Metro minute

Hours after the deadliest terror attack in New York City since 9/11, tiny trick-or-treaters trailing their parents packed the sidewalks of Manhattan in the dusk. The truck attack—which made a murderous path down a pedestrian area—didn’t keep parents from buzzing the streets with their tots dressed as sharks, scientists, and Frozen characters. In apartment- and renter-dominated Manhattan, children seeking candy go primarily to local businesses rather than knocking on neighbors’ doors. Restaurants, bars, and drug stores were filled with children flowing in and out, a salve for adults on a dark day.

The pastor of Trinity Grace Church Tribeca, Michael Rudzena, witnessed the attack right after picking up his 9-year-old daughter from school—and separately his son was just leaving school nearby when the attack happened. His kids still wanted to go trick-or-treating that night, so they went.

And the show went on at New York’s Lincoln Center, where the New York Philharmonic was performing Leonard Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” symphony to a packed house. Conductor Alan Gilbert opened the concert by grieving the attack, and mentioned that someone had said to him earlier that “only” eight people were killed. The audience shuddered. Gilbert called for silent mourning for the eight, and continued, “These are strange and dangerous times.” After a pause, he took up his baton for the performance.

In the last movement of Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” symphony, a mezzo-soprano sang Hebrew text from the book of Lamentations. The translation appeared above the stage, words that fit the moment well. “How does the city sit solitary, that was full of people. …” The singer concluded: "Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord.”

Worth your time:

• In New Hampshire, which has one of the highest rates of opioid-related deaths in the country, the medical examiner who has been dealing with all of the bodies is resigning to go to seminary. [The New York Times]

• You may have heard that the Trump administration issued a significant religious exemption for nonprofits, for-profits, and individuals from the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. But states still have control over some religious groups’ insurance—the U.S. Supreme Court rulings against the HHS mandate were based on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, not the U.S Constitution, giving states leeway. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reminded everyone of this after the Trump administration announcement, saying that New York still mandates abortion and contraceptive coverage. [Newsday]

This week I learned:

If, over many decades, actors thank only one person more than God in Oscar acceptance speeches, send up those red flags.

An under-reported court case:

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is one of several federal appeals courts considering whether anti-discrimination statutes cover sexual orientation. The particular case pending in New York is Zarda v. Altitude Express.

Culture I am consuming:

Seeing: These last few weeks I covered the New York Film Festival. Several films will be in theaters this fall: Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut and my favorite movie from the festival), Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen’s latest offering), Wonderstruck (Todd Haynes’ children’s movie that I reviewed), and Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater’s film about a dad losing a son in Iraq; I reviewed it, too). I also saw Battle of the Sexes in a theater and thought it was one of the worst films I’ve seen this year.

Reading: The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (1875) and Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby by Candida Moss and Joel Baden (2017).