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A lot of people have recently weighed in on legacy admissions, the preferential treatment given to the children of alumni in the college application process: President Biden. Officials at numerous colleges — some defending the practice, others calling to ditch it. The Education Department even opened a civil rights investigation last month into Harvard University’s legacy admissions policy. But what about the students who have benefited from the practice themselves, and were accepted by elite colleges in part because their parents are alumni? In the Opinion Video above, five recent university graduates, all legacies, wrestle with the advantages they enjoyed in the college admissions process.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Education Department, Harvard

☆ We need to 'finish' Sweden's NATO membership, says former Finnish prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe need to 'finish' Sweden's NATO membership, says former Finnish prime ministerAlexander Stubb of the European University Institute discusses his candidacy for the Finnish presidency. He has served as prime minister, finance minister, foreign minister, trade and Europe minister of Finland between 2008 and 2016.

Persons: Alexander Stubb Organizations: NATO, European University Institute Locations: Finnish, Europe, Finland

☆ Former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb to run for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Former Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb at the EPP congress in Helsinki, November 7, 2018. Lehtikuva/Jussi Nukari via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHELSINKI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said on Wednesday that he will be a candidate in Finland's presidential election due in January of 2024. His announcement came after incumbent premier Petteri Orpo on Sunday asked Stubb to become the National Coalition party's candidate. "In this geopolitical situation the answer is unequivocal: when the fatherland calls, then we go," Stubb told reporters. Stubb, currently a professor and director of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, held several ministerial posts before serving as prime minister between 2014 and 2015.

Persons: Finland Alexander Stubb, Lehtikuva, Jussi Nukari, Alexander Stubb, Petteri Orpo, Stubb, Pekka Haavisto, Mika Aaltola, Olli Rehn, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik Organizations: EPP, REUTERS, Rights, National Coalition, European University Institute, Bank of Finland, Thomson Locations: Finland, Helsinki, Finnish, Florence, Italy

Listening to the men in the short Opinion Video above is like encountering visitors from another planet. They are serving life sentences at Angola prison, in rural Louisiana, with little to no hope for release. The men are among the thousands in Louisiana — and more than 50,000 nationwide — locked up for life without parole. The point is not to diminish the severity of the crimes that put these men behind bars. But, ask yourself as you watch the video, how long is long enough?

Organizations: . Sentencing Locations: Angola, Louisiana, Louisiana —, Maryland, South Carolina, New Mexico

Kids didn’t start the war in Ukraine. In the Opinion video above, we hear from Ukrainian children who have lost a parent during the conflict. The program, called Wonder Camp, is part of a support mission in Ukraine by an international organization, Children of Heroes Charity Fund. “These kids are not part of this war, but they are casualties,” said Brice Espino, the chief executive of Children of Heroes, which provided the funding for the camp and gathered the participants. (Ahead Foundation, a Ukrainian group, supplied the camp’s personnel and ran the program.)

Persons: ”, Brice Espino Organizations: Heroes Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian

☆ The Year Is Half Over. Here Are the Books You Might Have Missed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This week on the podcast, Gilbert Cruz is joined by fellow editors from the Book Review to revisit some of the most popular and most acclaimed books of 2023 to date. First up, Tina Jordan and Elisabeth Egan discuss the year’s biggest books, from “Spare” to “Birnam Wood.” Then Joumana Khatib, MJ Franklin and Sadie Stein recommend their personal favorites of the year so far. Books discussed on this week’s episode:“Spare,” by Prince Harry“I Have Some Questions for You,” by Rebecca Makkai“Pineapple Street,” by Jenny Jackson“Romantic Comedy,” by Curtis Sittenfeld“You Could Make This Place Beautiful,” by Maggie Smith“The Wager,” by David Grann“Master, Slave, Husband, Wife,” by Ilyon Woo“King: A Life,” by Jonathan Eig“Birnam Wood,” by Eleanor Catton“Hello Beautiful,” by Ann Napolitano“Enter Ghost,” by Isabella Hammad“Y/N,” by Esther Yi“The Sullivanians,” by Alexander Stille“My Search for Warren Harding,” by Robert Plunket“In Memoriam,” by Alice Winn“Don’t Look at Me Like That,” by Diana AthillWe would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.

