Stories by New York Times

Phil Donahue, talk host who made audiences part of the show, dies at 88

Phil Donahue, who in the 1960s reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish, inviting audiences to question his guests on topics as high-minded as human rights and international relations, and as lowbrow as male strippers and safe-sex orgies, died Sunday at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He was 88.

Vance defends unsubstantiated claims about immigration and crime

WASHINGTON — Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, on Friday defended his past unsubstantiated claims about immigration in which he suggested that early waves of Italian, Irish and German immigration led to higher crime and interethnic conflict, by citing the movie “Gangs of New York.”

Protesters are converging on Chicago. City leaders say they’re prepared.

CHICAGO — As delegates arrived in Chicago on Sunday before the Democratic National Convention, protesters gathered along Michigan Avenue. On Monday, as the political show begins inside the United Center, demonstrators say they will gather by the thousands outside. And as the convention goes on, activists say, so too will the protests, every single day, showcasing divisions on the left during a week when Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to project Democratic unity and enthusiasm.

Urged to focus on the economy, Trump leans into attacks of Harris

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump in a campaign speech Saturday bounced among complaints about the economy and immigration, wide-ranging digressions and a number of personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, including jabs at her appearance and her laugh.

George Santos is expected to plead guilty, people close to the case say

George Santos, the former Republican member of Congress from New York undone by a mind-bending array of biographical lies and moneymaking schemes, has told prosecutors that he intends to plead guilty and avoid a federal trial that was expected to begin next month, according to two lawyers involved in the case and two other people with knowledge of the matter.

When NFL dreams end, NASCAR’s pit crews beckon

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — D.J. Twitty was taking it all in: the jackmen lifting the race cars, the whizzing of air guns screwing in lug nuts, the slinging of 50-pound wheels. For a South Carolina native like the 24-year-old Twitty, the cacophonous scene was just this side of paradise.

Secret Service pulls from Biden’s protective team to guard Trump

The Secret Service has bolstered former President Donald Trump’s security in a variety of ways since the assassination attempt on him last month, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday, including by temporarily shifting part of President Joe Biden’s protective team to Trump.

Harris lays out her economic vision, casting Trump’s as backward-looking

RALEIGH, N.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris unspooled her economic agenda Friday in her first major policy address, casting her vision as one for the future and former President Donald Trump’s as of the past, as she argued that she would improve the lives of middle-class Americans and benefit generations of their descendants.

Dolphin attacks spoil summer along a stretch of Japanese beaches

At the beaches along an idyllic coastal stretch of central Japan, lifeguards scan the water, poised to call swimmers back to shore at the hint of a fin. Sharp teeth bare from posters warning beachgoers to be careful because, for the third year running, there is danger in the water.

Trump pulls in Tulsi Gabbard for debate prep

Former President Donald Trump has begun preparing for his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris and has brought in former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to help sharpen his attacks in a recent practice session at his private club and home, Mar-a-Lago, according to two people with knowledge of Trump’s schedule.