Open Season

There’s a period before sunrise called civil twilight, when the sun is still below the horizon but it’s light enough to start your day. In high summer in New York City, light starts to peek around the edges of the shades at 5 a.m., scratching at the screen like a pet trying to get in: I’m here! Get up! Let’s go! It makes for a long day if you get up at this hour — around 15 hours if you’re keeping track, as I am, trying to squeeze as much juice out of the season as possible before it’s done.

A member of the anti-summer contingent recently groused to me that she hates this time of year, because she feels so much pressure to always be doing things, to fill her time with outdoor activities that would be impossible in colder months. She feels guilty saying “I’m just doing nothing” when asked about her weekend plans. How could she be so wasteful, squandering this brief period of light and warmth? Think of all the picnics and pool parties and breezy strolls she’ll regret not having undertaken come February!

She’s right — in the warmer months, there’s a tinge of accusation to our small talk. “What are you up to this summer?” seems to require a recitation of an action-packed agenda in response. If you have kids, the pressure to keep them properly occupied can set the season up as “a parenting Rorschach test,” as Hannah Seligson recently wrote in The Times. Someone once suggested to me that there’s no question that makes one feel more defensive than, “Any fun trips coming up?”

The socially acceptable definition of fun and the reality of what we actually experience as fun can often be quite different from each other. One person’s “beach barbecue” is another person’s “lying on the couch, reading, kind of dozing all afternoon.” Doing absolutely nothing today might be the most pleasant summer activity you can think of. You do not need to get up with the sun and pack your hours with berry picking and butterfly catching in order to have a dreamy summer day. (I did that only once, and I was so tired by lunch I could barely keep my eyes open.)

The true promise of summer, the one we’re all entitled to, is that feeling of lightness and openness, of our cares diminishing at least a little bit. Let no well-intentioned but ultimately irksome query about what you did this weekend keep you from doing, or not doing, whatever it takes to achieve this.

THE LATEST NEWS

Trump Administration

• In a prisoner swap, the Venezuelan government released 10 Americans and U.S. permanent residents in exchange for more than 200 Venezuelans whom the U.S. had sent to El Salvador.

• The State Department will sharply restrict its criticism of tainted foreign elections, pulling back from the pro-democracy advocacy that the U.S. long offered.

• At President Trump’s request, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony from the Jeffrey Epstein case.

• Trump sued Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over an article that said Trump had contributed a cryptic note and a drawing as part of a birthday gift for Epstein.

• Trump, disputing The Journal’s report, said, “I don’t draw pictures.” But many of his sketches have sold at auction.

Other Big Stories

• Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Jair Bolsonaro, the former president, to wear an ankle monitor. Bolsonaro, who is charged with attempting a coup, has lobbied Trump for help.

• Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have killed at least 57 people in recent days.

• The leaders of Britain, France and Germany are working together to build diplomatic and defense institutions that free them from their reliance on the U.S.

• An explosion at a law enforcement training center in Los Angeles killed three sheriff’s deputies. A state official said it appeared to be an accident.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

Colbert Cancellation

• CBS said it canceled Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show for financial reasons. People familiar with the show’s finances told The Times that it was losing of tens of millions of dollars a year.

• But Democratic lawmakers raised questions about the cancellation, which came just days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company for paying Trump millions to settle a lawsuit. “Do I think this is a coincidence? NO,” Senator Bernie Sanders said.

• The saga evokes a term Colbert coined many years ago, our TV critic writes: “truthiness,” or a statement that is not actually true but represents a reality the speaker wishes to inhabit.

Ari Aster

• Ari Aster has made some of this century’s most unsettling films — like “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” — by taking his own anxiety and putting it onscreen. Read a profile of the director.

• Aster’s new movie is “Eddington,” a Western set in the early days of the Covid pandemic. Our critic gives it a good review, writing that the film “sets us not-so-gently adrift on a sea of very recent memories and the nausea they re-prompt.”

• In the mood for horror after all this Aster talk? Here are five movies you can stream now.

