Author: NY TIMES

This week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes discussion of:The current Hot 100, which features newcomers like Tommy Richman, Shaboozey, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and othersWho has emerged, besides Taylor Swift, as a true cross-platform pop superstar in the last decade — Bad Bunny? Drake?How centrist pop has become an aggregation of several styles rather than one coherent soundHow pop superstars of the ’80s and ’90s aggregated superfans and casual fansWhether there is a path for a new star to get famous enough to play something like…

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on nearly 50 entities and people that it said were part of an Iranian operation to direct billions of dollars toward terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.“The United States is taking action against a vast shadow banking system used by Iran’s military to launder billions of dollars of oil proceeds and other illicit revenue,” Wally Adeyemo, the U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement.“We will continue to pursue those who seek to finance Iran’s destabilizing terrorist activities,” he added, noting that the Biden administration had previously “sanctioned hundreds…

Members of Bolivia’s military gathered on Wednesday outside the presidential palace, the country’s president, Luis Arce, said on the social media platform X, in what appeared to be an attempt by a general to take over the government building.Former President Evo Morales claimed that a “coup,” was underway.“At this time, personnel from the Armed Forces and tanks are deployed in Plaza Murillo,” he said on social media. “Let’s call on the social movements of the countryside and the city to defend democracy.”Standing on the doorstep of the palace on Wednesday afternoon and surrounded by members of the armed forces, the…

Times Square in New York is one of the most famous real estate areas in the world. The Argentinian fans in town looked different.When midtown Manhattan turned into an Albiceleste street party, police officers unfamiliar with Argentinian soccer culture but accustomed to monitoring peaceful protests were confused.Tuesday’s “banderazo”, a pre-match tradition that encourages fans to fly flags and sing the national team’s songs, was proof that Messi and Argentina are still in a state of ecstasy since winning the World Cup in 2022. Of? 𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀 Crowded Times Square🤯🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/gfaQhkMeh0 — Argentina National Team English (@AFASeleccionEN) June 25, 2024More than 80,000…

Kanako Abe noticed a cute guy with “mysterious, deep-set eyes” on an Amtrak train headed from New York City to Montreal in March 2012. John Christopher Seemer took note of Ms. Abe, too. But neither spoke a word to the other — that is, until their return trip six days later, on March 17, 2012.Ms. Abe, a junior at Rutgers University who had been on spring break, was doing homework in the cafe car. Too shy to say hello the first time, Mr. Seemer, a sophomore at N.Y.U., didn’t want to miss this lucky St. Patrick’s Day second chance.“I was…

With billions of dollars in trade at stake, China and the European Union have agreed to engage in talks to try to resolve an escalating dispute over tariffs.China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, and Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Union trade commissioner, will hold discussions on the European Union’s plan for tariffs on electric cars from China, the Chinese commerce ministry said late Saturday.Hours earlier, Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor and economic minister, said that the European Union was willing to hold consultations, and he expressed a hope that tariffs could be avoided.This month, the European Commission, the executive body of the…

The new maintenance coordinator at an apartment complex in Dallas has been getting kudos from tenants and colleagues for good work and late-night assistance. Previously, the eight people on the property’s staff, managing the buildings’ 814 apartments and town homes, were overworked and putting in more hours than they wanted.Besides working overtime, the new staff member at the complex, the District at Cypress Waters, is available 24/7 to schedule repair requests and doesn’t take any time off.That’s because the maintenance coordinator is an artificial intelligence bot that the property manager, Jason Busboom, began using last year. The bot, which sends…

His 2020 lament “$20 Bill” was covered by scores of his fellow artists and, a fellow musician said, might well be destined for the folk music canon. Source link

The Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday that ended a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews from serving in the country’s military could herald a seismic change in the trajectory of the country, with social, political and security implications.The ruling is likely to further strain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brittle governing coalition, which depends on the support of two ultra-Orthodox parties that support the exemption, even as Israel is at war in Gaza.The issue of ultra-Orthodox exemption has long polarized a country where most Jewish 18-year-olds, both men and women, are conscripted for years of obligatory service. Mainstream Israelis have long…

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Russia and its proxy security forces in Crimea have committed multiple human rights violations during its decade-long occupation of the Ukrainian territory.In a case brought by the government of Ukraine, the court found evidence of the unlawful persecution and detention of those who criticized Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, as well as the systemic repression of ethnic and religious minorities in Crimea. The evidence presented to the court painted a picture of a region under the tight grip of Moscow’s authoritarian control, where any criticism is harshly punished and…