Could life exist elsewhere in the universe? Scientists are one step closer to discovering whether earthlings are alone in the universe, as NASA’s largest and most technologically advanced planetary spacecraft, the Europa Clipper, launched on Oct 14.

Charter fisherman Cliff Fleming has spent most of his adult life here on the southern tip of Texas, making his living off the area’s abundant natural resources. But now he has a lucrative side business: taking tourists out for fishing and a clear vie

Sue Kim’s first encounter with the sea women of South Korea was as a child. During a visit to Jeju Island, she spotted several women in wet suits putting on face masks. Haenyeo, or sea women, are free divers. Holding their breath, they harvest sea ur

Yancey County Elections Director Mary Beth Tipton has had a brutal few weeks. Mrs. Tipton had joked to colleagues before Hurricane Helene hit that it would take a “Noah’s Ark”-sized storm to damage her property – then watched the waters rise in her f

Every year starting at about this time, tens of thousands of American children mail a letter to Santa asking for a holiday present – often not for themselves. And ever since 1912, local post offices have invited people – in selfless anonymity – to fu

In the closing stretch of the election, former President Donald Trump continues to emphasize claims of “migrant crime.” On Friday, he spoke in Aurora, Colorado, a city he charges is overrun by a Venezuelan gang. The Republican mayor has said such con

The Israeli airstrikes on a crowded central Beirut district after nightfall Thursday came without warning, in an apparent attempt by Israel to add to its long list of top Hezbollah leaders and commanders assassinated in recent weeks. The airstrikes b

Eric Gillespie put his sandals on, walked outside his house, and stood in awe at the sight of Clear Creek – usually a gurgling rivulet – rushing like a dark torrent. Then he heard the screams for help. Down a steep bank lay a row of cookie-cutter hou

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians began returning home Thursday after the second major hurricane within two weeks crashed into the western coast of their state, bringing winds topping 100 mph, multiple feet of storm surge, and the fear of a new era

It has become the forgotten war, overshadowed by the conflagration in the Middle East. Yet Ukraine’s increasingly difficult battle against Russia’s invasion force – far from having gone away – is entering a crucial stage. The next few weeks could go

At the National Heirloom Exposition in Ventura, California, one of the largest gatherings of seed enthusiasts in the United States, visitors are greeted by an enormous pile of twisted and gnarled squash. There’s nothing uniform about these pumpkins a

The blue skies above the northern port city of Haifa these days are a story told in the white contrails of Hezbollah missiles and the Israeli air defense systems knocking them down. From the ground are heard the attendant booms, the wail of air raid

Many people want to communicate better with family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances across the political spectrum. We’ve put together a list of books, some suggested by Bob Stains, an expert on conflict transformation (read our Q&A with him he

A year of war has left many Israelis and Palestinians doubting that they will ever find a way to trust each other. France and Madagascar may offer a blueprint. Last week, the two countries formed a joint scientific committee to facilitate the repatri

Federal agencies responding to natural disasters are used to being called incompetent when help arrives too slowly for frustrated communities. But the deadly hurricanes that have pummeled Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia over the past two weeks a

When Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was asked about her retirement plans after 12 years presiding over Ohio’s Supreme Court, she invoked an Italian phrase: dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing. Instead, a week later she began working on

The entertainingly madcap “Saturday Night” takes place in the frenetic 90-minute run-up to the airing of the first “Saturday Night Live” show on Oct. 11, 1975. The events appear to be happening almost in real time, and in one continuous shot. The fil

Contrary to popular belief, Americans are not as divided or as entrenched in their opinions as they might think. That’s one of the many provocative points made by Diana McLain Smith in “Remaking the Space Between Us: How Citizens Can Work Together To

What an entrance. On Tuesday, or only a week after she became Mexico’s first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo sent her security czar to walk the streets of Culiacán. The city is the epicenter of a murderous struggle between two factions of a

Visitors to a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment,” are greeted early on by war. The Franco-Prussian War – and the devastating insurrection in its wake – to be exact. To Sebastian Smee, a

When the rainy remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed into western North Carolina in late September, they swelled the river running through Asheville into a destructive torrent. Yet the flooding also quickened many social back eddies. The storm brought

As Gisèle Pelicot enters the Avignon courtroom where her husband and dozens of co-defendants are on trial for raping her, she is often welcomed by applause from crowds outside. A woman of a certain age, Ms. Pelicot stands tall, sporting a stylish bob

With Hurricane Milton churning across the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico – and aimed directly at the west coast of Florida – hundreds of thousands of Floridians are leaving their homes, following mandatory evacuation orders. State offici

President Joe Biden was asked last week if he thought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deliberately acting in ways to sway the U.S. presidential election. His strikingly passive response, clearly tinged with disappointment, communicated

Ask many of today’s 60-, 70-, or even 80-somethings if they go to a senior center and they’ll probably grimace at the staid reputation of that institution of American old age – people silently watching TV, shuffling cards, picking up a mushy-looking