Persons: Gilbert Cruz, Tina Jordan, Elisabeth Egan, Birnam, Joumana Khatib, MJ Franklin, Sadie Stein, “, Prince Harry “, Rebecca Makkai, Jenny Jackson, Curtis Sittenfeld, Maggie Smith “, ”, David Grann, Ilyon Woo, Jonathan Eig, Eleanor Catton “, Ann Napolitano, Isabella Hammad “ Y, Esther Yi “, Alexander Stille, Warren Harding, Robert Plunket “, Alice Winn “, Diana Athill Locations: ”

☆ How should slavery and its legacy be taught in U.S. schools?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

My father said it was indeed a general store, supplying everything from hog feed to eggs to coal for heating. On the map, I believe General’s Store is the building at the bottom and labeled S for store. Black people appeared chiefly in sketches aimed at amusing readers – or when they were accused of crimes against whites. The letter writer said a young white man in a general store had ordered the woman to put down a can of oil she was examining. I could find nothing that accounted for the death of General Bryson, let alone any item that mentioned the Bryson family.

Persons: General Bryson, General, G.G, Bryson, George T, Williamson, Bryson’s, Lucille Newton Duke, Boots ”, Barbara Newton, Bud Moon, Jim Smith, Smith, Sheriff Culberson, Moon, “, Martin Luther King Jr, Ancestry.com, Jim Crow’s, Margaret Burnham, Burnham, ”, –, ” Burnham, Isaac Gaston, Gaston –, General Bryson –, Walter White, weren’t, Patricia, Julia, I’d, LaBrenda Garrett, Nelson, Thomas Colquitt Hardman, Lamartine Hardman, Hardman, – Hardman, Harry Bryson, Harry, wasn’t, Uzell Mathis, Black, you’d, Terrie Epstein, Epstein, Chara Haeussler Bohan, Alexander Stephens, Mildred Rutherford, Bohan, ” Bohan, ” Chara Haeussler, Ron DeSantis, David Walker, DeSantis, ’ ” Bohan, Jim Crow, Carol Swain, Swain, ” Swain, Booker T, Washington . Organizations: Commerce, Herald, Calvary Baptist Church, Sanborn, Company, Library of Congress, Hurricane, Reuters, Civil, Northeastern University, National Association for, Advancement of Colored, NAACP, New York Times, Jackson County Herald, Arlington National Cemetery, Quartermaster Corps, Harmony, Black Commerce, New, Hunter College, Blacks, Georgia State University, Confederacy, Southern Poverty Law, Union, American AP, Republican, Yale, Harvard Law School, state’s Department of Education, –, demonize, Washington, Tuskegee University Locations: Jackson, Mt, Calvary, Hurricane, Hurricane Grove, Jefferson, Winder, Maxey’s, Donalsonville , Georgia, Donalsonville, Commerce, Georgia, Atlanta, Jackson County, United States, Brest, France, Arlington, Harmony Grove, Commerce Jackson County Georgia, Black, Grove, Michigan, Confederate States, America, Southern, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, demonize America, Virginia, Washington

☆ A Cult ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ Amid the New York Brownstones
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Alexandra Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

THE SULLIVANIANS: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune, by Alexander StilleLegal marijuana notwithstanding, true New Yorkers have long prided themselves on resisting certain Californish things. Denial: It’s not just a river in Egypt that’s much bigger than the Hudson. It’s also one of those slightly antiquated pop-psychology terms, like paranoia and transference, that used to get passed around cultured Manhattan living rooms along with glasses of Riunite and overchilled Brie on Triscuits. No one called it therapy, that soft millennial word. Like a hawk crouching on a grotesque at the fabled Apthorp building, which also makes a cameo in this tale, he gives us a keen bird’s-eye view.

Persons: Alexander Stille, Alexander Stille’s, isn’t, It’s, overchilled Brie Organizations: Columbia University Locations: American Commune, Manhattan, Egypt, Triscuits

☆ 6 Takeaways From Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Instead, the jury heard a computerized “Let’s Get It On,” based on the original sheet music. Ed Sheeran showed two very different sides. Sheeran attended every day of testimony in the trial, and on the stand he could be charming, demonstrating his songwriting with a guitar. A key part of any music copyright trial is the testimony of musicologists hired as expert witnesses for each side, who present dry, abstract analyses of the music. At the Sheeran trial, the two experts also seemed to take every opportunity to put each other down.

