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Are you still looking for a New Year's resolution to improve yourself? Consider keeping a journal, which studies have shown could help with your mental well-being and anxiety issues, while providing a creative outlet for self-expression.If you want to go the screen-free sensory route, there are beautiful paper journals and notebooks available, but if you prefer a more multimedia approach to journaling, wake up your phone. The free apps that come with Apple's iOS software and Google's Android system let you add photos, audio clips, and more to sort out your thoughts and set electronic reminders to write regularly.Here's an overview.StartKeeping a digital diary requires a few basic steps: choosing an app, writing an entry, and adding new posts regularly. And don't let the fear of writing lon...

After more than 15 months of nearly non-stop fighting in Gaza, diplomats trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expressed cautious hope Tuesday that a deal may finally be within reach.But that optimism has been tempered by uncertainty over whether both sides would ultimately agree, what details might still change and the experience of past months in which ceasefire talks have repeatedly failed.“We believe we are in the final stages, but until we have an announcement, there will be no announcement,” Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of one of the mediating countries, Qatar, told reporters on Tuesday.Here's what we know about the potential ceasefire agreement.What is the status of the talks?US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Tuesday that Israel and ...

Among both men and women, drinking just one alcoholic drink a day increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, oral cancer and various types of injuries, according to a federal analysis released Tuesday.Women are at greater risk of developing liver cancer even with this modest level of alcohol consumption. Drinking two drinks a day — double the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommendation for women but the amount currently condoned for men — increases the odds of alcohol-related death for both men and women.The report, prepared by a scientific review panel under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services, is one of two competing assessments that will be used this year to shape the influential U.S. dietary guidelines.For years now, some scientists have worried that t...

Governments around the world are uneasily watching rising borrowing costs, following the lead of the US Treasury market. But even in a context of global bond debacle, Britain stands out.British government bonds, known as gilts, are experiencing a particularly hard sell-off as investors recoil from the country's low economic growth, persistent inflation and high debt levels. The yield on 10-year gilts, the benchmark rate, hit 4.9% on Tuesday, the highest since 2008, while 30-year bond yields were the highest since 1998.The surge in borrowing costs puts at risk the British government's plan to revive economic growth by allocating more money for public services and greater investment, less than three months after its announcement.“At a time when yields are rising everywhere, global investors ...

The Biden administration on Monday issued sweeping rules regulating how artificial intelligence chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an effort to create a global framework that will guide the spread of artificial intelligence around the world for years to come.With the power of artificial intelligence growing rapidly, the Biden administration has said the rules are needed to keep a transformative technology under the control of the United States and its allies, and out of the hands of adversaries who could use it to enhance its armies, carry out cyberattack operations, and otherwise threaten the United States.Tech companies have protested the new rules, saying they threaten their sales and the future prospects of the American tech industry.The rules place various limit...

High-level ceasefire talks appeared to gain momentum Monday, as Arab and American mediators pressed for a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and release hostages held by Hamas before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes over. assignment on January 20th.It is not yet clear whether the sides have reached a resolution on all the central disputes that proved insurmountable in previous rounds of negotiations, but officials have expressed optimism that a deal is possible.President Biden suggested on Monday that a deal between Israel and Hamas was imminent. “We are on the brink of a proposal that I detailed months ago about the war between Israel and Hamas finally coming to fruition,” he said in a foreign policy speech.Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said there was "a real possibilit...

At Azara Ballet, dancers are not expected to maintain eye contact with directors and choreographers. If company members need an impromptu break from the bright stage lights during rehearsals, they take one. They also receive clear guidance on hair and makeup well in advance of the performances.The priority at Azara is the health of the dancers. Founded in 2022 by dancers Kate Flowers and Martin Roosaare, who are both autistic (and are a married couple), the company, which is based in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, is a haven for neurodivergent artists. (The company is made up of 10 dancers, not all of whom are neurodivergent.)“When I dance,” Flowers said, “as long as it's in a good environment and a safe space, expression through nonverbal movement is something that helps me a lot.”Azara...

Oliviero Toscani, an Italian photographer who used images of an AIDS patient and death row inmates to break the boundaries of fashion imagery as the creative mastermind of Benetton's advertising campaigns, died on Monday. He was 82 years old.His death was announced by his family on Instagram. They did not say where he died or cite the cause of death, but in August Mr. Toscani told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he had been diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare and incurable condition in which a buildup of proteins occurs.His shocking campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s helped transform Benetton from a small Italian brand into a global fashion powerhouse, with provocative ads that blurred the lines between marketing and activism, high art and consumer industry.In one ad, an AIDS p...

The months-long fight by lawmakers to ban the social media app TikTok in the United States came to a head Friday when the Supreme Court heard arguments to decide the app's fate for its 170 million American users.While judges across the ideological spectrum asked tough questions of both sides, the overall tone and thrust seemed to suggest greater skepticism toward arguments from lawyers for TikTok and its users that the First Amendment barred Congress from enacting the law.If TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is banned on January 19, here's what they can expect to happen:Will TikTok still be available for download on app stores?No. The law passed by Congress last year would make it illegal for the app stores of companies like Apple and Google to distribute or publish updates on Ti...

As Western diplomats explore the possibility of establishing ties with the rebels who have seized power in Syria, a religious minority has led its own diplomatic push to ensure protection for its members as the country rebuilds.A representative of the group, the Druze, recently traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers, members of the Biden and Trump administrations and diplomats to plead their case.“We are very worried about the future,” Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said in an interview in Washington, where he urged US officials to prioritize the protection of Syria's 1.2 million Druze as part of their engagement with the new government of village.In December, after a long civil war, a coalition of Syrian rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and established an interim government. The re...