The scent of the Adriatic fills the Puglian air on a typical spring day. Silvery olive trees and Mediterranean pines defy the sirocco winds near Il Tabacchificio (“the Tobacco Factory”), a building with a simple and square profile boasts an interesting history and a luxurious present. First built in the 1930s, it once employed about a hundred people, mostly women. At the time, the province of Lecce produced a quarter of Italy’s tobacco, and this operation was one of the most important in the region.Designed in the 1930s, this building in Puglia was once an important tobacco factory that employed about 100 people, mostly women. In the postwar period, part of Tabacchificio was used to store food until the 1960s, when it was converted into small metal and frame factory. After years of neglect, the current owners, who purchased it in 2014, decided to renovate it while preserving its original character. The work, which lasted four years, was entrusted to Raffaele Centonze, an architect who describes himself as a “storyteller of spaces.” He enhanced the building’s original features and made it one of the most popular locations in the region for both Italian and international travelers.After years of neglect, the current owners, who bought the building in 2014, decided to renovate it while preserving its original character. The work, which lasted four years, was entrusted to Raffaele Centonze, “a storyteller of spaces” who was able to enhance the original features. In the dining area, the table is by Marina Home Interiors and it is surrounded by Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen (Knoll) and Panton chairs from Vitra. The entrance to Tabacchificio, where three pieces from Gaetano Pesce’s famous UP series stand out: the foot (right, foreground), the red armchair (in the rear of the photo) and the ball pouf, all from B&B Italia. The industrial hanging lamps are Naviglio by Boffi. Sustainability played a key role in the renovation, with Centonze using reclaimed materials like vintage doors and other period elements. The main entrance leads to an open space with vaulted ceilings, white walls, and polished concrete floors that reflect the room’s natural light. The front door aligns with one at the room’s rear, helping the space feel more open. Glass and iron elements accentuate the building’s industrial, rationalist soul. What was once a place of intense labor has now become dedicated to relaxation.The pool area of Tabacchificio. The facility is located just minutes from Castro Marina. One of the suites at Tabacchificio. Each has a different design style. In the foreground, a Flos Viscontea hanging lamp with metal frame and a fabric shade by Castiglioni. All the collectibles, placed as if they were part of an installation, are mixed together with a nod to the wabi-sabi aesthetic, a Japanese design approach that celebrates the interplay between beauty and simplicity, as well as embodying the essence of austerity and tranquility. The living room has a striking mix of furniture. The modular sofa is Tufty-Time by Patricia Urquiola (B&B Italia). The vintage blue armchairs are Soriana by Tobia Scarpa (Cassina). Naviglio lamps by Boffi. After a long day at the beach or spent lounging by the pool after a round of tennis, the elegant and minimalist suites are intimate and welcoming retreats. The spacious living room, reading nooks with favorites novels and volumes of poetry, the large kitchen and outdoor gazebos all exude the atmosphere of an Italian piazza—this is a place for gathering together, socializing, and enjoying the finer things in life. The living area, centered around a fireplace, includes an eclectic mix of contemporary design and industrial details. All the collectibles, placed as if they were part of an installation, are mixed together in deference to a wabi-sabi aesthetic that celebrates the interplay between beauty and simplicity, as well as embodying the essence of austerity and tranquility.The elegant and minimalist rooms offer an intimate and cozy retreat after a day in the sun. The reimagined tobacco factory has room for up to 16 people in its six bedrooms, each with its own, distinctive design. One bedroom has a four-poster bed, bathtub, and a private bathroom with a walk-in shower. Two suites are distinguished by having either a sculptural bathtub or two four-poster double beds. Two other double rooms offer direct access to the garden and a mezzanine area. A long corridor connects the sleeping area to the living area, a play area, and a screening room.One bedroom features a four-poster bed and sculptural bathtub. The entrance area is dotted with important design pieces. The kitchen, with its French doors opening onto a garden, gives direct access to the outdoors. The screening room and office offer space for working vacations in a tranquil setting. Overarching everything is the peace and inspiration the property and its flawless décor hold.In one of the bedrooms: the ceiling lamps are Splügen Bräu by Castiglioni (Flos). One of the bathrooms. The floor lamp on the right is Hebi Snake by Artemide. One aspect of Tabacchificio that makes the place unforgettable is the pervasive quiet and calm. This enchanted structure that once resounded with the voices of people cleaning, drying, and sorting tobacco leaves is now remarkably peaceful. The 36 vaults of the interior, tall and spacious, make the old building a rural landmark with eccentric and evocative spaces, where white predominates over every other color. The façade, aged by sunlight and wind, speaks to the timeless quality of the architecture. It’s a building with a century-long history that is far from over and instead has now embarked on a new chapter.The pervasive quiet and calm is a standout feature of the property. It is an enchanted place that once resounded with commotion and productivity.

