NEW YORK — Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter whose 1996 hit “Barely Breathing” made him a fixture of pop radio before he reinvented himself as a Tony- and Grammy Award-winning Broadway composer, has died at age 56.

Sheik died Thursday at a hospital in Manhattan, his mother, Suzanne Sheik, confirmed to The New York Times, saying the cause was organ failure. She did not provide further details about his underlying medical condition or the circumstances that led to it. His family had disclosed two days earlier, in a statement posted to his official Instagram account Wednesday, that Sheik was hospitalized and in “critical but stable condition,” adding, “Duncan is currently receiving medical care and remains in critical but stable condition. Out of respect for Duncan and our family, we will not be sharing any further medical details at this time. We kindly ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time and will provide updates when appropriate. Thank you for the continued love and support.”

His death was announced publicly Friday through a statement posted to his Instagram account. “It is with profound sadness that we confirm the passing of Duncan Sheik,” the post read. “The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater. From his Grammy-nominated hit ‘Barely Breathing’ to his groundbreaking, Tony and Grammy Award-winning work on Spring Awakening, Duncan’s artistry touched many and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.” The statement continued, “Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, inteligence, and depth of spirit he brought to those who knew and loved him. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love from his fans, friends, collaborators, and the artistic community. His musical legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.” A separate message from his family described his final moments, saying, “Duncan passed away last night surrounded by love.”

Sheik, a New Jersey native, first drew wide attention as a musician in the mid-1990s. He attended Brown University, where he was a college bandmate of singer Lisa Loeb, and released his self-titled debut album in 1996. The record’s breakout single, “Barely Breathing,” earned Sheik a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 55 weeks on the chart, an unusually long run for a single that never climbed higher than the middle of the top 20. Though “Barely Breathing” remained the song most closely associated with him for the rest of his career, and remains the top track on his Spotify page, Sheik went on to release nine studio albums in total, with his most recent arriving in 2022. Reflecting on the song’s outsized legacy in a 2020 interview with HuffPost, Sheik said he had once resented performing it because “it lived on the radio far longer than it should have.”

Sheik’s career took a significant turn in 2001 with the release of “Phantom Moon,” an album conceived as a tribute of sorts to Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon.” That record marked the beginning of his creative partnership with poet and songwriter Steven Sater, whom Sheik met while both were practicing Nichiren Buddhism. The two had first collaborated in 1999 on Sater’s play “Umbrage,” with Sheik composing music to Sater’s lyrics. Their partnership eventually produced the work for which Sheik would become best known within musical theater: “Spring Awakening,” a rock musical based on an 1891 German coming-of-age play, which the two developed together over several years.

“Spring Awakening” opened off-Broadway before transferring to Broadway in 2006, where it ran for more than 860 performances over two years. The show, which helped launch the careers of Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr., won Best Musical at the 2007 Tony Awards, with Sheik personally winning Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, shared with Sater, and the production also earned a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Speaking to The Associated Press in 2007 as the show swept that year’s Tony nominations, Sheik described the creative ambition behind the project. “With the exception of our director, we are all kind of Broadway outsiders,” he said. “We wanted to shake things up a bit. And we just set out to make this really cool piece of theater.”

Sheik continued working in musical theater in the years that followed, composing scores for stage adaptations of “American Psycho” and “Alice in Wonderland.” At the time of his death, he had a new musical, “Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen,” an adaptation of Moyoco Anno’s manga graphic novel, scheduled to begin performances off-Broadway later this month, with a first preview set for September 25 and an official opening planned for October 15. An off-Broadway revival of “Spring Awakening” had also been in the works separately from Sheik’s newer project.

In the weeks before his death, Sheik had shared periodic updates from his hospital room on social media, including a post on September 6 in which he wrote that he was “still bored in hospital,” suggesting he had been receiving inpatient care for at least several weeks before his condition became critical.

Sheik is survived by his wife and children, according to the tribute posted by his family, which described him as “a father, husband, son, brother, and friend.” Tributes continued to circulate across the music and theater industries following the announcement of his death, with collaborators and fans reflecting on both his enduring pop hit from the 1990s and the influential body of theatrical work he built in the decades that followed, a career that spanned two distinct creative eras and left a lasting mark on both popular music and the American musical theater stage.

Bitcoin surged 6.03% to $80,947.85 by mid-afternoon Friday in London, adding $4,602.23, extending a sharp rally that began overnight and carried the world’s largest cryptocurrency well above the $80,000 mark for the first time in weeks, as investors reacted to a less aggressive interest rate outlook from the Federal Reserve.

