In a Tuesday vice-presidential debate studded with surprising points of agreement between two starkly different candidates, an extended discussion of child care stood out. Over the past three years, Congressional Republicans, with the help of one key moderate Democrat, essentially killed President Biden’s attempts to create a national affordable child-care …

It may seem like a hopeless place, but locusts find a way to breed in the scorching heat of the Sahara at midday. The biblical voracity of these insects make them among the world’s most destructive pests. They devour agricultural crops in swarms that number in the billions and stretch …

Apple’s most important new product of the year (sorry, it’s not a $3,500 headset) will arrive this month. Apple Intelligence, a suite of software tools bringing what Apple describes as artificial intelligence to its devices, will be released through free software updates for owners of some iPhones, Macs and iPads. …

A few years ago, American friends of mine bought a home in a European country in order to obtain an E.U. passport. (The country has an immigration program supporting this.) They state that they are doing so in case the United States presidential election goes as they fear. They, and …

When you write scary stories for a living, everyone assumes that Halloween must be your favorite holiday. But when I think about Halloween, I often remember it as a day of heartbreaking disappointment. My family was quite poor. I grew up in a tiny house in an Ohio suburb three …

There is little life left in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Roads, typically crammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic and the deafening screech of car horns, are eerily empty. Once-bustling sidewalks where people talked politics over coffee and tea are desolate too. In lieu of plastic bistro chairs, there are shards of …

Watching weird indie horror movies at home on Tubi can be a bunch of fun. So can going to the local multiplex to see the latest scary Hollywood blockbuster with other shrieking fans. Horror film festivals offer the best of both worlds, with twists. The programming is heavy on premieres …

Hurricane Helene has torn through cities across the Southeast, killing at least 120 people in six states since it made landfall on Thursday. The death toll is still expected to rise. Some of the worst damage has happened inland in North Carolina, and almost a third of those killed were …

Q: I want to dermaplane my face to get rid of peach fuzz. But is it safe to do myself? Peach fuzz can crop up anywhere on the body. But when those wispy little hairs appear on the face, they can make some people self-conscious. The good news, experts say, …

It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump. He has proved himself morally unfit for an office that asks its occupant to put the good of the nation above self-interest. He has proved himself temperamentally unfit for a …