/April 11, 2025/4:07 p.m. ETUm, It Turns Out No One at the Ports Is Collecting Trump’s TariffsA technical “glitch” has created the biggest hiccup in Trump’s tariffs rollout.Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThanks to a technical glitch, Donald Trump’s tariffs haven’t even been collected at U.S. ports.On Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that an entry code in the U.S. system for American ships to use to have their freight exempted from tariffs isn’t working, and “the issue is being reviewed.” As a result, no tariffs are being collected by the U.S. government for the time being.U.S. shippers told the news outlet that they have not been charged higher tariff rates on their containers as recently as Thursday, despite Trump’s claims that tariffs are in effect and are being collected. This latest snafu is on top of the fact that many companies and industry groups are still unsure of when tariffs will be collected, especially since Trump keeps changing the rates erratically in social media posts and executive orders, and making new threats almost daily.“There has been some confusion on what President Trump has said in social media posts on when the tariff starts and what is written in the executive order,” Jarred Varanelli, vice president of U.S. sales at logistics firm Savino Del Bene, told CNBC. “Social media posts are not law on the pause and increase in tariffs. With the constant changes to the regulations, all customs brokers in our industry have a difficult task ahead of them.”If there were doubts about the tariffs being a wise policy, those have increased several times over the fact that U.S. authorities can’t even implement them.“Whether you agree or disagree with the policy, you have to ask, do we have the ability to do it this rapidly?” Dewardric McNeal, managing director and senior policy analyst at consulting firm Longview Global, said to CNBC. “This glitch may be an indication we need more time. It seems odd this is the time it happens. This adds policy chaos for the implementer.”For now, CBP is telling shippers to pay duties and tariffs within 10 days of their cargo’s release, in which time it expects the glitch to be resolved. But the whole mess is just further evidence of a complete lack of strategy, planning, or direction with Trump’s tariffs. It doesn’t inspire confidence from the markets, hedge funds, manufacturing workers, or anyone outside of MAGAworld. More on the reaction to these stupid tariffs:Stephen Miller Wins This Week’s Stalin Prize for Totalitarian FlatteryMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/3:50 p.m. ETFive Big News Stories You Missed During Trump’s Tariffs WhiplashDistraction by design.Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesWhile President Donald Trump threw the economy into mayhem this week with his tumultuous back-and-forth tariff scheme, plenty of chaos ensued in other realms.Here are five news stories you may have missed amid the tariff fiasco:1. The total number of international students who have had their visas revoked has reached 600 since Trump took office, according to new data released by Inside Higher Ed.provided by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month. Some students lost their visas for their connections to pro-Palestinian activism, while others had theirs revoked for minor crimes, like Felipe Zapata Velázquez, a University of Florida student from Colombia who was deported after being stopped by immigration agents at a traffic stop.2. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration fired hundreds of workers—again. Hundreds of probationary NOAA employees were laid off in February, then reinstated following a court order. On Thursday, the probationary employees received an email informing them of their re-termination. Their firing is to be part of a larger attack on climate and weather research from the Trump administration, as it moves forward with plans to gut NOAA’s budget entirely, CNN reported Friday.3. The Supreme Court unanimously ordered Trump to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to his birth country of El Salvador last month due to an “administrative error.” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis previously ordered the White House to “effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States by April 7, but Chief Justice Roberts paused Xinis’s order.While the high court ruled the Trump administration had “no basis in law for Abrego Garcia’s warrantless arrest, his removal to El Salvador, or his confinement in a Salvadoran prison,” it did not require Abrego Garcia’s return, nor did it provide a deadline for the lower court’s order.4. Measles cases reached new heights. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded more than 700 cases across 25 states, marking the third-largest measles outbreak of the twenty-first century. Nearly three-quarters of the country’s cases have been recorded in Texas, which has seen 541 cases alone, the majority of which were among unvaccinated people.After the death of an 8-year-old girl, the second measles death of an unvaccinated Texas minor, longtime vaccine skeptic and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finally admitted the measles vaccine is necessary to stop the spread.5. Israeli Defense Forces murdered an American teenager in the West Bank. The family of 14-year-old Amir Rabee was outraged to learn of the death of their son, who was killed after Israeli soldiers opened fire at three people “who were endangering drivers by hurling rocks at a highway in the village of Turmus Ayya,” NPR reported. Rabee’s family wants answers.More on non-tariff news:Why Billionaire Trumpers Love This Dire Wolf RubbishMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/2:58 p.m. ETKaroline Leavitt Reveals Shocking Logic on Wrongly Deported ImmigrantTrump’s press secretary made it clear exactly what the administration thinks of returning the man wrongly deported by ICE.Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe White House is trying to use semantics to dodge the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that it has to help return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States from El Salvador.At a press conference Friday, Newsmax’s Mike Carter asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt about Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s coming visit to the White House on Monday and whether Trump wanted Bukele to bring Abrego Garcia with him. Leavitt’s response was not encouraging.