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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens as Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks Thursday in Tel Aviv. Blinken urged Israeli officials to take "more effective steps" to avoid harm to civilians in Gaza.

World News

Six more hostages released by Hamas as talks over extending the Gaza truce continue

5:17pm November 30, 2023

As both sides prepared for the final planned hostage-for-prison swap, gunmen killed three Israelis in an attack on the outskirts of West Jerusalem early Thursday.

Shane MacGowan live onstage in 1988, courtesy of the documentary film Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan.

Shane MacGowan, irascible frontman of The Pogues, has died at age 65

5:12pm November 30, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Shane MacGowan was a famously hard-drinking but brilliant musician who shot to fame in the 1980s with the folk punk band The Pogues.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a Clean California event in San Francisco, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

Politics & Government

Debating Ron DeSantis could benefit Gavin Newsom's political ambitions

3:30pm November 30, 2023

by Marisa Lagos

Two of the nation's most high profile governors will debate Thursday night in Georgia, even though only one of them is actually running for president in 2024.

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Leslie McIntire, 69, is part of the baby boomer generation that is entering older age amid a historic affordable housing shortage and rising wealth inequality in the U.S.

Millions of seniors struggle to afford housing — and it's about to get a lot worse

2:55pm November 30, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

Baby boomers are entering older age amid a historic affordable-housing shortage and widening inequality. A new study warns many won't be able to access the kind of housing or caregiving they need.

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Books
Arts

A theater critic and a hotel maid are on the case in 2 captivating mystery novels

1:41pm November 30, 2023

by Maureen Corrigan

A critic becomes an amateur detective in order to avoid becoming a murder suspect in Alexis Soloski's Here in the Dark. In The Mystery Guest, by Nita Prose, a hotel's maid has to clean up a real mess.

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De Winton's golden mole, a blind mole that lives beneath the sand, has been rediscovered in Port Nolloth, South Africa. The small mammal has evaded scientists for nearly 90 years, using sensitive hearing that can detect vibrations from movement above the surface.

Science

Holy Mole-y: A sniffer dog helps rediscover a rare mole

11:55am November 30, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

The De Winton's golden mole was last spotted in 1936. But with the help of a mole-sniffing dog and new environmental DNA analysis, researchers are taking it off the most wanted lost species list.

For Beyoncé's Renaissance tour Es Devlin designed a spherical portal — a 50-foot wide aperture — from which the star, her dancers and musicians could emerge and withdraw between songs.

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

6:43am November 30, 2023

by Bilal Qureshi

Es Devlin says that stadiums are designed for competition and combat. So her job, whether she's designing for Beyoncé, Super Bowl Halftime, or The Olympics, is to achieve intimacy on a massive scale.

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Chained Echoes, Sea of Stars, Cassette Beasts

Retro role-playing video games are all the rage — here's why

5:00am November 30, 2023

by George Yang

Franchises like Final Fantasy are moving on from old-school mechanics and aesthetics, but indie developers are taking up the retro RPG mantle.

Thai nationals ride a bus as they leave Shamir hospital in Ramle, Israel, on Wednesday, on their way back to Thailand after being released from Hamas' custody.

World News

Mediators work to extend Israel-Hamas truce after final planned hostage swap

8:53pm November 29, 2023

U.S. and Israeli officials are in Qatar working on a new cease-fire extension. On Wednesday, Hamas released 16 hostages from Gaza. Israel says more than 140 hostages remain in captivity.

A work brigade sponsored by Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA, which critics blame for the oil spills, use shovels and rakes to remove congealed petroleum from a Lake Maracaibo beach.

In Venezuela, harmful oil spills are mounting as the country ramps up production

5:45pm November 29, 2023

by John Otis

After the U.S. lifted its sanctions, Venezuela is trying to revive its beleaguered oil industry. But ramping up production is causing more oil spills.

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