Biden to Discuss Border and Other Issues With Mexican President - The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — President Biden will speak by video conference on Monday with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, one of the unexpected, yet pivotal, drivers of Trump-era policies to seal the United States to migrants that Mr. Biden is trying to unwind.

Mr. Biden is expected to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, cracking down on drug trafficking and collaborating on economic opportunities with one of Washington’s largest trading partners, according to a senior administration official. The discussion, coming just days after Mr. Biden sought to repair relations in a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, will also center on efforts to control migration as the Biden administration contends with rising numbers of unaccompanied children at the southwestern border.

Mr. López Obrador is a critical partner as Mr. Biden seeks to reverse former President Donald J. Trump’s border policies and make an immigration overhaul a centerpiece of his agenda. In Mr. López Obrador, however, the new president is not dealing with yet another relieved world leader eager to rebuild relations and move on from his abrasive predecessor.

The Mexican president won the admiration of Mr. Trump for cooperating on his hard-line immigration agenda, a reversal of a campaign promise to protect migrants made in part to avoid tariffs Mr. Trump threatened to impose. Mr. López Obrador came to appreciate the Trump administration for its eventual hands-off approach to Mexican domestic policy issues, even praising Mr. Trump during a call with Mr. Biden, then the president-elect, in December.

Mr. López Obrador was also one of the last global leaders to congratulate Mr. Biden on his election victory, and recently adopted a measure to restrict cooperation with American narcotics agents in a sharp rebuke after the United States arrested a former Mexican official on drug trafficking charges.

Mr. Biden will not demand specific actions because Mexico is a sovereign nation, according to the senior official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting. It is unclear how Mr. Biden will respond to Mr. López Obrador’s recent call to create a new guest worker program for Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States. Mr. Biden would need the help of Congress to expand visas for such temporary employees.

The two leaders, who previously talked about ways to stem migration in a call on Jan. 22, just days after Mr. Biden took office, are expected to discuss addressing the root causes of persecution and poverty that force Central American families to flee to the United States. Mr. Biden said during his campaign that he would focus on expanding opportunities to apply for refugee status in Central America and bolster foreign aid to the region. Immigration advocates have criticized Mr. Biden in recent days for reopening border facilities used during the Trump administration to hold migrant children during the weeks or months it takes to place them with their relatives in the United States.

“We will need Mexico’s cooperation. Biden keeps saying we need a regional solution, although he hasn’t talked much about Mexico,” said Theresa Cardinal Brown, the director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “There’s a lot about working on root causes and investing in Central America, but there’s no mention of Mexico.”

After Mr. Trump threatened potentially crippling tariffs against the American ally in 2019, Mexico agreed to deploy security forces to its southern border with Guatemala to deter migrants fleeing poverty and persecution.

As a part of backing off the tariffs, the Trump administration also expanded a program across the U.S.-Mexico border that forced migrants to wait in Mexico while their immigration cases were processed. The Biden administration has now begun reprocessing many of those migrants, including those exposed to kidnappings and cartel violence, who have been stuck in limbo during a pandemic that forced delays in their cases. The administration is relying on international organizations to provide testing to the migrants in Mexico before they are reprocessed in the United States.

Mr. Biden is also seeking Mexico’s help to deter new arrivals at the border, a goal that is already facing challenges. His administration has kept in place a Trump-era policy that empowers border officers to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico, a move administration officials purport to be necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in detention facilities and border communities.

But a recent change in Mexican law that prohibits the detention of small children in the state of Tamaulipas has forced U.S. Customs and Border Protection to return to the practice of releasing migrant families at bus stations in certain areas of neighboring South Texas, a pivot that has prompted concern among leaders in the border agency. Most migrant families continue to be expelled to Mexico or Central America.

Biden administration officials have had continuing discussions with Mexico on a resolution to the breakdown, according to the senior official, who would not say whether Mr. Biden planned to bring up the recent change.

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March 01, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Biden to Discuss Border and Other Issues With Mexican President - The New York Times

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What Should You Do With Your Savings? - The New York Times

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Tori Dunlap, founder of Her First $100K, a financial advice blog, agreed.

“One of the most common questions I receive: ‘Should I save first, or pay off debt first?’ If this year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of saving an emergency fund. So even if you have a good chunk of debt, prioritize saving three months of living expenses first,” Mr. Dunlap said, adding that she used a savings surplus this year to increase her emergency fund to a year’s worth of expenses.

And where should you put that money? In a high-yield savings account, like those offered by many online banks, like Ally or Marcus. (A high-yield savings account is one that offers a higher interest rate than typical banks. Here is a good place to see which banks are offering the most, though don’t expect to earn much.)

