Author: NY TIMES

With the music website’s future uncertain, Ryan Schreiber and Chris Kaskie look back at its start. Source link

Israel’s foreign minister was in Brussels on Monday to address his counterparts from the European Union, as part of a “diplomatic battle” to win support from the bloc amid deepening criticism over the human toll of the war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to consider Palestinian statehood.The foreign minister, Yisrael Katz, was scheduled to meet in a private session with E.U. foreign ministers to discuss defeating Hamas and the return of hostages from Gaza, his office said. In brief remarks to reporters before the meeting, Mr. Katz said he would speak about Israel’s need for international support to succeed…

Anya Firestone’s job as a luxury tour guide in Paris has brought her to many rarefied corners of the city. But only recently did she do something that countless locals and visitors have done over the last 130 years: Book a reservation at Maxim’s, the storied French restaurant that opened in 1893 and has counted Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Margrethe II of Denmark, Jean Cocteau, Jane Birkin and Man Ray among its patrons.“The place was packed,” Ms. Firestone, 35, said of the night she ate there in late November. “There was energy — the ghosts of Maxim’s are probably happy.”Ms. Firestone,…

My sister’s husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. Along with his oncologist, he consulted frequently with his twin brother, who is a doctor. They decided he should have surgery, and then an eight-week course of specialized radiation that is available only at a handful of hospitals. His twin lives near one of them, and he invited my brother-in-law to stay with him and his wife in their large home for eight weeks. The day before my brother-in-law was set to drive there, his twin called and said he could stay with them only if he apologized to his…

Trump marches on As widely expected, Donald Trump handily won the New Hampshire Republican primary, defeating Nikki Haley by double digits.That has left anti-Trump donors and the broader business community glimpsing an increasingly likely future: The former president will become the Republican nominee, and stands a good shot of winning in November.Haley said she would fight on, arguing last night that “this race is far from over.” But the former South Carolina governor will head to her home state — she’s skipping the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 8 — badly trailing Trump in polls there, with many of her Palmetto…

Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicThere was much to celebrate in jazz this past year — great new albums from Meshell Ndegeocello, Ambrose Akinmusire and Immanuel Wilkins; outstanding live performances by Cecile McLorin Salvant and Brandon Woody. It was also a year of reflection, following the passing of Wayne Shorter, Ahmad Jamal, Jaimie Branch, Les McCann and others.Conversations about jazz often extended beyond the bounds of the genre, thanks both to work by open-minded jazz musicians (Kassa Overall, Chief Adjuah) uninterested in that label or the expectations that come with it, and also because of music released…

In the intense war of words over the Israel-Gaza war, a particular phrase has popped up repeatedly. At protests, on fliers and in some mainstream publications, it is common to see Israel described — or more likely, assailed — as a “settler-colonial” state.The concept of settler colonialism originates in academia, where its use has surged over the past two decades, whether in case studies of particular places or sweeping master narratives that purport to explain everything since Columbus. It has also been widely taken up on the activist left, invoked in discussions of gentrification, environmental degradation, financial capitalism and other…

Israel was trying to demolish part of a Palestinian neighborhood as it pursued a plan to create a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel when around 20 Israeli soldiers were killed Monday in an explosion, according to three Israeli officials and an Israeli officer involved in the demolitions.The explosion on Monday occurred after Gazan militants fired toward a tank guarding an Israeli unit that had been setting explosives inside Palestinian buildings on the border in central Gaza with the intention of demolishing them, according to a news briefing given by the Israeli military on Tuesday. In the firefight, the explosives…

If you wanted to explain the way a certain kind of very online tastemaking works in 2024 to an alien, or a 45-year-old, you could do a lot worse than showing them Perfectly Imperfect.Since starting early in the pandemic, the Substack newsletter, along with its popular Instagram account, has become a kind of Debrett’s for a clout-chasing universe of Lower Manhattan influencers, podcasters, “it” girls, artists, scribblers, memesters, scenesters and a ubiquitous young man named Zack Bia. (There is also the occasional bona fide celebrity.) Each entry consists of a guest recommending stuff: books, films, records and clothes, but also…

As stock markets soared in 2023, so did the fortunes of many of the world’s biggest hedge funds.The 20 best-performing hedge funds made $67 billion in gains last year, triple what they reported in 2022, according to data released by LCH Investments, a so-called fund of funds that ranks the top 20 firms on lifetime gains, after fees.The strong performance by elite financiers follows the rally that stock markets have enjoyed over the past year. The S&P 500, Wall Street’s most widely followed benchmark, hit a record last week. That has benefited hedge funds, especially those that make focused bets…