The second full moon of 2025, dubbed the “snow moon” will be at its peak this week. The moon, named after the winter season’s heavy snowfall, arrives just as much of the U.S. is expected to be impacted by back-to-back snowstorms. Here’s what to know about the snow moon. When is the snow moon? The snow moon will reach peak illumination Wednesday morning at 8:53 a.m. EST, according to earthsky.org. The moon will be below the horizon at this time, so the Almanac’s moon guide recommends looking for it on Tuesday or Wednesday night. The moon will peak above the horizon around sunset, and reach its highest point in the sky around midnight. How can I see it? You can view the snow moon with your naked eye, but try stargazing in an area with less light pollution to appreciate its full beauty. If you’re not able to catch a glimpse on Wednesday, the moon will also appear full in the days before and after its peak—though with most of the U.S. expected to be impacted by storms this week, some stargazers might find it hard to catch it. Why is it called the snow moon? Many early Native American tribes kept track of time through phases of the moon, and some of the names were adopted by European colonists. The “snow moon” was named in reference to the heavy snow that falls during the winter season. Because the season also brought bad weather that made hunting difficult, it was also referred to as the “Hunger Moon.” When's the next full moon after this one? The next full moon, named the “worm moon” will take place in mid-March. Until then, keep an eye out for Venus, the planet named after the Roman goddess of love, which will reach peak brightness on Feb. 14—just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Despite the Trump Administration’s talk of a drop in egg prices, everyday consumers are still feeling the pressure on their wallets. The retail price of eggs remained elevated and continued to rise in March, increasing by nearly 6% to $6.23 a dozen, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than double the retail price of eggs in March 2024, when eggs cost $2.99 a dozen. So, what exactly is causing the egg shortage and rising prices? The pandemic and inflation has contributed to the overall rise in the price of groceries. But the shell-shocking price of eggs has reached record highs in recent months, due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) (also known as bird flu) outbreaks. More than 23 million birds were affected by bird flu in January, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Infected birds have to be depopulated, contributing to the national egg shortage. “It will take time to replace the hens and restore normalcy,” Mike Walden, an economist at North Carolina State University, tells TIME. “There has been an increase in egg imports and federal help to increase hens. All this will take time, so my best recommendation for the consumer is to buy fewer eggs and use other sources of protein.” Read More: 8 Surprising—and Healthy—Egg Replacements USDA data indicates that the number of flocks, and therefore birds, that have been affected by the avian flu has substantially decreased over the last few months. In March, some 2 million birds were culled as a result of contracting the disease. The widespread bird flu first affected livestock on U.S. turkey farms in 2020, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 2024, the H5N1 strain of the virus began to impact goat kids and dairy cows. The first-ever reported cow-to-human spread of the avian influenza virus was also recorded last April. Amid the shortage upset, the U.S. has sought to import eggs from Turkey and South Korea to meet demand and lower egg prices. “When our chicken populations are repopulated, and we’ve got a full egg laying industry going again, hopefully in a couple of months, we then shift back to our internal egg layers and moving those eggs out onto the shelf,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in March. Local officials have also been attempting to keep egg prices at bay. Beginning on Feb. 20, the Nevada Department of Agriculture temporarily suspended a previous state law requiring eggs to be cage-free—eggs that come from hens that do not live in cages. The agency also allowed for the sale of Grade B quality eggs, which are a lower quality than Grade A eggs and are typically used to make frozen and dried egg products. American restaurant chain Waffle House announced they would be adding a 50-cent per egg surcharge to orders due to the egg shortage and rise in prices. "While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” Waffle House said in a Feb. 4 statement to the Associated Press. Now, marketers are working to meet the usual demand around Easter, when families often dye and paint eggs, or hide them for a holiday hunt. “Retail demand is limited in the near-term which has provided grocers with an opportunity to overcome the shell egg shortages that plagued the marketplace earlier in the year and prices at retail are gradually adjusting downward in many parts of the country,” USDA said in its weekly egg markets overview published on April 4. Generally, egg supply has improved at local grocery stores, the market report confirmed. Still, February marked the lowest level of egg products stocks in the last decade, according to USDA. According to David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University, who spoke to the New York Times, although wholesale prices have decreased, it could take weeks for that to be reflected in retail prices. “All indications are that there’s some relief coming for consumers,” he is quoted as saying, but “even then, there are a lot of other factors that determine the price of eggs.

