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The southern Israeli town of Netivot, a working-class center for mystical rabbis about 10 miles from the Gaza border, escaped the worst of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, a stroke of luck that many residents attribute to miraculous intervention of the Jewish sages buried here.However, many here appear to show little concern for the suffering of Palestinian civilians – practically neighbors – across the Gaza fence.Michael Zigdon, who runs a small food shack in the dilapidated Netivot market and had employed two Gazan men until the attack, expressed little sympathy for Gazans, who have endured a ferocious Israeli military attack for the past eight months.“Who wants this war and who doesn't?” Mr. Zigdon said, as he wiped up red food coloring that had spilled from a crushed ice drink dispens...

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...

After hundreds of pilgrims died in the scorching desert heat during the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the Egyptian government is cracking down on tourism companies that facilitated travel to Saudi Arabia and said on Saturday it had suspended the licenses of 16 companies.At least 450 people died during the pilgrimage, during which travelers had to endure extreme temperatures which ranged from 108 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (42 to 49 degrees Celsius). But the actual number of victims is expected to rise much more as governments get more accurate death counts. (Egypt, for example, has officially acknowledged only 31 deaths.)In announcing the suspension of the 16 travel companies, the Egyptian government said the companies had failed to offer pilgrims important services such as med...

Pets are more popular than ever. According to the American Pet Products Association, about two-thirds of American homes have at least one pet, up from 56% in 1988, and Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets in 2022, up from 123, 6 billion dollars in 2021. An estimated 91 million households in Europe own at least one pet, an increase of 20 million over the last ten years. India's pet population reached 31 million in 2021, up from 10 million in 2011.And our pets are becoming more and more like us – or at least, that seems to be our goal. We pamper them with personalized nutritional plans and backpack carriers, hydrotherapy for dogs and stays in boutique cat hotels. At All the Best, a high-end pet store chain in Seattle, the most popular items are enrichment toys for cats and do...

A Swiss court on Friday found members of Britain's richest family guilty of exploiting domestic workers at a luxury villa in Geneva, but acquitted them of the more serious charge of human trafficking.Prosecutors had charged four family members: Prakash Hinduja; his wife, Kamal Hinduja; their son Ajay Hinduja; and their daughter-in-law Namrata Hinduja – with the trafficking and exploitation of several workers from India.They were accused of confiscating employees' passports and forcing them to work 16 hours a day or more without overtime pay at the villa. Lawyers representing the Hindujas had denied the allegations.The court on Friday sentenced Prakash and Kamal Hinduja to four years and six months in prison, and Ajay and Namrata Hinduja to four years, according to news agencies...

Deb Schmill has become a fixture on Capitol Hill. Last week alone she visited the offices of 13 lawmakers, one of more than a dozen trips she has made from her home near Boston in the past two years.In every meeting, Ms. Schmill talks about her daughter Becca, who died in 2020 at the age of 18. Ms Schmill said Becca had died after taking fentanyl-based drugs bought on Facebook. Before that, she said, her daughter was raped by a boy she met online, then she was the victim of cyberbullying on Snapchat.“I need to do what I can to help pass legislation to protect other children and to prevent what happened to Becca from happening to them,” said Ms. Schmill, 60. “It's my coping mechanism.”Ms. Schmill is among dozens of parents who are lobbying for the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, a ...

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 Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and the Israeli army on the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that the armed group will punish Cyprus if it allows Israel to use its airfields and bases to strike Lebanon, saying it would be “part of the war”.Nasrallah's warning came as world leaders rushed to contain the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, despite clear efforts by both sides to prevent the cycle of attacks and counterattacks from escalating into a full-blown war.Here's a closer look at how Cyprus got caught up ...

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