Author: NY TIMES

David L. Mills, an internet pioneer who developed and, for decades, implemented the timekeeping protocol used by financial markets, power grids, satellites and billions of computers to make sure they run simultaneously, earning him a reputation as the internet’s “Father Time,” died on Jan. 17 at his home in Newark, Del. He was 85.His daughter, Leigh Schnitzler, confirmed the death.Dr. Mills was among the inner circle of computer scientists who in the 1960s through the ’90s developed Arpanet, a relatively small network of linked computers located at academic and research institutions, and then its globe-spanning successor, the internet.It was challenging…

Cellphones can track what we say and write, where we go, what we buy and what we search on the internet. But they still aren’t being used to track one of the biggest public health threats: crashes caused by drivers distracted by the phones.More than a decade after federal and state governments seized on the dangers that cellphone use while driving posed and began enacting laws to stop it, there remains no definitive database of the number of crashes or fatalities caused by cellphone distraction. Safety experts say that current estimates most likely understate a worsening problem.The absence of clear…

“Selfish,” Justin Timberlake’s first new solo song in six years, covers a thematic terrain similar to Nick Jonas’s hit “Jealous” (2014), but swaps that tune’s bravado for muted melancholy. “So if I get jealous, I can’t help it,” Timberlake croons, in a flatter approximation of Justin Bieber’s more successful forays into mid-tempo R&B. “I want every bit of you, I guess I’m selfish.” A fun, lightly carbonated beat keeps things moving forward — perhaps the only element of the song aware that it’s not quite as deep as Timberlake thinks. — LINDSAY ZOLADZThe lilting, understated guitars and pattering bongo drums…

Top officials from at least 10 different administrations are trying to forge a head-spinning set of deals to end the Gaza war and answer the divisive question of how the territory will be governed after the fighting stops.The narrowest set of major discussions is focused on reaching a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This would involve the exchange of more than 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas for a cease-fire and thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.A second track centers on reshaping the Palestinian Authority, the semiautonomous body that administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. American and Arab…

The International Court of Justice issued an interim ruling on Friday 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, the ruling added to international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the war. Israel has strongly rejected the genocide charge.Here’s what to know about the ruling.What did the ruling say?The interim ruling came in response to South Africa’s request for “provisional measures” to stop Israel’s military campaign in Gaza while the court…

PHOENIX — The comparison surfaced shortly after Kevin Durant beat the Chicago Bulls on Monday. In the final seconds, the Phoenix Suns forward nailed a double-pump jumper to help the Suns win 115-113. Watched the replay all night long! pic.twitter.com/EEw60HC8Uf — Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024If you thought Durant’s incredible shot was similar to Michael Jordan’s iconic double-pump jumper that eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the first round of the 1989 playoffs, you’re not alone. Several Bulls players from the team agreed.NBC Sports Chicago analyst Will Perdue watched Monday night’s game from a studio in Chicago.…

Is anyone still rocked by Balenciaga’s notorious ad campaign from 2022 featuring teddy bears in harnesses? Seemingly not Kim Kardashian, who was “re-evaluating” her relationship with the fashion house in the wake of the scandal those ads caused, only to be named an ambassador for the brand this week.Nor is Patricia Field. Ms. Field, 82, a merchant, costume designer and lifelong champion of funky alternative style, is a star of Balenciaga’s new “closet” campaign alongside Ms. Kardashian and Nicola Peltz-Beckham.Looking formidable in a black leather trench and toting an updated version of the label’s Le City bag ($2,450), a smiling…

Vince McMahon, the longtime chairman and former chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, resigned from his positions with W.W.E. and its parent company, the T.K.O. Group, on Friday, one day after a former employee accused him of sexual assault and trafficking in a federal lawsuit.W.W.E. employees were informed of the changes in an email sent by Nick Kahn, the president of W.W.E. “He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or W.W.E.,” Mr. Kahn wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.Vince McMahon at W.W.E. headquarters in Stamford, Conn.,…

The genetic testing company 23andMe is being accused in a class-action lawsuit of failing to protect the privacy of customers whose personal information was exposed last year in a data breach that affected nearly seven million profiles.The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in federal court in San Francisco, also accused the company of failing to notify customers with Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage that they appeared to have been specifically targeted, or that their personal genetic information had been compiled into “specially curated lists” that were shared and sold on the dark web.The suit was filed after 23andMe submitted…

Jon Franklin, an apostle of narrative short-story style journalism whose own work won the first Pulitzer Prizes awarded for feature writing and explanatory journalism, died on Sunday in Annapolis, Md. He was 82.His death, at a hospice, came less than two weeks after falling at his home, his wife, Lynn Franklin, said. He had also been treated for esophageal cancer for two years.An author, teacher, reporter and editor, Mr. Franklin championed the nonfiction style that was celebrated as New Journalism but that was actually vintage narrative storytelling, an approach that he insisted still adhere to the old-journalism standards of accuracy…