Hello PythonNewbie,
For difficulties with Safari you'll want to follow the recommendations from this article: If Safari on Mac doesn't open a webpage or isn’t working as expected - Apple Support
Should that still persist, do you experience the same behavior if you boot your MacBook Pro into safe mode using the steps below:
1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
2. Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac.
3. You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window.
You can also find those steps in this resource: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
It can take a few extra minutes to boot into safe mode. Your screen may flash or flicker while in safe mode. Those behaviors are expected. Testing in safe mode runs a check on your disk, removes some cached files, and can help isolate conflicts with startup items. Once you've tested that behavior in safe mode, you can restart to leave safe mode.
Let us know your results, and we'll keep moving forward from there.
