Author: NY TIMES

Michael Hurley, a singer and songwriter whose music — an idiosyncratic kind of folk mixed with a variety of other styles — made him a revered elder to younger artists like Cat Power, Devendra Banhart and the band Yo La Tengo, died on April 1 in Portland, Ore. He was 83.Mr. Hurley’s family announced the death but did not specify the cause.Mr. Hurley was visibly ill during his final shows — two on March 28 and 29 in Knoxville, Tenn., as part of the Big Ears Festival, and the third on March 31 in Asheville, N.C. — before flying back…

It was a closely held, urgent meeting.Iran was pondering a response to President Trump’s letter seeking nuclear negotiations. So the country’s president, as well as the heads of the judiciary and Parliament huddled with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last month, according to two senior Iranian officials familiar with the meeting.Mr. Khamenei had publicly and repeatedly banned engaging with Washington, calling it unwise and idiotic. The senior officials, in an unusual coordinated effort, urged him to change course, said the two officials, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive issues.The message to Mr. Khamenei was blunt: Allow…

If you’ve recently found yourself Googling complex medical terminology, fighting the urge to rewatch the 1990s drama “E.R.” or nurturing a budding crush on the actor Noah Wyle, you may be “Pitt”-pilled.The new Max show “The Pitt,” which follows Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (played by Mr. Wyle) and a motley cast of medical workers during one chaotic 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department as it unfolds hour by hour, has become a somewhat unexpected hit. With its first season ending on Thursday, fans are already hankering for more episodes, even though the second season — which will take place…

Andrew Tate, the online influencer known for his misogynistic views, has been accused of raping two women and threatening one of them with a gun, in a claim filed in Britain’s High Court.The accusations are part of a civil suit filed by the two women, and two others, last June against Mr. Tate. The Times obtained details of their claims from the court ahead of a hearing on the case in London on April 15.The four British women are suing Mr. Tate for alleged abuse relating to a period when he was living in England, between 2013 and 2015. All…

The crash is frightening.In the 2018 Indycar race, Robert Wickens’ wheels cut the wheels of Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car, pushing Wichis airmen toward the fence around the Pocono Raceway. The injuries that Wicks suffered include thoracic vertebrae fractures, neck fractures in both legs, tibia and fibula, hands fractures, four fractured ribs and lung contusions. He also suffered spinal cord injuries, paralyzing him from the waist.At that time, Wickens was the cusp of the stars in the main series of Motorsports. That year, he finished seven top five in 14 games, ranked ninth in the Indianapolis 500 and won Indycar Rookie of…

The Chinese internet giant ByteDance has made some of the world’s most popular apps: TikTok and, in China, Douyin and Toutiao.In the United States, TikTok claims 170 million users. But in China, about 700 million use the domestic version, Douyin, and 300 million scroll the headlines on Toutiao, a news app. Every video that ByteDance’s users watch or post gives the company another data point about how people use the internet. For years, ByteDance has applied that wealth of information to make its apps more appealing, improving its ability to recommend content to keep users hooked.ByteDance is also using the…

For months, Nintendo, the maker of famed video game series like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, had expected the morning of April 2 to be a celebration.To much fanfare, the company announced the price and release date for the Switch 2, its new video game console eight years in the making. At an event in New York City, Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s president, took the stage as fans cheered the arrival of new games to accompany the console; Mario Kart, Donkey Kong and Kirby among them.Then, later that same day, President Trump announced tariffs that sent global stock…

Companies can set such high prices because of a quirk in Medicare pricing rules, industry experts said. For the first six months of a new bandage product’s life, Medicare will set the reimbursement rate at whatever price a company chooses. After that, the agency adjusts the reimbursement to reflect the actual price paid by doctors after any discounts.To circumvent the reimbursement drop, some companies simply roll out new products.In April 2023, Medicare began reimbursing $6,497 for every square inch of a bandage called Zenith, sold by Legacy Medical Consultants, a company in Fort Worth, Texas. Six months later, Zenith’s reimbursement…

When the Polish musician Hania Rani released her first solo album, “Esja,” in 2019, she knew it was a modest debut. Its subtle piano compositions were moody but pared down, and she worried that its serene atmosphere might limit its mainstream appeal.One year later, the album’s placid vibe turned out to be a blessing. As the world locked down against the Covid pandemic, distressed people were turning to streaming playlists with names like “Calm Vibes” and “Peaceful Rhythms” that featured Rani’s music. It became a breakthrough moment. As one critic told BBC radio during lockdown, Rani’s music “makes your problems…

Hundreds of reservists and retired officers in Israel’s air force signed a letter on Thursday urging the Israeli government to agree to a deal with Hamas to return hostages, even at the price of stopping the war in Gaza.The letter, which was signed by roughly a thousand people, including a former chief of staff and other former senior military leaders, laid bare a growing divide in the Israeli military over the handling of the war. The air force has been a key part of Israel’s effort in Gaza, carrying out strikes that have flattened much of the enclave and left…