Author: NY TIMES

Shares of Tesla had been on a tear since Donald J. Trump won the presidential election. Investors were betting that the carmaker would benefit from the more than $250 million that its chief executive, Elon Musk, spent to support the Trump campaign.But an 8 percent decline in Tesla’s stock on Tuesday all but wiped out what was left of that rally. Investors who once thought that Mr. Trump could help clear regulatory hurdles for Tesla autonomous driving technology have grown concerned that Mr. Musk is spending too much time in Washington while Tesla sales plummet.They also worry that Mr. Musk’s…

It was 45 seconds too late, but the teacher had a plan.A gunman had just barraged her classroom with an AR-15, killing two students and injuring four others before turning to a classroom across the hall. The bullet-riddled walls were crumbling. Ceiling tiles were falling. If the shooter came back to kill more of her students, the teacher decided, she would stand up and shout, “We love you.”The teacher was Ivy Schamis, whose husband would be waiting at home with a Valentine’s Day dinner; whose son was planning a wedding she couldn’t imagine missing; whose curriculum for this class —…

‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ (1971)By the time Flack released her cover of this Shirelles’ classic, in late 1971, Carole King (who wrote the song with Gerry Goffin) had already done her own slowed-down version on her megaselling LP “Tapestry.” But Flack’s performance is still striking, a haunting showcase for her voice as well as her delicate and entrancing piano arrangement.‘Freedom Song’ (1971)In 1971, Flack performed at an Independence Day festival in Ghana, along with Ike and Tina Turner, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett and Santana. Her a cappella version of the spiritual “Oh Freedom” is a heart stopper,…

Syria’s interim president called on Tuesday for unity and the rebuilding of his fractured nation during a two-day conference meant to chart a path forward after decades of dictatorship.Hundreds of participants attended the long-awaited “national dialogue” to bring together the country’s many religions and sects in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday and Tuesday. But at least one major player was absent: The Kurdish-led militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast was not invited.“Syria calls on you to stand together in unity and cooperation to heal its wounds, soothe its pain and support its recovery,” the president, Ahmed al-Shara, said…

Being a red-carpet host doesn’t sound so bad: just wear something spangly and chat with celebrities on their way into an awards show. Ask a few questions, ideally ones that let actors plug the brands that dressed them, and send them off to collect their trophies.If only it were that easy.On the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, the YouTube star and former late-night host Lilly Singh dutifully performed the role for Netflix’s preshow. She asked Jane Fonda for advice for young actresses, and Pamela Anderson about craft services on her projects. She probed a…

Brian Campbell stood out at the Mexican Open on Sunday night, with spectators deemed a sudden death playoff chaos between two anti-rational players’ profiles: Campbell, a traveler One of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour, while Aldrich Potgieter, a 20-year-old South African prodigy currently leads the tour in driving distance.Campbell beat Borgit after two playoff holes, his first PGA Tour title in just 28 games. There are only two players on the Mexican Open in the top 40 in the official world golf rankings, but Campbell, 31, will win the first place in the Augusta Nationals with a victory.…

Four workers were killed, and six others were injured when part of a highway bridge under construction collapsed in South Korea on Tuesday morning, officials said.By the afternoon, all 10 workers who were at the site were accounted for, South Korea’s National Fire Agency said, after emergency crews had searched through the rubble for victims.The collapse happened about 9:50 a.m. local time near the city of Cheonan, which is about 50 miles south of Seoul, the capital.It occurred during the construction of a bridge connecting sections of the highway, Yonhap, a South Korean news agency, reported. Five steel beams supporting…

Lawyers for Paramount and President Trump have agreed to appoint a mediator in his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.The move to bring in a mediator is another indicator that the two sides are trying to resolve the case, over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, out of court. A mediator could help them reach a settlement, but whether they will do so remains far from certain.Paramount declined to comment. Ed Paltzik, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said in a statement: “President Trump will pursue this…

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said on Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had agreed to drop its lawsuit against the company, lifting a legal cloud over the global crypto industry and signaling a broader retreat by federal regulators.Coinbase, in a post on its website and in a regulatory filing, said it had reached an agreement in principle with the S.E.C. to have the lawsuit withdrawn without any financial penalty. If the S.E.C. confirms the proposed settlement, it would be a remarkable reversal by the agency after years of legal battles against crypto firms.The S.E.C. sued Coinbase, the largest U.S.…

The nation’s largest association of psychologists this month warned federal regulators that A.I. chatbots “masquerading” as therapists, but programmed to reinforce, rather than to challenge, a user’s thinking, could drive vulnerable people to harm themselves or others.In a presentation to a Federal Trade Commission panel, Arthur C. Evans Jr., the chief executive of the American Psychological Association, cited court cases involving two teenagers who had consulted with “psychologists” on Character.AI, an app that allows users to create fictional A.I. characters or chat with characters created by others.In one case, a 14-year-old boy in Florida died by suicide after interacting with…