At dusk, the leaves of the tamarind tree close, waiting for another dawn. Androsthenes, a ship captain serving under Alexander the Great, made the first written account of these leaf movements in the fourth century B.C.

It took centuries longer to discover that he was...

Conservatives who dislike Donald Trump like to blame the president and his Breitbart cheering section for the racial demagoguery they see in today’s Republican Party.

For example, New York...

This November, the FBI released its annual report of hate crimes for 2016, showing that in Trump’s America, Muslims experience a greater risk of violence.

The FBI defines hate crimes as “a traditional offense like murder,...

The fight against online abuse has put increasing pressure on social media corporations to take responsibility for the content that appears on their platforms. As a result, Twitter, Facebook and other sites have created buttons for reporting harassment and blocking unwanted contact – and they occasionally ban particular...

Reporter Paula Froelich claims she once observed Harvey Weinstein assault a woman at a book party. Her editor responded with, “Maybe it’s not really a story.”

As it turns out, Weinstein and others are becoming a never-ending story, as more women reveal experiences with...

The tax package pending in Congress includes a provision that would leave churches and other nonprofits, which by law must be nonpartisan, suddenly free to engage in political speech.

This measure,...

Charles Manson, the wild-eyed cult leader who claimed inspiration for an apocalyptic race war from the Beatles’ “White Album,” died in Kern County, California, on Nov. 19 at the age of 83.

Journalist Joan Didion wrote that for many of her friends in Los...

The manic nature of Black Friday has at times led shoppers to engage in fistfights and other misbehavior in their desperation to snatch up the last ultra-discounted television, computer or pair of pants.

What is it about the day after Thanksgiving – a day meant to celebrate togetherness and shared feasting – that inspires consumers to...

The general in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal, John Hyten, recently said he would resist carrying out an illegal order from the president to use those weapons.

His comments echoed the ones made a few days earlier by one of his...

The late NFL tight end Konrad Reuland and baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew became forever linked when Carew, who needed a new heart, received Reuland’s. Reuland suffered a brain aneurysm on...