Author: NY TIMES

With Israeli troops returning to clear Hamas for the second or third time from parts of northern Gaza, and fighting farther south in Rafah, too, Israel’s government has found itself confronting more vocal discontent from an important constituency: its own military leaders.Current and former senior military officers have begun to argue more openly that because the government has failed to roll out a plan for what follows the fighting in Gaza, Israeli troops are being forced — in the eighth month of the war — to battle again for areas of the territory where Hamas fighters have reappeared.Two Israeli officials,…

The 12-page report was intended to save soccer’s governing body, FIFA, in its moment of existential crisis.Filled with reform proposals and drawn up by more than a dozen soccer insiders in December 2015, the report was FIFA’s best chance to show business partners, U.S. investigators and billions of fans that it could be trusted again after one of the biggest corruption scandals in sports history.In bullet points and numbered sections, the report championed high-minded ideas like accountability and humility. It also proposed concrete and, for FIFA, revolutionary changes: transparency in how major decisions were reached; term limits for top leaders…

Sage, an extravagantly coifed miniature poodle with a certain winsome mystery about her, won the 148th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday night, prevailing over a tough field of competitors including a majestic German shepherd, a silken Afghan hound and a proud giant schnauzer.The competition began with some 2,500 dogs from more than 200 breeds, then eventually pared down to a field of seven group champions who vied against each other for the top prize. The best-in-show judge, Rosalind Kramer, who remained sequestered during the proceedings so that she could emerge fresh for the final round, selected Sage…

YouTube said on Tuesday that it would comply with a court order to block users in Hong Kong from viewing a popular democracy anthem, raising concerns about free speech and highlighting the increasing fraught environment for tech companies operating in the Chinese territory.Last week, a Hong Kong court granted a government request to ban the song, “Glory to Hong Kong,” listing 32 links to videos on YouTube. Judges said the song was a “weapon” that could be used to undermine national security.The court said the injunction was “necessary to persuade” technology companies to “remove” the songs from their platforms.A representative…

The Biden administration’s new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles won’t have a huge immediate impact on American consumers or the car market because very few such cars are sold in the United States.But the decision reflects deep concern within the American automotive industry, which has grown increasingly worried about China’s ability to churn out cheap electric vehicles. American automakers welcomed the decision by the Biden administration on Tuesday to impose a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles from China, saying those vehicles would undercut billions of dollars of investment in electric vehicle and battery factories in the United States.“Today’s announcement…

A German court on Tuesday found a prominent far-right politician from the Alternative for Germany party guilty of using a banned Nazi slogan during a campaign speech in 2021.A panel of four judges fined the politician, Björn Höcke, head of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia, 13,000 euros, roughly $14,000.The trial, which Mr. Höcke’s defense tried to portray as a battle for free political speech, was watched closely because the AfD stands to make significant electoral gains in state elections this year and because of Mr. Höcke’s well-documented extremist views.Mr. Höcke seemed to deflate when he heard the…

A Kiss to RememberWe kissed just once, standing by my living room windows on the 21st floor. A deep, full-throated kiss that shot electric waves through me. “God, you can kiss,” I murmured. “Men who kiss men learn that.” For a brief moment, we were in love. Then, his hands resting on my shoulders, he spoke. “You know it can’t work.” He wasn’t into women. “I know,” I replied. My friends thought we’d make a great couple. “We’re just friends,” I’d say; it was Texas, the ’80s. AIDS took Richard a few years later. But his kiss is still with…

Just days after the release of a scathing report detailing a culture of widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, its chair, Martin Gruenberg, submitted congressional testimony on Tuesday that indicated he had no plans to step down.In prepared remarks he plans to deliver to the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday, Mr. Gruenberg largely repeated his previous statements — that he was sorry for the harassment and abuse employees suffered, and that he and his staff were already working on making changes.“I accept the findings of the report and, as chairman, I take full responsibility,” he…

Last May, Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, said the company would use artificial intelligence to reimagine all of its products.But because new generative A.I. technology presented risks, like spreading false information, Google was cautious about applying the technology to its search engine, which is used by more than two billion people and was responsible for $175 billion in revenue last year.On Tuesday, at Google’s annual conference in Mountain View, Calif., Mr. Pichai showed how the company’s aggressive work on A.I. had finally trickled into the search engine. Starting this week, he said, U.S. users will see a feature, A.I. Overviews,…

2. The Big Three: “Wild Women”Before she was in the Mamas & the Papas — and even before she was in her pre-Mamas group the Mugwumps — Elliot was one-third of a folk ensemble called the Big Three with Tim Rose and Jim Hendricks. Her personality shone when she sang lead on this saucy blues classic, first made famous by Ida Cox. I love hearing her dig into her voice’s grit here, flexing a muscle she usually wasn’t able to in the Mamas & the Papas.▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube3. The Mamas & the Papas: “Words of…