“The Supreme Court made their ruling last night very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return,” Leavitt replied.It’s true that the high court ruled the Trump administration must abide by a lower court ruling to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia. But focusing on this language ignores the bigger point that both courts ruled against the administration.The government was barred from returning Abrego Garcia to his native El Salvador due to his life being in danger from gangs, before ICE chose to deport him anyway. Administration officials continue to insist that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member but failed to provide any evidence to that effect, as earlier court rulings had found. Abrego Garcia does not have a criminal record and is married to a U.S. citizen and the father of a child with autism.But none of this matters to the Trump administration, which refuses to acknowledge that the legal system can do anything about its mass deportation efforts. They continue to drag their feet even in the face of the country’s highest court, controlled by conservatives that Trump himself appointed. Can anything compel this White House to respect and follow the law? More on wtf Trump is up to:Transcript: Fox Accidentally Wrecks Trump’s Spin as Tariff Panic GrowsMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/2:14 p.m. ETTrump Has Some Potentially Deadly Cuts Planned for Weather ResearchDonald Trump continues to purge crucial government services.Sean Rayford/Getty ImagesNext on the White House’s chopping block: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The Trump administration is planning to close “all weather and climate labs and eviscerate its budget along with several other NOAA offices,” CNN reported Friday. In internal documents obtained by the network, the administration claimed that the agency’s myriad weather-related programs “are misaligned with the … expressed will of the American people.”A source familiar with the plan told CNN that Republicans’ draft budget had been distributed to NOAA as a preemptive framework for how to slash its current operating budget. It would include eliminating the agency’s research office and ending funding for regional climate data programs, climate research, and sea grant programs. The budget proposal would also “severely defund” other portions of NOAA, including the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and would offload some of its responsibilities to the Interior Department.The draft would cut the agency’s overall budget by more than 27 percent and funding for its research office by as much as 75 percent, according to CNN.The hard and fast wake-up call for the research agency suggests that the cuts could be implemented before the end of the year.Losing NOAA and its federally funded research would have obvious impacts for the average American. It would effectively privatize weather forecasts, forcing U.S. citizens to pay for weather subscriptions to replace what currently feels commonplace, including national weather alert systems for emergencies such as flash flooding, tornadoes, extreme heat, and earthquakes.The loss of NOAA would also have a cataclysmic effect on the American agricultural system, which relies on free and accurate weather reports, climate research, and analysis in order to plan its seasons.Trump first dropped in September—as Hurricane Helene swept through the American South—that he was interested in dismantling the weather monitoring agency.Nixing NOAA was the brainchild of Project 2025. On page 664, the Christian Nationalist manifesto pitched that the agency “should be dismantled and many of its functions eliminated, sent to other agencies, privatized, or placed under the control of states and territories.”Read more about climate:The Bleak, Defeatist Rise of “Climate Realism”Most Recent Post/April 11, 2025/2:02 p.m. ETTrump Brags as Even More Law Firms Crumble to His Every WhimTrump announced a series of astonishing deals with law firms worth $600 million.Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFive more major law firms have succumbed to President Donald Trump’s punitive threats as he continues his blatantly illegal intimidation of legal professionals. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and Latham & Watkins LLP will provide pro bono services of at least $500 million, Trump boasted in a Truth Social post Friday afternoon. In a separate post, Trump revealed another $100 million deal with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. The firms will provide services to causes “President Trump and the Law Firms both support and agree to work on, including in the following areas: Assisting Veterans and other Public Servants, including, among others, members of the Military, Gold Star families, Law Enforcement, and First Responders; ensuring fairness in our Justice System; and combatting Antisemitism,” Trump wrote, adding that the firms will not engage in “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion practices either.  “The Law Firms will take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full political spectrum, including Conservative ideals,” the post continues. In other words, the law firms will aid the Trump administration’s volatile attack on free speech, civil liberties, and the Constitution—for free. “Concurrent with these agreements, the EEOC has withdrawn the March 17, 2025 letters to the Law Firms, and will not pursue any claims related to those issues,” Trump noted, referring to his intimidation of the firms.The announcements come as part of Trump’s widespread attack on law firms, punishing them for filing lawsuits he disagrees with or hiring attorneys he doesn’t like. He’s issued executive orders penalizing some of the country’s top law firms, many of which have bent to the president’s will—including Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, the law firm of former second gentleman Doug Emhoff. The total amount of free services pledged by law firms has now reached more than $900 million, a concerning statistic not only for other law firms but for the rule of law itself. Most Recent Post/April 11, 2025/1:35 p.m. ETTrump DOJ Fights Judge on Returning Wrongly Deported ManRather than actually work to get Kilmar Abrego Garcia back, the Trump administration is choosing to make lame excuses.Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe Department of Justice offered a flimsy excuse Friday for why it couldn’t comply with an order to present plans to return the Maryland father wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.The Supreme Court upheld an order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis Thursday night directing the DOJ to deliver plans to the court by 9:30 a.m Friday morning “to facilitate and effectuate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Lawyers for the DOJ asked to have the hearing delayed to provide time to “evaluate” the Supreme Court’s order. When the clock elapsed on the government’s deadline, lawyers for Abrego Garcia argued that the DOJ had no excuse for being unprepared because it already had been under order to deliver their plans before Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay on the order on Monday. Xinis granted the government’s request for an extension, which then elapsed again. Finally, in a brief two-page filing Friday, lawyers for the government claimed that the court had set an “impractical” deadline and that they had been provided “insufficient” time to draw up plans.The lawyers claimed that they didn’t fully understand Xinis’s order (“The Court has not yet clarified what it means to ‘facilitate’ or ‘effectuate’ the return,”) and that their perfect compliance with Roberts’s stay had prevented them from doing their homework. The Supreme Court had instructed Xinis to clarify “the intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’” and warned that it “may exceed the District Court’s authority.” But the high court ruled that Xinis had “properly” ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. In its insistence not to share its plan going forward, the government completely ignored Xinis’s request to share “what it can concerning the steps it has taken” prior to the order, according to Kyle Cheney, Politico’s senior legal correspondent. “Defendants are not in a position where they ‘can’ share any information requested by the Court. That is the reality,” the government’s lawyers wrote in its filing, arguing that the order had come in too late in the evening Thursday. “Foreign affairs cannot operate on judicial timelines, in part because it involves sensitive country-specific considerations wholly inappropriate for judicial review,” the DOJ added.Read more about the case:ICE Deportee’s Lawyers Torch Trump DOJ’s Case: “No Actual Evidence”Most Recent Post/April 11, 2025/1:20 p.m. ETTrump Trade Rep. Fumbles Key Question on How Much Tariffs Will CostJamieson Greer rushed to downplay how much tariffs will increase costs for American households.Kayla Bartkowski/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration is desperate to convince Americans that Donald Trump’s trade war won’t affect their wallets.U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer took to Fox News Friday, attempting to claim that the tariff plan had not destabilized the U.S. economy—but even on his favorite network, Trump’s policies faced heat.