Author: NY TIMES

First, there were talking digital assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. Then there were online chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard. Now, the two are merging.On Thursday, Google introduced Gemini, a smartphone app that behaves like a talking digital assistant as well as a conversational chatbot. Responding to voice and text requests, it can answer questions, write poetry, generate images, draft emails, analyze personal photos and take other actions, like setting a timer or placing a phone call.Immediately available to English speakers in more than 150 countries and territories, including the United States, Gemini replaces Bard and Google Assistant.…

In an emotional ode to Sinead O’Connor at the Grammys, Annie Lennox performed “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Irish singer-songwriter’s cover of the Prince original that became a No. 1 hit.A forceful performer known for her lilting voice and her political provocations, O’Connor died in July at 56. Her rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” her best-known track, highlighted her ability to veer from breathy high notes to penetrating, heavy vocals, delivering performances with an emotional gut punch.There was a bit of irony in Lennox’s performance: In 1991, the year that O’Connor won the Grammy for best alternative music performance…

Pakistan heads to the polls on Thursday for an election that analysts say will be among the least credible in the country’s 76-year history, one that comes at a particularly turbulent moment for the nation.For nearly half of Pakistan’s existence, the military has ruled directly. Even under civilian governments, military leaders have wielded enormous power, ushering in politicians they favored and pushing out those who stepped out of line.This will be only the third democratic transition between civilian governments in Pakistan’s history. And it is the first national election since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from power after…

Dawn Levesque, 77, goes to learn about World War II. Heidi Barnett, 43, a mother of two, comes to buy presents for her children. Justin Beblawi, 25, has visited since he was a kid and now goes to work there as a clerk.For people of all ages in Pasadena, Calif., Vroman’s Bookstore, founded in 1894, has been a mainstay, a meeting place, a reliable sanctuary in a world of rapid change. When its founder, Adam Clark Vroman, died in 1916, he left the bookstore to his godson, Alan Sheldon, a Vroman’s employee.The current chairman and majority shareholder, Joel Sheldon III,…

A Drive to CincinnatiThe response was immediate. This was unlikely to be a reaction to the P.P.I., her friend wrote. A nutritional deficiency was certainly possible. But the friend would be worried about a tumor too. When was her brother planning to go home? If he was going to stay in Chicago, one of their colleagues there might be willing to see him right away. He didn’t say it, but she felt that he was telling her she wasn’t overreacting — that her brother did need to be seen promptly. She was the vice chairwoman of the neurology department at…

It’s hard to believe that at 80 years old, after a groundbreaking career in music, there are still new achievements left for Joni Mitchell. But on Sunday night, she did something for the first time: performed on the Grammys.Joined by Brandi Carlile, Jacob Collier, Lucius, Blake Mills, Allison Russell and SistaStrings, the singer-songwriter played “Both Sides Now.”Carlile, one of Mitchell’s most high-profile champions, is largely responsible for bringing her hero back to the stage, and she introduced Mitchell, who earlier won the Grammy for best folk album for “Joni Mitchell at Newport.” Nine years ago, Mitchell had an aneurysm and…

As mediators pursue a deal that would free hostages from Gaza in exchange for a pause in Israel’s military campaign, a small group of relatives of Israeli hostages says that the government should keep waging war against Hamas — even if it prolongs their loved ones’ captivity.Family members of three hostages say that Israel should not agree to a deal with Hamas before the Israeli military has achieved its objectives in the war. They have formed a group, called Forum Tikva, or “hope,” to press their position.That puts them at odds with the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, the…

Russian authorities on Thursday banned from the presidential race the only candidate who had openly contested President Vladimir V. Putin’s hold on power in Russia, and who made his opposition to the war in Ukraine central to his campaign.The move by Russia’s Central Electoral Commission, the body that administers elections in Russia, was the latest predictable twist in a campaign that few doubt will result in Mr. Putin’s re-election in March.Mr. Putin’s expected victory in the March 15-17 presidential election would secure him a fifth term in the Kremlin, cementing his rule as one of the longest and most consequential…

The latest episode of Ryan Murphy’s new series, “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans,” recreates Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball, held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1966.The event, which honored Katharine Graham, the former publisher of the Washington Post, was a coveted invite. And the guests, who included Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra, were, according to The New York Times, “as spectacular a group as has ever been assembled for a private party in New York.”The series depicts the ball through imaginary footage shot by the Maysles brothers, the documentary team. It suggests a cattier…

During last spring’s banking crisis, when a competing lender went under, New York Community Bank pounced, acquiring a big chunk of its business. Now, it is paying dearly for that decision.The pain stems largely from a weakening commercial real estate market that impelled NYCB — which operates more than 400 branches under brands including Flagstar Bank — to admit to mounting losses. In a piece of symmetry with last year’s crisis, the bank said its newfound size after the acquisition of Signature Bank, had accelerated its troubles by forcing it to keep more money on hand, crimping its profitability and…