BALTIMORE — Leadership comes down to five things. Or maybe three. This day is all about you, unless it’s really about the family and friends who got you here. Live globally, but embrace the home and the hearth.

It’s commencement season, and this month, speakers sent the graduates of Maryland’s colleges and universities off to the rest ...Read more

In the campaign to keep discussions about race and identity out of classrooms, there’s a common refrain: Schools should stick to the basics.

“Teach ABCs + 123s, not CRTs & LGBTs,” campaign signs read in one Texas school board race. (CRT refers to critical race theory, a catchall phrase for lessons that explore how race has shaped America�...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Family Pride, a local LGBTQ nonprofit, was set to partner with the Philadelphia Zoo for a Pride-themed, animal-focused story hour on June 3, and had already hired a drag queen to read at the event.

But a little more than a week before it was set to take place, the zoo asked the group to uninvite the drag queen, ...Read more

“I feel like I’m stealing,” gushed a woman leaving the store.

She didn’t know us, but she had to tell someone. Her cart overflowed with sparkly ribbon and plastic Christmas foliage. My son and I understood what she meant. My wife sent us out to the car to get more bags because the situation had gotten out of control.

This was the scene...Read more

Never has a point been made so clear: Yes, a cascading plant is perfect for a hanging basket. The plant of which I am speaking is the Fairytrail Bride Cascade Hydrangea. The social media world that revolves around gardening has been like wildfire as everybody has been posting photos of baskets with Fairytrail Bride Cascade Hydrangeas.

In a way...Read more

The letter from Yosemite Postmaster Fred C. Alexander, dated June 29, 1926, was meant to set the record straight regarding a shipment of 50 pounds of frankfurters from San Francisco.

The sausages were to have passed through the newly built Yosemite National Park post office before being delivered to a beloved Yosemite Valley restaurateur. Alas,...Read more

Editor’s Note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the United States is available by calling or texting 988 or 1-800-273-8255. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

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ATLANTA -- Savannah Elahee is sitting at one of her happy places: a picnic table ...Read more

As always, dating can sometimes feel like a conglomeration of awkward situations, ones we have no idea how to deal with.

I stand by my advice that I give often: I don’t want you to be scared of talking to the very person you supposedly like so much. If they’re a true partner, it will feel like a safe landing place for your concerns and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Dan Bifano is in a hurry, but it's in his nature to be gracious, so he keeps his countenance serene even though gnarly traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway has made his visitors very late.

"I was afraid I would be late too," he confides, glancing at his watch, "because I had to make a quick stop at Lady Gaga's."

The comment is ...Read more

Are cookies and chips the new cigarettes? And soda, breakfast cereals and ice cream the new opioids?

In his new book, "Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: The New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight" (Flatiron Books), former FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler argues that ultraprocessed foods — meaning "irresistible, highly processed, highly ...Read more

DETROIT — The Michigan parents of transgender minors who rely on gender-affirming health care, such as hormones and puberty blockers, said they are living with fear as the Trump administration targets what the president calls a "dangerous trend" and what defenders call "life-saving" care.

At least nine Michigan facilities now offer gender-...Read more

Dear Anna,

My boyfriend and I have been together for two years and recently moved in together. Everything was going great until we started sharing a bed regularly. He claims that my breathing keeps him awake at night — not snoring, just my normal breathing sounds. At first I thought he was joking, but he's completely serious.

He's started ...Read more

Q. My children’s father and I parent differently. He’s laid back, I like a schedule. He likes to eat in front of the TV, I make the kids eat at the table. He hired a helper to clean the house, I am trying to teach the kids responsibility, so they have age-appropriate chores. Our children are 11, 9, and 6. They are gravitating to dad’s ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

My 10-year-old regularly does not want to eat dinner with us. I’ve told him how important I think family time is and that I want him to eat with us, but he just wants to eat in his room. Sometimes I demand that he eat with us and this is a daily battle. Any suggestions on how to handle this? My son is in his room almost ...Read more

I couldn't get into spring cleaning this year. I couldn't get into fall, winter or summer cleaning either.

My housekeeping may be slipping. There was a time when I cleaned the entire house from top to bottom every week. Now I just write "SEND HELP" in the dust on my desk.

When people come over, see that and ask if everything is all right, I ...Read more

The recent tumultuous economy has led to an array of spending behaviors among Americans — from buying in bulk before prices skyrocket to stricter budgeting in case of a recession. And it might be affecting their fun budgets. Bankrate’s new 2025 Discretionary Spending Survey shows that 54% of U.S. adults say they expect to spend less on ...Read more

CHICAGO — The route to Kilmer Elementary School is about a mile and a half each way for Hamid Azizi, who heads out every afternoon to walk his daughters home. What would seem like a mundane activity for most is a joyous occasion for the father of seven, who arrived in Chicago a little more than a month ago.

The 30-minute walk has been Azizi�...Read more

SEMINOLE, Fla. — On a quiet afternoon at her nail salon in Seminole, Liudmyla Nikohosian gently held a client’s hand while applying a layer of gel to make her nails strong and shiny.

A flower arrangement sat in the corner. A flat-screen TV streamed videos of European cities as soft music played in the background. When clients asked for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Dried leaves, bark scraps, fallen walnuts — just about everything on the forest floor looked like a morel.

I was roughly 40 minutes into a forest trek to find morel mushrooms. The prized culinary ingredient appears for only a few weeks when lilacs bloom each spring. But almost nobody in the foray I had joined had found one yet...Read more

DENVER — Josh McGirk was skeptical about animal communicators.

The south Denver resident loved his four-legged family members and was at his wits’ end after adopting a new cat, Amelie, who his two other cats were terrorizing.

He heard mixed reviews about people who claimed to be able to communicate with pets, but Amelie’s separation ...Read more