Author: NY TIMES

The rate of serious medical complications increased in hospitals after they were purchased by private equity investment firms, according to a major study of the effects of such acquisitions on patient care in recent years.The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday, found that, in the three years after a private equity fund bought a hospital, adverse events including surgical infections and bed sores rose by 25 percent among Medicare patients when compared with similar hospitals that were not bought by such investors. The researchers reported a nearly 38 percent increase in central line infections, a dangerous kind of infection that…

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The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had caused “unintended harm” to “uninvolved civilians” in two strikes this week on a densely packed Gaza Strip neighborhood, where, the local health authorities said, dozens were killed.It was a rare admission of fault by the military over its conduct of the war. The military said it was targeting Hamas on Sunday when it launched two strikes on the central Gazan community of Al Maghazi, which has been flooded with Palestinians uprooted by war and crammed into homes by the dozen.“A preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings located near the targets were…

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For 12 years after her husband died, Norma Fitzgerald tried to maintain her independence, living alone in an apartment on the outskirts of Hull, in northern England, despite her mobility worsening as she reached her mid-80s.Then one day in the spring of 2022, she suddenly grew dizzy. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed on her apartment floor, unable to find the strength to get up.She lay there for two days.Eventually, a neighbor realized she hadn’t seen her for some time and called an ambulance.“They had to force the door open,” Ms. Fitzgerald, who is now 87, recalled. She was…

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SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan struggled to find anything to laugh about this season as his team suffered another double-digit loss Tuesday night.Somehow, everyone seems to find something interesting every time Sauchamp steps to the line and shoots a free throw.The Utah Jazz defeated the Spurs 130-118 at Frostbank Center to move to 4-25, with much of that loss related to the team’s attempts to make the 6-foot-8 Sauchamp the starting point guard.The practice was deemed a failure and was canceled, with Soshan returning to the starting lineup with rookie Victor Wembanyama at center and sophomore…

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In their first year together, they met each other’s families. In September 2016, Mr. D’Angelo took Mr. Mach on an “Italian extravaganza experience,” including his hometown Palermo, Milan, Rome, and Panarea, one of the Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily. As they took in the view of the sunset over Stromboli, a volcano that frequently puffs and glows with bursts of lava, they drank Aperol spritzes and said “I love you” for the first time.“You also couldn’t see another human for miles,” Mr. Mach said. “It was a really beautiful thing.” On that trip, Mr. Mach met Mr. D’Angelo’s parents.For Thanksgiving…

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no͞o kŏl-ərA job that requires specialized skills, but not necessarily a college degree, and that is becoming more important in emerging high-tech fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.Step aside, blue collar. And white collar, pink collar and green collar.There’s a new collar in town.“New collar” jobs are those that require advanced skills but not necessarily advanced degrees, especially in emerging high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, electric vehicles and robotics.There are real fears that workers will lose jobs to technology, especially artificial intelligence, in the coming years. But “new collar” optimists (including those at companies looking to hire) frame things…

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Meet the Millers, George and Roxanne, proprietors of the world’s largest collection of mechanical puzzles: physical objects that a puzzler holds and manipulates while seeking a solution. In total, the Miller collection — an accumulation of collections, and collections of collections — amounts to more than 80,000 puzzles. It comprises some five thousand Rubik’s Cubes, including a 2-by-2-by-2 rendering of Darth Vader’s head. And there are more than 7,000 wooden burr puzzles, such as the interlocking, polyhedral creations by Stewart Coffin, a Massachusetts puzzle maker; they evoke a hybrid of a pine cone and a snowflake and are Mr. Miller’s…

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One thing I love about editing the Ask Well column is the camaraderie of it. Every week we answer a health question: Why am I so congested all the time? (I’ve wondered that, too!) Why does my sleep get worse as I age? (I’m right there with you.) Is my coffee habit in need of an intervention? (Pour me another while we figure it out.)When I survey our inbox, I’m amazed at what comes in — questions that cover the joys, agonies, confusions and vulnerabilities of being a person. And luckily for us all, we get to seek out the…

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Rodrigo realizes that, in its first throes, “Love Is Embarrassing.” (It is.) On that throbbing track, she admits the hold “some weird second-string loser” has on her. On another, “Get Him Back,” she jokingly lays out a conflicted revenge plot as the bridge drops to a whisper: “I wanna kiss his face, with an uppercut,” she confesses. “I wanna meet his mom — just to tell her her son sucks.” She’s cataloging her humiliations, but she’s laughing at them, too.She refuses to wallow for long, and I’m convinced this is partly what gives the album its buoyancy. (It’s an approach…

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