To counteract the midday gloom, consider a brief yoga break. (Theodore Tae/The New York Times) By CHRISTINE YU For many people, the afternoon is a dreaded time of day when energy slumps, concentration fizzles and stress builds. To counteract the midday gloom, consider a brief yoga break. It’s a great way to pause and reset your body and mind, said Elena Cheung, a yoga instructor and yoga teacher trainer in Seattle. Yoga can also help offset the effects of prolonged sitting, s

An image provided by University of British Columbia (A.Trites), Dalhousie University (S. Fortune), Hakai Institute (K. Holmes), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (X. Cheng) shows researchers near killer whales in waters off British Columbia, Canada. (University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, Hakai Institute, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research via The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL In the waters off British Columbia, an unusual partn

Wilmer Parra loads his fishing boat docked next to Petroleos de Venezeula’s oil rigs in Cabimas, Venezuela, on Nov. 23, 2022. Despite the Trump administration’s claims that it was targeting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro over the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, the administration is now fixated on a very different Venezuelan export: oil. (Adriana Loureiro Fernández/The New York Times) By IVAN PENN Western oil companies have been fighting to recoup tens of b

A former radar station in eastern Greenland in June 2025. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told lawmakers that President Donald Trump plans to buy Greenland rather than invade it, while Trump has asked aides to give him an updated plan for acquiring the territory, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times) By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, AMELIA NIERENBERG and MAYA TEKELI President Donald Trump has ridiculed Denmark’s dog sled teams in Greenland.

By EMMA BUBOLA Venezuela’s government announced the release of what it described as “an important number” of political prisoners, both Venezuelan and foreign national, on Thursday, the first ostensible gesture of change by the new administration since the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro. Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, did not specify how many people would be freed but said that the releases would take place “in the next few hours.” The decision

A woman checks her phone on a hill in Tehran, Iran on Oct. 2, 2025. Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, internet monitoring groups said, amid widespread protests over dire economic conditions and anger at the Islamic Republic. (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times) By PRANAV BASKAR and SANAM MAHOOZI Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout Thursday, internet monitoring groups said, amid widespread protests over dire econom

Wall Street was mixed on Thursday, as Nvidia and other technology stocks dipped, while defense companies advanced after President Donald Trump called for an enlarged $1.5 trillion military budget. Nvidia (NVDA.O), slid 2.3%, Broadcom (AVGO.O), declined 3% and Microsoft (MSFT.O), dipped 1.2%. The S&P 500 technology index (.SPLRCT), lost 1.7%, leaving it down about 1% so far in 2026, as investors grew more finicky about AI-related stocks whose valuations have been inflated by o

The actor Mickey Rourke in New York, Feb. 11, 2019. Rourke turned down more than $100,000 in donations raised online after he was evicted from his home in Los Angeles for owing nearly $60,000 in overdue rent. (Nina Westervelt/The New York Times) By DERRICK BRYSON TAYLOR Actor Mickey Rourke turned down more than $100,000 in donations raised online after he was evicted from his home in Los Angeles for owing nearly $60,000 in overdue rent. Rourke, 73, said in a video posted to h