Author: NY TIMES

The trumpet is the first thing to be squished. Then the industrial compressor flattens a row of paint cans, buckles a piano and levels what appears to be a marble bust. In a final act of destruction, it pops the eyes out of a ball-shaped yellow emoji.When the compressor rises, it reveals Apple’s latest commodity: the updated iPad Pro.Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, posted the advertisement, called “Crush,” on Tuesday after the company held an event to announce new tablets. “Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created,” Mr. Cook wrote, adding, “Just imagine all the things…

Taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest is nerve-racking, even when the audience welcomes you to the stage.For one singer at this year’s contest, it will likely be a particularly anxious experience. When Eden Golan, 20, performs representing Israel at the second semifinal on Thursday, a significant portion of the audience will not be cheering for her. In fact, many people don’t want her country to be at Eurovision at all.For months, pro-Palestinian groups and some Eurovision fans have been trying in vain to get the contest’s organizers, the European Broadcasting Union, to ban Golan from taking part at this…

The United Nations has warned that Israel’s military incursion into Rafah and closure of border crossings is a major setback for aid operations in the Gaza Strip, with dire implications for its people.No aid trucks have entered Gaza since Sunday, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as Israel sent tanks and troops into Rafah and blocked the two southern crossings where most aid has entered, at Rafah on the Egyptian border and near Kerem Shalom on the Israeli frontier.Israel said that the Kerem Shalom crossing reopened on Wednesday, but did not indicate when the Rafah crossing would reopen. The U.N.…

Luis Rubiales, Spain’s former soccer chief, will stand trial on a count of sexual assault for grabbing the head of Jennifer Hermoso, a star player, and forcibly kissing her on the mouth at the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in August.The decision on Wednesday evening by Spain’s National Court came after a judge concluded in January that Mr. Rubiales should be held to account for the kiss, which the judge said “was nonconsensual” and within the bounds of the “intimacy of sexual relations.”Public prosecutors and Ms. Hermoso’s lawyers are seeking a total of two and a half years of prison…

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions.archived recording 1Love now and always.archived recording 2Did you fall in love last time?archived recording 3Love is stronger than anything.archived recording 4For the love of —archived recording 5Love.archived recording 6And I love you more than anything.archived recording 7(SINGING) What is love?archived recording 8Here’s to love.archived recording 9Love.anna martinFrom “The New York Times,” I’m Anna Martin. This is Modern Love. Today on the show author and…

Shari Redstone helped build Paramount Global into a sprawling media empire, but if Sony Pictures Entertainment and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management acquire it for $26 billion, they plan to break it all up, according to three people familiar with the deal discussions.The plan would see the CBS broadcast network, cable channels like MTV and the Paramount Plus streaming service auctioned off, said the people, who asked not to be identified sharing private details. Paramount Pictures — home to blockbusters like “The Godfather,” “Top Gun” and the “Mission Impossible” franchise — would be combined with Sony’s existing business.Sony and Apollo…

In a rare moment of solidarity, two entertainment giants are teaming up to try to get consumers to stop canceling their streaming services so frequently.Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday that they would start offering a bundle of their Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services this summer, a sign of how rivals have become more willing to join forces in order to confront an ever-changing media landscape.The companies said that the bundle would be available to buy on any of the three streaming platform’s websites (Disney owns Disney+ and Hulu; Warner Bros. Discovery owns Max), and that there…

A lawyer for Live Nation, the concert company, said in court on Wednesday that settlements had been reached in all but one of the lawsuits over the deaths of 10 people who were fatally crushed during a performance by Travis Scott at the 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston.The disclosure came as lawyers were preparing for the first trial over the deaths. A lawyer for the plaintiffs in that case confirmed that a settlement had been reached with the defendants, including Mr. Scott, Live Nation and Apple, which live-streamed the event.The trial had been expected to present a jury with harrowing…

President Biden has paused a shipment of bombs to Israel to prevent them from being used in the assault on the city of Rafah. Administration officials said that 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs are being withheld and that the administration is reviewing whether to hold back future transfers.The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, and it accelerated deliveries after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks. It’s hard to determine just how much Israel has received, but here is a closer look at what we know.What happened after Oct. 7?Since Oct. 7, the United…

Students who oppose the war in Gaza began dismantling their protest camp at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland on Wednesday evening, after the institution agreed to divest from three Israeli companies listed by the United Nations for their links to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.Trinity said that it would move to divest as soon as next month, and that its endowment fund would also seek to divest from investments in other Israeli companies in the future.“We fully understand the driving force behind the encampment on our campus, and we are in solidarity with the students in our horror of…