Author: NY TIMES

Anxious ahead of a big job interview? Worried about giving a speech? First date nerves?The solution, some digital start-ups suggest, is a beta blocker, a type of medication that can slow heart rate and lower blood pressure — masking some of the physical symptoms of anxiety.Typically a trip to the doctor’s office would be necessary to get a prescription, but a number of companies are now connecting patients with doctors for quick virtual visits and shipping the medication to people’s homes.“No more ‘Shaky and Sweaty,’” one online ad promised. “Easy fast 15 minute intake.”That worries Dr. Yvette I. Sheline, a…

Listen on YouTube◆ ◆ ◆Billy Hart, drummer“Why Did I Choose You?”One of my favorite records I’ve ever made was “A Lazy Afternoon,” with me and Buster Williams accompanying Shirley. And one of my favorite tracks from it is “Why Did I Choose You?” It’s amazing how she made us feel when we were on the bandstand with her. More than one time, she made me cry. It was embarrassing, in front of the audience, but I was so moved by the music. And her influence shows up everywhere, both as a singer and a pianist. When you hear Herbie Hancock,…

The Israeli police clashed with antigovernment protesters outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem overnight, on the third day of demonstrations calling for early elections and his ouster.The chaotic scenes drew an appeal for calm and unity from Mr. Netanyahu’s chief rival, Benny Gantz, on Wednesday morning.“We must not accept violence from any side, we must not accept ignoring police instructions and breaking barriers as we saw last night in Jerusalem,” he wrote on X. “A protest is legitimate, the pain is also understandable, but the law and the rules of the game must be respected.”Thousands of protesters have…

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has signed into law three measures aimed at replenishing the ranks of his country’s exhausted and battered army, including lowering the age when men become eligible for conscription and eliminating some medical exemptions.While Mr. Zelensky did not say why he had decided to move ahead on at least some changes, Russia’s forces have been on the offensive along the front line and the ongoing fighting has shrunk Ukraine’s supplies of soldiers and weapons.Ukraine’s Parliament has for months debated a bill that covers a more sweeping overhaul of conscription, but political analysts say that calling up…

Al igual que la trama de Succession, la victoria de Ilia Malinin en la competición individual masculina del Campeonato Mundial de Patinaje Artístico sobre Hielo del sábado tuvo muchos giros: seis saltos cuádruples que incluían un cuádruple axel, una hazaña que implica cuatro vueltas y media en el aire.Que esos elementos estuvieran ambientados con la canción principal de la serie de HBO no hizo más que aumentar el dramatismo de la actuación de Malinin.La melodiosa música de cuerda que abre la canción llevaba sonando unos 30 segundos cuando Malinin, un estudiante de 19 años de la Universidad George Mason de…

Endeavor, the sports and entertainment company led by the Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, said on Tuesday that it planned to go private, nearly three years after joining the public stock markets.The transaction — led by Silver Lake, the investment firm that has been Endeavor’s longtime financial backer — is meant to usher in a new era for Endeavor, whose ambitious growth story failed to gain traction on Wall Street.Under the terms of the deal, Silver Lake will buy the shares in Endeavor that it doesn’t already own for $27.50 a share in cash. That price is 55 percent above where…

LINDSAY ZOLADZ Welcome to the Smoke Hour, everybody. Wesley, I’m with you on the divergent listening experiences of “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter.” Approximately one billion plays later, “Renaissance” does not have a “skip” moment for me. “Cowboy Carter” is, as Pareles put it in his review, “a bumpier ride.” At least until it isn’t: From “Ya Ya” on, it shifts gears into the fluid, relentless flow she achieved on “Renaissance” — or to use a Beatles reference, that the Fab Four achieve on Side 2 of “Abbey Road.” There’s a lot here. I’m not sure all of it works, but…

Ms. Stroul said assessing the post-Suleimani era is instructive because the command and control of the Quds Force was degraded.“We have seen Iran-backed militia groups take decisions into their own hands under the leadership of Qaani, as well the rise of rival power centers in Iran,” Ms. Stroul said, referring to Gen. Ismail Qaani, the current Quds Force commander. “This has led to a more diffuse, but not less lethal, Quds Force-led network abroad. But Iran’s core strategy never changed. Tehran will continue to invest in its terrorist network abroad in order to keep the fight away from its own…

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake that hit Taiwan on Wednesday morning was the strongest in 25 years, the island’s Central Weather Administration said.At least one person died after the quake struck off Taiwan’s east coast, officials said. The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear as of midday Wednesday.Here’s a look back at some of the major earthquakes in modern Taiwanese history:Taichung, 1935Taiwan’s deadliest quake registered a magnitude of 7.1 and struck near the island’s west coast in April 1935, killing more than 3,200 people, according to the Central Weather Administration. More than 12,000 others were injured and more…

Stick Nation was born last summer, during a hiking trip to Arches National Park in Utah.Boone Hogg, Logan Jugler and some friends were cracking jokes as they trekked toward Delicate Arch. From their free-associative silliness came the notion of reviewing a stick as you might a sculpture or valuable antique.Later, Mr. Hogg, 30, took out his phone and shot some video of Mr. Jugler, also 30, as he mused on the qualities of a stick he had picked up from the ground. It seemed to be more interesting than the sticks nearby — it had the approximate shape of a…