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Newsroom Diversity: A Casualty of Journalism's Financial Crisis | The Atlantic

The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) recently released its annual study of newsroom diversity. The results only confirmed what many who have lived through the industry’s deep recession have already experienced: a steady decline in minority journalists and stagnation in prior progress. Despite…

Jul 17, 2013

In Rural Oasis, Serpico Finds New Adversaries | The New York Times

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Four decades after battling corruption in the New York City Police Department, Frank Serpico, 77, is now battling a developer building a luxury home next to his upstate refuge. Credit... Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times STUYVESANT, N.Y. — Frank Serpico stopped along a road near his home in…

Jul 8, 2013

In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A. | The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — In more than a dozen classified rulings, the nation’s surveillance court has created a secret body of law giving the National Security Agency the power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear…

Jul 8, 2013

The Nine Lives of Michael B. Jordan | New York Magazine

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(Photo: Pej Behdarvand. Styling by Jeff K. Kim for Margaret Maldonado. Sweater by John Varvatos.) Photo: Pej Behdarvand/New York Magazine Where’s Wallace at? It’s hard not to think of that famous line from HBO’s The Wire on this rainy afternoon at the Cannes Film Festival while waiting, and waiting,…

Jul 2, 2013

Potential Witness in F.B.I. Shooting Inquiry Ordered to Remain in Jail Until She Leaves U.S. | Boston Globe

bostonglobe.com

Ibragim Todashev An immigration judge has ordered a potential witness in the investigation into the fatal shooting of a Chechen man by an FBI agent last month to leave the United States no later than July 1, and to remain in jail until she departs, raising an outcry from a civil rights group seeking…

Jul 2, 2013

Job Title Key to Inner Access Held by Snowden | The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials refer to Edward J. Snowden’s job as a National Security Agency contractor as “systems administrator” — a bland name for the specialists who keep the computers humming. But his last job before leaking classified documents about N.S.A. surveillance, he told the news…

Jul 2, 2013

American Way of Birth, Costliest in the World | The New York Times

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Paying Till It Hurts See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. LACONIA, N.H. — Seven months pregnant, at a time when most expectant couples are stockpiling diapers and choosing car seats, Renée Martin was struggling with bigger purchases. At a prenatal class in…

Jul 2, 2013

Three Justices Bound by Beliefs, Not Just Gender | The New York Times

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Sidebar From left, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The justices are notable for how often they agree with one another. Credit... Steve Petteway/Supreme Court, via Associated Press WASHINGTON — You can tell a lot about the Supreme Court by looking at who voted with…

Jul 2, 2013

On TV and the Lecture Circuit, Bill Nye Aims to Change the World | The New York Times

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The Science Guy has gone from taking on science lessons for children to taking on pundits on cable television over climate change, evolution and science in general. AMES, Iowa — As the car pulled into the parking lot of a Starbucks, William Sanford Nye unknotted his trademark bow tie and slipped it…

Jul 2, 2013

Skinheads in Paris: The Death of a Student and the Rise of the Fringe

newyorker.com

Clément Méric was nineteen years old, a student. He’d moved to Paris from Brittany—where his parents had, until recently, taught law—to attend Sciences Po, a prestigious public university. He was, according to his former teacher Amaury Chauou, exceptional and strong-willed, qualities that helped…

Jul 2, 2013

Journalism, Even When It’s Tilted | The New York Times

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The Media Equation In a refracted media world where information comes from everywhere, the line between two “isms” — journalism and activism — is becoming difficult to discern. As American news media have pulled back from international coverage, nongovernmental organizations have filled in the gaps…

Jul 1, 2013

Bringing Back the No-Stigma Extended Vacation | Wall Street Journal

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TO DESCRIBE SCOTT Cooke's lifestyle as intense would not be off-base. A principal at New York-based luxury marketing and public-relations firm GCK Partners, he is constantly on call for his clients—and call they do, day and night. Mr. Cooke attends two events most evenings, and travels for business…

Jul 1, 2013

Obama’s Crackdown Views Leaks as Aiding Enemies of U.S. | McClatchy

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Even before a former U.S. intelligence contractor exposed the secret collection of Americans’ phone records, the Obama administration was pressing a government-wide crackdown on security threats that requires federal employees to keep closer tabs on their co-workers and exhorts managers to punish…

