Author: NY TIMES

The United States made a second round of airdrops of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as the Biden administration continued its efforts to prevent a greater humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian territory.U.S. Air Force cargo planes dropped 36,800 ready-to-eat meals, in a joint operation with the Jordanian Air Force, “to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Tuesday.It said that army troops trained in aerial delivery were part of the airdrop, and that it was planning more such missions. However, the Pentagon said on Tuesday that…

In the latest sign of rising tensions with the United Nations, Israel has recalled its ambassador for consultations, claiming on Tuesday that the U.N. chief was failing to take steps to address a new report finding signs that sexual violence was committed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel.The U.N. report released on Monday, which was largely welcomed in Israel, found “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence had occurred in at least three locations, and “clear and convincing information” that hostages had been subjected to sexual violence, including rape. It said abuse of those hostages still being held…

This author’s childhood crush on Michael Jordan is not unique.If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you couldn’t help but be drawn to MJ’s mystique. When I was a kid from the Bay Area, I used to photocopy every article written about the Bulls star and organize them in a three-ring binder thicker than a King James Bible. The local “Run TMC” Warriors were fun, but nothing could compare to the basketball magic Michael provided from the time I was 7 until I retired in a Wizards jersey at age 26. He even provided one of my favorite…

A Crush Since Day 1In 1997 I wanted a new tax guy. I was referred to Mike. He had a great smile, and I immediately crushed hard. Each year I’d offer up a new persona to get his attention: The damsel in financial distress. The rising PR exec who catered on the side and could cook. Nothing worked; Mike was all business. Fast forward to 2005. At his suggestion, we meet for a drink. Four drinks in, I say, “Can I tell you a secret? I’ve had a crush on you since Day 1.” We just celebrated our 15-year wedding…

For more than 30 years, the Chinese premier’s annual news conference was the only time that a top leader took questions from journalists about the state of the country. It was the only occasion for members of the public to size up for themselves China’s No. 2 official. It was the only moment when some Chinese might feel a faint sense of political participation in a country without elections.On Monday, China announced that the premier’s news conference, marking the end of the country’s annual rubber-stamp legislature, will no longer be held. With that move, an important institution of China’s reform…

OpenAI, in its first public comments about Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the influential artificial intelligence research lab, said that Mr. Musk tried to transform the lab from a nonprofit into a for-profit operation before he left the organization in early 2018.The comments, made in a blog post published on Tuesday evening, are part of an escalating feud between Mr. Musk and OpenAI, which is now at the forefront of an industrywide A.I. boom. The company said it intended to move to dismiss all the claims in Mr. Musk’s suit.Mr. Musk filed the suit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam…

Some Background: What interrupts household chatter?Researchers have long known that growing up in a language-rich environment is vital for early language development. More language exposure early in life is associated with social development, higher I.Q.s and even better brain function.Given the value of such exposure, researchers in Australia were eager to investigate potential factors within the home environment that could be interrupting opportunities for parents to interact verbally with their children. Previous studies on the impact of technology mostly examined a parent’s use of a mobile device, rather than a child’s use of screens, and relied on self-reported measures of…

▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube2. Bob Dylan: “Things Have Changed”Bob Dylan won his first and only Oscar to date for this doomy, bluesy number from Curtis Hanson’s 2000 film “Wonder Boys” — beating out Björk, who performed her nominated “I’ve Seen It All” that night in her iconic swan dress. “People are crazy and times are strange,” a wry, weary Dylan sings on an early and enduring highlight in his 21st-century discography. “I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range/I used to care, but things have changed.”▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube3. Keith Carradine: “I’m…

Israelis largely welcomed a U.N. report that supported allegations of sexual violence during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, even as a top Israeli official accused the United Nations of not doing enough to address the findings — a sign of the rising tensions between them.The U.N. report, released on Monday, found both “reasonable grounds to believe” that sexual violence against multiple people had occurred in at least three locations in Israel, and “clear and convincing information” that hostages taken to Gaza on Oct. 7 had been subjected to sexual violence, including rape.On Tuesday, President Isaac Herzog of Israel said on…

No modern British dramatist polarized his countrymen as much as Edward Bond, who died on Sunday at age 89.To some, he was an unholy terror, relentless in his doctrinaire socialism and disconcertingly fond of violent theatrical effects. To others, he was almost a secular saint, a writer of unflinching integrity in a world of compromise and so sensitive to human frustration that he invariably peopled his plays with characters suffering, often graphically, from extreme forms of oppression and exploitation.But both parties would agree that his first important play, “Saved,” precipitated the end of theatrical censorship in Britain.In 1965, the Royal…