Step 2

Tackle high-interest debt

This isn’t the most glamorous path, but it is the one that will offer by far the highest returns. After padding your emergency fund to a comfortable level — around six months of expenses, give or take — consider putting any extra money you were able to save toward debt with interest of around six percent or higher, experts said.

Carrying high-interest debt makes the magic of compound interest work against you: Whereas in a savings account, the more you save the more interest you earn, with high-interest debt, the more money you owe the more interest you owe.

“You have to get very aggressive with high-interest debt, because the problem with high-interest debt is you’re turning compound interest from being a force for good and turning it against you,” Mr. Preston said. “It’s not uncommon for credit card companies to charge you 16, 17, 18 percent.”

There are a lot of strategies to paying off high-interest debt, so if that is a priority for you, read this deep dive on paying it off.

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March 01, 2021 at 05:00PM
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What Should You Do With Your Savings? - The New York Times

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Connecting with community, improving nutrition | UNC-Chapel Hill - UNC Chapell Hill

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The UNC Nutrition Research Institute is closing the gap between Carolina researchers and the community by sharing its latest health and nutrition research through its monthly “Appetite for Life” outreach program.

The NRI launched Appetite for Life shortly after the institute opened in 2008 to host cooking and science demonstrations, events and interactive lectures that present nutrition research in a new way that’s easy to understand and builds connections with community members.

“What we like to tell people, especially when we’re getting them ready to serve as a speaker, is we want it to feel more like a TED Talk,” said Sarah Hreyo, development associate at the NRI. “Something where people are engaged, they’re excited, they’re learning, but it’s not over their heads.”

Based at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the NRI and its researchers focus on human health and nutrition. The institute sits on what was once Kannapolis’ claim to fame: a mill site during the state’s bustling textile-manufacturing days.

After the mill shut down in 2003, the city reinvented itself by creating the state-of-the-art research campus in 2008. Hreyo believes that Appetite for Life can help residents stay engaged with the science-based newcomers.

“The North Carolina Research Campus is an awesome resource to have in the town,” she said. “We want our community members to know that we’re here. That’s one reason why doing these events is so important — to keep the community engaged with the campus, even though engagement might not look the same as what they knew it was just 20 or 30 years ago.”

In addition to TED Talk-styled lectures, Appetite for Life hosts free cooking demonstrations and wellness workshops. Attendees can join Zoom sessions online live, but the content is available on the NRI website afterward for people who couldn’t watch the live event.

“We want everyone to know that we’re a space where they can come to learn and to grow,” Hreyo said. “We’re a resource in the community and provide learning opportunities for both adults and younger students.”

Appetite for Life is also a chance for faculty members, researchers and students to gain public speaking experience. Isis Trujillo, research associate professor and former postdoctoral researcher at the NRI, is grateful that she could present her research at Appetite for Life.

“Appetite for Life was an exceptional experience for me,” she said. “I think that our research should be well communicated to the community, and we have the responsibility to do it, to be able to build a close relationship. When I presented my research, we were recruiting people for a human study. People asked questions and were very engaged and interested in being part of our study. The most gratifying part was to receive notes and comments at the end of my talk, thanking the institute for our research.”

The NRI hopes that promoting its work through Appetite for Life builds a stronger connection with its community near and far. The program provides a direct link to local neighbors and an online resource for friends across the country and world.

“We’re trying to get the word out there that our work is important and that it’s something that people can support because it’s impactful to them,” Hreyo said. “The work that we’re doing now is meaningful to the future of precision nutrition. Our scientists look at precision nutrition as it relates to so many aspects of human health, which can really make a difference in someone’s life.”

Learn more about Appetite for Life

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March 01, 2021 at 08:01PM
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Connecting with community, improving nutrition | UNC-Chapel Hill - UNC Chapell Hill

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Carolyn Hax: Taking a hint and running wild with it - The Washington Post

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I am beyond offended that she — probably at the behest of her kids — wants to treat me as a deep pocket.

We haven't talked in a while, but it would be hard to explain what the rift is about since it all has to do with hints. I also have some guilt about not calling, since she is older and could probably use the company.

Should I have been more direct and told her outright that if she was asking for money, then I wasn't offering? Or was it right to just not take the hints?

— Not Picking Up Hints

Not Picking Up Hints: Wut.

Okay, how’s this: Since none of this actually happened — her asking you for money, your saying no to that, her expressing anger at you, your expressing offense at being treated as a bank and/or frustration at being expected to communicate through hints, nothing concrete anywhere to be found — why don’t you just proceed as if none of it actually happened?

