Author: News Room

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.Steve Olive was my white whale.I had been trying for two years to write a profile of Mr. Olive, the co-founder of Event Carpet Pros, the California-based company responsible for custom-making the colorful, though not always red, carpets for thousands of movie premieres, the Golden Globes, the Grammy Awards, the Super Bowl and, since 1997, the Academy Awards.I learned about Mr. Olive in 2023, while reporting an article about why the organizers of the Oscars were rolling out a champagne-colored carpet…

The moon will be a busy place this year. There are three robotic spacecraft in space right now that are aiming to set down on the moon’s surface.The first of those to arrive — the Blue Ghost lunar lander, built by Firefly Aerospace of Austin, Texas — will attempt to land early Sunday.When is the landing and how can I watch it?The landing is scheduled for 3:45 a.m. Eastern time on March 2. Firefly will begin live coverage of the landing at 2:20 a.m. from its YouTube channel.What is Blue Ghost’s destination?This mission is headed to Mare Crisium, a flat…

President Trump on Saturday initiated an investigation into whether imports of lumber threaten America’s national security, a step that is likely to further inflame relations with Canada, the largest exporter of wood to the United States.The president directed his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, to carry out the investigation. The results of the inquiry could allow the president to apply tariffs to lumber imports. A White House official declined to say how long the inquiry would take.An executive memorandum signed by Mr. Trump ordered the investigation and was accompanied by another document that White House officials said would expand the volume…

Politics could also prove problematic.Most of the movies that Hollywood is poised to celebrate represent a cultural paradigm that was shattered by the presidential election. “Emilia Pérez,” a musical exploration of trans identity, has 13 nominations, the most of any film. In one way or another, “The Brutalist” (10 nods), “Wicked” (10), “Conclave” (eight), “I’m Still Here” (three), “Sing Sing” (three) and “Nickel Boys” (two) also serve as blow horns for progressive politics.The messages — celebrate diversity and inclusion, treat immigrants with kindness, stand up against authoritarianism and racism — will resonate with millions of viewers. As will the related…

Since New York’s ban on the distribution of single-use plastic bags took effect five years ago, Francisco Marte, who owns five bodegas in the Bronx with his brothers, has been conflicted about how to transition away from their use.At three of his stores, he has stopped handing out plastic bags altogether, charging customers a 25-cent fee for a reusable bag, which are more expensive for him to stock up on. But at the other two bodegas, in low-income neighborhoods, Mr. Marte hands out plastic bags to avoid passing on the cost of a more expensive reusable bag to residents. Still,…

A bird strike forced a FedEx cargo plane to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday morning, temporarily halting traffic, officials said.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said there were no reported injuries.The episode happened at around 8 a.m., the authority said. Operations resumed at the airport by about 9 a.m.A fire can be seen on the underside of the plane in footage shared on social media. A video of the plane while it was airborne shows a flash of what appears to be fire and then a puff…

President Trump’s plan to sell green cards for $5 million each, a program he is calling a “gold card,” has largely been met with a shrug. It’s not clear exactly how the program would work, if it’s legal or how many potential immigrants would really pay $5 million for a path to U.S. citizenship.But in a niche area of dealmaking, alarm bells are blaring.Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said on Tuesday that the plan to effectively sell green cards would replace the EB-5 investor visa, a favorite source of funding for major real estate projects.Massive developments — from New York’s…

If any model symbolizes the ultimate victory of the S.U.V., Mr. Edwards said, it is the Mercedes G-Class, or Geländewagen. Built in Austria, it was conceived in 1979 as an unpretentious military or farm truck.Mercedes didn’t initially offer the G-Class in America, and a gray market of imports stoked demand. The federal government cut off imports in 1987, making the Mercedes three tons of forbidden fruit. The automaker finally brought the model stateside in 2003, where it evolved into a sumptuous luxury S.U.V. that can still perform off-road.Jessica Hart, founder of the Luma Beauty brand, and a former model, adores…

From her home in Phoenix, Erica Campbell is waiting for a cargo vessel from China to deliver a shipment of thousands of Jesus rattle dolls, tin Easter eggs, religious-themed baby swaddle blankets and 15,000 packages of Jesus Heals bandages.Ms. Campbell, 36, the owner of Be a Heart, a Catholic goods business, paid the Chinese factories that manufacture the items months ago. The boxes were loaded in a container before President Trump imposed a new 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports on Feb. 1. She said she probably avoided paying an additional duty as a result, but she was worried…

Change in stock indexes since Inauguration Day Source: LSEG Data & Analytics Note: Data is through Feb. 28. During his first term, President Trump regularly took credit for a booming stock market, citing soaring share prices as a measure of his success in office.And after his election victory in November, he pointed to the market rise as a sign of optimism.But since his inauguration in January, Mr. Trump has been relatively muted about stocks, even after the S&P 500 hit a record on Feb. 19.The S&P 500 has since fallen almost every day, and the index is now lower than…