The Weekender – The New York Times

Times editors have handpicked 11 stories for you to enjoy. Welcome to The Weekender.

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Chris George has lived in Israel and Gaza, where he was once held hostage. As his employees ask him to speak out on the latest war, he is torn.

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In Chile’s oldest and most overcrowded prison, the inmates have found solace in hundreds of stray cats.

The study has fueled a dispute over the age of a partially excavated site and prompted warnings about the dangers of nationalist mythmaking.

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A plan was hatched to make the football player “as famous as the Rock.” It began long before you might guess.

An interview with one of the year’s surprise success stories in the music industry, who’s become known as much for emotional openness as for hit songs.

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It’s a very competitive year for the top Oscar. Here’s what may make the cut.

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A critic whose love of the operas of Giuseppe Verdi goes back nearly 60 years traveled to northern Italy to visit the places that shaped the man and his music.

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A dinosaur fossil listed for sale in London for $20 million embodies one of the most heated debates in paleontology.

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George and Roxanne Miller relocated the world’s largest collection of mechanical puzzles from their home in Florida. But first they took a road trip.

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Set yourself up for an invigorating new year.

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Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next weekend.

This edition of The Weekender was edited by Jonathan Wolfe.