Author: NY TIMES

Even before the drone strike that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan on Sunday, the Biden administration was planning for a moment just like this, debating how it might strike back in ways that would deter Iran’s proxy forces and send a message that Tehran would not miss.But the options range from the unsatisfying to the highly risky.Mr. Biden could order strikes on the proxy forces, a major escalation of the whack-a-mole attacks it has conducted in recent weeks in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. So far, those attacks have put a dent into the abilities of the Iranian-backed groups…

Officials from Egypt and Qatar were set to present Hamas with a new Israeli truce proposal after high-level talks in Paris focused on negotiating a deal to suspend the fighting in Gaza and release hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that discussions would continue this week, signaling at least the potential for progress toward an agreement as the fighting nears its fourth month. Talks on Sunday were “constructive,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said, but cautioned that “significant gaps” remained.A person briefed on the talks said Israel had presented a proposal for Egypt and…

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry is filled with frustration. Cook until boiling to the surface. Until he let out a roar. Until he tore the jersey from the collar to No. 30.In 43 minutes of playing time, he scored 46 points on 35 shots and made only 3 free throws. He hit the game-tying layup at the end of regulation. In the final minute of overtime in Game 1, he forced a turnover and then hit a stunning corner 3 to set up Klay Thompson for the game-tying 3-pointer that kept the Warriors from relegation. Then in the second overtime,…

If vanity is the soft underbelly of maleness, a vulnerable area between the armor of masculinity and the kill zone, it appears it was Donald J. Trump’s famous self-regard that was the target when Nikki Haley ramped up her attacks on her opponent in New Hampshire this week.Soon after Mr. Trump appeared to confuse Ms. Haley in a speech with the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a Friday night rally in New Hampshire, Ms. Haley pounced. Using a strategy out of the “Mean Girls” playbook (chapter heading: “The Underminer”), Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and former ambassador…

What next for Evergrande’s creditors? A Hong Kong court on Monday ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, the heavily indebted Chinese property giant. The decision comes two years after the company defaulted, setting off a financial crisis at other developers and adding to the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy.The company’s dissolution raises questions about fairness for overseas creditors — which could have wider implications for foreign businesses operating in China.How Evergrande fell: The company was once deemed too big to fail, racking up debt to expand during a property boom that made the real estate sector a key driver of…

Amazon said on Monday that it was abandoning plans to buy iRobot, the maker of the self-driving Roomba vacuum, after regulators raised concerns the deal would hurt competition.The announcement is a rare admission of defeat by Amazon, which has in recent years acquired an eclectic mix of companies such as Whole Foods and MGM Studios, and is a sign of how the world’s largest tech companies are being forced to adjust their business practices, products and policies as a result of stiffening regulatory scrutiny globally, particularly in the European Union.In November, E.U. antitrust regulators warned Amazon that they might try…

Philips Respironics announced on Monday that it would halt sales of all of its breathing machines in the United States after reaching a settlement with the Food and Drug Administration over continuing problems with the devices.Millions of the company’s ventilators and CPAP machines, used to ease breathing at night, were recalled after reports that they blew bits of foam and potentially toxic gases into consumers’ airways.Under the settlement, Philips said it would have to meet a list of standards in a “multiyear” plan before it could resume business in the United States. The company said further details would be disclosed…

“Don’t think you know me,” Thom Yorke intones near the end of the Smile’s second studio album, “Wall of Eyes.” He adds, “Don’t think that I am everything you say.” With its new LP, the Smile makes itself increasingly elusive. It’s now a band intent on destabilizing structures and dissolving expectations.The Smile is still unmistakably a Radiohead spinoff. It’s the trio of Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead, with the British jazz drummer Tom Skinner. Yorke’s tormented voice has stayed upfront, and the songwriting leans into Radiohead’s dissonances, odd meters and fully enveloping aura of anxiety.The Smile’s 2022 debut album,…

The brightly colored packaging is a slick mix of ombré pink and lime green. The nicotine inside comes wreathed in a “strawberry kiwi” flavor.Increasingly, plastic disposable vapes like this one are making their way into the hands of children, with one in five young people in Britain between the ages of 11 and 17 trying vaping last year, according to Action on Smoking and Health, an independent public health charity.Soon, they will be banned in Britain, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Monday, as he unveiled a package of measures to ban single-use vapes, restrict flavors, and regulate packaging and…

Back when Nikki Haley, the last woman standing in the race for the Republican nomination, began dating her now-husband, she took a look at him and asked him what his name was.Puzzled, he told her it was Bill, which she already knew.“You just don’t look like a Bill. What’s your whole name?” she replied, to which he answered, “William Michael.”“From that point on, I started calling him Michael, and all my friends did the same,” she wrote in her 2012 memoir, “Can’t Is Not an Option.”“Before we knew it, he was universally known as Michael,” she continued. “Everyone who knew…