Author: NY TIMES

U.S. regulators sued Adobe on Monday over claims that the company made it difficult to cancel subscriptions to Photoshop and other software, an escalation by regulators in a crackdown against such practices.The Justice Department said in its lawsuit that Adobe hid details of an expensive cancellation fee from consumers “in fine print and behind optional text boxes and hyperlinks.” Adobe’s website and customer service representatives made canceling additionally challenging, according to allegations in the suit.“Adobe knows about the barriers consumers face when attempting to cancel their subscriptions,” the government said in the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District…

Cast albums are both keepsakes and fantasies, preserving a show for those who have seen it and implying it for those who have not. At their best, they are also stand-alone works of musical-theater art. Listening to the recordings of the eight shows nominated for Tony Awards in the best musical and best score categories — all of which are now available — I was impressed by how often and how variously they reached that standard. Below, in chronological order by opening date on Broadway, a guide to the latest batch of future treasures.‘Here Lies Love’The first of the season’s…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has dissolved his war cabinet, an Israeli official said Monday, after the departures of two significant members prompted demands from far-right politicians for representation in the influential group.The two members, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, quit Mr. Netanyahu’s small war cabinet last week amid disagreements over the direction of the war in Gaza. The men, both former military chiefs, had been seen as voices of moderation in the body, which was formed in October after the Hamas-led assault on Israel and made many decisions about the conflict.The Israeli official suggested that Mr. Netanyahu’s decision…

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will travel to North Korea for a two-day visit starting Tuesday to meet with one of the main arms suppliers for his war against Ukraine.As the war has dragged on, Russia has found itself in dire need of conventional weapons, including artillery shells, that North Korea could supply.Here’s some background on what has happened so far and why it matters.What do we know about earlier arms shipments?The United States first accused North Korea of selling artillery to Russia as far back as September 2022, seven months after the war started. At the time, North…

Eddie Johnston, the general manager who drafted Mario Lemieux 40 years ago this month, had only one concern when he announced the historic selection at the Old Montreal Forum One question — not whether Lemieux would put a Penguins jersey over his head.Lemieux didn’t.Ironically, one of Lemieux’s first acts with the Penguins was to distance himself from the franchise he would personify, influence and own on and off the ice for the next four decades. Team.”It was his agent, not Mario – he didn’t want to do it,” Johnston said. “Mario and I never talked about it. Not that day.…

Broadway’s biggest stars descended on Lincoln Center in Manhattan on Sunday for the Tony Awards, an annual celebration of all the people — casts, crews and creatives — who make live theater the spectacle that it is. Since many attendees spend most of the week in costumes, the Tonys was also a chance to get dressed up and showcase personal style.The red carpet — technically a shade of blue — was packed with A-listers, a reflection of the star-studded productions that have recently overtaken Broadway. Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Sarah Paulson, Billy Porter and Nicole Scherzinger were among the celebrities who…

Before he started a company 15 years ago selling the world’s smelliest fruit, Eric Chan had a well-paying job writing code for satellites and robots. His family and friends were puzzled when he made the career change.The fruit, durian, has long been a cherished part of local cultures in Southeast Asia, where it is grown in abundance. A single durian is typically the size of a rugby ball and can emit an odor so powerful that it is banned from most hotels. When Mr. Chan began his start-up in his native Malaysia, durians were cheap and often sold from the…

Drinking increased during the pandemic, which may be why news of any kind about alcohol seems to have found a receptive audience in recent years. In 2022, an episode of the podcast “Huberman Lab” that was devoted to elaborating alcohol’s various risks to body and brain was one of the show’s most popular of that year. Nonalcoholic spirits have gained such traction that they’ve started forming the basis for entire nightlife guides; and more people are now reporting that they consume cannabis than alcohol on a daily basis.Some governments are responding to the new research by overhauling their messaging. Last…

It drew one of the biggest roars of the night at the Tony Awards: Alicia Keys was performing a medley from her Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen” on Sunday when she walked out of the auditorium and was shown joining Jay-Z on a marble staircase for “Empire State of Mind,” their 2009 love song to New York City.“Had to do something crazy — it’s my hometown!” Keys said as the cameras followed her walking out of the auditorium at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. A video screen onstage cut to Jay-Z, the Brooklyn-born rapper and mogul, as he…

Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers, the United Nations said on Monday.At least 250 aid workers have been killed since the war there began on Oct. 7, the United Nations has said, and on Monday the U.N. said that nearly 200 of them worked for UNRWA, its main agency for Palestinian refugees, further hindering the work of organizations already struggling to deliver aid in the enclave.Aid groups have said that most of the dangers come from Israeli bombardment and airstrikes, which have devastated Gaza over eight months of war, killing more than 37,000…