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Here are the top stories, and a look ahead.
1. The Delta variant proves to be a stubborn barrier to coronavirus resistance.
As the U.S. enters its second summer pandemic, President Biden warns that those who fail to be vaccinated against Covid-19 risk contracting a variant that is easier to transmit, possibly more lethal and particularly dangerous for young people. . Vice President Kamala Harris visited a vaccination center in Atlanta on Friday, above.
In Russia, the Delta variant is now the most prevalent version in Moscow, where case numbers have doubled in the past two weeks and city officials have added 5,000 beds to coronavirus wards. The outbreak led to several vaccine mandates.
And in England, independence day, when the last remaining coronavirus restriction is scheduled to end, has been delayed until July 19 after an increase in Delta cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed confidence that the curbs would be removed next month but added that at a certain stage, we will need to learn to live with the virus and manage it as best we can.
2. Republicans adopted more control over the voting process. Local Democratic election officials were the first to go.
Across Georgia, members of at least 10 county election boards have been replaced, some of whom are Black Democrats like Lonnie Hollis, above. In Arkansas, election control has been removed from provincial authorities. And in Kansas, Republicans passed a veto from the Democratic governor to enact laws removing the governor’s power to change the election law.
Democrats worry that proponents of Donald Trumps conspiracy theories about the 2020 election will soon have greater control over the electoral system.
Also not in Georgia: College football legend Herschel Walker may be considering a bid to challenge Senator Raphael Warnock next year. If he does run, it will test Trump’s power as a kingmaker.
3. The head of the irans garden judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, was elected president. That could really give President Biden a chance to bring back the nuclear deal in 2015.
Many Iranians sat in the election, seeing it as nominated in Raisis ’favor. Raisi, 60, was favored by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has a record of severe human rights abuses and is currently under U.S. sanctions.
But U.S. negotiators said the next six weeks before Raisi could be introduced could be a unique window to make a deal with Iran on reviving the nuclear deal, which Donald Trump broke three years ago. The theory in Washington and Tehran is that Ayatollah Khamenei has been ruling the stage not only in the election but the nuclear negotiations and unwilling to give up his best hope of removing the sufferings that keep Iran’s oil out of the market.
4. The diversity of the conservative American Catholic church from Pope Francis has become a major focus.
On Friday, U.S. Catholic bishops decided to draft a new communion guideline that would deny President Biden the sacrament because of his support for abortion rights. The vote overturned a warning from the Vatican and properly focused on Biden, above on Saturday, perhaps the most observant religious president since Jimmy Carter. Bishops are expected to vote on a text in November.
But on Saturday, Pope Francis said nothing, church officials and experts said, because he remained confident that American conservatives would not have enough votes to pass a doctrinal declaration about banning communion. . However, the pope’s allies worried that the reconciliation ceremony would be turned into a political weapon.
5. The blazing hot job market is partly fueled by two words: I quit.
According to the Labor Department, nearly four million people quit their jobs in April, the most on record. Volatility has put more power in the hands of workers: With employers offering higher wages and incentives, as offered by Waste Management, above, to combat labor shortages, many workers especially in low -wage positions in restaurants and hotels are leaving their jobs and jumping on those who pay more.
The pandemic pushed workers to quit for other reasons as well. People saved money and paid off their debts, giving them the pillow to leave jobs that left them unsatisfied. Other workers, with no strategy to give up remote work, leave jobs less flexible.
6. The secret has long been part of the art market. So have money laundering and other abuses.
Billions of dollars worth of art change hands every year with little or no public scrutiny. Buyers usually have no idea where the work they are buying is coming from, and sellers are similarly in the dark. Some drug dealers use this opacity to transfer money. Now the federal government is considering using a law designed to combat money laundering in financial institutions in order to better control the art market.
In other world art news, a remake of the original model for the Statue of Liberty, below, leaves France this month and will land in New York Harbor in time for Independence Day, as asked by some whose freedom Lady Liberty celebrates.
In case you missed it: In The Times Magazine, our reporter Nicholas Casey recounted the long process of finding his father, who disappeared when Nicholas was 7 years old. I spent most of my life thinking about who I was and then became that person through vague clues about who my father was, he writes.
8. If you just sit quietly and imagine your own business, Mother Nature will come to you.
Gerald Stratford, a retired butcher and former Thames barge driver, joined Twitter because other big vegetable lovers told him it was a place to talk about what they grow. And then he and his not-very-ordinary garden in a small English village went viral (his nephew had to tell him what that meant). In recent years, his honest and unobtrusive approach has become an accepted antidote.
If you’re going to the garden this weekend, our columnist offers some tips on how to avoid ticks. And our Well team has a complete guide to making the right check.
9. It’s summer grilling season.
Fire almost always makes vegetables more delicious. Barbecue master Steven Raichlen recommends two methods: direct grilling, which is best for soft, moist vegetables, leafy and sliced; and indirect grilling, with the grill lid closed to capture heat. This is the preferred method for large and stable vegetables.
For dessert, give the sponge cake a chance. Its name is not heart -stirring, and it is often dry and tasteless, but done correctly, the sponge cake is soft and bouncy and perfect for absorbing flavors from whatever it is paired with. Food contributor Claire Saffitz shares her tips for getting a sponge right.
Happy summer solstice and enjoy the long summer days.
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