☆ MLB roundup: Dodgers stun Phillies on walk-off slam
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

Brandon Drury also hit a homer for the Angels, who won for the sixth time in their last eight games. Starter Seth Lugo (3-2) held the Reds to one run on seven hits over six innings to earn the win. Pfaadt, a touted pitching prospect, went 4 2/3 innings and allowed nine hits -- four of which were home runs -- and seven runs. Texas starter Andrew Heaney allowed six runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with four walks and five strikeouts. Losing pitcher Eric Lauer (3-3) allowed four runs -- all unearned -- on four hits and struck out six in 4 2/3 innings.

☆ Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Case Over Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The case involved only the compositions underlying both tracks — the lyrics, melodies and chords that can be notated on paper — and not their recordings. For older songs like “Let’s Get It On,” copyright is limited to the sheet music, or “deposit copy,” that was originally submitted to the United States Copyright Office. Kathryn Griffin Townsend, Mr. Townsend’s daughter, who wore a tan-colored coat with the word “integrity” emblazoned on the back, said she had filed her suit to protect her father’s legacy. On Day 3 of the trial, the proceedings were interrupted when she collapsed and was taken to a hospital. When Ms. Townsend returned to the courtroom on Monday morning, Mr. Sheeran embraced her.

☆ Ed Sheeran says allegations in copyright infringement trial are ‘really insulting’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nicki Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Sheeran claimed Stewart altered elements from “Thinking Out Loud” in his analysis in order to prove his point. Sheeran is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye. Townsend’s daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin, sister Helen McDonald and the estate of his former wife, Cherrigale Townsend, are the listed plaintiffs on the “Thinking Out Loud” case. Gaye died in 1984 and Townsend died in 2003. When asked on the stand Monday what he would do if the plaintiffs win the case and own the chord progression, Sheeran said, “If that happens, I’m done.”–CNN’s Chloe Melas contributed to this report.

☆ Dutch celebrate King's Day as confidence in monarchy diminishes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands pose with their daughters, Princess Ariane and Princess Catharina-Amalia, during King's Day (Koningsdag) in Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de WouwROTTERDAM, April 27 (Reuters) - Millions of Dutch revellers took to the streets on Thursday to celebrate King's Day festivities, dressing in orange and enjoying open-air markets - even as trust in the man at the centre of the nationwide party sinks to a low ebb. These numbers had held firm at around 75% until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The historic centres of Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague have been filled with thousands of people since late on Wednesday as King's Eve parties kicked off the festivities. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

New York CNN —Musician Ed Sheeran played guitar and sang on the stand Thursday as part of his testimony in a copyright infringement trial about whether his smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On.”Sheeran played the opening line of “Thinking Out Loud” in an attempt to rebut the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness, Alexander Stewart. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of singer and songwriter Ed Townsend, speaks outside New York Federal Court during a copyright infringement trial against singer Ed Sheeran, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in New York. John Minchillo/APSheeran is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye. Sheeran’s legal team has argued throughout the week that the sounds used in both songs are common in pop music. In his opening statement Tuesday, Townsend attorney Ben Crump noted Sheeran played his ballad and Gaye’s song back-to-back in a medley during a concert, and called the moment a “smoking gun.”

Sheeran is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye. Townsend’s daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin, sister Helen McDonald and the estate of his former wife, Cherrigale Townsend, are the listed plaintiffs on the “Thinking Out Loud” case. In particular he sees melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and interlude of Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” he said. British singer Sheeran’s legal team has argued that the sounds used in both songs are common in pop music. “No one owns basic musical building blocks,” Ilene Farkas, Sheeran’s attorney, told the jury in opening remarks Tuesday.

☆ Ed Sheeran plagiarism trial erupts in laughs over nerdy, computer-generated version of 'Let's Get It On'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ed Sheeran is on trial in federal court in Manhattan, fighting a copyright infringement lawsuit. Laughter broke out Wednesday as an expert played a nerdy 'AI' version of Marvin Gaye's soul classic. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on baby," the voice continued, without apostrophes or groove. "It was hideous," Griffin Townsend told Insider of the robotic rendition of her father's song that was played for jurors on Wednesday. "Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs," he told jurors of the two songs' overlapping chord structure.