“They say tariffs are gonna cost the American household $4,800,” prompted co-host Brian Kilmeade. “What do you say to those households?”“First of all, I would say, with respect to those projections, a lot of those are Wall Street analysts who have a lot to lose themselves,” Greer said. Except those numbers didn’t come from Wall Street analysts. Instead, the prediction came from a new report by the Yale Budget Lab, which assessed that Trump’s tariffs would raise the cost of goods by 2.9 percent, “the equivalent of a loss of purchasing power of $4,700 per household on average in 2024 dollars.”And Greer’s point that it’d be men on Wall Street rejecting Trump’s roller-coaster ride of a market agenda rings especially hollow in light of the fact that the market has already seen its fair share of winners and losers. Some of the biggest winners, however, appear to be Trump’s billionaire buddies—notably his right-hand man Elon Musk, who has seen massive gains amid the up-and-down chaos. Meanwhile, Trump’s weeklong global tariff volley and its ensuing volatility affected some 62 percent of Americans who participate in the market in some way or another, either by way of holding individual stocks or investing their money in retirement plans such as 401(k)s, IRAS, or pensions.“I think the economic fundamentals of our country are still very, very good, and while there may be an adjustment, I think we’re going to be on a good path and I don’t think we’re going to see that level of increase in household expenses,” Greer added.The administration’s slapdash approach to global trade was on full display Wednesday, when Greer was caught completely out of the loop while testifying before the ​​House Ways and Means Committee. His lack of prior knowledge made it abundantly clear that communication has eroded so thoroughly through Trump’s Cabinet that even the U.S. trade representative had not been apprised of the president’s decision to temporarily reverse course on his tariff agenda.Read more about Jamieson Greer:Here’s the Moment Trump’s Trade Rep. Learned the Tariffs Were PausedMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/12:47 p.m. ETManufacturing Workers Are Beyond Pissed at Trump Over Tariffs WhiplashDonald Trump is quickly losing support of a key voter group. Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesIt turns out that Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policy is not popular with manufacturing workers.A new Washington Post poll of over 500 workers showed that 52 percent oppose the trade measures, believing that they are bad for their livelihoods and the country. In addition, 57 percent of them said that tariffs would hurt their jobs and careers, while 59 percent said that tariffs would hurt the companies they work for.When broken down on partisan lines, less than half of Donald Trump voters (44 percent) said they believed tariffs would help them, while 87 percent of Harris voters said they would hurt them. A slight majority of the poll’s respondents said they favored or leaned toward the Republican Party, making the results more striking.Trump has alternately raised and lowered tariffs, confusing markets and businesses. At the moment, there are 145 percent tariffs on China, 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods not covered by the USMCA trade agreement, and 10 percent on most other countries. The moves have already led to layoffs in certain American industries, such as automobiles, and a looming recession would lead to even more job losses.But Trump doesn’t seem to have any kind of plan with his tariffs and is making it up as he goes along. Without any clarity as to where things are going, not only will industries and markets continue to slide, but Trump may start to lose support from manufacturing workers, many of whom were part of the reason for his election victory in 2024.Trump has already created thousands of disgruntled, laid-off federal workers. If Democrats capitalize on the vast numbers of Americans worried about their jobs, the result would be big losses for the GOP in 2026, and possibly even 2028. More on the tariffs reaction:Stephen Miller Wins This Week’s Stalin Prize for Totalitarian FlatteryMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/12:32 p.m. ETTrump Is Begging China to Make a Deal Over TariffsDonald Trump appears to be growing increasingly desperate to fix the fallout over his tariffs.Jim Watson, Peter Klaunzer/AFP/Getty ImagesDonald Trump’s administration has been begging for a call from Chinese President Xi Jinping—despite Trump’s claims that his reciprocal tariff policy sent nations scrambling to cut deals with him. But instead of fostering negotiations, it seems their desperation only made things worse. Beijing announced Friday that it was raising tariffs on U.S. goods from 84 percent to 125 percent, following confirmation from the White House the day before that it was placing tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese goods. Ahead of Thursday’s announcement, the Trump administration had attempted to talk Chinese officials out of levying more retaliatory tariffs, and advised them to have their president give Trump a call, according to CNN. Instead of entreating Xi to a meeting, U.S. officials awoke Friday to even more tariffs, and no request to begin negotiations. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed Friday morning that the U.S. had not yet begun talks with Chinese officials to walk back the tariffs.The White House has claimed to have started negotiations with officials from 75 countries—though it has refused to divulge which ones—in response to Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy. China has been a notable holdout, and was therefore made exempt from Trump’s 90-day pause on new rates going into effect. The Trump administration has been saying pretty much the same thing to China for roughly two months, insisting that Beijing must make the first move, but with no luck. Trump claimed Wednesday that “China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quite to go about it,” noting that the Chinese were a “proud” people.  China’s Finance Ministry released a statement Friday saying that it wouldn’t fall for Trump’s blatant bullying. “Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,” the ministry said in the statement, which CNBC translated.“With tariff rates at the current level, there is no longer a market for U.S. goods imported into China,” the statement said, adding that “if the U.S. government continues to increase tariffs on China, Beijing will ignore.”Read more about China:Trump’s Trade War Gets Dramatically Worse as China Hits BackMost Recent Post/April 11, 2025/12:24 p.m. ETHere’s How Trump Plans to Take Control of Greenland Donald Trump’s plan exposes just how clueless he is.Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesDonald Trump’s plan to acquire Greenland is very real, and it apparently involves convincing the country to hand itself over to U.S. control.The White House National Security Council has met “several times” to make Trump’s desires for the arctic island a reality, reported The New York Times, which spoke to a U.S. official who said the council had sent “specific instructions to multiple arms of the government.” But those instructions apparently never specified the use of military force.Instead, the effort is driven by a massive P.R. campaign consisting of spending federal dollars on advertising and social media campaigns with hopes of persuading Greenland’s 57,000 residents to basically annex themselves for America.The prospect of that happening, however, is laughable. Greenland, which is a  semiautonomous territory of Denmark, has not taken kindly to Trump and his associates’ sudden interest in acquiring their land. After months of heavy pressure from the Trump family, including an embarrassing stunt in which Donald Trump Jr. reportedly convinced homeless residents to wear MAGA merchandise in exchange for food, and an effort in the U.S. Congress to rename the territory “Red, White, and Blueland,” Greenland’s various political parties set aside their differences in March to unite under a singular goal: opposing U.S. aggression.“We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future,” Demokraatit Party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Sky News the night his party won a decisive majority in Parliament, making him prime minister. “And we want to build our own country by ourselves.”Other Greenland officials have been more blunt. In January, the chair of Greenland’s parliamentary Foreign and Security Policy Committee Pipaluk Lynge warned the U.S. not to “invade” the nation, which is largely composed of Indigenous tribes, in light of America’s historical treatment of Alaska’s Indigenous population.A late January poll by pollster Verian found that 85 percent of Greenland’s residents do not want to become part of the United States. Just 6 percent were in favor of the switch, while 8 percent were undecided, according to The Guardian.That disinterest became more apparent in late March, when second lady Usha Vance’s trip around Greenland was gutted and canceled after American representatives were spotted walking around Nuuk, the island’s capital, failing to find residents who would be interested in a visit from the vice president’s wife.But none of that has thwarted Trump’s interest.“We need [Greenland] for international security,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month. “That whole area is becoming very important, for a lot of reasons. The routes are very direct to Asia, to Russia, and you have ships all over the place. We have to have protection. “So, we’re going to have to make a deal on that, and Denmark is not able to do that, and you know, Denmark is very far away, and really has nothing to do. What happened? A boat landed there 200 years ago or something and they say they have rights to it, I don’t know if that’s true, I don’t think it is, actually,” the apparent anti-colonialist activist added.In an address to Congress last month, Trump clarified his intention: “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”Read more bout Greenland:Greenland Commander Fired After Email Slamming JD VanceView More Posts

And it's "still free" when it arrives.During the Triple-i showcase earlier this week, developer Askiisoft reminded Katana ZERO fans about the free DLC.In this long-awaited development update for the indie action-platformer, it was confirmed the DLC is "finally nearing completion". Here's a bit about it direct from the PR, and you can see it in action in the video above.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

I've always appreciated these simple accessories, and this new feature makes them more useful than ever. Right now, these Magnetic Adapters are just $13.

The luxury AV brand’s latest audio release delivers 720W of power from its ultra-compact speakers, and an OLED screen in its remote control!

Love crossword puzzles but don’t have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That’s what The Mini is for! A bite-sized version of the New York Times’ well-known crossword puzzle, The Mini is a quick and easy way to test your crossword skills daily in a lot less time (the average puzzle takes most players just over a minute to solve). While The Mini is smaller and simpler than a normal crossword, it isn’t always easy. Tripping up on one clue can be the difference between a personal best completion time and an embarrassing solve attempt. Recommended Videos Just like our Wordle hints and Connections hints, we’re here to help with The Mini today if you’re stuck and need a little help. Related Below are the answers for the NYT Mini crossword today. New York Times Across Do, re, mi, fa, ___, la … – SOL Still up in the air, for short – TBD With 14-Across, “?????” – THATS ___ Grande – RIO Bone connecting the elbow and wrist – ULNA Things issued by the D.M.V. – IDS Elaborate hairstyle – COIF Part of the eye that contains the iris – UVEA See 7-Across – CONFUSING “Sure, whatever you say …” – OKAY 24 cans of beer – CASE Down Plaster wall coating – STUCCO “Hey, check it out!” – OHLOOK Weather phenomenon that translates to “the girl” – LANINA It’s full of questions – TRIVIA White House family during the 2020s – BIDENS Medicinal amount – DOSAGE Chewy candy – TAFFY Sch. that plays home football games at the L.A. Coliseum – USC Editors’ Recommendations

The AI powerhouse has become ubiquitous, paradoxically by doing only what it deems essential.

The American artist moved from the segregated South to the New York art world and beyond as he forged unique processes of painting and sculpting, the textured, totemic results of which are now on view in a staggering retrospective.

Ask any astronaut who has spent extended periods in the International Space Station what the most challenging part was, and they will probably say missing friends and family.While there are plenty of amazing and unique experiences, life in space comes with other little challenges, too — try getting your hair to stay flat without gravity or wearing the same outfit for days on end.NASA and other space agencies are trying to learn all they can about how humans cope with difficulties, big and small, when they're traveling 17,500 miles an hour around the Earth. They work hard to bring some of the comforts of home to space.Here's what it looks like to spend months on the International Space Station. Since 1998, the International Space Station has had over 280 visitors. The International Space Station as seen by astronauts from NASA's space shuttle Endeavour on February 19, 2010. NASA Astronauts and cosmonauts from 20 countries have been on board, according to NASA. It's a floating lab where researchers conduct experiments related to space travel. Astronauts typically stay for six months to a year.Almost everything they do revolves around discovering more about life in space, and they keep meticulous track of how their bodies respond to the weightless environment. Some of what they've learned has led to developments in drugs and medical technology that benefit humans on Earth, too. There's not a lot of room on the ISS. Astronaut Peggy Whitson in the doorway of the Temporary Sleep Station (TSS) on the International Space Station in 2002. NASA It's more like a not-a-lot-of-space station. It's a six-bedroom house packed into an area that's shorter than a football field, according to NASA. Five agencies share the station, which has six sleeping quarters, a gym, and two bathrooms.Astronaut Frank Rubio described it as a building made of