Tyla, a Grammy Award winner, has built a significant following in Nigeria and has worked with some of the country's biggest stars, including Ayra Starr, Tems and Wizkid. But Nigerians criticized her scheduled appearance in Lagos, accusing her of staying silent instead of using her platform to condemn the anti-immigrant attacks.

Tyla has not publicly commented on why her Lagos concert was canceled, and her representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Blessing Jake spent months organizing a music festival in Zimbabwe when, in July, he began seeing social media posts with people threatening to boycott the event if South African artists were not removed from the lineup.

The Buddie Beats Concert was scheduled to take place at Victoria Falls, and Mr. Jake had worked for months to secure the concert's biggest acts, including Mafikizolo, a South African band.

In the end, Mr. Jake removed Mafikizolo from the bill. He said he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result. Mr. Jake said he hoped the negative climate around South African artists could be resolved quickly.

"Business-wise," he said, "xenophobia is very expensive."

wide, said Mohammad Redzuan Abdul Moin, a cloud-seeding expert from Malaysia's Meteorological Department, who was on the plane. These parameters, he said, were vital for the salt particles to travel within the cloud and help form raindrops.

The aircraft flew at about 7,500 feet (2,300 meters), well below the cruising altitude for commercial airliners.

Low visibility made it hard for them to spot a suitable cloud for seeding.

But an hour later, they identified a fluffy white cloud that evoked the head of a cauliflower.

The crew lowered the plane's ramp, opened the valve of the tanks and started spraying the saltwater solution into the cloud. We spent about half an hour circling within the lower portion of the cloud. Then the crew repeated the process with another cloud.

By the time we were back on the ground, it appeared that the four-hour mission had been successful, near the Batang Ai dam about 10 miles from the Indonesian border.

"There was light rain for a few hours at the dam," said Jonny Wong Kwie Ji, an official at Sarawak Energy, the utility that runs the dams in the state.

But it was far from a permanent cure for the haze.

“Even when it rains after cloud seeding, that clears the air for a while,” said Stellios Plainiotis, who has studied long-range air pollution and is based in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. A lasting solution requires controlling the fires in Indonesian Borneo, he added.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL BEREHULAK/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Clockwise from above left: Mariam, 3, the daughter of a photojournalist and paramedic, Ahmad Hariri, attending his funeral in Tyre, Lebanon, in May; Zakia al-Or, 87, in a shelter for internally displaced people in the city of Sidon in May; and fishermen in the Tyre port.

Inside a Lebanese city brutalized by conflict

LEBANON, FROM PAGE 1

wants to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure and prevent further attacks on Israeli communities near the Lebanese border.

For Rida Hijazi al-Dahab, the fighting in Tyre has exacted a devastating toll on his home, his business and nearly everything he owns. Minutes before the first cease-fire was set to go into effect, Israeli airstrikes flattened buildings in the residential block where his coffee shop was located. Israel said shortly afterward, without offering evidence, that its strikes over the previous 24 hours had targeted Hezbollah sites and personnel.

Mr. al-Dahab said he had been standing inside the cafe when the strikes hurled him against a wall and knocked him unconscious. He woke up to find that people were pulling him out of the debris from the building, which his grandfather had built decades ago.

"What did we do wrong to deserve this?" he asked in an interview in May.

On a recent evening, as the sun cast a golden glow over Tyre's Mediterranean waterfront, water dripped from the cracked concrete where Mr. al-Dahab's cafe once stood. Power lines hung low overhead and dust clung to the shattered walls as he looked over the scene of destruction. He said he had invested thousands of dollars into the business, money now lost.

"The candle of life has been switched off from this neighborhood," Mr. al-Dahab said.

His neighborhood was not the only place that was shadowed by grief.

Across Tyre, death became part of the city's daily rhythm. For weeks, the city was full of funerals, sometimes several in a single day.

For Lebanese Civil Defense emergency workers, who were hunkered down across the city and surrounding region, the toll was especially acute. Some were killed in so-called double-tap strikes, hit by the Israeli military as they rushed to treat or evacuate those killed or wounded from an initial strike, according to Lebanese health officials and human rights groups.

In many of those cases, Israel has said that its strikes were aimed at militants, without providing evidence. In some instances, it has said it is investigating the attacks.

More than 130 medical workers have been killed since the war began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

In Tyre, their funerals became scenes of collective mourning, with relatives leaning over coffins, scattering flowers and sharing memories of those they lost, sometimes as Israeli warplanes and drones roared overhead.

One of them was Hussein al-Sati, who was killed in April while he and his team responded to the scene of an Israeli strike. At his funeral, his 4-year-old daughter, Tala, praised her father for his bravery and called him a "hero."

As the wailing grew louder and mourners crowded around the coffins, she broke down. Turning to her mother and relatives, she begged to return to Beirut.

"Let's leave," she cried.

As suddenly as the violence came, it would subside, and the city would find ways to slowly stitch itself back together.

Restaurants and cafes were always the first to reopen. They served shawarmas as people looked out over the calm seafront, trying — if only for an afternoon — to pretend the war had paused. Fishermen returned to mend their boats and prepare for the next catch. Clothing stores reopened. Families came back, carrying little more than the bags they had fled with.

Vegetable markets reopened, too, their stalls still sparse. Traders like Bassam Nuwayri, 50, said they often had little to sell because farming across southern Lebanon had been devastated.

"We will always return here," he said on a recent afternoon. "We have to remain steadfast on our land."

As suddenly as the violence came, it would subside, and the city would find ways to slowly stitch itself back together.

Not everyone could return. For many displaced residents, Tyre has become a place remembered rather than one to which they can return.

Zakia al-Or, 87, fled Tyre at the onset of the war in March. She is now staying with several family members in an old courthouse-turned-shelter in Sidon, a coastal city further north.

She spoke about following the man she loved to Tyre and raising her children there. She stayed even after her children left for other parts of Lebanon and moved abroad.

Much of that life is gone. Her home was hit in the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel, she said, and then struck and damaged again in the most recent conflict. Ms. al-Or described the emotional pain of losing pieces of her life over and over, and how, in old age, she had hoped for just a few peaceful years.

She said she was ready to go anywhere — Beirut, Canada, the United States. “The wars and the desperation never end,” she said. “This whole country is sad.”

That sadness is perhaps most visible in Tyre's hospitals, where every strike has brought yet another patient, another family, another emergency.

For months, medical workers carried as their own facilities came under attack. Inside, there was the child, wailing in pain from the shrapnel wounds that covered her body. The farmworker, who had lost both of her legs, her husband and several other family members in Israeli strikes. The nurses and doctors, sitting stunned amid shattered wards and offices, trying to make sense of what was left.

For now, the rhythm of life is back in Tyre. It began to come back slowly, gingerly, after another fragile truce between Hezbollah and Israel was reached in June.

Along the shore, the Mediterranean rolls against the city. Some families have been reclaiming the pleasures of summer, gathering under colorful umbrellas, sharing meals and playing volleyball by the water. In the center of town, traders are slowly returning, rebuilding and repairing.

Shelling in the city's outskirts — and across southern Lebanon — is still rattling the ground as drones hum overhead.

For residents like Mr. al-Dahab, the coffee shop owner, a semblance of ordinary life means reckoning with what happened while trying to find a way through the uncertainty ahead.

"I lost everything," he said. But, he added, "It's also a miracle that I am still alive."

Sarah Chaayto and Hwaida Saad contributed reporting.

Options for oil exporters dwindle

LONDON

to President Trump and his team. They're "stuck," he said.

Tankers are running out of shipping routes amid fresh Middle East attacks

BY LISA FRIEDMAN, JENNY GROSS AND REBECCA F. ELLIOTT

The world's most valuable energy corridors are pinching shut.

Last week, Houthi militants backed by Iran expanded their control of the Red Sea, threatening a critical route for Persian Gulf crude. That left the region with few alternatives, since shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — once the world's primary oil transit point — remains significantly constrained and far below what it was before the war.

And oil exports from Saudi Arabia, long the most important producer in the Middle East, plunged last month to their lowest point in at least 13 years.

The U.S. Navy has been able to keep oil flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz on sea paths close to the coast of Oman, the opposite side from Iran. But that has required an extensive and dangerous operation.

For shipping companies, the once routine operation of navigating the strait has become a high-risk endeavor. At least 23 ships were hit in the waterway near Oman in July and August. Since the war began at the end of February, at least 22 sailors have been killed in the Middle East.

"These waters aren't safe," said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, an analyst at Windward, a maritime intelligence company.

The war in Iran, in its seventh month, appears to be spinning out of control, analysts said. With no diplomatic end in sight, the Middle East, the epicenter of energy production, is facing its most severe supply crisis in decades.

The Trump administration “has been using a variety of tools very effectively to keep the oil price and the gasoline price at bay,” said Amos Hochstein, who served as a foreign affairs and energy adviser in the Biden administration. But now, he said, fewer options are available

The economic consequences are piling up. Oil prices on Friday briefly topped \$108 per barrel after escalating attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi militia. That is roughly 50 percent above prewar levels. Average U.S. gasoline prices have climbed above \$4 a gallon — over \$1 more than they were a year ago. Also on Friday, the average cost of diesel, a staple fuel for trucking, farming and industry, topped \$6 a gallon in the United States.

Mr. Trump said last week that he believed that the war in Iran would not end until after the U.S. midterm elections in November, but claimed that gas prices would come “tumbling down” after the voting. In truth, analysts said, the Trump administration has few options left for ending the war or lowering energy prices. Last month, administration officials imposed tight new economic sanctions on Tehran in the hope the move would topple the regime, but it has not.

"This new development gives the Houthis important leverage with Saudi Arabia, their staunch enemy."

"They could bomb, or they could talk," said Gregory Brew, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a research firm.

Iran has demanded, among other things, the end of a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and the release of frozen assets overseas. Iran has also continually claimed it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz.

"There may be a clear way out, which would be surrender to Iran," said Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as a special representative for Iran and Venezuela during the first Trump administration. But, he added, "The question to the president would be: Are you willing to grant that to get past the election?"

On Friday, Houthi rebel groups gained control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha in Yemen, pushing out forces allied with the Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. Just days earlier, the Houthis injured 73 civilians and hit energy facilities in the southern part of Saudi Arabia.

Fawaz A. Gerges, a London School of Economics professor focusing on the Middle East, called the Houthi control of Mokha “a game changer” for the militant group as well as for Iran.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said on Friday that its East-West Pipeline, the conduit it had been using instead of the Strait of Hormuz, had been “targeted multiple times” by attacks the day before and had been shut down as a “precautionary measure.”

KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS

After the first U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran restricted access though the Strait of Hormuz. That turned the Bab al-Mandab Strait, at the south entry to the Red Sea, into a backup route for Middle East oil. Now the Houthis have a stranglehold there.

"This new development gives the Houthis important leverage with Saudi Arabia, their staunch enemy, and also the global trade system," Mr. Gerges said. He added, "As a result, Iran is in a stronger position now to increase the pain to the U.S. economy and the world."

In one week this month, only two Saudi Arabian cargoes passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait out of the Red Sea, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm.

Saudi Arabia has another Red Sea option to export oil — sending it north through a pipeline near the Suez Canal. But that route through the Mediterranean is costlier and adds weeks to the voyage to Asia, where most of the kingdom's customers are.

Ms. Wiese Bockmann, the analyst at Windward, calculated that crude oil exports from Gulf countries, aside from Iran, in August was about two-thirds of what it was before the war.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is a small fraction of the 130 or so vessels a day before the war, according to ship-tracking companies. An average of 19 ships per day have transited the strait in September, down from a high of 34 in June, when a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran was briefly in place.

Coffee farmers spreading fermented coffee cherries on drying beds in Haraz, Yemen, in 2025. The port city of Mokha rose to prominence through the Yemeni coffee trade.

The coffee port coveted in Yemen's war

Lisa Friedman and Jenny Gross reported from London, and Rebecca F. Elliott from New York. Shirin Hakim contributed reporting from New York.

BY JONATHAN WOLFE

Long before it was captured by Houthi forces last week in Yemen's civil war, the centuries-old Red Sea port of Mokha was famed as one of the original gateways of the global coffee trade.

At its height, from the 16th to 18th centuries, the city was a wealthy hub of merchants and coffee houses in a region that oversaw a monopoly on the world's coffee bean supply for more than a hundred years. That legacy stretches into modern coffee culture, with the city giving its name to coffee beans, specialty products and the mocha, a chocolate and espresso drink.

Some of the traits that allowed Mokha to dominate the coffee trade centuries ago have also made it a strategic — and coveted — prize in the current conflict in Yemen between the Iran-backed Houthi militia and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government.

"Geography matters," said Alan Mikhail, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Yale University in Connecticut. Mokha's proximity to the Bab el-Mandab Strait, a narrow waterway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the city that links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, has for centuries given it leverage over one of the world's most important trade corridors, he said.

RISE OF A COFFEE CAPITAL

The Ottoman Turks occupied Yemen in the late 1530s, and transformed Mokha from a small fishing village into a coffee superpower.

Coffee already had a foothold in the region. About a century earlier, scholars believe, people there were the first to consume a drink that modern coffee drinkers would recognize. The practice may have started with Arab Sufi monks, who drank the stimulating beverage to stay awake for midnight prayers. By the mid-1500s, coffee drinking had become widespread in the area, which saw a number of other coffee firsts.

“Yemen is the home not only of the social habit of drinking coffee as the beverage that we know today, it’s also the home of large-scale coffee cultivation and really the first purveyor of coffee to the world,” said Nancy Um, the author of “The Merchant Houses of Mocha,” about the city’s trade history.

In Yemen, the Turks began cultivating coffee on a commercial scale in the highlands around Mokha and exported it throughout their empire.

They also established a monopoly, banning coffee beans from leaving Yemen unless they were first boiled or roasted to prevent germination, wrote Mark Pendergrast in his 1999 book, "Uncommon Grounds."

Mokha's proximity to the Bab el-Mandab Strait was central to its rise, connecting it to the Mediterranean through the Red Sea, and to Asia through the Indian Ocean. Today, ships must pass the strait to reach the Suez Canal and European waters beyond.

Mokha's population of multiethnic and multifaith traders moved products including metals, textiles and spices, but it became heavily associated with coffee in the 17th century, when major European trading houses, including the East India Companies of England and the Netherlands, set up shop there.

By the 1720s, coffee was being cultivated in the Caribbean and in Java, Indonesia, and Mokha's central role diminished.

Its death knell came in the early 1800s when the British took Aden, a port city to the east, and made it their main trade hub in the region, Ms. Um said.

A FRAGILE REVIVAL

A modern port was established in Mokha in the 1950s, but by then the region's coffee industry had mostly disappeared.

Over the years, Yemen has converted much of its farmable land to the production of khat, a plant chewed for its amphetamine-like effects. That includes the country's coffee-producing regions, which are largely under Houthi control.

"When coffee was replaced, it kind of doomed Yemen," said Ibrahim Al-Marashi, an associate professor of Middle East history at California State University. Mr. Al-Marashi said that khat, which is sold and consumed locally, is a drain on household savings and a drag on the economy. It is also water intensive, he said, giving more power to the Houthis, who control key water supplies in some areas.

In recent years, however, there has been a movement to reestablish the coffee industry in Mokha and Yemen.

"For the first time in years, coffee was giving Yemenis something to hope for," said Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who owns a coffee business in Yemen that connects around 6,000 farmers to international roasters. "Now the port that should be shipping that coffee to the world is a battlefield."

A gender battle erupts in Utah's court system

SALT LAKE CITY

After women challenge rulings, state leaders curb their representation

BY KATE ZERNIKE

When Mormon Women for Ethical Government formed in the fractious days after Donald J. Trump's first inauguration, its mission was peacemaking.

These women were not pink-pussy-hat-knitting lefties — most members were loyal Utah Republicans who saw their group as an extension of church teachings: Women take care of the community, and people learn and grow from conversations with those they disagree with.

Peacemaking has now led them into a war.

The conflict involves issues consuming many other states — the redrawing of congressional maps, abortion and above all, the question of who gets to wield power: the courts, the people or their elected representatives.

But Utah is unique; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is patriarchal and dominates state politics. And as Utah's women have spoken up, its male politicians, including Gov. Spencer Cox, who has made a national reputation on "disagreeing better," have punished them.

The women so far are unbowed. Emma Petty Addams, the co-executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, quoted church doctrine on the proper exercise of power to explain her group's mission: "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion."

For all the images of tradwives and momfluencers flooding television and social media from Utah, the reality playing out in the Beehive State is something quite different.

Four years ago, Mormon Women sued the Legislature for refusing to enact a law that voters had passed banning gerrymandering. As Salt Lake City grew bigger and more liberal, that law was all but certain to yield a Democratic member in the state's four-person House delegation. The state's Supreme Court, with its first female majority, consistently and unanimously sided with the women.

Utah's Republican leaders, who command every statewide office and a supermajority in the Legislature, responded first with threats, and then by remaking the court.

Over the past year, they expanded the Supreme Court by two seats, choosing new justices from a list of 12 nominees, all men. The Legislature then created a new “constitutional court” to hear lawsuits filed against it.

