Author: NY TIMES

When Romeo Chicco tried to get auto insurance in December, seven different companies rejected him. When he eventually obtained insurance, it was nearly double the rate he was previously paying. According to a federal complaint filed this week seeking class-action status, it was because his 2021 Cadillac XT6 had been spying on him.Modern cars have been called “smartphones with wheels,” because they are connected to the internet and packed with sensors and cameras. According to the complaint, an agent at Liberty Mutual told Mr. Chicco that he had been rejected because of information in his “LexisNexis report.” LexisNexis Risk Solutions,…

To hear a tuba is to feel it. The vibrations pulse through your body, and its giant bell is even designed to make the air shudder a bit. A tuba is also much harder for a thief to pilfer than, say, a piccolo, or even a trumpet. Yet from 2011 to 2013, tubas started disappearing from high schools in Southern California, for no obvious reason and with no explanation.The news of the tuba thefts formed a jumping-off point for the artist Alison O’Daniel, who used it as the central hub in a wheel with many spokes. The resulting film, “The…

The White House denied on Tuesday that President Biden had set any “red lines” for Israel in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza but warned again that Israel should not attack the city of Rafah, the southernmost city in the enclave, without protections for more than a million people sheltering there.“The president didn’t make any declarations or pronouncements or announcements,” said Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, referring to an interview Mr. Biden gave over the weekend in which he was asked whether he had a “red line” Israel should not cross in its prosecution of the war.In the…

A European humanitarian aid group said on Thursday that about 50 migrants died after their small boat deflated during an attempt to cross the central Mediterranean Sea.A ship belonging to the charity, SOS Mediterranee, spotted the deflating rubber dinghy on Wednesday, in international waters under the Libyan rescue jurisdiction. Twenty-five dehydrated and exhausted migrants were on board.The survivors told the charity that they had been adrift for four days, since the engine on their dinghy broke. Some 50 other people were with them when they departed from the Libyan port of Zawiya, they told the rescuers, including two infants and…

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, debuted an Instagram account on Thursday that announced a new venture, American Riviera Orchard, which appears to be a kitchen and lifestyle brand. Little is known about the brand beyond a 15-second video that features grainy footage of Meghan arranging roses and hydrangeas, posing from afar in a black gown and cooking in what appears to be her kitchen in Southern California.A representative for the duchess confirmed her association with the project but declined to provide further details.Still, there are clues: A trademark application for American Riviera Orchard that was filed in early February seeks trademark…

Friction between Sports Illustrated’s owner and its operator has led to disarray at the venerable magazine in recent months. On Thursday, that dysfunction again came to the fore.Employees were told during a meeting that the magazine would cease publishing its print edition after its May issue, according to Steve Janisse, a spokesman for Manoj Bhargava, the businessman whose handpicked leadership team effectively operates the publication. But that message runs counter to what Sports Illustrated’s owner, Authentic Brands Group, has said about looking for a way to ensure that the magazine endures in print.Authentic Brands, primarily a licensing company that acquires…

This week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:Popcast’s win at the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards for best music podcastThe 2024 Oscars, including Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” and Diane Warren’s reported meltdownThe quick ascent of the downtempo R&B singer 4batz and what the “industry plant” conversation that he’s triggered gets wrongThe new Ariana Grande album, “eternal sunshine,” and how it’s an impressive and modest comeback in advance of her star turn in the upcoming film adaptation of “Wicked”Reports from the opening nights of the…

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had killed a senior Hamas operative in an airstrike in southern Lebanon, the latest in a series of targeted killings there following the deadly Hamas-led attacks against Israel on Oct. 7.The man, Hadi Ali Mustafa, was “a significant operative in Hamas’s department responsible for its international terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said in a statement. It added that he had been involved in attacks “against Israeli and Jewish targets in various countries around the world.” It provided no further details, and its claims could not be independently verified.In a statement, Hamas’s military…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies swiftly criticized a pointed speech by Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, calling the Israeli leader an obstacle to peace, with the Israeli ambassador to the United States characterizing such claims as “counterproductive.”Mr. Schumer’s comments, which included a call for new leadership, amounted to some of the strongest yet by an elected American official. They demonstrated the rising tensions between the U.S. government and Israel, as many Democrats grow increasingly angry over the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel’s offensive in Gaza.The Israeli ambassador, Michael Herzog, called the comments “unhelpful” in…

A full week after the end of the fashion season, Hedi Slimane of Celine released his fall women’s wear collection — as a video. But while he may have been going his own way with timing and format, in one way he was right on trend: Rather than offering up yet another cool-girl-in-the-city collection (trench coats, jeans, blazers, vintage slip dresses), he swerved in an entirely different direction.It was one that focused on the three Ps — pearls, pussy bows and polish — of midcentury chic. The word “pert” also came to mind. Politesse, too. Oh, and pouting. Celine is…