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The mysterious crash of a private jet outside Moscow is believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Wagner militia who led an armed rebellion against Moscow in June. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, explains what we’ve learned about the crash, and what a potential political assassination says about President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Troianovski, we’ve, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: The Times Locations: Moscow, Vladimir Putin’s Russia

After a closely watched vote, driverless cars, once a Silicon Valley fantasy, have become a 24-hour-a-day reality in San Francisco. Are autonomous vehicles an interesting and safe transportation alternative? Or are they a nuisance and a traffic-blocking disaster waiting to happen? Cade Metz, who covers technology for The Times, describes the unique challenges of coexisting with cars that drive themselves.

Persons: Cade Metz Organizations: The Times Locations: San Francisco

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death. When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, have been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars line the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby make their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains. Ydriss Nora, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno and Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The Times, explains how an extraordinary set of circumstances turned the city into a death trap.

Persons: Ydriss Nora, Mike Baker Organizations: The Times Locations: West Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, Seattle

Last week, wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui that became the deadliest in the United States in over a century. The town of Lahaina, once the royal capital of the kingdom of Hawaii, was one of the places hit hardest — its historic center was decimated, including Waiola Church, the oldest on the island and a cherished meeting place. Today, the minister of Waiola Church, Anela Rosa, explains what it means to lose Lahaina and what it will take to rebuild it.

Persons: Anela Rosa Organizations: Waiola Locations: Maui, United States, Lahaina, Hawaii

Satellites owned by Elon Musk’s Starlink orbit the earth and beam an internet connection to almost anywhere. In 2019, the company sent its first 60 or so satellites into orbit — today, it has some 4,500 circling the planet, with around 1.5 million customers across about 50 countries and territories. Adam Satariano, a technology correspondent for The Times, details the company’s rise and power, and discusses the implications of one man’s controlling it all.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Adam Satariano Organizations: Elon, The Times

The wildfires sweeping Canada have become the largest in its modern history. Across the country, 30 million acres of forest have burned — three times as much land as in the worst American fire in the past 50 years. The scale has forced an international response and a re-evaluation of how the world handles wildfires. Firefighters on the front lines discuss the challenges they face, and David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The Times, explores how climate change has shifted thinking about wildfires.

Persons: David Wallace, Wells Organizations: Firefighters, The Times Locations: Canada

Last year, Giorgia Meloni, an Italian far-right politician, became prime minister on an agenda that many feared would mark a radical turn for the country. Now, her visit to the White House last week has bolstered her credentials on the international stage. Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how she got here and the path she has carved out for Europe’s far-right parties.

Persons: Giorgia, Jason Horowitz Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Italian, Rome

On Wednesday morning, Hunter Biden was scheduled to a guilty plea in a Delaware courtroom, marking the end of a yearslong federal investigation that many Republicans believed would put the president’s son in prison, and put an end to the Biden presidency. Michael Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The New York Times, explains why none of that has happened.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden, Michael Schmidt Organizations: Republicans, The New York Times Locations: Delaware

“Barbie” is premiering this weekend and is trying to pull off a seemingly impossible task: taking a doll best known for reinforcing conventional stereotypes of women and rebranding it as a symbol of feminism, all without coming off as a shameless ad for the doll’s maker, Mattel. Willa Paskin, a journalist and host of Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast, recounts her conversation with the film’s director, Greta Gerwig, about how she approached the challenge.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, Willa Paskin, Greta Gerwig Organizations: Mattel

For months, President Biden has been wrestling with one of the most vexing questions in the war in Ukraine: whether to risk letting Ukrainian forces run out of the artillery rounds they desperately need to fight Russia, or agree to ship them cluster munitions — widely banned weapons known to cause grievous injury to civilians, especially children. On Friday, the Biden administration announced that it would send the weapons, which have been outlawed by many of Washington’s closest allies. David E. Sanger, a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story behind the president’s contentious decision.

Persons: Biden, Washington’s, David E, Sanger Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Russia

Last month, a rebellion inside Russia left lingering questions about what really happened and about what the ramifications would be for President Vladimir V. Putin. Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, discusses what Mr. Putin has done since the mutiny and looks at how those actions might reveal how vulnerable the president is.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Anton Troianovski, Mr Organizations: The Times Locations: Russia, Moscow

In a San Francisco courtroom, federal regulators are fighting to block one of the biggest deals in the history of Silicon Valley. David McCabe, who covers technology policy for The New York Times, talks about Lina Khan, the F.T.C. chair who is the architect of the lawsuit, and the growing campaign to finally rein in big tech.