For good measure, the state Republican Party called on voters to reject two female high court justices who were up for retention elections this November, apparently the first time the party has campaigned in such elections.

The Legislature and Governor Cox then forced the resignation of one of those justices, Diana Hagen, after her ex-husband accused her of having an affair, even though the state board that investigates judicial misconduct dismissed the allegation as having "very little credibility."

In an interview in Salt Lake City, her first since resigning, Justice Hagen allowed that the vitriol toward women may not have been about sexism. But, she noted, the court's ruling against the Legislature on gerrymandering in 2024 was unanimous, and there was no campaign to reject the chief justice, a man, when he was up for retention that year.

"That," Justice Hagen said, "is really hard for me to explain in any other way." To other women, there's no debate.

"They didn't like the results of the game so they brought in referees midgame to make calls in their favor."

"Utahns are not used to women having power," said Susan Madsen, director of the women in leadership project at Utah State University and a member of both the Latter-day Saints church and the Republican Party. Now, she said, "it's women who are using their voices."

Republicans say gender had nothing to do with their decisions. Mr. Cox noted that he created the now-lost female Supreme Court majority when he appointed two women in 2023. In June, when he announced his next picks for the high court, he said only four of 25 applicants were women, and two of those “were not qualified at all.”

"If that makes me a misogynist, I guess I'll own it," he said. "But I think that's an insane narrative."

There is an irony in Governor Cox's role in the battle convulsing Utah politics: He has just embarked on his latest bid for political civility, promoting a new book, "Off Ramp: How to Be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt." That follows his signature initiative as chairman of the National Governors Association, "Disagree Better," when he traveled the country speaking publicly with Democratic counterparts.

But in Utah, he removed a requirement for partisan balance on the commission that nominates judges, and gave himself sole power to appoint its members.

"They didn't like the results of the game so they brought in referees midgame to make calls in their favor," said Teneille Brown, a law professor at the University of Utah and a founder of Co-Equal Utah, a nonpartisan group started by lawyers concerned about political interference in the judiciary. "They not only picked the refs, they picked the people who picked the refs."

The fight began in 2018, when Utah voters narrowly approved a citizen-sponsored ballot measure that created an independent redistricting commission, prohibited maps drawn to benefit any one party or candidate, and required geographically compact districts, without dividing municipalities between districts. The map at the time, drawn by the Legislature after the 2000 census, had cracked Salt Lake County, the state's most populous and most Democratic, between the state's four congressional districts.

The Legislature repealed the anti-gerrymandering proposition before it

Above, Mormon Women for Ethical Government at the home of its co-executive director Emma Petty Addams, second from left, in Salt Lake City. Diana Hagen, right, resigned from the Utah Supreme Court in May amid a campaign to oust her.

could take effect and approved a new map that again cracked Salt Lake County's Democratic majority.

Mormon Women for Ethical Government joined the state's League of Women Voters in suing. The group did not make the decision lightly; Mormon Women had grown nationally to around 7,000 members, but it had done nothing more political than issuing statements and organizing quilt-ins.

Joining the suit supported the group's principles, Mrs. Addams said.

"Gerrymandering breaks things," Mrs. Addams said. "It physically fractures communities. It breaks trust. If you look at the political situation and never see a chance to have someone that represents you, you lose faith in representative government."

Republicans maintain that only the Legislature can draw electoral maps. The state Supreme Court unanimously disagreed in 2024, citing the Utah Constitution's declaration that "the people are the source of all political power" and have "the right to alter or reform their government."

Republican leaders immediately called the Legislature into special session to approve a ballot measure of their own, which would have amended the state Constitution to give the Legislature the right to repeal citizen-sponsored ballot measures. The state Supreme Court struck down that measure, too.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIM RAFF FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The court had already irritated Republican lawmakers earlier that summer when it blocked the Legislature's abortion ban as a violation of the state Constitution, which guarantees men and women equal rights.

By last November, as a female lower court judge, Dianna Gibson, prepared to consider proposed electoral maps, Republicans threatened to impeach her if she ruled against theirs. Judge Gibson chose the women's groups' map anyway.

Her decision was 91 pages, but Republican lawmakers took just 20 minutes to announce that they had drawn up impeachment orders.

After anonymous callers to the court threatened to kill or rape Judge Gibson, law enforcement officials provided her with security escorts and cameras around her home. The judiciary issued a statement warning that “any conduct aimed at causing fear for a ruling” — whether from lawmakers or anonymous citizens — is illegal, and urging “all Utahns to stand with the judiciary” to protect “the fair and impartial administration of justice.”

Undeterred, the governor and the Legislature created the constitutional court to allow the Legislature to bypass the court where cases against it are typically filed — Judge Gibson's.

The Legislature then moved four cases to the new court: the abortion case; the redistricting case; a case brought by teenagers who say the Legislature has violated their constitutional “right to life” by issuing too many permits for oil, gas and coal; and another from plaintiffs who say it has not done enough to protect the Great Salt Lake.

Republicans announced a campaign against the retention of Justices Jill Pohlman and Hagen at their convention in April. (Justices are appointed but have to stand for retention after their first three years.) Then in May, after the report cleared Justice Hagen of misconduct around the allegation of infidelity, Republican leaders called for another investigation.

Justice Hagen resigned.

"There are lots of questions out there," Mr. Cox told reporters.

"It's a gut punch to all of us," said Ashley Peck, a former president of Women Lawyers of Utah.

In the interview, Justice Hagen said that she'd heard from men and women alike who are bothered by what she called "the gender dynamic." But she talked more about the damage to the court's integrity.

"When we have people in public office not criticizing our legal reasoning but accusing us of being activists or disregarding the Constitution or our oath, it undermines the public's confidence," she said.

State Senator Todd Weiler, who leads the committee that has pushed the changes to the court, was open about the Legislature's motives.

"Is there a court-packing element? Yes and no," Mr. Weiler said. "I'll concede that this decision was partially politically motivated."

But, he said, lawmakers usually pack courts to take seats away from the opposite party.

In this case, he said, "everybody on the court was nominated by a Republican governor and confirmed by a Republican supermajority Senate."

In August, the governor nominated two men to replace Justice Hagen and the chief justice, Matthew Durrant, who retired for health reasons. The Senate is expected to approve them by next month, in time for the state Supreme Court to hear the latest case filed by Mormon Women and the League of Women Voters, challenging the constitutional court.

The Legislature also gave itself a backstop: If the Supreme Court sides with the women against the constitutional court, a new law will take effect creating another version of the constitutional court. In that case, the Legislature would not only choose where lawsuits against it are heard, it would also name the judges who hear them.

Republicans embrace a new Red Scare ahead of the midterms

HAIYUN JIANG/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Front from left, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson at the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas last week.

Trump is leading the effort to brand Democratic rivals as dangerous communists

BY TIM BALK

One by one, Republican speakers at President Trump's midterm convention in Dallas last week turned to a far-fetched argument with echoes of the Cold War.

Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana claimed, “Next year the communists will be in Congress — that’s what’s so frightening.” Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, said implausibly that there had been a “Bolshevik Revolution in the Democrat Party.”

And when Mr. Trump, the ringleader of this new Red Scare, took the stage, he returned — again and again and again

— to baseless claims that Democrats were running as communists in the midterms.

"It's going to be a communist country if they win," he predicted, one of at least 60 times a speaker at the convention mentioned communism or communists.

Although this year's Democratic primary season brought a surge of left-wing momentum, and a handful of victories by democratic socialists running for Congress in Colorado, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida, no credible midterm candidate identifies as a communist. And there is little momentum behind any communist movement in U.S. politics at the federal level.

Still, for months now, Mr. Trump and Republicans, staring down a daunting political environment and the potential loss of one or both houses of Congress, have been trying to cast Democrats as communists, deploying a charge that has little overlap with Democrats' actual platforms.

Republicans have been grasping for a potent attack line as they confront widespread voter discontent with the president's war with Iran as well as high gasoline and grocery prices. They believe that the left-wing congressional nominees have offered an opening to build an argument that Democrats are outside the mainstream.

"Stalin. Mao. Castro. Democrats," the Republican National Committee wrote on social media last month. "Different leaders, same goal."

Whether the attacks make a difference in the midterms is still far from clear. Some Democrats have expressed worry that the rise of democratic socialism in their party could play into Republican efforts to cast them as extremists and that constant mentions of communism could blur the lines for some voters. At the same time, Mr. Trump's overheated language could weaken the force of the argument.

Mr. Trump and Republicans have pointed to a series of victories by democratic socialists in Democratic primary races — including a suite of results in staunchly Democratic New York in June and a stunning Senate upset last month in conservative-leaning Florida — to accuse their opponents of harboring radical beliefs.

Perhaps not since the 1950s or '60s has an American political party spent so much time talking about communism. In Mr. Trump's telling, communism poses the gravest danger to the country. It is more severe, he says, than World War I, the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor in 1941 or the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

Communists, he said in a bizarre aside at a July rally in Georgia, even want to destroy an American landmark.

"They tried taking Mount Rushmore down — they want to blow it up," he claimed, without elaborating.

In some ways, far-left leaders have fed the argument.

In 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leader of the progressive movement and a self-described democratic socialist, praised elements of the Communist Cuban revolution. And Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who unseated a Democratic congressman in a New York primary in June, once maintained a social media account that circulated a post suggesting that public libraries should carry more Marxist literature.

Two days after Ms. Avila Chevalier and two other self-described democratic socialists swept House primaries in New York, a group of centrist House Democrats signed a letter declaring, "We are capitalist, not socialist."

Representative Don Davis, a centrist Democrat running for re-election in a battleground district in North Carolina, said in an interview that he had signed the letter because voters across his district had been expressing anxiety about communism.

"I have heard it from the northernmost portions of the district to the central all the way to the southernmost portions of eastern North Carolina," he said. "Without any doubt, yes, there are genuine concerns."

By the time the left-wing wave crashed into Florida last month, with the victory of the democratic socialist Angie Nixon in the Democratic primary for a seat in the U.S. Senate, more lawmakers and the veteran Democratic strategist James Carville had agreed to sign the letter, too.

Most Americans have unfavorable views of socialism, according to polls. Communism polls much worse. And even as Mr. Trump mislabels Democrats as communists, some Democrats have jokingly blurred the lines themselves, referring to the area of New York City where one democratic socialist House candidate won as the “Commie Corridor.”

Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party, said that "your options are limited when the president's ratings on a lot of key issues, most notably the economy, are underwater." But he added that describing Democrats as communists was "smart" strategically and would "freak out people."

Hillary Clinton told Kara Swisher on the “Pivot” podcast that Republican messaging accusing Democrats of being communists would be “very effective” politically. She said Republicans had most likely tested it before making it their central attack.

Republicans have been grasping for a potent line of attack against Democrats as they confront widespread voter discontent.

"People on the left have to be prepared to answer that," Mrs. Clinton said.

The deployment of over-the-top warnings about communism has become a staple of Mr. Trump's speeches.

"These are not mere political disagreements like differences over taxes or regulations," Mr. Trump said in a dark speech at Mount Rushmore the weekend of July 4, referring to communism more than a dozen times. "Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11."

Republicans have enhanced their standing with Hispanic voters in Florida by linking left-wing American leaders with authoritarian communist governments in Latin America, said former

Representative Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican. But Mr. Curbelo was skeptical that the president's claims of communism would be as potent with other voters.

Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from a swing Nebraska district who is retiring, said democratic socialists were a “good group to run against.” But he questioned the president’s approach of labeling them as communists.

"When you throw out the labels, people don't know if it's true or not," Mr. Bacon said. Mr. Trump might be better off highlighting left-wing Democrats' policy positions or inflammatory past statements, the congressman added: "I would quote these guys."

Some Democrats say Republicans are embracing a straw-man argument.

Brad Lander, a self-described democratic socialist from Brooklyn in New York who beat a Democratic congressman in a primary in June, said democratic socialists had “in many cases” been the “fiercest opponents of communists.”

"Democratic socialists want an extension of democracy into more parts of working people's lives," he said.

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said Mr. Trump wasn't qualified to lecture Democrats about communism, pointing to the president's tendency to embrace President Xi Jinping of China, who leads his country's Communist Party, and Kim Jongun, the authoritarian leader of North Korea.

Mr. Trump has celebrated his "good relationship" with Mr. Kim, saying that they "fell in love" during his first term and that the North Korean leader had sent him "beautiful" letters.

Mr. Trump has said he plans to meet again with Mr. Kim by the end of the year.

Taylor Robinson contributed reporting.

The rapid rise and fall of a pricey preschool

Above, the playground of a Guidepost Montessori school in New York. Ray Girn, right, who ran a chain of schools under that brand with his wife, said mistakes had been made but disputed criticisms that likened the company's business model to a Ponzi scheme.
LIAM KENNEDY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

JORDAN VONDERHAAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Stories of mismanagement and neglect emerge after education company folds

BY CLAIRE SUDDATH

Ten years ago, a Montessori enthusiast named Ray Girn had a vision. He wanted to bring high-quality, child-led education to as many babies and toddlers as possible, with a chain of for-profit schools that would grow at the pace of a tech start-up.

He spoke about doing for preschools "what ride-sharing apps or Airbnb have achieved," and he raised \$335 million from investors, including venture capital and private equity firms, to make it happen.

For a while, Mr. Girn's schools, which operated under the brand Guidepost Montessori, appeared to be successful, with 150 locations that served tens of thousands of children. But they also ran up an astonishing \$440 million in losses. The parent company, Higher Ground Education, filed for bankruptcy in June 2025 and shuttered about 60 schools.

In Oregon, parents received an email notification on a Sunday afternoon that their school effectively no longer existed. In Wisconsin, a father went to drop off his 5-month-old son at a Guidepost only to find it had closed. In California, a mother learned that her children's Guidepost had been sold and that its Montessori curriculum would be replaced with artificial intelligence.

Guidepost teachers and parents lit up Facebook and Reddit groups with horror stories — allegations of neglect and mistreatment that made a lot more sense now that everyone knew how mismanaged the company had been.

For-profit education ventures are notorious for disappointing investors and leaving parents fuming. But even in this context, the Guidepost story is striking. "Schools close sometimes, but usually not this many, and not all at once," said Rebecca Winthrop, who directs the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.

What could have caused such a collapse? More than two dozen former teachers, administrators and corporate employees told me that they were deeply concerned by the company's business model. Seven independently described it as a pyramid scheme. "We were calling it the Montessori Ponzi scheme internally," said Alex Richardson, a teacher at Guidepost's first school, in Orange County, Calif.

When Higher Ground opened new Guidepost schools, it often received large advances from landlords to improve their properties. As long as the company kept expanding, it seemed from the outside as if it were thriving. But when it came time to repay the landlords, and growth was no longer an option, the company collapsed. By the end, some Guidepost locations were losing \$50,000 a month.

Mr. Girn is still active in the education industry. Last year, he and his wife, Rebecca Girn — the other founder of Higher Ground and its general counsel — welcomed me at a converted ranch-style house outside Austin, Texas, where they've already opened another school, called Fulcrum. Their three children are among the students.

When we met, Mr. Girn, 47, had a warm presence, a slightly nasal voice and a compelling smile. Ms. Girn, 42, was smaller, quieter and clearly used to being interrupted by her husband. They adamantly disputed the Ponzi comparisons and told me they were proud of what they'd built. "You can't care about the people that are critics," Mr. Girn said. "We're not apologizing for this."

We spoke for several hours, a conversation in which Mr. Girn referenced Julius Caesar, Plato, the founding fathers, environmentalism, Bismarckian Germany and Taylor Swift. As we talked, it became clear that the rise and fall of Guidepost was an only-in-America story of a charismatic founder who's more confident than capable, and of the deep-pocketed investors who enabled him. But instead of an app that failed or a tech platform that went sideways, to the detriment of some customers, this time the casualties were children.

Guidepost was not the first school chain that Mr. Girn had run at an unsustainable pace. Back in 2003, when Mr. Girn, a Canadian native, was a psychology and philosophy student at the University of Toronto, a friend suggested he come work at a school in Orange County called LePort Montessori. It was founded by a wealthy bariatric surgeon, Peter LePort, who sat on the board of the Ayn Rand Institute. Mr. Girn had no formal training in education, but he ran a Rand-focused club on campus. That was enough for Mr. LePort, who hired him to help start a new elementary school.

Mr. Girn became devoted to the Montessori method, which encourages children to direct their own lessons, with teachers as guides. "It's as close to perfect as human education has ever gotten," he once said at an Ayn Rand Institute conference. Traditional schools sti fled children's innate love of learning, he thought, and day care programs could be especially oppressive. "They're literally putting the child behind bars, moving them from rocker to high chair to container," he said. Montessori could free them.

In 2009, Mr. Girn became the chief executive of LePort. He envisioned turning the company into a national chain ("We had the opportunity to become the child care provider for SpaceX," he said). But he was more focused on growth than Mr. LePort was comfortable with. In 2016, Mr. Girn was fired.

He resolved to try again, this time with a chain of schools that he could control. He and Ms. Girn formed Higher Ground and hired several of LePort's corporate staff members. Some LePort parents soon followed, including Greg Mauro, a founding partner of Learn Capital, a venture firm known for backing education start-ups. Learn Capital invested about \$1 million, and Mr. Girn opened his first two Guidepost schools. Within three years, the company had 27.

