How are we supposed to regard Max’s altered state? An ambiguity, rare in Hollywood movies, hangs over Weir’s film, which screenwriter Rafael Yglesias adapted from his own novel. Has Max become a kind of angel–enlightened, spiritually purified–or has he become monstrous in his arrogance, his delusion of immortality? Clinically, he’s suffering from posttraumatic-stress syndrome, but in illness he discovers ecstasy, and is loath to give it up. The intense, portentous, quasi-mystical atmosphere of “Fearless” is reminiscent of Weir’s early work in his native Australia, “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and “The Last Wave....

Pictures of the giraffe were posted to Facebook by South African local AnneMarie Scheepers, who remarked that this may have been due to some poison being excreted from the body after the lightning strike. “The lightning was rough one night and it rained nicely in Skukuza area. Next morning we drove and came upon the dead giraffe but there was no sign of predators eating or wanting to come and eat,” she wrote....

Suddenly, in the wake of Russian threats to use tactical nuclear weapons, the world faces the possibility of a nuclear war that President Biden has alarmingly but accurately said threatens Armageddon. Tensions have not been this high since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. It is worth remembering that when we talk about nuclear war, we are talking about the violent deaths of millions—perhaps billions—of people, and possibly the end of most life on the planet....

The tax code is being crammed with special-interest provisions intended mainly to advertise public solidarity with some selected constituency, social group or cause. The Clinton administration wanted to endear itself to parents of college students, so it advocated (and Congress passed) a complex package of tax breaks for college tuition. Now it wants to flaunt its compassion for families caring for older parents with a $1,000 “long-term care” credit. The president’s budget proposes an array of new credits, including a $2,000 credit for buying a “highly energy efficient” new home....

Legend for Chart: A - No heading for first column B - Prosecution C - Defense D - Judge Ito A B C D Week 34 The glove may not Dream Team deflated He’s no Vince but have fit, but the state’s fiber and Lombardi, Bruno Magli shoes glove experts. But Ito’s end-is-near may make the man. it tripped over the pep talks might be An FBI shoe expert footprint impressions buoying jurors....

Approaching a crucial election next week, the Philippines is a country that has lost its bearings. It has broken a key link with the United States, shutting down American military bases. But Filipinos have not yet found a new national identity for themselves. To an extent that does them far more harm than good, many still think of themselves as America’s proteges. Their society is an image of America reflected in a fun-house mirror: a flair for melodrama, a penchant for violence, a taste for tacky fashions and zany nicknames....

CRAIG LANDRUM FLINT HILL, VA. LAST WINTER I FOUND CAROLIVIA HERRON’S ““Nappy Hair’’ on the shelves of my local bookstore and read it cover to cover right there. I was so excited to find a book that, far from featuring white characters with their faces painted brown, actually celebrated my lovely, kinky hair. As a black woman who threw out straightening combs, relaxers and other implements of shame years ago and now proudly sports an Afro, I have to wonder about the parents at PS 75....

Paolo, Marie’s first fling, is Paul’s opposite–pure carnal desire. (He is played by a legendary Italian porn star, Rocco Siffredi.) Her second encounter, with the principal of her school, is as much mental as physical. Robert (Francois Berleand) isn’t good-looking, isn’t young, yet he boasts of thousands of conquests. His power is verbal, and he introduces Marie to the world of S&M. The bondage scenes are presented with remarkable matter-of-factness....

But in the middle of his sheik, Dole casually announced that he’s running for president in 1996. The news was not unexpected, but the venue (the nation’s most popular late-night comedy show) and the timing (last week) certainly were. Politicians dream about the kind of week Dole had. It began when Jack Kemp announced he would not run. This accelerated the year-off campaign, as Phil Gramm and Lamar Alexander hit the phones to plunder Kemp’s vast political network....

One night last year, Barzey set a goal for himself. He was in the Lackawanna County jail in Pennsylvania, serving time on a 1996 drug charge. With help from above, he vowed to land a recording contract within his first year on the outside. “I gotta get this money,” he says, somberly, “or else I’m going to be on the street again, and I don’t play with the streets like that....

Some whites argued that the boulevard was no place for an athlete of any race. Many blacks had opposed the site as well. believing that Ashe’s legacy would be diminished by the company of slave owners. But others, including Ashe’s family, were pleased with the site. Says former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder, “Monument Avenue is Virginia’s avenue of respect.”

Jones’ final run of Week 13 went 77 yards for a touchdown. Before that, he’d run 14 times for 53 yards with no scores. But that one run pushed him to 130 yards and a touchdown. It also helped Green Bay to a 30-16 win, rather than a 23-16 edge. Both of those components could have major financial implications across the country. MORE: Jets, Gregg Williams didn’t lose on purpose with all-out blitz...

It started with a sushi lunch, followed by a 40-minute educational lecture. Afterward, Ohta’s blood-sugar level soared to 338 milligrams per deciliter. The next day, Ohta had the same lunch, but this time he attended a comedy show. Laughing apparently helped: Ohta’s blood sugar topped out at 252mg/dl–an improvement of 25 percent. Dr. Koichi Kawai and his team found similar results in the 18 other patients who participated in the study....

Title-winning coach Guillermo Amor has departed as the Reds begin a German revolution under new manager Marco Kurz - with intriguing foreign signings and young talent to burn. 2016-17 finishing position: 9th Coach: Marco Kurz INS AND OUTS Ins: Paul Izzo, George Blackwood, Ersan Gülüm, Johan Absalonsen, Vince Lia, Karim Matmour. Outs: Dylan McGowan, George Mells, Sergio Cirio, John Hall, Jesse Makarounas, John Hall, Eugene Galekovic, Riley McGree, Kim Jae-sung, Iacopo La Rocca, Marcelo Carrusca, Eli Babalj....

PUBLIC DEBT Point: To stimulate the economy, the government prints money and spends it wildly. Public debt has reached 130 percent of GNP. Counterpoint: High debt is little more than a stopgap solution to Japan’s long recession. A basic overhaul of the system is needed. EMPLOYMENT Point: Japan’s jobless rate stands at a record 4.9 percent. The government wants to protect jobs at small and medium-size firms. Counterpoint: Job protection inhibits speedy corporate restructuring, which slows new job creation and delays economic recovery....

To deal without appearing to deal, a good go-between is essential. “What you need is a party trusted by both sides who can arrange meetings that don’t exist,” says a Lebanese expatriate with ties to Hizbullah, the Shiite Muslim umbrella group to which the hostage-takers belong. Wisely, the Bush administration is relying on United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to fill this role, rather than on the shady arms dealers and self-important secret agents used in previous efforts....

The high-school drop out and “magazine nerd,” imbued with H.L. Mencken (no fan of higher education himself), began publishing authors such as Tony Early, Donna Tartt and William Gay, in addition to uncovering previously unpublished short stories by Faulkner, Walker Percy and Zora Neale Hurston. But like all fledgling magazines, he had trouble paying the bills. In late 1994, John Grisham, a graduate of Ole Miss and an Oxford resident, stepped in as benefactor and figurehead publisher, or as Smirnoff calls him, “angel” and “godfather....