Author: NY TIMES

WACO, Texas — Fans participated in a dunk contest at halftime of Baylor University’s game against Texas Tech on Sunday. In the final round, a contestant asked Brittney Griner to pass the ball to him off the backboard, and she immediately agreed without any practice reps. Her first attempt completely missed the contestant. Her second pass was a little too soft and the fan was already going down when he caught the ball, so he was forced to shoot it in instead of being able to dunk.Despite the outcome, as the crowd cheered his effort, Griner decided he should give…

Our First Day as a FamilyAt the Hanoi orphanage, 4-month-old Leo would not meet my eye. Good! Leo’s withdrawal suggested he was attached to his current caregivers. If, after being separated from his birth mother, he attached once, he would likely attach again. Our first night, Leo cried inconsolably as I held him. His 12-pound body had already absorbed so much disruption. After hours of pacing, I opened our balcony door. The sun was rising onto our first full day as a family. I looked down at Leo’s face and saw the beginning of a smile. “We’re going to be…

The NumbersWalmart said its comparable store sales were up 4 percent in the three months that ended in late January compared with the year before. The number of transactions at Walmart rose 4.3 percent, but the average ticket price slightly decreased 0.3 percent, a sign that shoppers spent a little less on shopping trips. The retailer’s online U.S. sales increased 17 percent, and its online global sales jumped 23 percent, surpassing $100 billion. Losses for the e-commerce business were slowing as the company spent less on fulfillment costs, John David Rainey, Walmart’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. He…

An Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos in test tubes should be considered children has sent shock waves through the world of reproductive medicine, casting doubt over fertility care for would-be parents in the state and raising complex legal questions with implications extending far beyond Alabama.On Tuesday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said the ruling would cause “exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make.”Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as…

As she grew into adolescence, Arocena became the lead singer of the big band Los Primos, then created Alami, a jazz band made up of all women. (It later was reformed as Maqueque with the Toronto-based saxophonist and bandleader Jane Bunnett.) In 2014, the French D.J. and producer Gilles Peterson, who founded the London indie label Brownswood Recordings, invited Arocena to participate in “Havana Cultura Mix — The Soundclash,” a collaboration between international electronic artists and Cuban musicians.In some ways, Arocena’s tendency to mix Afro-Cuban folkloric music, post-salsa “timba” music and outside influences like R&B reflected the mid-2010s Havana scene…

The United States on Tuesday cast the sole vote against a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying it feared it could disrupt hostage negotiations.It was the third time Washington wielded its veto to block a resolution demanding a stop to fighting in Gaza, underlining America’s isolation in its continued, forceful backing of Israel.Over four months of war, Israel has come under increasing international pressure over the scope and intensity of its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with many leaders decrying the high civilian death toll.Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, Amar…

Russia’s main security agency said on Tuesday that it had arrested a dual citizen of Russia and the United States on accusations of committing state treason by raising funds for Ukraine.The Federal Security Service, known as the F.S.B., identified the detainee as a 33-year-old woman who lives in Los Angeles. It said in a statement that she had raised money for a Ukrainian organization that bought weapons and other equipment for Ukraine’s military.Perviy Otdel, a group of Russian lawyers who specialize in cases involving accusations of treason and other politically charged allegations, said that the woman had been accused of…

Monica Hickey, who for decades swathed celebrities and socialites for their lavish nuptials in the haute bridal salons at the New York department stores Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, died on Jan. 26 in Valle de Elqui, Chile. She was 100.She died at the home of her daughter, Caitlin Margaret May, who announced the death.Ms. Hickey ran the bridal boutique at Bendel’s under the company’s president, Geraldine Stutz, a celebrated figure in fashion retailing, from 1960 until she was hired away by Bergdorf’s in 1967 to run a department under her own name, the Bridal World of…

Capital One announced on Monday that it would acquire Discover Financial Services, in a deal to combine two of the largest credit card companies in the United States. But before the transaction can be consummated, the deal must overcome regulatory scrutiny.Here’s what you need to know about Capital One and Discover’s potential megadeal, and what it could mean for consumers.Why now?The deal, valued at more than $35 billion, would give Capital One access to a credit card network of more than 300 million cardholders, adding to its existing customer base of 100 million.Richard D. Fairbank, the chief executive of Capital…

Probably only Americans of a certain age remember when the Volkswagen Beetle was the best-selling imported car in the United States and the hippest ride to a Grateful Dead concert was a Volkswagen Microbus.Volkswagen is trying to tap some of that nostalgia in its latest push to regain the status and sales it enjoyed in the United States during the Beetle’s and Microbus’s heydays in the 1960s. But this time it hopes its top models will be electric.The German carmaker is second only to Toyota globally but is a niche player in the United States. Part of its plan to…