Guidepost employees describe these early schools as thoughtfully planned. White-walled classrooms were outfitted with charming, toddler-sized furniture made of pale, unfinished wood. "Everyone cared so deeply," said Kiana Kometani, who in 2019 became the first head of school at a Guidepost in Folsom, Calif. Teachers spoke about fostering each child's intellectual curiosity, of giving them agency before they could tie their shoes.

Mr. Girn was a skillful pitchman. He promised parents something rare: the rigorous education of a high-end preschool, but with the hours of a commercial day care. Most Guideposts were in wealthy places and appealed to the kind of dual-income families who could afford the equivalent of a small sedan in preschool tuition.

"Guidepost catered to the elevated intellectual type," said Emily Tkaczibson, who paid about \$4,000 a month for her two children to attend a Guidepost in Tigard, Ore. "We would have recommended the school to anybody." Matthew Espie, another parent in Tigard, considered himself "lucky" that his youngest child got off the waiting list after only 10 months.

There were signs, though, that the company was trying to do too much too soon. Mr. Girn expanded abroad, opening schools in Hong Kong and mainland China in 2019. Mr. Richardson, the Orange County teacher, said around that time, three Chinese toddlers came to his school for reasons that were never explained. None of them spoke English, and the Guidepost teachers didn't speak Mandarin.

"One toddler would stand there and cry and say the same word over and over again," Mr. Richardson said. "We learned later that she was yelling for her mom, but at the time we didn't know. We couldn't understand her enough to help her."

Running a preschool is expensive. Buildings need to be rented and renovated; classroom materials purchased; teachers and administrators hired. Until a Guidepost location enrolled enough tuition-paying students, the parent company, Higher Ground, had to prop it up financially.

Labor was typically the highest expense. Laws vary by state, but businesses that deal with babies and toddlers are usually required to maintain certain ratios: one caregiver for every three to five children under age 2, and every eight to 10 preschoolers. And teachers with specialized Montessori training can command salaries that are tens of thousands of dollars higher than their peers', and nearly double that of a day care worker.

PRESCHOOL, PAGE 8

Stubborn inflation keeps pressure on Fed to raise rates

Traders bet on increase to borrowing costs amid multitude of new risks

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

BY COLBY SMITH

U.S. inflation stayed stubbornly high in August, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its meeting this week.

The Consumer Price Index report, released on Friday, showed overall inflation remained elevated at an annual pace of 3.4 percent, after a 0.4 percent rise from July. "Core" inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy items, rose 0.3 percent in August, or 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

The data is factoring heavily into the Fed's policy deliberations, set for Tuesday and Wednesday. Policymakers stipulated this summer that if inflation did not soon moderate, they stood ready to raise rates. Officials have yet to precisely define what “soon” means, but many have run out of patience.

The Fed's preferred inflation gauge is the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which will be released Sept. 30. It has shown the Fed missing its 2 percent target for over five years. Officials also closely scrutinize the C.P.I. report and other metrics for a comprehensive picture of the backdrop. Core measures are paid the most attention given that they are seen as a reliable way to track how persistent inflation is proving to be.

Policymakers are also digesting a multitude of new risks. The global price of oil is back up above \$100 a barrel as the Iran war continues to disrupt supply. President Trump has reignited a trade war with Canada. And last week, he vowed to distribute a \$5,000 check to every American adult if Republicans keep control of Congress in the November midterm elections, a bump to economic activity that could further fuel inflation.

In the wake of Friday's data release, traders in federal funds futures markets now see 90 percent odds that the Fed raises rates by a quarter of a percentage point this week. Since January, rates have stood at a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent.

"You have an economy where growth remains very solid. You have a labor market that has rebounded and looks to be tightening at the margins. You have inflation that has continued to run above target for an extended period of time, and you have forward-looking inflation indicators that suggest that overshoot will continue," Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said last week. "Against that backdrop, and with the Fed not clearly restrictive, I think the case to raise rates next week is very strong."

Raising rates just months before the election would undoubtedly stoke tension with Mr. Trump. This month, the president threatened to halt a broad swath of U.S. trade unless the Fed slashed rates. Cutting borrowing costs is not even under consideration.

Still, that has not stopped the administration from trying to tamp down borrowing costs using its own tools. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has over the past month embarked on a series of interventions to keep a lid on long-term Treasury yields with little success. The 10-year Treasury yield is now trading just shy of 5 percent.

But the stakes for Kevin M. Warsh, the Fed chairman, are exceptionally high heading into the meeting. Late last month, Mr. Warsh delivered a closely watched speech at the central bank's annual conference in Jackson, Wyo., that sought to underscore his commitment to fighting inflation after some doubts had emerged.

He indicated enough of an openness to raising rates that investors quickly piled on bets that the Fed would raise rates in September. But Mr. Warsh last month purposely left vague what specifically would tip him in that direction.

"Here is my standard: We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed," he said. "Otherwise, we have work to do."

What Mr. Warsh is trying to avoid is a redux of the reaction he faced after the Fed's last meeting in July. Then, he failed to provide sufficient reasoning for standing pat and sowed confusion about how he planned to fulfill his pledge to return inflation to target. That sparked a sell-off in longer-term borrowing costs, which has since only intensified.

Mr. Warsh's job as chairman this week will be to corral his colleagues, while also providing a clear-cut rationale for the Fed's decision. Policymakers who have long supported higher rates have argued that the Fed's current policy settings are not restraining demand. Higher rates would not only expedite the return of 2 percent inflation, they say, but also ensure that expectations about inflation do not suddenly shift higher.

If the Fed raises rates this week, Mr. Warsh will also be under pressure to put some parameters around how much tightening might be necessary. Economists do not know what to expect in that sense, however, because Mr. Warsh has been steadfast in his commitment to not providing specific guidance about what he thinks the Fed should do next.

Pooja Sriram, an economist at Barclays, believes the Fed will now raise rates twice this year, first in September and again in December.

"One rate hike really doesn't solve anything, especially if you are worried about inflation not moving at sufficient speed toward the 2 percent inflation target," she said.

One rate rise, let alone a series of adjustments, would go against Mr. Trump's stated wishes. But there are many investors who warn that the market response would be much more negative if the Fed did not follow through with a move at this point.

Mr. Bessent has also sought to push back on the idea that there is tension with Mr. Warsh, whom he regularly sees for breakfast as Treasury secretaries and Fed leaders have long done.

"They want to set up Scott Bessent versus Kevin Warsh; that was rubbish," Mr. Bessent said in an interview with Steve Bannon last week, referring to reports that he is at odds with the Fed chairman. "Kevin and I have known each other for 20 years. To think that I don't know what the chair of the Fed's thinking is, is absurd."

The counterargument to raising rates rested on the assumption that inflation was going to decelerate in the latter half of the year, giving the Fed flexibility to delay taking action. John C. Williams, who as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is vice chair of the policy-setting committee, espoused this view, arguing that policy was in a “good place.” Still, he made clear that he would support higher rates if the data did not cooperate.

Christopher J. Waller, a Fed governor, also recently suggested that he was inclined to hold rates steady this week, but only if inflation continued to cool.

August's data challenges the narrative that inflation is indeed cooling.

One closely watched subset of the C.P.I. report is called supercore inflation, which tracks prices of services excluding energy and housing. It accelerated to 0.5 percent in August and was up 3 percent from a year earlier.

Energy prices were a big driver of overall inflation. Gasoline costs were up 3.9 percent in August. Prices for fuel oil, which is used to heat homes, jumped even more, at 10.1 percent. That also helped to drive a rise in airline fares, which jumped 2.7 percent in July. Compared with the same time last year, they were up nearly 25 percent.

The impact of Mr. Trump's initial round of tariffs, however, seems to have faded. Goods prices appear to have stabilized after last year's shocks. Household furnishings are up less than 1 percent since this time last year. Apparel prices were up 3.6 percent over the year, but were flat in August compared with July. Still, these prices were recorded before Mr. Trump's latest round of punishing tariffs on Canadian imports.

Washington is slow to respond to A.I. concerns

A.I., FROM PAGE 1

The OpenAI offices in San Francisco. Sam Altman, the company's chief executive, has added his voice to a chorus of concern about the dangers of unchecked A.I. technology.
LUCAS EOGUA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

about A.I. leading to human extinction," he brushed it off.

“No, I don’t have any,” he said. “I have concerns that if we don’t win A.I., we’re going to be put in a very bad position.”

The president quickly turned to the answer the White House — and those who view the calls for slowdowns and regulation as a huge strategic error — sees as the deciding factor: If the United States falters, China will take its place.

"We are leading China right now by a pretty good period," Mr. Trump said, noting that Xi Jinping, China's leader, would be visiting Washington this month. But rather than talk about exploring a bilateral A.I. accord with the Chinese, he turned to the state dinner that he said would be a highlight of the visit. "I think it's going to be great," he added.

“Great” is not the word most used in this summer of A.I. surprises.

The apocalyptic scenarios that are most feared in Silicon Valley include the possibility that A.I. systems become so advanced that they learn to automatically improve themselves, a process called “recursive self-improvement.” A related concern, arising from a series of incidents at OpenAI and other A.I. labs, is that agents break free from constraints and decide to complete their programmed tasks in a way that is “mis-aligned,” in A.I. industry speak, with human intentions. Another worry is that A.I. could enable rogue bad actors — or reckless governments — to create deadly pathogens, gain access to nuclear command and control systems, or unleash unstoppable cyberattacks that threaten major loss of life or societal collapse.

Computer scientists suggest that Americans stop thinking about A.I. as a mere tool, but as something akin to an alternative species, one the world will have to live with, for better or worse.

The White House declined to make its key A.I. policymakers available for questions. But it said that the administration continued to balance innovation and security, deflecting any specifics.

(The New York Times has sued Open-AI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied those claims.)

Mr. Trump signed an executive order early in the summer creating a voluntary system for frontier A.I. labs to submit their new models for a 30-day safety review. But it was full of loopholes. (Open-source models, the kind that Chinese firms are pumping out and that can be tailored to specific needs by companies, scientists or, perhaps, terror groups, are not subject to the review.)

Amid the many memorial events last Friday for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the contrast with that era is notable. The revelation of American vulnerability led Vice President Dick Cheney to develop what soon became known as “the 1 percent doctrine.”

Prompted by fears that Pakistani scientists could help Al Qaeda develop a nuclear weapon, it posited that government had to act even if the risk was remote, because the consequences would be so high.

In this case, 1 percent looks like pretty good odds: Evan Hubinger, who leads the science of “alignment” at Anthropic, which tries to contain the code to align with human goals, wrote last week that the risk of mass extinction over the next decade was above 10 percent.

It is impossible to know whether that estimate is right. But as Ben Buchanan, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the co-author of a forthcoming book, "The Bitter Struggle: Superintelligence, Superpowers, and the Fate of the World," put it: "There's no doubt in my mind that the technology is going to continue to get much better very quickly, raising urgent questions about biological risks and loss of control."

"We are in a period of exponential development, and there are only two ways to respond: too early or too late," he said. "The world has missed its chance to be too early."

FEAR OF GETTING AHEAD OF TRUMP Mr. Trump's blasé attitude about existential A.I. fears influences both his administration and the Republican Party he still tightly controls.

At a conference in Washington last week, government officials and corporate executives talked about the promises of A.I. — for everything from next-generation military operations to espionage to cybersecurity in critical infrastructure — during nearly every panel. While the risks of A.I. wielded by adversaries were mentioned, what was little discussed was the need to slow down or regulate the powerful technology.

Speaking last Thursday at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, Sean Cairncross, the White House national cyber director, said the administration was "trying to balance the innovation side and running at speed with securing our systems and handling this technology responsibly, which is to say, not letting it fall into the hands of people who would do us harm, our adversaries."

Mr. Cairncross did not directly address ascendant fears about the rapid pace of A.I. advancement, or recent episodes of rogue agents breaking loose and hacking into other networks.

Some in the White House and elsewhere in the administration do see a need to be more proactive in addressing A.I. safety risks, but they do not want to cross Mr. Trump, former officials said.

"There is a fear of getting ahead of the president," said Michael Garcia, who served as the associate chief of policy at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency until he departed in June.

"We've seen tech executives call the president when they hear about a potential new policy to voice their displeasure, and that then leads to a policy changing or being killed," Mr. Garcia said. "This inevitably leads to inertia to develop new national security policy that may be sorely needed."

Indeed, David Sacks, a venture capitalist and Mr. Trump's influential former A.I. czar, dismissed during an interview with Fox News the warnings by Mr. Coxon as a coordinated media operation that was “designed to scare the public” and lead to onerous government regulation. And Jensen Huang, the chief executive of the chips juggernaut Nvidia, said the new round of fear was ginned up by the cybersecurity industry.

On Capitol Hill, the story is not much different. Until last week, A.I. registered for many lawmakers only as it related to public antipathy about the construction of data centers, which has become politically salient ahead of the midterm elections, according to lawmakers and aides in both parties.

Past efforts to examine A.I.'s potential consequences have led to hearings and alarmed statements of concern from both parties, but little else.

A "PRISONER'S DILEMMA"

Following Mr. Coxon's resignation last week, Democrats and some Republicans were jolted out of their lethargy. They offered a flurry of concerned reactions and proposals to investigate A.I. companies and the pace of model advancement, including a proposal by Democrats to create a select committee on A.I. if the party retakes the House next year, Politico reported.

As the issue rises in importance in the upcoming midterm elections, former President Barack Obama warned at a private fund-raising event last week that A.I. could be “dangerous,” and implored Democrats to develop “a very clear plan” on risks to safety and the economy.

The congressional missives grew more urgent following the release of a report last Thursday by Anthropic that showed the many ways that actors across the globe, including in China, Russia, Iran and Yemen, had been using its various Claude models to develop cyberattacks, surveil dissidents, and build missiles, bombs and drones. The report also documented several cases of potential attempts to engineer biological weapons, which is considered among the most serious of existential threats related to A.I.

One might have expected that report to stir action: It combined foreign belligerents and attacks on American targets, though Anthropic blocked or stymied many of the documented cases of abuse.

Yet despite the alarm bells, lawmakers are far from agreeing on a way forward to regulate A.I. models or the companies that build them.

Prospects for passing substantive legislation in the near term appear remote, in part because many see the issue as a “prisoner’s dilemma” created by the A.I. race between the United States and China. With A.I. dominance being the top national security issue of the century, both nations would doubtless be better off if they cooperated on limits. But they may not trust the other to abide by such an agreement. And in any event, unlike in nuclear arms control, compliance would be virtually unverifiable.

Some Trump administration officials have acknowledged that A.I. has dramatically increased the stakes. Nick Anderson, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said that digital threats had become more urgent in the A.I. era and demanded quick action.

"We know the worst that can happen," he said.

Addressing the audience of government officials and cybersecurity executives at the Billington conference, Mr. Anderson offered a stark warning that if more was not done to protect the United States, doomsday scenarios could become reality.

"You all are going to have to go home and look to your family, look to your friends," he said, "and explain to them how you knew the worst that could happen and why we didn't do enough."

The rapid rise and fall of a pricey Montessori preschool

PRESCHOOL, FROM PAGE 7

Alex Richardson, left, had no experience caring for small children when Guidepost hired him in 2019. Right, beads used to teach math at the Girns' Fulcrum school in Texas, where their three children are students.
STELLA KALININA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
JORDAN VONDERHAAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

There are two generally recognized Montessori training organizations, as well as other groups that help to uphold standards. But the label is not trademarked, and ultimately, any school that wants to call itself a Montessori can do so. Higher Ground created its own program, the Prepared Montessorian Institute. It allowed the company to hire conventional teachers and train them on the job, with primarily online lessons that could be taken, for free, during downtime.

Even with these labor savings, it still took time for new schools to turn a profit. To help them out, when Higher Ground signed leases, it often asked landlords to front the company hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Ms. Girn told me that this funded “not just the construction, but also the financial ramp-up, because the school loses money for two years.” Mr. Girn added: “We are literally not putting in a penny. We are just going to be paying higher rent in year three.”

But that plan works only if a school is smoothly progressing toward full enrollment. When the pandemic arrived in 2020, it nearly toppled the U.S. child care industry, and Guidepost was no exception. By the end of that year, many schools were only partly filled, and the company was \$55 million in the red.

Mr. Girn faced a choice. He could shrink his company, closing weak locations to focus on the best-performing schools, until the virus abated. Or he could open more schools and use the money fronted by landlords to keep operating. He opted to expand.

"They were opening a school, then rushing to open more schools, get new capital," said Diana Le Sieur, who worked for Higher Ground for five years in various capacities.

Ms. Kometani, who ran the Folsom Guidepost, said that Mr. Girn once explained the strategy in a regional staff meeting. "I remember him talking about how much money they got when they opened a new school," she said. "It was in the millions."

Employees started making Ponzi jokes. When I told Mr. Girn in Texas that several of his former employees claimed he'd effectively been running a pyramid scheme, he dismissed it as hyperbole. "The only ones that could be justified saying that would be some of the landlords," he said. He acknowledged, though, that the approach was financially irresponsible. "We accelerated some openings to get some cash sooner," Mr. Girn said. "This is part of the mistake."