As in, call her to check in, as usual. See if she wants company. If she declines, then shrug and mark your calendar to call her again in X amount of time to make the same offer.

If/when she accepts, then go visit and deal with what you get when you get there.

Assuming you ever get this far with her again, then you can just deal with any new hints from her however is easiest for you: Either decide upfront to ignore them all unless and until she expresses her wishes directly, or name them as follows: “Do I understand you correctly, you’re asking me for X?”

It really doesn’t matter which. Listener’s choice.

Dear Carolyn: I have a friend I was supposed to visit. I texted her a few days before to just make sure we were all set. Short text back revealed she actually had plans with another friend and had to cancel. Not apologetic.

This person has been a friend of mine for years, but we've had some ups and downs recently — last year, she pretty much froze me out, only to drunkenly explain later that she did it because "it seems like I have my life together and she was jealous of me."

At this point I just want to give up. This person has not been a good or reliable friend to me, but it makes me sad because at one point we were quite close. Advice for how to handle?

— Stood Up

Stood Up: Like any loss or goodbye, I guess. Be sad things took the turn they did; be grateful for the experiences and memories of when things were good; and be open to the possibility that time will bring another change. Who knows? It makes sense to stop trying to be friends now, sure — because your heart isn’t in it anymore. (She’s acting insecure, not uninterested.) That doesn’t mean you don’t find each other again later under different circumstances.

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March 01, 2021 at 11:59AM
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Carolyn Hax: Taking a hint and running wild with it - The Washington Post

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Iran Rejects Nuclear Deal Talks With U.S. Proposed by Europe - The New York Times

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Iran on Sunday rejected an offer to negotiate directly with the United States in an informal meeting proposed by Europeans to revive the nuclear deal that President Donald J. Trump exited nearly three years ago.

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said recent actions taken by Washington and Europeans had led Iran to conclude that the “time was not right” to hold such talks. His remarks came days after President Biden ordered retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria that were tied to recent attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq.

“There has been no change in America’s positions and actions,” Mr. Khatibzadeh said in a foreign ministry statement. “The Biden administration has not set aside Trump’s maximum pressure policy, nor has it announced its commitments” under the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Biden has said the United States will return to the deal if Iran first returns to the commitments it made when it was signed. Iran has demanded that the U.S. lift all sanctions against it, and it has recently taken steps to increase uranium enrichment and limit the access by international inspectors to its nuclear sites.

That impasse prompted European signatories to the deal to suggest an informal meeting in which the Americans would attend as a guest and the two sides would get the opportunity to engage directly.

Privately, American officials have expressed confidence that the timing questions could be resolved, noting that when the nuclear deal was being put into effect in early 2016, Iran and the United States engaged in a series of precisely coordinated actions that eliminated the question of who was making the first move.

But the political sensitivities are high.

Mr. Biden is aware that Republican opponents of the deal are looking for any signs that his new administration is making concessions without getting anything in return. And Iran has a presidential election in less than four months, meaning no Iranian officials want to appear to be bending to American will.

So far, Mr. Biden has mixed a willingness to re-engage in diplomacy with modest military pushback to Iran’s support of proxy militias in Iraq and elsewhere.

The good-will gestures included an abandonment of a failed effort by the Trump administration to force the re-imposition of United Nations sanctions that date to before the 2015 deal. Mr. Trump argued that since Iran had resumed the production of nuclear material at levels prohibited by the accord, those sanctions should automatically snap back into place.

The State Department also eased travel restrictions on Iranian diplomats coming to the United Nations and accepting Europe’s invitations to direct talks.

But then came Mr. Biden’s decision to order military strikes Thursday on several buildings used by the Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and other groups in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border. The strikes were a response to a rocket attack on Feb. 15 in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded an American service member and members of coalition troops.

Mr. Biden said the strikes were aimed at sending a message to Iran that “you can’t act with impunity — be careful.”

The escalating military tensions coincided with Iran weighing whether it would meet with the Americans, a notion that is just as unpopular within Iran’s conservative factions as it is among many Republican leaders in the United States.

A White House spokesman said Sunday that the United States was “disappointed” by Iran’s rejection of the talks but that “we remain ready to re-engage in meaningful diplomacy,” Reuters reported.

Henry Rome, a senior analyst who follows Iran for the Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy, said Iran’s decision in part reflected its leaders' desire to look resilient in the face of U.S. pressure.

“This is far from a death knell for negotiations,” he said in an email.

In his remarks Sunday, Mr. Khatibzadeh said Iran would respond in kind to both pressure and concessions from Washington.

Iran, he said, will “return to our commitments” in sanctions are lifted. But, he warned, it will also “respond to aggressive actions accordingly.”

