Author: NY TIMES

Rayshawn Bennett, a rapper known as YFN Lucci, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one gang-related charge in Atlanta, his lawyers said, as part of a deal with prosecutors in a case interconnected with the racketeering charges against the Atlanta rap crew YSL.Mr. Bennett was part of a wide-ranging 2021 indictment, brought by District Attorney Fani T. Willis of Fulton County, that accused him of murder, aggravated assault and violating the state’s criminal racketeering law. In 2022, Ms. Willis used the same racketeering law to charge Young Thug, the popular rapper, YSL leader and rival to Mr. Bennett.The trial against Young…

Turkey’s Parliament voted on Tuesday to allow Sweden to join NATO, putting the Nordic country one step closer to entering the military alliance and easing a diplomatic stalemate that has clouded Turkey’s relations with the United States and hampered Western efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.The measure passed after a vote of 287 to 55, with four abstentions in the 600-member body. It will go into effect once it is published in the country’s official gazette, usually a swift formality. That would make Hungary the only NATO member that has not approved Sweden’s accession, depriving the alliance…

This Western mutual-defense alliance is central to the pushback against Russia, even though Ukraine is not a member. Source link

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Maples Pavilion was packed, and before the final horn sounded, Tara VanDerveer’s serenade began.The inevitable became official when rookie forward Nunu Agara drove the ball downfield and OSU head coach Scott Rucker motioned for his Beavers not to foul. The crowd rose to its feet and roared loudly, making this historic moment tangible.VanDerveer showed up to the gym on Sunday, tied with Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins in NCAA basketball history. She would be left alone at the top of the mountain.Senior guard Hannah Jump waved and the serenade began. Time is…

365 DipsOn a Cape Cod beach last January, I braced for my daily cold water plunge. “Can I join you?” asked a stranger. I hesitated. But her red hair and wide smile reminded me of my younger self. “Sure,” I said. Ashley is 29. I’m 47. For seven minutes in frigid water, we shared our stories: her chronic illness and career change; my failed marriage and struggles raising a child with cancer. Every day since our first encounter, we’ve met to immerse ourselves in the ocean. We bond in a daily baptism. I now can’t imagine braving water, or life,…

Chinese regulators on Tuesday appeared to backpedal from a plan to reduce how much money people spend on online video games, after the proposal had tanked video gaming companies’ stocks and raised doubts about the government’s commitment to reviving China’s slowing economy.The draft rules disappeared from the website of the National Press and Publication Administration, the agency overseeing the proposal, after previously being posted there for public comment. Instead, the page displayed an error.The agency, which issues licenses to game publishers and regulates the industry, did not issue any notice of retraction. An employee who answered the phone said she…

Dear listeners,When Billy Joel was working on what would become his breakout 1977 album, “The Stranger,” he played the opening chords of the title track for his producer Phil Ramone, whistling a melody that he imagined another instrument would play in the final recording. “I whistle the whole thing and I finish,” he wrote in 2013, “I look at him and I say, ‘So what instrument should that be?’” Ramone responded, “You just did it.” The rest is music history.On Monday, Joel announced he’ll be releasing his first new pop single in nearly two decades next week. Fortuitous timing! While…

Cold, almost naked and surrounded by Israeli soldiers with M16 assault rifles, Ayman Lubbad knelt among dozens of Palestinian men and boys who had just been forced from their homes in northern Gaza.It was early December and photographs and videos taken at the time showed him and other detainees in the street, wearing only underwear and lined up in rows, surrounded by Israeli forces. In one video, a soldier yelled at them over a megaphone: “We’re occupying all of Gaza. Is that what you wanted? You want Hamas with you? Don’t tell me you’re not Hamas.”The detainees, some barefoot with…

A car plowed into a barrier set up by protesting French farmers early on Tuesday, killing one woman and injuring her husband and daughter, as France faced growing rural fury at perceived overregulation and increased diesel fuel prices.The new government headed by Gabriel Attal, the 34-year-old prime minister, faced its first crisis with barricades spreading across highways throughout the southwest of the country. The protests mirrored similar demonstrations in Germany, driven by a sense of marginalization among farmers that the extreme right has been quick to exploit.“This is the France of the forgotten,” Jordan Bardella, the president of the anti-immigrant…

DETROIT — Detroit Lions players have an often-shared experience. A rite of passage indeed. You’re told you won’t win anything. This team has a reputation for failure. Players know this very well and hear it often.”‘Gee, you guys are no good. You can’t do anything. Everybody on this team, I’m sure somebody told them that,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said Sunday night. “‘You’re on the Lions. You can’t do anything.”In layman’s terms, just leave it to St. Brown—he has more receipts during tax season than your accountant. This is his experience. Three years ago, he joined a roster that…