Mental-health lingo has peppered conversations for years. Look no further than “gaslighting,” which ushered in a new era of therapy-speak, and its counterparts “trauma,” “toxic,” and “triggered”—all generally used in oversimplified or inaccurate ways. Perhaps you’ve noticed a newer addition while scrolling social media: “overstimulated.” Across the internet, people are reporting being overstimulated by fresh photos of their favorite celeb, weekends packed full of plans, grocery stores loaded with too many choices, and the exhausting demands of new parenthood. “I think people mean that there's too many things going on at once, and they feel overloaded by it—like task paralysis for your senses,” says Dr. Jessi Gold, chief wellness officer for the University of Tennessee System. “It resonates, and it sticks. It becomes almost like a slang word.” Yet experts say that most of the time, people aren’t experiencing true overstimulation, but something else. What it really feels like to be overstimulated In clinical terms, overstimulation—or sensory overload—means your brain is unable to process all the sensory information it’s receiving. That could include loud noises, bright lights, strong smells, unexpected physical contact, or being around too many people in a small space. “You’re experiencing sensations, and you feel them more than they actually are,” says Naomi Torres-Mackie, a psychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and head of research at the nonprofit Mental Health Coalition. That makes it different from overwhelm, which is an emotional reaction caused by stress or anxiety—like when your responsibilities exceed your capacity—and isn’t necessarily tied to sensory input. Though anyone can experience overstimulation, it’s particularly common among those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia, she adds. Imagine you’re body-to-body with strangers on a subway car, for example. While many people would find the experience unpleasant, they’d be able to stick it out until they reached their destination. Those experiencing true sensory overload, on the other, might need to exit sooner than planned. “For somebody with PTSD, ADHD, or ASD, it would feel intolerable,” Torres-Mackie says. “You might feel the need to escape or flee; you might feel restless, like you just cannot calm down; you might have feelings of anxiety. You might experience a panic attack, or feel agitated or angry or rageful, and become highly emotionally reactive.” Read More: 4 Signs Your Body Is Telling You It’s Time to Take a Break That's because your nerves are on edge, she says; if you're overstimulated, you feel unsafe and, as a result, react strongly. Some people also report physical symptoms, like lightheadedness, headaches, muscle tension, and heart palpitations. Exactly what triggers sensory overload can vary depending on a person’s underlying mental-health condition. People with PTSD, ASD, ADHD, and anxiety disorders tend to become particularly overstimulated by crowds and loud noises; those with autism are often especially triggered by touch. Schizophrenia can lead to overstimulation around visual and auditory signals: "These can feel so strong and intense that they often get kind of jumbled,” Torres-Mackie says, “and one theory is that’s what leads to hallucinations.” When people have PTSD, meanwhile, their sensory overload is often tied to traumatic experiences. Being around a person who was present when the trauma happened, or who reminds you of the perpetrator, could trigger a feeling of overstimulation, Torres-Mackie says. Certain smells could, too. “We see this a lot around the Fourth of July,” she adds. “The sounds of fireworks can be triggering if you've seen active combat.” Why the term resonates so much Caitlin Slavens, a psychologist specializing in maternal mental health in Alberta, Canada, often hears from overwhelmed moms who are drenched in the sensory bombast of modern parenting: rat-a-tat noise, touch, little sleep, and constant demands. “They describe it as ‘overstimulated’ more than any other word,” she says. The internet has molded sensory overload into a catch-all phrase for parental burnout, frustration, and exhaustion, Slavens says. Are these moms overstimulated in the technical sense? Sometimes. “Other times, they’re overwhelmed, touched-out, or emotionally drained,” she says. “But ‘overstimulated’ seems to be the most straightforward explanation for how it feels when their systems are maxed out.” Read More: Do Less. It's Good for You Torres-Mackie, who runs a group for new parents at Lenox Hill Hospital, also reports hearing “overstimulated” pop up among those adjusting to parenthood. “There’s so much sensory information or sensory experiences all of a sudden that you didn’t have before,” she says. “It can feel overwhelming.” Of course, Torres-Mackie acknowledges, overwhelm isn’t unique to parents: Most people have days when there’s so much going on, they just want to hide under a heavy blanket. “You don't have to be a new parent to feel overwhelmed in a sensory way,” she says. Is it sensory overload or overwhelm? When Torres-Mackie works with clients who describe themselves as overstimulated, she dives into what’s causing those feelings—and how the person’s day-to-day functioning is impacted. “If you’re feeling really inundated with certain tasks and requests at work, and you’re still able to perform, you may be overwhelmed," she says. “But if you completely freeze, and you're not able to perform—maybe you even have a panic attack—then you’re likely overstimulated.” It can be particularly revealing to ask yourself if whatever’s bothering you is uncomfortable or intolerable. If it’s simply uncomfortable, working on finding a way to adapt to it is key, Torres-Mackie says. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective way to overcome a tendency to simply steer clear of your triggers. “Avoiding something that’s uncomfortable often backfires, because you don't build the muscle to deal with it,” she says. “If it feels absolutely intolerable, that's one thing, but if it is somewhat tolerable, I do recommend staying in the discomfort to give yourself the experience of living through it and knowing that you can handle it.” That way, the next time you experience it, you’ll be better equipped with the sense of agency and empowerment you need to persevere, she adds. What to do if you’re overstimulated Many of the same strategies are helpful whether you’re overstimulated or overwhelmed. Here’s what experts recommend. Seek out a soothing space Slavens teaches people to designate a space of their own where they can seek solace in order to feel more regulated. That might mean plopping down on the bed, taking a whiff of a favorite essential oil, or hugging a pillow for a few minutes. “Deep pressure helps calm the nervous system down,” she says. The goal is to “go from being really amped up to calmer than you were.” Try grounding strategies One of the most effective ways to self-soothe is to focus on your five senses. “You’re tapping into the very thing that’s feeling fraught,” Torres-Mackie says. Spend a few minutes noticing what you’re feeling on your body—like the way your fuzzy socks warm your feet—what you see around you, what you hear, and what you taste. Or, you could choose to zero in on just one sense, like scent. When Torres-Mackie is feeling overwhelmed, she lights a woodsy candle that reminds her of happy times. “I also have perfumes I use that are soothing,” she says. If you’re more of a touch person, you might find solace by holding your own hand, or if you find sound calming, you could turn on your favorite relaxing song. Read More: How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating Enlist a friend’s support If you’re struggling in a social situation—maybe a loud dinner party or sold-out concert—let a trusted friend know you might need to go somewhere quiet for a few minutes. You could agree on a gesture you’ll make to indicate that you're going to step away and will come back when you feel better, Gold says. Use that time to gather yourself on the fire escape or balcony, or even to spend a few minutes practicing deep-breathing techniques in the bathroom. “And if you can’t come back,” Gold says, “then you’ll try it another day.” Test out noise-canceling headphones Putting on a pair of noise-canceling headphones can help create a quieter environment and reduce stress caused by external noise. If you’re worried you’ll look standoffish if, for example, you wear them at work, let your colleagues know that wearing them allows you to focus better. Talk to a professional Psychotherapy is effective for both overwhelm and sensory overload. Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are typically considered the gold standard. Sensory integration therapy is also an option, though it’s most frequently used with children. “Psychodynamic and insight-oriented work can be really effective,” Torres-Mackie says, because these approaches help you figure out how to cope with daily stressors. The most important thing to do, experts agree, is explore what’s going on if you often feel overstimulated. “If you’re really resonating with the word, and want to know what it means about you, you should use that as fuel to go talk to someone,” Gold says. Whether it turns out you’re overwhelmed or overstimulated, it’s possible to achieve both calmness and balance.

