Happy dance video goes viral The 6-year-old boy in a Superman T-shirt and sneakers reached for the bell at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Jimmy Spagnolo, who has been battling an inoperable brain tumor since infancy, had finished a year-long round of chemotherapy and was eager to celebrate it.“The […]

If the English language is like a great and churning word stew, then dictionaries must sometimes play the spoons, scooping up fresh phrases as they surface: useful neologisms, well-baked slang and the best bits spilled over from foreign and academic tongues. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently announced the results of its most recent haul — more […]

When my son exploded down the stairs and into the kitchen, in his typical 12-year-old way on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon, my husband stopped him before he could run into the den.“Maybe you should mention to Mom? What you’re doing upstairs?” my husband said. They exchanged glances.“Why? What are you doing upstairs?” I put down […]

NEW YORK (AP) — After many years of divisiveness, the Boy Scouts of America have opened their ranks to gay and transgender boys. Yet a different membership dispute persists: a long-shot campaign to let girls join the BSA so they have a chance to earn the prestigious status of Eagle Scout. Just last week, after […]

I try to accomplish two things at the dinner table. The first is to get at least a portion of the healthy, balanced meal I’ve put on the table into my sons’ bodies. The second is to polish their table manners. This mostly involves telling them to stop jumping up from their seats like jacks-in-the-box, […]