The New York Times

Woman Pleads Guilty in Covid Tax Credit Scheme That Netted $33 Million A Nevada business owner prepared and filed false tax returns to fraudulently obtain Covid relief money for her businesses and others, prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said a Las Vegas woman filed more than 1,200 tax returns in order to fraudulently claim Covid-19 tax credits of nearly $100 million over a 16-month period beginning in June 2022.

Fiery Pileup in Wyoming Highway Tunnel Kills at Least 2 The crash caused a fire that raged for hours, and the tunnel remained closed on Friday evening.

A multivehicle crash in a highway tunnel in Wyoming on Friday killed at least two people, injured several others and caused a fire that raged for hours as officials rushed to evacuate the passage, the authorities said.

Banks Sell $4.7 Billion of X’s Debt, in a Sign of Investor Demand The social media company is attracting investor interest because of Elon Musk’s close ties to President Trump and a recent jump in revenue.

A few months ago, banks couldn’t sell their X debt. That’s all changed now that Musk has established himself as Trump’s right hand man www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/t...

Flashback: Your Weekly History Quiz, Feb. 15, 2025 Can you sort 8 historical events?

Can you place 8 notable events in chronological order? Test your knowledge with Flashback, our weekly history quiz.

USAID Lifesaving Aid Remains Halted Despite Rubio’s Promise A new directive puts further exemptions on hold. Aid workers also say the U.S. government has made it impossible to pay partners around the world.

Top USAID officials are trying to create a false narrative that life-saving aid has continued despite Trump’s blanket halt to foreign aid. Our @nytimes.com reporting shows the exact opposite. USAID even issued an internal email to stop applications for waivers: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/u...

Man Is Briefly ‘Swallowed’ by Whale in Chile Paddling in the Strait of Magellan, Adrián Simancas was caught in a humpback’s lunge. “I realized that I was in something’s mouth and I had been eaten,” he said.

"A humpback whale appeared to gulp Adrián Simancas down, then rolled over into the waters of Chilean Patagonia. “I just closed my eyes, expecting an impact. But instead I felt as if I was surrounded by water. I realized that I was in something’s mouth and I had been eaten.”

How to Back Up All Your Data and Important Documents Readers worried after Mr. Musk and his team were given access to federal payment systems. Here’s how to back up all your data and documents.

There are a lot of questions in our inbox these days about data (and payment) security at the IRS, the Social Security Administration and other places, with teenagers and 20-somethings rooting around in the systems. Back up everything, for any numbers of reasons. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/b...

Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to End Funds to Hospitals That Treat Young Trans Patients The judge considered the matter in a Seattle courtroom a day after a judge in Baltimore temporarily halted the administration’s plan in a separate lawsuit.

A judge on Friday ordered a pause on President Trump’s effort to block federal funding for hospitals that offer gender-transition treatments for people under 19.

U.S. Park Service Strikes Transgender References From Stonewall Website The “T” was removed in references to L.G.B.T.Q.+ on the official site for the Greenwich Village monument, which marks a milestone in the fight for gay rights. Later, the Q+ also disappeared.

The National Park Service eliminated references to transgender people from its Stonewall National Monument web page, removing the “T” in references to LGBTQ+ on the official site for the Greenwich Village monument, which marks a milestone in the fight for gay rights.

With Fighting Stilled, Gazans Face New Trauma: Searching for Their Dead Thousands of bodies may be unearthed from Gaza’s ruins, the authorities say. Families with missing loved ones face fresh horrors as they search the rubble.

“The feeling of helplessness is overwhelming.”

In Gaza, many families are burdened with an agonizing duty: trying to recover the remains of loved ones trapped beneath the swathes of rubble left by Israel’s war against Hamas.

While Valentine’s Day is often centered on romantic love, some singles find joy in celebrating love in other forms. From friendships to familial bonds and self-love, read about how some are redefining what it means to celebrate Valentine’s Day. nyti.ms/3CUILwx

The Trump administration deported migrants from several Asian nations to Panama in a move that could signal much faster removals of immigrants whose home countries are reluctant to accept them. nyti.ms/42SzArb

Drake’s New Valentine’s Day Album Pivots From Kendrick Lamar Beef The Valentine’s Day release, a collaboration with PartyNextDoor, tries on different styles (acoustic pop, traditional Mexican) while only alluding to Kendrick Lamar.

Life goes on for Drake, who released his first new album on Friday since his much-publicized beef with Kendrick Lamar. The album, “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” is a collaboration with PartyNextDoor.

Eric Adams Charges Live Updates: Calls For Mayor's Resignation Grow The lead federal prosecutor on the case against Mayor Eric Adams quit on Friday, the latest in a series of resignations over an order from a top Justice Department official to drop the corruption char...