Mr. Rome said the standoff made clear how “messy” reviving the dealt might prove.

“Even if the overall direction of travel is clear,” he said, “Washington and Tehran will zig and zag in efforts to build up leverage and handle their own domestic political considerations.”

Rick Gladstone contributed reporting.

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March 01, 2021 at 04:37AM
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Iran Rejects Nuclear Deal Talks With U.S. Proposed by Europe - The New York Times

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2021 WGC-Workday Championship leaderboard, grades: Collin Morikawa joins elite group with victory in Florida - CBS Sports

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It is fitting on this week -- of all weeks -- that a Tiger Woods statistic would define what happened on the PGA Tour. Collin Morikawa won the WGC-Workday Championship on Sunday at The Concession Golf Club by shooting 69 to finish at 18 under, three ahead of Billy Horschel, Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland. It was a tremendous ending to what has not been a tremendous week in the world of golf.

After opening with a hu-hum 70 on Thursday, Morikawa went on to birdie 20 of his next 45 holes starting on Friday to take a substantial lead going to the back nine on Sunday. With Viktor Hovland, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka chasing from deep, Morikawa knew they would need to be nearly perfect unless he made a big mistake; any slight miscue at The Concession -- as the first three days proved -- would mean the end of the chase.

Scheffler doubled the 16th, Hovland three-putted two of four holes and Koepka never got going on the second nine. And while Morikawa made big-boy par saves on multiple holes, the dagger came when he made a 7-foot birdie at No. 12, the drivable par-4 hole to become the first to get to 18 under. He played the rest of his round cleanly in even par and walked away with a big trophy and a bigger check.

"It shows that I can come out here and compete," he said of closing out his first-ever 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. "What a week. I was working on so much over the last couple of weeks ... My game felt so good. I'm so excited right now."

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Winning four times in your first 39 PGA Tour events as a professional is highly unusual. It's a Rory McIlroy-like number. A Jon Rahm-like number. Morikawa might not always be as discussed as some of the other young stars on the PGA Tour, but the No. 4 player in the world has become an absolute force.

Morikawa was the best iron player in this field by a healthy margin, which is apropos because The Concession is as demanding a venue as there is in terms of iron play. And with his fourth win in 39 PGA Tour starts as a pro, he got himself onto a pretty exclusive list of legends who have won four or more times -- including a major -- by the age of 24.

With much of the field dressed in red and black to honor Woods after his near-fatal car crash earlier this week, Morikawa was emotional in the end after his three-stroke win.

"Tiger means everything to me," said Morikawa. "Yes, he had the crash, thankfully he's all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery. I don't think we say thank you enough. I want to say thank you to Tiger ... Sometimes you lose people too early. You don't get to say thank you enough."

There was no dramatic finish this weekend like there has been fort he last month -- just a romp from both the best iron player this week and the best iron player in this field. Again, this was a fitting tribute to the best iron player of all time who is sitting in a hospital room on the opposite coast. A wild week ended on Sunday with much more optimism and a lot more hope than it started with. Yes, Woods has given golf so much, but Morikawa carried the baton this week in more ways than one. Grade: A+

Here are the rest of our grades for the WGC-Workday Championship.

Viktor Hovland (T2) and Scottie Scheffler (5th): How much fun was this duo on Sunday? It would disappoint exactly nobody if they ran it back seven months from now in a singles match at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. Though their games are fairly similar, stylistically they look quite different from one another. However, they put on a combined 9-under show in the finale that ended for both of them on the same hole. Scheffler made double on No. 16 while Hovland missed a 5-foot putt to drop well back of Morikawa. It was his second three-putt in three holes. Still, a big week for two guys whose talents far outpace their name recognition right now. Grade: A

Brooks Koepka (T2): I wish The Concession was playing host to a major in the next three years. I'd put the house and all my kids' college funds on Koepka. The four-time major champ faltered a bit on Saturday on account of a stiff neck, but I'm fully a believer in him at big-time events once again after this week's performance tacked onto his victory at the Phoenix Open. Grade: A

Bryson DeChambeau (T22): After scaring 80 on Thursday, DeChambeau bounced back at the site of his NCAA Championship victory back in 2015 with a 64 on Friday and 69 on Sunday. His week was a representation of everyone's week. He had three doubles and a triple -- the course as a whole dished out over 150 doubles or worse -- and it's very difficult to win a golf tournament of this magnitude when you put yourself in a 9-over hole on just four holes. Grade: C+

Dustin Johnson (T54): You can always tell when D.J. is kind of mentally ejected from a tournament by how few of his putts touch or scare the hole. This week he lost 10 (!!) strokes to the field en route to five doubles on the week and two rounds of 77 or worse. Extrapolate that at your own risk, though, as D.J. shot a pair of 80s at the Memorial last summer then won everything he looked at in the fall. He should still be among the favorites at the Players Championship. Grade: D-

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March 01, 2021 at 08:23AM
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2021 WGC-Workday Championship leaderboard, grades: Collin Morikawa joins elite group with victory in Florida - CBS Sports

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Ad With Realistic Take on Breastfeeding Airing at Golden Globes - The New York Times

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Companies are constantly on my case about breasts.

