Author: NY TIMES

The assured coming-of-age film “Turtles All the Way Down,” based on John Green’s blockbuster young-adult novel of the same name, takes its title from an apocryphal story: An older woman at a science lecture posits that the Earth rests on the shell of a tortoise, which in turn sits on the back of a larger tortoise, and so on, to infinity.A never-ending stack of reptiles is an evocative image and an expressive paradox. It’s especially fitting for “Turtles,” a movie based on a book propped up by an ever-expanding young-adult canon that traffics in the romance of pain and the…

Russia said on Monday that it would hold military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, ratcheting up tensions with the West after two European leaders raised the prospect of more direct Western intervention in the war.Such weapons, often referred to as “tactical,” are designed for battlefield use and have smaller warheads than the “strategic” nuclear weapons meant to target cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered an exercise for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of nonstrategic nuclear forces to carry out…

Less than a day before celebrities were set to arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Met Gala, the union representing employees of Vogue and other Condé Nast publications indicated that its members were ready to walk off the job on Monday over contract negotiations, potentially snarling the biggest night of the year for the magazine and its editor in chief, Anna Wintour.In a vocal in-person and social media campaign leading up to the event, which is co-hosted by Ms. Wintour and costs $75,000 per person, the Condé Nast Union pledged to continue to take action as needed…

Global inflation is starting to cool after aggressive campaigns by central banks to bring high prices under control, and the economic outlook is brightening after a turbulent period, but clouds loom over the recovery, according to a forecast released on Thursday.The rebound is unfolding at an uneven speed around the world, and geopolitical tensions could pose a major risk to growth and inflation — especially if the conflict in the Middle East and attacks in the Red Sea, a critical shipping zone for trade, were to widen, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a think tank in Paris, said…

On Wednesday, Kendric Cromer, a 12-year-old boy from a suburb of Washington, became the first person in the world with sickle cell disease to begin a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure the condition.For the estimated 20,000 people with sickle cell in the United States who qualify for the treatment, the start of Kendric’s monthslong medical journey may offer hope. But it also signals the difficulties patients face as they seek a pair of new sickle cell treatments.For a lucky few, like Kendric, the treatment could make possible lives they have longed for. A solemn and shy adolescent, he…

Marin Alsop’s conducting students were taking turns on the podium recently in a rehearsal room at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. They waved their batons in front of an imaginary orchestra, practicing Stravinsky’s notoriously complex “The Rite of Spring.”Some conductors teach in poetry: what a piece means, how a certain sound should feel. Alsop, who spent untold hours at Meyerhoff Hall during her 14 years as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a tenure that ended in 2021, teaches in technical, tangible details.In a measure with 11 beats, she suggested using the last as a pickup to the following…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday rejected international pressure to rein in its military campaign in Gaza and, speaking at a Holocaust memorial, asserted Israel’s right to fight its “genocidal enemies.”Nearly seven months into the war, Mr. Netanyahu has been steadfast in his goal of destroying Hamas. This, and Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence on sending troops into Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, has complicated efforts to end the fighting and raised concerns about the future of the hostages held by Hamas.But Mr. Netanyahu has remained defiant.On Sunday, he spoke at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in…

The latest round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit an impasse on Sunday as mediators struggled to bridge remaining gaps and a Hamas delegation departed the talks in Cairo, according to two senior Hamas officials and two other officials familiar with the talks. An Israeli official also confirmed the negotiations had stalled and described them as being in “crisis.”For months, the negotiations aimed at achieving a cease-fire and a release of hostages have made little progress, but signs the two sides were coming closer to an agreement appeared over the last week. Israel backed off some of its long-held…

On Monday night, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will play host to one of the biggest fund-raising events and starriest parties of the year: the annual Costume Institute Benefit or, as it’s been known for years, the Met Gala.The event, which raises millions of dollars for the museum’s self-funding fashion wing, has become known for its audacious red carpet, with a highly exclusive guest list handpicked by Anna Wintour, the longtime Vogue editor and Condé Nast executive.But this year’s event has been unusually shadowed by drama. The union representing employees of Condé Nast publications including Bon Appétit, GQ, Vanity Fair…

Peloton said on Thursday that its chief executive, Barry McCarthy, was stepping down and that it would lay off more workers, as it continued to struggle in the fitness market.The connected-fitness company announced disappointing quarterly earnings on Thursday, with revenue down 4 percent from last year. The company, which has not turned a profit since December 2020, is also looking to refinance more than $1 billion in debt.Peloton had a spectacular rise at the start of the pandemic, when gyms and fitness centers closed and consumers were hungry for at-home workout options. But after gyms reopened, Peloton began to face…