They came dressed for chaos. They came in red, white and blue face paint and star-spangled superhero outfits, in flag capes (American, yes, but also Confederate and Trumpian) and flag jackets and Trump bobble hats. One man came as a patriotic duck; another as a bald eagle; another as a cross between a knight-errant and…
The spread of the coronavirus accelerated sharply in U.S. counties where large universities held classes in person last fall, federal health researchers reported on Wednesday. Incidence rates in those counties rose more than 50 percent in the first three weeks after classes started, compared with the previous three-week period, according to a new study by…
Three distinct groups — Capitol Police, rioters and members of Congress — “were spending time indoors, without social distancing, for long periods of time,” said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious diseases physician at Boston University. The melee likely was a super-spreader event, he added, “especially given the backdrop of the highly transmissible variants that are…
With hospitals in Los Angeles County swamped with Covid-19 patients, a memo that went out to the county’s ambulance crews last week caused public alarm and prompted explanations from medics on social media about their care practices. In the memo, a slightly updated version of which was released on Monday, the county Emergency Medical Services…
I went to pick up my child from a school activity. (The kids are masked and grouped in small pods.) While waiting, my friend approached my car. She was obviously tipsy; even my younger child noticed how oddly she spoke and acted. I know she has a history of problem drinking. She’s also going through…
There are some songs that have lyrics so saturating of our psyche that they seem almost innate; that have crowds raising their drinks and bellowing along to the chorus in a dive bar at 2 a.m. … well, maybe not that, at least not now. But what if that song that seems to be playing…
Reducing drug prices The Democratic House’s other big recent health bill was an effort to lower the prices of certain expensive prescription drugs. Lowering drug prices has been a Democratic policy priority for many years, and one that Mr. Biden endorses, at least in general. President Trump has championed legislation on drug prices as well,…
At this time of year The Times’s Travel desk usually publishes its lavish “52 Places to Go” list, a compendium of suggestions for the destinations that are especially worth visiting in the coming year, accompanied by showstopping photography. But in this pandemic year, creating our usual list was out of the question. For one thing,…
My wife’s parents have led a relatively monastic existence since about mid-March. Both are in their 80s and live independently in rural Pennsylvania, maintaining a three-acre property by themselves. My father-in-law, the older of the two, has skirted major medical problems despite a decades-long indiscriminate diet, a testimony to the triumph of genetics over lifestyle…
When I was 13, going to public pools was painful. I loved the water, but I was convinced that dozens of judging eyes were on me every time I took my shirt off. I wish I could say this was only a product of my adolescent imagination, but I knew it was not when a…