Author: NY TIMES

In an open letter released Monday, the NAACP urged black college athletes to “reconsider” any potential decisions to attend Florida’s public universities following news last week that the University of Florida would eliminate its diversity and inclusion programs office.Gainesville’s decision comes in response to a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year that prohibits the state’s public universities from using state or federal funds for diversity programs or activities. In a March 1 memo, the university announced it would eliminate 13 positions, including chief diversity officer, and reallocate $5 million for DEI initiatives.Monday’s letter, signed by NAACP Board…

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Inflation sped up slightly in February on an overall basis and a closely watched measure of underlying price increases was firmer than economists had expected.The fresh data underscores that fully returning inflation to a normal pace is likely to be a bumpy process — and backs up the Federal Reserve’s decision to proceed carefully as officials consider when and how much to lower interest rates.The Consumer Price Index climbed 3.2 percent last month from a year earlier, up from 3.1 percent in January. That’s down notably from a 9.1 percent high in 2022, but it is still quicker than the…

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Airbnb said this week that it was banning the use of all indoor security cameras in its listings worldwide, an update to its current policy allowing the devices to be installed in common areas such as hallways and living rooms.In a statement on Monday, the company said that most of the listings on its site do not have indoor security cameras, but that it was making privacy a priority.Previously, security cameras were allowed in common areas so long as hosts disclosed them to guests before booking. They had to be visible, not hidden, and were not allowed in sleeping areas…

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The Israel-Hamas war was prominently addressed on the Oscars stage on Sunday in an acceptance speech for “The Zone of Interest,” which follows the domestic life of a Nazi commandant whose house is just outside the Auschwitz concentration camp.The director Jonathan Glazer read from prepared remarks after the film won for best international feature, offering thanks to collaborators before turning to the conflict.“All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present — not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather, ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It…

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Itay Chen, a 19-year-old U.S. and Israeli citizen thought to have been a taken hostage on Oct. 7 was in fact killed that day, his parents said on Tuesday.The couple, Ruby and Hagit Chen, said that the Israeli military told them that it had intelligence indicating that their son, a service member, was killed while defending civilians on the border of Gaza during the Hamas-led invasion.“Our hearts are broken,” the Chens said in a statement. “We loved him so much, and we would have done anything to bring him home alive.”In an interview with The Times earlier this year, Itay’s…

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Nearly 70 children were evacuated from an orphanage in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and taken to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a charity involved in the effort said on Tuesday.The charity, SOS Children’s Villages International, said it had worked “through diplomatic channels with all relevant authorities” to arrange to move the children, who were orphaned before the current war, to its orphanage in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.The German Embassy in Israel said that it had assisted in the effort after a request for help in mid-November from SOS Children’s Villages. The embassy said that evacuating the orphans…

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In this city of high-rise apartments and uber-hip coffee shops selling $8 lattes, the handiwork of maintaining hanoks is a devotion to a slowly vanishing piece of history.In two neighborhoods, a pair of hanoks — traditional Korean homes, both built over 100 years ago — are being carefully preserved. One a museum, the other a renovated home, these hanoks remain much as they always have, even as Seoul continues its vertical ascent around them.On one fall afternoon — what turned out to be the final day of work before another South Korean winter set in — Choi Jae Pil, a…

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Inflation sped up slightly in February on an overall basis and a closely watched measure of underlying price increases was firmer than economists had expected.The fresh data underscore that fully returning inflation back to a normal pace is likely to be a bumpy process — and back up the Federal Reserve’s decision to proceed carefully as officials consider when and how much to lower interest rates.The Consumer Price Index climbed 3.2 percent last month from a year earlier, up from 3.1 percent in January. That’s down notably from a 9.1 percent high in 2022, but it is still quicker than…

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As online dating became as easy as swiping a finger across your phone screen, the companies who own apps like Tinder and Bumble became Wall Street darlings. But about a decade later, those platforms are now struggling to live up to expectations, and investors have grown frustrated and eager for something new.Match Group and Bumble — which make up nearly the entire industry by market share — have lost more than $40 billion in market value since 2021. Even in an age when the apps are a staple on people’s smartphones, the two companies are laying off workers and reporting…

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