A winter storm is expected to bring much-needed rain and snow to Central and Southern California this week, but also a risk of flash flooding and mudslides, especially in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties and areas of Los Angeles County that were burned by wildfires last month. The robust storm system will swing waves of moisture up and down the California coast, including the already saturated northern part of the state, while also sending moisture inland, adding feet of snow to the Sierra. The storm will pull in moisture from the subtropics, and the severity of its impacts will depend on where “the bulk of that moisture goes through and how slowly the storm moves,” said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “We’re looking at likely seeing the strongest storm of the season and at least so far,” Ms. Lund said.It’s too early to pin down the forecast with certainty, but as of Monday, the most likely scenario is that rain ahead of the storm will arrive Tuesday night, with rainfall amounts anticipated to be light. After a brief lull of largely dry conditions from Wednesday afternoon, the storm is expected to arrive in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties through the early hours of Thursday morning and then head to Ventura and Los Angeles Counties by late morning. However, behind the storm a cold front will sweep in, bringing intense rainfall that could set off life-threatening debris flows around recent burn areas, particularly in the areas of the Eaton, Palisades, Franklin and Bridge fires, said Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. “This will be the worrisome portion of the storm, as rainfall rates near one inch per hour will be possible,” Mr. Rorke said. The most intense period is expected between 4 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday: The cold front, the storm’s final surge, moves into San Luis Obispo County late afternoon Thursday, and then pushes through to Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties into Friday morning before exiting. The Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for all recent burn scars of southwest California, in effect from early Thursday afternoon through to Friday morning. Additional areas may be added. Expected rainfall totals will range from one to three inches at lower elevations, and three to six inches across mountains and foothills. Portions of San Luis Obispo county may receive almost twice these totals, with three to five inches around coasts, and six to 10 inches near the Santa Lucia mountains. Currently, portions of Southern California face a moderate risk of excessive rainfall, embedded within a broader slight risk for much of the Central and Southern California coast. The projected rain totals for Santa Barbara County are close to the amount of rain that fell across the area in February 2023, when flooding rains turned streets into rivers. But the flooding this week should be less severe if the storm unfolds as expected. Two years ago, there was a lot of rain leading up to the heavy rain on Feb. 9 and soils were saturated, whereas this year, the winter has started off dry and the ground will be able to absorb more of the rain. Snow is also expected to fall in the mountains at elevations as low as 5,000 to 7,000 feet. The highest elevations may see several feet of snow. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Southern California has not received as much rain this winter as areas to the north. and it had unusually low precipitation in January. The region has recently received a few rounds of light to moderate rain, and that, combined with the upcoming storm, could significantly reduce the risk of wildfires. “Recent rains, especially considering next week, may be sufficient enough to switch to low fire season, but conversations do need to be had before we make that official declaration,” Ms. Lund said.

President Donald Trump announced on Air Force One Sunday that he would impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, the latest move as part of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its allies. Tariffs refer to taxes that are placed on imported goods, or products that come into the country. Importers have to pay tariffs to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which could cause companies to increase prices on their goods to make up for the additional taxes they have to pay. The move is meant to help domestic steel and aluminum companies, but could also cause local companies that rely on foreign steel to struggle. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest steel importer, with the top three import sources being Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, although other countries, such as South Korea, heavily rely on exporting steel to the U.S. Steel and aluminum are heavily used in the automotive and construction industry, but are also used to manufacture goods and appliances. The decision mirrors the actions Trump levied during his first Administration, when he enacted a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum, though some countries, including South Korea were exempt. In response to the most-recent tariff announcement, shares of major South Korean steelmakers in the country fell on the stock market Monday morning, while that of U.S. steel companies rose. On average, the U.S. imports more than 2 million metric tons of steel mill products per month, according to data by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, but only about a quarter of all steel in the U.S. is imported, as total steel imports have been decreasing year-over-year. “You see these empty, old, beautiful steel mills and factories that are empty and falling down,” Trump said on the campaign trail in October 2024. “We’re going to bring the companies back. We’re going to lower taxes for companies that are going to make their products in the USA. And we’re going to protect those companies with strong tariffs.” The U.S. imports about half of all aluminum it uses from other countries, mostly from neighboring Canada. The International Trade Administration reports that there’s been a significant increase of U.S. imports on aluminum, up 25% from 2015 to 2022. Earlier in February, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on most Canadian and Mexican imports, though he later decided to pause the tariffs for 30 days after negotiations with each country. Trump also issued a 10% tariff on China which remains in place. The President said he will also charge retaliatory tariffs on other countries.

