Author: NY TIMES

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected the latest cease-fire deal proposed by Hamas, calling its demands “ludicrous,” and said Israel would move forward with plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, the southern Gazan city where more than half the enclave’s population is sheltering.Still, Mr. Netanyahu signaled he was open to more talks. He announced he was dispatching an Israeli delegation back to Qatar, where mediation efforts have been taking place.The prime minister’s response came a day after Hamas presented a counteroffer to Israel aimed at securing a cease-fire and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. In a…

Maria and her husband, Aleksandr, are certain that President Vladimir V. Putin will secure a fifth term as Russia’s leader in the presidential election this weekend.But the couple, who live in Moscow with their three children, are not so sure about what will follow. Foremost in their minds are fears that Mr. Putin, emboldened by winning a new six-year term, might declare another mobilization for soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Aleksandr, 38, who left Russia shortly after Mr. Putin announced the first mobilization in September 2022 but recently returned, is even considering leaving the country again, his wife said.“I only…

We’re four days into NFL free agency, and nearly 100 of my top 150 players have come off the board, along with dozens of other signings and a handful of trades. Here are my biggest takeaways from the first week in the new league.Live updates: Free agent news from the NFLFA tracker: New teams and contract details for top 150 free agentsBest available players: Who is still on the market?score: The best and worst free agent tradesLosing four of the top seven players on the roster could be devastating for many teams. Vikings edge players Danielle Hunter, DJ Wonnum and…

The influencers were not in Aspen to ski. In their Barbie-pink ski suits and matching Moon Boots, they rode the Silver Queen gondola to the top of the mountain, smiling and jumping for their cameras and social media feeds. Soon they would get back on the gondola and ride down, perhaps to pose for more content with a glass of Champagne at Ajax Tavern at the resort base.They did not care that after almost two weeks without snow in what was already a below-average year, a storm had finally come through, replenishing the mountain’s steep slopes and giving skied-out bump…

SCRATCHThen I talked to some end-of-life experts. Here’s what I found out.By Shaina Feinberg and Julia RothmanShaina is a writer and filmmaker who interviewed her mother for this story. Julia is an illustrator. March 16, 2024Recently, I had the following conversation with my 82-year-old mother, Mary:Me: Are you prepared to die?My mom: Not really. But I am prepared with my paperwork.You might be wondering why I was asking my mom about her end-of-life preparedness. Well, when my dad, Paul, died suddenly a few years ago, we were completely unprepared.“Dad and I never talked about what he wanted for his funeral,”…

Kobi Libii’s satirical comedy, “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” opens in an art gallery where people are milling about. A young Black man tries to walk through the crowd, constantly apologizing and sidestepping the gallery-goers. He acts as if he feels in the way and out of place. But as we learn when he arrives at his own yarn installation, he’s one of the artists whose work is for sale.The scene says a lot with a little, hitting comic beats but ending deflatedly thanks to the art dealer’s ruthless reaction to this diffidence. Yet the behavior of the young…

The first shipment of aid to reach Gaza by sea in almost two decades was fully unloaded on Saturday on a makeshift jetty in the Mediterranean, marking a milestone in a venture that Western officials hope will ease the enclave’s worsening food deprivation.The ship, the Open Arms, towed a barge from Cyprus loaded with about 200 tons of rice, flour, lentils and canned tuna, beef and chicken, supplied by the World Central Kitchen charity.José Andrés, the Spanish American chef who founded the World Central Kitchen, said his team would begin dispatching the food by truck, including to Gaza’s north, an…

On Jan. 3, 2022, Clare Jacobs, a bird-watcher, was delighted to spot a rare white-tailed eagle, or Haliaeetus albicilla, at a nature reserve on the Isle of Wight in southern England. These birds, also known as sea eagles or ernes, vanished from the region some 250 years ago, but more than two dozen birds have been released on the island since 2019.Mrs. Jacobs trained her camera on the eagle when she noticed something moving in the water below it: a grey seal. The large mammal popped out of the waves and opened its mouth. “It made me jump,” Mrs. Jacobs…

Amanda Kay Cook was tired of relationships that went nowhere.So, in October 2020, she drew up three nonnegotiables and rounded up 30 matches — “like on ‘The Bachelorette,’” said Ms. Cook, 29 — mainly from the dating apps Tinder, Hinge and Bumble, and a few from friends.She rattled off her three nonnegotiables — they must be seeking a long-term relationship, share her political views and feel passionate about social justice — at the start of each required 15-minute FaceTime date. This quickly narrowed the field in half.“If they hemmed and hawed,” about her requirements, she said, “they wouldn’t make the…

Every morning in his townhouse in the tony San Francisco neighborhood of Pacific Heights, the man once referred to as Britain’s Bill Gates gets to work.That man, Mike Lynch, checks in with his investment firm, Invoke Capital, on its recent performance. He speaks with researchers in Cambridge, England, whom he funds personally, about the ways artificial intelligence could be used to help those with hearing difficulties. He receives updates on the heritage Red Poll cattle and other livestock at his farm in Suffolk, in the east of England.Eventually, Mr. Lynch, 58, turns to his most important task: defending himself against…