hallways, with no large space like a living room to gather."You almost have to block the fact that it is so small," he told "Houston: We Have a Podcast" in 2024. The food isn't all freeze-dried. Astronaut Leroy Chiao eats a meal on the International Space Station in 2005. NASA Space food needs to meet a few requirements. It can't crumble to bits and clog up machinery, it has to be able to stay fresh for months, and it should taste good.Several newer methods for preserving food for long-distance travel have given astronauts more meal options, and ISS astronauts can make everything from spicy shrimp to chocolate pudding cake."A lot of it was really tasty," retired astronaut Leland Melvin told Business Insider in 2023.Lots of astronauts like spicier options because the lack of gravity makes fluid float into their sinuses, making them stuffed up and affecting how food tastes.Astronauts and cosmonauts will often bring snacks that remind them of home. For example, one of Rubio's crewmates brought items for a charcuterie board. Daily exercise helps prevent bone loss. Astronaut Sandra Magnus exercises on the advanced Resistive Exercise Device (aRED) on the International Space Station in 2009. NASA Early on in space travel, doctors realized astronauts were losing bone density after spending long periods of time in a weightless environment. Now, ISS residents do a couple of hours of exercise every day to help prevent that.It's a mix of cardio and load-bearing workouts, Rubio said. They do so many squats that "every day is leg day in space," he added. There's a technique for brushing your teeth without running water. Astronaut Scott Altman holds a drink container on the International Space Station in 2000. NASA In 2013, retired astronaut Chris Hadfield demonstrated how he brushed his teeth in space on the Canadian Space Agency's YouTube channel.First, he used a resealable water container to wet the toothbrush. Then he slurped the water off the brush and applied regular toothpaste. When he was done, he swallowed the toothpaste and filled his mouth with water to clean the toothbrush.Showers are actually sponge baths with washcloths, per NASA. Astronauts use shampoo that they don't have to rinse out. Suction takes care of extra water, which then goes to a waste tank. The toilets on the ISS rely on airflow. A team member at Johnson Space Flight Center lifts the urine hose of a space toilet. NASA Hoses, funnels, and suction are all crucial components when it's time to go in space. In 2020, NASA redesigned its toilets for more comfort and durability.Astronauts get rid of toilet paper in water-tight bags, and the solid waste is shipped off to burn up on reentry through Earth's atmosphere. Urine is another story. Most of the water on board is reused. Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa processes samples from the JEM Water Recovery System (JWRS) on the International Space Station in 2023. NASA Water is a precious and heavy commodity. Humans generate a lot of it, including through sweat, urine, and the droplets in their breath. Most of it doesn't go to waste on the ISS."We have hardware on station that helps take that output and turn it back into clean, drinkable water," NASA aerospace engineer Brendan Lutes told "Houston: We Have a Podcast" in 2024.The agency reported in 2023 that it is working on recycling 98% of the water the astronauts expel. There's no laundromat on the ISS. Astronaut John Phillips holds a wet/dry vacuum cleaner on the International Space Station in 2005. NASA Astronauts only get to bring a small amount of clothes with them, and they have to make them last. They might wear the same outfit for a week, according to NASA. Washing clothes would be too water-intensive, so their well-worn garments get burned up like other waste.That doesn't mean there are no chores on the ISS. Astronauts have to use vacuums — like the one pictured above — to make sure there are no crumbs or debris floating around that could damage instruments. The astronauts are on the ISS to work. Astronaut Alexander Gerst performs a fluid dynamics experiment aboard the International Space Station in 2018. NASA A typical workday on the space station is around 12 hours with some breaks for lunch and exercise, according to Rubio. During that time, astronauts and cosmonauts are conducting experiments and monitor their own health. They're often involved in ongoing medical experiments.The ISS also needs a lot of maintenance. In recent years, the modules have started showing cracks and leaking air. A toilet breakdown and temperature fluctuations are a few of the other problems the station has faced.In a recent report, the Office of Inspector General wrote the leaks are "a top safety risk" that NASA is investigating and monitoring. Days fall into a routine. Astronaut Jessica Watkins works with a miniature scanning electron microscope (SEM) on the International Space Station in 2022. NASA Astronaut Rubio spent over a year on the ISS and said that "every day is different, and yet every day is the same." He woke up around 6:30 a.m., ate breakfast, and got ready for work, which started around an hour later.He would take half an hour for lunch and get in his two-hour workout. The workday would end around 7 p.m., he said. The work he would do each day — experiments, maintenance, spacewalks — would vary. Email, phone calls, and video chats help astronauts stay connected to their families. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on a video from the International Space Station in 2017. Manuel Dorati/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images When astronauts and cosmonauts are stationed at ISS for months at a time, they often miss events like birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. Email is a reliable way to stay in touch."On Saturdays, we have meet-with-the-family time," astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson said in a 2013 NASA video. During these weekly video chats, they can catch up on everything that's been happening at home. Holidays aren't the same as at home. The Expedition 21 and STS-129 crew members gather for Thanksgiving on the International Space Station in 2009. NASA On December 25 last year, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — the two astronauts who were unexpectedly stranded on the space station — wore Santa hats, decorated cookies, and contacted their families, The New York Times reported.Holidays in space can be tough even for astronauts who expect to spend an entire year away from home. "Thanksgiving, where you're used to having it with loved ones, those kind of tend to hit home a little harder," Rubio said during the podcast.There are also no Champagne toasts since NASA doesn't let its astronauts drink alcohol on the job. There's entertainment so astronauts don't get bored. Astronaut Peggy Whitson uses an iPad on the International Space Station in 2016. NASA Homesickness isn't just about missing family members. Astronauts often long for many comforts Earthlings take for granted.Karen Adkins is a NASA psychological support coordinator who works on morale and well-being for people heading to ISS for lengthy missions. She and other team members start meeting with astronauts two years before their mission, and "we start developing what we call their in-flight support resource plan," she told "Houston: We Have a Podcast" in 2024.It includes everything from figuring out how they'll contact their family to deciding what special items they might want to bring on board. They also set up a crew personal webpage, stocked with TV shows, movies, podcasts, music, and other entertainment. Several