Mayor Eric Adams of New York faced increasingly loud calls to resign Friday, one day after a fuller picture of the arrangement that led to the U.S. Justice Department seeking to drop corruption charges against him began to emerge. Here's the latest.

From @theathletic: Doug Gottlieb is doubling as a radio host and a men's college basketball coach. We went behind the scenes of the most unusual employment experiment in college hoops. nyti.ms/3EGGrKb

World’s Best Chocolate Cake Recipe The recipe for this cake, adapted from "Sweet" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, first appeared in an article written about Ms Goh when she ran her cafe, the Mortar & Pestle, in Melbourne, Australia ...

This chocolate cake recipe has been called the “world’s best chocolate cake.” You could also call it the “world’s easiest cake.” nyti.ms/3X1skoS

Mass Government Layoffs Begin, and New Abortion Fight Takes Shape Plus, why crafters are in mourning.

Listen to “The Headlines,” which brings you the biggest stories of the day from the New York Times reporters who are covering them, all in about five minutes.

Russian Drone Hits Chernobyl Nuclear Radiation Shield, Ukraine Says President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called the damage “significant” but said there were no signs of radiation leaks. A Kremlin spokesman denied that Russia had carried out the strike.

Russia’s military used a drone with a high-explosive warhead to hit the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine overnight, damaging the protective shelter that prevents radiation leaks, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said.

Though the Trump Administration renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, the U.S. only lays claim to 46% of the gulf. Learn more about who controls what and why here: nyti.ms/41czLfw

Judge Temporarily Stops Trump’s Plan to End Funds for Trans Youths’ Health Providers Six transgender individuals, all younger than 19, sued the administration over executive orders targeting hospitals that offer transition treatments to young people.

Breaking News: A judge temporarily stopped the Trump administration’s plan to end funds for hospitals that offer gender-transition care for people under 19.

Danielle Sassoon and Other Officials Resign After Order to Drop Eric Adams Case The interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and two officials with the federal public integrity unit all quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Ad...

Breaking News: The federal order to drop Mayor Eric Adam’s corruption case led three Manhattan prosecutors to resign, the highest-profile resistance so far in President Trump’s Justice Department.

Order to Drop Adams Case Prompts Resignations in New York and Washington (Gift Article) The interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and two officials with the federal public integrity unit all quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Ad...

SCOOP: The interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and two officials with the federal public integrity unit all quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped.

Igloo Recalls Coolers Over Fingertip Amputation and Crushing Risk More than one million coolers sold in North America were recalled after a dozen injuries. Consumers are advised to stop using them and contact the company.

More than one million Igloo coolers sold in North America were recalled after a dozen injuries. Consumers are advised to stop using them and contact the company.

Danielle Sassoon and Other Officials Resign After Order to Drop Eric Adams Case The interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and two officials with the federal public integrity unit all quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Ad...

Breaking News: Manhattan’s acting U.S. attorney resigned after she was ordered by the Justice Department to drop a corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams that she had championed.

Which Romance Novel Should You Read Next? Tell us a few things about what you like, and we’ll give you a spot-on recommendation.

Take this short quiz to find your next romantic read.

Adams Donor Weihong Hu Is Accused of Taking Millions From Covid Housing Program Brooklyn’s U.S. attorney said Weihong Hu and two men set out to “line their own pockets” at the height of the pandemic. Ms. Hu has helped raise funds for Mayor Eric Adams of New York.

Weihong Hu, a hotelier with close ties to Mayor Eric Adams, stole tens of millions from a temporary housing program that was designed to stop the spread of Covid-19 in New York’s jails, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

At Least 4 Killed in Suspected Gas Explosion at Taiwan Shopping Mall The deadly blast occurred in a food court. The island’s president ordered an investigation into the cause.

At least four people were killed and 26 others injured in a suspected gas explosion in the food court of a Taiwan shopping mall, according to Taiwan’s state-owned news outlet.

Dozens Injured as Driver Crashes Car Into Munich Protest The authorities believe the crash, into a union’s strike-day demonstration, was a deliberate attack carried out by a 24-year-old man who was known to the police.

Breaking News: More than two dozen people were injured in Munich after a 24-year-old man drove a car into a crowd of protesters, the authorities said.

Opinion | It’s America That Suffers When We Cut Foreign Aid U.S.A.I.D. keeps children alive and us safe.

"U.S.A.I.D. employees, who mostly joined the agency in hopes of making the world a better place, are in agony," our columnist @nickkristof.bsky.social writes. "'We're just paralyzed,' an agency employee in Africa told me. 'No one is in charge.'"

It’s Bring a Kid to Work Day on ‘The Tonight Show’ Elon Musk took his son to the Oval Office, so Jimmy Fallon saw no reason not to walk onstage with a child, too.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights worth watching from late-night TV.