Persons: David McCabe, Lina Khan Organizations: The New York Times Locations: San Francisco, Silicon Valley

For months, much of the world has been watching and waiting as Ukraine prepares for a major counteroffensive in its war with Russia. That battle is now underway, and it’s not what was expected. Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times, reports from the front line.

Persons: it’s, Andrew E, Kramer Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv

In the decades after World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, Germany deliberately underinvested in its military. But that’s about to change. Katrin Bennhold, a correspondent in Europe and former Berlin bureau chief, explains why Germany is re-entering an era of militarization, and what that will mean for its national identity.

Persons: Katrin Bennhold Locations: Germany, Europe, Berlin

When the #MeToo movement gained momentum in exposing abuses at the highest levels of power, the restaurant industry was exposed as a chief offender. In 2020, the James Beard Awards, the food world’s main kingmaker, announced that there would be no winners in either 2020 or 2021 after allegations against several top chefs. Brett Anderson, a contributing writer on The Times’s Food desk and a former member of the awards committee, discusses the attempts to hold the industry to account.

Persons: James Beard, Brett Anderson

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has created a crisis in the American Northeast and beyond, with air pollution in New York reaching its worst level in modern history. David Wallace-Wells, a climate columnist for The Times, explains why this happened, and why there is so little we can do to keep it from happening again.

Persons: David Wallace, Wells Organizations: The Times Locations: Canada, American, New York

As the world begins to experiment with the power of artificial intelligence, a debate has begun about how to contain its risks. One of the sharpest and most urgent warnings has come from a man who helped invent the technology. Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times, speaks to Geoffrey Hinton, whom many consider to be the godfather of A.I.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful ever made, has revolutionized the way we see the universe. The name was chosen for James E. Webb, a NASA administrator during the 1960s. But when doubts about his background emerged, the telescope’s name turned into a fight over homophobia. Michael Powell, a national reporter for The Times, tells the story of Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist whose quest to end the controversy with indisputable facts only made it worse.

A little over a decade ago, a small Israeli company created what would become the world’s most powerful and notorious hacking tool. Mark Mazzetti, who is a Washington investigative correspondent for The Times, explains the surprising story of the NSO Group and why, despite banning its technology, the United States kept trying to use it.

In the face of an escalating opioid epidemic, the F.D.A. recently approved over-the-counter sales for Narcan — a lifesaving nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Jan Hoffman, who covers health law for The Times, explains why the new availability of Narcan could change the trajectory of the epidemic.

This month, an anonymous producer jolted the music industry by using artificial intelligence to impersonate the singers Drake and the Weeknd, creating a fake track, “Heart on My Sleeve,” that quickly went viral. Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The Times, talks about how the song’s rise and fall could presage widespread changes in the way music is made.

At the very last minute, both Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News decided to settle their closely watched defamation lawsuit, rather than make their cases at trial. Jeremy W. Peters, who covers media and politics for The Times, was inside the courtroom as it happened.

”The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show in the history of Broadway, will close its doors on Sunday after more than three decades. We went backstage during one of the final performances before the show’s famous chandelier crashes down one last time.

☆ 'Let's bring France to a halt': Oil refineries blocked and trains halted by pension reform protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Christophe Archambault | Afp | Getty ImagesStrike action over plans to raise the pension age in France caused widespread disruption on Tuesday, as trains came to a near-standstill, many schools were shut and fuel deliveries were blocked from refineries. Lou Benoist | Afp | Getty ImagesEric Sellini, a representative from the CGT union at TotalEnergies, told Reuters that a strike blocking the Gonfreville refinery in Normandy would run until Thursday. Another at the Donges refinery in western France is set to run until Friday, he added. Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty ImagesThe strikes come as French workers grapple with red-hot inflation, which accelerated unexpectedly in February to hit 6.2% year-on-year. Around two thirds of the public support protests against the pension reforms, according to an Elabe survey.

This fall, as Russia’s losses mounted in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced a draft. Almost immediately, hundreds of thousands of men fled the country, though many more stayed. Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The Times, spoke to Russians at a draft office in Moscow to gauge how they felt about going to war and who they blame for the fighting.

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