astronauts have voted from space. Astronaut Kate Rubins points to the International Space Station's "voting booth" in 2020. NASA In the late '90s, NASA figured out how to help astronauts participate in US elections. Before they leave Earth, they fill out a request for an absentee ballot. County officials then email the ballot for the astronaut to fill out and send back.In the past, astronauts have created mini "voting booths" in the crew quarters. "The voting clerks love getting pictures of crew voting on board," Marta Durham, a former NASA flight operations Instructor, told "Houston: We Have a Podcast." NASA is keen to see how the ISS garden grows. Astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren eat space plants on the International Space Station in 2015. NASA If humans are going to live on Mars, they must first perfect space gardening. Fresh produce is key to providing necessary nutrients.The Vegetable Production System, or Veggie, is the space station's six-plant garden, per NASA. It's helping astronauts learn how to make food without gravity and sunlight. They've grown peppers and lettuce on board. NASA keeps a close eye on astronauts' health before, during, and after their time on ISS. Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor uses a Fundoscope to examine her eye on the International Space Station in 2018. NASA Long spaceflights change astronauts' bodies in a lot of ways. The lack of gravity affects their balance and ability to walk. The brain adapts to the lack of gravity, and some of these changes can become permanent, University of Florida researchers recently found.Astronauts routinely track their own health, taking saliva samples and wearing monitors for heart rate, sleep, and temperature. Not only will such data be helpful for future missions, but some research could affect people on Earth, too, especially those who live in remote areas with less access to medical care. Haircuts aboard the ISS are doable. Astronaut Terry Virts cuts ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's hair on the International Space Station in 2015. NASA Six months can be a long time to go without a haircut. Astronauts can get a trim, provided they have a vacuum on hand to capture the clippings. It can be tough to sleep through 16 sunrises a day. Astronauts Thomas D. Jones and Mark L. Polansky in sleeping bags on the International Space Station in 2001. NASA As the ISS orbits the Earth, it experiences the sun rising and setting 16 times a day. That's just one reason astronauts may have trouble catching their z's.Rubio described crew quarters as a phone booth. Inside, there's a sleeping bag attached to the wall to keep sleeping astronauts from floating and knocking into walls. He actually enjoyed the weightless sleep, but for some people, it takes some getting used to, he said. Some days, it's nice to step outside for a spacewalk. Astronaut Donald Pettit on a spacewalk at the International Space Station in 2003. NASA When the ISS needs maintenance or repairs, astronauts get suited up for a spacewalk. There have been over 270 since 1998, per NASA. Some have been only a couple of hours, others have taken over eight hours.The suits are equipped with oxygen and water. Before heading out into space, astronauts breathe pure oxygen to rid their bodies of nitrogen and avoid getting "the bends," which is a condition often associated with scuba diving.Astronauts actually do a lot of training underwater on Earth before doing a real spacewalk. Nothing can quite prepare them for the real thing, though, astronaut Nick Hague told "Houston: We Have a Podcast.""You just can't replicate that floating around in a spacesuit in the vacuum of space," he said. "The only place you do it real for the first time is in space." The view from inside isn't bad, either. The Earth seen from the International Space Station's Cupola window in 2015. NASA One of the major perks of spending time on the ISS is its view of the Earth. Astronauts have seen hurricanes, lightning, and glittering cities.They have incredible photos to prove it. Some astronauts, including Don Pettit, are known for their astrophotography. He brought a lot of equipment on board to help himself and his fellow crew members take even better pictures, he told "Houston: We Have a Podcast."

A version of this story originally appeared in the Good News newsletter. Sign up here!Back in 2022, sunglasses-wearing U2 frontman and rock star philanthropist Bono gave one of those long interviews to the New York Times Magazine. In between talking about his band’s new albums and the challenge of staying relevant after nearly 50 years in the music business, Bono mused on what he’s learned in his decades as an activist for the global poor:I thought that if we just redistributed resources, then we could solve every problem. I now know that’s not true. There’s a funny moment when you realize that as an activist: The off-ramp out of extreme poverty is, ugh, commerce, it’s entrepreneurial capitalism.The statement “ugh, commerce,” coming from a rock star with an estimated net worth of $700 million is a little, what’s the word, rich. But whatever you think about Bono — and personally I’m still ride or die for Achtung, Baby — he’s right that trade and capitalism have been perhaps the most important factor behind the sharp historical decline in global poverty. With the world now on the brink of an unprecedented trade war thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s more important than ever before to appreciate the progress we’ve made — and just what drove it.The second-most important number in the worldIf the remarkable decline of child mortality is the most important number in the world, as I wrote a couple of weeks ago, then the sharp decline in extreme poverty might be the second-most important.There are a few lessons in this chart. One, extreme, grinding poverty — here defined as living on the equivalent of $1.90 a day or less — was not just more common in the not too distant past. It was the lot of most human beings.As recently as 1950, more than half the world’s population lived in a state of extreme poverty. Go back further, to the early 19th century, and it was closer to four out of every five people. Until the last few decades, in those regions outside the developed world (like most of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia), it was nearly everyone.Today, the picture looks entirely different. As this chart below shows, the number of people living in extreme poverty in the present day, when the global population is 8.2 billion, is lower than it was than in 1820, back when the entire population of the world was barely more than 1 billion people.Zoom in on this chart, and you see another part of the story. Even as the industrial revolution and everything that followed brought more and more people in the developed world out of extreme poverty, the overall number of people in extreme poverty did keep growing, albeit more slowly. Then, beginning around 1990, the world experienced an unprecedented and drastic decline in extreme poverty, which fell from 38 percent of the global population to approximately 8.5 percent in 2024 (based on current figures that go beyond these charts).How did it happen? There were many factors: increased spending on social and anti-poverty programs, improved health and education, urbanization, better political stability, and governance. But the biggest one, to borrow Bono’s words: “ugh, commerce.”The Shenzhen miracleBetween 2001 and 2006 I lived and worked as a journalist in Hong Kong. The city itself is an emblem of the way trade and enterprise can erase