Author: NY TIMES

The Trump administration has revived talks with Saudi officials over a deal that would give Saudi Arabia access to U.S. nuclear technology and potentially allow it to enrich uranium, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday.The deal — which the Biden administration had pursued as part of a broader agreement for Saudi Arabia to establish ties with Israel — would enable the kingdom to develop a “commercial nuclear power industry,” Mr. Wright told journalists in Riyadh. He added that he expected to see “meaningful developments” this year.“We’ve not reached the details on an agreement, but it certainly looks like there…

Her confidence comes partly from her faith, Ms. Bueckers said on a video call in March, a couple weeks before the N.C.A.A. final. It was a rest day for the Huskies, and she had slept until 11 a.m. that morning. She had gone to a sauna and shot 100 free throws before the call; afterward, she had a massage appointment.Ms. Bueckers, who grew up outside Minneapolis, described her faith as a major part of her identity, which has also been shaped by her family. Her parents, Amy Dettbarn and Bob Bueckers, divorced when she was a toddler, and Ms. Bueckers…

The Democratic Party in Hong Kong was for decades the city’s largest opposition party. It led protests demanding universal suffrage. Its lawmakers sparred with officials in the legislature about China’s encroachment on the region.It was born in the 1990s of an audacious hope: that opposition politicians and activists could pressure Hong Kong’s iron-fisted rulers in Beijing to fulfill their promise of expanding democratic freedoms for the city of several million people.On a rising wave of demands for democracy, the party grew to more than 1,000 members at its height in 2008. Its effort to maintain a moderate stance drew criticism,…

Is that a good tennis ball if the player hits a running shot to save a breakpoint, but then gets broken three unforced errors and double faults? For Carlos Alcaraz, absolutely.Just like Netflix released the trailer, he provides an example of the signal. Streaming companies released snapshots of the series on YouTube when Alcaraz swayed in the lofty and ridiculous court of Monte Carla Masters against Daniel Altmaier.It asks some basic questions about tennis: How many stars do it need? How much sacrifice should greatness make? Is there a path to greatness that doesn’t require all players who seek it?In…

The British government moved swiftly on Saturday to take control of operations at the country’s last large crude steel producing facility, in what appeared to be a major step toward nationalizing the plant.In an unusual and dramatic move, the government had summoned lawmakers back from vacation on Saturday to approve the government’s emergency legislation.The government said it was acting to prevent the owners of the British Steel complex in Scunthorpe, a Chinese company called Jingye, from taking steps unilaterally to close the blast furnaces, potentially costing 2,700 jobs.“Steel is fundamental to Britain’s industrial strength, to our security and to our…

After more than a week of ratcheting up tariffs on products imported from China, the Trump administration issued a rule late Friday that spared smartphones, computers, semiconductors and other electronics from some of the fees, in a significant break for tech companies like Apple and Dell and the prices of iPhones and other consumer electronics.A message posted late Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection included a long list of products that would not face the reciprocal tariffs President Trump imposed in recent days on Chinese goods as part of a worsening trade war. The exclusions would also apply to…

So sharp are partisan divisions these days that it can seem as if people are experiencing entirely different realities. Maybe they actually are, according to Leor Zmigrod, a neuroscientist and political psychologist at Cambridge University. In a new book, “The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking,” Dr. Zmigrod explores the emerging evidence that brain physiology and biology help explain not just why people are prone to ideology but how they perceive and share information.This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.What is ideology?It’s a narrative about how the world works and how it should work. This potentially…

Alice Tan Ridley, who rose to fame after decades singing for tips in the New York City subway with an unexpected run on the television show “America’s Got Talent,” died on March 25 in New York City. Ms. Ridley, who was the mother of the Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, was 72.Her family announced the death in an obituary published online. It did not cite a cause or say where in New York City she died.Ms. Ridley’s public life as a singer began underground in the mid-1980s, and she spent decades belting out songs in New York City subway stations. At…

Preliminary diplomatic talks between American and Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear program ended on Saturday with a senior Iranian official calling them “positive” and saying they would resume next week.Depending on what comes next, they could lead to the first official face-to-face negotiations between the two countries since President Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord seven years ago.Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said just after 10:15 a.m. Eastern on Saturday that the indirect talks had concluded. Iran’s official media said that the talks had been “constructive and positive, and based on mutual respect,” and had included a discussion of the…

What do you wear for your first trip to space?If you are like most people, probably whatever spacesuit or astronaut outfit the company (or government agency) you are flying with provides. However, if you are Lauren Sánchez — journalist, pilot, children’s book author, philanthropist and fiancée of Jess Bezos — the second-richest man on the planet, you have another idea. You think, “Let’s reimagine the flight suit.”“Usually, you know, these suits are made for a man,” Ms. Sánchez said recently on a video call from the West Coast. “Then they get tailored to fit a woman.” Or not tailored: an…