海角大神

The Taliban are back in control, but face an Afghan people protective of social gains made during the 20-year American presence聽鈥� on women鈥檚 rights, health, education, and the economy.

Weather forecasters didn鈥檛 use to talk much about climate change. Increasingly they are helping the public learn about the connection between climate science, extreme weather, and their own safety.

The modern idea of marriage is built on a foundation of love and partnership. Increasingly, states are rethinking how young is too young to enter into such a contract, as advocates lobby lawmakers to close child marriage loopholes.

Where does viewing art fit among our other attention-demanding options? In Boston, a rare exhibition of Renaissance聽paintings tests the appeal of quiet contemplation.

Sept. 11, 2001, started as a routine day at the office, but turned into the hardest assignment I鈥檝e ever covered.

I drove down to New York that evening on highways empty of traffic except for first responders and utility trucks loaded with flood lights. My press pass got me onto the island of Manhattan, where all roads and bridges leading into the city were closed. It was eerily quiet, no cars and no pedestrians. For the next two weeks I walked the city, photographing people and places forever changed.

I鈥檝e been to war zones far overseas, but never something like this in my own backyard. Still, as in most extreme situations, goodness shone through.

One night, sitting spent in the back of a taxi after a long day of photographing, I saw a small group on a street corner holding a candlelight vigil. I asked the driver to stop and went over to join them. They were Spanish speakers, immigrants, sharing prayers, holding American flags. 鈥淧lease,鈥� one of them asked, 鈥渃an you help us sing that song, 鈥極 say can you see鈥�?鈥� They didn鈥檛 know the words. I put down my cameras and together we sang 鈥� or hummed 鈥� the national anthem. It was beautiful.

Click the 鈥渄eep read鈥� button above to view Melanie鈥檚 photographs.

President Joe Biden says the United States is in 鈥渆xtreme鈥� competition with China 鈥� even to the point of clashes at sea between their navies. Yet on Thursday he spoke by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the second time they have talked since Mr. Biden took office. The two presidents may finally meet in person this fall at a multilateral summit.

The phone chats fit a pattern for Mr. Biden. He prefers to talk to geopolitical rivals of the U.S., listening to their grievances and interests without necessarily embracing them. Like President Barack Obama, he seems to believe that denying communication with adversaries should not be considered as punishment.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always better to meet face-to-face,鈥� Mr. Biden said at his first major overseas summit in June with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just pure business.鈥�

Also in June, he offered to reopen negotiations with North Korea 鈥渨ithout preconditions.鈥� While the offer was refused, Mr. Biden supports South Korea鈥檚 attempts for talks with Pyongyang.

Since coming into office in January, the Biden team has also held five indirect talks with Iran in hopes of reviving a 2015 deal that curbed its nuclear program. (In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact.) Iran has not resumed the indirect talks since Aug. 5 when a hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, took office. Nonetheless, U.S. envoys keep in touch with Iran through other countries, such as Qatar.

The Biden administration鈥檚 most unusual high-level negotiation with an adversary came in late August. CIA Director William Burns met secretly with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul, Afghanistan. Their talks led to safe evacuations of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies.

During his decades in the Senate, Mr. Biden showed a patience and a willingness to聽talk to political opponents. That display of respect helped him build up enough trust to open doors for difficult concessions on legislation.

When adversaries do agree to negotiate with Mr. Biden, he also makes a point to thank them. As scholar聽Arthur C. Brooks wrote in his 2019 book, 鈥淟ove Your聽Enemies,鈥� expressing gratitude for those who disagree with you is a 鈥渃ontempt killer.鈥� It helps separate the actions of adversaries from the persons themselves. Then a dialogue across differences can more easily begin.