Author: NY TIMES

Amid renewed concerns about his health, Pope Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass, and with a hoarse but strong voice, he delivered a major annual message that touched on conflicts across the globe, with explicit appeals for peace in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine.The appearance came after the pope decided to reduce his participation in two major Holy Week events, seemingly at the last minute.Those decisions seemed to represent a new phase in a more than 11-year papacy throughout which Francis has made the acceptance of the limits that challenge and shape humanity a constant theme. Now, he seems to have…

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Paige Bueckers led UConn to an 80-73 victory over USC in Monday night’s star-studded second game, advancing the Huskies to the Four for the second time in the past three seasons. powerful. This will be the 23rd time in Connecticut’s history that it has reached the Final Four.Bueckers scored a team-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. She made 11 of 23 field goals, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and contributed 3 steals and 2 blocks. She scored 20 points for the seventh time in a row in the win. Aaliyah Edwards added 24 points and six rebounds for the…

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For more than half a century, the handbook for how developing countries can grow rich hasn’t changed much: Move subsistence farmers into manufacturing jobs, and then sell what they produce to the rest of the world.The recipe — customized in varying ways by Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and China — has produced the most potent engine the world has ever known for generating economic growth. It has helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, create jobs and raise standards of living.The Asian Tigers and China succeeded by combining vast pools of cheap labor with access…

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The raids of Sean Combs’s homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area this week raised a barrage of questions about the nature of the inquiry, which a federal official said was at least in part a human trafficking investigation.The government has said little about the basis for the search warrants, but the raids came after five civil lawsuits were filed against Mr. Combs in recent months that accused him of violating sex trafficking laws. In four of the suits women accused him of rape, and in one a man accused him of unwanted sexual contact. Mr. Combs, a hip-hop…

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced growing challenges to power on Sunday as thousands gathered outside Parliament to call for early elections in what were shaping up to be one of the largest demonstrations against the government in Israel since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.Some protesters carried signs calling for Mr. Netanyahu’s “immediate removal.” Others wielded posters calling for elections, saying “those who destroyed can’t be the ones to fix.”The protest came a day after thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv, waving flags and carrying pictures of the Israeli hostages with signs reading “Hostage deal…

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Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, once the fulcrum of Gaza’s health system and now an emblem of its destruction, stood in ruins on Sunday, as if a tsunami had surged through it followed by a tornado.The emergency department was a tidy, off-white building until Israeli troops returned there in March. Two weeks later, it was missing most of its facade, scorched with soot, and punctured with hundreds of bullets and shells.The eastern floors of the surgery department were left open to the breeze, the walls blown off and the equipment buried under mounds of debris. The bridge connecting the two…

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In a game billed as a battle between college basketball’s greats, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was the standout performer.In a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament championship game, Clark scored 41 points to help the top-seeded Hawkeyes defeat defending champion LSU 94-87. Iowa State (33-4) advanced to the Final Four for the second straight year and got some revenge on a team that eliminated the Hawkeyes from last year’s title game.Clark scored 40 or more points for the second straight year to seal the Hawkeyes’ Elite Eight victory. Last year, she scored 41 points in a win over Louisville. This year,…

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The signs and symbols that designate our beliefs and affiliations are slippery. While the Christian cross, the Islamic star and crescent, the Jewish Star of David, and their copyrighted, vigorously litigated corporate equivalents — swooshes, apples and targets — may prove resilient, a dizzying mix of familiar and newly minted graphic devices now compete for our dwindling attention.These days there is no movement without messaging. Even anarchy has a brand identity, its scratchy circled A logo has migrated from your corner lamppost to a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor Anarchy-edition All-Stars. From the pink hats of the Women’s March to…

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Iowa crushed its opponent to start the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball tournament this year, with Caitlin Clark, the sport’s shining superstar, finishing with 27 points to help the Hawkeyes cruise past Holy Cross. But for many, Clark blew it.She scored six and a half points fewer than what many bettors expected she would, in what’s known as a prop bet, which allow gamblers to wager on outcomes beyond the results of the game.As Iowa faces Louisiana State tonight, in a widely anticipated rematch of last year’s national championship, betting on an individual’s performance has increasingly been on the rise. How many…

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