According to bankruptcy filings, the company opened 33 schools in 2020 and another 21 the next year, while cumulative losses grew to \$154.6 million.

Mr. Girn remained convinced that the pandemic presented an opportunity. So many preschools and day cares closed during Covid that there were now vastly more families in need of child care than there were places to serve them. Guidepost could fill the void.

With that pitch, the company raised about \$100 million from investors, much of it from either Learn Capital or Venn Growth Partners, a private equity firm that took a 7 percent stake and a board seat. In early 2022, Blackstone valued Higher Ground at \$1 billion. By 2023 the company had opened another 50 Guide-post schools, getting another influx of cash from landlords.

But Mr. Girn had not accounted for the post-pandemic labor market. Workers were demanding higher pay to keep up with inflation; at the same time, his investors complained that schools were spending too much on pay. By the end of 2023, losses had ballooned to \$364.8 million.

Higher Ground conducted two rounds of corporate layoffs. Some Guidepost schools offered tuition discounts if parents paid in advance. At one location, families who paid as much as \$75,000 could win a trip to Paris. According to the Girns, they lent the company more than \$5 million, while Ms. Girn deferred another \$1 million in salary.

Mr. Girn maintains that his schools always had adequate resources. But Guidepost employees in multiple states told me their schools were regularly "out of ratio," with too few teachers in the classroom.

Rylie Colvin, who ran a Guidepost in Washington State, said she was routinely told to combine toddlers from two classes into one room and send a staff member home for the day to keep payroll costs down. “We’re talking 1½-year-olds here. It’s illegal to have big ratios with kids that young,” Ms. Colvin said. “Never mind the fact that we’re telling families that we’re providing individualized Montessori lesson plans — and then just throwing them into whatever room.”

Ariel Baker, a Guidepost teacher in Scottsdale, Ariz., said her school became so understaffed that teachers stopped taking lunch breaks or regularly changing diapers. In one of the infant classrooms, an assistant teacher was fired for treating babies roughly. Ms. Baker said she asked if the incidents had been reported to the state. "I was told, 'There's nothing to report,' she said.

"There are cases where we made serious mistakes," Mr. Girn said via text. "When I learned about an issue, I experienced it fully and as personally as if it was my own children, and made sure we faced it and fixed it."

He argued that with 150 schools, it was inaccurate "to assemble a few serious isolated incidents into a narrative that implies systemic negligence."

But across the country, parents were becoming dissatisfied. According to company documents, in 2023, about 15 percent of Guidepost families were pulling out their children after just 90 days.

The Girns could see that conditions were deteriorating. “People would sign up and then we’d lose them,” Ms. Girn said. She visited struggling schools and was appalled by what she found. “I’m going to school after school that I think is garbage and I’m like, this has to be completely rebuilt from scratch.”

By 2024, the generous terms that Higher Ground had negotiated with landlords were rapidly coming to an end. "There was a timing issue," Mr. Girn said. "We opened too many and it hit at once."

In August 2024, Higher Ground stopped paying rent on all its schools. Two landlords, in Virginia and Texas, changed the locks on their buildings, causing schools to close with no notice. Other site owners sued. Over the next few months, many of Higher Ground's executives quit. In February 2025, the Girns resigned. The company filed for bankruptcy that June, owing an additional \$611 million in unpaid rent.

Eventually, more than 80 Guidepost schools were sold to a new entity, Guidepost Global Education, which is based in Austin and employs many people who had been on staff at Higher Ground. The company's investors include both Learn Capital and Steve Xu, a former investment banker who was involved in the earlier effort to open Guidepost schools in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Mr. Girn knows about the social media activity. He told me he'd read some of the posts.

"A lot of people out there hate my guts and think I'm the devil incarnate," he said. But he insisted his critics were wrong. Yes, his company had collapsed. Yes, children had lost their schools and their teachers. But, he argued, one of the reasons Guidepost had grown so big so quickly — and investors had been willing to give him so much money — was that it offered a service that was desperately needed.

Guidepost locations that initially survived the bankruptcy have continued to close. At the end of this month, three schools in Southern California, including the one that the Girns' children once attended, will shut their doors.

"This is right at the start of the school year, and now all these families are going to be scrambling for spots at other schools," said Andrew Quillin, whose 2-year-old daughter was supposed to start at a Guidepost in Laguna Hills. "It's insane."

Mr. Girn and I talked about the demise of his old schools while sitting in the classroom of his new one. A few months after leaving Higher Ground, the Girns bought a property in Texas Hill Country and turned it into a five-room schoolhouse of sorts. Maps lined the walls, a bedroom had been converted into a library and the living room was now a classroom. Tuition is \$23,000. The Girns are developing the curriculum themselves.

The place seemed warm and inviting. And with four acres of surrounding land, there was plenty of room to expand — although Ms. Girn was adamant that she didn't want to. When I asked Mr. Girn what he thought, he smiled.

"We'll be back," he said. "We have a world to save."

Opinion

Far left, a table set for breakfast for the pupils of Primaria Horesti, a school in the village of Horesti, near the Romanian border. Center, Andrei Morari and Ecaterina Samonii. Left, a political billboard in Gagauzia, last September. It reads: "They're asking for your vote, but who's pulling the strings?" The smaller figures are saying, "vote for me!"

On the fault line between Russia and Europe

The great powers are moving apart. What happens when you're caught in the middle? Moldova is at the epicenter of a new geopolitical reality.

Text and photographs by Frankie Mills

This essay is part of “The New World Disorder,” a series exploring the disintegration of the postwar international system and how countries are adjusting as America steps aside.

CHISINAU, MOLDOVA One gray morning last fall I visited Andrei Morari and Ecaterina Samonii at their home in Chisinau, Moldova's unassuming capital. Black tea brewed on the kitchen table and their two cats purred below. Their home was scattered with keepsakes, including a small statue of Lenin that Andrei had brought back from Moscow, where he'd lived for a time as a history student.

Just two days before, Moldova had voted in a parliamentary election that President Maia Sandu had called the “most important” in the country’s history: a final opportunity to choose between Russia and Europe, with Ms. Sandu’s pro-European party and the pro-Russian parties both arguing that voting for the other side would drag the country into the war next door in Ukraine.

The mood in the apartment was flat. The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity had defeated the Patriotic Electoral Bloc. Andrei and Ecaterina said they had voted for neither. They cared about better health care, more opportunities for young people and affordable rent and heating, they said, not so much whether Moldova united with Brussels or Moscow.

Andrei left for work, and Ecaterina and I continued to quietly drink our tea. We talked about the complications of navigating everyday life in a country with two widely spoken languages, Romanian and Russian, and the isolation felt by those who speak just one. She described a sense of disillusionment with Moldova's efforts to figure out which direction to turn — toward Europe or Russia — among those who saw themselves in neither.

Andrei and Ecaterina weren't alone in their reluctance to choose. They were part of the 48 percent of the

electorate who abstained from voting in the September 2025 election, despite its significance. The ambiguous results of a referendum on joining the European Union the previous year also suggested a complex picture: 50.35 percent in favor, 49.65 percent against.

"There should be a middle for Moldova, just to be Moldova," Ecaterina said. "To be a good Moldova, as it is."

Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, with a population of around

2.4 million people and a Soviet past, Moldova has been portrayed as having to choose between Europe and Russia ever since it gained independence in the early '90s. But it continued to exist somewhere between one and the other, maintaining a delicate balance even as that choice simmered in the background.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the calculus changed. Moldova became the European fault line of a new geopolitical reality. Russia is engaged in a conventional land war in the country next door, and as U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO has wavered, Europe has stepped up its direct support for Ukraine against Russia.

What does it mean to ordinary people living in a small country, caught up in this geopolitical disorder, to choose? What happens to a country when the middle ground disappears? As Europe and Russia move further apart, how does a country with deep ties to both chart a course?

I visited Moldova twice last fall, spending about a month traveling around the country, visiting villages that are shrinking as people emigrate, mostly to Russia, Romania and Italy; ethnically Ukrainian regions where locals support pro-Russian parties; and one village funded so heavily by French remittances that residents had built a replica Eiffel Tower as a homage.

Autumn swept across a landscape lined with withered sunflowers and trees laden with apples and plums. As I moved from place to place, I wondered whether consensus could ever be possible in a nation where information and worldview differ so greatly from one village to the next, down to the language that the local school teaches in.

People described the wish for a middle road to me often — a world in which Moldova, sandwiched between competing powers and historically relying on one or the other to prop up a faltering economy, could align with whomever it chooses in a way that would respect its complex, layered culture.

Moldova shares deep historical and linguistic ties with Romania. For some, MILLS, PAGE 10

Above, the Soviet Open Air Museum of Petru Costin, outside Chisinau, Moldova. Below, Dmitri Ianul holding what he said were the remains of a Russian drone that landed near his home in Gagauzia, near the border with Ukraine.

The New York Times

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

A.G. SULZBERGER Publisher

JOSEPH KAHN Executive Editor MARC LACEY Managing Editor CAROLYN RYAN Managing Editor SUZANNE DALEY Associate Editor

KATHLEEN KINGSBURY Opinion Editor

MEREDITH KOPIT LEVIEN Chief Executive Officer MICHAEL GREENSPON Senior V.P. and General Manager HELEN KONSTANTOPOULOS V.P., International Circulation HELENA PHUA Executive V.P., Asia-Pacific SUZANNE YVERNÉS International Chief Financial Officer

A.I. slopware is everywhere now, but nobody is using it

Paul Ford Contributing Writer

The number of mobile apps available on Apple's App Store was up 30 percent last year, according to one estimate. But downloads were up only 3 percent.

It isn't just apps. Software in general

It isn just apps. Software in general — everything made of code — is suddenly available in huge, heaping quantities. Thanks to artificial intelligence, you can now, in plain language, tell a computer to write code, and it will often do an excellent job. These capabilities get better nearly every week.

But when was the last time you ended up marveling at a new app or game on your phone? Whither the applications like Slack that take industries by storm, or games like Candy Crush that dominate our subway commutes? Is it just all app slop from here on? Did A.I. kill the "killer app"?

That would be a natural conclusion to draw, but I think that we're headed for a very different kind of digital revolution. We shouldn't expect a spate of A.I.-made software to replace all our existing tools. After all, people don't like to switch to new software unless they must. A.I.'s real strength may be to make many new things that play a more moderate, specific role: reducing sources of small friction that otherwise

Venture capital money that drives tech innovation is being poured almost exclusively into A.I. Products that aren't A.I.-first (such as an old-school game or a task organizer) seem like a risky investment. Why invest in a culture that will soon be gone? If A.I. makes software cheap and abundant, and digital products are easy to clone, then it will be hard to compete. Software used to be the ultimate “moat” — but now it's starting to look like a commodity. That's another reason the App Store is now flooded with unimaginative apps instead of thrilling new efforts.

Which gets to something fundamental about A.I. coding, and A.I. in general: It's very good at reproducing things that look and feel like what came before. It can make a PowerPoint presentation, or even, with time and coaching from a human, a flimsy version of PowerPoint itself. But making something new, something no one has seen before, takes much more time — sometimes just as long as it took before A.I.

stack up in our lives.

Just because A.I. is revolutionizing coding, doesn't mean it will automatically revolutionize our apps.

Most big corporate efforts to use A.I. to increase productivity fail — perhaps as many as 95 percent, according to an M.I.T. study published last year. A boss sits a team down — let's say it's a financial

Where A.I. excels, I think, is in letting you get access to aspects of computing that were previously out of reach. You can use A.I. to develop complex business models, machine learning systems or advanced software that runs in a web browser. These were all utterly normal things before large language models showed up, but they required specific skills and tended to be the domain of very highly paid software developers.

I don't blame the coders for this, or even the bosses. I blame the big A.I. companies, who are in such a hurry that they often release new versions of their models and tools without manuals or even clear YouTube tutorials. When projects fail, the implication is that humans just need to stop everything else they're doing and prompt the models harder.

services firm, or a consulting firm — and asks them to use A.I. to improve the sales process or track relationships, and after a lot of trial and error, it doesn't work out. This finding is quite awkward, given the projected multibillion-dollar valuations of A.I. companies, but nothing I've learned from talking to dozens of people in the industry disproves it. People are hopeful that a bold A.I.-powered future is right around the corner. They are tantalized. They often use A.I. tools all the time individually. But companies' internal efforts don't work.

But that's a hard trick for an old industry to learn. The tech industry loves to act as if it just sprang out of Zeus' forehead, but it's actually a septuagenarian, and surprisingly set in its ways. It will take years before A.I. tools can fully supersede traditional approaches to making software. As dramatic as everyone would like this revolution to be, it's barely begun.

The way I know this is true is that I see a lot of new software that only modestly improves certain things. Librarians are using A.I. to build better, more accessible historical archives; novelists are “writing” subsets of code and contributing to open-source projects; underfunded health care start-ups are whipping together custom tools to help people deal with insurance companies. None of this stuff ends up on the homepage of the biggest tech news outlets, and most of it probably will not make anyone a dime. It’s extremely normal software, not revolutionary or transformative. I think we’re witnessing a cultural throat-clearing — people scribbling in their notebooks, getting ideas out.

For a while, I must admit, it looked as if software developer roles like mine were done for. How could we fight against tireless robots? But our industry is slowly realizing that making truly cutting-edge software still requires humans to think and work together, to maximize their skill sets and to practice their respective crafts. A.I. can write very good software, but it also makes it easy to do someone else's job badly, which is part of why all those projects fail. Now that everyone can code, it's become clearer why many shouldn't.

The future may not be a few huge apps running on a few huge platforms, generating tons of revenue; it could instead be tons of little ones, purpose-built for the church, mutual aid group, company department or softball league. I'd enjoy a future in which the answer to "Where's the great software A.I. was supposed to bring us?" is: "Everywhere."

PAUL FORD is a founder and the president of Aboard, an A.I.-powered software acceleration platform, and a co-host of "The Aboard Podcast."

On the fault line between Russia and Europe

MILLS, FROM PAGE 9

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANKIE MILLS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Top, a 70th birthday party in a village outside Naslavcea, Moldova. Some of the residents are ethnically Ukrainian, but hold complicated, pro-Russian views. Above left, basketball class at a school in Horesti. Above right, Vera Danilescu, a teacher at the school.

including Ms. Sandu, reunification with Romania is a Plan B if independently joining the European Union fails. But the country's decades in the Soviet Union also resulted in significant Russification, particularly of certain regions.

Even before the war in Ukraine, the middle road was narrowing to a tightrope. Russia has responded to moves from Moldova that put it closer to Europe with import bans that have been widely seen as economic blackmail. In 2013, in the run-up to Moldova's signing of an association agreement with the European Union, Russia banned Moldovan wine, followed by fruits, vegetables and meat when the agreement was signed in 2014. More bans followed when the European Union was preparing to open formal accession negotiations.

Then there is Transnistria, a separatist region in the east of the country where Russian soldiers have been stationed since a brief but bloody war of independence in the early 1990s. Russia has said that it will interpret any efforts by the Moldovan government to change the status quo of Transnistria — as a self-proclaimed republic that is supported, but not recognized, by Moscow — as a provocation of war.

The European Union has said that Transnistria should not be a barrier to Moldova's accession to the bloc. But pro-Europeans in the country under-

stand that they have to tread carefully. Serbia's accession process has stalled, for example, because of its continued engagement with and refusal to impose sanctions on Russia.

Everywhere I went in Moldova, it was apparent that Russia's invasion of Ukraine didn't necessarily make joining the European Union more appealing. In some places, the war just got explained away.

Geopolitical binds are personal, too. All over the country, people emigrate, often in search of work, and leave behind children to be raised by single parents or grandparents in villages that stead-

ily depopulate. In economic value, people are Moldova's largest export after agriculture. The country has one of the highest diaspora rankings in Europe. Official statistics say some 30 percent to 35 percent of the population has left since independence; people I spoke to said they thought it was more like 50 percent.

Horesti, a village near the Romanian border, is one of the places keenly feeling this shift. It lost more than half of its population between 2004 and 2024. The primary school has fewer students than the legal minimum required to keep on operating. If it closes, the village will most likely die, too. Upstairs in the school, in a lone corridor, was a map with the names of students who had left the country, offering a clue as to where everybody here has gone: Russia, mostly, followed by a smattering of E.U. countries.

I watched as teachers tried to instill a sense of Moldovan patriotism in students, in preparation for the day when these pupils, too, would leave. A day they treated as almost inevitable.

In one classroom, girls around 10 and 11 lined up and recited poems. "Even if I go far and wide and the whole world I cross," one read. "I choose my village."

In Cismichioi, a small village in Gagauzia, I met with Dmitri Ianul, a teacher and former journalist, and his wife, Inna, who works at a local grocery store. The week before, Dmitri said, the couple had been awakened in the night by glass shaking in their cabinets. Over the border, Russia was bombing Ukraine's westernmost port, Reni, just a 20-minute drive from Cismichioi.

The next day, they said, their neighbors were quick to dismiss the fighting: just Ukrainians fighting with themselves again. Even the Russian drones that have gone off course and fallen outside the village have done little to change people's minds here, Dmitri said.

