Author: NY TIMES

When the cryptocurrency exchange FTX declared bankruptcy about 15 months ago, it seemed few customers would recover much money or crypto from the platform. As John Ray III, who took over as chief executive during the bankruptcy, put it, “At the end of the day, we’re not going to be able to recover all the losses here.” He was countering Sam Bankman-Fried’s repeated claims that he could get every customer their money back.Well, it turns out, FTX lawyers told a bankruptcy judge this week that they expected to pay creditors in full, though they said it was not a guarantee…

Members of Congress have introduced a number of different bills intended to boost protections for children and teenagers online.One is a wide-ranging measure, the Kids Online Safety Act or KOSA. It would require online services like social media networks, video game sites and messaging apps to take “reasonable measures” to prevent harm — including online bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation, anorexia, self-harm and predatory marketing — to minors who used their platforms.It would also require the services to turn on the highest privacy and safety settings by default for users under 18. And it would allow young people to limit or…

Yes, the legs. Yes, the line. Yes, the look.But also, less commented on, the voice.Chita Rivera, who died on Tuesday at 91, was a Broadway star as long as anyone — and maybe longer. At first, making her way up in the 1950s, from the chorus of “Guys and Dolls” to Anita in “West Side Story,” dancing was her calling card. In the ’60s and ’70s, comedy and satire followed, with “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Chicago.” Later, in works like “The Rink” (1984), “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993) and “The Visit” (2015), her sense of drama prevailed.Yet for me,…

When a senior U.S. diplomat called the Israeli military last week to request further details about Israeli allegations against a United Nations agency in Gaza, military leaders were so surprised that they ordered an internal inquiry about how the information had reached the ears of foreign officials.The allegations were grave: 12 employees of the organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, were accused of joining Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel or its aftermath.The claims reinforced Israel’s decades-old narrative about UNRWA: that it is biased against Israel and influenced by Hamas and other armed groups, charges that…

Pro-government Iranians gathering near a banner that warns Iran’s enemies — in Farsi and in Hebrew — to “Prepare your coffins,” this month in Tehran.Credit…Arash Khamooshi for The New York TimesIran projects its military power through dozens of armed groups across the Middle East, but how much does it control their actions?That question has taken on new urgency as the United States considers its next steps after an attack by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia on an American base in northwest Jordan. The attack on Sunday killed three soldiers and injured dozens of others.Iranian-backed groups have varying histories and relationships with…

Moments before MJ Zayas and Donald John Krams exchanged vows on Sept. 24, 2022, at the Loft by Bridgeview, an events space in Island Park, N.Y., Mr. Krams was brought to tears when he saw his soon-to-be spouse for the first time.“The green was a must. It’s my favorite color,” said Mx. Zayas, who uses the pronoun they. “Wearing this ensemble and seeing my husband cry at how beautiful he thought I looked in it were the most affirming and unforgettable moments of my life.”Mx. Zayas, 32, a grant coordinator at a nonprofit service provider for people with developmental disabilities…

Gary, Ind., was once a symbol of American innovation. The home of U.S. Steel’s largest mill, Gary churned out the product that built America’s bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers. The city reaped the rewards, with a prosperous downtown and vibrant neighborhoods.Gary’s smokestacks are still prominent along Lake Michigan’s sandy shore, starkly juxtaposed between the eroding dunes and Chicago’s towering silhouette to the northwest. But now they represent a city looking for a fresh start.More than 10,000 buildings sit abandoned, and the population of 180,000 in the 1960s has dropped by more than half. Poverty, crime and an ignoble moniker — “Scary…

Mark Zuckerberg stood to directly address relatives of online child abuse victims in the Senate gallery on Wednesday, a first for the chief executive of Meta and a singular moment in a morning full of tense exchanges during a Judiciary Committee hearing on child safety.“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” Mr. Zuckerberg said, turning his back away from the bipartisan panel of Senators and toward the family members, many of whom were holding photos of their deceased loved ones. “No one should go through the things that your families have suffered.”Mr. Zuckerberg added that the company was…

Taylor Swift, you may have noticed, is everywhere: packing arenas on the Eras tour; filling theaters with her concert film; popping onto your TV screen from a luxury suite at Kansas City Chiefs games, cheering on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.And now she’s living rent-free in Fox News hosts’ heads.After reports that the Biden re-election campaign was angling for an endorsement from the superstar (who backed President Biden in 2020), commentators on the network strapped on their culture-war helmets. “Don’t get involved in politics!” Jeanine Pirro urged her. “We don’t want to see you there!” Another commentator, Charly Arnolt, pleaded, “Please…

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey appointed a new central bank governor early Saturday, hours after the abrupt resignation of his previous appointee, who said she was stepping down because of “a major reputation assassination campaign.”The departing central bank chief, Hafize Gaye Erkan, was the fifth in five years, and the first woman to hold the post. The bank’s deputy governor, Fatih Karahan, was swiftly promoted to take her place.The surprise change-up came about eight months into a shift in Turkey’s economic program aimed at taming a yearslong cost-of-living crisis that has been painful for many Turks. Annual inflation as…