Jul 1, 2013

The Day Nelson Mandela Walked Out of Prison | NPR

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Nelson Mandela, with his wife, Winnie, walks to freedom after 27 years in prison on Feb. 11, 1990, in Cape Town. AP Editor's Note: Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the day that Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered the negotiations to end apartheid. Greg Myre, the international…

Jun 28, 2013

Kanye West and White Women | The Awl

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“Yeezus,” the new and almost pathologically anticipated Kanye West album, was leaked online two weeks ago and then, probably out of custom, released legally last week. Upon first listen it reminded me of Nine Inch Nails, Death Grips, and my dad—but not because West now has a two-week-old child with…

Jun 28, 2013

How to Invest in Dope | The New York Times Magazine

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Credit... Cut paper by Bovey Lee/Tom Schierlitz for The New York Times Brendan Kennedy and Michael Blue, private-equity financiers, settled into a downtown Seattle conference room in March to meet with a start-up. Both wore charcoal blazers and polished loafers. Kennedy, 41, is the former chief…

Jun 28, 2013

Empty Seat Deepens a Mystery in Moscow | The New York Times

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On Aeroflot Flight 150, an empty window seat believed to have been for Edward J. Snowden. Many of the passengers were journalists hoping to interview him. Credit... Maxim Shemetov/Reuters MOSCOW — Seat 17A was empty on Monday afternoon as Aeroflot Flight 150 took off from a Moscow airport. But most…

Jun 28, 2013

Never Give Stores Your ZIP Code. Here's Why | Forbes

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(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Why do merchants sometimes ask us for our ZIP code when we buy something? I recently visited the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, an interesting addition to Sin City’s attractions. I paid my admission with a credit card, prompting the museum ticket seller to ask me: “What’s your…

Jun 28, 2013

The Fight for Black Men | Newsweek

thedailybeast.com

U.S. News Husband of Jennifer Dulos Charged With Her Murder: Police Pilar Melendez World Trump, Iran, and Where ‘The Forever War’ Was Always Headed Spencer Ackerman Media Fox Host Slobbers Over Defense Stock Prices After Soleimani Andrew Kirell Warren Shuts Down Meghan McCain’s Defense of Trump on…

Jun 28, 2013

The Other Snowden Drama: Impugning the Messenger | The New York Times

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Media Decoder As a pure story, it’s tough to beat the Snowden saga. Man of intrigue? Roger. Crusading reporter? Check. A powerful government in hot pursuit? Yessir. Unclear agendas by foreign countries? Most certainly. And as Edward J. Snowden made his way across the globe with a disintegrating…

Jun 28, 2013

In Ali’s Voice From the Past, a Stand for the Ages | The New York Times

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Sports of The Times Muhammad Ali was escorted from the armed forces examining station in Houston after refusing to be inducted into the Army on April 28, 1967. Credit... Associated Press I woke up Thursday morning and heard a familiar voice that I thought was part of a dream: Muhammad Ali was…

Jun 28, 2013

Sweeping Protests in Brazil Pull In an Array of Grievances | The New York Times

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Student protesters at a public university in Rio de Janeiro are teaching each other how to expose data about the city’s transport system. Credit... Nadia Sussman SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Just a few weeks ago, Mayara Vivian felt pretty good when a few hundred people showed up for a protest she helped…

Jun 28, 2013

The Dutch Prize Their Pedal Power, but a Sea of Bikes Swamps Their Capital | The New York Times

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Amsterdam Journal Amsterdam has more bicycles than people, and although it has thousands of bike racks, demand for them still outstrips supply. Credit... Pavel Prokopchik for The New York Times AMSTERDAM — About 6:30 weekday mornings, throngs of bicycles, with a smattering of motor scooters and…

Jun 28, 2013

Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders | The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — When Max Kelly, the chief security officer for Facebook, left the social media company in 2010, he did not go to Google, Twitter or a similar Silicon Valley concern. Instead the man who was responsible for protecting the personal information of Facebook’s more than one billion users…

Jun 28, 2013

The F.B.I. Deemed Agents Faultless in 150 Shootings | The New York Times

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An apartment complex in Orlando, Fla., where Ibragim Todashev was killed by an F.B.I. agent last month. WASHINGTON — After contradictory stories emerged about an F.B.I. agent’s killing last month of a Chechen man in Orlando, Fla., who was being questioned over ties to the Boston Marathon bombing…

Jun 28, 2013

Several Murder Confessions Taken by Brooklyn Detective Have Similar Language | The New York Times

