Sean Connery, Who Embodied James Bond and More, Dies at 90

Sean Connery, the irascible Scot from the slums of Edinburgh who found international fame as Hollywood’s original James Bond, dismayed his fans by walking away from the Bond franchise and went on to have a long and fruitful career as a respected actor and an always bankable star, has died in Nassau, the Bahamas. He was 90.

His death, in his sleep either late Friday or early Saturday, was confirmed by his family.

“Bond, James Bond” was the character’s familiar self-introduction, and to legions of fans who have watched a parade of actors play the role — otherwise known as

Things to Do This Week

Here is a sampling of the week’s events and how to tune in (all times are Eastern). Note that events are subject to change after publication.


See the novelist Marlon James discuss his novel “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” a work of science fiction, with Tananarive Due, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an expert in Black horror and Afrofuturism, as part of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books — now in its 25th year. Mr. James is also the author of 2014’s “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” which won the Man Booker prize.

New Zealand Voters Approve Euthanasia but Reject Legal Cannabis in Referendum

New Zealand will join a small number of countries that have legalized euthanasia after its citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of it in a referendum this month.

A second question on the ballot during the Oct. 17 general election — on legalizing recreational marijuana use — was set to fail, according to preliminary results released on Friday.

Proponents of the cannabis measure expressed frustration with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who had declined to take a position on legalization before the election and revealed only on Friday that she had voted in support of it.

On euthanasia, though, her stance had

Earthquake Rattles Izmir, Turkey, and Greece, Killing at Least 6

Rescue workers scrambled into the early morning Saturday in a frantic effort to save people trapped under debris in the western Turkish city of Izmir, several hours after a major earthquake in the Aegean Sea leveled several buildings and severely damaged many more.

At least 24 people were killed in Turkey and hundreds were reported injured, officials said. Another two people were killed in Greece from the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.0 according to the United States Geological Survey, and was centered off Samos, a Greek island near Turkey’s coast.

More than 1,200 workers were involved in rescue

Down the Basement Stairs and Into the Past

The huge cardboard box had been in my mother’s basement for decades until she said, “When are you going to move that crap to your house?”

The box sat in my basement for a few more decades, until my wife said, “When are you going to clean out that crap?”

Such language, but I got the message.

So while I have been trapped at home, I have joined the huddling masses that have decided to try to declutter, starting with my overflowing basement, with plans to tackle my closet next. Throwing stuff out is so liberating. Ancient computer parts, old

China’s Leaders Vow Tech ‘Self-Reliance,’ Military Power and Economic Recovery

China’s Communist Party emerged from four days of meetings behind closed doors in Beijing declaring the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, a “helmsman” who would lead “the ship of socialism sailing into the wind and waves with determination.”

At a time when other world leaders remain consumed by the coronavirus pandemic, China promised an economic revival, greater technological self-reliance and a stronger military to protect the country’s economic and political interests.

The meeting underscored Mr. Xi’s seemingly boundless political control, as well as his ambitions to propel China out of the current crisis into a new phase of growth, less vulnerable

Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence With Trump

WASHINGTON — ​Geoffrey S. Berman was outraged.

The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Mr. Berman had traveled to Washington in June 2019 to discuss a particularly delicate case with Attorney General William P. Barr and some of his top aides: a criminal investigation into Halkbank, a state-owned Turkish bank suspected of violating U.S. sanctions law by funneling billions of dollars of gold and cash to Iran.

For months, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey had been pressing President Trump to quash the investigation, which threatened not only the bank but potentially members of Mr. Erdogan’s family and political party. When

Dating Before the Election

Rebecca Cibbarelli, 23, was texting with a man on Hinge while Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence debated on her TV screen in early October. When she told her match what she was watching, he said he didn’t know who either of the people in the debate were, or which political office they were running for.

“We’ve been in a global pandemic for eight months, and there’s been so much social and political change,” said Ms. Cibbarelli, a mental health worker in Princeton Junction, N.J. “How have you not even taken interest in it when you’re stuck in

Rooster Kills Police Officer in Raid on Philippines Cockfighting Den

MANILA — A police officer in the Philippines was killed this week after a fighting rooster slashed him during a raid on an illegal cockfighting den to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The officer, Lt. Christian Bolok, 38, was part of a team that descended on an arena in the province of Northern Samar on Monday, after it was suspecting of violating lockdown rules against mass gatherings.

“There was a commotion, the spectators scampered away, and when the dust cleared, Officer Bolok tried to pick up one of the birds, but he didn’t notice that it still had bladed

Republicans accuse Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and other Big Tech CEOs of violating their free speech rights

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CEOs from two of the biggest companies in the world (and Twitter) testified in front of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday in a hearing that was billed as a deliberation over Section 230. It ended up being more about castigating social media platforms both for censoring voices too much and for not censoring them enough.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey appeared before an almost entirely virtual panel of legislators, none of whom seemed particularly thrilled with the CEOs’ work. But their complaints differed depending on their political party. Republicans generally used the hearing to …