Author: Lance Garrison

The first time I covered a Taiwan “election,” 38 years ago, the island was a dictatorship under martial law, with members of the opposition more likely to be tortured than to gain power.Government officials explained that modern democracy wasn’t fully compatible with Chinese culture, and one of my minders made a vague inquiry about paying me — apparently to see if a Times correspondent could be bribed.Taiwan lifted martial law the next year, 1987, and helped lead a democratic revolution in Asia, encompassing South Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia and others. Taiwan now ranks as more democratic than the United States, Japan…

After a weekend of knee boarding and outdoor activity, Laura Nixon noticed a tingling spot in her lower body. At first, she brushed it off as a simple injury. Laura Nixon with her family “I really just thought that I was having some back problems,” she says.But the tingling began to spread and get worse, so she scheduled an appointment with her doctor.After a referral to a neurologist, Nixon’s care team still didn’t know what caused her pain.“They did an MRI on my back, and they couldn’t find anything,” she says.During the next few years, Nixon visited neurosurgeons, orthopedic doctors,…

Let’s start here: A second Donald Trump presidency is a disaster scenario.And if, in 2024, Joe Biden is the only thing standing between Trump and the White House, then Biden’s success may well be the last hope for the country as we know it. In that case — the most likely one at this point — America needs Biden to succeed. That’s why it’s so distressing when he comes up short in his appeals to the voters he’ll need to win re-election.This week, Biden delivered a speech at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. — Mother Emanuel — a historic…

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients. Though it may not be the cure for the common cold, the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling. The tolerable upper intake level (or the maximum amount you can take in a day that likely won’t cause harm) is 2,000 milligrams (mg)a day for adults.A study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years revealed a growing list of possible benefits of vitamin C.”Vitamin C…

Do your knees make noise? There’s probably no reason for concern. Popping and cracking sounds usually aren’t signs that something’s wrong.“A lot of joints crack and the knees are a really common joint to crack,” says David McAllister, MD, director of the UCLA’s Sports Medicine Program. “Most people have knees that crack when they squat down or go through the full arc of motion. We generally don’t worry about cracking or popping when it isn’t associated with pain or swelling.”Curious why your healthy knees might be making noises? As we age, the tissue that covers the bones, called cartilage, can…

Believe it or not, a runny nose can be a good thing. It’s the body’s way of getting rid of germs. But when your baby has too much mucus, it can give them a stuffy head. It can also make it hard to eat or breathe. A few home treatments can make your little one comfortable again.You can buy this at the store. Put a few drops into each nostril, and then use a bulb syringe to remove some mucus. It’s safe to repeat this as often as you need. And if you do it right before your baby eats,…

You should worry that a crying baby will be in the seat next to you. You should worry that snow in Chicago will snarl air traffic. But you should never, ever have to worry that a plug in the side of your plane — a hidden weak spot — will suddenly blow out at 16,000 feet. That is what happened to Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 shortly after takeoff from Portland, Ore., on Friday.No one was seriously injured, but air travelers are frightened, and rightly so, partly because of the unnerving sense of hidden danger. The wall next to seat 26A…

Chances are you already know that eating too much sugar isn’t good for you. Yet you’re probably still overdoing it. Americans average about 270 calories of added sugars each day. That’s about 17  teaspoons a day, compared to the recommended limits of about 12 teaspoon per day or 200 calories.Sugary drinks, candy, baked goods, and sweetened dairy are the main sources of added sugar. But even some savory foods, like breads, tomato sauce, and protein bars, can have sugar, making it all too easy to end up with a surplus of the sweet stuff. Added sugars may be hard to spot on…

This is one reason it has become less common for climate skeptics to talk about how much consumers would be burdened by price spikes brought about by a green transition, or to invoke Bill Gates’s “green premium” or the “cautionary tale” of France’s yellow-vest movement, and more common to hear them ask whether the renewable industry can survive without pretty massive public subsidies. Just this past year, a spike in interest rates kneecapped construction in the nascent offshore wind-power industry, not just in the United States but around the world. If you’ve got a big enough profit buffer, you can…

There’s no mystery about exercise: You get out of it what you put in. But you don’t have to work out for hours each day. You just need to work smart.Not all exercises are created equal. Some are more efficient than others, whether they target multiple muscle groups, are OK for various fitness levels, or help you burn calories more effectively.So what are the best exercises? We posed this question to four fitness experts and compiled a list of their favorites.Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something that most…