WASHINGTON — For decades, as prescription drug costs have soared, Democrats have battled with the pharmaceutical industry in pursuit of an elusive goal: legislation that could drive down prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug makers. Now they are on the verge of passing a broad budget bill that would do just that,…
What would summer be without a little heat? A little adventure? A little mischief? Last month, The New York Times for Kids visited Coney Island to get all three. Along the beach, in the maze of rides at Luna Park and on the sandy boardwalk, we found and spoke to more than 50 kids to…
After working for a while as a peddler, Abraham made enough money to open his own general store. He learned English quickly and even perfected a rural Wisconsin accent, which helped him relate to his customers. Celia, a homemaker, maintained her thick Yiddish accent. A childhood accident involving a mill at Celia’s family farm had…
I’ve read many Modern Love submissions about encountering old crushes and high school flames online. (First love never dies, right? Especially in the digital age.) What struck me about Sara Glass’s essay, “Please, God, Help Me Stop Missing Her,” wasn’t that Ms. Glass reunited with an old love on Instagram. Rather, it was her acute…
Speaking of summer weather, or weren’t we? I pronounce it “exceedingly hot and humid.” While that’s not true of everywhere, of course, I know many people who would emphatically answer yes when asked, “Hot enough for you?” And emphatically no when asked, “Are you going to cook?” Some won’t even turn on the oven or…
Last week, I told you I was in full tomato mode. Which is true. But it’s not the whole story. My other summer love is fresh sweet corn, which I find so irresistible that I drag home far more than I can carry when I leave the market. I’ll probably end up in physical therapy,…
The shortfall of monkeypox vaccine doses in the United States, expected to last for months, is raising urgent questions about how well and for how long a single shot may protect against the virus. The vaccine, called Jynneos, is approved as a two-dose regimen, but most people at risk of infection have been receiving one…
Jim Steinman, who died last year at 73, left behind one of the most distinctive catalogs of music in history, filled with chart-topping hits written for the likes of Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler and Celine Dion. With songs ranging from the restless (“All Revved Up With No Place To Go”) to the wrenching (“For Crying…
In June, 100 fruit fly scientists gathered on the Greek island of Crete for their biennial meeting. Among them was Cassandra Extavour, a Canadian geneticist at Harvard University. Her lab works with fruit flies to study evolution and development — “evo devo.” Most often, such scientists choose as their “model organism” the species Drosophila melanogaster…
Kylie Minogue’s early experiences of alcohol were not especially glamorous — canned drinks with teenage friends, boxed wine at family barbecues. But Ms. Minogue, 54, the only female artist to have topped music charts in five consecutive decades, has refined her relationship to liquor since. On a recent Wednesday morning, she stood behind the venerable…