As the holiday season winds down and Covid-19 cases start to pick up, a variant called JN.1 has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the United States. JN.1, which emerged from the variant BA.2.86 and was first detected in the United States in September, accounted for 44 percent of Covid…
Background The law, House Bill 71, specifically bans gender transition surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 18 with gender dysphoria. It also makes it a felony for medical professionals to provide the care, with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Idaho’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill, also known as…
On and off social media, watermelons are being used as a symbol to communicate solidarity with Palestinians in the deadly war between Israel and Hamas. The fruit is painted on semicircles of cardboard at protests in support of Palestinians. The watermelon emoji appears next to the Palestinian flag in display names on TikTok and X,…
Think about your most exciting purchase or gift this year. It was a chic designer bag, wasn’t it? Well, it’s time to take that excitement into 2024 because there will be plenty of trends to help spice up your life in the new year. Textures, silhouettes, and color palettes are poised to make the next…
Hi there! Mia here, your trusty New York Times Cooking newsletter editor. I’m filling in for Melissa today and for Sam on Friday while they’re on vacation, and I’m chock-full of cookies — specifically the giant choco chunkies from Samantha Seneviratne’s new cookbook — and sparkling apple cider. Let’s do this! Maybe it’s my California…
When Judy Pellarin had her daughters three decades ago, she and her husband gave them her last name instead of his. A generation later, her daughters also broke tradition — one gave her daughter her surname, and the other created a new name, a blending of her and her husband’s middle names. Though some families…
“Roll me up and smoke me when I die,” Willie Nelson sang from the stage of the Hollywood Bowl during his 90th birthday celebration in April. As usual, Mr. Nelson looked very much at ease. He was wearing a cowboy hat over a red bandanna, and his hair spilled down his back. His trusty guitar,…
I am 68 and live alone in a nice home in the suburbs. My only child, 40, is happily settled with his fiancée in another city. I always hoped they would come back here to raise a family, and I offered to give them my home if they did. They like the idea and plan…
Another year in travel, another 12 months of meltdowns and debacles. As one analyst put it, 2023 “took chaos to a new level.” Yikes. Still, travelers kept flying, including in record-breaking numbers on Thanksgiving weekend. Whether they decided to enter the fray or just armchair travel, our readers loved stories that took them away, whether…
He’ll Be Home for Christmas! “I’ll drive; it’s 20 hours and I’ll be there for Christmas dinner,” my husband, Edwin, said, undeterred after a Canadian snowstorm grounded all flights. Imagining a fatality replacing our festivities, I insisted he come by train. Hours in, Edwin’s locomotive halted, its tracks blocked by debris. Eighteen hours of standstill…