Author: NY TIMES

Fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift likely generated by artificial intelligence spread rapidly across social media platforms this week, disturbing fans who saw them and reigniting calls from lawmakers to protect women and crack down on the platforms and technology that spread such images.One image shared by a user on X, was viewed 47 million times before the account was suspended on Thursday. X suspended several accounts that posted the faked images of Ms. Swift, but the images were shared on other social media platforms and continued to spread despite those companies’ efforts to remove them.While X said it…

Qatar has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of hurting efforts to secure the release of hostages after a leaked recording appeared to catch the Israeli leader criticizing the country, which has been a key mediator in talks.Qatar, which allows Hamas’s political leaders to maintain a presence in Doha, has been deeply involved in negotiations between Israel and the militant group on a cease-fire and the release of about 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, though the two sides appear to remain far apart on an agreement.In a recording that aired on Israeli television on Tuesday, a voice that appears…

The International Court of Justice is set to rule on Friday on South Africa’s demand that Israel immediately suspend its military offensive in Gaza. The ruling is an initial step in a wider case about whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the enclave.Decisions by the court, the United Nations’ top judicial body, are binding, but the court has few means of enforcement. Still, a ruling against Israel would add to international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the war.Here’s what you should know about the ruling.What is the case?This month, the South African government accused Israel…

This summer, the U.S. men’s basketball team will take the first step toward its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, from February 8-11. The 12-player roster for the event will be the first in line for Team USA to defend its gold medal in Paris.Based on the 18 players invited to participate in the national team training camp in Brooklyn, New York, from February 2 to 4, the committee faces a very challenging task in selecting the final roster, and the current college students may make The decision becomes more complicated. – Mainly…

Over this past Thanksgiving holiday, Timothy Craig Braun and Peter David Arnold broke the news to their 19-year-old fraternal twin daughters: After 25 years together, they were finally getting married.It was a surprise announcement since the couple, who live in Montclair, N.J., had always told their daughters that they were already married.“I was overcome with emotion and super happy for them,” said Beatrice Braun-Arnold, who is a sophomore at Denison University in Ohio. She said that the family had some open conversations in the following days, leaving them all feeling better. “It was an eventful Thanksgiving, to say the least,”…

After a portion of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner’s fuselage blew out in midair minutes after taking off from Portland, Ore., on Jan. 5, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded about 170 Max 9 planes, causing airlines that rely heavily on the aircraft to cancel thousands of flights and inconveniencing many passengers.On Wednesday, the F.A.A. approved inspection and maintenance procedures for the planes, clearing the way for the grounded Max 9 planes to fly again.Airlines said they planned to resume flying the Max 9s this week. Here’s what passengers should know about the plane and their rights if…

Los Angeles County agreed to pay $5 million to the top executive of an election software company who had been arrested and charged in 2022 with mishandling voter data in a case that prosecutors dropped a few weeks later, the executive’s lawyer said this week.The payment, which settles a lawsuit filed last year, is yet another twist for Eugene Yu, 66, the co-founder of the software company Konnech.Mr. Yu and his company faced a barrage of right-wing conspiracy theories after the 2020 election including that Konnech, which is based in Michigan, had stored election data in China. Mr. Yu repeatedly…

The planned execution of a death row inmate by the state of Alabama on Thursday evening will be carried out by a procedure that has never been used for capital punishment in the United States. The inmate, Kenneth Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 stabbing murder, will be put to death by inhaling nitrogen gas, a method known as nitrogen hypoxia.Supporters of the method say it is fast and painless. But earlier this month, the United Nations Human Rights Office urged Alabama to stop the execution, saying it could amount to torture and be in violation of human rights…

But the Met faces acute challenges. Mounting live opera is expensive, requiring lavish sets, star singers and a much larger orchestra and chorus than the biggest Broadway shows can boast. Inflation has added to the opera company’s burden, with the costs of shipping and materials increasing sharply. And ticket revenues last season from in-person performances and movie-theater broadcasts were down by about $25 million from before the pandemic.In addition to tapping its endowment, the Met said it would institute measures to cut costs and increase revenues that were suggested by Boston Consulting Group, which conducted a study of the company’s…

American officials said Israel was now proposing a 60-day pause in the fighting in exchange for a phased release of hostages. That proposal, the American officials said, could provide a basis for renewed talks. News of Mr. Burns’s travel was earlier reported by The Washington Post.The Biden administration is anxious to cut a deal that will halt the fighting for longer than the one-week pause that began in November and provide some breathing room to figure out what comes next.The talks were set to begin amid tensions between Israel and Qatar, which this week accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of…