Author: NY TIMES

Frederick Celani was more than a decade into a rollicking, relentless career as a con man when he bamboozled city officials and employees in Springfield, Ill., into believing that he would make the city the hub of an overnight package delivery service.It was 1983. Unemployment was high in Springfield, which needed the economic boost that Mr. Celani was promising. In a whirlwind few months, he hired 100 workers, including pilots; leased cars; and rented office space and an airplane hangar.On March 1, about 1,000 people gathered at the hangar to celebrate Kayport Package Express’s first day in business. Champagne was…

Two dancers from the Mariinsky Theater in Russia were barred from performing at a youth ballet gala in New York this week after their participation drew criticism from pro-Ukrainian officials and activists.The dancers had been set to take part in two performances, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, that celebrate the 25th anniversary of Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious ballet competition and scholarship program based in New York.But Youth America Grand Prix’s leaders removed the dancers from the program after critics said the organization was lending support to the Russian government by hosting the artists. The…

The families addressed the court one by one, sobbing as they spoke the names of relatives who had been killed when their upscale apartment complex in southern Turkey toppled over during a powerful earthquake last year.One woman, whose son had died in the collapse alongside his wife and their 3-year-old son, lashed out at the defendants — the men who had built the complex and the inspectors charged with ensuring that it was safe.“Shame on you,” said the woman, Remziye Bozdemir. “Your children are alive, mine are dead.”The hearing on Thursday was the first aimed at seeking accountability for the…

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel last October, the deadliest in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future has seemed bleak, with critics blaming him for the security failure and his poll ratings plummeting.But a confrontation between Israel and Iran this week — including on Friday when Israel retaliated against last weekend’s missile barrage by Iran — may have helped change the dynamic, at least for the time being. Now, Mr. Netanyahu is in his strongest domestic position since the October attack, even as his global standing ebbs amid anger at the conduct of Israel’s war in Gaza.“This was…

As soon as he stepped inside the East Village duplex 12 years ago, the theater director David Saint knew that it would be his next home.“I saw about 20 apartments while I was looking to buy, and this was the last one,” he said. “The minute I walked in, I knew.”What sold Mr. Saint on the brand-new penthouse, just off Union Square, at 123 Third Avenue and East 14th Street, was the wraparound terrace and its stunning cityscape and river views. He would eventually transform the terrace into his “little Garden of Eden” with fountains, obelisks, and potted trees, plants…

Denny Walsh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who was a consummate nuisance to mobsters, corrupt politicians and his editors — especially at The New York Times, which fired him — died on March 29 at his home in Antelope, Calif., a suburb of Sacramento. He was 88.His daughter, Colleen Bartow, confirmed the death. She said Mr. Walsh had been suffering from several respiratory ailments.Mr. Walsh began his career in 1961 at The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, where he hot-dogged around the newsroom smoking cigars and used the floor as his ashtray.“Walsh had the tenacity of a pit bull and seemed to…

Dear listeners,Perhaps you have heard that Taylor Swift has a new album out today — just a wild guess! — and that it is called “The Tortured Poets Department.” That title alone generated chatter before anyone had heard a note, and it got me thinking about some of my favorite songs that reference poets. And so I filled my inkwell, put a quill pen to my chin and cried, “A playlist is in order!”Though there are no Swift songs on this mix, it does feature the two poets she name-checks on her latest album: Dylan Thomas (in a shaggy ode…

Iranian officials said that the Israeli strike on Friday morning was carried out by small exploding drones, a tactic that would follow a well-established pattern in Israeli attacks on Iranian military targets.As Israel has targeted Iranian defense and military officials and infrastructure, small drones — specifically ones known as quadcopters — have been a signature of those operations. Quadcopter drones, so named because they have four rotors, have a short flight range and can explode on impact.The drones might have been launched from inside Iran, whose radar systems had not detected unidentified aircraft entering Iranian airspace, Iranian officials said. If…

Archie Moore, an Indigenous Australian artist who has created an installation including a monumental family tree, won the top prize at the Venice Biennale on Saturday.Moore, 54, took the Golden Lion, the prize for the best national participation at the Biennale, the world’s oldest and most high-profile international art exhibition. He beat out artists representing 85 other countries to become the first Australian winner.For his installation, “kith and kin,” Moore has drawn a family tree in chalk on the walls and ceiling of the Australia Pavilion. The web of names encompasses 3,484 people and Moore says it stretches back 65,000…

Caitlin Clark arrived in Indiana for the first time as a member of the Fanatics on Wednesday, with the No. 1 overall pick joining general manager Lin Dunn and coach Christie Sides in the lineup. Meet the media at Bridge Arena. The reception awaiting Clark dwarfs any audience that has covered the surge recently, like most of her firsts in the WNBA.Among the media in attendance was award-winning columnist Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star. When it was his turn to ask Clark a question, Doyle made a heart-shaped gesture in her direction, which Clark considers the signal she sends…