Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
White House tries to reassure Americans on rising costsPresident Trump said today that he would to do whatever was necessary to stop energy prices from continuing to skyrocket. His Treasury secretary described a plan to lower prices by removing sanctions on Iranian oil that has already been shipped. Concerns about the global energy supply — already strained by Iran’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz — grew over the past day after Iran attacked oil and gas facilities in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the U.A.E. The strikes were in retaliation for an Israeli attack on the Iranian part of a giant offshore gas field. Damaged infrastructure could have a lasting effect on prices, even if the war ends soon. Oil prices have been surging since the start of the conflict nearly three weeks ago. Eventually, those increases pass through to the prices of everyday goods in the U.S. Today, the average price of a gallon of gasoline hit $3.88, up from $2.93 a month ago, and mortgage rates also jumped. Watch my colleague Ben Casselman explain what to expect. In related news:
Cuba is facing an electricity crisisPower frequently goes out in Cuba, sometimes plunging the entire island into near total darkness. Cities outside of tourist areas have been hardest hit, but the outages are also hitting Havana. Meat and dairy has spoiled without refrigeration; cancer treatments have been disrupted; many taps have no water; and trash is piling up in the streets. See maps of the blackouts. The U.S. has cut Cuba off from shipments of oil, which the country uses to generate its electricity. Trump administration officials are trying to use the pressure to exert leverage over Cuba’s leaders.
Ozempic could soon reach millions more around the worldThe blockbuster drug Ozempic, which has been shown to induce significant weight loss and help prevent heart attacks and strokes, has been largely unaffordable for people who are not wealthy. That’s about to change in countries that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population. Novo Nordisk, which has a monopoly on the drug, will begin to lose its patent protection in some countries. The first generic versions are expected to arrive in India as soon as this weekend. China, Canada, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa are set to follow in the coming months.
Major pacemaker manufacturer knew of problems for yearsIn 2024, a 93-year-old woman named Gladys Knepper died after her pacemaker battery failed unexpectedly, severely damaging her heart. Two years earlier, a person in Finland had died as a result of the same malfunction. The device maker, Boston Scientific, issued multiple rounds of recalls and said the issue was limited. But a Times investigation found that the problem was far broader. A recent internal test found batteries with an “extremely high failure rate.” More top news
The next few days are some of the most exciting of the year for sports fans. The N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament began today, and the women’s event begins tomorrow. That means there will be high-stakes games all day long from now to Monday. There was already a big upset: High Point beat Wisconsin. Follow along here, or read The Athletic’s deep dive into who would win if it was determined entirely by the mascots.
An alien film that tries to get science rightThis week’s biggest new movie is “Project Hail Mary,” which stars Ryan Gosling as a molecular biologist trying to save the world from a star-eating algae that infected our sun. Along the way, Gosling’s character befriends an alien named Rocky. Read our critic’s review. The film is an adaptation of a 2021 novel by Andy Weir, who is famous for writing “The Martian.” Weir told our science reporter Katrina Miller that he went to extensive lengths to ensure that the plot — including the atmosphere of a faraway alien planet — largely conformed to the laws of physics. “I try to be scientifically accurate,” he said. “That’s my whole shtick.”
Would you want your own A.I. agent?New artificial intelligence bots can write reports, book trips and hold full conversations over email or text messages. It’s like having an assistant that is willing to work all day, every day without a salary. However, before you get too excited, read about the trouble the tools are prone to cause. One man discovered that his A.I. agent had agreed to pay about $31,000 for a sponsorship while he was sleeping. He couldn’t foot the bill and almost got banned from Davos. Related:
Dinner table topics
Cook: These carrot cake oatmeal cookies are a lovely little snack. Read: The author Kiersten White shares her favorite vampire books. Plan: Here are the apps you might need for your next trip abroad. Garden: Put down the weed whacker and pick up a sickle. No joke, it’s great. |
