Author: NY TIMES

If you want to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of nature this summer but have zero interest in pitching a tent, consider the latest raft of glamping and outdoor resorts. Be it in a treehouse, a tricked-out tent, a geodesic dome or a vintage Airstream, you can vacation near national parks and wake up amid forests and mountains, all without crawling into a sleeping bag. Rather, sink into a memory foam mattress, tuck into a plate of French toast, and savor wine tastings and massages in these scenic getaways from New York to California.Stonewall, TexasThe handsome interiors at…

Historians try to be precise, so it is awkward to admit that I can’t recall exactly when I first noticed the existence of an opera by Carolina Uccelli. At some point, maybe about six years ago, the name jumped out at me from a list. I do recall my reaction. A female composer got an opera onto the stage in 1835? With an all-star cast? She must have been extraordinary!That was the start of a journey that culminates this month with the modern premiere of Uccelli’s “Anna di Resburgo” by the Teatro Nuovo company, in Montclair, N.J., on July 20…

Israel’s top generals want to begin a cease-fire in Gaza even if it keeps Hamas in power for the time being, widening a rift between the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has opposed a truce that would allow Hamas to survive the war.The generals think that a truce would be the best way of freeing the roughly 120 Israelis still held, both dead and alive, in Gaza, according to interviews with six current and former security officials.Underequipped for further fighting after Israel’s longest war in decades, the generals also think their forces need time to recuperate in case…

In a field on the outskirts of Kyiv, the founders of Vyriy, a Ukrainian drone company, were recently at work on a weapon of the future.To demonstrate it, Oleksii Babenko, 25, Vyriy’s chief executive, hopped on his motorcycle and rode down a dirt path. Behind him, a drone followed, as a colleague tracked the movements from a briefcase-size computer.Until recently, a human would have piloted the quadcopter. No longer. Instead, after the drone locked onto its target — Mr. Babenko — it flew itself, guided by software that used the machine’s camera to track him.The motorcycle’s growling engine was no…

The new policy, released by Etsy on Thursday and reported by Mashable on Friday, is the company’s attempt to “continue to keep our users safe,” Alice Wu, the head of Etsy’s trust and safety team, wrote in a public letter. The company declined to comment further.Not all sex-related products will be banned. Accessories like handcuffs and harnesses will still be allowed, along with paintings or sculptures that show “visible breasts and buttocks.” But the “more rigorous guidelines,” as Ms. Wu’s letter referred to them, mean that some Etsy sellers will have to leave the platform entirely or substantially shift their…

North Korea said on Tuesday that it had tested a new ballistic missile with a “super-large warhead,” the most recent development in an arms race with South Korea as the countries vie to introduce weapons of increasingly destructive power.Two of the new missiles, known as the Hwasong-11Da-4.5, were launched on Monday, each with a dummy warhead that weighed 4.5 tons, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. ​Ballistic missiles often carry warheads that weigh less than a ton.South Korea already has similar missiles that can deliver large warheads. Col. Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for the South’s military, said the…

Major components of President Biden’s student loan repayment plan can continue to operate as lawsuits challenging it wind through the legal system, a federal appellate court ruled on Sunday. That frees the administration to cut certain borrowers’ payments by as much as half, a benefit that had been previously scheduled but blocked.The order, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, is the latest twist in a saga that began to unfold last week after two federal judges temporarily suspended parts of the plan known as SAVE. That program, which has about eight million enrollees, ties…

Keir Starmer, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, nodded sympathetically as a young mother recalled, in harrowing terms, how she had watched closed-circuit television footage of the fatal stabbing of her 21-year-old son, whose heart was pierced with a single blow.“Thank you for that,” a somber Mr. Starmer said to the woman and other relatives of victims of knife attacks, as they stood around a wooden table last week, discussing ways to combat violent crime. “It’s really, really powerful.”It was not the most feel-good campaign event for a candidate the week before an election that his opposition party is widely…

Before the official start of the second day of the women’s competition at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, 80% of the five-person team was almost locked in. Simone Biles, Suny Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey emerged from the injury-stricken squad on night one to claim a top four all-around spot as the Tokyo Olympics The foursome work together to form a well-rounded team. But unlike the Tokyo Olympics, the rhythmic gymnastics event at the Paris Olympics will consist of five-person teams. Three staunch contenders for the team, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello, withdrew due to injuries sustained…

[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]Después de tantos años de trabajo arduo y preparación, los atletas de clase mundial que lleguen a los Juegos Olímpicos de París el mes que viene podrían enfrentarse a un último obstáculo antes de competir por las medallas: ver el modo de mantenerse frescos.Como parte de un objetivo declarado para hacer de estos los Juegos Olímpicos “más ecológicos” de la historia, los organizadores de París 2024 optaron por no poner aire acondicionado convencional en la villa de los atletas. En su lugar, se instaló un extenso sistema de tuberías de agua bajo el suelo…