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As the Brooklyn homicide detective Louis Scarcella told it, the suspect in a ruthless home invasion that left one man dead and two more people in a coma started talking after just a few minutes of questioning. “You got it right,” the suspect, Jabbar Washington, said. “I was there.” The phrase was…

Jun 28, 2013

Behind Kanye’s Mask | The New York Times

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The Visionaries Credit... Nick Knight Malibu, Calif. — From Shangri-la Studio here you can see the Pacific Ocean just over the fence lapping calmly at Zuma Beach. And this compound is just as Zen, with recording equipment set up in various locations, including an old bus and a spotless white house…

Jun 28, 2013

As Home Sales Heat Up Again, Buyers Must Resort to Cold Cash | The New York Times

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Jeff and Lorena Leininger with their children. The family had nine offers on their house three days after showing it. Credit... Monica Almeida/The New York Times LOS ANGELES — Bidding wars sound almost quaint. These days, the only way for would-be buyers to secure a home, it often seems, is to offer…

Jun 28, 2013

NSA Collecting Phone Records of Millions of Verizon Customers Daily | The Guardian

guardian.co.uk

Under the terms of the order, the numbers of both parties on a call are handed over, as is location data and the time and duration of all calls. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of…

Jun 28, 2013

Behind the Rise in House Prices, Wall Street Buyers | The New York Times

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Emily Berl for The New York Times Joe Cusumano, a real estate agent, outside a home in Riverside, Calif. He said much of his business came from large investors. The last time the housing market was this hot in Phoenix and Las Vegas, the buyers pushing up prices were mostly small time. Nowadays, they…

Jun 28, 2013

Supreme Court Says Police Can Take DNA Samples After an Arrest | The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — The police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision . The federal government and 28 states authorize the practice, and law enforcement officials say it is a valuable tool for investigating…

Jun 28, 2013

The Boy Toy’s Story | The New York Times

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Scott Thorson on stage with Liberace in Las Vegas in 1979. Credit... Corbis RENO, Nev. — Soon after moving into Liberace’s gaudy Las Vegas mansion in 1977, Scott Thorson, then a teenage hunk in the foster care system, learned that the jewel-smitten showman could love just as extravagantly as he…

Jun 28, 2013

For Obama’s Ex-Aides, It’s Time to Profit From Experience | Washington Post

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The decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline is a political headache for President Obama. But to five of his former aides, it represents a business opportunity. Four of them — Bill Burton , Stephanie Cutter , Jim Papa and Paul Tewes — work as consultants for opponents of the…

Jun 28, 2013

U.S. Women on the Rise as Family Breadwinner | The New York Times

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Women are not only more likely to be the primary caregivers in a family. Increasingly, they are primary breadwinners, too. Four in 10 American households with children under age 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner for her family, according to a Pew Research Center…

Jun 28, 2013

Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food | The New York Times

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Opinion Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. WE like the idea that food can be the answer to our ills, that if we eat nutritious foods we won’t need medicine or supplements. We have valued this notion for a long, long…

Jun 28, 2013

States’ Policies on Health Care Exclude Some of the Poorest | The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — The refusal by about half the states to expand Medicaid will leave millions of poor people ineligible for government-subsidized health insurance under President Obama’s health care law even as many others with higher incomes receive federal subsidies to buy insurance. Starting next…

Jun 28, 2013

Yes, Please: Party of One | T Magazine

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Slim Aarons/Getty Images The photographer Slim Aarons lounges by the Acropolis, circa 1955. Why suffer through grumbling vacations with others when it’s so much more blissful to go it alone? The first rule of travel is that you should always go with someone you love, which is why I travel alone. The…

Jun 28, 2013

Officials: Man Who Knew Boston Bomber Was Unarmed When Shot | Washington Post

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A Chechen man who was fatally shot by an FBI agent last week during an interview about one of the Boston bombing suspects was unarmed, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. An air of mystery has surrounded the FBI shooting of Ibragim Todashev , 27, since it occurred in Todashev’s apartment early…

Jun 28, 2013

How Happiness Changes With Age | The Atlantic

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deep_schismatic / flickr I'm just shy of 40 years-old. I spend most Saturday nights at home in yoga pants, rereading favorite novels or watching old movies, or playing Monopoly Junior with my seven-year-old. (If you think Monopoly is boring, then you haven't tried Monopoly Junior.) This way of…

Jun 28, 2013