Author: NY TIMES

In 1863, John (Old Smoke) Morrissey, seeing promise in an upstate town with natural springs and access to the wealthy and foolhardy from New York to Boston, held the first race meeting in Saratoga Springs. Morrissey’s résumé foretold his vision: Old Smoke was a boxing champion, gangster, casino owner, gambler and future United States congressman.Ever since, horseplayers from around the world have made Saratoga a summer sojourn, knowing that their souls, their livers and their bank accounts were certain to take a beating because of the happenings at the track.Saratoga’s past has always been tethered to its future. The Battle…

Some of the video at the Armory conjures ocean waves; a set of lights on one side occasionally shines down brightly, like a sun or full moon. That, though, is about as much recognizable imagery as there is in “Inside Light.” The visuals steer away from kitsch or gratuitous weirdness; this is, however improbably, a coolly stylish Stockhausen, shorn of much of his bizarrerie.That sacrifices a lot. But what it leaves — what makes “Inside Light” special — is the opportunity to hear this music arranged so sensitively and stimulatingly, on such a complex yet clear array of speakers set…

Following the Israeli rescue of four hostages in Gaza on Saturday, Israel’s military said that three of them had been held in the home of a member of Hamas, which it said showed that the armed group was using civilian homes to shield its activity.Israeli special forces, backed by the military, intelligence and air force, raided two buildings in a neighborhood in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday, rescuing Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41, from the home of Abdallah Aljamal, the military said. A fourth hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, was also…

The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip after Russia opted not to block it, adding extra heft to a growing international push for an end to the fighting.Fourteen of the 15 council members voted in favor, with Russia — which has veto power — abstaining. In passing the resolution, the council delivered a diplomatic victory to Washington, which had vetoed three previous cease-fire resolutions before the council.“The only way to end this cycle of violence and build a durable peace is through a political settlement,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to…

The United Automobile Workers union on Monday announced a tentative contract agreement at an Ohio factory making batteries for electric vehicles, a step that it called a milestone in enhancing pay and safety in the E.V. supply chain.The accord covers 1,600 workers at a Lordstown plant operated by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and a South Korean partner, LG Energy Solution. It produces batteries for G.M. electric vehicles.The workers had not been unionized when the plant opened in 2022, but they were brought into the U.A.W. under the terms of the national contract the union negotiated with…

Every year, Apple and Google announce major software updates that bring new features to our smartphones, like cosmetic overhauls to the home screen, stronger privacy protections and fun messaging tools. This year, the changes will feel more radical because the companies are focusing on reinventing our phones with artificial intelligence.At its annual software developer conference on Monday, Apple showed a host of enhancements coming this fall to iOS 18, its operating system powering iPhones. The new tools include a revamped version of its voice assistant, Siri, that is easier to talk to and an A.I. system that will generate images,…

A committee of independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Monday that the benefits outweigh the risks of the newest experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease.Alzheimer’s afflicts more than six million Americans. It has no cure, and there is no treatment or lifestyle modification that can restore memory loss or reverse cognitive decline.The drug, made by Eli Lilly, is donanemab. It modestly slowed cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of the disease but also had significant safety risks, including swelling and bleeding in the brain.The committee concluded, though, that the consequences of Alzheimer’s are so…

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” is the No. 1 album once again, leading the Billboard 200 chart for a seventh straight time.Since it came out in April with historic numbers — breaking records for streaming and vinyl sales, and posting the biggest opening week of Swift’s career — “Tortured Poets” has been unstoppable, even as its performance has gradually cooled. In recent weeks it has held off challenges from Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, and this week it blocks the latest from the K-pop boy band Ateez.In its latest week out, “Tortured Poets” had the equivalent of 148,000 sales…

Editor’s note: This article was updated on June 10 with a statement from the National Park Service.Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington converged around the White House on Saturday, urging President Biden to stop all military aid to Israel and calling for an immediate cease-fire in Israel’s war in Gaza.Holding signs calling Mr. Biden a liar, the protesters, mostly clad in red and bearing Palestinian flags, marched around the block of parkland where the White House sits. They spilled across two six-lane boulevards, pushing out tourists, whose faces showed variations of confusion, anger or intrigue. The police presence was heavy,…

A Ukrainian official with a long record of anti-corruption advocacy resigned on Monday from a government agency overseeing mostly Western-financed reconstruction work in Ukraine, citing poor management of funds. His departure highlights the tension inside the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky over the allocation of wartime aid.The official, Mustafa Nayyem, who had been director of the State Agency for Restoring Ukraine, did not allege any outright embezzlement. But his claims of abuse and mismanagement risked setting back efforts by the government to assuage concerns among the United States and other allies about providing billions in aid to Ukraine’s war effort.He…