Latest news with #outdoor activities
New York Times
5 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Open Season
There's a period before sunrise called civil twilight, when the sun is still below the horizon but it's light enough to start your day. In high summer in New York City, light starts to peek around the edges of the shades at 5 a.m., scratching at the screen like a pet trying to get in: I'm here! Get up! Let's go! It makes for a long day if you get up at this hour — around 15 hours if you're keeping track, as I am, trying to squeeze as much juice out of the season as possible before it's done. A member of the anti-summer contingent recently groused to me that she hates this time of year, because she feels so much pressure to always be doing things, to fill her time with outdoor activities that would be impossible in colder months. She feels guilty saying 'I'm just doing nothing' when asked about her weekend plans. How could she be so wasteful, squandering this brief period of light and warmth? Think of all the picnics and pool parties and breezy strolls she'll regret not having undertaken come February! She's right — in the warmer months, there's a tinge of accusation to our small talk. 'What are you up to this summer?' seems to require a recitation of an action-packed agenda in response. If you have kids, the pressure to keep them properly occupied can set the season up as 'a parenting Rorschach test,' as Hannah Seligson recently wrote in The Times. Someone once suggested to me that there's no question that makes one feel more defensive than, 'Any fun trips coming up?' The socially acceptable definition of fun and the reality of what we actually experience as fun can often be quite different from each other. One person's 'beach barbecue' is another person's 'lying on the couch, reading, kind of dozing all afternoon.' Doing absolutely nothing today might be the most pleasant summer activity you can think of. You do not need to get up with the sun and pack your hours with berry picking and butterfly catching in order to have a dreamy summer day. (I did that only once, and I was so tired by lunch I could barely keep my eyes open.) The true promise of summer, the one we're all entitled to, is that feeling of lightness and openness, of our cares diminishing at least a little bit. Let no well-intentioned but ultimately irksome query about what you did this weekend keep you from doing, or not doing, whatever it takes to achieve this. Trump Administration In a prisoner swap, the Venezuelan government released 10 Americans and U.S. permanent residents in exchange for more than 200 Venezuelans whom the U.S. had sent to El Salvador. The State Department will sharply restrict its criticism of tainted foreign elections, pulling back from the pro-democracy advocacy that the U.S. long offered. At President Trump's request, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony from the Jeffrey Epstein case. Trump sued Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over an article that said Trump had contributed a cryptic note and a drawing as part of a birthday gift for Epstein. Trump, disputing The Journal's report, said, 'I don't draw pictures.' But many of his sketches have sold at auction. Other Big Stories Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Jair Bolsonaro, the former president, to wear an ankle monitor. Bolsonaro, who is charged with attempting a coup, has lobbied Trump for help. Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have killed at least 57 people in recent days. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany are working together to build diplomatic and defense institutions that free them from their reliance on the U.S. An explosion at a law enforcement training center in Los Angeles killed three sheriff's deputies. A state official said it appeared to be an accident. Colbert Cancellation CBS said it canceled Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show for financial reasons. People familiar with the show's finances told The Times that it was losing of tens of millions of dollars a year. But Democratic lawmakers raised questions about the cancellation, which came just days after Colbert criticized CBS's parent company for paying Trump millions to settle a lawsuit. 'Do I think this is a coincidence? NO,' Senator Bernie Sanders said. The saga evokes a term Colbert coined many years ago, our TV critic writes: 'truthiness,' or a statement that is not actually true but represents a reality the speaker wishes to inhabit. Ari Aster Ari Aster has made some of this century's most unsettling films — like 'Hereditary' and 'Midsommar' — by taking his own anxiety and putting it onscreen. Read a profile of the director. Aster's new movie is 'Eddington,' a Western set in the early days of the Covid pandemic. Our critic gives it a good review, writing that the film 'sets us not-so-gently adrift on a sea of very recent memories and the nausea they re-prompt.' In the mood for horror after all this Aster talk? Here are five movies you can stream now. Drake's Comeback Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘We need these items': Non-profit groups ask public for sunscreen and hat donations
Staying cool and safe in the heat can be a challenge for some, with necessities like sunscreen, hats and reusable water bottles out of reach. Some non-profit groups in Halifax are stepping up and asking the public to donate summer necessities to help those in need. The BGC Greater Halifax Clubs serves around 400 children a week across their four locations in the summer, and a lot of their activities are run outside. 'Swimming, canoeing, all the nine yards. We love being outside, anything we can do outside we love to do that type of programming,' says Tyrell Johnson, BGC Greater Halifax Clubs Program Coordinator. Some kids forget their sunscreen or hats at home, while others just don't have these items. Regardless of the situation, with the amount of time spent outdoors, the non-profit ensures all the kids at their camps have these essentials. 'Sun safety is a big part of what we do in order to make sure every child has sunscreen, has water bottles, and hats. Sometimes we do need extra to make sure they stay sun safe throughout the week and the entire summer,' adds Johnson. Their summer camp began this week and they have already gone through a number of hats, water bottles and sunscreen bottles, giving them out whenever needed. With seven more weeks of camp, the team says they expect to give out hundreds. 'We need these items every summer, as you can imagine, we go through these items a lot with new faces each day, each week, things are changing a lot,' says Johnson. For those able to donate, the team asks that people drop the items off at their location. If the contribution is financial, it can be done on their website. Out of the Cold Community Association Out of the Cold Community Association is pictured on July 2, 2025. (CTV Atlantic / Emma Convey) Out of the Cold Community Association, which these days is worried about the heat, is also asking for public donations. The group provides supportive housing to 63 adults and is calling on Maritimers to help to protect their clients from the heat. The executive director of Out of the Cold Community Association, Michelle Malette, stresses the importance of sunscreen as many of their clients spend much of their day outdoors. 'Sunscreen is really important and is something that is pretty unaffordable for us, and I think for a lot of folks. We have been struggling to get that for our folks,' says Malette. Malette's team gives out hygiene bags to their clients, but sunscreen is one item they've been short on this summer. 'We haven't been able to give out a lot of sunscreen this year, we have some that expired from last year. We have been asking the community for some,' says Malette. They are also asking for water bottles, the wide mouth ones are preferred and ones that are reusable and washable. 'When our folks are out and about they have less access to a lot of things that other folks in the community do so it is really important and substance users and folks that use alcohol, they are more susceptible to the heat for sure,' says Malette. Reusable water bottles are a huge help because clients can refill them at the Out of the Cold housing spaces. 'A lot of our folks don't always see the value in themselves so they don't always see the value in those things that are needed for self care,' adds Malette. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
