Please note: We’re taking next week off, and we’ll back on Monday, Sept. 10. See you then!

Half a million people have been killed in Syria's seven-year war. Signs suggest a massive final battle is coming.

Immigration officials say that birth certificates aren't enough for US citizens who live along the border.

The Village Voice, founded in 1955, ceases publication. A look back at how it changed journalism.

There’s an old rule in neuroscience that does not alter with age: use it or lose it. It is a very hopeful principle when applied to critical thought in the reading brain because it implies choice. Skim reading is the new normal—and that’s a very bad thing for society.

Related: The typical American consumes more than 100,000 words a day and remembers none of them.

A study finds that cave bear DNA lives on in modern brown bears, much like humans carry around some Neanderthal.

Anti-Semitic hackers renamed New York City “Jewtropolis” on Snapchat, the Weather Channel, and other apps.

That teacher who got a $108,951 bill for a heart attack? The media attention about it brought the sum down to $332.29.

Internet memes can be good for people when they help to normalize mental health struggles.

A new “grandkids on demand” app dispatches carefully vetted college students to hang out with seniors.

An online museum showcases web design trends between 1995 and 2005.

“There’s no precedent to look to regarding the top-selling artist of the digital era becoming a total free agent.” Four scenarios for Taylor Swift’s new record deal. It’s possible she could receive $20 million per album.

W. H. Auden hated one of his most oft-quoted lines (”We must love one another or die.”), tried to change it, and ultimately disowned it.

“Quitting should be something positive.” Japanese startup Exit will quit your job for you, for a fee.