Author: NY TIMES

For the second year in a row, Trader Joe’s has brought a Black Friday-like frenzy to its stores. But instead of lining up for a new video game console or Taylor Swift vinyl, customers are waiting their turn to buy miniature tote bags bearing the grocery chain’s logo for $2.99.Some people camped out in front of stores hours before they opened, while others sent friends to grab the exclusive item for them. On a few occasions, people appeared to wrestle or get into physical altercations over the 11-by-13-inch canvas bags, videos on social media showed.Kevin Burgoon, an employee at a…

OpenAI asked a federal court on Wednesday to bar Elon Musk from unfairly attacking it through a high-profile lawsuit he filed last year, the latest move in a bitter feud between the artificial intelligence start-up and the world’s richest man.In a filing in federal court in San Francisco, OpenAI said Mr. Musk had “made it his project to take down OpenAI.” The company requested that the tech billionaire be stopped from taking “further unlawful and unfair action” against OpenAI and asked the court to hold Mr. Musk responsible for any damage he has caused the firm.The filing was another sign…

The sun was bursting through the sandstone arch of Window Rock in northeastern Arizona, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in bluejeans, was finally in his element: on a hike.It was the last day of his multistate Make American Healthy Again tour, designed to highlight various aspects of Mr. Kennedy’s plan to fight chronic disease, such as healthy school lunches and medical clinics that take a holistic approach to patient care.Now, the health secretary was strolling with the president of Navajo Nation, delegates of the nation’s council and the acting director of the Indian Health Service, discussing the challenges…

Clem Burke, whose energetic, versatile drumming provided the beat for the band Blondie as it churned out post-punk, disco and rock hits in the late 1970s and early ’80s — and then again after the band re-formed in 1997 — died on Sunday. He was 70.In a statement, the band said the cause was cancer. It did not say where he died.Though Blondie is best remembered for its charismatic lead singer, Debbie Harry, Mr. Burke’s relentless percussion was just as important to its success as one of the most popular American rock groups of its era.He can be heard tumbling…

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited the White House two months ago, President Trump sold him a brazen dream: The United States would take control of the Gaza Strip, relocate about two million Palestinians and turn the devastated seaside enclave into a glittering “riviera.”This week, as the two leaders faced reporters again after meeting in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump appeared to have moved on, holding forth instead on U.S. border policy, his new tariffs, the plight of the hostages held in Gaza and the latest showstopper for Middle East policy — the opening of talks with Iran…

One of my roommates began secretly sleeping with the ex-boyfriend of a good friend. The breakup was five months ago, but my roommate started talking to him right away. I accidentally let it slip to someone, and then, out of guilt, told all my roommates about the affair. The ex-girlfriend was hurt, and my roommate who is having the affair is furious with me. She was one of my best friends, and now she won’t talk to me. She is still sleeping with him. She’s showing her true colors, I guess. Our other roommates have told me privately that I…

The Islamic State has been showing renewed vigor in Syria, attracting new fighters and increasing the number of its attacks last year, according to the United Nations and U.S. officials, further raising the threat of instability in a country that is already volatile after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.The group is still nowhere near as strong as it was a decade ago, when it controlled eastern Syria and a large part of northern Iraq, but there is a risk, experts say, that the Islamic State can find a way to free thousands of its hardened fighters who are held…

Charlotte, N.C. – After pouring 19 points for Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on March 4, Colin Granger returned to Team Hotel in Pensacola, Florida to have dinner with his parents and discuss his future.In football.Granger once told Chanticleers coach Justin Gray that if the coastal area plays unexpectedly in the conference championship, it would be that he will continue his basketball career overseas, where he received multiple offers from professional teams.If that weren’t the case, Granger would be George Fant’s first client, a 10-year NFL veteran who started a business where he identified and trained college…

Market turmoil extended into Wednesday, as stocks across Asia faced renewed pressure from significantly higher taxes on imports to the United States.Stocks slumped across Asia, following a day on Wall Street when stocks whipsawed. Taiwan was the worst hit, sinking over 6 percent. Shares in Japan were down 4 percent. The declines were between 1.5 and 2 percent in South Korea and Hong Kong. Stocks in mainland China were slightly higher.President Trump uprooted investors last week with the announcement of tariffs on countries across the world. Significantly higher American import taxes on goods from dozens of other countries took effect…

Robert W. McChesney, an influential left-leaning media critic who argued that corporate ownership was bad for American journalism and that Silicon Valley billionaires who dominated online information were a threat to democracy, died on March 25, at his home in Madison, Wis. He was 72.The cause was glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, his wife, Inger Stole, said.Professor McChesney was grounded both in academia — he had a Ph.D. in communications and taught at universities — and in ink-on-paper journalism: He was the founding publisher of The Rocket, a Seattle music magazine that reviewed Nirvana’s first single.His primary thesis, expressed in…