The rally built steadily through Friday’s session. Bitcoin had recovered from an overnight low near $75,972 to trade just below $78,000 by mid-morning, marking a third consecutive day of gains, before the advance accelerated sharply at the U.S. market open, pushing the cryptocurrency’s price above $80,000 and continuing higher from there.

The catalyst traced back to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision Thursday, when the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points as widely expected. While the rate increase itself initially weighed on markets, the accompanying economic projections released alongside the decision implied only one additional rate hike for the remainder of the year, a signal traders interpreted as considerably less hawkish than some had feared heading into the meeting. That relief helped spark a rally across risk assets broadly, with Bitcoin among the primary beneficiaries as investors concluded the pace of monetary tightening was unlikely to accelerate further in the near term.

The rally extended beyond Bitcoin itself into the broader cryptocurrency market. Layer-2 and decentralized finance tokens led a wide-ranging advance as what analysts described as lingering nerves from the Fed’s rate hike faded, with tokens including Starknet and Arbitrum each gaining more than 17% during the rally. Ninety-eight of the 100 constituent tokens in the CoinDesk 100 index advanced during the session, reflecting how broadly the improved sentiment spread across the digital asset market rather than remaining confined to Bitcoin alone.

The initial surge in prices also triggered a wave of forced selling among traders who had bet against the market. More than $260 million in short positions were liquidated across cryptocurrency markets as prices moved higher, according to data cited by market trackers, a dynamic that tends to amplify upward price moves as exchanges automatically close out leveraged bets that can no longer be sustained once prices move against them.

Friday’s gains came against a backdrop of shifting global monetary policy more broadly. The Bank of Japan also raised interest rates overnight, though that move failed to halt a continued slide in the Japanese yen, according to market commentary. Meanwhile, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note slipped back below 5%, easing some of the pressure that elevated borrowing costs had placed on riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies, in recent sessions.

Despite Friday’s sharp advance, Bitcoin’s trajectory through September as a whole has remained more muted than the day’s headline percentage gain might suggest. Heading into Friday’s rally, Bitcoin was down just 1.5% for the month, a notably resilient performance given that September has historically been the cryptocurrency’s weakest month of the year on average. Even accounting for pressure from rising interest rates, a stronger U.S. dollar and surging oil prices tied to instability in the Middle East, Bitcoin had remained on track to post its first positive quarterly performance in a year before Friday’s rally added further momentum to that trend.

Bitcoin’s price action has continued to show an unusually close relationship with broader financial markets in recent weeks. The cryptocurrency’s 24-hour correlation with the S&P 500 has remained elevated at roughly 71%, according to market analysis, suggesting Bitcoin has increasingly traded in tandem with broader risk sentiment across equity markets rather than moving independently based on cryptocurrency-specific developments alone.

Technical analysts had flagged the $76,700 level as a key pivot point heading into Friday’s session, describing it as resistance-turned-support that would need to hold for the cryptocurrency’s recent recovery to remain intact. A sustained move above that level was seen as opening a path toward the $78,000 to $78,572 range, a target Bitcoin surpassed comfortably as Friday’s rally gathered pace and pushed well beyond that zone toward $81,000.

Even with Friday’s strong gains, Bitcoin remains well below both its 2026 high of roughly $94,820, reached in mid-January, and its all-time high of approximately $126,198, set on October 6 of last year. That gap has left some market participants divided over whether the current rally represents the start of a more durable recovery or another temporary bounce within a longer period of consolidation that has characterized much of Bitcoin’s trading throughout 2026.

With the Bank of Japan’s rate decision now delivered and the Federal Reserve’s next moves likely to depend heavily on incoming inflation and employment data over the coming months, investors are likely to watch closely whether Friday’s rally can be sustained into next week, or whether Bitcoin’s historically volatile September trading pattern reasserts itself as the month draws to a close.

LONDON — Prince Harry made his first public appearance and gave his first interview since unexpectedly relocating back to the United Kingdom, describing the two weeks since his return in a single word: “eventful.”

The Duke of Sussex attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards at the Old Royal Naval College in London on September 17, arriving solo in black tie and wearing medals from his time as a working member of the royal family. His wife, Meghan Markle, was believed to be at home with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, at the family’s private, non-royal residence outside London, where they have been living since relocating from California in late August.

Speaking to Hello! magazine, which conducted the first interview with Harry since his return, the prince reflected on the whirlwind period since the family’s move. “It’s great to be back on British soil,” he said. When asked what had stood out most since settling back into life in the U.K., Harry responded with characteristic humor. “My highlight so far? Oh, I don’t know. Would I dare share it with you?” he said, before turning more direct. “It’s been eventful,” he added. “But, you know, we’re getting stuck into the work. Kids are in school. We’re happy. And, as I said, it’s great to be back on British soil, and looking forward to Birmingham next year for the Invictus Games that’s coming up,” referring to the next edition of the Games scheduled for July 2027.