As an advertising reporter who happens to be eight months pregnant, I have been targeted relentlessly, since I first typed “expecting” into a search engine, by unnaturally rosy ads about maternity bras, anti-stretch lotions, latch-aiding bottles and nursing support pillows.

But on Sunday, a commercial that presents a more realistic look at parenting will be shown during NBC’s prime time broadcast of the 78th Golden Globe Awards. The spot, from the parenting products company Frida, shows new mothers dealing with cluster feedings, applying cabbage compresses and, in a rarity for national TV, exposing breasts clogged and stretched by the effort of nourishing their babies.

In its first TV commercial, Frida shows real mothers caring for their children to showcase the often unglamorous and painful lactation experience. The commercial, accompanied by the message “Care for your breasts, not just your baby,” promotes the company’s Frida Mom line of nursing pillows, massagers, gummies and other products.

“We agree that the ad may push the envelope, but it is the context surrounding the visuals that makes this ad different, and we stand by it,” NBCUniversal said in a statement.

Frida worked with the network on a 30-second edit that blurs or covers nipples that are visible in the original 75-second ad — a “fairly robust editing process at NBCU’s insistence,” said Chelsea Hirschhorn, the company’s chief executive, in a statement.

She added that the point of the ad remained intact — “that the physical and emotional breastfeeding journey puts an unrivaled pressure on women to ‘perform,’ and no longer should women be expected to prioritize making milk over their own physical discomfort.”

On YouTube, the original ad, which was posted on Feb. 24, already has more than 1.4 million views.

The spot was created by the ad agency Mekanism, a San Francisco shop that has created campaigns for Ben & Jerry’s, HBO and, famously, Peloton. It was directed by Rachel Morrison, who was the first woman to be nominated for a cinematography Oscar for her work on the 2017 drama “Mudbound.”

Updated 

March 1, 2021, 12:00 a.m. ET

Last year, Frida produced an ad showing an exhausted new mother in diaperlike postpartum underwear plodding to the bathroom. The commercial, according to the company, was blocked from airing during the Oscars because it was considered too graphic.

As pregnant women form purchasing preferences that often extend for years after their babies are born, they become a highly desirable demographic to marketers. Janet Vertesi, an associate professor of sociology at Princeton who experimented with hiding her pregnancy from internet trackers, estimated in 2014 that an average pregnant woman’s marketing data is worth $1.50, while a regular person’s is worth 10 cents. This month, the diaper brand Huggies aired a commercial during the Super Bowl that cost millions of dollars to place.

Many of the ads encountered by first-time parents favor modesty over authenticity. Instagram ads tend to focus more on warm images of cooing babies cuddled by radiant, fully covered mothers and less on the agony of aggressive feedings and the mess of midnight cleanups.

The disconnect can leave first-time parents underprepared during a transitional period often described as the fourth trimester. And during the pandemic, the difficulties have been intensified for the families of the more than 116 million babies expected to have been born since March.

Recently, there has been more talk about postpartum care (as well as issues like pregnancy discrimination and career trajectories for mothers) from brands, service providers and celebrities like Katy Perry, Ashley Graham and Chrissy Teigen.

Last week, in an attempt to normalize the “whole new world” of breastfeeding, bottles and pumps, the baby products company Tommee Tippee began circulating upbeat ads that showed a variety of nursing women amid a montage of fruits, basketballs and other stand-ins for bosoms.

The so-called Boob Life campaign will be relegated mostly to digital platforms, said Jessica Becker, a managing partner at Manifest, the ad agency behind the effort. It “would not meet the ad regulations in the U.S.” for a broadcast run and was rejected by television channels in Britain and Australia “as it was deemed ‘adult content,’” she said in an email.

“The film is meant to celebrate women’s postpartum bodies (something our insight shows is a great struggle for them) and isn’t in any way sexualized,” Ms. Becker added. “So we’re hugely disappointed it won’t make it to TV.”

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March 01, 2021 at 04:42AM
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Ad With Realistic Take on Breastfeeding Airing at Golden Globes - The New York Times

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