To many Chinese, DeepSeek’s success is a victory for China’s education system, proof that it equals that of the United States or has even surpassed it. The core team of developers and scientists behind DeepSeek, the Chinese start-up that has jolted the A.I. world, all attended university in China, according to the company’s founder. That’s a contrast with many Chinese tech companies, which have often sought talent educated abroad. As Chinese commenters online basked in Americans’ shocked reactions, some pointed to the high number of science Ph.D.s that China produces annually. “DeepSeek’s success proves that our education is awesome,” read one blog post’s headline. Acclaim has even poured in from overseas. Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging platform Telegram, said last month that fierce competition in Chinese schools had fueled the country’s successes in artificial intelligence. “If the U.S. doesn’t reform its education system, it risks ceding tech leadership to China,” he wrote online. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The reality is more complicated. Yes, China has invested heavily in education, especially in science and technology, which has helped nurture a significant pool of talent, key to its ambition of becoming a world leader in A.I. by 2025. But outside of the classroom, those graduates must also contend with obstacles that include a grinding corporate culture and the political whims of the ruling Communist Party. Under its current top leader, Xi Jinping, the party has emphasized control, rather than economic growth, and has been willing to crack down on tech firms it deems too influential. DeepSeek has managed to evade many of those pressures, in part because it kept a low profile and its founder declared his commitment to intellectual exploration, rather than quick profits. It remains to be seen, though, how long it can continue doing so. “There are many young, energetic and talented researchers and engineers inside China. I don’t think there’s a big gap in terms of education between China and the U.S. in that perspective, especially in A.I.,” said Yiran Chen, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. “But the constraint is really from other parts.” For many in China, the strength of its education system is closely tied to the nation’s global status. The government has invested heavily in higher education, and the number of university graduates each year, once minuscule, has grown more than 14-fold in the past two decades. Several Chinese universities now rank among the world’s best. Still, for decades, China’s best and brightest students have gone abroad, and many have stayed there. By some metrics, that is starting to change.China produced more than four times as many STEM graduates in 2020 as the United States. Specifically in A.I., it has added more than 2,300 undergraduate programs since 2018, according to research by MacroPolo, a Chicago-based research group that studies China. By 2022, nearly half of the world’s top A.I. researchers came from Chinese undergraduate institutions, as opposed to about 18 percent from American ones, MacroPolo found. And while the majority of those top researchers still work in the United States, a growing number are working in China. “You’re churning out all this talent over the last few years. They’ve got to go somewhere,” said Damien Ma, MacroPolo’s founder. Washington has also made it harder for Chinese students in certain fields, including A.I., to obtain visas to the United States, citing national security concerns. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT “If they’re not going to go abroad, they’re going to start some company” or work for a Chinese one, Mr. Ma said. Some have criticized China’s educational system as overly exam-oriented and stifling to creativity and innovation. The expansion of China’s A.I. education has been uneven, and not every program is producing top-tier talent, Mr. Ma acknowledged. But China’s top schools, such as Tsinghua University and Peking University, are world-class; many of DeepSeek’s employees studied there. The Chinese government has also helped foster more robust ties between academia and enterprises than in the West, said Marina Zhang, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney who studies Chinese innovation. It has poured money into research projects and encouraged academics to contribute to national A.I. initiatives. Yet government involvement is also one of the biggest potential threats to Chinese innovation. Beijing has blessed the A.I. sector — for now. But in 2020, after deciding that it had too little control over major companies like Alibaba, it launched a sweeping, yearslong crackdown on the Chinese tech industry. (DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, pivoted to A.I. from his previous focus on speculative trading, in part because of a separate government crackdown there.) The resulting layoffs at tech companies, combined with the uncertainty of the sector’s future, helped diminish the appeal of a sector that once attracted many of China’s top students. Record numbers of young people have opted instead to compete for civil service jobs, which are low-paying but stable. A.I. has been somewhat shielded from the brain drain so far, in part because of its political imprimatur, said Yanbo Wang, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who studies China’s tech entrepreneurship. He added that he expected more successful Chinese A.I. start-ups to emerge soon, driven by young people. But it is impossible to say what China’s A.I. landscape would have looked like if Beijing had been more tolerant toward big tech companies in recent years, he added. “China’s long-term A.I. competitiveness hinges not only on its STEM education system, but also on its handling of private investors, entrepreneurs and for-profit companies,” he added.Even within private companies, employees often must contend with a focus on quick results. That has led to a widely accepted stereotype, including within China, that Chinese engineers are better at improving on other people’s innovations than at coming up with their own. Mr. Liang, DeepSeek’s founder, has lamented as much, noting last year that “top talents in China are underestimated. Because there’s so little hard-core innovation happening at the societal level, they don’t have the opportunity to be recognized.” DeepSeek’s success may hinge as much on how it differed from other Chinese tech companies as on how it shared their strengths. It was financed by the profits from its parent hedge fund. And Mr. Liang has described hiring humanities graduates in addition to computer scientists, in the spirit of fostering a freewheeling intellectual atmosphere. Since DeepSeek’s breakout success, some voices have urged more Chinese firms to emulate its model. An online commentary from the Communist Party committee of Zhejiang Province, where DeepSeek has its headquarters, declared the need to “trust in young talent” and give leading companies “greater control over innovation resources.” But the best way for China to capitalize on its well-educated, ambitious A.I. work force may be for the government to get out of the way. “Innovation requires as little intervention and management as possible,” Mr. Liang said in another interview. “Innovation often comes by itself, not as something deliberately planned, let alone taught.”

