Author: NY TIMES

Gen. Frank Kitson arrived in Northern Ireland in September 1970, charged with leading a brigade of British paratroopers in Belfast. The 30-year struggle known as the Troubles, pitting loyalists, who wanted to stay part of Britain, against Republicans, who wanted to separate, was just beginning — and over the next two years, General Kitson would do much to shape the course of the conflict.By then, General Kitson was considered one of Britain’s leading warrior-intellectuals. He had just come off a yearlong fellowship at Oxford, and he had used his time there to write a book, “Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency…

Klay Thompson last came off the bench in March 2012. He was 22 years old at the time and an unproven rookie. Monta Ellis started ahead of him. Nate Robinson came off the bench next to him. Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers. Chauncey Billups, 47, is the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a member of the Clippers.Thompson was initially elevated to the starting lineup due to Stephen Curry’s ankle issues and the trade of Monta Ellis. That game against the Clippers was the final of Curry’s third season. He left after nine minutes and would…

There was also the matter of meeting his friends and family. Tylan would say things like, “They’ll love you because I love you.” But I knew loving me would be more palatable if we were closer in age. Even 10 years older is much more acceptable than 19. You just don’t hear about couples being that far apart in years, especially when the older partner is a woman.For the first year, we were successful at keeping our relationship quiet. There was a midnight skinny dip at the river, making out on a giant velour bean bag, and indoor camping with…

Over the last 20 years, stock pickers have had a dismal record. Most haven’t come close to beating the overall stock market.But occasionally, there are exceptions. In some periods, stock pickers rule, and the start of this year was one of those times.In fact, it was the best January for actively managed stock mutual funds since Bank of America began compiling data in 1991. It wasn’t just that they turned in handsome returns for investors. The entire stock market did that. The S&P 500 and other stock indexes set records during the month.It was that active stock funds did even…

The family of Brian Wilson, the musical architect whose genius helped power the Beach Boys, is seeking to place him under a conservatorship following the death of his wife, Melinda, last month.According to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this week by lawyers representing the potential conservators, Mr. Wilson, 81, has “a major neurocognitive disorder,” and “is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health.” Melinda Wilson had previously provided care for her husband, but following her death on Jan. 30, the appointment of a conservator has become necessary, according to the petition filed…

When the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most influential pro-Israel group in the United States, wants to use its muscle, it can call on its considerable resources to run negative ads against lawmakers who oppose its agenda and pour money into funding a challenger.When the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker group that is pushing for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, wants to push its message, its Middle East lobbyist turns to tactics like playing guitar with schoolchildren in the occupied West Bank and sharing video messages about their fears with members of Congress on Capitol Hill.Going…

On Wednesday, two days before Russian authorities reported his death, Aleksei A. Navalny was sentenced to another term in a special punishment cell in an Arctic prison, a notoriously harsh form of incarceration generally used to force inmates into subjugation.The sentencing marked the 27th time that prison authorities had sent Mr. Navalny into a punishment cell, according to Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman. If he were to have served this last term in full, he would have spent a total of 308 days in similar cells, Ms. Yarmysh said.According to Eva Merkacheva, a Russian journalist who has covered the country’s prisons…

Wallpaper is a powerful design tool that can transform a room.You start with a white box and end up with what feels like an entirely different space, wrapped in an intricate floral design or a bold geometric pattern.But which one: Intricate or bold? Floral or geometric? With so many colors and patterns available, choosing one can feel almost impossible. And once you do, how do you avoid botching up the installation?Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe, of the Los Angeles-based design firm Nickey Kehoe, often wrap rooms in color and pattern, so we asked them for advice. And Mr. Nickey, who…

When New York magazine’s finance advice columnist dropped an article that went viral on Thursday about falling victim to a $50,000 scam, my heart skipped a beat.My own financial planner had gone to jail years ago, which I’d chronicled in a few columns. Nearly all of us are vulnerable to scams, at least sometimes. What would I have done if someone called and insisted that my children, in particular, were in grave danger?The writer, Charlotte Cowles, who once had a weekly business column with The New York Times, described crooks spinning a fantastical tale: First, they impersonated Amazon and told…

The NewsGrowing numbers of children and adolescents are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs to take simultaneously, according to a new study in the state of Maryland. The phenomenon is increasing despite warnings that psychotropic drug combinations in young people have not been tested for safety or studied for their impact on the developing brain.The study, published Friday in JAMA Open Network, looked at the prescribing patterns among patients 17 or younger enrolled in Medicaid in Maryland from 2015 to 2020. In this group, there was a 9.5 percent increase in the prevalence of “polypharmacy,” which the study defined as taking…