Author: NY TIMES

A closely watched measure of inflation eased last month, an encouraging sign for the economy after three straight months of uncomfortably rapid price increases.The Consumer Price Index climbed 3.4 percent in April, down from 3.5 percent in March, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The “core” index — which strips out volatile food and fuel prices in order to give a sense of the underlying trend — rose 3.6 percent last month, down from 3.8 percent a month earlier. It was the lowest annual increase in core inflation since early 2021.The slowdown will likely come as welcome news to consumers, and…

Every smartphone has an expiration date. That day arrives when the software updates stop coming and you start missing out on new apps and security protections. With most phones, this used to happen after about only three years.But things are finally starting to change. The new number is seven.I first noticed this shift when I reviewed Google’s $700 Pixel 8 smartphone in October. Google told me that it had committed to provide software updates for the phone for seven years, up from three years for its previous Pixels, because it was the right thing to do.I was skeptical that this…

Overdose deaths in the United States declined slightly last year, the first decrease in five years, according to preliminary federal data released Wednesday.The rare good news in the decades-old addiction crisis was attributable mostly to a drop in deaths from synthetic opioids, chiefly fentanyl, said researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics, who compiled the numbers.But the full portrait of the death toll from street drugs remains grim. Even as opioid deaths fell, deaths from stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine rose. And some states, including Oregon and Washington, continued to experience sharp rises in overall overdose fatalities.Drug overdoses…

For six months in 1964, the photojournalist Daniel Kramer, who died at 91 on April 29, dialed the office of Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, to ask if he could photograph Mr. Dylan, a rising star at the time. Finally, Mr. Grossman said yes.What was meant to be a one-hour shoot turned into a five-hour shoot, which turned into a 366-day photographic odyssey in which Mr. Kramer was granted unrivaled access to Mr. Dylan. He captured rare behind-the-scenes images of the artist at home, on tour and at recording sessions.Mr. Kramer’s images were soon popping up in publications around the…

The United Nations has begun citing a much lower death toll for women and children in Gaza, acknowledging that it has incomplete information about many of the people killed during Israel’s military offensive in the territory.As recently as May 6, the U.N’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its regularly updated online report that at least 9,500 women and 14,500 children were among the dead, out of an overall death toll of 34,735.Two days later, the U.N. said in another online update that 4,959 women, 7,797 children and 10,006 men had been killed. While the total number…

Top newsIsrael and Egypt are trading blame over the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing, a vital entry point into Gaza for humanitarian aid, nearly 10 days after the Israeli army took over the Palestinian side of the crossing.Humanitarian officials have warned that the closure of the entry point has exacerbated an already devastating aid situation, with prices for many food items surging and fuel becoming scarce. Hundreds of trucks in Egypt have been blocked from reaching Gaza. Wounded and ill people who need medical care outside the territory, as well as families trying to escape the war between…

The first time I met Neil Diboll, he set his front yard on fire. On purpose.It was part of a lesson that Mr. Diboll, a prairie ecologist and nurseryman, was eager to share about native plant communities. The prairie species that had replaced his lawn were adapted to fire, he informed me, because regular wildfires had influenced their evolution.That was more than 30 years ago. Since then, Mr. Diboll has continued to find dramatic ways to capture gardeners’ attention and educate them. That’s essential, he knows, when you’re dealing with ideas that are unfamiliar to most people.Mr. Diboll is now…

This year began with three uncomfortably hot inflation readings in a row. Economists are hoping that fresh data on Wednesday will finally bring signs of a cool-down.Forecasters expect the Labor Department report to show that the Consumer Price Index climbed 3.4 percent in April from a year earlier. That would mark a slight slowing from the 3.5 percent inflation rate in March.Economists tend to focus on a separate measure of inflation that strips out volatile food and fuel prices to give a better sense of the underlying trend. They expect that “core” measure to show prices rose 3.6 percent from…

Over the last 10 months, Chelsea Prudencio, a junior at Baruch College in Manhattan, got a crash course in artificial intelligence through a new program for lower-income, Latina and Black young women majoring in computing.As part of the program, called Break Through Tech A.I., Ms. Prudencio completed an intensive class developed by Cornell Tech faculty with input from a few tech executives. She threw herself into a student A.I. project for Pfizer to create heart disease prediction models. And she was mentored by a cybersecurity executive at Citigroup on how to ace technical job interviews.These are the kinds of important…

There’s quite a good body of research now on the neuroscience of meditation, showing that it improves self-awareness, emotion regulation, self-control and many other things. Most people, if they’re honest with themselves, reach for some kind of coping habit when they are feeling stressed or down. Think food, alcohol, doomscrolling, entertainment, shopping, even overworking and overexercising. Most adults have never received formal education about what to do with negative emotions.Addiction is not just about substance use. It’s about trying to avoid a feeling. It’s about trying to escape. You know it’s not good for you, but you do it anyway…