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Gunmen attacked synagogues and churches in two southern Russian cities on Sunday, killing several police officers and a priest, in an apparently coordinated attack that underlined Russia's vulnerability to extremist violence.Officials said six of the gunmen were killed after shootings in two cities, Makhachkala and Derbent, in the Muslim-majority Dagestan region on the Caspian Sea. Armed with rifles and Molotov cocktails, they attacked a synagogue and a church in each of the two cities, according to authorities and religious organizations.Sergei Melikov, governor of Dagestan, described the attack as the latest attack "on our brotherhood, on our multi-ethnic unity." The precise death toll was not immediately clear. Melikov said that "more than 15 police officers were victims of today&...

Apple, Microsoft and Google are heralding a new era of what they describe as artificially intelligent smartphones and computers. The devices, they say, will automate tasks such as editing photos and wishing a friend a happy birthday.But for this to work, these companies need something from you: more data.In this new paradigm, your Windows computer will take a screenshot of everything you do every few seconds. An iPhone will combine information from many apps you use. And an Android phone can listen to a call in real time to alert you to a scam.Is this information you are willing to share?This change has significant implications for our privacy. To provide new tailored services, companies and their devices need more persistent and intimate access to our data than before. In the past, t...

Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian to the roof of a military vehicle on Saturday morning during an operation in the occupied West Bank, a scene that was captured on video and quickly went viral, sparking outrage and promises of an investigation by of the Israeli army.Israeli soldiers raided Wadi Burqin, a Palestinian town on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Jenin, on Saturday morning to arrest Palestinians suspected of involvement in militant groups. Jenin, a long-time stronghold of loosely organized armed groups, has suffered repeated crackdowns by the Israeli army in recent months.A firefight broke out between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers, the military said. Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian wounded in the shooting. The man's family later identified ...

Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter Rebecca Robbins explains how.

Niclas Füllkrug arrived early at the Adidas campus just outside Herzogenaurach, a postcard-perfect town in Bavaria that would host the German national team ahead of this summer's European soccer championships. The staff had been told that the players would arrive on Monday morning, a few days before the opening match. But on Sunday evening, Füllkrug, one of the team's attackers, arrived.He had decided to make the 300-mile journey from his home in Hanover on the high-speed train of Germany's national railway company, Deutsche Bahn. The company was not only one of the sponsors of the tournament; it should also have been a standard-bearer for the event's green credentials.But years of failure to invest in rolling stock, upgrade railways and digitalize switchgear have made ...

Heather Massey took Ladybird to the vet when the 9-year-old mutt he began to have convulsions. A scan from an MRI machine revealed some bad news: brain cancer.Given the poor prognosis, Ms. Massey decided not to undergo further treatment at the animal hospital near her home in Athens, Georgia, and Ladybird died four months later. Her MRI scan and related care had cost nearly $2,000, which Ms. Massey had put on a special credit card that she had learned about during an earlier veterinary visit.This was in 2018. He is still paying off the debt, with over 30% interest.“Could I afford to do this? Not really,” said Ms. Massey, 52, who is disabled and doesn't work. “Was it worth it for me? YES."Ms. Massey's experience illustrates the new, expensive realities of owning a pet. For dec...

Cyprus found itself in the center of global attention this week when Hezbollah's leader threatened to target the small island nation if it supported Israel in potential war efforts.Amid escalating violence between the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militia and the Israeli army on the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah's chief warned on Wednesday that the armed group would punish Cyprus if it allowed Israel to use its airports and its basis for targeting Lebanon, claiming it would be “part of the war.”The warning from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah came as world leaders were scrambling to contain the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, despite clear efforts by both sides to prevent the cycle of attacks and counterattacks from turning into a full-blown war.Here's a closer look...

If you've ever had trouble getting a prescription drug, chances are you've come across a pharmacy benefits manager.These companies, known as PBMs, play a crucial but often hidden role in deciding which drugs you can get and how much you will personally pay. They are middlemen in America's maddeningly complex healthcare system, working on behalf of employers or government insurance programs like Medicare, which covers most prescription drug costs.The PBM's job is to save money on drugs. But the New York Times found that the three largest PBMs often overcharge you.Here's what to know about your PBM and how to find out if you're being overcharged.How do I know which PBM I have?Most Americans rely on one of the big three PBMs: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, or Optum R...

When news broke that Pope Francis had used an offensive anti-gay slur while speaking to Italian bishops at a conference last month, many Catholics were shocked and dismayed. How could a pope known for his openness and acceptance of LGBTQ people use homophobic jargon and warn prelates against allowing gay men into seminaries?But the question, and the apparent inconsistency in Francis' message, reflect the profound contradictions and tensions that underlie the Roman Catholic Church's and Francis' relationship with homosexuality.The Church maintains that “homosexual tendencies” are “intrinsically disordered.” When it comes to ordination, church guidelines state that people with "deep-rooted" gay tendencies should not become priests.Yet ordination has also long been a kind of ref...

When the media titans Brian Roberts, John Malone and Barry Diller cast off in early February on Mr. Diller’s 156-foot, two-masted yacht, named Arriva, the waters off the coast of Jupiter, Fla., were placid.The same could not be said for their sprawling entertainment businesses.The three men meet occasionally to discuss the state of the industry, and lively disagreements have a been a staple of their discussions. But by the time they met on the yacht, they had all agreed that the money-losing status quo in the streaming business was unsustainable. The old cable model was a melting ice cube.But what will take its place?“There was peace in the valley for a period of time,” Mr. Malone mused in a rare recent interview, recalling the days before video-streaming upended the lucrative cable busine...