Mexico elected its first woman president
Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, will be Mexico’s next president, after winning a landslide victory in elections. She will be the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to hold the post.
Sheinbaum, a leftist, was beating her opponent by a stunning 30 percentage points or more, early returns showed. Votes are still being counted: See live results here.
Her victory suggests that most Mexicans are pleased with their country’s direction: Sheinbaum, 61, is the chosen successor of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the current president.
What’s next: Sheinbaum’s next hurdle will be stepping out of the shadow of López Obrador. She notes that they are “different people,” though she appealed to voters by promising to cement his legacy. Here’s what to know about Mexico’s next leader.
Biden plans to restrict asylum
President Biden is expected to sign an executive order today allowing him to temporarily seal the U.S.-Mexico border to migrants, a move that would suspend protections for asylum seekers in the U.S.
The order would be the single most restrictive border policy instituted by Biden, who is under intense political pressure to address illegal migration ahead of the November presidential election. It also echoes a 2018 effort by Donald Trump to block migration, proclamations that were assailed by Democrats and blocked by federal courts.
Details: The order would allow border officials to prevent migrants from claiming asylum and to rapidly turn them away once border crossings exceed a certain threshold.
The numbers: On Sunday, border agents apprehended more than 3,500 migrants crossing the border without authorization, according to a person with knowledge of the data.
Netanyahu tries to keep his cabinet from unraveling
Two far-right members of Israel’s government threatened to topple the governing coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted a cease-fire deal that would end the war in Gaza without eliminating Hamas.
For Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, the cease-fire proposal does not go far enough to guarantee Hamas’s destruction. Pulling their support would take down the government. President Biden outlined the deal on Friday, saying it had been put forward by Israel.
The deal: Netanyahu offered assurances to lawmakers in a closed-door meeting yesterday that the proposal would not end the war without ending Hamas’s rule in Gaza. “The claims that we have agreed to a cease-fire without our conditions being met are incorrect,” he said.
Hostages: The Israeli military said an additional four hostages who were abducted on Oct. 7 were “no longer alive.” The men were believed to have been killed together “several months ago” near Khan Younis, in central Gaza, while Israeli forces were operating in the area, an Israeli military spokesman said.
MORE TOP NEWS
Pets teach us about life, love and death. That last one is especially important, Sam Anderson writes in this animated feature, which features a hamster named Mango and a dog named Walnut. Unlike us, Sam writes, animals don’t seem to spend their entire lives fretting about the fact that they are going to die.
“Maybe they exist in an eternal present,” he writes, “a perpetual lightness that we will never feel.”
For more, listen to Sam’s new podcast, “Animal.”
CONVERSATION STARTERS
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Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbier (we swear this isn’t a typo): TikTok loves a German rap about rhubarb, served by Barbara to rhubarb-loving barbarians, who drink beer while their beards are barbered.
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The modern age: A group of experts came up with the 25 photos that have best captured the world since 1955.
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Are women’s pants sexist? Unlike men’s trousers, with their standard inseam and waist, women’s sizes are more concept than reality.
ARTS AND IDEAS
For many supporters of Israel’s war, there is a direct line between the antisemitism that fueled the Holocaust and the ideology of Hamas. Hamas’s attack on Israel made Oct. 7 the deadliest day for Jews since the Nazi genocide, a history that is fading from living memory.
For many antiwar protesters, Israel’s military campaign is a genocide. And young memorial visitors — steeped in social media images that show tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and millions displaced from their homes — are bringing that context with them.
