Telfar Enlists Captcha Tests to Fend Off Bots

If the clock was ticking and you were tasked with picking out the biggest cat from a series of thumbnail photos of felines, could you do it?

What if a Telfar bag was on the line?

Last week, the fashion brand, helmed by the breakout designer Telfar Clemens, released a limited number of new bags in what is known as a “drop.” When this happens, chaos often ensues and the bags sell out in a matter of minutes. This time was no exception.

Usually, other Telfar fans and finger dexterity are the greatest obstacles standing in the way of securing

Live Updates: U.S. Forces Go Into Kabul to Extract Stranded Americans and Allies


U.S. Marines guarding the perimeter of the airport in Kabul on Sunday.
Credit…Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times

Some Afghan military interpreters and other close U.S. allies, a stated priority group for evacuation from Afghanistan, are being turned away from the Kabul airport by American officials in order to give priority to U.S. citizens and green card holders, a State Department official said on Monday.

The details, given on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to brief the news media, were supported by interviews with Afghans who have

Chaos Persists at Kabul Airport as Taliban Discuss New Government

As lethal mayhem persisted outside Kabul airport, with thousands of terrified Afghans trying to flee, the Taliban have reached out to a former Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and to Russia in an attempt to fulfill their pledge to form an “inclusive” government and defeat holdouts against their rule.

Little in the Taliban’s history suggests readiness to compromise on their harsh Islamist principles or to share power, but the United States has warned the militant group that going it alone will result in continuous conflict and isolation. In this context, Mr. Karzai, who led the country between 2001 and 2014, has

Jimothy’s Flex Looks a Little Different

Jimothy has come to embrace being unconventional. He grew up in public housing in the affluent London area of Primrose Hill, not far from Camden Market, and was raised by his Spanish mother, whom he still lives with. His father, who is of Caribbean heritage but was born in Britain, was not around much.

Street-savvy and smart, Jimothy enjoyed unusual freedom as a child. “When I was 12,” he said, “I felt like a big man.” He would explore London on foot, walking to other boroughs up to four miles away. He would also meet and befriend older children online. …

Russian Journalists Meet a Crackdown With Dark Humor, and Subscribers

RIGA, Latvia — There’s a certain kind of American podcast where two young journalists investigate their own medium-size problems, laugh a lot, interview their moms.

Sonya Groysman, a 27-year old journalist in Moscow working for the independent news site Proekt, was a fan of those shows, and so when she and her colleague Olga Churakova ran into trouble, it seemed natural to start recording. But the problems they’ve discussed in that familiar format are terrifying and existential. Last month the two women were placed on the Russian government’s list of “foreign agents,” a designation that threatens to end their careers