Latest news with #Critic'sNotebook
New York Times
30-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
Editors' Note: July 30, 2025
An article on Friday about people in Gaza suffering from malnutrition and starvation after nearly two years of war with Israel lacked information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child suffering from severe malnutrition and whose photo was featured prominently in the article. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems. Had The Times known the information before publication, it would have been included in the article and the picture caption. An article on Monday about a family who uploaded their father's lengthy reading list after his death in hopes of inspiring readers misstated the name of the high school that the man, Dan Pelzer, attended. It was Detroit Catholic Central High School, not Detroit Central Catholic High School. An article on Monday about the box office earnings for Marvel's 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' misidentified the movie with the lowest box office total in Marvel's history. 'Thunderbolts*' had the second-lowest box office total in Marvel's history, after 'The Marvels,' which had the lowest. A Critic's Notebook article on Monday about the National Ballet of Japan making its British debut referred imprecisely to a debut of the National Ballet of Japan. Its European debut was in Moscow in 2009, not last week. The error was repeated in a capsule summary of the article and a picture caption. A photo caption with an article on Tuesday about NASA's soft drink space race misspelled the surname of an astronaut. He was Karl G. Henize, not Karl Heinz. An obituary on Saturday about Joe Vigil, a renowned coach and leading expert on distance running and altitude training, misstated the branch of the military in which he served. It was the U.S. Navy, not the Army. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
New York Times
29-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Two Psychiatrists: A Closer Look at Empathy
To the Editor: Re ''Empathy' Becomes Debatable,' by Jennifer Szalai (Critic's Notebook, July 24): At a time when core values are under attack, empathy is increasingly misunderstood and dismissed as a soft or misguided emotional reaction. But empathy is not weakness. It is a vital human capacity that enables us to perceive suffering and then respond with compassion and reason. Neuroscience shows that empathy engages both emotional and cognitive parts of the brain. The emotional side helps us resonate with others; it's why we instinctively flinch when we see others suffering. But empathy does not stop there. The cognitive dimension allows us to step back and consider context. When we see children in pain, we instantly feel their distress; that's emotional empathy. The cognitive dimension allows us to step back and consider context. If we learn that a child was hurt while punching another child, the emotional response may recede — but empathy remains. It shifts into perspective-taking and helps us consider the broader context, including the safety of the other child. Those who reject empathy fail to see that it's necessary for compassion. Social scientists recognize that compassion, not just strength, enables groups to thrive. Today, we see its power most clearly in health care. When we are sick or dying, what we crave isn't judgment or ideology — it's connection, comfort and care. Empathy is not our enemy. It's our lifeline. When we deny it, we deny our shared humanity. Helen RiessBostonThe writer is an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of 'The Empathy Effect.' To the Editor: Jennifer Szalai's illuminating discussion of empathy does not mention one important finding: Too much empathy can put health care providers (and family caregivers) at risk for burnout, depression and anxiety. As a psychiatrist, I have seen empathic, well-meaning colleagues becoming emotionally enmeshed in the distress and suffering of their patients, to the detriment of their own health. To be sure, empathy is necessary but not sufficient in the care of the sick and the infirm. The caregiver must also find ways of taking constructive action, beyond 'I feel your pain.' For example, caregivers can advocate greater social, emotional and financial support for seriously ill patients or family members. Finally, health care professionals need to find forms of self-care and emotion regulation strategies that sustain them in the midst of their patients' suffering. Ronald W. PiesCazenovia, N.Y. Trump on Mount Rushmore? Critics Weigh In. To the Editor: Re 'Room for One More? (Trump Wants to Know.)' (news article, July 28): When I began researching a book on Mount Rushmore in 1996, one of the things that intrigued me about the monument was the parallel with the Socialist Realist style of art. Huge national monuments assert an official story through brute force. They are designed to intimidate. I concluded at the time that for all its overtly propagandistic nature, Rushmore ultimately retains a more naïvely democratic concept of civic identity than all those gigantic statues of heroic soldiers and factory workers that littered the public landscape of the Soviet Union and its satellites. But the meaning of a monument is not necessarily static, and President Trump's expressed desire to be memorialized on Rushmore (and the public's failure to react with more outrage) suggests that I should reassess my conclusion. Mr. Trump not only abuses the law for partisan and personal purposes, but also proposes to extend personal control over civil society: what is taught in universities, which clients attorneys can represent, what can be said on news programs and displayed in museums, and how much private businesses can charge for their products. It is hard to imagine a more totalitarian agenda, and totalitarian agendas demand to be served by totalitarian art. Jesse LarnerNew YorkThe writer is the author of 'Mount Rushmore: An Icon Reconsidered.' To the Editor: Data and strata notwithstanding, the egregiously offensive proposition of adding another 'American hero' image to Mount Rushmore is evidence of ongoing insensitivity to the demoralizing view that Indigenous tribes of the Black Hills must take in daily. That land is sacred. Leave it alone. Nan Deane CanoWestlake Village, Calif.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mel Gibson's Gun Rights Restored by Justice Department (Report)
Mel Gibson has reportedly had his gun rights restored by the Justice Department. The actor is one of 10 people who had their gun rights reinstated by Attorney General Pam Bondi, The New York Times reported Thursday. Details are expected to be published in the Federal Register. Gibson lost his rights in 2011 following a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction. More from The Hollywood Reporter Critic's Notebook: 'The Handmaid's Tale' and Trump, Reunited Trump Tariffs Timing Couldn't Be Worse for Hollywood Gavin Newsom's Right Turn: Is Ex-Wife Kimberly Guilfoyle Behind the Wheel? The decision came nearly a month after former U.S. pardon attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer told the Times that she was fired from the DOJ for refusing to recommend the actor be allowed to carry a handgun again, which the newspaper confirmed with sources familiar with the matter. Oyer previously told the Times that the office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made a request to have Gibson — who was tapped by President Donald Trump as a 'special ambassador' to Hollywood earlier this year — added to a list of individuals eligible to have their gun rights restored. At the time, Gibson's lawyers wrote in a letter that the actor had recently attempted to purchase a handgun but was denied due to his conviction. The Times reported that Oyer found the request to add Gibson concerning, as she didn't know much about the actor's case, unlike the other cases the working group she was a part of looked into. 'Giving guns back to domestic abusers is a serious matter that, in my view, is not something that I could recommend lightly, because there are real consequences that flow from people who have a history of domestic violence being in possession of firearms,' Oyer stated. She ultimately told her bosses at the DOJ in a memo that she could not recommend that Gibson have his gun rights reinstated and that it was up to the attorney general to make a decision on the matter. Oyer was later informed that she was fired. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Gibson's rep for comment. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2024: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Olivia Rodrigo and More
