Our best hope may be the weather. For a long time, many people thought that it was a mistake to use the weather as evidence of climate change. Weather patterns contain a lot of randomness. Even as the earth warms and extreme weather becomes more common, some years are colder and calmer than others. If […]

They are in their 80s and 90s now, national security titans from years past when certain values were broadly shared, like the imperative of America’s global leadership and the nation’s commitment to democracy, diplomacy and the North Atlantic alliance. And with George H.W. Bush gone, it’s hard not to wonder how the tenor of American […]

A woman in Arlington, Texas who gave birth to a baby boy weighing 15 pounds earlier this month told reporters she believes her son is “meant for something big.” “Maybe not football,” Jennifer Medlock joked with reporters after her son’s birth. “Everyone keeps saying that.” Ali James Medlock weighed 14 pounds and 13 ounces at […]

To the Editor: Re “Judgment for an Abusive Church Culture” (editorial, Dec. 23): I read your editorial about the state of Roman Catholicism with great interest. If the church is ever to reform itself, Pope Francis must include the laity, particularly women, in the coming convocation in Rome and in all subsequent discussions on the […]

To the Editor: Re “As Supreme Court Tips Right, Chief Justice Steers to Center” (front page, Dec. 24): Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. may insist that “we don’t work as Democrats or Republicans” and occasionally vote to prove that point, as you report, but my analysis of 600 national security cases decided during the […]

Under the arcade in front of the Moustakas ‘Toys & Bebe’ shop on central Ermou Street in Athens, there is a long row of the homeless, sleeping out in their now all too familiar jumble of blankets, heavy coats and cardboard boxes. To some extent, they are the living expression of the crisis that has […]

Someone is gone. Perhaps this is the first year you had to get used to it, or maybe you’ve had years of practice with how the calendar keeps going, and it’s still hard. Either way, for right now I recommend getting in the bath. Lie faceup if you want. I prefer facedown, coming up for […]

To the Editor: The main problem with our health care system is that it is, at every level, profit-driven, from the doctor’s office to the drug companies to the hospital. And no matter how you get insurance, through the Affordable Care Act or your employer, they’re in the business of denying service to improve profitability. […]

True story: One summer, years ago, I went tubing with my family and a boyfriend. The sun was blazing, and the water was cool. It was a perfect day to close your eyes and let the current carry you. I was enjoying myself, until we rounded the final bend and saw the parking lot. I […]

The secret marzipan thief is the man who ate the icing on the cake, off the cake. And the strange case of the man who eats marzipan late at night is inextricably intertwined with the proposed banning of the Christmas anthems ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘White Christmas’. I’m sure that by now […]