Narcissistic personality disorder is relatively rare, affecting just 1-2% of Americans by some estimates. But having some form of a relationship with someone who has narcissism is not uncommon. The disorder—characterized by arrogance, grandiosity, a lack of empathy, exploitativeness, aggression, and a constant need for affirmation and admiration—also has a more alluring side. “We’re attracted to narcissists at first,” says Amy Brunell, professor of psychology at Ohio State University and a prolific researcher of narcissism. “They’re charming, they’re fun, they’re energetic, and then over time, the negative qualities come out more and more.” Brunell wrote a recent scientific article on how to understand narcissism and cope when you’re in a relationship with a narcissist. Here’s what she says you should know about how to navigate those relationships. How can narcissism present? As Brunell describes it, narcissists are “self-centered, they’re entitled, and very often they think the world should revolve around them.” But they don't all present the same way. A large body of work going back decades divides narcissism into three types: agentic narcissism, communal narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism. Of the three, agentic narcissism is the most recognizable—and toxic. Agentic narcissists hold exalted views of themselves, seeing their competence and intelligence as far greater than that of others, Brunell explains. In an effort to maintain that self-image, they will often derogate the talents and temperaments of friends, colleagues, and family members. They are more invested in status and admiration than they are in intimacy. They self-promote tirelessly, harbor grandiose fantasies of their prospects and projects, and often engage in rivalries with people—especially work colleagues—who threaten their sense of primacy. Grottoes bear the enduring touch of Tang Branded Content Grottoes bear the enduring touch of Tang By China Daily “Ask these narcissists about themselves [and] they say, ‘Oh yeah, I'm so pro-social and so great,’” says Brunell. “But if you ask their peers about them, they actually see them as being kind of aggressive.” Read More: Gaslighting, Narcissist, and More Psychology Terms You’re Misusing Communal narcissists seek out admiration by being exceedingly—often excessively—caring and helpful, sometimes offering assistance when it’s neither needed nor requested. That kind of other-directedness seems inconsistent with the me-first impulses of narcissism; however, the behavior does not come from a place of genuine altruism, but instead from a need to be loved and admired, Brunell says. “Communal narcissists are self-enhancing,” she says. “They think they’re the most helpful person—that no one can do as much good as they do.” The vulnerable narcissist is the most fragile type. Vulnerable narcissists have none of the overweening self-regard that is the province of the agentic or communal narcissist, Brunell explains; instead, they overcompensate for a deep sense of low self-esteem. Often, they can be socially inhibited, defensive, anxious, and depressed—a painful suite of feelings that they try to battle with egotism, arrogance, defensiveness, and self-centeredness. “Vulnerable narcissists feel bad about themselves,” says Brunell. “They are chronically mad that they’re not getting what they think is due them, so they tend to be more hostile. For a while, I struggled with understanding why vulnerable narcissists are narcissists at all, except they share the core feature of self-centeredness.” What causes narcissism? The roots of narcissism are as varied as the types. Some research, including a 2014 study of twins in China, suggests that genetics may play a role, with both grandiosity and entitlement seeming to be shared more by the twins than by other siblings. Other studies comparing adopted children to biological children point to heritability too, with the biological children exhibiting more of the behavior of their narcissistic parents than adopted children. But the research in this area is not robust. “There is some evidence that narcissism is genetic, though it’s small,” says Brunell. This type of research is also cloudy: “Within families, you’re looking at shared genes, but you’re also looking at behaviors that are learned from generation to generation.” In general, most researchers in the narcissism field lean toward the “nurture” rather than the “nature” school. “It’s pretty easy to answer from the perspective of grandiose narcissism that parents kind of create these little narcissists,” Brunell says. Read More: How to Relax and Unwind Without Drinking Alcohol Too much parental praise, Brunell writes in her new paper, can cause the child to “develop an inflated sense of self as ‘special’ that can only be maintained through continual admiration by others.” The same parenting trait can also give rise to communal narcissism, with exalted children growing up to believe that they are uniquely qualified to serve and save the world. Vulnerable narcissists are created in the opposite way: by parents who dismiss, ignore, or demean. These kinds of starvation rations of parental approval lead the child to look elsewhere for emotional nourishment. “With vulnerable narcissism,” says Brunell, “a lot of times children are criticized harshly, and they start to experience that anger and that rage at not being seen.” Can narcissists change? Narcissism is not typically like other emotional or psychological conditions. The person with a phobia does not want to be terrified of spiders. The person with depression does not want to be so sad. Many narcissists, on the other hand, are sold on the idea of their own uniqueness and often do not want to change, Brunell says—even if they know that their behavior is working against them. “There’s a body of research that suggests that narcissists know that other people find them annoying,” Brunell says. “They know that their reputations aren’t great. But they don’t put that awareness to work and change. They still think it’s the other person’s fault. They think that you’re jealous, that you don’t see how great they are.” Read More: What to Do If Your Doctor Doesn’t Take Your Symptoms Seriously Still, Brunell points out that people with narcissism generally disapprove of narcissistic traits in others—evidence that they are not incapable of recognizing the downsides of the behavior. There's some research that finds narcissism can improve. One 2014 study showed that when people who exhibit agentic narcissism were asked to make and endorse such communal statements as “I am a caring person,” they reported behaving less narcissistically in real-world situations afterwards, though the effect was temporary. The same study showed similar improvement when narcissists were asked to recall a time when they showed concern, love, and acceptance for another person. “The thing is to get them to talk or