Author: NY TIMES

When the dating app Bumble received backlash over the weekend for an ad campaign telling women that “a vow of celibacy is not the answer,” the anger came as no surprise.Resisting sex for reasons personal, political or somewhere in between may feel as if it has been gaining steam recently, but it’s not a new concept. In Aristophanes’s classic Greek comedy “Lysistrata,” the title character sets off on a mission to end the Peloponnesian War through the strategic denial of sex. She also persuades women in other Greek cities to withhold physical intimacy from their husbands and lovers as a…

A lot of money is tied up in people’s homes. Those who need to tap it most, however, may have the hardest time doing so.Paying a mortgage is a form of forced savings. If you want to stay in your home, you have no choice but to make each payment. That money — plus appreciation in the home’s value — now equals $31.8 trillion for all households, according to the Federal Reserve, more than three times what it was in 2012.Saving for retirement, on the other hand, is not mandatory. As a result, some homeowners end up with a lot…

In another world there’s a Hong Sang-soo Cinematic Universe, where a rabid fandom celebrates the one or two movies every year featuring a revolving door not of familiar superheroes but of poets, filmmakers and actors, each of them contending with questions of life and love rather than planetary threats. Those elements, of artists in quotidian scenarios, drinking soju and smoking amid everyday conversation, are present in many of the small humanist gems that make up this South Korean auteur’s filmography, and the same goes for his latest, “In Our Day.”The film, as warm and wise as it is simple and…

A helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday, according to Iran’s state media and the country’s mission to the U.N., but has yet to be found by search-and-rescue workers because of heavy fog.The helicopter was also carrying Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister.The state news agency IRNA reported that an enormous search operation involving 16 teams was underway to locate the helicopter. Inclement weather, the reports said, was hampering the effort. The teams had yet to locate the crash site after almost five hours.State media has yet to report on casualties or confirm the whereabouts or condition of the…

Russia and Ukraine targeted each other’s territory on Sunday with drone attacks and airstrikes that hit urban centers and energy facilities, as both sides look for ways to inflict damage beyond the battlefield.The Russian military said it had shot down nearly 60 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region of southwest Russia, which Ukraine has increasingly targeted in recent weeks because it is home to energy and military facilities supporting combat operations.Local Russian officials said an oil refinery had been struck in the attack. A Ukrainian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukrainian drones…

Another similarity to last month’s Masters is Bryson DeChambeau In the third round, he hit a great shot on the 18th hole that propelled him into contention on the final day.It was a little bird in April. Last night’s eagle was cut from closer and the celebrations were limited to exciting punches, but the impact was the same.DeChambeau headed straight to the practice field again to calm down his excitement. Can he do it this time on Sunday?This is what he said to him sky sports Shortly after that eagle.💬 “I’m so excited. I went through a lot today and…

It has only been a month since the storybook ending of “The Golden Bachelor,” ABC’s buzzy spinoff of “The Bachelor,” featuring cast members 60 and up, got a divorce-announcement epilogue.But ABC is giving the dating franchise another chance at love.Joan Vassos will be the first “Golden Bachelorette” in a new season of the reality dating show this fall. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Ryan Seacrest at ABC’s upfront, a showcase where a broadcaster presents its lineup to advertisers.Ms. Vassos, a 61-year-old school administrator from Rockland, Md., was a contestant on the inaugural season of “The Golden Bachelor” last…

Martin Gruenberg is still the leader of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an agency that supervises U.S. banks, but after a bipartisan grilling on Wednesday by members of a House committee overseeing bank regulators, he appeared to be hanging on by a thread.Democrats expressed dismay over his responses to the crisis at his agency, after a scathing report of a culture of widespread sexual harassment and discrimination. One congresswoman appeared to call for him to resign, as Republicans have been doing for months.“Personally, I do not have confidence that you can continue to lead in this role,” Representative Ayanna S.…

Richard Shepard, the director of the black comedies “Dom Hemingway” and “The Matador,” is a lifelong cinephile with a voracious appetite for movies.“Film Geek,” a feature-length video essay composed primarily of footage of films that Shepard saw growing up in the 1970s in New York City, delves deep into his obsession. In a voice-over, he recounts his childhood, when he was “addicted to movies, to watching them, to making them.” He is enthusiastic, and the movie aspires to make that enthusiasm infectious.I appreciate Shepard’s affection: I also grew up loving movies, and I found his wistful reminiscences of being awed…

About 100,000 demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, calling on Israel’s government to negotiate a hostage-release deal with Hamas, according to the event’s organizers.The demonstration included speeches by ambassadors to Israel from the United States, Britain, Germany and Austria. They pledged to continue their efforts to bring home the hostages captured on Oct. 7 during the Hamas-led attack on Israel.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the group behind Saturday’s event, has staged several similar demonstrations in Israel since the war in Gaza began. Roughly 240 people were abducted on the day of the attack. Around 125 remain, according to…