Author: NY TIMES

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, rejected an offer by the Trump administration to relinquish half of the country’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support, according to five people briefed on the proposal or with direct knowledge of the talks.The unusual deal would have granted the United States a 50 percent interest in all of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including graphite, lithium and uranium, as compensation for past and future support in Kyiv’s war effort against Russian invaders, according to two European officials. A Ukrainian official and an energy expert briefed on the proposal said…

Intel, a fallen Silicon Valley icon trying to restore its reputation as America’s most prominent semiconductor company, is working with the Trump administration on a plan to turn over the operation of its chip-making plants to a giant Taiwanese rival.Over the past few months, Frank Yeary, the interim executive chairman of Intel, has spoken with administration officials and leaders of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company about a deal that would separate Intel’s ailing manufacturing business from its semiconductor design and product business, according to four people with knowledge of the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.TSMC, which produces an…

In Sly & the Family Stone’s prime, from 1968 to 1973, the band was one of music’s greatest live acts as well as a fount of remarkable singles including “Everyday People” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” There was a shining optimism to its sound, which mixed funk with the ecstasy of gospel, a little rock and a touch of psychedelia — as well as a vision of community and brotherhood that stood out in a period of political separatism.The visionary behind it all was Sly Stone, who wrote, produced and arranged the music, winning acclaim as the author of…

Naama Moses, a volunteer selling merchandise to support the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of the captives, ascribed this to the pain that many felt when they saw the three men who were freed last week.“Perhaps containing your disappointment would be easier at home in front of the telly, on your own,” Ms. Moses said.Dr. Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the hostage families group, said that while the men released Saturday were talking and walking on their own, it was evident from the video of their release that they needed medical care.“Now they…

((Editor’s Note: This week, to commemorate Black History Month, sports Harlem Global Travel Agency and its contribution to basketball, entertainment’s vision and overall commitment to goodwill will be emphasized. The series will end on Sunday, February 16th.Sonny Hill recalls the days when he and his childhood friend Wilt Chamberlain would go to the movies and to the news media, where Harlem Global Travel Agency often appears. Seeing players like Reece “Goose” Tatum and Marques Haynes during that time resonated with Chamberlain and sparked ambitions.The mission of the Global Traveler to break racial barriers and stereotypes has caught Chamberlain’s attention. But…

The top foreign policy official for the European Union had a blunt assessment on Friday of the Trump administration’s apparent willingness to give Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, much of what he wants in Ukraine, even before negotiations to end the three-year war begin.“It’s appeasement,” the official, Kaja Kallas, declared at the Munich Security Conference. “It has never worked.” Ms. Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, was hardly the only European diplomat uttering the word “appeasement,” with all its historical resonance, though she was one of the few willing to do so on the record.It was an almost-universal description…

The Trump administration accelerated plans for widespread work force cuts across the government on Friday, as employees at multiple federal agencies learned they would be losing their jobs.Agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department were the latest to be hit with layoffs as President Trump and a team led by the billionaire Elon Musk ramped up an initiative to cut government spending and overhaul government. The administration has recently focused its efforts on an estimated 200,000 probationary workers, who do not receive the same protections as many other federal employees.On Friday, officials at the E.P.A. said…

A Senate committee is investigating whether a prominent cryptocurrency investor violated federal tax law to save hundreds of millions of dollars after he moved to Puerto Rico, a popular offshore tax haven, according to a letter reviewed by The New York Times.Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, sent the letter on Jan. 9 to Dan Morehead, the founder of Pantera Capital, one the largest crypto investment firms.The letter said the Senate Finance Committee was investigating tax compliance by wealthy Americans who had moved to Puerto Rico to take advantage of a special tax break for the island’s residents that can…

In early February, Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian college student, won the Memory League World Championship, an online competition pitting people against one another with challenges like memorizing the order of 80 random numbers faster than most people can tie a shoelace.The renowned neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire, who died in January, studied mental athletes like Mr. Rajakumar and found that many of them used the ancient Roman “method of loci,” a memorization trick also known as the “memory palace.”The technique takes several forms, but it generally involves visualizing a large house and assigning memories to rooms. Mentally walking through the house…

Following a Grammy Awards and a Super Bowl halftime show in which he featured heavily in absentia — at least as a punchline — life goes on for Drake, who released his first new album on Friday since his much-publicized beef with Kendrick Lamar.The album, “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” a collaboration with PartyNextDoor, a longtime Drake associate with success as an enigmatic R&B singer, pop songwriter and producer, was released via multiple record companies at a fraught moment: Drake is currently suing his own label, Universal Music Group, or UMG, for defamation and harassment.In a lawsuit filed last month,…