Author: NY TIMES

Dear listeners,On Friday, the R&B artist and former Fifth Harmony member Normani will finally release her debut album, “Dopamine” — a long (long) awaited, endlessly delayed release she has been teasing for nearly six years. Not that I’ve been watching the clock. Or at least I wasn’t until last month, when Normani dropped the album’s sultry lead single, “1:59.” That ode to not-quite-2-in-the-morning got me dreaming up a playlist of songs about incredibly specific times of day. Now that Normani is ready to share her opus with the world, so am I.Plenty of songs celebrate the hour on the hour;…

For months, Israelis had heard only about hostages being killed or declared dead in Gaza. The “lucky” families were those whose loved ones’ remains were retrieved by soldiers, at great risk, and brought home to Israel for burial.So the audacious rescue on Saturday of four living hostages instantly raised morale in Israel and offered a momentary victory, at least, for the country’s embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.But by Sunday, euphoria was already giving way to a harsh reality. The heavy air and ground assault that accompanied the rescue killed scores of Palestinians, including civilians, according to Gaza health officials. And…

A white grizzly bear known as Nakoda became a popular presence on social media since she first appeared in public near Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies in 2020. Her frequent roadside appearances endeared her to visitors, who were enchanted by her rare blonde coat and the black streak running up her back.But that fame came at a cost, according to members of Parks Canada’s regional wildlife management team, who saw a vehicle strike Nakoda on the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park in British Columbia on June 6. She was confirmed dead on Saturday, likely from the injuries…

Outside the Odeon in Lower Manhattan on Monday night, the bistro’s famed neon sign peeked above a tent shielding celebrities from onlookers trying to glimpse the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival’s 17th annual artists dinner.Selma Blair shared the spotlight with Scout, her service dog, who has been her companion since her 2018 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The actor Blake Lively, who arrived late in Chanel, a sponsor of the night, was apologetic to the photographers for making them wait.“I would’ve bought you Shake Shack or something,” she called out to them as she posed.After the step and repeat,…

Skydance’s merger talks with Paramount were called off Tuesday after the two sides failed to agree on terms, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, scuttling a deal that has captivated Hollywood for months.The suspended negotiations derail attempts to unite Paramount — the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon — with Skydance, the up-and-coming movie studio behind “Top Gun: Maverick.”There were several hitches in the last week as Skydance, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, reached the final stages of negotiations. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, wanted Skydance to agree to provide some legal protection for…

Morrie Markoff, a supercentenarian blogger and scrap-metal sculptor who was believed to be the oldest man in the United States and whose brain has been donated for research on what is known as super-aging, died on June 3 at his home in downtown Los Angeles. He was 110.He had two strokes in recent weeks, his daughter, Judith Markoff Hansen, said in confirming his death.People who live to be 110 or older are considered supercentenarians, and the Gerontology Research Group, in Los Angeles, lists more than 150 of them around the world.Mr. Markoff, who was born in New York City on…

A star witness jailed for refusing to testify. A change of heart after a weekend spent behind bars. And then, a lead defense lawyer taken into custody for implying that an improper secret meeting led to the witness’s about-face.Welcome to another week in the gang and racketeering trial of the chart-topping rapper Young Thug, a courtroom epic in Atlanta that continues to surprise as it approaches 18 months since jury selection began.On Monday, Judge Ural Glanville took the extraordinary step of holding Brian Steel, the rapper’s primary lawyer, in contempt for refusing to disclose who told him about a closed-door…

U.S. attempts to pressure Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposal newly backed by the U.N. Security Council have put a spotlight on the armed group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have remained in hiding in the enclave throughout the war and is a pivotal voice in the group’s decision-making.Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Tuesday in Tel Aviv, during a visit to several countries in the Middle East, that the onus was now on Mr. Sinwar to accept the new cease-fire proposal, which the United States brought to a successful Security Council vote…

Investors made clear on Tuesday the depth of their concerns over President Emmanuel Macron’s gamble to call for new elections in France, driving up the nation’s borrowing costs, pushing down stock prices and prompting the Moody’s ratings agency to warn it may downgrade French sovereign debt as risks of political instability rise.Mr. Macron’s dissolution of the lower house of Parliament on Sunday after his party was battered by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in European Parliament elections has ignited concerns that the government could grind to a stalemate. The turmoil has focused attention on France’s fragile finances, and the prospect…

The Sharp Edge of a Shell“How will I know?” I asked my father before he died. “Talk to me like we are now and listen,” he said. Months passed. I was scared to talk to him. What if I didn’t hear him? On Father’s Day, running barefoot on the beach, I called out, “Dad?” The sharp edge of a shell sliced my foot. My father’s father was a podiatrist. My father was a poet who wrote endlessly about feet. He believed, “The soul is rooted in the foot.” Seven stitches, a beautiful scar. I feel hollow with loss, but my…