Author: NY TIMES

Nearly 20 years ago, when Sleater-Kinney released its towering seventh album, “The Woods,” there was a convincing case to be made that the trio was the most vital, and underrated, working American rock band.Born of the fervent feminist spirit of the riot grrrl movement and the Pacific Northwest’s fertile D.I.Y. scene, the group spent the second half of the ’90s releasing increasingly sophisticated punk albums and eventually, on its righteous 2002 release “One Beat,” maturing into one of the few indie-rock bands making meaningful protest music in the aftermath of 9/11.On “The Woods,” Sleater-Kinney managed to kick things into an…

Israel and Gaza. Yemen and the Red Sea. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq — and now Pakistan, too.At every flashpoint in a set of conflicts spanning 1,800 miles and involving a hodgepodge of unpredictable armed actors and interests, there’s been a common thread: Iran. Tehran has left its imprint with its behind-the-scenes-backing of combatants in places like Lebanon and Yemen, and with this week’s direct missile strikes on targets in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.The Iran connection stems partly from Iran’s decades-long efforts to deter threats and undermine foes by building up like-minded militias across the Middle East.In addition, Iran itself, like neighboring…

Each day this week has brought a new and fleeting reminder to the executives and politicians at the annual World Economic Forum meeting of the two wars threatening global security and clouding the economy. Ukraine’s president spoke on Tuesday. Israel’s spoke on Thursday.Neither was able to hold the collective attention of a gathering that this year has focused overwhelmingly on artificial intelligence and populist politics.Gaza and Ukraine have made daily appearances on the public agenda in Davos, along with climate change and economic inequality. But in the warm halls and slushy streets around town, conversations almost inevitably turn to the…

TAMPA, Fla. — Jason Kelce walked off the field alone, head lowered and clutching a helmet he may never wear again.It’s an overly somber sight for an image bearer so closely tied to the city in which the team plays, a 13-year center who best represents the team’s success while making his sixth All-Pro appearance. The player, a 36-year-old, once seemed like he would experience it again in another Super Bowl.Instead, Kelce stood on the sidelines, emotionally soaking in the final seconds of what could be the final loss of his final season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had 32 points…

A couple of days after Aishat Bolomope’s wedding on Dec. 31, the newlywed realized that she might be spending her honeymoon on the choppy seas of internet outrage. Friends from as far as her native Nigeria said they recognized her in a video clip that drew millions of views online.A dispute between a wedding party and a coffee shop in Indianapolis had turned into a referendum on wedding etiquette and cultural norms, all of it warped by the distorting lens of social media.“The more I read, the more it broke my heart,” said Ms. Bolomope, a 28-year-old engineer.At the center…

By now, they were supposed to be well into the first leg of the three-year Life at Sea cruise, sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia.Instead, more than a month after the cruise was abruptly canceled, one couple is stranded in an Istanbul hotel and on the verge of becoming homeless; another woman has moved to Ecuador because she can’t afford to pay her mortgage; and a man, recently diagnosed with cancer, has delayed his treatment because he doesn’t have the money to pay for it.On Tuesday, 78 would-be Life at Sea passengers sent a letter to…

Sheryl Sandberg said on Wednesday that she would not stand for re-election to Meta’s board of directors in May, ending her 14½-year run in a formal role at the social networking company.Ms. Sandberg had remained on the nine-seat board after stepping down as Meta’s chief operating officer in 2022. In a post to her personal Facebook page on Wednesday, she said she would still be an adviser to the company and would “always be there to help the Meta teams.”“The Meta business is strong and well positioned for the future, so this feels like the right time to step away,”…

One of the newest battlefields in the abortion debate is a decades-old federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, known by doctors and health policymakers as EMTALA.The issue involves whether the law requires hospital emergency rooms to provide abortions in urgent circumstances, including when a woman’s health is threatened by continuing her pregnancy. But, as with many abortion-related arguments, this one could have broader implications. Some legal experts say it could potentially determine how restrictive state abortion laws are allowed to be and whether states can prevent emergency rooms from providing other types of medical care, such…

When Nadya Tolokonnikova, one of the founding members of the anti-establishment punk collective Pussy Riot, reached out to John Caldwell on Discord, an encrypted messaging app, he asked if she was a bot.“She just said ‘haha,’” said Mr. Caldwell, who was already familiar with her work. “I was very suspicious.”Ms. Tolokonnikova had developed an interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain and had heard about Mr. Caldwell, a partner at a financial services company who specialized in crypto, from a friend. “I was jumping on Zooms with random people with no romantic intentions, just learning about crypto,” she said.They met for dinner…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Thursday appeared to rule out a postwar peace process that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, rebuffing calls from the United States to start working toward that ultimate goal.“In any arrangement in the foreseeable future — with an arrangement or without one — Israel must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference, referring to an area including occupied territory that Palestinians hope will one day become their independent state. “This clashes with the idea of sovereignty. What can…