Author: NY TIMES

My husband and I have been married for 34 years. We separated six months ago and are headed for divorce. Our oldest friends, who are like family to us, are hosting a wedding for their son in September. They want our whole family to come. It will definitely be awkward, but we plan to attend. The issue: My son and I strongly prefer not to be seated with my husband. At a funeral recently, he behaved very badly toward me: He swore at me loudly in front of other mourners, tripped me and kicked me. I have not returned our…

When Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, hosts President Trump at a lavish dinner at his palace in Doha on Wednesday evening, it will be the culmination of a successful charm offensive by the Gulf emirate that now appears likely to include the promise of a luxury jetliner to Mr. Trump — with no strings attached.The president, who has described the emir as a “great gentleman” and a “friend of mine,” is granting Qatar the honor of hosting one of the first foreign visits of his second term. As for the plane, the president says he would…

Help Wanted. Looking for American researchers.As President Trump cuts billions of federal dollars from science institutes and universities, restricts what can be studied and pushes out immigrants, rival nations are hoping to pick up talent that has been cast aside or become disenchanted.For decades, trying to compete with American institutions and companies has been difficult. The United States was a magnet for top researchers, scientists and academics. In general, budgets were bigger, pay was bigger, labs and equipment were bigger. So were ambitions.In 2024, the United States spent nearly $1 trillion — roughly 3.5 percent of total economic output —…

When Slate Auto, a start-up, unveiled a roughly $25,000 electric pickup truck last month, social media lit up with comments. Many people saw the no-frills vehicle, with an easy-to-repair body and nostalgic hand crank windows, as a refreshing antidote to today’s overstuffed and increasingly unaffordable cars.How unaffordable? Average monthly payments on new cars have soared to $739 in March from $537 in January 2019, according to Cox Automotive. The average new car costs $47,400, with electric models around $59,200. High interest rates, now around 9.4 percent for a 72-month loan, have made cars even more of a financial stretch.“Prices and…

Former President Joesph Biden has what a spokesman described as a “small nodule” in his prostate. How worried a patient should be by such a finding depends on the circumstances, urologists said.In some cases, nodules are caused by inflammation, which can make the prostate feel firmer, or can lead to calcifications in the prostate that feel like nodules. These are benign.They can also result from a common condition in older men, nodular benign prostatic hypertrophy, in which nonthreatening nodules form in the prostate, enlarging it. These also pose no risk.But in the worst cases, they can be cancers.When a urologist…

The cross-examination of a man who had a voyeuristic sexual arrangement with Sean Combs and his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, will continue on Tuesday after he testified about witnessing episodes of domestic abuse by Mr. Combs.On Monday, the first day of the music mogul’s racketeering and sex trafficking trial, the witness, Daniel Phillip, testified that over a decade ago, he would repeatedly meet the couple at high-end New York hotels and have sex with Ms. Ventura while Mr. Combs watched in a corner of the room and masturbated.Mr. Phillip said he received between about $700 and $6,000 for each sexual…

American presidents have been visiting Saudi Arabia for decades, and the trips have often produced memorable moments — some dramatic, others downright oddAs President Trump returns to Saudi Arabia, here is a look back at four moments from past presidential trips to visit leaders of the oil-rich Gulf state.2022: The Biden Fist BumpThe relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia appeared to be wilting before President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited Jeddah in 2022.Mr. Biden, as a candidate in 2019, had vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” over the killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi,…

In a dressing room behind the stage in the Metropolitan Opera House, Wynton Marsalis, the trumpeter and educator, intently watched a live feed of the big band representing the Osceola County School for the Arts, from Kissimmee, Fla. They were playing Dizzy Gillespie’s “Things to Come,” a piece that can expose any weaknesses in a big band. Being a good jazz musician isn’t just about playing fast and loud and high, but this song requires musicians to do all of that.The school’s lead trumpet player was in the middle of a solo. A dexterous player who could hit the high…

The French movie star Gérard Depardieu was convicted by a Paris court on Tuesday on charges of sexually assaulting two women working on the set of a film in which he was starring in 2021. He received a suspended sentence of 18 months.The sentence was in line with what the prosecutor had requested after Mr. Depardieu’s four-day trial in March. The actor was also ordered to be put on a list of sex offenders.The women — a set decorator and an assistant director — worked on “Les Volets Verts,” a 2021 French film starring Mr. Depardieu.The set decorator, now 54,…

Two Chinas inhabit the American imagination: One is a technology and manufacturing superpower poised to lead the world. The other is an economy that’s on the verge of collapse.Each reflects a real aspect of China.One China — let’s call it hopeful China — is defined by companies like the A.I. start-up DeepSeek, the electric vehicle giant BYD and the tech powerhouse Huawei. All are innovation leaders.Jensen Huang, the chief executive of the Silicon Valley chip giant Nvidia, said China was “not behind” the United States in artificial intelligence development. Quite a few pundits have declared that China would dominate the…