Author: NY TIMES

You’d think Wayne LaPierre would have read the playbook. After decades in the spotlight, the former chief executive of the National Rifle Association could have been expected to know that, for public figures, conspicuous consumption is always a bad look.This is seldom truer than when sartorial choices come into play. And among the dominant motifs in the reporting and online chatter about Mr. LaPierre’s civil corruption trial were his fashion habits and the unpardonable fact that the face of an organization purporting to speak for the country’s heartland had billed it hundreds of thousands of dollars for suits, many from…

So when The Springfield News-Leader, a newspaper that serves Springfield, Mo., reported that Trader Joe’s planned to open a store there with a quote from a company statement, it was noticed.“I’m happy to confirm we have plans to open a new store in Springfield,” the Trader Joe’s spokeswoman had written, according to the newspaper.But “Springfield” proved not descriptive enough. There’s Springfield, Fla., Springfield, Mass., Springfield, Ill., Springfield, N.J., Springfield, Ohio, Springfield, Ore., Springfield, Pa., Springfield, Vt., Springfield, Tenn., and Springfield, Va.Springfield is also where “The Simpsons” takes place. The show’s creator, Matt Groening, who acknowledged in recent years that the…

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether it’s appropriate to offer an unsolicited medical diagnosis. Source link

At the beginning of “Cineshape 2,” Williams naturally emphasizes differences among the instruments, like the contrast between volatility from the viola and held notes on the cello. But gently melded together by the piano — Williams’s use of that easily dominant instrument tends to be unusually restrained — they blend more and more.“Bells and Whistles” featured Otto, the violinist, and Campbell, the cellist, making ricocheting and tapping sounds, and whistling slides up the fingerboard. At the piano, Williams sometimes reached into the instrument and manipulated the strings as she played, giving notes a metallic halo or, conversely, a curt percussiveness.…

The main United Nations aid agency that serves Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere in the region has “reached a breaking point,” its leader has warned, as donors have pulled funding from the agency and Israel imposed further restrictions on its operations and called for its closure. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, the chief lifeline for Gaza’s besieged population of 2.2 million people through the Israel-Hamas war, has lost $450 million in donor funding, including from the United States, since Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency’s employees were involved in the Hamas-led Oct.…

Claude Montana, the audacious and haunted French designer whose exquisite tailoring defined the big-shouldered power look of the 1980s — an erotic and androgenous tough chic that brought him fame and accolades until he was felled by drugs and tragedy in the ’90s — died on Friday in France. He was 76.The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode confirmed the death but not specify a cause or say where he died.“His clothes were fierce, with a power that was both militaristic and highly eroticized,” said Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.…

Dani Alves, who until recently was one of global football’s golden boys, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison this morning in Spain for sexual assault.A dynamic and technically proficient right-back, he was an integral part of Barcelona’s side that set new standards in the European competition between 2008 and 2016. He made 126 appearances for Brazil during a 22-year career, winning 43 titles – an astonishing achievement that makes him the second most decorated footballer in history. Only his former team-mate at Camp Nou, Lionel Messi, has more trophies.This success, combined with a relentlessly optimistic public…

Then, Ms. Liu had to leave. She was running late to dinner with a friend. They said their goodbyes, and that they wanted to see each other again.Binge more Vows columns here and read all our wedding, relationship and divorce coverage here.Three days later, Mr. Choi attended an event at the New-York Historical Society, near her Upper West Side apartment. He texted her that he was in her neighborhood, so she told him to stop by her place. (Ms. Liu’s mother was staying at her apartment at the time. She can’t speak English, and he can’t speak Mandarin, so they…

Index fund investing has swept the world. In December, for the first time, U.S. investors entrusted more money to index funds than actively managed funds, in which a manager picks stocks or bonds for you.There’s a good reason for the index funds’ popularity. For most people, owning a little piece of the entire market, which you can do at low cost with an index fund, has been more profitable than buying and selling securities, either on their own or through a manager.But the relentless growth of index funds has come at a cost. One significant problem is that the most…

Cryoport, a major embryo shipping company, said on Friday that it was “pausing” its business in Alabama as it evaluated the state’s Supreme Court decision that declared frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization to be children.“Until the company has further clarity on the decision and what it means for Cryoport, clinics and intended parents, it is pausing all activity in Alabama until further notice,” read an email received by an Alabama fertility clinic and shared with The New York Times.The email said that Cryoport would “not be able to assist” with a scheduled shipment, and instead would offer a…