Harry expanded further on his feelings about the evening itself, describing the emotional weight of reconnecting with the community tied to the Invictus Games, the multi-sport competition he founded in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick military service members. “It’s great,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be back on British soil and really nice to see so many old faces and friends that came to this, and new faces as well, and new donors. And most of all, I guess, my Invictus family. It’s been a very special journey over the last 12 years. So, yeah, all families.”

According to Hello!, Harry was “clearly in his element” throughout the evening, stopping repeatedly to talk with attendees and take selfies with anyone who asked. The outlet reported that Harry, speaking with them later in the evening, admitted he was “a little hot and sweaty” and had gotten makeup on his tuxedo from hugging so many guests, a detail the publication characterized as evidence of the warm welcome he received at the event.

The Invictus Spirit Awards, described as an event held to honor the bravest and most resilient former servicemen and women, drew a number of high-profile attendees and supporters. Harry’s friend James Corden was on hand at the event, while celebrities including Michael Bublé, Elton John, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Ed Sheeran donated items for the evening’s charity auction. Hello! reported the event raised more than $2.2 million, with roughly 350 guests in attendance dining on Cornish lamb.

Harry, a 10-year veteran of the British Army, was seen wiping away a tear at one point during the evening, underscoring the emotional resonance the event carried for him personally. In his own remarks to the room, Harry spoke about what resilience and recovery can look like for the service members the Invictus Games was created to support. “Sometimes victory is getting out of bed or asking for help,” he said. “It is finding work, reconnecting with your family, or putting a uniform away and discovering that your service — and your purpose — did not end with it.”

Harry’s appearance came in the same week that excerpts from his uncle Charles Spencer’s forthcoming memoir about Princess Diana, titled “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” began circulating in the British press. According to multiple reports, neither Harry nor his brother, Prince William, were made aware of the book’s contents before the excerpts were released. At one point during the evening, a reporter called out to Harry asking how he was feeling about his uncle’s book. According to the Daily Mail, Harry ignored the question and “looked serious” in response, declining to address the memoir publicly.

Harry’s solo appearance at the awards event marked a notable early public moment following the family’s abrupt relocation, which came ahead of Archie and Lilibet starting the new school term in England. The couple’s return has continued to generate substantial media attention in the weeks since, with ongoing coverage focused on the family’s living arrangements, their children’s schooling, and the broader state of Harry’s relationship with the rest of the royal family, including his father, King Charles, and his brother, William.

With the next Invictus Games still roughly ten months away in Birmingham, and further fallout from his uncle’s memoir likely to continue unfolding in the British press in the days ahead, Harry’s first public remarks since returning to the U.K. offered a brief but candid glimpse into how he has been navigating the transition back to life in his home country after several years based in the United States.

Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, handing over leadership to his son Howard in the final chapter of a long-planned transition at the US business giant.

At 96, the world-famous investor will move into an advisory role as chairman emeritus and remain on the company board to offer his “judgement and perspective”, according to a letter to shareholders, external.

The decision comes nine months after Buffett passed the chief executive role to Greg Abel, with his son, Howard, who has been a director since 1993, taking over non-executive board duties.

Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett built one of the most successful investment track records in modern history.

He took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 when it was a struggling New England textile mill and turned it into a $1.1 trillion (£822b), global conglomerate.

Today, the business owns a wide range of well-known brands including GEICO car insurance, Dairy Queen, and BNSF railway system. It also owns large stakes in companies like Apple and Coca-Cola – a brand close to Buffett’s heart, as he famously drinks five cans a day.

Buffett has made his mark through “value investing” – a strategy focused on finding companies with solid fundamentals, buying them at fair prices, and holding them for decades.

His annual letters to shareholders and festival-like annual meetings turned him into a leading mentor across the financial world.

Despite his retirement from the top board post, the change is considered an orderly passing of the baton rather than a sudden shock.

“The timing is right to complete the transition,” Buffett wrote, noting he had recently celebrated his 96th birthday and the first birthday of one of his great-grandchildren, who is “moving a bit faster” than he is.

The company assured investors that day-to-day operations will remain steady.

While Greg Abel manages corporate strategy and capital decisions, Howard Buffett’s main duty as chairman will be guarding the firm’s “culture and values”. A former farmer, philanthropist, and sheriff, the younger Buffett brings more than three decades of board experience to the role.

Buffett concluded his letter by saying it had been the “privilege of a lifetime” to serve as chairman, but acknowledged that in the end, “Father Time always wins”.