Author: NY TIMES

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority intends to appoint Muhammad Mustafa, a close economic adviser, as prime minister in the coming days, according to two Palestinian officials, a European Union diplomat and a fourth person with knowledge of the matter.If Mr. Abbas officially appoints Mr. Mustafa, it would amount to a rejection of international efforts to encourage the octogenarian Palestinian leader to empower an independent prime minister who can revitalize the sclerotic authority, officials and analysts said.While Mr. Abbas was set on appointing Mr. Mustafa, a longtime insider within the authority’s top ranks, he was still holding final consultations…

Three of the biggest names in the quarterback market were taken off the board in the first 24 hours of free agency, with Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson assessing their market and took their chance.Everyone has different priorities at a unique stage in their career. The veteran trio also helped shape the quarterback market for the remainder of the offseason as they quickly secured their next contracts.Mayfield set off a chain reaction Sunday afternoon when he agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday night, Wilson agreed to a one-year deal with…

Outdoor Voices, an athletic apparel company, is closing all its stores on Sunday, according to four employees at four different stores who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the news.In an internal Slack message reviewed by The New York Times, some employees were notified on Wednesday that “Outdoor Voices is embarking on a new chapter as we transition to an exclusively online business.” Products in stores are going to be discounted 50 percent, according to the Slack message.The news came as a surprise, two of the employees said, adding that they were not offered severance.Outdoor Voices,…

The House on Wednesday passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the hugely popular video app or have it be banned in the United States.The move escalates a showdown between Beijing and Washington over the control of a wide range technologies that could affect national security, free speech and the social media industry.Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill through the House with limited debate, and it passed on a lopsided vote of 352 to 65, reflecting widespread backing for legislation that would take direct aim at China in an election year.The action…

In the wake of a testy interview with Elon Musk, the former television anchor Don Lemon’s deal for a new talk show on X combusted just days before it was scheduled to air.Mr. Musk called off Mr. Lemon’s partnership with X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the day after filming an hour-and-a-half long interview with the former news anchor at SpaceX’s office in Austin, Texas. The conversation was occasionally tense, Mr. Lemon said, as he asked probing questions about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, Mr. Musk’s reported drug use and his various business ventures.Mr. Lemon said he…

The actress Olivia Munn said on Wednesday that she had been given a diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer last year and soon after had a double mastectomy as part of her treatment.Munn, 43, who has starred in dozens of movies and television shows, including the HBO series “The Newsroom,” wrote in a lengthy social media post that she had tried to be proactive about her health.In February 2023, not long after having a normal mammogram, Munn took a robust genetic test that checked for 90 cancer genes. She said she tested negative for all of them, including…

Neil Young will return his music to Spotify, two years after withdrawing it in protest over the podcast host Joe Rogan’s shows about Covid-19, the veteran rock musician announced on his website Tuesday.Without naming Rogan, Young wrote: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify.” Rogan previously had an exclusive deal with Spotify, which has since been renewed to allow wider distribution of his show.In January 2022, Young drew wide attention by accusing Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines” through Rogan’s show, and he gave…

AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that has long been among Washington’s most powerful lobbying forces, is facing intense challenges as it seeks to maintain bipartisan support for Israel amid the war in Gaza — even as it alienates some Democrats with its increasingly aggressive political tactics.While AIPAC has traditionally been able to count on strong backing from members of both parties, it has taken on a more overtly political role in recent years by helping fund electoral challenges to left-leaning Democrats it considers insufficiently supportive. The tension has been exacerbated by divisions in the Democratic Party over Israel against the backdrop…

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia took a less strident tone on the possibility of nuclear war in an interview released on Wednesday, an apparent attempt to bolster his domestic image as a guarantor of stability before the Russian presidential election this weekend.In a lengthy interview released by Russian state television, Mr. Putin struck a softer tone than in his state-of-the-nation address last month, when he said that the West risked causing the “destruction of civilization” if it intervened more directly in Ukraine. In the interview, Mr. Putin described the United States as seeking to avoid such a conflict, even…

One thing you can no longer accuse the Pittsburgh Steelers of is being conservative. Or not doing everything in his power to put himself in a position to win a championship.That was evident after they pitched and convinced Russell Wilson to join a team whose general manager Omar Khan said less than two weeks ago that he was interested in current quarterback Kenny Peake Te is “confident” and hopes to re-sign the free-agent quarterback. Mason Rudolph unexpectedly led Pittsburgh to its final victory in the 2023 playoffs.deeperWhat to expect from Russell Wilson and the SteelersBringing Wilson on board wouldn’t be…