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Starting With Formaldehyde, Trump Administration Reassesses Chemical Risks

A draft memo from the E.P.A. assumes a safe threshold exists for formaldehyde, upending earlier findings that there is no safe level of exposure to the carcinogen.

© Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Between one to five billion pounds of formaldehyde is produced in the United States each year for a wide range of industries and products, including composite wood and other building materials, plastics, pesticides and even some hair straightening treatments.

She Was Diagnosed With Brain Cancer, Then Wrote a Rom-Com About It

Sophie Kinsella, the author of “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” packs love, laughter and a harrowing real-life health ordeal into a 133-page novella.

© Sandra Mickiewicz for The New York Times

At an event in London in June, Sophie Kinsella said, “I’m so overwhelmed, yet again, by my lovely readers and by the lovely response that I get to what I do. It surprises me every time.”

Sophie Kinsella, ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ Author, Dies at 55

Writing under a pseudonym, Madeleine Wickham cultivated an international following for her series centered on a young woman addicted to shopping.

© Sandra Mickiewicz for The New York Times

The British author Madeleine Wickham in 2024. Under the pen name Sophie Kinsella, she wrote nine “Shopaholic” novels, which sold tens of millions of copies and were translated into dozens of languages.

I.M.F. Prods China, Gently, on Its Weak Currency

Caught between Beijing and the Trump administration, the International Monetary Fund offered mild criticism of China for relying too heavily on exports.

© Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the I.M.F., said on Wednesday that China’s currency should appreciate.

At Fed Meeting, Interest Rate Cut Expected Amid Divisions

The central bank is poised to lower interest rates on Wednesday even as a growing chorus of officials urge caution.

© Caroline Gutman for The New York Times

Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has been able corral his colleagues to move as a cohesive group under complex economic conditions, but this meeting could be especially challenging.

Democrats Make a Fresh Push to Win State Legislatures

The arm of the party that focuses on statehouses is targeting hundreds of seats and more than 40 chambers, according to a strategy memo, reflecting Democrats’ new optimism.

© Go Nakamura/Reuters

The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. The state is one of several with Republican-controlled legislatures that Democrats are trying to flip.
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