Blog

An apparent Israeli drone strike in Syria on Tuesday prompted the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to respond with rocket fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the group said, an attack that killed two people as fears continued to grow over the threat of a full-scale war.Hezbollah said in a statement that it targeted an Israeli military base in direct response to what it called an "assassination" in Syria earlier in the day. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war watchdog, reported Tuesday that two Hezbollah members had been killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle near the Lebanese border. The driver of the vehicle, a Syrian national, was also wounded in the attack, the war watchdog said.Neither Hezbollah nor the Israeli military have said whether ...

A 54-year-old New Jersey woman who became the second person to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig and lived with the organ for 47 days died Sunday, surgeons at NYU Langone Health announced Tuesday.The patient, Lisa Pisano, was critically ill, suffering from both kidney and heart failure. She received the pig kidney on April 12, just eight days after being implanted with a mechanical heart pump.Surgeons were forced to remove the kidney on May 29 after it was damaged by inadequate blood flow related to the heart pump. After the removal, Ms. Pisano resumed kidney dialysis but was eventually transferred to palliative care.Ms. Pisano made medical history as the first person with a heart pump who also received an organ transplant. Patients with kidney failure are usually...

As President Biden and his aides planned NATO's 75th anniversary, which opens Tuesday evening in Washington, the intent was to create an aura of trust.The message to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and other potential adversaries would be that, after more than two years of war in Ukraine, a larger and more powerful group of Western allies has emerged, more determined than ever to repel aggression.But as 38 world leaders began arriving here on Monday, that confidence appears to be in jeopardy. Even before the summit formally began, it has been clouded by uncertainty over whether Mr Biden will remain in the running for a second term and the looming possibility of former President Donald J. Trump’s return.Mr. Trump once declared NATO “obsolete,” threatened to leave the alliance, and m...

In 1994, when Sumner M. Redstone bought Paramount Pictures for about $10 billion, the equivalent of about $22 billion today, he did more than buy a company. He ascended to a cultural throne.Studios like Paramount, founded in the 1910s, which operated complexes of recording studios and controlled vast film libraries, were valuable companies on the verge of striking a goldmine: the DVD. But perhaps more importantly, they gave their owners a valuable identity as certified members of the cultural elite.Movies still dominated. The top-selling films of 1994 included such landmarks as "The Lion King," "Schindler's List," "Interview with the Vampire," "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Philadelphia," "Speed," and "Pulp Fiction." In 1995, when Paramount's "Forrest Gump" won the Academy Award for Best Pictu...

As the fastest camels on the Arabian Peninsula galloped along a track in the Saudi desert, Kasseem Dean, a Grammy-winning hip-hop producer from the Bronx, watched nervously from an air-conditioned VIP lounge.Waiters in black vests plied the crowd with lemonade and red velvet cupcakes. Women in sundresses milled around off-white couches, sipping fizzy mocktails.Although the camels were the main event, Mr. Dean, better known as Swizz Beatz, felt like all eyes in the room were on him, one of the newest entrants in Saudi Arabia’s thriving camel racing scene. Four years after entering and winning his first race, he spent millions of dollars to purchase 48 racing camels, ascending to the sport’s most elite circles.“When you discover it, you enter a completely different world,” said Mr. Dean, 45,...

People who have benefited from mental health therapy often praise its positive aspects, including developing better coping skills, stronger relationships, and a calmer mind.But what happens when a therapist doesn't help or actually causes harm? A psychologist may send out warning signals to a client by yawning during sessions, showing up late every week, or giving bad advice.Patients can report unethical behavior to a counselor's state licensing board, but there isn't always a recourse for those who feel a therapist is poorly trained or inexperienced or just bad at their job. There is currently no federal agency responsible for regulating psychotherapy.Have you ever signed up for therapy but dropped out after treatment was ineffective or even offensive? We want to hear from you...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday to meet Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, a visit that shows the Indian leader's determination to continue on his diplomatic path even as the West continues to isolate Moscow over its war against Ukraine.For Putin, Modi’s visit will be a way for Russia to demonstrate that the Kremlin continues to have a strong partnership with India, despite India’s deepening relationship with the United States. India’s purchases of discounted Russian oil have helped fill Russia’s coffers drained by international sanctions over the war, and Russia has sought to present India as a partner in reshaping the Western-dominated global order.This is Mr Modi's first visit to Russia in five years. He arrived on a red carpet welcome at Moscow...