Tracy Kidder, Author of ‘The Soul of a New Machine,’ Dies at 80

A Pulitzer Prize-winning narrative journalist, he wrote deeply reported books that often focused on heroic goodness in people.

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Stephen Colbert Is Writing a New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie

In an announcement video with the director Peter Jackson, the late-night host said he was developing a new film based on early chapters of the trilogy.

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Matt Brittin, Former Google Executive, Named the New BBC Head

Matt Brittin, the former president of Google in Europe, will become the new director general. Among the items on his to-do list: handling a lawsuit from President Trump.

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The U.S. Military Said It Helped Bomb a Drug Camp in Ecuador. It Was a Dairy Farm.

The Times visited a village where the United States and Ecuador said they destroyed an armed group’s training camp. Residents said it was actually a dairy farm.

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Russian Oil Shipment Puts Focus on Kremlin Spy Outpost in Cuba

Moscow may be challenging President Trump’s effort to choke Cuba’s economy. China also has suspected listening posts on the island.

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New Top Prosecutor Named in Embattled U.S. Attorney’s Office

Federal judges appointed Robert Frazer to run New Jersey’s U.S. attorney’s office, which has been in disarray over the past year because of uncertainty about who was in charge.

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Voice of America Journalists Sue, Saying Trump Officials Interfered in Coverage

The journalists said in the complaint that the administration was trying to force them to be a “mouthpiece” and that one official demanded “loyalty” if reporters wanted to “keep their jobs.”

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Attack on a Sudan Hospital Kills Dozens, Head of W.H.O. Says

The group’s director general said 13 children were among those killed in the latest violence in the Darfur region, and he decried the targeting of health care facilities in the civil war.

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Meteorite Crashes Through Roof of House Near Houston

No one was injured, but a woman was startled on Saturday when a meteorite pierced the roof of her home, ricocheted off the floor and struck a bedroom ceiling.

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Israel Thought It Could Spur Rebellion Inside Iran. That Hasn’t Happened.

President Trump’s hopes that an Israeli plan to ignite an internal uprising against Iran’s theocratic government could bring the war to a swift end have so far been dashed.

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They Want to Stop Paying Taxes as a Protest. There Are Consequences.

Some tax resisters withhold a symbolic amount, but those who willfully refuse to file or pay could face civil or criminal penalties.

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