11 of Our Best Weekend Reads

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/arts/11-of-our-best-weekend-reads.html

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Welcome to the weekend. If you don’t have a Halloween costume, you might want to start looking for one. Or maybe you want to get started on a good book or a new recipe. Whatever you’re doing, make time for some amazing journalism.

A son of sharecroppers, he fought tirelessly for his hometown, Baltimore, and became a key figure in the impeachment investigation of President Trump.

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If you’re wondering what is going on in Syria, this is a good primer. Our video investigation, above, takes a look at illegal bombings conducted by Russia in the area. And this assessment puts President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of the area into context.

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Five years after “Gamergate,” little seems to have changed for minorities and women in the industry. Here are six stories of people trying to change that.

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A decade after Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products like e-cigarettes, the federal government has repeatedly delayed or weakened efforts that could have protected teenagers.

[Also read: “A Young Man Nearly Lost His Life to Vaping”]

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After “Twilight,” the actor reinvented himself in art-house films. How will he follow “The Lighthouse” and his wildest role so far? With yet another swerve: He’s playing Batman.

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It took days to identify a homeless man killed in New York City’s Chinatown. Another, who died in a manhole, remains a mystery.

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T Magazine’s Greats issue celebrates four talents — the fashion designer Nicolas Ghesquière, the actor Rachel Weisz, the artist Nick Cave and the architect Shigeru Ban — who, in mastering their crafts, have changed their fields, and the culture at large. They have in common an essential and fierce desire to communicate, whether through beauty or provocation, or both.

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The alternative comedian became an indie darling with “The Mighty Boosh.” Fronting Britain’s favorite reality show has taken some adjustment.

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What could Beijing want with Tulagi, where Allied forces fought a bloody battle with Japan in World War II? Some fear military ambitions.

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It’s the latest “old timey” hobby to gain a dedicated new following.

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Just before he died, the architect created a spiraling city square that elevates the work it houses.