Author: NY TIMES

Julie Robinson Belafonte, a dancer, actress and, with the singer Harry Belafonte, one half of an interracial power couple who used their high profiles to aid the civil rights movement and the cause of integration in the United States, died on March 9 in Los Angeles. She was 95.Her death, at an assisted living facility in the Studio City neighborhood, was announced by her family. She had resided there for the last year and nine months after living for decades in Manhattan.Ms. Belafonte, who was white and the second wife of Mr. Belafonte, the Black Caribbean-American entertainer and activist, had…

Oleksii Yukov spends many of his nights dodging drones, navigating minefields and hoping not to be targeted by Russian artillery as he races to collect the remains of fallen soldiers from the battlefield.In just three shattered tree lines around the ruined village of Klishchiivka outside Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought seesaw battles for well over a year, he collected 300 bodies. They were almost all Russian, he said, left behind in maelstrom of violence where the struggle to stay alive often outweighs concern for the dead.Mr. Yusov has been collecting bodies from the bloody fields and battered…

When college basketball players ride team buses to the NCAA tournament, many put on their headphones, listen to songs and soak up the atmosphere. Coaches also sometimes take a moment after poring over last-minute scouting reports to listen to the melody coming through their headphones.These soundtracks may also have a subconscious purpose. Music can calm our nerves or cheer us up. Certain songs can provide a certain level of confidence. A sentimental song might remind us of our grander goals. “Music is shorthand for emotion,” Leo Tolstoy once wrote.So with March Madness upon us, Competitor Wonder what these tournament stars…

Teodora Maria Bun and Menchilou Deo Antopina began watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” like clockwork, together each week after they met in Singapore.For extra oomph, and sometimes with friends, they usually downed shots — including a mystery shot once mixed with durian, the notoriously pungent fruit — each time a drag queen on the reality competition show performed an amazing feat like a cartwheel, split or death drop.“It’s part of our relationship,” said Ms. Antopina, 32, who goes by Mench.She “super liked” Ms. Bun, 30, who goes by Maria, her very first time on Tinder one Sunday evening in July 2020.Ms.…

Artificial intelligence’s integration into everyday life has stirred up doubts and unsettling questions for many about humanity’s path forward. But in Anguilla, a tiny Caribbean island to the east of Puerto Rico, the A.I. boom has made the country a fortune.The British territory collects a fee from every registration for internet addresses that end in “.ai,” which happens to be the domain name assigned to the island, like “.fr” for France and “.jp” for Japan. With companies wanting internet addresses that communicate they are at the forefront of the A.I. boom — like Elon Musk’s X.ai website for his artificial…

When it comes to the artificial intelligence that powers chatbots like ChatGPT, China lags behind the United States. But when it comes to producing the scientists behind a new generation of humanoid technologies, China is pulling ahead.New research shows that China has by some metrics eclipsed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I. talent, with the country generating almost half the world’s top A.I. researchers. By contrast, about 18 percent come from U.S. undergraduate institutions, according to the study, from MacroPolo, a think tank run by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive ties between the United States and…

The Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv was preparing for a performance of Puccini’s “Turandot” at the Metropolitan Opera this month when she saw the news: A Russian drone had hit a building in Odesa, not far from the home of her parents-in-law.She called her family to ensure they were safe. But images of the attack, whose victims included a young mother and children, lingered in her mind. When she conducted that night, she felt the pain of war more acutely, she said, praying to herself when Liù, a selfless servant, dies in the opera’s final act and the chorus turns hushed.“In…

A rainbow haze swirls through India, where raucous laughter rings out as friends and strangers douse one another with fists full of pigmented powder. Holi is a Hindu tradition, an annual celebration of spring. In 2024, crimson, emerald, indigo and saffron clouds will hover over the country on March 25 for one of its most vibrant, joyful and colorful festivals.“Playing Holi,” as Indians say, is an ancient tradition that has spread far beyond India’s borders. Here is what you need to know about the festival.The revelry starts at sundown.Holi (pronounced “holy”), also known as the “festival of colors,” starts on…

You can find more sports’s Coverage of the men’s NCAA tournament is here, and coverage of the women’s NCAA tournament is here. Follow live coverage of the first round of the 2024 Men’s NCAA TournamentOn Wednesday, I boarded a flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas with the express purpose of attending a college basketball game.Not participating in an actual basketball game, mind you. These flights go to Omaha, Nebraska, and Charlotte, North Carolina. In my case, I spent hundreds of dollars for the privilege of sitting (or standing) at various sportsbooks and watch parties watching NCAA tournament games on…

After connecting on Instagram, Bianca Brunette and Norris White grew closer when they happened to be visiting their families in Panama at the same time. Source link