January 30, 2025

  x In the Syrian capital Damascus, anticipation was running high on Wednesday. Ahmed al-Shara, who led the overthrow of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, was expected to address the public for the first time since his rebel coalition seized power almost two months ago. But the speech never came. Instead, a series of critically important […]

  x Hira Anwar, 14, lived in two contrasting worlds in New York, where she was born and raised. Outside her home, she was a typical American teenager, laughing with friends, posting videos on TikTok and dreaming of a boundless future. Inside the home, her reality was very different. Her parents, Pakistani immigrants who had

  x Two passengers on the American Airlines jet that crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday night were world-class ice skaters who worked as coaches in the United States. The skaters, two champions from Russia, shared a partnership both on the ice and in marriage. The Skating Club of Boston confirmed in a social

  x A week after the Trump administration abruptly ordered a sweeping halt to U.S. foreign development aid, the effect is already being felt in war-torn Ukraine. Several humanitarian organizations say they have been forced to suspend operations, including assistance to war veterans and internally displaced people. The orders, which were issued while the Trump

  x Among the Palestinians released on Thursday in a hostage-for-prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas was Zakaria Zubeidi, who over the past two decades has been a militant, a theater director and an escaped prisoner whose flight stunned Israelis and Palestinians alike. Mr. Zubeidi, 49, rose to prominence as a militant leader during the

  x A street artist dances with his dog, a blind Cupid lifts a flaming apple and a hunched Atlas holds the world on his back. Taken together, the images could mean a new venture will lead to love and success; or that the viewer should beware a hasty proposal of marriage; or that the

  x Follow live updates on RFK Jr.’s second confirmation hearing. At Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings, beginning on Wednesday, senators are expected to question him closely about his controversial views on vaccines. For years Mr. Kennedy has questioned the safety of vaccines, including those for polio and measles, two diseases that continue to

  x The Justice Department on Thursday moved to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, the first deal to be challenged by antitrust enforcers during President Trump’s second term. In a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the government said the deal “risks substantially

  x OpenAI, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company that has been on a yearslong money-raising frenzy, is in talks with the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank for an investment up to $25 billion, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Some of that money could be used to cover OpenAI’s commitment to Stargate, the $100

  x Follow live updates on RFK Jr.’s second confirmation hearing. Caroline Kennedy wrote a scathing letter to key senators on Tuesday, calling her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a “predator” addicted to attention from airing dangerous views on vaccinations and who is unfit to be the nation’s health secretary. She urged lawmakers questioning Mr.