think more in terms of ‘we,’” says Brunell. How to cope with narcissism in relationships When dealing with a narcissistic parent or partner, it can help to be direct about the changes you’d like to see the person make, Brunell says, but to stress that you’re making that request because that person is important to you. “For a child, if you get a parent angry, they can take away all of your resources,” says Brunell. “I would suggest that rather than necessarily confronting the parent, they can approach them in a way where they say, ‘Mom, I really care about our relationship and making you happy,’ and then try to assert yourself.” In a romantic relationship, it helps to set up clear boundaries for behaviors that will and won’t be tolerated, but those conversations can often end in grief. “Narcissists tend to be highly reactive and tend to play the victim, so they don’t necessarily handle critical feedback well,” Brunell says. “Still, if you couch it in a way that you care about the other person, you can maybe temper the blow a little bit.” Things are trickier with a narcissistic boss, because, like a parent, that person may have the ability to deny you something important—in this case, your job. Here Brunell recommends being mindful of what your goals are in any encounter with a narcissistic boss—what you’re trying to get out of a meeting, say—and not getting distracted or rattled by bad behavior. “Have an agenda for every meeting,” she says. “Know what you need from it, and then set expectations for what you’re going to get and what you’re not going to get.” When to say goodbye Often, the healthiest way to handle a relationship with a narcissist is to leave it, Brunell says. When it comes to a romantic relationship, anything that makes a person feel unsafe—any suggestion at all of violence—requires leaving. Those relationships must end. Short of that, things often depend on how much of an effort the partner without narcissism wants to continue to put in. “If you’ve tried everything there is to try and you're not getting your needs met, if you're chronically feeling torn down and not seen, if you've tried therapy, if you've tried working with your partner, then it may be time to end the relationship,” Brunell says. The stakes aren’t as high in a friendship with a narcissistic, but the same guidelines apply. Read More: How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone Then there is the dilemma that can arise when you have a good job with a bad boss—doing work you love for a manager you loathe. In this case, Brunell recommends assessing whether it’s possible to do the same kind of work elsewhere—possibilities you can explore on your own while continuing to work at your present job—and then grab the opportunity if one presents itself. When people free themselves of these toxic dynamics, they still have some work ahead of them. It’s important, for one thing, not to let someone creep back into your life who you want out. “If the narcissist calls you and you don’t want to take the call, that can be your boundary,” Brunell says. “I think feeling a little bit more empowered to make those decisions for yourself can be really important.” Both during the relationship and after it ends, it’s also important to seek out the validation and emotional support you probably haven’t been getting. Friends, teachers, and mentors can all provide these kinds of resources. The point is to remember your own agency. “Sometimes,” says Brunell, “we feel stuck in situations that we’re not actually stuck in. It just feels that way.”

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show was filled with symbolism—from Uncle Sam(uel L. Jackson) to a crip walking Serena Williams—but perhaps the most powerful symbol on stage was not even planned, according to the producers of the performance. Standing on the hood of a Buick Grand National GNX (after which Lamar named his most recent album, “GNX”), in a sea of dancers, a man clad in black sweats unfurled the Palestinian and Sudanese flags. He then jumped down from the car and ran along the perimeter of the stage, waving the flags, which had the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on them with a heart and a solidarity fist, before being tackled by security staff. The NFL said the protester, who was detained by security, was part of the 400-member field cast for the show but said that he had hidden the flags on him. “No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent,” the league said in a statement. Roc Nation, the entertainment company behind the halftime show, said that the act was “neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.” The man, who later identified himself as Zül-Qarnain Nantambu, will not face charges, New Orleans police said on Monday. He has been banned from future NFL events, according to the league and the New Orleans Police Department. The game, attended by President Donald Trump, took place amid a weekslong ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, pausing the war in Gaza that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians. Meanwhile, the Sudanese civil war between the paramilitary group RSF and the Sudanese military rages on, having killed more than 28,000 people and displacing millions more since April 2023. The moment has gained significant attention on social media. Critics labeled the protester a “Hamas supporter” and “terror supporter,” but many more were supportive of the act. One X user wrote: “Do you understand how wild it is that people are breaking down the symbolism in Kendrick’s performance while a Black man literally got arrested for unfurling Palestine’s and Sudan’s flag during it?! The display of solidarity was clearly the more powerful piece of art!” Some Lamar fans, despite clarification from the NFL and Roc Nation, assumed the artist endorsed the move by one of his performers. “KENDRICK WENT ON THE BIGGEST STAGE ARGUABLY IN WESTERN MUSIC AND PUT UP THE PALESTINE FLAG WHILE SOMEONE ELSE IS IN THE BUILDING AND THATS HOW I KNOW WE MADE THE RIGHT ONE FAMOUS,” one X user said. “I know the NFL will rake him over the coals for this but I really appreciate the gesture. Thank you Kendrick Lamar,” another wrote. Others, however, noted that Lamar has not publicly spoken about the wars in Gaza and Sudan. “This should have been part of Kendrick’s performance but he’s not brave enough. His silence on Palestine/Sudan makes his ‘conscious about issues on the world’ music lose a lot of value,” sports journalist Leyla Hamed posted. But whether or not Lamar was on board, many celebrated the protest for bringing attention to the humanitarian crises in Palestine and Sudan. One wrote: “either way if someone snuck in during the performance and held the sudan and palestine flag up, or it was planned by Kendrick and his backup dancers they were incredibly brave for this and its a reminder to not be distracted from the genocides taking place.”

