In meeting after meeting with their French counterparts, U.S. officials gave no heads-up about their plans to upend France’s largest defense contract.

Secret Talks and a Hidden Agenda: Behind the U.S. Defense Deal That France Called a ‘Betrayal’

Championed by doctors and conservative radio hosts alike, monoclonal antibodies for Covid are in high demand — even from those who don’t want a vaccine.

They Shunned Covid Vaccines but Embraced Antibody Treatment

Israeli agents had wanted to kill Iran’s top nuclear scientist for years. Then they came up with a way to do it with no operatives present.

The Scientist and the A.I.-Assisted, Remote-Control Killing Machine

A plan for the economy, education, immigration, climate and more binds disparate Democratic lawmakers, but the proposal risks sinking under its own weight.

Biden’s Entire Presidential Agenda Rests on Expansive Spending Bill

The British government played an early role in brokering the alliance with the U.S. and Australia to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific, officials in London and Washington said.

Submarine Deal Gives Post-Brexit Britain Its Moment on the Global Stage

In an interview, the photographer Jason  Andrew described the inspiration behind the portraits published in The Times this week and recalled his experience covering the violence of Jan. 6.

In Portraits, Seared Memories of the Capitol Riot

The supposed link between buybacks and inequality is unproven.

Why Taxing Stock Buybacks Is the Wrong Fix for Executive Pay

Sellers should focus on the rooms where people spend the most time, but if you have the budget and time, staging the attic can offer a bonus for buyers.

Do I Need to Clean Up My Attic Before I List My House?

Quotation of the Day for Saturday, September 18, 2021.

Quotation of the Day: ‘It’s Always Going to Haunt Me’

Overblown fears that the coronavirus could be transmitted through surfaces have created a stigma around handling nonhazardous trash, experts say. Some recyclable waste has been junked or burned.

The Covid Crisis Is Now a Garbage Crisis, Too

New audio shows made in Cuba are finding a rapt audience and upending the island’s hyperpartisan media landscape.

Despite Censorship and Poor Internet, Cuban Podcasts Are Booming

Competition for market share at rock-bottom prices has led to shortages, price spikes, allegations of price-fixing and substandard and even dangerous practices.

Our Drug Supply Is Sick. How Can We Fix It?

Jose Abreu is known for picking up checks, crowding the plate and driving in runs — a lot of runs. He is quiet in the news media, but his teammates have plenty to say about him.

A Metronome of Power Keeps the White Sox Humming

Lani Malmberg travels with a few hundred goats, which eat the tall brush and grasses that power Western wildfires.

The Unconventional Weapon Against Future Wildfires: Goats

A snap election that was supposed to be a show of strength has instead allowed opponents to highlight the prime minister’s weak points.

Trudeau Seeks a Fresh Start, but Many Voters See a Power Grab

Congress needs to protect voting rights. Now.

Joe Manchin Got the Voting Bill He Wanted. Time to Pass It.

Drop the Identity Cloak when identity is not the issue. (And tax the rich!) 

Never Complain, Never Explain

Would a deadlier pandemic have yielded different political divides?

What if Covid Were 10 Times Deadlier?

He was known as the “Gentleman of Son” because of his infectious enthusiasm for repopularizing the genre considered the bedrock of the Cuban sound.

Adalberto Álvarez, Latin Dance Music Maestro, Is Dead at 72

The U.S. admission that a drone strike that killed 10 civilians was a “tragic mistake” did nothing to ease the sense of vulnerability among surviving family members and co-workers living under Taliban rule.

First Tied to ISIS, Then to U.S.: Family in Drone Strike Is Tarnished Twice

A tuba player and the leader of the Hot 8, one of New Orleans’s high-profile brass bands, he brought music to his fellow citizens in the difficult days after the storm.

Bennie Pete, Bandleader Who Kept the Beat After Katrina, Dies at 45

She was celebrated for recasting the Virgin of Guadalupe in her own image as a feminist superhero — a young, strong, brown woman in running shoes.

Yolanda López, Artist Who Celebrated Working-Class Women, Dies at 78

Medical concierge services are offering coronavirus antibody tests as a perk, despite caveats about their usefulness.

Some Rich People Are Counting Their Antibodies ‘Like Calories’

His colorful works could be quite personal, or they could be blunt responses to police brutality or other news of the day.

Peter Williams, 69, Dies; His Art Evoked Black Lives, Including His

Emmanuel Olunkwa is named editor of Pin-Up, the fashionable architectural and design magazine.

September 18, 2021

Headlines from September 18, 2021

Secret Talks and a Hidden Agenda: Behind the U.S. Defense Deal That France Called a ‘Betrayal’

They Shunned Covid Vaccines but Embraced Antibody Treatment

The Scientist and the A.I.-Assisted, Remote-Control Killing Machine

Biden’s Entire Presidential Agenda Rests on Expansive Spending Bill

Submarine Deal Gives Post-Brexit Britain Its Moment on the Global Stage

Billboard 200

Certified Lover Boy

Donda

Senjutsu

Sour

Planet Her

Historical Context for September 18, 2021