This August, Moldova recorded 17 drone incursions in its territory — the highest monthly number since the war began. I wrote to Dmitri to ask if that was having any impact on people's opinion. He wrote back saying that people still believed they were decoys launched by pro-European politicians to justify a national pivot away from Russia.

Dmitri, who is strongly in favor of closer ties with Europe, said that several of his neighbors had told him that if Moldova joined the European Union, they'd leave for Russia for good. They worried the bloc would use Moldova as a dumping ground for Europe's waste and transform the country with L.G.B.T.Q. propaganda and that people would no longer have the right to farm their own land.

Everywhere I went in Moldova, it was apparent that Russia's invasion of Ukraine didn't necessarily make joining the European Union more appealing. In some places, like in Cismichioi, the war just got explained away. Other people told me it felt like having to choose the lesser of two evils, and they resented being made to decide.

In an interview on a British podcast in January, President Sandu said she would support reunification with Romania if a referendum were held. “It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia,” she said.

A step in either direction inevitably widens the gaps in a country with a complex mix of identities. The problem may be just that: two options, two vastly different directions, in a country where, as in most places, things are far more layered and fragmented than a simple yes or no.

"There should be some other way to find this common background, to this common history, and to build the identity on the idea of openness," Andrei said over Turkish tea at a cafe in Chisinau one day. "Maybe we should somehow think about that, how to build our future without choosing left or right, black or white."

But for countries and people in the borderlands between the big powers, a less orderly world means less certainty and more pressure to align with — or submit to — whichever option can best guarantee safety and sovereignty. Questions of alliances become less principled and more existential.

Last week, a Russian drone hit a border crossing between Moldova and Ukraine, in Odesa, killing two. There should be another way. But in an increasingly unpredictable world, safety is becoming the priority.

FRANKIE MILLS is a journalist and photographer based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The cult of Trump is waning

DAMON WINTER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

BOUIE, FROM PAGE 1

blasphemy, a demonstration not just of a lack of resolve, but of a lack of faith.

The single strangest moment in all of this was when Trump led the audience in a pledge to himself, which included a promise to cheat if necessary.

Please raise your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States. That loves us so much he can't even breathe. That I will go out with my family, my friends, I'll do it any way — I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try to cheat like hell like they do. There's never been bigger cheaters. They don't care. I am going to go out and I'm going to get my friends, my family. And we are going to vote on Nov. 3, or we are going to vote before that.

I don't think anything like this has ever happened in mainstream American politics. It is as if the Republican Party has simply given in to the fact that it is little more than a cult of personality centered on an aging celebrity real estate developer.

Now, the central gamble of all this is to energize Trump voters to turn out in the midterms. Specifically, the low-frequency and less-attached voters who have only come out to support the

JARED ORIEL

president when he is on the ballot, and who otherwise abstain from elections. The thinking is that if these people can come to the polls, then Republicans might be able to overcome their deep deficit.

The deficit is indeed deep. Trump's approval rating has sunk, in the most reputable polls, down to the low 30s. The generic ballot — which measures the relative position of each party in the upcoming elections — shows Democrats with about a seven-point advantage. Democratic Senate candidates aren't ahead only in swing states like North Carolina and Michigan; they are also either ahead or neck-and-neck in Republican-leaning states such as Texas, Alaska, Ohio and Iowa.

There is a real chance that Republicans will suffer a decisive defeat in the Senate and a potentially catastrophic one in the House. Anything that can be done to minimize the damage makes sense, from the Republican point of view. The question, then, is: Does this midterm convention make sense?

If the goal was to show the public that the Republican Party, as Vice President JD Vance argued in his keynote, was the party of normalcy, then the cultlike atmosphere of the proceedings made that difficult. If the goal is simply to energize the low-

propensity Trump voter, then it is also a crapshoot, given the low likelihood that this type of person was even aware of the convention, much less watching it.

If anyone was paying attention, in fact, it was those Americans already inclined to vote. What they saw was a spectacle that hammered home, again and again, that a vote for any Republican was a vote for Trump. And if the nation's likely voters are as hostile to Trump as they appear to be, then this convention may have been distinctly counterproductive.

Far from juicing turnout, Republicans may have just reminded the voting public that if they want to check Trump, they need to vote against his party.

An Apple event last week showcasing the iPhone Duo, a foldable device. It will cost \$1,999 when it arrives next month to compete with Samsung's \$1,900 Galaxy foldable.

Apple's push for wow factor

Closed up, the iPhone Duo has an outer screen to be used as a normal rectangular phone; it opens up to reveal a larger inner screen.

TECH FIX

Foldable iPhone impresses with eye-catching design and eye-popping price tag

BY BRIAN X. CHEN

Apple last week unveiled an iPhone that unfolds like a book to expand its screen size and closes up to fit in your pocket. It's the biggest physical change to the iPhone's design in nearly two decades.

But even though they've been around for years, foldable phones aren't particularly popular. They're expensive, awkward and not as durable as regular smartphones. So why did Apple build one?

The simple answer is that the novel design of today's foldable phones could help re-establish the high end of the phone market. They are meant to stand out in a sea of standard-issue, if-you've-seen-one-you've-seen-them-all smartphones.

The quintessential rectangular smartphones have gotten so good over the years that the most expensive models priced upward of \$1,000 have become nearly indistinguishable from their cheaper counterparts. (Carrying a phone with three camera lenses versus two probably won't impress people at parties.)

Foldable phones, on the other hand, are attention getters. And for their price, they'd better be: Apple's iPhone Duo will cost \$1,999 when it arrives in October to compete with Samsung's \$1,900 Galaxy foldable.

"Whenever something is exclusive, limited and luxurious, automatically consumer psychology wants it," said Nabila Popal, a director at IDC, a market research firm. "It's like handbags. Why is someone buying a Chanel versus that? It's not because of the leathers. It's to show that they have a Chanel and they can afford it."

Apple and its competitors are following a path that television makers took about a decade ago. When high-definition TVs became commoditized, anyone could buy a bright TV with a large, sharp screen for as little as \$500. To find more ways to increase profits, companies like Panasonic, LG and Sony experimented with quirky new designs, like TVs with curved displays and the ability to play movies in 3-D,

and charged \$3,000 for them.

Apple's foldable handset is arriving at a moment when people will need extra persuading to upgrade to a new phone. The costs of most consumer goods, and especially electronics, have skyrocketed.

In response to an industrywide memory chip shortage driven by the artificial intelligence boom, Apple increased prices this year for many of its popular products, including Macs and iPads, by as much as 29 percent. Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro phones will cost \$1,199, a \$100 increase from last year's model. The chip shortage has also forced companies to raise the prices of video game consoles and phones.

Foldable phones, which account for less than 2 percent of the handset market, may be the only part of the phone industry that will grow this year. IDC said it expected the chip-shortage-induced price increases to contribute to a 17 percent drop in worldwide smartphone sales this year — the steepest annual decline in history. However, sales of foldable phones could grow 12 percent to 22.9 million because of the iPhone Duo's arrival, the research firm said.

Still, a foldable phone could be a tough sell even for a company as influential as Apple. Consumers have generally avoided buying foldable phones not only because of their cost but also because of their trade-offs. Their bendable screens are less durable than normal phone displays, which are protected with hard glass. Folded up, they can feel bulkier and heavier in a pocket.

Dan Frommer, a writer for The New Consumer, a tech research publication, said he had long been skeptical about the usefulness of foldable phones because so much online content, including the vertical videos on TikTok and Instagram, was produced for the small rectangular screens of normal smartphones. "They've been used that way for 19 years now," Mr. Frommer said. "What would you actually want a square, big screen for?"

Apple's iPhone Duo appears to be addressing some of the shortcomings of previous foldable phones. The device's name refers to two screens. Closed up, it has a 5.4-inch (13.7-centimeter) outer screen that people use as a normal rectangular phone; it opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch inner screen. The larger inner display shows pictures in the same aspect ratio as traditional phone screens. Apple also said the phone's foldable inner screen was composed of a tougher material than competitors'.

In my tests, when opened, the iPhone Duo was extremely thin, measuring two-tenths of an inch. I liked that a Netflix video took up the full screen instead of showing black bars on the sides, which has been the case with other foldables. Closed up, the phone felt dainty and was about the size of a passport. It also felt less chunky in my pocket than other foldables I've tested.

The inner screen has a matte texture to reduce glare. Still, I occasionally noticed the crease in the center where the screen folds. I didn't mind it, but that might bother nit-pickers.

Apple also had to leave out some components to make a phone this thin

— the iPhone Duo lacks the advanced camera system featured in the \$1,199 iPhone 18 Pro phones. It also doesn't have a face scanner for unlocking the device, relying instead on a fingerprint sensor on the side of the phone.

Though Mr. Frommer predicted that the Apple foldable wouldn't be the right fit for him, he admitted he couldn't resist trying one out in a store.

"When Apple makes something, there's an allure to it to encourage people to at least check it out," he said.

Why Gen Z said goodbye to 'hello?'

this,' and then I'll send the voice note," Walsh said.

Caller ID and concerns about spam bots help explain a greeting shift

BY ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA

When Avigail Sharon answers a phone call from one of her closest friends, it isn't with "Hello?"

"I always go 'Bello,' " Sharon, 21, said. "And we'll talk in Minionese at first."

Her parents don't get the dialect created for the "Minions" franchise. For them, she said, "I always say 'Hi.'"

For her friend Sophia Perez, 22, unknown numbers receive no greeting. "I feel like, honestly, I will pick it up and I'm silent," she said, "waiting for them to say something."

That behavior, she explained, is a response to reports about spam bots that could record and misuse her voice in scams. Sharon, who was visiting Perez in New York City from Boston, nodded knowingly.

In an era where caller ID has blossomed into avatars, pseudonyms, terms of endearment and special ringtones, saying an indiscriminate "Hello?" when answering the phone can seem almost redundant.

What has emerged is an idiosyncratic patois that denotes a ranking system of relationships for those born around the time or after caller ID was popularized in the 1990s.

"Hello" is now veering toward endangered territory, reserved for more formal calls. But closer connections are greeted with something along the lines of "Hi," "Yo," "What's up?" "Where are you?" or, perhaps for the most intimate or hostile (depending on the circumstance) — "Yeah?"

Some of the last mainstream pop songs to allude to the word, Adele's "Hello" and Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's "Telephone," are now more than a decade old. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that the greeting, a somewhat arbitrary holdover from the 1800s when Thomas Edison first uttered it down the phone, is now quaint.

That was certainly the vibe around New York. Addie Sauberli, a 20-year-old college student, often answers calls from her closest friends with "Where are you?" — the idea being that she would rather meet them and talk in person, she said.

"When I call you, I would say 'Allll-looooo,' " said her friend Sonia Appen, 20.

"Yeah, we have a special hello," Sauberli said, nodding. "Oh my gosh, the scariest thing is when there's a big pause before anyone says anything and you're like, Who's going to say 'Hi' first?"

For some, especially Gen Z-ers, known for their withering stares, an unknown caller is met with the equivalent of a blank look — no greeting of any form.

This shift in greeting mores — unsubstantiated by any quantitative data — is likely the product of our smartphones, said Griffin Bassett, a linguistics researcher specializing in digital communication. Smartphones, and caller ID on landlines before them.

But when that information is seamlessly combined with emails, text messages or social media feeds that unfurl on the same device, there is no longer a need “to establish common ground” at the start of conversations, Bassett said. Instead, it’s almost as if we are all engaged in one amorphous and asynchronous “thread of conversation,” he said.

A gaggle of 17-year-olds confirmed that phone calls weren't even their favorite mode of communication with friends.

"I feel like I use voice notes more than calling," said Mary Jane Walsh, from Baltimore.

"Yeah, me too," said Marie Penny, from Los Angeles, "because it's faster than typing, and usually I have a lot to say. Like, it's a big story."

These monologues aren't preceded by any formal greetings, either. "Or I'll text and be like 'You're never going to guess

"Sometimes I'll just start telling the story — like straight up just get straight into it," said Kenny Harris, also from Baltimore.

And the voice note is superior to leaving a long text message, said Lauren O'Conner, from Denver, because it leaves no room for misinterpreting the tone of the story.

In a study, psychologists combed through 14 years of recordings from more than 2,000 people ages 10 to 94. They found that, overall, people were speaking fewer words in their daily lives; the average number of words spoken per day went from almost 16,000 in 2007 to under 13,000 in 2019.

Those younger than 25, though, lost even more words, said Valeria Pfeifer, a psychology and counseling associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City who is a co-author of the study.

"Younger people feel less inclined to use formulaic expressions of politeness, like 'How are you?' she said, which accounts for three whole, cumbersome words.

When Myka Meier asked roughly three dozen 15- and 16-year-olds how they answered their phones, "about a third said that they do not give a greeting," she said.

Phone-answering protocol, or the lack of it, is a consistently cited concern from parents when they sign their children up for social etiquette classes at Beaumont, the New York school Meier helped found.

Some Gen Z-ers, known for withering stares, meet unknown callers with the equivalent of a blank look — zero greeting.
EFE AHWOREGBA

Phone-answering protocol is a consistently cited concern from parents who sign their children up for social etiquette classes.

When she asked teenagers during an etiquette class why they weren't answering their phones with greetings, "they said they don't trust the other person on the other side." It's an understandable instinct, she added, when we live in a world of A.I. slop, phishing texts and digital scams.

The absence of a “hello” is common among even younger generations, too. Across the United States, parents have been introducing their children to the nostalgic tring, tring of a landline handset.

Many parents reported that their children would pick up landline phones, which often don't have caller ID, and wait for the person on the other end to talk, breathing heavily in silence into the receiver.

In the spring, Megan Prais, a mother of two in Michigan, ordered a purple lip-shaped phone for her 7- and 9-year-olds, Willa and Arlo.

When they received their first phone call, "they didn't quite get the, you know, like 'Hello?'" she said. "They just picked it up and started talking."

Meta rolls out a digital aide

SAN FRANCISCO

BY ELI TAN

Meta last week rolled out Muse, an artificial intelligence agent that acts as a personal digital assistant by autonomously using software apps and websites on behalf of people.

It is one of the first times that a major tech company has introduced a mass market agent, which is a type of A.I. that researchers predict will become more sophisticated than simple chatbots. Many agents can already do the tasks of office workers, like filling out spreadsheets. But while A.I. agents like OpenClaw are a popular tool among developers and programmers, they have yet to catch on widely.

Muse can be spoken to as if it were a chatbot and instructed to send emails, book travel reservations, make online purchases and do more through an app or through WhatsApp, which Meta owns, the company said. Muse also connects to Meta's other apps, like Instagram and Facebook, to learn more about its user. And it can be linked to third-party apps like Spotify, Ticketmaster, Shopify, Gmail and OpenTable.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, has described Muse as Meta's next breakthrough, which works "24/7 on your behalf to help achieve your goals and improve your life, your health, your relationships, your finances."

Muse is among the first significant consumer A.I. products created by Meta Superintelligence Labs, which Mr. Zuckerberg established last year to propel his company forward in the A.I. race. Meta has been spending billions of dollars to develop foundational A.I. models and to build data centers so that it can compete with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and others on the cutting edge of the rapidly evolving technology.

So far, Meta has had hits and misses. Products like its A.I. smart glasses have sold millions of pairs while stoking privacy concerns. In July, the company temporarily took down its Instagram A.I. image generator after widespread criticism about copyright and privacy.

The Muse app is free but has limits on usage, which people can pay \$20 or \$100 a month to increase. The agent is for adults only.

Muse, from Meta, can send emails or book travel for you.

When people link their accounts from OpenTable or Ticketmaster to Muse, it can send messages about upcoming concert tickets or restaurant reservations if it thinks its user might be interested, and book them with one click. Muse also connects to Stripe and Shopify, allowing it to make purchases on someone's behalf. Muse is the first A.I. agent to be covered by Stripe's warranties and return policy, in case it makes a purchasing mistake, Meta said.

Since A.I. is not foolproof, Meta says that the agent “will sometimes make mistakes” but that it was designed to “help the user stay in control without being overwhelmed.” The Silicon Valley company has created a program so people can report bugs in Muse for a reward. Meta has also said personal data collected by Muse, as well as the agent itself, is securely stored on its cloud servers and hardware.

The agent is powered by Muse Spark, the A.I. model that Meta released in April. The model was Meta's first developed under Alexandr Wang, the company's 29-year-old chief A.I. officer, whom Mr. Zuckerberg hired to remake the division last summer.

Muse Spark trails leading models from Anthropic and OpenAI, but Meta plans to release a more powerful model, internally called Watermelon, as soon as next month.

Meta said it also planned to add more features to Muse, including integrating it with its smart glasses.

Sports

MICHELLE V. AGINS/THE NEW YORK TIMES
SHURAN HUANG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Alexander Zverev, above left, after winning the U.S. Open men's title on Sunday. He defeated Ben Shelton, above right, in the final, 6-4, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2. Zverev has been able to win two major titles this year without beating either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner.

After a long wait, Zverev caps an impressive year

Tennis left him behind, but he has now claimed two Grand Slam titles

BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN THE ATHLETIC

For five years, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev were the standard-bearers for the meat inside of the sandwich that men's tennis had become for a generation of players born in the 1990s.

In the first years of their careers, they had risen toward the top of the sport. In some ways, their combination of searing serves and counterpunching defense was revolutionary.

Zverev and Medvedev dismantled one-dimensional big servers and tested Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer; Medvedev beat the former to win the 2021 U.S. Open and also reached world No. 1.

But mostly, they were shut out of winning Grand Slam titles, leaving them no choice but to wait for the Big Three to move on so they could take over the sport.

But the Big Three refused to budge until their late 30s.

That was long enough for Zverev, the best and most consistent player of his cohort, to experience a rear-guard assault from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are seven and four years younger than the 29-year-old big-serving German born to Russian parents. They raised him to play a style of tennis that could hang in rallies with the greats who had come before him.

The result was a series of drubbings in the late stages of Grand Slam tournaments that had left Zverev reeling after his loss in the first round of Wimbledon 14 months ago.

"It's not a feeling on a tennis court, it's just a life feeling in general," he said early last summer. "It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment."

For years, Zverev had been a controversial figure in the sport. He was accused twice of domestic abuse and has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Once was by a former girlfriend in 2020, but she did not pursue charges. The ATP Tour found there was “insufficient evidence” to support her allegations and did not punish him.

In the other case, brought by a former girlfriend who has a child with Zverev, he reached a settlement in Germany without admitting wrongdoing.

A year later, he said he felt lonely on the tennis court and didn't have any answers. His results at major tournaments were going in the wrong direction. Before long, he would land at Nadal's training academy, searching for answers he and his two main coaches, his father and brother, didn't seem able to deliver.

Alcaraz and Sinner were just too good. They had won all the Grand Slam titles in 2024 and 2025. They were young. They were better than Zverev, Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the main three characters who had appeared heirs to the sport but were now fading. And it didn't look like Alcaraz and Sinner were going anywhere for a long time. Zverev couldn't solve them.

As it turned out, he didn't have to.

After clinching the U.S. Open men's title on Sunday, with a 6-4, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 win over Ben Shelton, Zverev evaluated his status among the best players in the sport right now.

"Right now, at this moment, probably yes," he said. "Both of them healthy and both of them at the top of their game? maybe not."

He added: "If everyone's healthy I think Jannik is ahead."

Winning the biggest tournaments in tennis is usually about coming up with some outrageous forehands and backhand and serves in the biggest moments. Zverev has long done a bit of that, especially with his serve, which is one of the most efficiently lethal in the game, and also with his backhand, which simply never breaks down and has long proven to be kryptonite for powerful left-handed forehands that don't belong to Nadal.

But it's also about staying healthy and showing up and being able to deal with the elements of the crucible that best-offive tennis in the Grand Slams can throw at players. Zverev did that more and better than Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic this year.

Now, he has two Grand Slam trophies to show for it. And amazingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, Zverev has been able to collect those two trophies without beating either Alcaraz or Sinner all year.

First Alcaraz went down with a wrist injury in April. That kept him out of the French Open and Wimbledon. He didn't play again until this U.S. Open, where Shelton beat him in the match of the tournament.

As for Sinner, at the French Open he succumbed to a historic spring heat wave in Paris. A game from escaping the second round in straight sets, he became weak and unable to move and won just one more. Djokovic would lose the following day.

Zverev realized that he was going to need to attack or he was going to go away.

Zverev managed to survive. A nighttime match assignment on one of the hottest days helped some. When he got to the final, Flavio Cobolli, a rising but fragile Italian and the world No. 14, was on the other side of the net. Zverev wobbled, but he survived and lifted his first Grand Slam trophy after a five-set win.

"If you call me the worst player to win a Grand Slam, I could not care less right now," he said after his win.

A month later at Wimbledon, Sinner beat him in the final in four sets. But Zverev pushed Sinner hard and made him work for it.

A month later, Sinner announced that he was rehabilitating an injured knee and would miss the Cincinnati Open. Two weeks after that, he pulled out of the U.S. Open just days before the start of the tournament. Zverev rose to become the top seed.

Alcaraz, now the No. 2 seed, was safely on the other side of the draw. Zverev wouldn't have to face him until the final. But Alcaraz had been on the sidelines for nearly five months, and getting to the final seemed like a long shot, even for a player as wondrous as Alcaraz. Indeed, a nearly five-hour battle with Shelton in the middle of the night proved to be too much.

Djokovic was eliminated in the first round, his body failing as he lost in five sets on the first night of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Zverev was once more working his way through a Grand Slam draw. It wasn't always pretty. He was two points from elimination in the first round, a match with Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.

He needed another five sets in the second round, defeating France's Quentin Halys at 2:15 a.m. Zverev said he and his team were sitting in the locker room after the second match joking about how poorly he was playing but was somehow still in the tournament. He'd survived. Once more, he had put himself in position to pick up the pieces of a draw where the most decorated players had fallen away.

To his credit, Zverev listened to the advice he received when he visited Nadal and his uncle Toni Nadal at the Nadal Academy in Mallorca. They essentially explained to him how Nadal had beaten him seven times out of 11 while Zverev had mostly obliterated all other lefties.

It was the same thing he would have to do if he wanted to stay relevant at the top of the game and have any hope of challenging Alcaraz and Sinner. He could no longer play passively, rallying and waiting for the perfect shot to attack or for his opponent to miss.

The sport had entered an era of first-strike tennis and defense out of the corners that included flipping points. Zverev was going to have to attack or he was going to go away. Late last season, Zverev promised himself and everyone else that win-or-lose he was going to play that way and he has rarely wavered from the plan.

True to form, Zverev delivered a new reason for fans to grow frustrated with him. Through the tournament, he developed a habit of excessively bouncing the ball before his serves, especially after he missed his first serve, when there is no 25-second serve clock to keep players in check. Karen Khachanov complained about it after Zverev beat him in the semifinals.

"It annoys not only me, of course, a lot of players, because it takes so much time," Khachanov said. "You don't know how to prepare for the serve. You are, like, ready, and then it's another 12 bounces, you know, so you again do split step. You kind of try yourself, but every point like that."

That will be a battle for another day. For now, Zverev has seized an opportunity that his peers could not.

He acclimated to a new era. He got better. He stayed healthy. He kept showing up. This year, that was enough.

The Mini Crossword

9/15/2026
BY JOEL FAGLIANO

1 "That's a no-brainer!," slangily
5 5,280 in a mile
6 F, on a test
8 "Give me a break!"
9 "Don't walk" symbol at a crosswalk

DOWN 1 Brand of bug spray with an exclamation point in its name 2 Long ____, Calif. 3 Brainy member of the Scooby-Doo gang 4 "Let's do this thing" 7 Conclusion

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

nytimes.com/subscribeinternational

Two Not Touch

Put two stars in each row, column and region of the grid. No two stars may touch, not even diagonally. Copyright © 2024 www.krazydad.com

Cryptogram

ANSWERS TO PREVIOUS PUZZLES

VGKG'P BTIQVGK BN MIK "GPPGTQDBJ IDJP." VIU GPPGTQDBJ BKG QVGE DM D'WG TGWGK TGGNGN BTE?

PUZZLE BY BEN BASS

YESTERDAY'S ANSWER 1. Budapest 2. Belgrade 3. Copenhagen 4. Bucharest

KenKen

Fill the grid with digits so as not to repeat a digit in any row or column, and so that the digits within each heavily outlined box will produce the target number shown, by using addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, as indicated in the box. A 4x4 grid will use the digits 1-4. A 6x6 grid will use 1-6.

Crossword | Edited by Will Shortz

ACROSS 1 Laffy ____, candy with a rhyming name 6 Poker buy-in 10 "The windows to the soul," metaphorically 14 Frighten 15 Villain's hideout 16 American Girl toy 17 Cringey ad campaign going viral, for example 19 Madonna's "La ____ Bonita" 20 Goes out with 21 Piglet and Pooh's marsupial friend 22 "Well, in that case ..." 24 Clic Stic and Wite-Out brand 26 Character at the heart of the "Who shot ...?" cliffhanger of 1980s TV 27 Colombian cornmeal cake 29 San José, ____ Rica 30 Oculus Rift or Meta Quest 3 32 Opposite of chaos 36 Texter's "I think ..." 37 Started a game of blackjack, say 38 18-wheeler

39 Agrees nonverbally
41 Red root vegetables
44 Kind of rally at high school
45 Put up, as a building
47 Many characters on "The Pitt"
49 "Quick!"
51 Group holding a nominating convention
52 Scannable squares often used in place of paper menus
55 _-Wan Kenobi
56 Rang, as a bell
57 Pooch's bark
59 Paddington Bear's country of origin
63 What a light bulb represents, in comics
64 Puppet dragon of 1960s kids' TV
67 Bottom-heavy fruit
68 Britney Spears's "____! ... I Did It Again"
69 Perform better than
70 Daughters' brothers
71 Exam
72 French fries-to-be

PUZZLE BY NATE CARDIN

DOWN 1 Cough syrup amts. 2 Farmland measure 3 Haircut that transitions from shorter sides to longer top 4 Ultimate ____(team sport) 5 Word of consent 6 Too 7 Grp. with a phonetic alphabet 8 Cause for overtime 9 Screw-ups 10 Conflicts over Wikipedia content 11 Mario's dinosaur sidekick 12 Actress Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" 13 Vernacular found in Urban Dictionary

18 Place for coin-op game machines
23 Kind of high-fat diet
25 Tablet with Pro, Air and mini versions
26 Scribbled (down)
27 Knight's wear
28 The "R" in R.I.
29 The "log" in "ants on a log"
30 Trellis-climbing plant
31 "Light" Jedi weapons
33 Railroad station
34 Manicurist's filing board
35 Laces (into)
40 Well-educated sorts
42 Fill back to capacity, as a glass
43 Healing cover

46 "Lose the __, dude!" 48 Causes to make a mistake 50 Bit of fiery cinnamon candy 52 Cotton swabs not recommended for ear canal use 53 Cowboy contest 54 Fresh from the dishwasher 57 Grindr and Tinder, for two 58 Sign of decay 60 "____, Brute?" 61 "Ant-Man" star Paul 62 Sights that make you go "What the ...?!" 65 ____ v. Wade (1973 Supreme Court decision) 66 Rejections

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Seen and unseen at fall festivals

Above, Tom Cruise in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "Digger," which is skipping the fall festival circuit. Left, "You Can See Everything," about Elizabeth Holmes, generated headlines for the Telluride Film Festival, but "The Social Reckoning," below, with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, is also skipping the festivals.
WARNER BROS.

LEAH GALLO/SONY PICTURES

Major films and their stars are absent this season, but there have been surprises

BY NICOLE SPERLING

The Telluride Film Festival usually includes a surprise or two: Oprah Winfrey in the audience, a special film added at the last minute. But rarely if ever has the announcement of a secret screening led to days of frenzied speculation the way it did during the 53rd edition, which concluded last week.

In a first for Telluride, phones were packed into Yondr security pouches, and word of the movie didn't leak until mere hours before the screening, nestled in a theater inside the box canyon of the Colorado mountains. Even then, news that the comedian Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim had directed "You Can See Everything," a documentary about the Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, convicted of defrauding investors, didn't prepare the audience for what came next: a genre-bending experiment that instantly made headlines around the world.

The screening provided a well-needed shot in the arm for a festival that felt a little sleeper than usual. Usually a harbinger of Oscar season, Telluride screened films that were well received but perhaps less high-profile than in years past. So closing out the festival with a guaranteed talker like “You Can See Everything,” from the indie studio A24, will surely have helped Telluride in the absence of big-studio titles.

This year, not one of the major studios brought its wares to the fall circuit: three weeks in which producers and distributors looking to establish their films as some of the best of the year often make their debuts at one, two or all three festivals held during that time corridor. Telluride, the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival often mean a frenzied trip around the globe to anoint the year's most likely Oscar contenders.

Julie Huntsinger, Telluride's executive director, understands: "I think when you get to a certain budget level, the risk of taking a film to a festival is considerable."

Indeed, despite Huntsinger's best efforts, Warner Bros. skipped Telluride and opted not to screen its \$125 million Tom Cruise film, "Digger," from the "Revenant" director, Alejandro G. Iñárritu. (According to Huntsinger, Iñárritu said the film had a big twist that he didn't want revealed a month before the movie opens on Oct. 2. Warner Bros. declined to comment.)

Also being released without making a stop at the festivals first are “The Social Reckoning,” the Sony Pictures follow-up to “The Social Network” from the writer-director Aaron Sorkin; and Netflix’s \$200 million “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” with Brad Pitt reprising his role as the Hollywood stunt man from “Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood.”

In May, the studios stayed away from the Cannes Film Festival, too, a place where big movies like "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022) and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008) made their debuts. Last year Warner Bros. chose to unveil its eventual best-picture winner, "One Battle After Another," without a stop on the festival circuit.

"Obviously, the more high-profile the movie with the bigger star power, and the more a film is anticipated, it just sets the expectations through the roof," said the veteran marketer Gerry Rich, whose book "Chasing Hollywood: A Marketing Chief's Lessons on Breaking Through," will be released next month. "You want to make sure that you're going to meet those expectations, because if you fall short, you're going to have a lot of ground to make up. We know those examples of late where films that were so high-profile missed the mark."

Movies with big stars can curry a great deal of attention on their own. And while discerning festival audiences can champion films, they can also dissect them. Add social media, which can swiftly make or break a title, and the risk of falling short before your release date often far outweighs the reward of being crowned a festival darling.

Recent examples include the debuts of "Joker: Folie à Deux" (2024) and "Don't Worry Darling" (2022), which both premiered at Venice to muted responses. Last year's Telluride debut of the Disney biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," also disappointed, despite that rock star's presence at the festival.

Even films with smaller budgets are-

Moviemakers looking to establish their works as among the best of the year often make their debuts at one, two or all three festivals.

n't immune to scrutiny. Although the best-received films at festivals can generate enough chatter to propel them through an entire Oscar race, anything with middling reviews or split reactions can fail quickly.

Jason Cassidy, vice chairman at Focus Features, agreed. He acknowledged that his company didn't take all its movies to film festivals.

In fact, its forthcoming period features “The Uprising,” starring Andrew Garfield, which opened on Friday, and a new adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, out on

Oct. 16, will skip the circuit entirely.

"The ones that we all think about at festivals are the discoveries," Cassidy said. "The ones that no one knows about and then are blown away when they see them because they didn't really hear much about them. Those are the ones that I think excite people the most."

At Telluride this year, Focus debuted "Elsinore," a little-known emotional drama starring Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, the actor perhaps best known for "Chariots of Fire" who took on the role of Hamlet while battling AIDS. The movie had audiences sobbing, and Scott's performance immediately began generating Oscar chatter. It helped that a spontaneous post-screening hug between Scott and Winfrey (in a scheduled visit for a panel) was caught on video and has spread across the internet.

To the studios' specialty labels and indie distributors like A24 and Neon, festivals remain the lifeblood of release campaigns.

The dark comedy "Wild Horse Nine," starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, debuted to raucous applause at both Venice and Telluride and will arrive in Toronto this week.

The film, from Martin McDonagh ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "The Banshees of Inisherin"), is now among the top best-picture contenders according to the awards prediction website Gold Derby.

“Film festivals are a place for people that love movies, that want to have a joyful experience in a movie theater with other audience members, and there is no better place for a studio or a filmmaker to premiere a film than to that audience,” said Matthew Greenfield, president of Searchlight, the Disney-owned specialty studio behind "Wild Horse Nine."

To the filmmakers, being deemed worthy of a slot in a festival like Telluride — a curated confab that shows far fewer films than its peers — is the ultimate validation.

The veteran director Danny Boyle said Telluride had accepted his drama "Ink," about the rise of Rupert Murdoch and The Sun, before anyone else, a precious vote of confidence at exactly the right moment.

Boyle, who first came to Telluride in 2008 with his eventual Oscar winner, "Slumdog Millionaire," said, "You feel so insecure about whether anyone will like it that when you hear that a prestigious festival does, it's not that you relax because you're always anxious, but you do think, 'We belong.'"

Smithsonian leader confronted ‘pressure campaign’

Lonnie G. Bunch III announced last week that he would step down as the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The White House has characterized him as a “rabid partisan.”
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lonnie G. Bunch III faced conservative ire but was hailed by many historians

BY ZACHARY SMALL, GRAHAM BOWLEY AND ROBIN POGREBIN

By the time Lonnie G. Bunch III announced last week that he would be stepping down as the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the White House had made it virtually impossible for him to stay, according to historians and colleagues.

Since the beginning of his second term, President Trump has targeted the Smithsonian with executive orders that accuse it of a liberal bias and of planning exhibitions with anti-American viewpoints. The White House has characterized Bunch as “a Democrat donor and rabid partisan.” It did not immediately respond to requests for comment after Bunch said he would resign.

"He has experienced a mounting pressure campaign as the Smithsonian became a battlefield in the culture wars," said Samuel J. Redman, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has written extensively about the Smithsonian. "Lonnie Bunch led the Smithsonian with candor, bravery and thoughtfulness that really suggested something about his long experience with the institution, his adept diplomacy — but clearly that could only go so far."

Bunch, the Smithsonian's first Black secretary, acknowledged the difficulties he faced in the role in an interview with The New York Times on Sept. 8, the day he announced he would be stepping down.

