Author: NY TIMES

Having mixed feelings about return to office? Not sure what to wear? Ralph Lauren has a solution for that.On Monday night paparazzi were camped out in front of the nondescript glass-door building at Madison Avenue and 58th Street where Mr. Lauren has his storied headquarters, there to record the arrivals of Jessica Chastain, Kerry Washington and Glenn Close, among others. The reason: Mr. Lauren’s latest … well, not show, exactly. More like episode in the long-running series he has been directing called “This Is My Life.”For the last few years (even before Covid), Mr. Lauren has been framing his collections…

Elon Musk has gutted the part of Tesla responsible for building electric vehicle charging stations, sowing uncertainty about the future of the largest and most reliable U.S. charging network.The layoffs of several hundred Tesla employees, which many of them posted about on social media on Tuesday, raised questions about deals that Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, struck with the leaders of General Motors, Ford Motor and other automakers last year allowing cars made by other companies to use Tesla Supercharger stations.Tesla’s agreements with other makers of electric cars assured buyers that they would be able to find fast chargers on…

Amazon reported its highest first-quarter profit on Tuesday as it continued to wring efficiencies out of its retail business and recharge growth in its cloud computing operations.The company was also for the first time on track to have $100 billion in annual cloud computing sales.The company had $143.3 billion in revenue in the first three months of the year, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Profit more than tripled, to $10.4 billion. The results beat analysts’ expectations.“It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and…

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said Tuesday that it was shutting down its health care centers, a network that only last year it said it planned to expand.The retailer said in a blog post that its 51 health centers across five states would close. The centers were next to Supercenter locations. The plans won’t affect the more than 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers within Walmart stores.Walmart started the health-care clinic initiative in 2019 in Dallas, Ga., with centers providing primary care, labs, X-rays and electrocardiograms, counseling, and dental, optical and hearing services. Many were in smaller towns…

Jessica Pratt’s new album, “Here in the Pitch,” begins with a vintage drum beat, a gently strummed guitar and a lot of vibey room tone — the kind that recalls a wood-paneled studio from 60 years ago. “The chances of a lifetime might be hiding their tricks up my sleeve,” she sings on “Life Is,” in an enchanting melody that rises and falls with ease. “Time is time is time again.”Pratt is 37, and over three albums since 2012, she has become known for seemingly bending time. “A friend of a friend was stunned to find out that Jessica is…

President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday to discuss the prospects of a possible cease-fire deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, while repeating his warnings about a new Israeli assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, officials said.The call was meant to pave the way for Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who left Washington just a few hours earlier on Sunday for his latest trip to the Middle East aimed at scaling back the war in Gaza. Mr. Blinken headed to Saudi Arabia, where he will see Egyptian…

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.Sometime early last year, I stumbled across an article by two scholars that described the rise of the “Green Islam” movement in Indonesia. One phrase in particular stood out: Muslim environmentalists there saw themselves as “khalifahs,” or guardians, of the earth.As the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The New York Times, I knew this was a story I wanted to tell. It melded religion and environmentalism — two themes that I wanted to focus on in my coverage of Indonesia, the…

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is disappointed, and not just because his Philadelphia 76ers are one game away from elimination.Philadelphia lost 97-92 to the New York Knicks on Sunday, extending its first-round series deficit to 3-1, and Embiid said he found the home attendance “disappointing.”Knicks fans packed much of the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday to cheer their team on, with point guard Jalen Brunson chanting MVP chants.”I love our fans,” Embiid said after the game. “(I) think it’s unfortunate and I’m not going to condemn them, but it’s disappointing. Obviously you have a lot of Knicks fans who are on…

Fortunes ToldMy wife died in 1991. Her best friend and I grew close in mourning. That blossomed into love. But was it a good match? And so soon, just months later? After a Chinese dinner, we opened our fortune cookies. Hers: “He likes to flirt, but toward you his intentions are honorable.” Mine: “You or a close friend will be married within a year.” Married 32 years now, she struggles with cognition, and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. On a trip before that diagnosis, I stopped alone at a Thai diner. My fortune: “Embrace the change that is coming.” Love…

The battle lines of the next big tax fight were laid out on Tuesday as Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen sparred with Republicans over the Biden administration’s plans to raise taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans.In recent weeks, Republicans have been amplifying their attacks on President Biden’s tax proposals, which have become central to the president’s re-election message. Many provisions in the $1.7 trillion tax cut that Republican lawmakers and former President Donald J. Trump enacted in 2017 are set to expire in 2025, including lower tax rates for individuals as well as many tax breaks for corporations.Lawmakers are girding…