Inexpensive doesn't have to mean cheap or disposable. These small tokens of affection are giftable, usable, and worth your money. nyti.ms/4vNPaip

nyti.msEverything is Expensive These Days (Except These 59 Gifts Under $10)Inexpensive doesn't have to mean cheap or disposable. These small tokens of affection are giftable, usable, and worth your money.
Breaking News: An Arizona sheriff’s office released two ransom notes sent after Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping. The second one said she was dead.

nyti.msNancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Released by Sheriff’s Department Searching for New LeadsThe 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, the television news anchor, has been missing for nearly six months.
The State Department plans to make an additional 250,000 of the limited-edition U.S. passports that feature President Trump’s image available at in-person events, the department said on Thursday.

nyti.msState Dept. to Release 250,000 More Trump Passports With His PortraitAn additional 250,000 commemorative passports, featuring a portrait of President Trump and intended to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary, will be made available at in-person events.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
President Trump’s “willingness to operate on his own gut and on what he thinks is reality, I would say, is much sharper this term,” Maggie Haberman says on “The Ezra Klein Show.”

nyti.msOpinion | How Trump Has Changed, With Maggie HabermanThe New York Times correspondent says 70 percent of the president’s mind is dedicated to White House renovations.
“It’s a perfect moment for Mary Beth Barone to stand out,” our critic writes on the comic's new Netflix stand-up special, “Galaxy Brain.” “Her spiky, dryly funny and slyly topical humor has long been interested in the obstacle course for women in stand-up.”

nyti.msCan Mary Beth Barone Revive Feminist Standup?A decade ago, Amy Schumer became the only woman to headline Madison Square Garden. With a new Netflix special, Barone is looking to break out in a very different atmosphere.
More space debris is raining down on Earth than ever before — one effect of governments and companies like SpaceX racing to the skies. Last year, the U.S. issued alerts for nearly 820 objects entering Earth’s atmosphere, compared to 110 objects a decade ago. nyti.ms/4fM4whG

Awareness of forever chemicals’ environmental toll has soured some on waterproof coatings entirely. A water-resistant cotton fabric, which was developed in England in 1943, is making a comeback. nyti.ms/3S0hJve

nyti.msIn the Quest for PFAS-Free Rain Gear, Cotton Is Making a ComebackAwareness of forever chemicals’ environmental toll has soured some on waterproof coatings entirely. After years of Gore-Tex, tight weaves are making a comeback.
The British pop star Boy George's pro-Israel reggae song, posted on his X account last weekend, has caused a furor online. Now, the singer’s manager said he was pulling the singer from a role in “Jesus Christ Superstar” in “the best interests of my artist.”

nyti.msBoy George Pulled From ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Days After Posting Pro-Israel Reggae SongBoy George’s manager said he was pulling the singer from a role in “Jesus Christ Superstar” in “the best interests of my artist.”
The German citizen who killed one person and injured 29 others at a gay Pride event in Berlin had a history of criminal convictions and terrorist aspirations so extensive that law enforcement officials were authorized to secretly surveil him.

nyti.msGerman Authorities Knew of Pride Attacker’s ExtremismThe assailant, a German citizen, was imprisoned after trying to join the Islamic State but freed weeks before attacking a gay Pride event in Berlin.
Emily Wilson, a leading translator of “The Odyssey,” wrote a 4,000-plus-word review of Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation, fueling a debate over balancing commercial success with literary authenticity. Here’s what to know about the controversy.

nyti.msEmily Wilson’s Pan of ‘The Odyssey’ Ignites a Debate Among Classicists and CommentersWilson, whose 2017 translation of Homer’s Greek classic influenced the director Christopher Nolan, panned his screenplay for the movie version in an essay for The London Review of Books.
Breaking News: The Washington Post’s top opinion editor resigned a little over a year after Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner, hired him under a directive to shift the section toward “personal liberties and free markets.”

nyti.msAdam O’Neal Resigns as Washington Post Opinion EditorAdam O’Neal inherited a mandate from the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to shift toward “personal liberties and free markets.”
Wine sales in the U.S. are at their lowest in more than two decades, as people drink less and younger generations turn to other beverages. For some winemakers, it’s often cheaper to let grapes rot than to harvest them when so many unsold bottles clog the shelves. nyti.ms/4hHEFd8

Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of ancient, monumental designs carved in the earth that hint at complex societies in the Amazon rainforest a millennium before Spanish and Portuguese colonists arrived. See the formations, some of which are more than 2,500 years old, here.

nyti.msArchaeologists Find Hundreds of Ancient Glyphs in the AmazonThe geometric earthwork structures, carved into the ground with embankments and ditches, are in some cases more than 2,500 years old, researchers said.
As part of a new policy that mandates testosterone levels are screened, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said soldiers who qualify would be given the option to undergo testosterone replacement therapy. The policy raises questions among clinicians about the hormone’s effect on aggression in some men.

nyti.msMilitary Testosterone Policy Raises Questions About Its Links to AggressionA new policy raises questions about testosterone’s effect on aggression in some men.
Breaking News: Gov. Gavin Newsom of California released four years of tax returns as federal investigators examine the finances of his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

nyti.msGavin Newsom and His Wife Made $1.4 Million in 2024, Tax Returns ShowThe taxable income of California’s governor and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, exceeded $1 million a year from 2021 to 2024.
It’s just sliced pears baked in an easy almond flour batter, but in flavor and texture, it’s so much more. nyti.ms/4gZ3SQ5

nyti.msPear-Almond Cake Recipe • 5★This simple cake comes together with little fuss: It’s just sliced pears baked in an easy almond flour batter, but in flavor and texture, it’s so much more. Feel free to make it early in the day, or even the day before serving.
Larry Ellison borrowed billions in an effort to turn Oracle into one of the companies providing the infrastructure for the A.I. boom. Now, concerns are mounting about whether the massive investments in A.I. will ever pay off.

nyti.msLarry Ellison Bet It All on the A.I. Boom. Will He Be the Face of the A.I. Bubble?Inside the 81-year-old billionaire’s risky, debt-fueled scramble to transform his data empire into an A.I. juggernaut.
Did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz to see how well you stack up with other New York Times readers.

nyti.msThe New York Times News Quiz, July 31, 2026Did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz to see how well you stack up with other Times readers.
As Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general hangs in the balance, the Justice Department is still paying Trump allies a seven-figure settlement from the government.

nyti.msWith Blanche Nomination at Stake, Payouts to Trump Allies ContinueA seven-figure settlement was announced hours before senators skeptical about the so-called weaponization fund delayed a crucial vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general.
Dishwasher detergents are better than ever, and after testing over 30 of them, Wirecutter found one that came the closest to cleaning nearly every dish. nyti.ms/4ws9c3b

nyti.msYes, There Is a Best Dishwasher Detergent (And We Found a New Favorite)Dishwasher detergents are better than ever, and after testing over 30 of them, we’ve found these five standouts.