Stocks fell sharply Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady again despite continued inflation pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1,153.18 points, or 2.19 percent, for its worst decline since April 2025 — when President Trump unveiled his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs. The S&P 500 dipped by 1.52 percent, falling to… Source link
When The Selfish Gene was published in 1976, The New York Times said it was “the kind of science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius”. Few popular science books have had such an impact. As Richard Dawkins writes in the epilogue to the 50th anniversary edition, it’s rare enough for a book to be in press 50 years later, let alone that the author is still around to write an update about it. There is a strong case that The Selfish Gene has had the biggest influence on our understanding of evolution of any book since Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. It showed, in irresistible prose, how everything we see in biology can be explained by a gene-centred view of life. Yet when it was first published, only a small number of genes had been sequenced and we didn’t even know how many we had or shared with other species. So, half a century on, with the “selfish gene” metaphor still very current, I wanted to find out if it …
HONG KONG, April 23 : The dollar wobbled near a 1-1/2-week high on Thursday as a standoff between Iran and the U.S. in the Middle East war and lack of progress in peace talks pulled oil prices back above $100 per barrel, weighing on investor sentiment. Tehran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, escalating tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran indefinitely with no sign of peace talks restarting. The two sides now remain divided on a ceasefire, blockade, nuclear issues and control of the strait, leaving the strategic waterway still effectively shut and triggering an energy shock in a blow to economies across the world. The euro was fetching $1.1712, having touched its lowest since April 13 earlier in the session. The single currency is headed for a 0.4 per cent decline in the week, its first drop in four weeks. Sterling stood at $1.3497. The Australian dollar was steady at $0.7165, not far from the four-year high it touched last week. The New Zealand dollar …
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Dylan Sprouse and his wife, Barbara Palvin, encountered an alleged trespasser at their Hollywood Hills home early Friday. According to the Los Angeles Times, Palvin called 911 around 12:30 a.m. after she noticed a man on their property and reported a possible burglary. Sprouse then tackled the suspect on the lawn and held him at gunpoint until police arrived, TMZ reported. Authorities took the man, whose identity has not yet been revealed, into custody on outstanding warrants. He did not enter the couple’s home, and no injuries were reported, the L.A. Times said. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to reps for Sprouse and Palvin but did not receive a response. Sprouse is best known for his roles as a child actor on Disney Channel. There, he starred alongside his twin brother and Riverdale star, Cole Sprouse, in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, from 2005 to 2008, as well as the spinoff series, The Suite Life on Deck, from 2008 to 2011. Following Disney, his credits …
Trailer editing is a lost art. Modern audiences want transparency; they want to believe that, when they go to the movies, their money will be well-spent. It’s a zero-sum game for filmmakers and viewers alike, who would both do well to recognize the inherent value in surprise. But if you happened to catch the trailer for Kristoffer Borgli’s latest film, “The Drama,” ahead of its theatrical release this week, you’ll know that the movie’s narrative twist — which arrives early in the film — is also its selling point. In one section of the clip, a bright-eyed and betrothed couple, Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson), sit down to dinner with their friends, Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim). It’s days before Charlie and Emma’s wedding, and Rachel suggests that the four of them play a party game and say the worst thing that they’ve ever done. Quick cuts between Charlie, Mike and Rachel suggest their admissions are intense but relatively innocuous — things that can be laughed off and chalked up to childhood …
It’s designed to take the place of complicated, multiple drug regimens that many people with HIV need to follow. And it’s also beneficial because the HIV virus is always evolving. (Image credit: Science Source) Source link
Last week, a veteran told me something I have heard in various forms over the years: “I did everything I was supposed to do. And it still went sideways.” He was not complaining. He was genuinely bewildered. The contract he had been operating under his entire adult life: Work hard, train hard, follow the rules, and the outcomes will track your effort. That contract had been broken, but not by him. I have written previously about the convergence between Ecclesiastes and Plato. Here I want to dig deeper into the two passages that speak most directly to the man sitting across from me. The Verse Ecclesiastes 9:11: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” Five forms of human excellence. Not one of them rules over fortune. The Hebrew is worth pausing on. The word for “time” is et: not clock time …
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained. Today’s special guest is our staff writer Olga Khazan. Olga has recently written about not liking dogs (and joining a rather intense Subreddit of people who share that unpopular opinion), and why married people are happier than the rest of us. She’s also working on a book about personality change. Olga revisited Speed recently and found it surprisingly believable, would love a lifetime subscription to all of Gary Shteyngart’s writing, and is reflecting with some confusion on her 13-year-old self’s love of Celtic ballads. First, here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The Culture Survey: Olga Khazan My favorite blockbuster and favorite art movie: I actually don’t watch a ton of blockbusters, but in the early pandemic, I got extremely …
