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NZ election LIVE updates: Jacinda Ardern looks to secure second term amid nation's cannabis, euthanasia referendums Two hours to go until polls close as almost 2 million people cast advanced votes By  Laura Chung With two hours to go until the polls close, many New Zealanders have already cast their votes during the advance voting period, which ran from October 3 to 16. Data from the New Zealand electoral commission shows that by yesterday, 1,976, 996 people had already voted. That's compared to more than 1.2 million in 2017, and 717,500 in 2014. There are 2,567 voting places open today, New Zealand's Chief Electoral Officer Alicia Wright said on Friday. “It’s fantastic that so many people have got out early to vote, but there are still a lot who haven’t, and we don’t want them to miss out," she said. “It’s important that you have your say on who represents you in Parliament for the next three years. Saturday is your final chance to enrol, vote and be heard." 2.46...

Thank God Social Distance Is Sad Despite its title, “You Gotta Ding-Dong Fling-Flong the Whole Narrative” — starring Peter Scanavino, Ali Ahn, and Scanavino’s own son Leo Bai-Scanavino — may be  Social Distance ’s bleakest entry.  Photo: Netflix I’m not sure what to describe as the first episode of  Social Distance , Netflix’s new coronavirus anthology show created by Jenji Kohan and Hilary Weisman Graham. When I open Netflix, the episode that begins playing for me as the first one of the series is called “Delete All Future Events,” and it’s just the kind of awkward, unpleasantly topical episode you’re probably already imagining when you hear the phrase “new coronavirus anthology show.” The main character, played by Mike Colter, is a barber struggling to maintain some kind of career, and also cling to his sobriety, while stuck at home alone in the early spring lockdowns. When I watched  Social Distance  as the screeners provided for critics, “Delete All Future E...

What You Need to Know About ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ Aaron Sorkin’s Netflix film dramatizes the notorious 1969 political trial with many players. Use this guide to understand the people and the issues at stake. From left, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, Ben Shenkman as the lawyer Leonard Weinglass, Mark Rylance as the lawyer William Kunstler, Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden and Alex Sharp as Rennie Davis.  Credit... Niko Tavernise/Netflix Scores of protesters in streets across the country. A looming presidential election. Violent stand-offs between law enforcement and the citizens they had sworn to protect. And, amid the prospects of political and cultural change, a chilling and inescapable backdrop: thousands upon thousands of Americans dead. The summer of 2020 was, by any stretch, a historic one. But for some it’s a season that feels remarkably like the summer of 1968. Instead of President Trump, it was Lyndon B. Johnson, succeeded by Richard M. Nixon. The tragedy tha...