Author: NY TIMES

Some tiny homes seem so ideal that it’s tempting to avoid changing them, even when life demands otherwise. That’s how Pam Austin felt when her family began outgrowing the 450-square-foot log cabin she owns on Guemes Island, off the coast of Washington.In 2000, Ms. Austin and her now ex-husband bought the little house, which sits on a beachfront lot, as a getaway from their primary home in Seattle. At the time, Ms. Austin, 72, said, “it was charming, but in bad shape” — overrun by mice and riddled with mildew.The structure had been built on another island in the early…

If you were planning on watching the final season of “Jack Ryan” or eight seasons of “House” without commercials on Amazon Prime next year, get ready to dig a little deeper into your pockets.In September, Amazon announced it would soon add advertisements to Prime Video, its streaming service, and this week announced when that change would go into effect: Jan 29. Customers wanting to avoid the ads would have to pay an extra $2.99 a month.Less than a decade ago, the streaming era took off on the promise of letting users cut the cord from expensive cable bills and enjoy…

Neri Diaz thought he was ready for a crucial juncture in California’s ambitious plans, closely watched in other states and around the world, to phase out diesel-powered trucks.His company, Harbor Pride Logistics, acquired 14 electric trucks this year to work alongside 32 diesel vehicles, in anticipation of a rule that says diesel rigs can no longer be added to the list of vehicles approved to move goods in and out of California’s ports. But in August the manufacturer of Mr. Diaz’s electric vehicles, Nikola, took back the trucks as part of a recall, saying it would return them in the…

Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a cultural shift in the way we talk about mental health. It’s as though the years of isolation and uncertainty helped us understand how vital our emotional needs were to our overall well-being.Now that we’re paying more attention to our inner lives, it’s also essential that we take action. Fortunately, there are a number of things that everyone can do to nourish their mental health and find moments of joy.Here are some of our favorite tips from the past year as we prepare to enter 2024.1. Try a proven way to…

Jermaine Jackson, one of Michael Jackson’s older brothers and a founding member of the Jackson 5, was accused of sexual assault in a civil suit filed Wednesday in California.In the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Rita Barrett accuses Mr. Jackson, 69, of sexual abuse, sexual battery, sexual assault, harassment and rape relating to an incident that she says happened at her Los Angeles home in 1988. In the court papers, Ms. Barrett says that Mr. Jackson forcefully entered her home and assaulted her, inflicting “severe emotional, physical and psychological injury, including humiliation, shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic…

New details released by the Israeli military about the accidental killing of three Israeli hostages in Gaza City include that there was a gap of 15 minutes between the fatal shootings of the first two hostages and the third and that a commander had urged the third hostage to come out of hiding just before he was fatally shot.Among other new details were that the lookout soldiers who fired the bullets that killed the third hostage did not hear an order to hold fire.The Israeli army has been under intense pressure from the families of the hostages and the general…

A powerful storm bringing strong, gusty winds as it moves across Britain has left thousands of customers in Wales and England without power, delivered heavy rain and flood warnings, and disrupted train journeys ahead of the long New Year’s weekend.A possible tornado damaged some homes in England’s greater Manchester area, at one point leaving more than 3,000 homes without power on Thursday, officials said.Police and fire department officials in the Manchester area said they received numerous reports late Wednesday of “significant damage” to properties battered in what may have been a small-scale tornado. Firefighters worked through the night and early…

“I think we have about five more years where we can get away with this,” she said, laughing.She said it was important to her that her children, who are 3 and 4, had the countdown experience. “To me, it’s about starting the new year right,” she said. “Especially the 4-year-old, she knows what is happening. Her last day of school, she told her teachers, ‘See you next year.’ She gets the concept of one year ending and the next one starting, and that it is special.”Ever since Kate Sullivan became the kids leader at the Westchester location of Life Time,…

For deal makers, 2024 is a year to look forward to, if only because 2023 wasn’t necessarily one to celebrate.Despite some notable transactions, the year presented challenges to the bankers and lawyers who advise corporate clients on big takeovers and initial public offerings.Global M.&A. fell to a 10-year low. About 53,529 deals worth a combined $2.9 trillion were announced, down 17 percent annually by volume, according to data from L.S.E.G.The busiest sectors included energy — led by Exxon Mobil’s takeover of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s acquisition of Hess — and health care, which was topped by Pfizer’s roughly $43…

Michael D. Cohen, the onetime fixer for former President Donald J. Trump, said in court papers unsealed on Friday that he had mistakenly given his lawyer bogus legal citations generated by the artificial intelligence program Google Bard.The fictitious citations were used by Mr. Cohen’s lawyer in a motion submitted to a federal judge, Jesse M. Furman. Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and served time in prison, had asked the judge for an early end to the court’s supervision of his case now that he is out of prison and has complied with the conditions…