ArcaMax

There’s something about a small town that makes it the perfect setting for a thriller. On the surface, you’ve got quiet streets, neighbors who wave as they pass, kids riding their bikes without a care. But scratch just a little deeper and you’ll often find lies stacked as neatly as wood piles, secrets pressed down tightly, hidden well, ...Read more

It’s always a treat as a reader to find a book that delivers a powerful social message as well as tells a good story, and that’s exactly what we get in "Under Their Watch" — Charlie Ketchey’s compelling and moving novel about the challenges facing a pair of dedicated child-care workers.

Child-care caseworker Cameron Springer and John ...Read more

'ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER'

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, sexual content, and drug use.

What it’s about: A former revolutionary has to regain his skills and reunite with his comrades to save his daughter.

The kid attractor factor: This is an incendiary political adult drama — not much appeal for kids.

Good lessons/bad lessons:...Read more

My husband is one of those people who can sleep anywhere, anytime.

He can sleep sprawled halfway on and halfway off the sofa, in a straight-back chair, with three grands crawling all over him styling his hair, and during cross-country flights with severe turbulence.

It’s a gift. The man is so gifted he can even fall asleep while I’m ...Read more

Q. My ex and I were married when we were very young. We had a child soon afterward, but my ex left us, and we were divorced nine months later. I have not seen or heard from him in 8 years. I remarried a wonderful man when my son was a year and a half old and he is the only father my son has known. Today I got a phone call from my ex’s aunt who...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Amid a nationwide “masculinity crisis” that has caused boys and young men to gravitate toward traditional gender roles and often misogynistic content, researchers, columnists and political leaders have sought to understand a simple question: What’s up with boys?

To Jim Steyer, the CEO of the media literacy company ...Read more

The art of the con is just as much a part of human nature as the need for food, shelter, water and clothing. People have been attempting to get something for nothing, or get by with something, for as long as humans have been contemplating the meaning of life.

In "Anatomy Of A Con Artist," author and podcaster Johnathan Walton, himself a victim ...Read more

With the new school year underway, you’ve likely heard new names — and requests to have friends over.

For elementary schoolers, typically that means getting the other parents’ contact information and setting up a playdate. However, things change for middle school and high school students.

Making your home a place where older kids and ...Read more

Why do we root for people we’d cross the street to avoid in real life? Fiction is crowded with liars, schemers, stalkers, even killers … and somehow, they have fan clubs. Whether it’s Tom Ripley’s suave cons, Amy Dunne’s razor-sharp vengeance, or Joe Goldberg’s murderous devotion, these characters inspire not just fascination but ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee on Thursday voted to make a significant change to the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule during its first gathering since members were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The committee voted 8-3, with one ...Read more

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-selected vaccine advisers voted to change the way immunizations are given to millions of U.S. children each year, recommending a tweak to the standard schedule that cast a large shadow over the safety of the shots.

Members of the influential U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel said Merck & Co.’...Read more

SEATTLE -- The first few days of school can spark excitement and anticipation for kids: they look forward to seeing friends, learning something new or getting back to sports and clubs.

But for many students, this time of year can also be one of significant stress.

As children go back to school, they may be worried about fitting in socially, ...Read more

'HIM'

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity and some drug use.

What it’s about: An up-and-coming star quarterback enters into a secretive football training camp with his idol.

The kid attractor factor: This is a brutal horror movie, not for kids, but teens might be intrigued.

Good lessons/bad ...Read more

Q. My 5-year-old daughter is so traumatized by her mom's and my breakup that she will not leave my side. She tells me she is afraid I won’t come back. When it is time to return to her mother’s home, I ask her if she wants to go to mommy’s, and she clings to me. When it’s time to go to school, I ask her if she wants to go to school and ...Read more

We just dropped some serious money on an air purifier thinking it might help with my allergies. I have seasonal allergies. They’re bad in fall, winter, spring and summer.

I do a lot of sniffing.

Some days I sniff, hack and cough so much that if you heard it from another room, you’d think an old ranch hand is choking on chewing tobacco and...Read more