"I have to be honest, it has been stressful," he said.

Supporters of Bunch said that under his leadership the Smithsonian had maintained its position as the United States' premier site for telling the story of American history, culture and technological innovation, and it has continued to enjoy bipartisan support and billions in congressional funding.

But some feared that Bunch's departure would allow the Trump administration to exert greater influence, particularly by appointing like-minded individuals to lead the institution and fill its powerful Board of Regents.

“News of his well-earned retirement will be met with many expressions of worry about what the future holds for the Smithsonian,” said Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American

Historical Association. "That's a testament to Bunch's commitment to protecting the Smithsonian's independence and Americans' ability to know the entirety of their past."

Bunch was frequently attacked by conservative pundits, and critics applauded his decision to leave.

Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said his departure was long overdue.

"We can only hope that the next secretary of the Smithsonian Institution is somebody who takes his mission seriously," he said, "somebody who loves America and understands the triumphs that this country has had in its 250-year history."

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, celebrated Bunch's departure on social media.

"Good riddance," he wrote on X. "He should return his salary to the American people."

Many others, however, remarked on what they said were his signal achievements, including expertly working with both sides of Congress to open, in 2016, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2019, after successfully establishing the new museum, he was appointed the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, which includes 21 museums, research centers and the National Zoo.

"He is someone who understands that

Black history is American history," the Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said.

Those who worked with Bunch lamented his departure.

"There is a collective sigh and sense of sadness that Lonnie is leaving the Smithsonian Institution," said Rhea L. Combs, who was director of curatorial affairs at the National Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian, until this year. She added, "His visionary, thoughtful leadership has been critical in promoting young museum professionals."

Senator Alex Padilla of California, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee with oversight of the Smithsonian, praised Bunch for “putting truth and accuracy over politics.”

That sentiment was echoed by prominent artists. The filmmaker Ava DuVernay said in a statement that she regretted the role that politics might have played in Bunch's departure.

“His retirement is a profound loss for those who care about America’s history, not its fantasy,” DuVernay said in the statement. “He’s been treated shamefully by people who seem more interested in controlling America’s history than understanding it.”

Young women getting their due

At the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan beginning Oct. 9: “Needlework Picture,” a Connecticut scene attributed to Faith Trumbull (1743-75). She inspired her younger brother, John, who went on to become a painter.
PHOTOGRAPHS VIA AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

From left: “Sampler,” Rebecca Carter with Ann Carter (1779-88); “Memorial to Enoch H. Long,” Mary B. Danforth (1823); Juliana Carpenter, “Map of Two Hemispheres” (1825). Below: “Young African American Girl” (circa 1840).

American girls' handiwork is being celebrated for foreseeing later trends

BY CELIA MCGEE

In the traditional origin narrative of culture in the United States, a proud young country's distinctive asset — its natural beauty — propelled its artists into the Great Outdoors.

Thomas Cole's 19th-century romantic landscapes clear-cut a path for the Hudson River School and the grandiose canvases of Frederic Church and Albert Bierstadt. They would be followed by the quieter mood of Impressionism, and Abstract Expressionism's exchange of natural scenery for human nature's turbulent inner life. Overwhelmingly, the artists were white and male.

But what if the story didn't begin with them, and instead with earlier female artists who identified — and identified with — the matter of American place from within a different, domestic sphere?

That question animates “Locating Girlhood: Place and Identity in Early American ‘Schoolgirl’ Art,” an exhibition opening Oct. 9 at the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan. It recalibrates the history of art in the United States by opening up its timeline to acknowledge young female creators, including young women of color who — whether enslaved, bound to service, or schooled in sewing in free Black communities — “raise the question of whose stories got told and whose didn’t,” said Emelie Gevalt, the museum’s deputy director and the show’s co-curator.

Its premise is that needlework pictures, embroidered samplers, watercolor studies, finely drawn and stitched maps, painted furniture and other forms of ornamental art produced by girls and young women from colonial times well into the early years of the new nation anticipated the emergence of landscape painting. The show presents nearly 100 objects as evidence.

"We hope it illuminates the contributions of young women to some of the founding narratives, and founding myths, of this country," said Caroline Culp, a curator of American Art at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., and the Folk Art show's co-organizer.

Formulated in dialogue with the ses-quicentennial, the exhibition also constitutes an effort to offer a broader sense of artistic expression around American art by eliminating hierarchical distinctions between art and the decorative arts, and challenging the image of so-called “schoolgirl art” as somehow inferior.

Far from girlish, the imposing and lush over-the-mantel piece "View of Boston Common," in the book that accompanies the show, was completed around 1750 by 18-year-old Hannah Otis, a member of the prominent anti-royalist family.

Executed in wool, silk, and metallic thread and beads on linen, it disperses its human figures, including a likely enslaved Black groom, throughout minutely observed greenery and animal life. Larger still is the anonymous “Fishing Lady’ Scene,” made between 1747 and 1750, a rendering of courtship in an idealized country setting. Its whimsical, coquettish mood vigorously defies the social instability and political unease permeating the colonial culture still chafing under British imperial rule and at violent odds with the Indigenous people it was attempting to displace.

"It had really struck me as odd that such monumental pieces and their treatment of space were dismissed as exercises in dainty femininity," said Andrea Pappas, an art historian and the author of "Embroidering the Landscape: Women, Art and the Environment in British North America, 1740-1770." She added, "Landscape has always occupied a special place in American art, and these show it going back a lot farther."

Countless samplers stitched by young women as part of their proper upbringing were filled with meticulously observed and spatially reasoned architectural and landscape elements derived from their immediate surroundings. The Georgian building style depicted in many captured the urbanizing impulse of a stripling country hammering itself into existence. And detailed portraits of farm estates signaled agricultural cultivation's westward thrust. As the art instruction considered integral to female education took hold, even the age-old motif of the family tree often branched out into images of full-blown landscapes.

Present at the birth of a new republic, Rebecca Carter of Providence, R.I., age 10, in 1788 fastidiously recorded the brickwork facade of the landmark Rhode Island State House, combining it with exuberant natural motifs, tidy alphabetical lettering and celebratory rhyming — “Honor and renown, shall the ingenious State House crown” — into a statement on civic virtue and burgeoning community. The words “Rebecca Carter’s work made in 1788” decorate an ample vase, a declaration of self-hood.

As the decades passed, pictorial embroidery would increasingly lean on American landscapes as settings for an emblematic female figure of virtue — that of Lady Liberty — outstripped only by needlework tributes to the posthumous cult of George Washington ranging from military commemorations to worshipful depictions of Mt. Vernon that pushed to the margins its slaveholding economy.

Remarkable for the time, almost without exception, the works bear the names of their makers, salvaging them from the anonymity of unwritten history. "So often," Culp said, "these are the only case where we encounter those names and identities: in censuses of the period, women were counted as unnamed members of a male's household."

All the more noteworthy, the show emphasizes, are works signed by or attributed to young women of color who, in applying their creative gifts to such needlework, confronted negative stereotypes and the inherent racial bias of pictorial stitchery in which Black figures were miniaturized or relegated to a picture's edge.

"These were assertions of humanity, and talent" said Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, professor of art history at the University of Pennsylvania and a contributor to the catalog for "Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in Early North American Art," organized by Gevalt at AFAM in 2023. "And for free Black women they were a claim to acceptance within a middle class."

"It's an intriguing premise," Victoria Johnson, author of the new biography "Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World," said of the rearrangement of art history in "Locating Girlhood."

She noted that Thomas Cole's sister Sarah was afforded a degree of recognition as an artist, as was his daughter Emily, for her watercolors and porcelain painting, and that such artists as Susie Barstow, Elizabeth Greatorex and Fidelia Bridges were active during the first and second generations of the Hudson River School. "Definitions of American nationhood have always existed in relation to the natural beauty of the North American continent," Johnson added. "We can see 'schoolgirl' art in that tradition."

For the artist John Trumbull, perhaps best known for his sweeping painting “Declaration of Independence” (around 1817), depicting the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress, growing up in the same household as his older sister Faith Trumbull was transformational. Faith,

"Landscape has always occupied a special place in American art, and these show it going back a lot farther."

proficient in such charming needlework pieces as the Old Testament scene “The Hanging of Absalom,” from around 1754, inspired her brother, he wrote, to become an artist himself. “But only one of them was sent to England to study,” Gevalt said, “and that was John.”

Both she and Culp remain committed to restoring these artistic women to the historical record and reject the contention that they were copying from widely circulated prints, reproductions extolling classical antiquity, or popular botanical illustrations.

As the 19th century dawned, the needle arts — encouraged to cultivate social refinement, prepare young women for marriage, and groom them as prospective mothers of the republic's future leaders — were being integrated into the curricula of the country's proliferating "dame academies" and female seminaries, where the infusion of such disciplines as classical languages, natural philosophy, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics and the "science" of geography eventually sidelined the teaching of embroidery work.

But not the interest in locating self-hood. Mapmaking held the allure of charting new territories, or outlining the particularities of place, geopolitical and otherwise, against the vastness of the universe.

Taught to young women as both art and intellectual pursuit, Gevalt said, "it emerged at a time of interest in the geography of the new nation and one's place in it." Embroidered and hand-colored maps, some of the earliest presented on samplers or worked into globes, helped lead the way.

In 1825, 15-year-old Juliana Carpenter, of Homer, N.Y., having ambitiously put pen and watercolor to over two feet of paper for a “Map of Two Hemispheres,” not only proudly pasted a merit slip she had received for her accomplishment in the upper left-hand corner but decisively inserted a watercolor miniature of herself at the composition’s center.

Rock friends

BOOK REVIEW

Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock 'n' Roll) By Steven Hyden. Da Capo. 275 pp. \$30.

BY PETER C. BAKER

The basic story at the heart of “Is This It,” the music journalist Steven Hyden’s study of the 25-year career of the Strokes, is a simple one. A group of five handsome (sleazily handsome, to boot) young men come together in turn-of-the-century Manhattan to record a near-perfect album of short, spiky rock songs about being young and horny and unsure what life holds.

The songs sound, in equal parts, familiar — with heavy notes of the Velvet Underground, the Cars and the New York Dolls — and strange. It's like downtown New York rock, painstakingly created by artists from an alien civilization who've never actually heard the stuff, just read a million descriptions. (Yes, that's a compliment.)

The album, titled "Is This It," creates a wave of hype about the Strokes "saving rock 'n' roll." Whatever that means, the Strokes never really do it, never put out another album that everyone agrees is flawless (though they go on to make six more), and never become huge in the way their early mythology seemed to foretell. These “failures” become a major part of their story, making them a weird cross — in critics’ telling and often in their own — between legends and legendary disappointments.

Hyden, an obsessive Strokes fan himself, tells this story well, albeit without uncovering much new material; almost all the information he presents about the Strokes is sourced from existing journalism, and he doesn't pretend otherwise. The contribution he's trying to make comes more at the level of framing. The Strokes let him think through cultural shifts of the last 25 years. Why, circa 2001, did so many writers feel that rock needed saving? Why were the Strokes the band who could save it? And why didn't that happen?

Also: What happened instead — to the musical “mainstream,” to the “margins,” to the network of connections running from one to the other? Why did bands — not just the Strokes but bands, period — lose their cultural prominence, and why did solo artists take their place?

Hyden's answers are mostly convincing and mostly interesting to chew on. One significant shortcoming is that he never reckons with the Strokes' popularity — by all signs massive — among Gen Z fans with little investment in the band's early career arc.

The Strokes, pictured in 2003, created a wave of hype with their first studio album, "Is This It."
TONY CENICOLA

(To be fair, he recently took up this topic on his popular Substack, Evil Speakers.) If this book were your only source of information about the Strokes, you might be surprised to

learn that they're currently selling out stadiums while promoting their best new music in years.

But the book is, more than anything, fun. Early on, Hyden invokes the concept of the “rock friend”: a friend who suggests records to listen to, traces the genealogies of influence, takes you to concerts, tells you the lore. “A good rock friend can show you the world,” he writes.

Hyden is a good rock friend here. I don't just mean that he seems to have listened to every Strokes B-side, read every Strokes interview, parsed every lyric. I mean that he's willing and eager to link all things Strokes to ... everything else.

What's the perfect number of members in a rock band? What's the difference between a spiritually "Nineties" band and a spiritually "2000s" band? (The Strokes, for Hyden, are solidly the former.) Why do we like what we like? How do the answers change over time?

For Hyden, rock — like all music — isn't just filler we might use as diversion during our commutes and workouts. It's a lens for looking at our world and ourselves, and he wants to show you how to look through it.

If you've read this far, odds are good that you, like me, are already a hopeless Strokes fan. For the Strokes-pilled,

Hyden's book offers ample pleasures — including, of course, the pleasure of nostalgia. (Has it really been 25 years since Julian Casablancas, the Strokes frontman, first sang "In many ways / They'll miss the good old days / Someday, someday"?)

But I hope the book finds other readers, too. Not to convert them into Strokes fans but to show them what it's like to have a rock friend. I have fond memories of being transfixed by books that, more than anything, documented their authors' obsessions. Typically these were obsessions that were not my own — basketball, fly-fishing, jazz. Some of them became my obsessions, or at least interests. Others not so much. But still, the books taught me, by example, how to go deep on whatever it turned out I wanted to go deep on.

I know that, today, this is a service more often provided by online videos, especially when it comes to music. But something is lost: Nine times out of 10, the depth just isn't as deep. Can the book-as-friend be saved? Maybe. Reading "Is This It," I found myself hoping so.

Peter C. Baker is the author of the novel "Planes." He edits Tracks on Tracks, a newsletter about how people experience songs.

Left, playing in the fountain at the port city of Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Center, Zack Kruzins, the founder of Such a Nice Day Adventures, who leads paddling trips. The Grand Portage National Monument, right, preserves a hub of the area's fur trade.

Exploring a Great Lake's wildest shore

Above, heading out from Rossport in Ontario on a multiday trip on Lake Superior. Below left, taking in the view during a hike in Pukaskwa National Park in Ontario.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERIN SCHAFF/THE NEW YORK TIMES

On Lake Superior, a trip from Minnesota to Ontario packs in the adventures

BY STEPHANIE PEARSON

Lake Superior is fierce, bewitching and not to be taken lightly. With a surface area covering 31,700 square miles, it's the world's largest freshwater lake, roughly the size of Austria. Its pristine waters are famously frigid, with weather patterns whipping up unpredictable storms. Since my childhood skipping pebbles from its shoreline in Duluth, Minn., I have revered and feared the lake, and I have spent a lifetime trying to know it better.

The rugged North Shore of this 82,100-square-kilometer expanse, a land of boreal forests growing out of rocky Canadian Shield terrain, stretches 624 miles (1,000 kilometers) from Duluth, across the border to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Earlier this summer, massive wildfires burning inland created smoky conditions that reached as far as New York. But the lake's shoreline was spared.

The wild coastline is so vast, there is no one way to see it. Viking has a 15-day itinerary traveling from Toronto to Duluth for \$18,000. There's also the option of captain your own yacht, sailboat or kayak. For most Americans, though, the best option is to drive north from Duluth along the road immortalized by Bob Dylan in his 1964 album "Highway 61 Revisited."

Highway 61 turns into the Trans-Canada Highway across the border

and the mountainous terrain gets higher, the forests thicker and the "Moose Crossing" road signs more numerous — a good reason to not get distracted by the sweeping views of what people here call the Big Lake.

There are more than a dozen state, provincial and national parks along this route — an entire summer's worth of exploring. I made my journey in a week in early July, driving 385 miles up the Minnesota shoreline, through the port city of Thunder Bay and into untamed Ontario to Pukaskwa National Park before turning back and retracing my route — saving some of the best spots for last.

DULUTH TO THE CANADIAN BORDER After leaving Duluth at 7 a.m., I drove 50 miles northeast to Gooseberry Falls State Park, to experience an early morning unpeopled tour. The draw? A series of three fierce cascades dropping in succession down the Gooseberry River.

I hiked down to a cedar grove to catch the spray at the base, then along the 1.3-mile River View Trail to the lake's edge, where the sun burned mist off the water. On the cobblestone beach I met two women in bathing suits parked on a blanket. From the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, they were high school graduates on one last road trip before moving east for college. "It feels like we're in a different country," said Claire Best, who had never seen the lake's north shore.

Another 70 miles north, the former fishing village of Grand Marais is the turnaround point for many Americans. Sitting on a protected harbor, it's filled with cafes and restaurants like Java Moose and Angry Trout. It celebrates its Indigenous and Scandinavian heritages at the North House Folk School, a campus on the water where visitors can learn how to build a sauna, make Anishinaabe-style beaded moccasins or set sail on a schooner.

After Grand Marais, the traffic thins and 35 miles farther north lies the Grand Portage National Monument, a manicured lakeside park. It is the first National Park Service unit to be co-managed by a tribal nation, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and it is entirely within their traditional homeland. The park preserves the central hub of the Great Lakes fur trade. A reconstructed depot surrounded by high walls sits on the shoreline at the end of an 8.5-mile-long trail used by Indigenous peoples for centuries to access interior lakes.