☆ NATO just got hundreds of tanks, 62 fighter jets, and a whole lot of artillery after Finland joined the military alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Finland, Russia's neighbors, became a member of the NATO military alliance on Tuesday. It brings hundreds of tanks, 62 fighter jets, and lots of artillery and soldiers with it. Finland officially became a member of the military alliance on Tuesday, strongly motivated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland becoming part of NATO is seen as a nightmare for Russia, which considers the alliance a key threat. Alexander Stubb, Finland's former prime minister, told Axios that Russia's threats over it joining NATO can be dismissed due to the strength of Finland's military.

☆ Twitter overhauled its verified check marks this weekend — but seemingly only for The New York Times account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of "legacy" verified checks nearly passed without incident. However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk was presented with a meme about the New York Times not intending to pay to keep its check. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said, and the Times' gold check disappeared overnight. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said in another response Saturday night, and the Times' gold check disappeared sometime overnight. Both James and Alexander still have blue check marks as of Sunday afternoon.

☆ Factbox: Petteri Orpo, Finland's likely next prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, April 2 (Reuters) - Here is a profile of Finland's conservative National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo, who said he would have the first chance of forming a coalition government after his party looked set to win the most seats in parliament in Sunday's election. FISCAL CONSERVATIVEBorn in 1969 in rural south-west Finland, the 53-year-old Orpo has a university degree in political science. He has been a member of parliament since 2007 and became head of the National Coalition in 2016 after challenging his predecessor Alexander Stubb, a former prime minister, for the party leadership. Considered a moderate and a smooth negotiator, Orpo has held several government posts, including as minister of agriculture and forestry from 2014 to 2015, interior minister from 2015 to 2016 and finance minister from 2016 to 2019. Married and with two children, he is also a reserve officer in Finland's national defence force.

☆ Ukraine's cities begin 2023 under attack from more Russian missiles and drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

We already know the sound of rockets, we know the moment they fly, we know the sound of drones. Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city in November after Russia's forces withdrew across the Dnieper River, which bisects the Kherson region. The Ukrainian forces have had the momentum for several months but we also know that Russia has mobilized many more forces. "We already know the sound of rockets, we know the moment they fly, we know the sound of drones. Couples participate in a traditional dance gathering in an underground mall on New Year's Day, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine, Baltics rebuke Macron for suggesting 'security guarantees' for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

read moreUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that it is the world that needs security guarantees from Russia, not the other way around. "Civilized world needs 'security guarantees' from barbaric intentions of post-Putin Russia," Podolyak said on Twitter on Sunday. "Someone wants to provide security guarantees to a terrorist and killer state?" "The only security guarantees we should focus on are essentially non-Russian," he said on his Twitter account. "After that, we are ready to sit down at the negotiation table and talk about security guarantees."

☆ The Teen Mental Health Industry Is Failing Them - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Alexander Stockton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +26 min

Sometimes they are treated in ways that are illegal to treat prisoners, let alone kids seeking mental health treatment. But former patients from residential treatment facilities whom Times Opinion interviewed said they received one-on-one therapy only once a week, if that. The company owns dozens of hospitals and hundreds of behavioral health facilities and makes about $11 billion a year. In 2017, when he was 15 years old, his mother, Renee Hanania, sent him to a UHS facility in Virginia. America’s patchwork mental health treatment is still insufficient.

☆ Trump support for Jan. 6 rioters is bad. But another former president was worse.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Steven Lubet | Steven Lubet Is The Williams Memorial Professor At The Northwestern University Pritzker School Of Law. His Most Recent Book Is | The Trials Of Rasmea Odeh | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

He likely has encouraged future insurrections by vowing to pardon the rioters who sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. During Tyler’s presidency, the Whigs actually expelled him from the party when he violated Whig principles. Tyler, like Trump, was a somewhat unexpected president who didn’t originally belong to the party that elected him. But Harrison died one month after his inauguration, making Tyler the first vice president to succeed to the presidency. Like Trump, Tyler had little respect for the party establishment that put him in power.

☆ Women sport stars' fight for body acceptance
▼ + stars: | 2020-06-10 | by ( Noura Abou Zeinab | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

She also wants to start a wider conversation about the issues surrounding women and body acceptance. Okoro says that Van Commenee then asked her about her weight. Which is fine for say tennis, in the 80s, where all women look the same. “They are women first, athletes second,” Dr. Emily Matheson, a research fellow at the Centre for Appearance Research, told CNN Sport. Okoro has also drawn inspiration from women athletes in rugby and football.

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