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Russia is a civilizational adversary

The poet Robert Frost once said that a liberal is someone too broad-minded to take his own side in a fight. What would he say about those on the right who seem to be confused about the same question? Over the last few days, Donald Trump told a rally about how he’d supposedly warned the leader of a NATO nation that he’d encourage the Russians “to do whatever the hell they want” against countries that weren’t spending enough on defense, while the former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson broadcast videos from Moscow praising its grocery stores and subways as superior to ...

Presidents Day: From Washington’s modest birthdays to big sales and 3-day weekends

NORFOLK, Va. — Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant. And yet the nation will once again commemorate the first U.S. president on Monday, 292 years after he was born. The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically, from being mostly unremarkable and filled with work for Washington in the 1700s to the consumerism bonanza it has become today. For some historians the holiday has lost all discernible meaning. Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You ...

Monument to Japanese American WWII detainees lists more than 125,000 names

LOS ANGELES — Samantha Sumiko Pinedo and her grandparents file into a dimly lit enclosure at the Japanese American National Museum and approach a massive book splayed open to reveal columns of names. Pinedo is hoping the list includes her great-grandparents, who were detained in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. “For a lot of people, it feels like so long ago because it was World War II. But I grew up with my Bompa (great-grandpa), who was in the internment camps,” Pinedo says. A docent at the museum in Los Angeles gently flips to the middle of the book ...

Top UN court to hold hearings on legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian-claimed lands

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ highest court opens historic hearings Monday into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state, plunging the 15 international judges back into the heart of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Six days of hearings are scheduled at the International Court of Justice, during which an unprecedented number of countries will participate, as Israel continues its devastating assault on Gaza. Though the case occurs against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, it focuses instead on Israel’s ...

Records fall as East beats West 211-186 in All-Star Game

INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead — more than ever before. And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense. All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 points and the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016. “We had fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks said. It was a flurry of records: The total points of 397 smashed the record of 374 set in 2017, ...

Matsuyama closes with 62 to win at Riviera, becomes Asia’s most prolific PGA Tour winner

LOS ANGELES — The conversation began seven years ago when Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama won his fourth PGA Tour title to pass Shigeki Maruyama, his mentor. Maruyama told him the ultimate mark was nine tour wins, a record for most by an Asian-born player. Matsuyama had little reason to believe that would come Sunday at Riviera. Six shots behind to start the final round of the Genesis Invitational, Matsuyama delivered a record performance — 9-under 62, the lowest closing round by a winner at Riviera — to achieve the record that really mattered. He now has nine PGA Tour wins, ...