Over the next 17 years, Sandorf reclaimed her Jewish identity for herself and her family by reading books. Among her favorites: “The Prophets” by Abraham Heschel and “Turbulent Souls” by Stephen Dubner. Now, with Nextbook.org, a literary-outreach effort, she hopes to inspire America’s 6 million Jews to do the same. For consumers of highbrow culture, Nextbook looks familiar. Its Web site feels like a combination of Slate and Arts & Letters Daily–lively and full of essays, commentary and recommended reading....

Davies, who has spent his career asking variations on this question, will now be in a position to look for answers as the head of a new cosmology think tank, provisionally named Beyond, at Arizona State University. The outfit, part of an ambitious effort by ASU president Michael Crow to stake out new intellectual territory for his young institution, will ask no easy questions, only deep ones like “Why are the laws of nature mathematical?...

Beyond Noah, though, the world of Bible stories for children has been rather dreary. There are the predictable children’s Bibles published by the denominations and religious publishers. Parents who want to teach the Bible to their children but don’t have a close connection to a church or synagogue community, however, have been at a loss. “We hear all the time how cheesy children’s Bibles are,” says Craig Walker, an executive with Scholastic Books, which recently published one with the American Bible Society....

Earlier this fall, in a sermon at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, a pastor named Wm. Dwight McKissic mentioned that he sometimes speaks in tongues while privately praying to God. “I did it this morning,” he told NEWSWEEK. After that sermon, Southwestern’s president, Paige Patterson, took the extraordinary step of removing the video of McKissic’s speech from the seminary’s Web site. Then, after a vote by the school’s board, Patterson issued a controversial statement saying that Southwestern would not hire anyone who advocated the use of tongues in prayer....

For Bader, it was a chance to make history by becoming the first “double-champ” in Bellator MMA history, while for Emelianenko, it marked an opportunity to add one more major name to his already impressive resume before finally pulling the plug on his illustrious career. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year Here’s a look at what took place on Saturday night and what it means going forward for Bellator MMA in 2019....

Haye and Bellew fought last March, with the latter winning by 11th-round TKO. The fight was close until the sixth round when Haye ruptured his achilles tendon. He somehow was able to continue on one leg. Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) knocked Haye down in the 11th round, and the grudge match appeared to be over. Somehow, Haye made it back to his feet, but moments later, his corner threw in the towel....

Bellroy unveiled its newest line of weekender bags in 2020 but has updated it with a new Lunar color and material. In addition to the updated weekender, Bellroy has also debuted a new Dopp Kit for packing toiletries in a larger size and in its Lunar color, as well. Are these the right bags to have available when you need to head out for one to three nights? Do they fit the bill for all the impromptu travel most people will want to do as pandemic restrictions ease in 2021 and beyond?...

American Pharoah cruised to a seven-length victory in the Preakness over a wet track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore three weeks ago. He’ll face a field of rested colts in the Belmont, since only Tale of Verve entered the Triple Crown’s second leg. MORE: Get to know the field | Post positions drawn | Pharoah versatile enough, Secretariat jockey says Belmont Stakes times, TV channels (All times Eastern)...

A few minutes after Letang briefly left the game after a face-first trip into the boards courtesy of Ryan Callahan’s arm, Bishop, Tampa Bay’s Vezina-finalist goalie, seriously injured his leg. MORE: Callahan’s hit was dumb and dirty With Pittsburgh on the power play due to Callahan’s hit, Bishop made a bad turn near the post and … eesh. Bishop, with a history of leg and groin issues, was down for several minutes before the stretcher came out for him....

DiNucci completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards, lost two fumbles — one of which was returned for a touchdown — and spent a lot of his time rolling toward the sideline at the first sign of a pass rush. Wentz was 15 for 27 for 123 yards, with two touchdowns, two interceptions and two lost fumbles. Both quarterbacks also made multiple throws that could have/should have been intercepted....

Simmons reportedly is scheduled for an exam then, after being forced to leave the team’s game at Utah on Wednesday in the first half. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium tweeted a preliminary diagnosis: MORE: Butler knew Embiid would drag him into beef with KAT The 76ers had not confirmed the report as of late Wednesday. Simmons exited with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter, although it appeared he was hurt early in the first quarter....

Benfica 6/4 for win to nil v Vitoria The 18-year-old goalkeeper became the youngest player to score an own goal in the competition when Nemanja Matic’s shot came off the post and rebounded off his back into the net. The incident came just two weeks after Svilar carried a Marcus Rashford free-kick over the line to give United a 1-0 victory in Lisbon, after which he was consoled by striker Romelu Lukaku....

It didn't go down like that, though. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was three interceptions deep into the game against the Ravens when he pulled out the only thing he had left: luck. Dalton’s Hail Mary in the final seconds of regulation fell like a gift into the hands of A.J. Green. Ravens safety James Ihedigbo rose through the scrum of players in the end zone and got his fingers on Dalton’s pass....

The fifth-overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, Chase led the NCAA in both receiving yards and tochdowns in 2019 before opting out of the season as a junior in 2020. But as training camp and preseason got underway, reports began to circulate out of Cincinnati that the rookie receiver was struggling with drops, though his coach, Zac Taylor, was perhaps less worried than the general public. MORE: Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb still have beef...

Although the range of implications is narrower atter the NFL canceled the Bills-Bengals Week 17 game, there are still significant stakes attached to Cincinnati’s AFC North showdown with Baltimore on Sunday; specfically, the Bengals would earn the No. 2 seed in the conference with a win and a Bills loss to the Patriots. MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 18 The cancellation helped the league avoid late-season logistical nightmares....

The Real Madrid striker again drew a blank against Barcelona, as Lionel Messi and co ran riot at Santiago Bernabeu, winning 3-0 to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points from second-placed Atletico Madrid. Madrid now lie 14 points behind their bitter rivals, with Benzema particularly profligate in a difficult season. The France international has scored just five times in all competitions so far this term, but he has hit the post six times....

Speaking to Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview, Clinton, the former Secretary of State who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump, did not hold back in her criticism of Sanders, accusing the 2020 Democratic hopeful of fostering a toxic culture within his campaign. Asked during the interview about comments she makes in a four-part Hulu series titled Hillary, which is set to premier at Sundance, Clinton stood behind her comments that “nobody wants to work” Sanders....

Biden has seen his approval rating tank rapidly over the past year, leading some Democrats to raise alarms that he would be unlikely to win a second White House term in 2024. Many have also raised concerns about Biden’s age, as he will turn 82 shortly after the next presidential election. While Biden’s age and health may be a concern to some, a sizable portion of California voters don’t seem bothered by the prospect of Sanders, who will turn 83 in 2024, becoming president....

Biden and Democrats have been holding talks with Republican lawmakers over a series of infrastructure proposals included in the president’s American Jobs Plan. Although Biden’s initial plan was estimated to cost more than $2 trillion, Republicans have suggested they’d be willing to compromise and pass something costing $600 to $800 billion. However, it appears that both sides remain far apart when it comes to how to cover the cost of the infrastructure legislation....