Author: NY TIMES

In its lawsuit accusing Live Nation Entertainment, the concert behemoth that owns Ticketmaster, of being an illegal monopoly, the Justice Department drew on a raft of internal communications that offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the industry.The Justice Department argued in an extensive complaint filed on Thursday that the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which went through in 2010, had hurt competition, hindered innovation and resulted in higher ticket prices and fees for consumers. It called for the company to be broken up.In response, Live Nation, which is also the world’s largest concert promoter, has said that it is…

The singer and rapper Sean Kingston was arrested in California on Thursday, hours after a SWAT team raided his home in Broward County, Fla., and took his mother into custody, the authorities said.Mr. Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, both face “numerous fraud and theft charges,” the Broward County Sheriff’s office said in a statement.Mr. Kingston was still in his teens when his debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2007. He has since collaborated with Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Wyclef…

The International Court of Justice on Friday ruled that Israel must immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, dealing another blow to the country as it faces increasing international isolation.The court has no means of enforcing its orders, and Israel said the language of the ruling left some room for interpretation. Hard-line politicians in Israel immediately vowed that Israel would not comply.Still, the 13-2 ruling puts more pressure on the Netanyahu government over the conduct of the war. Gazan authorities say at least 35,000 people have been killed, without distinguishing between combatants and civilians, and…

Polls suggest that the center-left Labour Party is set to return to power after more than a decade in opposition, which would bring a fundamental realignment to British politics.How does Britain vote?The United Kingdom — which consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales — is divided into 650 constituencies.Voters in each constituency select a candidate to represent them as a member of Parliament, and the political party that wins the most seats usually forms the next government. That party’s leader also becomes prime minister.To win an overall majority, a party must secure 326 seats. If the top party falls…

Oyvind Von Doren Asbjornsen wasn’t content with slapping a rook or a bishop on a watch and calling it a chess-themed timepiece. A watchmaker who also is an avid player, he wanted a sophisticated design, yet one that resonated with aficionados of the game.So in 2019, his brand, Von Doren, based in Oslo, released a collection of two quartz watches in brushed steel, called the Reti.The Reti collection was named for Richard Reti, an Austro-Hungarian chess master who in 1910 won a well-known match in just 11 moves. (An average game usually involves about 40 moves.) And rather than using…

If you follow the news, you know that tensions between the United States and China are high and that the commercial relationship between the two biggest trading nations on the planet has been fraying.Yet, amid the ominous headlines about a possible “decoupling” of the United States and China, you may be surprised by how strong and binding their financial ties remain.Many big U.S. companies depend on China for a substantial part of their income and rely on Chinese suppliers and factories for their products. The two economies are closely linked, and, as an old China hand, I think that’s a…

Fred Roos, a casting director and producer who championed the early careers of A-list actors like Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Carrie Fisher, and whose long collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola and his family, stretching from “The Godfather” (1972) to this year’s “Megalopolis,” earned him an Oscar and an Emmy, died on Saturday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 89.His death was announced by his family in a statement.Many in Hollywood said that Mr. Roos had the best eye for talent in the business. He championed the young, relatively unknown Mr. Pacino for the role of Michael…

Israeli forces massed at the entrance to a major hospital in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, trapping more than a dozen medical personnel inside and all but putting one of the last functioning hospitals out of operation, according to a doctor and Palestinian news media.For days, the Israeli military has bombarded the area around Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near the northernmost edge of the territory. Its advance with tanks toward the northern entrances cut off access to the hospital, according to Dr. Eid Sabbah, the head of nursing at the hospital.“Now it is considered practically, because it…

Pope Francis cleared the way for an Italian teenager to become the first millennial saint by attributing a second miracle to him, the Vatican announced Thursday.The teenager, Carlo Acutis, is often called the patron saint of the internet among Roman Catholics because of his computer skills, which he used to share his faith. He died of leukemia in 2006 when he was just 15.Carlo was born in London to Italian parents and moved with his family to Milan when he was a child. His passion for Catholicism bloomed early, his mother, Antonia Acutis, told The New York Times in an…

On Thursday night, roads were closed for miles around the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera, helping to keep out paparazzi and eager fans.On the vast estate overlooking the crystal blue water of the Mediterranean, over 800 actors, performers, models, and royals — including Demi Moore, Michelle Yeoh and Magic Johnson — walked a red carpet lined with photographers for the annual amfAR gala, an event started by the actress Elizabeth Taylor in 1993 to raise money for AIDS research.The event has often attracted marquee acts (Diana Ross and Mariah Carey performed in past years), and this year, Cher,…