Forgive any football fan who’s wondering—what was that? The Philadelphia Eagles really obliterated the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending champs and the slight betting favorite, in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans on Sunday night? The Chiefs, the team chasing much publicized history in trying to become the first three-peat Super Bowl champ, played like they forgot to show up? Philadelphia’s 40-22 triumph over Kansas City—the Chiefs tacked on two late touchdowns to make the point difference barely respectable—was a stunning display of offensive firepower and defensive ferocity. The victory gave Philadelphia its second Super Bowl title in franchise history: Kansas City trailed 24-0 at halftime, and 34-0 late in the third quarter. Star Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had never faced such a deficit in his career, and while he engineered a pair of Super Bowl comebacks the last two seasons, this spread was just too much. Philadelphia made off-season moves, coming into the 2024 campaign, that were just too good. The Eagles left no question that they’re deserving champions. The most important maneuver was signing running back Saquon Barkley, formerly of the New York Giants, to a free agent contract. In this Super Bowl, Barkley broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a regular season and postseason. But the Eagles needed no eye-popping performance from their best player on Sunday: he finished the game with just 57 yards, on 25 carries. Kansas City’s gameplan was clear: we’ll load up to stop Saquon, and dare Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts to beat us. That was a mistake. On Philadelphia’s first possession, the Eagles went for it on a 4th and 2 from midfield. Philly took a gamble, and sent a message: rather than give the ball to Barkley, Hurts fired a deep pass downfield to A.J. Brown, who corralled it for a 32-yard gain. A ticky-tack offensive pass interference flag nullified the play; the Eagles punted. But Hurts didn’t stop airing it out: he hit Brown with a 12-yard touchdown pass late in the first half, off of Mahomes’ second interception of the game, to give Philly that 24-0 edge going into halftime. In the third quarter, Hurts hit DeVonta Smith with a 46-yard touchdown strike up the middle to increase the lead to an insurmountable 34-0 advantage. He finished the game completing 17 of 22 passes, for 221 yards and a pair of TDs. Hurts was also Philadelphia’s leading rusher, as he finished with 72 yards on 11 carries, including a one-yard first quarter TD via Philadelphia’s signature “brotherly shove,” or “tush-push,” that gave the Eagles their first points of the game. Hurts completed passes of 20 and 27 yards in that masterclass possession. He was rightfully named Super Bowl MVP. After a 2023 season in which he threw a career high 15 interceptions, Hurts attempted 25% fewer passes per game this season, as Barkley put together one of the best running seasons of all-time. But in this Super Bowl, Hurts more than delivered on his early promise: he nearly led the Eagles to a title over the Chiefs two seasons ago, but fell just short in a 38-35 Super Bowl defeat. He then put a picture of himself, dejected while walking off the field that night in Arizona, confetti at his feet, as his cell phone lock screen, to remind him of what he still had to accomplish. Time for an update. Philadelphia’s defense also deserves its flowers. This off-season, the Eagles hired veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to upgrade Philly’s effort on that side of the ball. The team had drafted a slew of strong, young defensive talent in the last few years, and added a pair of rookies—defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell—this year who played key roles flummoxing Mahomes on Sunday. DeJean, who was also celebrating his 22nd birthday on Sunday, intercepted a Mahomes first-half pass and returned it 38 yards for a score. Philadelphia’s defense sacked Mahomes a half-dozen times, and held KC to a single first-half first down. The pressure on Mahomes was relentless. Travis Kelce did not catch a single pass until after Kendrick Lamar performed at halftime, when the game, for all intents and purposes, was already out of reach. So the Lombardi Trophy returns to the City of Brotherly Love, where Eagles coach Nick Sirianni jawed with the city’s notoriously surly and demanding fans earlier this season. Sirianni silenced any doubters. Hurts is still just 26. The Eagles defense should remain loaded. If Barkley can stay healthy, the NFL’s narrative for these next few years has a strong chance to be rewritten. The league’s next dynasty may reside in Philadelphia.

