* Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi sworn in as Burmese parliamentarian. * Fifteen percent of the world's population convinced the end is near—and within their lifetime. * Pictures compared of New York's Union Square on May firsts, 1912 and 2012. * The state of our politics is at
People complain that politics are worse than ever. It happens to be true. But history contains as many examples of the contentious, weird, and wacky as the present—and those absurdities are actually vital to our democracy.
* Nasher museum in Dallas, designed by Piano, besieged by the glare from a neighboring condo tower. * Related: Sarah Hepola on why so few people admit loving Dallas. * Round-up of cityscapes painted on cardboard. * Toni Morrison's real name is Chloe Wofford—Toni does the publicity, she says, but
* Open letter to NFL recruits encourages them to keep family near, and to stay far away from interior decorators. * If Obama isn't careful, his opponent could conceivably turn his in-jokes and dazzling hipness against him. * Brigid Sweeney on the fall of Sears, once America's mightiest
To celebrate the release of Rosecrans Baldwin’s Paris, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down, we’re giving away copies of the book to the creators of our favorite remixes of the Paris cover. For those of you addicted to creating internet memes, this contest is your
Risen from the streets of Eastern Europe and squalid New York City, bagels now hold a seat at middle- and upper-class breakfast tables everywhere. A look back from a baker with 50,000 “golden visions” under his belt.
* Study finds Congress is more polarized than at any time since Reconstruction, and getting worse. * Photos of President Obama hoisting big sticks. * Gordimer: South Africa's proposed new secrecy measures stand only to conceal corruption and harm society. * Gingrich and Edwards were recently a few dozen miles apart—and
* Dozens wounded after suicide attacks in northwestern Syria. * One World Trade Center to become New York's tallest building at some point soon. * France likely to replace Sarkozy with a milky citizen king. * Report from the rust belt of France. * In India, solar energy is well on its way
* After a dramatic week of political history, the Dutch cobble together austerity measures. * Rodrik: National interests are slaves to economists' ideas and their influence on policymakers. * Billionaire says Titanic II should be ready to sail in 2016. * When you look at America, you have to concede that we have
Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. From the difficulties of dealing pot or having too much to read and learn, to being the biggest working comic without being famous, it’s never as
