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U.S. Punishes 24 Chinese Officials on Eve of First Talks Under Biden

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SEOUL — The United States punished 24 Chinese officials on Wednesday for undermining Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms, acting days before the first scheduled meeting of senior Chinese and American diplomats since President Biden took office.

In diplomatic terms, the timing of the action was pointed and clearly intentional, continuing a testy start to relations between the Biden administration and China after a tumultuous four years under President Donald J. Trump.

The State Department announced that it would impose financial sanctions on a raft of officials, including a member of the Communist Party’s 25-member Politburo, Wang Chen, over an issue that

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Fashion News
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Squishmallows Are Taking Over

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Over the last few months, bulbous and brightly colored plush toys have sparked a Beanie Babies-style craze among children, teenagers and adults alike.

Squishmallows, a line of soft, huggable toys created in 2017, have exploded in popularity during the pandemic, thanks to social media and in particular TikTok (or “SquishTok,” as fans call it). Collectors say the stuffed animals have given them comfort in a painful year, and that hunting for them has fostered a much-needed sense of community during an extended period of isolation.

“Even though the craze was coming before the pandemic, it certainly hit a fever pitch

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Covid-19 Live Updates: Worries Over AstraZeneca Doses Upend Europe’s Vaccine Drive

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Moderna has begun a study that will test its Covid vaccine in children under 12, including babies as young as six months, the company said on Tuesday.

The study is expected to enroll 6,750 healthy children in the United States and Canada. Moderna declined to say how many had already signed up or received the first shots, according to a spokeswoman, Colleen Hussey.

“There’s a huge demand to find out about vaccinating kids and what it does,” said Dr. David Wohl, the medical director of the vaccine clinic at the University of North Carolina, who is not involved the study.…

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The number of unruly passengers on US flights is too high, FAA says, so it’s extending a get-tough policy on masking

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(CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration will extend its stricter enforcement against unruly passengers — specifically targeting those who disobey masking policies — after receiving more than 500 reports of misbehaving passengers since December, the agency said Monday.

“The number of cases we’re seeing is still far too high, and it tells us urgent action continues to be required,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said.

The announcement was made as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said that more people have traveled by air in the last four days than during any other similar-length period during the pandemic.

The TSA said it …

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AstraZeneca Concerns Throw Europe’s Vaccine Rollout Into Deeper Disarray

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Germany, France, Italy and Spain became the latest countries to suspend use of the vaccine even as a third wave of the pandemic threatens the continent.

ROME — As a third wave of the pandemic crashes over Europe, questions about the safety of one of the continent’s most commonly available vaccines led Germany, France, Italy and Spain to temporarily halt its use on Monday. The suspensions created further chaos in inoculation rollouts even as new coronavirus variants continue to spread.

The decisions followed reports that a handful of people who had received the vaccine, made by AstraZeneca, had developed fatal

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Fashion News
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Kaia Gerber’s Book Club and the Online Literary Boom

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To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

“Hi guys, welcome back to Book Club,” the model Kaia Gerber said with a California lilt. Seated in her bedroom in Malibu late in February, Ms. Gerber watched as thousands of viewers trickled into her discussion with the playwright Jeremy O. Harris, recovering from an all-nighter.

“It’s great to wake up and get energized hearing someone speak so kindly about you and their experience with your work,” he said.

Over the next hour, Ms. Gerber and Mr. Harris discussed the racial

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‘March 4 Justice’: Thousands Turn Out in Australia

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MELBOURNE, Australia — Wearing black and holding signs reading “enough is enough,” thousands took to the streets across Australia on Monday to protest violence and discrimination against women, as a reckoning in the country’s halls of power sparked by multiple accusations of rape continued to grow.

The marches in at least 40 cities represented an outpouring of anger from women about a problem that has gone unaddressed for too long, said the organizers, who estimated that 110,000 people attended the demonstrations nationwide.

With the next national election potentially coming as early as August, experts say it is something that the

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The difference between the Grammys’ Song, Album, and Record of the Year categories, explained

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There are just four categories at the Grammy Awards where artists from all musical genres compete against one another — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. In these four races, country artists bump up against R&B musicians, and they both take on pop stars. If an artist wins one of these awards, they’ll make headlines and get to give a nice speech during the awards telecast.

But the Grammys’ many, many categories are already steeped in confusing industry-speak, and the top four awards are no different. With the exception of …

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Biden is deploying FEMA to help manage an unprecedented surge in migrant children

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The Biden administration is enlisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help manage an unprecedented surge in unaccompanied migrant children entering the United States through the US-Mexico border.

The deployment is meant to help manage a growing logistical crisis that has seen the Biden administration turn to the use of detention facilities and tent shelters that some immigration advocates have condemned as inhumane and unsuitable for children.

President Joe Biden reversed the Trump-era policy of turning away migrant children who cross into the US without their parents soon after taking office. But his administration has struggled to manage the …