Super Bowl LIX saw the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 for the ultimate trophy win. But those teams weren't the only adversaries present at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome. President Donald Trump and musician Taylor Swift were also in attendance, as was expected. Trump, the 2024 TIME Person of the Year, and Swift, who received TIME’s Person of the Year title in 2023, have a complicated past. Both parties have called one another out over opposing political views and actions. After staying away from publicly commenting on politics during the beginning of her career, Swift endorsed a Democratic candidate in the U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in 2018. Trump publicly responded to Swift’s endorsement, and various comments have been made by both sides since. Indeed, this tense relationship became a focus of the night, as a moment when Swift appeared to be booed—perhaps by Eagles fans opposing her boyfriend Travis Kelce's Chiefs—was widely shared by Trump supporters online, and even by Trump himself on his social media platform Truth Social. In light of both Trump and Swift attending the Super Bowl, here’s a look back at their tense history. October 2018: Trump responds to Swift’s endorsement of Democratic candidate Though Swift had, prior to this, stayed away from political endorsements, she decided in 2018 to voice her support for Democratic senatorial candidate Phil Bredesen over Republican candidate Blackburn. Swift said Blackburn's voting record in Congress “appalls and terrifies" her. At the White House a few days later, Trump was asked about the endorsement by reporters. “I’m sure Taylor Swift doesn’t know anything about [Blackburn],” Trump said, adding, “I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now, OK?” August 2019: Swift says Trump thinks he’s in an “autocracy” In an interview with the Guardian, Swift publicly criticized Trump after not endorsing a candidate during the 2016 election. When asked about the Trump Administration by the publication, she said: “We’re a democracy—at least, we’re supposed to be—where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate. I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy." She also told the outlet that she felt “really remorseful for not saying anything” during the 2016 election between Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. January 2020: Swift reveals more in her Miss Americana documentary In her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, Swift took fans behind the scenes of her decision to endorse Tennessee Democratic candidate Bredesen in his Senate race against Republican candidate Blackburn, which was ultimately won by Blackburn. In the documentary, Swift refers to Blackburn as “Trump in a wig.” May 29, 2020: Swift tells Trump “we will vote you out” Swift took a strong stand against the President in the midst of the protests after the killing of George Floyd. Trump posted on X (formerly Twitter), warning protesters in Minnesota that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Trump’s post was then flagged by Twitter—two years before the platform was bought by Trump supporter and DOGE leader Elon Musk—for “glorifying violence.” Swift then took to the same social media platform to address Trump directly. “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” she wrote. “‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump.” August 2020: Swift calls out Trump for actions towards the USPS In August 2020, Trump admitted that he opposed additional funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in order to make it more difficult to deliver mail-in ballots. On X, Swift called out the President over his actions. “Trump’s calculated dismantling of USPS proves one thing clearly: He is WELL AWARE that we do not want him as our President,” she wrote. “He’s chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans’ lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power.” October 2020: Swift endorses Biden over Trump In her first presidential endorsement, Swift decided to officially support President Joe Biden over Trump in the latter’s first re-election campaign. In a fall 2020 issue of V Magazine, Swift told the outlet that “the change we need most is to elect a President who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included.” When the issue came out, Swift shared the interview on social media, joking that it was “so apt that it [came] out on the night of the VP debate.” The singer added that she would be “watching and supporting” then-Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris “by yelling at the TV a lot.” November 2023: Trump says his song “beat Taylor Swift” In 2023, Trump embraced a song sung by a group of defendants incarcerated over their alleged roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The song, “Justice for All,” was played by Trump during several rallies throughout 2023, and briefly jumped to Number 1 on iTunes, according to the Associated Press. In a rally later in 2023, Trump referenced the song, telling a crowd in Houston, Texas, “It beat Taylor Swift, it beat Miley Cyrus, who was number one and two.” He continued: “They were number one and two, we knocked them off for a long time.” February 2024: Trump says he’s made Swift “so much money” When the presidential race was raging on between Biden and Trump, prior to Harris taking over as the Democratic candidate, Trump released a statement on Truth Social, claiming credit for the 2018 Music Modernization Act and stating that Swift would not endorse Biden’s re-election bid. “I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will,” he wrote. “There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money.” June 13 2024: Trump reportedly questions why Swift would endorse Biden CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona posted on X that Trump questioned Swift’s support of then-opponent President Biden in a meeting with House Republicans. “Why would she endorse this dope?” Trump said, according to Zanona’s reporting. “He doesn’t know how to get off a stage.” June 18, 2024: Trump is quoted calling Swift “unusually beautiful” but “liberal” The topic of Trump and Swift became a talking point once again amid the June 18 release of a book titled Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, written by Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh. The author shares comments Trump reportedly made about Swift during a conversation in November 2023. “I think she’s beautiful—very beautiful! I think she’s liberal” Trump is quoted as saying in the conversation. “She probably doesn’t like Trump. I hear she’s very talented. I think she’s very beautiful actually—unusually beautiful.” August 2024: Trump posts AI-generated images of Swift and her fans endorsing him In mid-August 2024, Trump posted a series of images on Truth Social seemingly showing Taylor Swift fans wearing T-shirts that read “Swifties for Trump.” But the images had been created using AI. “I accept!” the caption to the post read, signalling Trump’s acceptance of an endorsement that was AI-generated and not real. Sept. 10, 2024: Swift’s endorsement of Harris Soon after Trump’s debate with Harris ended, Swift took to social media and officially endorsed the former Vice President. “Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post on Sept. 10 to her over 200 million followers. “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them." She signed the post with her name, followed by “Childless Cat Lady”—a reference to Vice President J.D. Vance’s controversial comments about his Democratic opponents and women who choose not to give birth, calling them “childless cat ladies.” Swift also said in the post that she was “made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” and that this spurred her to clear up the confusion around her political views. Sept. 11, 2024: Trump disparages Swift in an interview On the TV show Fox & Friends, Trump was asked about Swift’s endorsement of his opponent, Harris. In response, Trump said that he liked “Mrs. Mahomes”—referencing Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes— better than Swift. Swift is currently dating the Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce. “She's a very liberal person,” Trump said of the pop star. “She seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.” Sept. 15, 2024: Trump says he “hates” Swift Five days after Swift endorsed Harris for President, Trump posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on his social media app, Truth Social. Feb. 9, 2025: Trump reposts Swift being booed While there were no reports that Trump and Swift interacted directly at the Super Bowl, their relationship was front and center, particularly when it came to supporters of each online. People on social media capitalized on footage of the President appearing to be largely cheered, and Swift appearing to be booed, making claims about how that reflected their relative social currency. Taking to Truth Social, Trump juxtaposed a clip of him and Ivanka receiving a relatively warm welcome with footage of Swift on the large screen reacting to jeers. Later, Trump shared another post, this time mentioning Swift by name. "The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!" the President wrote.