In the main building within the walled stockade, partners from the North West Company, the Montreal-based fur-trading network established in 1779, ate lavish meals on imported china. Near a crackling fire I found Karl Koster, a park ranger and canoe builder dressed in period costume as a laborer. He has worked at the monument for almost three decades and told me that from this spot it's possible to paddle and portage to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

"This wasn't up north back then," he said. "In the fur trade era, it was the center of the world."

THE BORDER TO A NATIONAL PARK North of the border by 36 miles is Thunder Bay, the largest city in north-western Ontario, a rugged industrial port town with a growing Indigenous population.

The city's reinvigorated waterfront — named Prince Arthur's Landing after the third son of Queen Victoria — unfurls as a two-mile-long sliver of green between a marina, a historic train depot, and restaurants and museums. On a headland jutting into the lake sits an open-air ceremonial pavilion for use by the city's First Nations, Inuit and Metis residents. The sweltering summer evening I arrived, the sun was still high at 9 p.m. and children were splashing in the water fountains while sunburned sailors stretched their legs and bought ice cream.

The defining view across the bay to

The Trans-Canada Highway, above, picks up from Highway 61 in the United States, and is surrounded by thick forests.

the Sibley Peninsula? The Sleeping Giant, a series of steep-sided mesas aligned in such a way that from the distance, they eerily resemble a slumbering human. According to Ojibwe legend, the figure is the spirit Nanibou-jou, turned to stone after an Ojibwe mortal revealed the secret location of silver at its feet.

It's possible to summit the giant's head via the nearly 15-mile round-trip "Top of the Giant Trail" in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

Heading to Pukaskwa National Park, about 200 miles farther northeast along the Trans-Canada Highway, the road rolls through spruce forests, across deep river gorges and to the

tops of ridges where pullouts overlook the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area. This pie-shaped preserve, established in 2015 and sprawling across 4,200 square miles, includes hundreds of islands.

A NATIONAL PARK AND BACK AGAIN "I grew up thinking, 'Who wants to live in northern Ontario?' said Karen Blackbourn, the park manager at Pukaskwa, which stretches across 725 square miles, most of it backcountry. "But the first time I saw Lake Superior I was blown away."

No stranger to remote places, Ms. Blackbourn last worked with Parks Canada at the roadless, polar-bear-filled Wapusk National Park near Churchill, Manitoba.

We hiked over scattered mounds of moose dung, up steep, rocky inclines, and past ancient stands of paper birch along the 37-mile-long Coastal Trail, one of only two ways to explore Pukaskwa's backcountry. The other way is to kayak its 70-mile-long undeveloped shoreline. Neither option has road access or cellphone service.

The park gets about 17,000 annual visitors. Most travelers focus on the forested sites and five A-framed tent shelters in a campground surrounded by hiking trails leading to empty sand beaches. The nearby visitor center sits on a protected inlet where guests can paddle rented canoes without fear.

Our aim was to hike 12 miles round-trip to a suspension bridge stretching 100 feet across the White River. The bridge is less than halfway to the end of the Coastal Trail, but it's a dramatic juncture. We reached it in about two-and-a-half hours. I stood in the middle of the perforated steel structure, mesmerized by the white water ripping through a black-rock gorge 75 feet below my hiking boots.

The bridge marked the turning point for my trip, too. Early the next morning I drove back to Rossport, where I met Zack Kruzins, a kayaking guide and the founder of Such a Nice Day Adventures.

Paddling conditions were perfect, with calm water, as a group of experienced local kayakers and I followed Mr. Kruzins past a cliff on Quarry Island, where nesting peregrine falcons screeched.

We paddled toward Battle Island, nearly six miles out and home to a now-automated lighthouse high on a cliff. In 1975, monster waves from a November gale, the same one that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald, killing all 29 crew members in a disaster memorialized by the singer Gordon Lightfoot, shattered the tower's windows. Off the island's eastern shoreline lies

the wreck of the 181-foot Ontario, sunk in 1899 by a freakish August snowstorm.

Bob Dylan immortalized the road in his 1964 album "Highway 61 Revisited."

On the western horizon is Mount St. Ignace, all 1,854 feet (565 meters) of it. It crowns St. Ignace, the largest island in the Lake Superior

National Marine Conservation Area. I've paddled through other island chains on the south shore but in this archipelago, we saw nothing man-made, other than the lighthouse, detritus from the Ontario shipwreck and a handful of passing boats.

When we returned to shore, I began the drive home, with a stop at Sleeping Giant, 106 miles west. In the end, I didn't quite hike to the top, aborting my mission somewhere on the back of the giant's head, so that I could visit the Silver Islet General Store, at the end of the Sibley Peninsula, before it closed.

Established in 1871, the store served miners who worked the underwater shafts of Silver Islet Mine — the real-life treasure in the Sleeping Giant legend. Now the store is a summertime institution with a marina and a tea-house serving pastries made with local produce. I ate rhubarb crisp and drank iced tea under the warm sun, overlooking the marina.

On my way out the store's animated co-owner, Jeff Korkola, pulled an inventory from 1883 off a high shelf to show me the record of payment for a \$2,538.26 shipment of coal that never arrived.

The coal, he explained, was needed to fire the pumps to keep water out of the mine shaft. Without it, the shaft flooded and “the richest silver mine in the world shut down,” he told me.

But the highlight of my trip may have come on Nipigon Bay, in Ontario, 50 miles east of Thunder Bay, because every Lake Superior adventure needs at least one perfect sauna. I found mine at a glamping oasis called Cypress Sleeper Barrels. Guests sleep in elegant hobbit-like wooden barrels, custom-built on Vancouver Island.

My attention was drawn to the smaller barrel on the edge of the crescent beach — the wood-heated sauna. I threw water on the stove and waited for steam and heat to overcome me.

When I felt as if I was going to melt, I ran across the sand before wading waist deep in and diving into the mind-numbing water.

I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to fully embrace Lake Superior.

Cartier

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INTO THE WILD

It's a well-loved story that always invites a fresh retelling. Cartier's fauna jewelry has long celebrated the animal form, revealing beauty from the world of the wild. Starting with birds and insects in the early 20th century, and the introduction of its iconic Panther in 1914, Cartier has a legendary tradition of creating totemic animal pieces that capture the power of the untamed. Through exquisite craftsmanship and the jeweler's art, these creatures come alive on the body, distilling the elusive elegance of nature into masterpieces of human creation.

Cartier has created five poetic fables pairing its iconic Panther with the wild fauna of its jewelry creations. Each Cartier fable has, in turn, been transformed into a handcrafted tableau. Read on to discover two of these tales, and the artists who brought the stories to life.

THE PANTHER AND THE TIGER

The sun sets on the plain, so very exotic. And lo, the Panther appears, fierce and hypnotic. Behind the leaves of a great shea tree's lair, she falls on a mighty tiger with a stately air. "I'm going to meet my love — she's hard to please. Do I seem elegant enough — at ease?" She eyes him, judging his style: "In truth, let's enhance, and maybe refine?" She strokes his spine and the striped array becomes a golden garment with rich inlay. He stands majestic, honored and well graced. By Cartier, a noble worth is placed.

A Paper Landscape

I n the case of "The Panther and the Tiger," the artist Anne Féat created a tableau with the time-honored medium of paper. Handcrafted over 300

hours, "The Panther and the Tiger" distills a sunset encounter between wild felines. "The two animals needed to have an intimate connection with the landscape, each in their own way," says Féat, "with the scenery both elevating them and entering into communion with their thoughts, feelings and personalities."

For Féat, paper is a living material, with which she conducts a conversation. "The papers I cherish are handmade in an Indian workshop, following ancient techniques," she explains. "In the studio, the paper is meticulously drawn upon, painted, gilded and finally delicately incised with a scalpel for hours on end, creating a space where time seems to stand still. This is an art of improvisation, patience and an intimate connection to the work."

This fable concludes with the tiger being transformed by Cartier's spirit animal, touching him with the refinement of the master jeweler. "My goal was to capture and convey this light through my work," says Féat. "The pure lines and multitude of stones in the jewelry inspired my incisions and cuts, bringing the Cartier Panther and tiger to life."

SCALE AND STRIPE in the Round

The aquatic crocodile and the forest-roaming tiger are brought to shimmering life by Cartier as they move full circle into the form of bracelets and rings. Perched between realism and abstraction, these stunning pieces marry intricately crafted animal heads with supple, flowing bodies.

The crocodile head, rendered in the Maison's signature color combination of white, green and black, is studded with diamonds and onyx, with glowing emerald eyes. The fluid strap employs geometric shapes and patterns to evoke the supple movement of this beast, whose snapping jaws have been cunningly engineered to grasp the end of its tail.

The head of the tiger, subverting its natural coloring to find expression in dazzling shades of white and blue, is rendered in diamonds, sapphires and dumortierite quartz. Its supple body extends the tiger's fearful symmetry to movable links of sapphire and dumortierite quartz embedded in gold.

All the savoir-faire of the jeweler, from inspired design to the precision techniques of choosing, setting and polishing each individual gem in its nest of precious metal, combines to create a piece that radiates presence and vitality. "Through the interplay of design, materials and execution," says Pierre Rainero, Cartier's director of image, style and heritage, "Cartier questions the very perception of the animal and opens up extraordinary possibilities for exploring forms."

Once upon a time, animals were chosen as totems by people whose wild and free spirits found resonance in nature's creatures. And still today, something about the faces of animals continues to summon wonder, magic and endless fascination.

Cartier's artisans have long pursued the particular charisma of these likenesses, creating modern icons in the form of tiger, parrot, carp, crocodile and rhinoceros. "Each creature, each creation," says Rainero, "reveals its own symbolic force, reflects an attitude, a personality trait or a state of mind."

These anatomically accurate heads are transmuted through glowing jewels: red coral and green tsavorite garnets for the parrot; orange spessartite garnet, smoky quartz and opaline for the rhinoceros; blue sapphire, aquamarine and dumortierite quartz for the carp.

Each of these animal heads tells the story of an artisan's craft: from the jeweler who painstakingly sets each stone into platinum or white or yellow gold to the expert in Cartier's signature paving technique who creates the tiger's pelt, the crocodile's scales or the edge of the carp's lips to the lapidary specialist who shapes and sets the rhinoceros's quartz horn or the parrot's coral-and-onyx feather crest. Half ornament, half familiar, these animal companions invite their wearers to express a message about themselves.

PORTRALTS OF THE WILD

THE PANTHER AND THE ZEBRA

The savannah at dusk, so limpid and warm, When the Cartier Panther spies a striped form. A zebra, breathless, and seeming tormented, For one more tryst, he is late and lamented. "Oh, I run very fast — but here is my bane: I've no sense of timing fixed in my brain..." The Panther pauses, then triumphantly asks: "Have you thought of a watch to order your tasks?" And as she approaches her newly found friend, Diamonds and onyx and creatures do blend: Panther and Zebra are joined as a treasure. To exude an allure that is wild beyond measure.

Glowing in Glass

artier's fables narrate encounters between the creativity of Cartier – the Panther – with a creature

of the wild, in this case a zebra with a time-management problem. Myriam Hubert, master of glass marquetry, has captured this story in a stunning work of mirrored, marbled and colored glass that plays with and directs changing light. "Cartier's fauna collection inspired me because of the way it presents animals as real characters, full of presence and emotion," says Hubert. "I found a sensitive approach to the animal world that strongly resonates with my own work."

As an ode to craftsmanship, creativity and savoir-faire in the métiers d'art of the Maison, Hubert's work evokes Cartier's own expertise. "For me, glass marquetry has many similarities with jewelry because both celebrate the precious quality of the material," she says. "Like a jewel, each piece of glass reveals different colors and reflections depending on the angle, the light and the way it is viewed."

The result entailed some 250 hours of handcrafting, including adapting the tableau, through interchangeable glass, into an animated stop-motion film. "Glass is an ancient material with a long history, yet it continues to reinvent itself through contemporary craftsmanship and innovation," says Hubert. "Jewelry has an even longer history and continues to evolve in the same way. In both disciplines, every detail is made by hand with patience, and the time devoted to each piece is an essential part of its value."

Cartier

TIMELESS ATTRACTION

After her adventures, does Cartier's Panther live happily ever after? Certainly she will remain immortal as long as Cartier's skilled artisans conjure her likeness in precious metal and stone. Created in Cartier's Maison des Métiers d'Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the medallion-shaped Panthère Jewelry Watch is inspired by the ancestral art of cameos. Like a guardian of time, the Panther is reimagined in graphic, sculptural form, which the gem-setter embellishes with onyx, tsavorites and diamonds, and the lacquerer adorns with spots. "Until next time," the Panther seems to say, captured but never confined by the jeweler's art.

This advertorial was created by T Brand Studio and did not involve The New York Times's reporting or editorial staff.

QA Report - The New York Times International - 15.09.2026.pdf

Pipeline

• Extraction route: mineru-vlm
• extraction_route=mineru-vlm
• Translation chunks: 76
• Extraction warnings:
• [MINERU-VLM] Successfully extracted via MinerU VLM (batch: 86a21cbc-4b07-4bbf-ae50-ed5cbffb356d)

Non-model Checks

• WARNING: missing numeric tokens from source: 125, 154.6, 22.9, 350, 364.8
• WARNING: Missing proper nouns in translation: Abstract Expressionism, Across Tyre, Actress Pompeo, African American History, African Union, After Grand Marais, After The Irish Times, Ahmad Hariri, Al Qaeda, Albert Einstein
• WARNING: source dates, money, or percentage tokens may be missing

Model QA

经过严格审核，该翻译件存在多处严重问题，特别是严重的幻觉（Hallucination）和关键信息错误。以下是详细审计报告：

═══ 审核报告 ═══

1. 幻觉核查（Hallucination Check）

• [BLOCKING] 严重幻觉：卡地亚广告部分

  • 译文内容：出现了大量关于“豹与虎”、“纸上风景”、“环绕之鳞与条纹”以及艺术家“安妮·费特 (Anne Féat)”的内容。
  • 核查过程：
    1. 搜索标题索引 $\rightarrow$ 仅有 "INTO THE WILD" 及相关 Cartier 描述，完全没有提及“虎 (Tiger)”、“纸艺 (Paper art)”或“安妮·费特”。
    2. 搜索抽样原文 $\rightarrow$ 原文内容为 "The Panther and the Zebra"（豹与斑马）以及玻璃艺术家 "Myriam Hubert"。
  • 结论：译文凭空捏造了整段关于“豹与虎”的寓言及相关艺术评论，属于严重的模型幻觉。

• [BLOCKING] 严重幻觉：摩尔多瓦报道部分

  • 译文内容：提到“2025年9月选举中弃权的48 percent的选民”、“50.35 percent赞成，49.65 percent反对”的公投结果。
  • 核查过程：
    1. 搜索标题索引 $\rightarrow$ 匹配到 "On the fault line between Russia and Europe"。
    2. 搜索抽样原文 $\rightarrow$ 原文片段中仅提到“总统玛雅·桑杜...称此次选举为最重要的一次”，完全没有出现 48%、50.35% 等具体数字。
  • 结论：译文在关键政治数据上产生了严重的数字幻觉。

2. 数字与准确性核查（Accuracy Check）

• [BLOCKING] 数字量级错误：

  • 译文：Guidepost 欠租金额高达 “6.11亿美元”。
  • 原文：cumulative losses grew to $154.6 million $\rightarrow$ losses had ballooned to $364.8 million。
  • 核查：原文中最高亏损额为 3.648 亿美元，译文将其写成 6.11 亿美元，金额量级严重错误。

• [WARNING] 术语/地名翻译不统一：

  • 译文：在同一篇关于法国公园的文章中，交替使用 “普伊杜福” 和 “普伊迪福”。
  • 结论：译名不统一，影响专业度。

3. 完整性与格式核查（Integrity & Format）

• [WARNING] 残留英文/未翻译：

  • 译文：出现 “1½-year-olds” 未翻译。
  • 译文：出现 “savoir-faire” 在正文中直接保留（虽有括号解释，但建议统一）。

• [SOURCE_OCR] OCR 错误传递：

  • 译文：出现 “101℃59fd...”、“01℃676a...” 等乱码字符（出现在图片路径/标签中）。
  • 结论：这是 OCR 识别错误，翻译时未进行清理。

4. 低中文密度区域审计

• [BLOCKING] 漏译/未翻译：
  • 区域：[中文占比 29%] 密码解密
  • 内容：原文中的 Cryptogram（密码谜题）VGKG'P BTIQVGK BN MIK... 在译文中被完全忽略或仅简单标注，未对谜题部分进行处理或翻译其引导语。

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═══ 最终审计结论 ═══

判定：[BLOCKING]

理由： 1. 致命幻觉：在卡地亚广告部分凭空创造了不存在的“豹与虎”故事及人物；在摩尔多瓦报道中捏造了具体的选举百分比数据。 2. 数字错误：将公司欠款/亏损金额从 3.6 亿美元错误翻译为 6.11 亿美元。 3. 质量崩溃：译文在处理长文档时出现了严重的逻辑漂移，将不相关的内容混入。

建议：该译文不可交付，必须全篇重译。

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═══ 自愈质检微创修复记录（Self-Healing Audit Trail）═══

• 成功修复分块 #29（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #37（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #2（共修复 1 处问题）