Drake’s Comeback

Drake headlined all three nights of London’s Wireless Festival, his first high-profile live outing since his beef with Kendrick Lamar. And he brought reinforcements: Guests included Lauryn Hill, 21 Savage, Sexyy Red, the British rappers J Hus and Dave, and Vanessa Carlton (of “A Thousand Miles” fame). Our critic Jon Caramanica was at the event, and he writes that joy was the dominant mode — though, after all he’s been through, Drake was also keen to project strength.

More Culture

CULTURE CALENDAR

🎥 “Happy Gilmore 2” (Friday on Netflix): Convene a large enough crowd of elder millennials — my cohort, people in their late 30s and early 40s — and before long, you’re quite likely to hear someone recite a line from “Happy Gilmore.” There may be no actor more formative for that generation than Adam Sandler, and “Gilmore” is his dopey magnum opus.

Now, almost 30 years later, there’s a sequel. The trailer is loaded with callbacks to the original, and nostalgia is not exactly a recipe for great comedy. But before you dismiss it, it’s worth noting that Sandler’s recent output isn’t all bad. For every detestable “Grown Ups” sequel, there are some underrated gems, like the earnest basketball drama “Hustle” or the surprisingly funny (and perfectly stupid) “Hubie Halloween.”

For more: Read the obituary for Morris, the alligator who starred in the original “Happy Gilmore.” He died this year at 80 (or so).

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Italian Hero Sandwiches

Perfect for picnicking in the park, at the beach or in the air-conditioned comfort of home, Ali Slagle’s Italian hero sandwiches balance rich, fatty ingredients with cool, crisp ones. Her mix of pickles, lettuce and onions adds just the right texture to the layers of salami, ham and cheese, all drizzled with an oregano-spiked red wine vinaigrette for tang. Pack plenty of napkins to tackle this glistening, overstuffed beauty.

The Hunt: Two California transplants ventured east in search of midcentury design, sunlight and space for guests. Which home did they choose? Play our game.

What you get for $2.9 million: A Victorian in New Canaan, Conn.; a 2017 contemporary house in Cave Creek, Ariz.; or a 1910 Colonial Revival house in Boise, Idaho.

Carry out: Cafes across the U.S. are serving large coffee drinks in plastic buckets. The gimmick is working.

A year’s worth of mascara?: American consumers of Korean beauty products are stocking up as Trump’s tariffs loom.

Five favorites: The W.N.B.A. star A’ja Wilson shares her picks for places to eat, drink and chill in Las Vegas.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Staying overnight with friends? Don’t show up empty-handed.

I have a couple of general rules for buying gifts for friends who host you overnight. First, the gift should be easy to travel with. (Skip the crystal vase or Key lime pie.) Second, consider something that you can enjoy together, or that is themed to your stay. For a recent trip to my friend’s Italian lake house — lucky, I know — I brought insulated wine tumblers to encourage lakeside happy hours. And if you don’t know your hosts well, opt for something universal. An elevated take on an everyday item they likely wouldn’t buy for themselves can be a good bet. Or a specialty from your home that feels personal; I bring See’s Candy from California nearly everywhere I go, and it’s always a hit. — Samantha Schoech

For more handpicked gifts and expert advice, sign up for Wirecutter’s weekly newsletter, The Gift.

GAME OF THE WEEK

The Open Championship: At Royal Portrush, situated at the very top of Northern Ireland, the fairways dip and rise as if sculpted hastily from Play Doh. This is links golf, the game’s rugged side. Instead of the flat, neon courses we’re used to in the U.S., the links courses that you’ll see at this tournament, also known as the British Open, trace the imperfections of the earth in natural tan and olive hues. If you’re sweltering this weekend, take respite watching the world’s best battle through a gray, rainy, bumpy gauntlet.

Today and tomorrow, starting at 7 a.m. Eastern on NBC

For more: Scottie Scheffler, an American, led the field at the start of today’s play. You can find The Athletic’s coverage here.

NOW TIME TO PLAY