poverty: Between 1960 and the present day, per-capita GDP increased by more than 11,000 percent, to more than $50,000. But even more impressive was what was happening just across the border in mainland China, in the city of Shenzhen.In 1980, Shenzhen was a sleepy fishing village of maybe 30,000 people. That was the year then-Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping designated the town as China’s first special economic zone — a place to experiment with market-oriented, capitalistic policies that weren’t allowed in the rest of China. By the time I got to Hong Kong in 2001, that fishing village had grown to a city of more than 7 million people, and had made itself into the workshop of the world, manufacturing products that were exported around the globe. Today, Shenzhen has a population of 17 million people — nearly three times that of neighboring Hong Kong — and its skyline looks like this:AFP via Getty ImagesWhat happened in Shenzhen is an extreme version of what happened in the rest of China, and in other parts of the world that had long been mired in dire poverty. Between 1990 and now, China’s growth lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty, far more than any other country. And it was able to do that largely because it opened itself up to an increasingly globalized economy and harnessed a resource that, until then, had been more of a hindrance than a boon: its sheer number of workers. In doing so, China followed in the footsteps of other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea that had gone through penury to wealth in the postwar period through economic development and trade. To a lesser extent, other countries like India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia managed to do the same.It’s no accident that the most rapid progress against extreme poverty came during a time when the global economy became increasingly, truly global. Between 1990 and 2008, international trade as a percentage of global GDP increased from 38 percent to 61 percent. This was the era when supply chains for companies like Walmart and Amazon went global, when international air travel took off, when the price of goods for American consumers like electronics and appliances plummeted (something that, as my colleague Kelsey Piper wrote recently, is much more of a good thing than we often recognize). It was also — not coincidentally — a period with unusually low levels of international conflict. Shadows on the horizonOf course, all that growth and travel and stuff has its downsides, like the rapid rises in greenhouse gas emissions and other markers of environmental destruction. For the countries undergoing that vertiginous growth, it was a period of extreme social change and growing inequality. For the US, of course, the deindustrialization that occurred as manufacturing jobs were lost to other countries created social and political disruption that we are still grappling with (though as my colleague Dylan Matthews wrote recently, much more of that disruption was due to factors like increased automation and a shift in demand in the US from products to services than it was to globalization).But don’t lose sight of the upside: Hundreds of millions of people were rescued from the most grinding poverty and put on a path to a better life, one with more opportunities and more choice.As the world, and especially Trump, appears set on reversing all that progress by starting trade wars of the sort we haven’t experienced for decades, it’s all the more important to recognize this as one of the greatest accomplishments that the world has ever seen, one made all the more remarkable by the fact that no one really set out to make it happen. It was just — ugh, commerce.Picture of progress 📸Dr. Jonas Salk gives an 8-year-old boy a trial polio vaccine in 1954. Getty Images70 years ago today, on April 12, 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared “safe, effective, and potent,” marking a monumental victory in public health. Polio at a time was a terrifying disease, with the US reporting over 58,000 cases in 1952 alone, leading to thousands of deaths and cases of paralysis, predominantly among children. This was a vaccine every parent wanted for their child.The vaccine drove a rapid and dramatic decline in polio cases in the US. Salk chose not to patent the vaccine — “Could you patent the sun?” as he told Edward Murrow — to facilitate its widespread and affordable distribution. Cases have fallen 99 percent since 1988 globally, and the world is on the brink of eradicating the disease.The good number 💯Getty Images/iStockphoto39 percentThat’s how much plastic pollution levels on Australia’s beaches and coastlines have dropped over the past decade. Researchers from Australia’s national science agency called the results “heartening” because flexible plastics (like snack wrappers) typically wreak the most havoc on wildlife. Even better, 16 percent more locations reported no plastic debris at all. It’s as if Australians collectively decided their marine wildlife deserved better beach selfies! Good on ya, Aussies! This might be the best thing you’ve done since Bluey.Study this 🧪Getty ImagesMeditation is not only a way to temporarily reduce stress — it might, over time, act as a fountain of youth. A new study found that long-term meditators (think decades, not just your weekend mindfulness workshop) show reduced signs of chronic stress and biological aging. Researchers spotted lower levels of stress-related cortisol and even found that meditators’ brains aged better; older practitioners matched youngsters on cognitive tests, keeping their neurons spry and responsive. While the study doesn’t promise immortality, it suggests that consistent meditation could be the ultimate anti-aging cream for your brain and stress levels.Short hits 💥Getty Images/iStockphotoGood news for thirsty rivers: A new study says recycling wastewater could give the shrinking Colorado River a desperately needed refill. Currently, only 26 percent of treated wastewater gets reused — but bumping that number to 40 percent could dramatically ease water woes. It’s like teaching water to multitask — showering today, watering crops tomorrow.Not content with your late-night impulse purchases, Amazon is now aiming to deliver life-saving care for heart attacks, too. According to a piece this week in Bloomberg, a recent pilot project trained over 100 Amazon delivery drivers in Europe in CPR and equipped them with defibrillators, making them potential first responders. Turns out your Amazon order might literally be a lifesaver — no Prime subscription needed​.Switch out your plastic wrap for squid wrap. Scientists have developed an edible, squid-shell-based biofilm that doubles the shelf-life of strawberries, keeping mold away without changing the taste. Made from squid shells and antioxidant-rich pomegranate peel, this invention could help tackle the growing problem of food waste by saving a few of those suddenly expensive strawberries.Japan just built a new train station in less time than it takes you to assemble Ikea furniture — only six hours! As reported by the New York Times, workers overnight swiftly put together Hatsushima Station using pre-made 3D-printed parts. This method drastically cuts down costs, delays, and disruption, making it ideal for quickly upgrading rural infrastructure. It’s a glimpse into how technology can support shrinking, aging populations — and maybe a model for how the infrastructure-challenged US could learn to build better.You’ve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you — join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: