Author: NY TIMES

The attack at a concert hall just outside Moscow that killed 139 people last Friday has prompted some Russians to call for bringing back capital punishment in Russia, and to execute the assailants.Through a combination of presidential action and court rulings, Russia has had a moratorium on the death penalty for 28 years. And yet capital punishment remains on the books — suspended but not abolished outright.Russian officials disagree on whether and how it could be resurrected, and the country’s Constitutional Court said on Tuesday that it would look into the matter.Here is a look at where the issue stands.Who…

A U.S. district judge in Florida sentenced a convicted sex offender to 220 years in federal prison for producing, receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material and not renewing his contract after the Jacksonville Jaguars learned of it contract, invaded the big screen at Jaguars Stadium in Jacksonville. He is a registered sex offender.U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release. A federal jury convicted Thompson in November 2023 of producing child sexual abuse material while required to register as…

He Wrote Hard News, I Wrote Fluff“Don’t waste your time. They’re not hiring,” said the inky-haired reporter taking a smoke break outside The Carthage Press. I applied anyway. Hired on the spot, I activated my journalism degree two desks east of the smoker. He wrote hard news; I wrote fluffy features. He was a Jewish Tunisian immigrant; I was a Baptist Ozarkian. He liked classical music; I liked hootenannies. Together, we found words that worked. Today, the 1884 Missouri newspaper is history, its building edited into apartments. The reporter and I celebrated our 46th anniversary. I’m glad he quit smoking.…

Daniel Kahneman, who never took an economics course but who pioneered a psychologically based branch of that field that led to a Nobel in economic science in 2002, died on Wednesday. He was 90.His death was confirmed by his partner, Barbara Tversky. She declined to say where he died.Professor Kahneman, who was long associated with Princeton University and lived in Manhattan, employed his training as a psychologist to advance what came to be called behavioral economics. The work, done largely in the 1970s, led to a rethinking of issues as far-flung as medical malpractice, international political negotiations and the evaluation…

1. “Big Yellow Taxi”At once incisive and joyful, this 1970 single — with which Mitchell opened her set last summer — covers a lot of ground in just over two minutes, moving seamlessly from social critique to personal lament. Its observations about industrialization and environmental degradation are still piercingly relevant 54 years later.▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube2. “Night Ride Home”Mitchell’s poetic 1991 album “Night Ride Home” is a highlight among her later releases, beloved by many fans but lesser known to the general public than much of her work made in the ’70s. This moody, atmospheric title…

A judge has ordered a former curator who the British Museum says stole hundreds of artifacts to return any gems or jewelry from the institution that are in his possession.The museum claims that the former curator, Peter Higgs, who once ran the museum’s Greek and Roman antiquities department, stole or damaged over 1,800 artifacts from its collections and sold hundreds of those items on eBay, according to court documents.Officials also want Mr. Higgs to explain the whereabouts of other artifacts that they says the former curator sold online. The court documents state that Mr. Higgs disputes the accusations against him.At…

More than 40 members of the Ukrainian national team are distributed in the center circle of the Tarczynski Stadium in Wroclaw.Players, coaches and backroom staff set their sights on the 30,000-strong crowd clad in blue and yellow as they stepped up to the Vikings’ thunderous pace. Iceland were the architects of the Euro 2016 celebrations but lost the Euro 2024 play-off final thanks to a goal from Chelsea striker Mykhailo Mudryk. Can listen desperately.Strangers hug. The family posed for photos draped in Ukrainian flags. Others shared the moment via video call, possibly from home in war-torn Ukraine, with others some…

When famous people split, fans aren’t always privy to the reason. Most are left to social media sleuthing and questionably sourced rumors to piece the story together. But sometimes, there are couples who choose to come clean.Transparency may hold greater appeal for influencers, who, unlike certifiable A-listers, have an incentive to live as much of their lives on the feed as possible. But even by the oversharing standards of most content creators, admitting that you cheated is going above and beyond the call of duty.Anjali Chakra and Sufi Malik, a popular influencer couple, have announced their breakup after more than…

When the sky darkens during next month’s solar eclipse, electricity production in some parts of the country will drop so sharply that it could theoretically leave tens of millions of homes in the dark. In practice, hardly anyone will notice a sudden loss of energy.Electric utilities say they expect to see significant decreases in solar power production during the eclipse but have already lined up alternate sources of electricity, including large battery installations and natural gas power plants. Homeowners who rely on rooftop solar panels should also experience no loss of electricity because home batteries or the electric grid will…

Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicJustin Timberlake’s sixth solo album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” has been met with a rather unusual amount of critical dismissal as well as weaker than usual sales, becoming his first solo release to miss No. 1 since “Justified” in 2002. Timberlake, once the most prominent male star in American pop music, has become something of a musical afterthought in recent years.That is connected to his musical choices, to be sure, but also to a larger social-cultural backlash in the wake of public re-evaluations of his relationship with Britney Spears, and how…